Effective immediately, the new allowable annual cut for the Okanagan timber supply area will decrease from 3.375 million cubic metres to 3.1 million cubic metres, chief forester Jim Snetsinger announced.

New capital funding announced as part of Budget 2012-13 will allow an expanded zone office and new provincial wildfire training centre to be built in Merritt.

Government introduced Bill 22 today, the Education Improvement Act, that suspends the teachers' strike action and sets a "cooling off" period, appoints a mediator to facilitate bargaining, and implements a new $165-million Learning Improvement Fund and other enhancements to K-12 education.

B.C.'s use of lean techniques across the health-care system is significantly reducing patient wait times, increasing efficiency and creating the potential to save millions of dollars that will be directed back into patient care.

A free traffic information line is now available 24/7 to help the travelling public plan their commutes during construction of the Evergreen Line.

Over the next few weeks, staff from the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation will begin to consult and work directly with a team of community leaders and tourism stakeholders from Burns Lake on tourism planning to strengthen economic opportunities for the area.