Four British Columbia companies have each won $20,000 for developing B.C. tech to help solve a problem identified as part of the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and the BC Innovation Council’s Innovation Challenge.

The Province of British Columbia announced the B.C. Startup in Residence Pilot Program, that will enable companies to work within government to deliver innovative solutions to digital challenges.  

With record numbers of attendees and the demand for tickets outnumbering availability, the Province is announcing that the #BCTECH Summit will become an annual event, co-hosted by its Crown agency, the BC Innovation Council.

Environment Minister Mary Polak and Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett have issued an environmental assessment certificate to AuRico Metals Inc. for the Kemess Underground project, an underground copper-gold mine, which is located approximately 250 kilometres north of Smithers, and 430 kilometres northwest of Prince George in the Peace River Regional District.

An update to the BC Building Code will require fire sprinklers to be installed on the balconies of all new four-storey wood-frame residential buildings.

The Northwest Aboriginal Canadian Entrepreneurs (NW-ACE) program provides business skill training in northern B.C. Indigenous communities. It took home the top prize at the Gold Global Best Awards ceremony in Oslo, Norway in September 2016 in recognition of the significant impact NW-ACE is having on the communities in which they operate.

B.C.’s next generation of tech talent will be inspired by 13-year-old tech prodigy Tanmay Bakshi, and can explore career opportunities in an augmented reality scavenger hunt at Youth Innovation Day at the #BCTECH Summit.

Minister of  Community, Sport and Cultural Development and Minister Responsible for TransLink Peter Fassbender, on behalf of Premier Christy Clark, will present Sahib Thind, a well-known Surrey citizen, with the province’s newest honour, the Medal of Good Citizenship.