BC Daily Digest — 2026-02-05

Big cross-border case: Paul Anthony Nicholls, 47, who was living in Vancouver in 2017, was convicted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia of conspiring to import and distribute fentanyl analogues that are tied to the 2017 deaths of two U.S. Navy sailors. U.S. prosecutors say investigators intercepted more than 40 packages, 13 RCMP officers testified in Georgia, and Nicholls faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years (up to life); co-accused Thomas Federuik is out on bail and also faces serious charges.

Sad end for a local celebrity: Two Texada Island residents, Kody Bevan and Seneca Antony, pleaded guilty and were fined a combined $6,000 after a grizzly nicknamed Tex — a four-year-old male who had swum to the island in July — was found dead near Van Anda; $2,000 from each fine goes to the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation. Residents had privately funded moves and the Mamalilikulla First Nation offered refuge, but the province said further relocation was unlikely.

Scary moment at VGH ambulance bay: Around 4 p.m., a combative patient damaged the inside of a parked BC Ambulance at Vancouver General Hospital and tried to start the vehicle, prompting police to arrest him and fire a bean-bag shotgun during the arrest; paramedics were not injured and the ambulance was taken out of service for cleaning and repair. Police say the man has not yet been charged, and BCEHS notes seven recorded ambulance-damage incidents from 2020 to 2025.

Inquest points to murder-suicide in Prince Rupert deaths: The coroner's inquest heard evidence that Christopher Duong likely killed his wife Janet Nguyen and their two sons, aged 2 and 4, then took his own life in June 2023, with investigators citing cold medication in toxicology and strangulation with an electrical cord. The inquest also noted a June 10, 2023 abandoned Mercedes full of suitcases and cash, prior police concerns about Duong, and missed follow-up contact by child welfare social workers.

Port Moody still has no MRI and no timeline: Fraser Health recently chose not to include an MRI for Eagle Ridge Hospital in its proposed capital plan, so local patients must still travel to Ridge Meadows or Royal Columbian for scans; Eagle Ridge leaders say this increases transfers, extended stays and local costs, and the hospital foundation is willing to raise $5 million if the project is approved. An Angus Reid poll also found 38% of Canadians had trouble getting tests in the past six months, rising to 46% in B.C.

School threats in Coquitlam are connected, say police: Centennial and Gleneagle secondary schools were placed under and then lifted from hold-and-secure on Thursday after RCMP, led by Insp. Todd Balaban, said the incidents are connected to phone threats that also affected eight other schools on Wednesday across Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam. Police thanked schools for quick action, urged community calm, and asked anyone with information to call 604-949-5054.

Mortgage stress shows up strongest in Toronto and Vancouver: CMHC warns Toronto and Vancouver households show the biggest signs of strain, with pandemic-era first-time buyers especially vulnerable as interest rates rose; more than 1.5 million households have already renewed at higher rates and another 1 million are expected to do so. Missed payments have increased but remain at historic lows, and CMHC says many borrowers are extending amortization to lower monthly payments, which helps now but raises long-term costs.