While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from Brenna Owen.
VANCOUVER -- The trial of a former Mountie accused of a security offence in relation to his work helping the Chinese government has concluded in British Columbia Supreme Court, with his defence counsel saying prosecutors hadn't proved their case that was entirely based on circumstantial evidence.
VANCOUVER -- The defence counsel for William Majcher, a former Mountie accused of preparing to coerce a Canadian resident for the benefit of the Chinese government, says the case against him is "purely circumstantial," and hasn't proved Majcher was referring to his alleged target in an email that was a central piece of evidence.
VANCOUVER -- A Crown prosecutor says the actions of a former RCMP officer accused of violating security law for the benefit of the Chinese government were an affront to Canadian sovereignty.
VANCOUVER -- The trial of a former RCMP officer accused of a security offence in relation to his alleged work for the Chinese government has been abruptly adjourned as prosecutors closed their case, catching defence lawyers by surprise.
VANCOUVER -- The British Columbia Supreme Court trial of a former RCMP officer accused of a security offence by working for China has heard testimony describing how three Chinese police officials went "missing" for six hours during an RCMP-escorted visit to Vancouver in 2018, setting off concerns they could be trying to illicitly repatriate someone.
VANCOUVER -- The trial of a former RCMP officer got underway in British Columbia Supreme Court Monday, with prosecutors alleging William Majcher prepared to coerce a resident of the province to return to China, where he was wanted for financial crimes.
A report from the office of British Columbia's auditor general says the province expected the small Village of Lytton to lead its own recovery from the wildfire that destroyed most of the community and killed two people in June 2021.
Every member of a former panel the British Columbia government appointed to identify old-growth for potential protection in 2021 now says they're concerned about continued logging in those same rare and "irreplaceable" forests.
The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal has ordered a former Chilliwack, B.C., school trustee to pay $750,000 to the local teachers association, finding his conduct during his tenure "poisoned" the workplaces of LGBTQ+ staff members.
As Canadian Food Inspection Agency workers prepared for a cull of hundreds of ostriches at a British Columbia farm, they came under a variety of harassment from opponents of the operation, said a senior official with the agency.
Melody Leinweber's latest tattoo is a stylized portrait of an ostrich with a colourful beak, pink and turquoise stars around its head and a twinkle in its eyes.
VANCOUVER -- Young customers and families filter in and out of Foglifter, a bustling cafe in Vancouver's Mount Pleasant neighbourhood, ordering croissants and lattes.
British Columbia's logging agency has changed a policy that conserved remnant old-growth forest in the province's northwest, with a government briefing note showing a plan to open those areas for harvesting has been approved.
Joshua Wright says a yellow cedar tree he photographed last year was "incredible," the largest he'd ever seen in a decade of hiking around Vancouver Island.
EDGEWOOD, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA -- Numerous gunshots have been heard at a British Columbia ostrich farm where the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it is moving ahead with a cull of hundreds of the birds.
EDGEWOOD, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA -- Multiple gunshots are ringing out at a British Columbia ostrich farm where the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it is moving ahead with a cull of hundreds of the birds.
EDGEWOOD, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA -- The highway overlooking Universal Ostrich Farms was lined with its supporters on Thursday, some hugging and crying, some jeering at Canadian Food Inspection Agency workers in white biohazard suits in the field below.
EDGEWOOD, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA -- The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it will move forward with "complete depopulation" of hundreds of ostriches at a British Columbia farm after the owners lost a bid to have their case against the cull heard by the Supreme Court of Canada.
British Columbia's Opposition Leader says he "didn't talk about mental health" as he discussed the defection of one of his caucus members this week.
The British Columbia government has proposed changes to the province's Employment Standards Act to allow up to 27 weeks of unpaid leave each year for people facing a "catastrophic" illness or injury.
Two unions representing British Columbia professionals and public service workers have escalated their weeks-long job action to include about 26,000 staff across 14 ministries and provincial Crown corporations.
An American outdoor leadership school says it is removing campsites along the west coast of Vancouver Island from its application to renew and expand its licence to run sea kayaking courses along British Columbia's coast next year.
SURREY -- Dozens of extortion attempts and shootings in Surrey, B.C., are threatening the way of life in the city, Mayor Brenda Locke said, calling the extortionists "thugs and criminals" who don't belong.
British Columbia Premier David Eby says the proposed merger between Teck Resources Ltd. and Anglo American PLC to create a $70 billion mining giant based in B.C. is a "vote of confidence" showing the province is a global hub for mining.
VANCOUVER -- Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says no city can completely eliminate all risks to public safety and steps to protect people won't be effective without addressing mental health challenges, which he described as the "root cause" of many concerns.
VANCOUVER -- Vancouver officials say a review of public safety at outdoor events found the Lapu Lapu Day street festival was appropriately assessed as low risk, with no indication to suggest it was to be the target of a vehicle-ramming attack that killed 11 people.
VANCOUVER -- Vancouver's mayor and chief constable are expected to present the final report from a review of public safety and planning for outdoor events prompted by the vehicle-ramming attack that killed 11 people at a Filipino street festival in April.
A Canadian-led patrol of the North Pacific has uncovered dozens of alleged fisheries violations, including illegal shark finning and killing of dolphins.
