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Vancouver rundown for Friday, February 14, 2025.

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The E.B. government is pulling the plug on its election promise of a grocery rebate, blaming Donald Trump's planned tariffs.

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Finance Minister Brenda Bailey has used a Thursday news conference to also say there will be a hiring freeze on new public servants,

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except for the essential ones that support core programs and services.

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The B.C. General Employees Union says it was not given the heads up about the announcement.

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The provincial budget will be delivered on March 4, with strong hints much of the bad news will be blamed on Donald Trump's yet-to-come tariffs.

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Other news, breaking news.

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A small earthquake has been recorded in Juan de Fuca Strait, south of Victoria, Thursday night.

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The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 3.8 and a depth of about 40 kilometers below the sea.

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It happened just before 10 p.m.

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The Auditor General's Office has announced it plans to investigate city of Vancouver land sales.

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The move follows whistleblower complaints last year.

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The performance audit is ramped up action following a preliminary report that finds such action is warranted.

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It will dive into whether council was properly informed of many of the transactions.

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Meanwhile, an extra $5 million is being added to the Vancouver Police Department's budget to crack down on crime on the downtown east side.

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Mayor Ken Sim and Chief Adam Palmer say an increase in patrol officers will combat organized crime networks and predatory criminals.

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The two stress this will not be a short-term solution.

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The threat of strike action is looming at BC Life Labs.

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Workers at the medical labs could go off the job as early as Sunday in what may start as rotating strike action.

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Life Lab workers have been without a contract since last April.

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Increasing clouds right through Friday, showers on Saturday, rain on Sunday.

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For all the details on these local Vancouver area stories along with those links,

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go to vancouverrundown.substack.com