B.C. expanding services to better support seniors

Police in Metro Vancouver say a man has been arrested and charged after a two-year-long investigation into two separate murders in Vancouver and Surrey. In an update on Friday, the Vancouver Police...

A second man has been arrested in connection with a double shooting in Surrey late last year.

The Richmond RCMP is warning the public after an incident with an unexploded military artifact at the Colonel Sherman Armoury Friday.

One expert says B.C. has been sheltered from the worst effects of the U.S. trade war, seeing fewer jobs lost than other provinces, but it won't last forever. Bryan Yu, chief economist at Central 1 Credit Union, says B.C. is better off at the moment because its economy is not as reliant on shipments and exports to the U.S. and is more diversified in terms of services and tourism. Yu says that doesn't mean the province is immune. "That is another challenge for our forestry sector. For the purpose of the U.S., they really can't produce all they need for their economy. So ultimately, they will be paying higher prices. And so we'll see some pass through, some of that, of those duties and levies to the U.S. But ultimately, I think there will be some reduction in demand as well," said Yu. While also not as badly off as the rest of the country, he says the B.C. real estate market may be heading towards crisis. "I would call this almost a housing market recession at this point as well," said Yu, explaining that buyers are "staying on the sidelines," waiting for economic stability before buying. According to a Statistics Canada report, the national unemployment rate ticked up to 6.9 per cent in April as the manufacturing sector started to strain under the weight of tariffs from the U.S. The Canadian economy added 7,400 jobs last month, the agency said, slightly outpacing economist expectations for a gain of 2,500 positions. But the unemployment rate also rose two-tenths of a percentage point in April, topping economists’ call for a jobless rate of 6.8 per cent. B.C. saw a slight increase in employment, but Yu notes this month’s report can’t be looked at conclusively. The federal election saw thousands of temporary jobs added across the country, but he says that masked the overall picture that job losses, as a result of tariffs, have started hitting many sectors across Canada. "Manufacturing, I do expect also to be reduced as well," said Yu. "We're at the early stages of that impact on some of our sectors right now, and that will continue for things like interest rates. That's another signal that we probably should see another cut, going forward, from the Bank of Canada."