CKNW Vancouver News

Man injured in house fire

Fri, 18 May 2012 07:33:00 GMT

A man is in hospital with burns to his hands following a barbecue propane tank accident in North Vancouver.

The fire quickly spread, destroying the home at 4085 Norwood and briefly setting a nearby tree ablaze.

Aaron Breden drove up the street and saw the fire develop, "Saw huge plumes of smoke coming up from up here. Drove up here to see what was happening and the whole house was fully engulfed in flames. Fire fighters are here, and police have blocked off the streets."

The smoke generated by the fire could clearly be seen from downtown Vancouver.

Police have yet to identify the injured man.

Two fires Thursday evening

Terry Bell | Email news tips to tbell@cknw.com — Fri, 18 May 2012 05:18:00 GMT

After allowing the fire to burn itself out, firefighters have declared a home in North Vancouver District, destroyed.

The house at 4085 Norwood near Delbrook was burning too hot for fire fighters to attack it safely.

The incident apparently began with a problem involving a barbecue propane tank.

There was danger of the fire spreading to nearby trees but fire crews prevented that from happening.

One man was taken to hospital suffering burns to his hands.

Meanwhile, no injuries have been reported in a Burnaby two-storey house fire.

The blaze began just after 8 pm at 4744 Gilpin Court.

Lots of heavy smoke was visible throughout the area.

Premier updates trade mission progress

CKNW News Staff | Email news tips to nwnews@cknw.com — Fri, 18 May 2012 03:25:00 GMT

The premier's Asian trade mission continues, as she attempts to find markets for various B.C. products.

Christy Clark says Japan could become a big buyer of liquefied natural gas as it transitions away from nuclear power.

Clark says Japan’s need for energy could be British Columbia’s gain.

"They are facing a 30-per-cent deficit in the availability of power, so Tokyo Power, which imports LNG, is working incredibly tight, 24/7, to serve the city's, the country's, needs."

Clark says many of the lights were left off when she was given a tour of the Japanese ministry of energy because of the country's extreme power conservation strategy.

Drug smuggler who swallowed more than a kilo of cocaine stopped at YVR

Thu, 17 May 2012 23:54:00 GMT

A smuggler – who swallowed 42 condoms filled with drugs – was kept from boarding a plane to Australia, thanks to a routine check by security at YVR.

The man was detained last month and kept in a controlled environment at a local hospital until the narcotics could be recovered.

The condoms were filled with liquid cocaine, amounting to a total weight of 1.26 kilograms.

B.C. tourism jumps 12% in March

Thu, 17 May 2012 23:49:00 GMT

Jobs and Tourism Minister Pat Bell says B.C. saw a 12-per-cent spike in tourism in March, compared to the same month last year.

Bell points to more marketing by his government.

"We really refocused our marketing efforts this year on the ski industry. We lifted our budget from $600,000, which is what traditionally was spent to about $1.4 million. We targeted very specific markets with those dollars and, certainly, the indicators we're hearing from Whistler and some of the other major resorts is that they saw a significant increase."

Bell says visitors from the UK were up by 20 per cent, China 15 per cent, and Mexico 50 per cent.

Updated: Legislature committee decides against province-wide pesticide ban

Thu, 17 May 2012 23:44:00 GMT

A special committee of the legislature has decided against a province-wide ban on the use of cosmetic pesticides.

Committee chair Bill Bennett is calling for further restrictions, but says the science does not support an outright ban.

"I lost my mother to cancer, I lost my father to cancer, I lost my uncle to cancer and my eldest brother has had cancer, so if I thought if I was convinced that we needed to do this, I would definitely have been there, and I know other government members would have been as well. The evidence just simply does not support a recommendation to ban cosmetic pesticides in British Columbia."

But NDP members on the committee disagree.

Environment critic Rob Fleming says a ban is justified and was actually promised by Premier Christy Clark last year.

"Whether they defied the premier or whether she's had a change of opinion and heart on this issue, I don't know, that's for her to answer. But I think the legislature expected more – certainly the people of British Columbia expected much more of their legislators in making recommendations."

Fleming insists there is still a debate in the scientific community over what he calls "causal connections" between pesticides and disease.

Environment minister Terry Lake wants some time to read the committee’s report.

Lake says it will be up to cabinet to make the final decision.

"Government considers the report and then decides on action so I can't predict what the government will do with this until we've had an opportunity to read it and discuss it. But recommendations may be followed or there may be a different path. We'll just have to wait and see."

Forty municipalities have their own bans right now, and that won't change.

As for her part, Premier Christy Clark was noncommittal when asked if she would go through with her promise to ban pesticides.

"I don't have an answer for you yet on where we'll land on a final decision on this, but the work they've given us is really valuable work. There's information in that report that I certainly didn't have before, and for a lot of citizens around the province, there's information they didn't have before either."

The premier was speaking from Asia, where she peddling B.C. liquefied natural gas to investors in Korea, Japan and the Philippines.

Guilty gangsters face prison time

Thu, 17 May 2012 23:29:00 GMT

Three Vancouver men have been found guilty on charges of transferring or possessing illegal firearms, part of Vancouver Police crackdown on gang activity on the South Slope.

Bob Sanghera and his cousin Navdip Sanghera have been found guilty on three counts of possessing prohibited firearms in relation to an incident in November 2008.

Police pulled the Sanghera's over, only to discover Boby Sangerha wearing body armour and possessing three illegal handguns.

Savdip Sangerha has also been found guilty of transferring an illegal handgun, while Charanjit Rangi and Jaspreet Virk have been found not guilty on charges related to the incident.

Sentencing is handed down May 25th.

Labour Minister says inquest recommendations won't be ignored

Thu, 17 May 2012 20:48:00 GMT

BC's Labour Minister is promising recommendations from the coroner's jury investigating a fatal accident at a Langley mushroom farm will not be ignored.

"We have made substantial progress over the last number of years."

Margaret MacDiarmid says since the 2008 tragedy agriculture inspections have increased 60 per cent, but she admits more work is needed.

"Of course, we don't want these to be words on the page. One of the things I've thought about a lot over the last few days is we can't bring these men back. We can't heal those who are so severely injured, but what we can do is we can going forward, we're going to do everything we possibly can to prevent this kind of an accident from ever happening again."

She adds some changes will take time because they require public consultations.

Man charged in theft from disabled woman

James Lewis | Email news tips to jlewis@cknw.com — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:58:00 GMT

One of the men accused of stealing an Ipad from a disabled woman aboard Skytrain has now been formally charged.

John Eugene Lagimodiere faces a count of robbery stemming from the incident.

The 31-year old has an extensive criminal rap sheet, including dozens of charges, dating back essentially through his entire adult life.

He's also said to be well-known among police as a drug addict and petty thief.

Police are still on the hunt for another man believed to have been involved in the incident.

20-year old Cassie Campbell, who is confined to a wheelchair, deaf, and suffers from cerebral palsey, had the computer stolen last week at the Royal Oak station.

A Good Samaritan has since replaced it.

Plane crash victims identified

Thu, 17 May 2012 19:29:00 GMT

The BC Coroners Service has now identified all the victims of the small float plane crash north of Peachland.

As earlier reported, the pilot was 52 year old Colin Moyes from West Vancouver.

His two passengers were also from West Vancouver, 81 year old Peter Brooke Lovelace Keate and 79 year old Inez Keate.