--B-C Update--

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(BC-Legis-Election)

The leader of the official Opposition in B-C says the B-C Conservatives have rejected a deal to avoid vote-splitting in the fall provincial election.

B-C United Leader Kevin Falcon says talks between the two right-of-centre parties concluded with Conservative Leader John Rustad rejecting a proposed "non-competition" agreement.

Falcon says Rustad has ---QUOTE --- "placed his own ambition" above the province's interests and he's risking the re-election of the governing N-D-P.

He says Rustad has not made a counter-proposal after rejecting the plan from B-C United. (The Canadian Press)

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(BC-Hydrogen)

The Canada Infrastructure Bank says it's providing a 337-million-dollar loan to support a major hydrogen project that will see the construction of a network of production plants and refuelling stations in B-C and beyond.

The loan is in support of hydrogen company H-T-E-C’s 900-million-dollar project to build hydrogen production plants and up to 20 refuelling stations, including 18 in B-C, with the others in Alberta.

The project involves three new production plants planned for Burnaby, Nanaimo and Prince George, as well as a hydrogen liquification facility in North Vancouver.

The B-C government says the project dubbed the H-2 Gateway could reduce emissions by 133-thousand tonnes annually and create almost 300 jobs. (The Canadian Press)

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(BC-Wildfires)

The mayor of the regional municipality that includes the evacuated town of Fort Nelson says officials are pushing hard to allow residents to return by Tuesday.

Rob Fraser says that's when emergency support services must be renewed for about 47-hundred residents who were forced to leave their homes on May 10th.

The mayor of the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality says he will be at a community meeting this afternoon in Taylor, near Fort St. John, where many evacuees from Fort Nelson have been staying for the last two weeks.

Fraser says he flew over the fire that pushed within about 2 kilometres of town at one point and saw some trees on fire, but the blaze was now mostly smoldering. (The Canadian Press)

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(BC-Chicken-Prices)

Restaurants Canada says an increase in the farm-level price of chicken in B.C. could raise costs for consumers by around 10 per cent.

The B-C Chicken Marketing Board previously proposed a new pricing formula to determine the price of chicken, saying farmers were struggling with rising costs.

Restaurants Canada says the B-C Farm Industry Review Board has approved the change, which several food-industry groups had raised the alarm about, saying it would put pressure on businesses and consumers.

The industry association says further price increases are unsustainable for its members, adding that consumers in B-C already pay higher retail prices for chicken than their counterparts in other provinces. (The Canadian Press)

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(BC-Kamloops-Hudsons-Bay)

The United Steelworkers union says workers at a Hudson's Bay store in Kamloops have ratified a new deal with their employer after a 165-day strike.

The union says that the months-long strike resulted in improvements to contract language, more job protections, wage hikes and lump-sum payments.

The deal was reached after the province appointed a mediator earlier in May.

Spokeswoman Tiffany Bourré with Hudson's Bay says the store is expected to re-open the second week of June. (The Canadian Press)

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(BC-Wildlife-Overpass)

B-C's Transportation Ministry says it has awarded a nearly six-million-dollar contract for the construction of a new wildlife overpass to protect bighorn sheep.

A statement from the province says the overpass south of Radium Hot Springs should significantly decrease vehicle collisions with the sheep along Highway 93.

It says the project also involves the construction of about six kilometres of wildlife fencing and gates to guide animals to the 30-metre-wide overpass.

The overpass is expected to be complete by next June. (The Canadian Press)

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(B-C Update by The Canadian Press)

The Canadian Press