A raging wildfire that has prompted a state of local emergency and forced evacuations on south-central Vancouver Island has grown to span more than 20 square kilometres as it displays some of the most severe kinds of fire behaviour.
The employer of three workers who were trapped underground in a northern British Columbia mine has spoken of the joyous reaction when the men emerged safely, after more than 60 hours trapped underground.
British Columbia Premier David Eby says "most Canadians would be proud" to be considered mean and "nasty" for standing up for their sovereignty and economy in the face of threats from U.S. President Donald Trump's administration.
Canadians avoiding travel to the United States and banning American alcohol are among the reasons U.S. President Donald Trump thinks the country is "nasty" to deal with, the U.S. ambassador to Canada said Monday.
An engineer tasked with reviewing the spill of about two million tonnes of cyanide-soaked ore at a Yukon gold mine says it was one of the two "most catastrophic failures" in the 45-year history of the heap-leaching mining process.
The British Columbia government says a decade-old environmental assessment certificate remains valid for the construction of a natural gas pipeline in northern B.C., in a decision opposed by the province's Green Party and environmental groups.
VANCOUVER -- British Columbia has launched a new public safety program aimed at reducing shoplifting, property damage and other non-violent street crimes in business areas.
VANCOUVER -- Drier, warmer weather in much of British Columbia last month has contributed to an early melt, raising concern for widespread drought this summer, the province's latest snowpack and water supply bulletin says.
VANCOUVER -- The latest housing report from Metro Vancouver underscores the significant gap between current affordable rentals and the number of units required to prevent more people from falling into homelessness, the head of the BC Non-Profit Housing Society said as the district released its data Friday.
Steep American duties on Canadian softwood lumber were expected to be a focal point as British Columbia Premier David Eby met with Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Nine Greater Victoria school trustees fired by the British Columbia government earlier this year have filed a court petition to get their jobs back.
British Columbia drivers looked to the gas pumps Tuesday for a sign of tax relief after the early-morning approval of legislation that ended the consumer carbon tax after 17 years.
British Columbia drivers are looking at the gas pumps for a sign of tax relief after the early-morning approval of legislation ending the carbon tax after 17 years.
British Columbia's government is fast-tracking the end of its consumer carbon tax ahead of the lifting of the federal equivalent on Tuesday, with Premier David Eby saying consumers should expect immediate price relief at gas pumps.
British Columbia's government is trying to fast-track the end of its consumer carbon tax ahead of the lifting of the federal equivalent on Tuesday.
British Columbia's politicians are back in the legislature after a two-week break with the government trying to fast-track the end of the consumer carbon tax in the province.
British Columbia has introduced a new framework for consultation on mining claims, but the B.C. Assembly of First Nations regional chief says it "does not come close" to the collaborative approach outlined in the province's Indigenous rights law.
VANCOUVER -- A study has found nearly half of the landslides, debris flows and washouts that occurred during British Columbia's atmospheric river disaster in November 2021 originated in areas that had been logged or burned by wildfire.
VANCOUVER -- British Columbia's budget shows that the impending end of the province's consumer carbon tax will leave a roughly $1.5-billion hole in its revenue streams, with one expert saying that "there will be both winners and losers" from the change.
SURREY, B.C. -- Canadians in several cities have joined a series of "Tesla Takedown" protests happening across the United States and parts of Europe.
British Columbia's health minister says "now is the time" for American doctors and nurses to move to the province as it fast tracks recognition of their credentials during an escalating trade war between Canada and the United States.
VANCOUVER -- The dozens of Kentucky bourbons listed on the BC Liquor Stores website range from a two-ounce bottle of Maker's Mark, priced at $5.29, to a $2,400 bottle of Woodford Reserve, aged in cognac barrels and presented in a crystal decanter.
VANCOUVER -- British Columbia Premier David Eby says it has been "absolutely inspirational" to see people step up across the province and Canada to support homegrown businesses in response to the tariff threat from U.S. President Donald Trump.
British Columbia's energy minister says the province will soon require Canadian-made products to fulfil renewable fuel standards for gasoline and diesel.
British Columbia's former chief coroner says she's disappointed by the province's overhaul of its program that provides prescription alternatives to toxic street drugs, a shift she says "feels like a really impulsive political decision."
SKIDEGATE, B.C. -- With tears streaming down his face, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a gathering of Haida Nation leaders and community members that he couldn't think of a better place to make one of his final trips as Canada's leader.
WHISTLER, B.C. -- Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, took part in the Whistler, B.C., welcome ceremony for the Invictus Games, with Harry saying it looked like everyone in Whistler had come out to support the athletes.
Researcher Laurenne Schiller says "it's not rocket science" that recovery for threatened or endangered species in Canada is driven by stopping the primary cause for their decline.
VANCOUVER -- The relationship between the U.S. and Canada has "fundamentally changed," regardless of whether U.S. President Donald Trump's promised tariffs on Canadian goods materialize on Saturday, according to the chair of a new B.C. cabinet "war room" to tackle the threat.
VANCOUVER -- British Columbia Energy Minister Adrian Dix says the looming threat of American tariffs raises the stakes for boosting the province's energy independence.
Conservation groups in British Columbia say the federal government has dragged its feet for 10 years on fulfilling its duty to complete critical habitat mapping for endangered caribou herds, and without urgent action, the animals will disappear.
