Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General and Minister Responsible for Emergency Preparedness Mike Farnworth has issued the following statement on Search and Rescue Volunteer Memorial Day:

The BC Coroners Service has announced that a public inquest will be held into the death of Deanna Renee Desjarlais.

The Special Investigations Unit with the BC Coroners Service has completed DNA analysis confirming that human remains found near Jordan River on Dec. 7, 2017, are those of Stanley K. Okumoto from East Bremerton, Kitsap County, Wash.

A series of winter storms since the start of the year have created a complex snowpack in many of British Columbia’s backcountry recreation areas.

Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General and Minister Responsible for Emergency Preparedness, has issued the following statement on backcountry recreation safety:

The Special Investigations Unit with the BC Coroners Service has completed DNA analysis that confirms human remains found near Lake Cowichan on Dec. 22, 2017, are those of Darreld Stanley Rayner of Lake Cowichan.

The BC Coroners Service has concluded its investigation into the sinking of the Leviathan II whale-watching boat off Plover Reefs near Tofino on Oct. 25, 2015, which claimed six lives.

Today, the governments of Canada and British Columbia announced approximately $10.7 million in federal and provincial funding to support work on 30 projects under the National Disaster Mitigation Program (NDMP).