Motorcycle rider dead in crash that closes Highway 1 outside Langley, B.C.

VANCOUVER – Canadian pop icon Nelly Furtado has been named one of three headliners for the opening ceremony of the upcoming Invictus Games.

Furtado, from Victoria, will share the stage with alt-pop star Roxane Bruneau of Delson, Que., and American singer-songwriter Noah Kahan.

They’ll be part of the show that opens the multi-sport event in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C., in February.

The Invictus Games sees wounded, injured, and sick military service members and Veterans compete in 11 disciplines.

The Vancouver Whistler 2025 Games will be the first of seven editions to feature winter adaptive sports, including alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, skeleton and wheelchair curling.

British Columbia’s Lower Mainland will host the Invictus Games from Feb. 8-16.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

THUNDER BAY, Ont. – Police say a woman is dead after her vehicle crashed with a school bus in Thunder Bay, Ont.

Investigators say no students on the bus were hurt.

Police say the crash took place just after 8 a.m. on Thursday.

They say the woman driving the vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene.

She has not been identified.

A section of the road where the crash took place was closed for much of the day but was expected to reopen later on Thursday afternoon.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – A tribal council representing 14 First Nations along the west coast of Vancouver Island is declaring a state of emergency over the opioid crisis, which is killing their members and leaving others with mental health struggles.

Judith Sayers, president of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, says not enough is being done and the nations need help from governments and health authorities to devise their own solutions for fight what she calls a “war on trauma” in dealing with the colonial past.

Figures from the First Nations Health Authority show Indigenous people died from drug poisonings at more than six times the rate of other B.C. residents last year.

Sayers says First Nations need funding to support overwhelmed workers in their communities and to build detox and rehabilitation centres.

Chief Councillor Ken Watts of the Tseshaht First Nation says not enough is being done, and British Columbians should ask candidates running in this October’s provincial election, what they plan to do to help.

Sayers says a meeting was held with government and health officials to discuss the concerns and another meeting is being planned with the federal government.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.