Vancouver rundown for Thursday, February 19,
2026. Close to three dozen B .C. health care
workers snooped into the medical records of the
victims being treated following the Lapu -Lapu
festival attack. A report from the Office of
the Information and Privacy Commissioner for
B .C. finds close to half of those injured had
their privacy breached while being treated at
various hospitals and health care facilities.
The commissioner is recommending Vancouver Coastal
Health and Fraser Health institute stronger measures
to prevent future breaches. On April 26 last
year, the driver of an SUV hit a crowd of people
leaving the festival. 11 people died. 30 others
were hurt. Other news, B .C.'s ambulance paramedics
are a step closer to strike action. Members of
the Ambulance Paramedics of B .C., QP733, have
voted 97 % in favor of job action to push their
demands for a new contract. The union plans to
outline its next steps during the noon hour on
Thursday. Langley Abbotsford MLA Harmon Bangu
will be adding his name to the list of those
seeking the leadership of the B .C. Conservatives.
Bangu says he'll support B .C.'s working people.
who needs someone to stand up for them. He is
now the 11th conservative to enter the leadership
race to replace John Rustad, who stepped down
following an internal coup. The B .C. government
has rejected a desperate plea from Surrey's police
chief to delay the transition away from the RCMP
in the Cloverdale neighborhood. Chief Norm Lipinski
had blamed his department's inability to hire
enough officers. on the city's escalating extortion
crimes. However, BC's Director of Policing says
the transition in Cloverdale is expected to be
complete by April 1st. The Surrey Police Service
has been struggling to transition to complete
coverage ever since being approved as the force
of jurisdiction by the provincial government.
A mix of sun and cloud in the forecast for Thursday,
cloudy on Friday, showers for Saturday. For all
the details on these local Vancouver area stories
along with those links