British Columbia’s new area code, 236, will be available for use across the province starting June 1. This new area code is being introduced in response to the increasing demand for phone numbers in B.C., which will result in some communities running out of numbers within the existing area codes in the near future. The new code will ensure that there will continue to be enough numbers to meet the demand.

The new area code will initially be introduced slowly across the province, only given to residents or businesses acquiring new phone numbers in areas where there is no longer a sufficient supply of numbers within the existing area codes – 604, 250, and 778. Each geographic area has a different supply of numbers within existing area codes, making it difficult to determine when a specific area will begin to see the 236 area code in use.

There will be no changes to existing phone numbers, but customers may be offered a 236 number when they contact a provider for a new service.

The geographic boundaries for long distance calls and three-digit numbers such as 211, 311, 411, 611 and 911 will not be affected.

According to a new Ipsos Reid poll released Thursday, most Canadians feel taxes on the rich should be raised.

Nine in ten (88%) Canadians ‘support’ (48% strongly/40% somewhat) the following resolution…the rich should pay more taxes. Just one in ten (12%) Canadians ‘oppose’ (3% strongly/8% somewhat) this resolution.

The survey also shows a similar proportion (89%) of Canadians also indicate they’d be ‘supportive’ (54% very/34% somewhat) of a ‘millionaire’s tax’, whereby families with a combined annual household income greater than $1,000,000 would pay a special or additional tax on all income over a million dollars.

The pollster also asked Canadians what they considered to be “rich”. That answer —which might surprise you — is a household income of $195,000.

Gregory Thomas of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation says that raising taxes on the rich won’t work in the long term.

“The CD Howe Institute illustrated this recently in a study of Ontario’s tax hike [in their 2012 budget] for incomes over $500,000. CD Howe forecasts that hiking taxes to an effective rate of 49.73 per cent will bring the government extra revenue this year, because Ontario took taxpayers by surprise with the revenue grab,” Thomas told Yahoo! Canada News.

“But within a few years, all that extra revenue will disappear, as taxpayers make adjustments, moving assets and income into other jurisdictions to avoid the high rates.”

It’s no secret that most of us don’t get enough exercise. Between work and family commitments, there often isn’t much time left to fit in a work out. Bike to Work Week is a great solution to this dilemma. Avid cyclists and new riders alike sign up, log their commutes, win prizes, and are part of making Metro Vancouver a better place to live, work and play. Improving air quality, reducing road congestion and connecting with their communities are a few of the benefits realized by Bike to Work participants.

On Friday, staff from Fraser Health and the RCMP “E” Division Headquarters welcomed bikers to the Bike to Work Week Celebration Station at Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre in Surrey.

Riders were able to refuel with complimentary refreshments, received free bike tune-ups by a local bicycle mechanic and entered to win prizes. The station was sponsored by the Surrey Active Transportation Working Group, a subcommittee of the Surrey Healthier Communities partnership between the City of Surrey and Fraser Health.

Inspector Phil Goulet, OIC National Promotions, RCMP says, “I bike 38 kilometers each way to work. What makes the one hour and twenty minute commute bearable is the fact that I ride an electric bike. It’s like having an Olympic athlete in your back pocket! I would rather bike that route than sit in my car.”

Vancouver Police are investigating a “targeted shooting” at the spot where a teenager was killed in a sword attack in January.

Const. Brian Montague confirmed to The Vancouver Sun that police were called to the 6300-block of Elgin Street about 1:30 a.m. May 27th after getting several 911 calls about “shots fired.”

“Our officers attended and confirmed that shots had been fired at a home in the block. The attack was targeted and the investigation into who is responsible is on-going,” Montague said. “There were people in the home at the time of the incident, but no one was injured.”

Vancouver resident Manraj Akalirai, 19, was nearly beheaded on the street outside the house when he was attacked by a group of people late on Jan. 23.

Last month, Amritpal Dhillon, 20, was charged with second degree murder in Akalirai’s death, while Amritpaul Rakhra, 18, was charged with manslaughter. Both will be arraigned in Vancouver Provincial Court on June 4.

Montague said police are looking at a possible link to the earlier murder as part of their probe.

“We will of course look at other investigations as well as other leads and theories to determine who is responsible, but it is too early in this investigation to conclusively make any links to other incidents or specific groups,” Montague said.

When charges in Akalirai’s murder were laid last month, VPD Insp. Laurence Rankin said the motive is believed to have been “an on-going conflict between two groups.”

“There was an issue between them and as a result of that issue, a conflict unfolded which led to the death of Mr. Akalirai,” he said.

It seems only one in 10 Canadians believe Prime Minister Stephen Harper when he says he didn’t know his chief of staff wrote a $90,000 cheque to Senator Mike Duffy.

The secret bailout deal was intended to help Duffy repay housing expenses he improperly took from taxpayers, and since the news broke, the prime minister has denied previous knowledge of it.
Harper maintains he didn’t hear about the secret deal until May 15, the day after the news broke.

According to Ipsos Reid, only 13 per cent of Canadians actually think that Harper is telling the truth, while 44 per cent aren’t really sure and 42 per cent are convinced he knew about the deal the whole time.

“There’s blood in the water; this is a very serious circumstance,” says Darrell Bricker with Ipsos Reid. “It’s not something that’s going to be going away anytime soon, and the government has to come up with better answers.”

On top of the skepticism about Harper’s explanations, it’s clear Canadians want to see an independent body investigate the scandal.

Three quarters of us think this scandal needs to be investigated by the RCMP or a judicial inquiry. Only six per cent think the Senate can handle it on its own.

The province of BC says it cannot support the Northern Gateway pipeline project as it’s been presented to the review panel because it does not address British Columbians’ environmental concerns.

That conclusion comes in the BC government’s final written submission to the Joint Review Panel that has been holding hearings into the proposal.

“British Columbia thoroughly reviewed all of the evidence and submissions made to the panel and asked substantive questions about the project including its route, spill response capacity and financial structure to handle any incidents,” says Environment Minister Terry Lake. “Our questions were not satisfactorily answered during these hearings.”

“Northern Gateway has said that they would provide effective spill response in all cases. However, they have presented little evidence as to how they will respond,” says Lake. “For that reason, our government cannot support the issuance of a certificate for the pipeline as it was presented to the Joint Review Panel.”

The environment is among the five conditions Premier Christy Clark has given to pipeline proposals.

Ben West of Forest Ethics says it’s a critical moment. “There’s a lot of pressure now on the Joint Review Panel to outright reject the pipeline, and even if they do not do so, there’s a lot of things our premier can do to ensure the pipeline isn’t built.”

Another environmental group — the Wilderness Committee — says the news isn’t as significant as it might first appear, since the federal government still has final say.

“Resource development will not proceed unless it is safe for Canadians and safe for the environment. That is why, for our part, we are moving forward with our plans to further enhance marine and pipeline safety and to engage with First Nations on west coast energy infrastructure,” says federal Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver.

“We are working hard to meet the conditions and earn the confidence of the government and the people of BC,” says Janet Holder, Executive Vice President of Western Access with Northern Gateway.