John Rustad won’t quit. The BC Conservative leader is rejecting the demands of his party’s president and the management committee to step down in light of what they call an ‘unprecedented level of turmoil’ over the past year. Rustad has rejected a letter signed by the party’s management committee saying the 39-member caucus is in a good place. Rustad says he has the support of membership after a vote on his leadership last summer.

A B.C. gangster who spent many years as a fugitive has now pleaded guilty to plotting to kill the Bacon brothers. UN gangster Conor D’Monte has pleaded guilty to conspiring to kill Red Scorpions Jonathan, Jared and Jamie Bacon more than 15 years ago. A date for sentencing has not yet been set - it’s expected the Crown will drop D’Monte’s first degree murder charge in the 2009 Langley shooting death of Red Scorpion Kevin LeClair. In February 2022, D’Monte was arrested in San Juan, Puerto Rico where he’d been living under a different name.

Another MLA has quit the BC Conservatives becoming the fifth to do so in less than a year. Penticton-Summerland MLA Amelia Boultbee says she’s leaving the caucus because John Rustad’s failed leadership needs to end. Boultbee says Rustad invited her to “get the fuck out” and she’s taking him up on the offer. Rustad accuses Boultbee of leaking caucus information to the media, suffering mental health issues and supporting Hamas. She also backed fellow MLA Elenore Sturko who quit the party over differences with Rustad.

A small group of only about a hundred people gathered at Vancouver’s Jack Poole Plaza Saturday afternoon as part of anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ protests being held in cities around the world. Those braving the heavy rain denounced Donald Trump saying he’s an authoritarian would-be dictator. The Vancouver rally comes as Premier David Eby continues his anti-Donald Trump comments while B.C.’s resource sector suffers during a campaign of tariffs on Canadian goods.

.BC.’s public service strike continues to escalate despite a meeting between government negotiators and leaders of the BCGEU. Union president Paul Finch says the government refuses to come close to demands of an eight per cent increase over two years - right now the NDP’s offer stands at between four and five percent over the same period. Meanwhile, about 370 more BCGEU members have joined the strike action. The move also comes as all non-essential members of the smaller Professional Employees Association walk of the job.

Airports in Victoria and Kelowna are among the five around North America that had their flight information systems hacked on Wednesday with pro-Hamas information. The screens, along with some public address systems, spewed anti-Jewish messages while slamming leaders of the U.S. and Israel. Transport Canada says it’s working with police to ensure there are no safety and security risks. Canada is routinely criticized by experts as a low-risk, high-value cyberattack target.

SFU’s new medical school is now accepting students. The announcement is a major step forward with the first group of students expected at the Surrey campus next August. The medical school will start with temporary facilities - permanent ones are expected to be in place by 2030. The government expects the school to add an extra 48 students to the region. There’s no word on what - if anything - is being offered to keep them from moving out-of-province.

A suspect has now been arrested in those random stabbing attacks in Yaletown. Four strangers received non-life threatening injuries after being knifed along the seawall in David Lam Park early Friday morning. On Monday afternoon, Vancouver Police arrested a 35-year-old woman on the Downtown Eastside. It’s not clear if the suspect is being connected to other attacks that happened in the same area.

Vancouverites will get to vote on whether to get rid of the Park Board. The provincial government has introduced legislation to change the Vancouver Charter and allow the city to axe its unique park board if voters approve. Mayor Ken Sim, who has been pushing for its demise, says he welcomes the province’s move but would have preferred it happened two years ago. Sim says Vancouverites deserve world-class parks that are delivered in a cost-effective manner.

All government liquor and cannabis stores are now behind BCGEU pickets. The move marks a major escalation in the public service strike after last week’s brief meeting between union and government negotiators. It also comes as the province’s bars and restaurants start running out of stock which would normally come through the government liquor distribution system. Right now, there are still no plans for the two sides to return to the bargaining table.