B.C. Weekly Digest — Feb 16–22, 2026

Ottawa presses OpenAI for answers after the Tumbler Ridge shootings of Feb. 10 that killed eight people — OpenAI says an account linked to the shooter was flagged in June 2025 and RCMP are pursuing preservation orders while investigating online threats that forced a funeral change.

Portables are arriving in Tumbler Ridge: 14 single‑wide classroom units arrived this week and larger double‑wide trailers are due in the coming weeks as students won’t be pushed back into the school until they feel safe and counselling supports are in place.

Officials face pressure to release more on the shooter’s mental‑health and weapons history — sealed court documents and the return of previously seized guns have prompted calls for transparency as police continue the probe.

Disinformation after the shooting harmed innocent people — social media misidentified an unrelated woman (Zylii Strang) and RCMP have published the confirmed photo of the actual shooter to stop false accusations.

Victim updates: 19‑year‑old Paige Hoekstra is expected to return home soon after surgery, while 12‑year‑old Maya Gebala remains critically injured at BC Children’s Hospital with serious head and neck wounds.

B.C.’s 2026 budget draws headlines — a record $13.3‑billion deficit, a 0.54% hike to the lowest income tax bracket, plans to cut 15,000 full‑time public sector jobs over three years, and delays to several long‑term care and hospital projects.

PST changes hitting businesses: starting Oct. 1 some professional services (including private security) must charge PST — downtown Victoria owners say it will add hundreds to thousands of dollars in yearly costs.

The province eliminated the Office of the Merit Commissioner (about $1.7M/year) and moved its duties to the Public Service Agency, raising concerns about independent hiring oversight.

B.C. is spending $50 million to expand nasal naloxone over two years — nasal kits will make up roughly half of the more than 400,000 take‑home naloxone kits distributed annually and will roll out to all 2,400 sites from April.

B.C. paramedics voted 97% in favour of strike action — more than 6,000 CUPE Local 873 members backed the move amid stalled contract talks.

Surrey police budget cut by $46.95M: the union says that equals about 87 officers and warns the force lacks the roughly 70 extra officers it needs to safely take over Cloverdale (District 4) on April 1.

Immigration probes tied to extortion task force: CBSA has launched investigations into 296 people and issued 32 removal orders (10 people already removed) as B.C. fights organised extortion linked to India‑based gangs.

Bank of Canada ordered XTM Inc. to stop retail payment activity after restaurants reported missing tip money — merchants say gaps ranged from about $3,100 to $12,000 and the bank froze the AnyDay platform.

Fraud on Kelowna parking metres: 75 payment stations were tagged with fake QR stickers reported Feb. 12 and removed the same day; city and PayByPhone say no confirmed victims so far.

Two backcountry avalanche deaths this week: a heli‑skier died near Revelstoke after being buried under about 1.5 m of snow, and a snowmobiler was found dead in the Morrissey area near Fernie (recovered Feb. 18).

Rockslide closed Highway 93 north of Radium Hot Springs — the route was shut with no local detour; officials gave an update window to Thursday at noon Pacific.

Accused killer arrested inside the Luugat supportive housing building: Jordan Conway was detained after entering under a false name (incident Dec. 16) and the province is reviewing building security while aiming to relocate tenants and close the site by end of June.

Hospital ‘snooping’ probe: 71 unauthorized patient‑file accesses by 36 health workers were found after the Lapu Lapu incident; nine recommendations were made and health authorities say they’ve accepted them.

Food note: 7‑Eleven brings the viral Japanese tamago sando to Canada on March 4 as part of a push to expand fresh food — 7‑Eleven Canada currently has about 550 corporately‑owned stores in Ontario and B.C.

Community: Variety Show of Hearts telethon returns Sunday, Feb. 22 (1–5:30 p.m. PT) on Global BC with performers including William Prince, Johnny Reid, The Trews and Deborah Cox to help kids with disabilities.

RCMP say the Tumbler Ridge Secondary School crime scene work is complete and the school has been returned to the district, though officials stress students may not go back to the original building.

National‑security evidence at the Nijjar murder trial: federal lawyers asked a judge to protect “sensitive” information from being disclosed at the trial of four accused in the 2023 killing of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, prompting concerns from Sikh groups about transparency.