Minister of Energy and Mines Rich Coleman announced B.C. experienced its second consecutive year of rising mineral exploration expenditures in 2011, as the mineral exploration and mining industry continued a dramatic upward trend.

The latest provincial safety statistics show the B.C. mining industry has not experienced a mine operations fatality since September 2009, the longest period of time without fatalities since 1898.

Forty-two interim shelter spaces open today at the Marble Arch Hotel, a provincially owned SRO. This shelter facility, using vacant commercial space at the Marble Arch, will operate 24 hours a day, offer a meal program and incorporate a unique couples-only component.

With the official opening of the Aboriginal Mother Centre, Aboriginal mothers and children at risk of homelessness now have access to transformational homes that are linked to cultural traditions.

The Province and the City of Vancouver will share costs and open two new temporary shelters in Vancouver over the next few weeks.

The Province will open 42 interim shelter spaces in mid-December, using vacant commercial space at the Marble Arch Hotel, a provincially owned Single Room Occupancy Hotel located at 518 Richards St. in Vancouver.

Construction is progressing at 1249 Howe Street where a new, 12-storey building will provide 110 new supportive housing apartments for individuals in Vancouver with HIV/AIDS who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

A women-only, emergency shelter will open at 329 Powell St. in Vancouver beginning Monday, Nov. 28, 2011.

Twenty-two Vancouver residents are recipients of BC Housing Education Awards that will help them further their education, achieve their goals and improve their lives.

A request for qualifications (RFQ) was issued for the renovation and restoration of 13 provincially-owned single room occupancy (SRO) hotels to improve the quality of life for residents and to extend the useful life of the buildings for a generation.