VANCOUVER - B.C. MAN'S PARENTS TO RETRIEVE BODY FROM LAS VEGAS

A relative of a Maple Ridge man who was among those killed by a gunman in Las Vegas says Jordan McIldoon's parents have gone to Nevada to bring home their son's body.

The relative says McIldoon would have turned 24 on Friday and was a month shy of completing a course to qualify as a heavy-duty mechanic.

A mother of four from Alberta was also among the dozens of people killed when a gunman opened fire on a large crowd gathered at an outdoor country music festival last night.

Victoria police chief Del Manak and his family, and Yukon Opposition leader Stacey Hassard were also in Las Vegas during the attack but weren't hurt.

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B.C. WOMAN AMONG PEOPLE WHO HID FOR HOURS AFTER VEGAS SHOOTING

A British Columbia woman who just returned from Las Vegas is recounting the terror and panic that took hold during yesterday's mass shooting.

Lisa Manley of Maple Ridge says she was walking along the main strip when she heard people screaming that there was an active shooter.

Manley says she hid in the kitchen area of a hotel conference centre with a number of other people.

She says they were huddled there for hours until police told them it was safe to come out.

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DISABILED TO GET MONTHLY TRANSPORTATION PAYMENT

More than 110,000 British Columbia residents who receive disability assistance will now be getting a monthly payment for transportation.

The $52 transportation supplement will be added to monthly assistance payments, starting in December.

Disability advocates complained after the previous Liberal government increased monthly assistance rates by $77 but dropped the portion for bus passes.

The minority NDP government has also increased monthly disability payments by 100 to $1,100.

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B.C. LEGISLATION WOULD PLACE 2-YEAR BAN ON LOBBYING

New legislation proposed by the B.C. government would restrict lobbying efforts by former politicians and their senior staff members.

Attorney General David Eby says the amendments to the Lobbyists Registration Act would ban people from lobbying government for two years after they leave their positions in public office.

Eby says the legislation would increase transparency and eliminate undue influence on the use of insider information by lobbyists.

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COURT HEARS FEDS IGNORED INDIGENOUS CONCERNS ON TRANS MOUNTAIN

A lawyer has told a Federal Appeal Court in Vancouver that Canada's decision to approve the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion was a "one-way street" that ignored the economic and title rights of Indigenous people.

Elin Sigurdson, who represents the Upper Nicola Band, said the project would put the marine environment and human health at risk.

First Nations, environmental groups and the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby are all challenging the $7.4-billion project that was approved last November.

It would triple the capacity of the Edmonton-to-Burnaby pipeline and increase tanker traffic seven fold.

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OFFICIALS CONSIDER RELOCATING PROBLEM DEER

Officials in a southeastern British Columbia city say urban deer numbers are climbing again, but a cull is not an option.

Kimberley Mayor Don McCormick says city councillors will instead consider relocating the bothersome animals.

A cull was carried out in 2012 but McCormick says since the city relies on tourism, it can't afford the negative publicity that would follow such a move.

He says council has set aside $100,000 to pursue a possible relocation initiative that would see the animals fitted with a radio collar and moved far away from urban areas.

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TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD INVESTIGATES FATAL HELICOPTER CRASH

The Transportation Safety Board has sent a two-member team to the site of a fatal helicopter crash on Vancouver Island.

A spokesman for the safety board says the team arrived Monday morning to investigate why the Robinson 44 four-seater helicopter went down in heavy bush, just west of Campbell River.

Two people were aboard when the single-engine chopper crashed at about 5 p.m. Sunday, and one person died at the scene.

A cause of the crash is undetermined, but the weather in the area was good at the time.

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ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS IN COURT TO OPPOSE AQUARIUM FIGHT AGAINST CETACEAN BAN

Animal rights activists have placed a row of mock tombstones of dead orcas outside the courtroom where the Vancouver Aquarium is challenging the city's ban on cetaceans in captivity.

The tombstones carry the names of whales including Aurora and Qila, two belugas who died weeks apart at the aquarium last year.

Aquarium officials are asking the B.C. Supreme Court to overturn the cetacean ban because they say it fundamentally changes the aquarium's ability to deliver its mission of conserving oceans.

Animal Justice and Zoocheck, which have been granted intervener status in the case, will be opposing the aquarium’s legal argument that confining animals in captivity constitutes a constitutionally protected form of expression.

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BULLET HOLES IN HIGH SCHOOL FRONT DOOR PROMPT CLOSURE

A high school in Burnaby has been closed for the day after a staff member found bullet holes in the front entrance upon arrival on Monday morning.

Police say staff made the decision to evacuate the school out of caution and there is no public safety concern.

Officers on scene confirmed shots were fired in the area just after midnight Sunday and not when school was in session.

RCMP have not said if any suspects have been identified.

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THE CANADIAN PRESS, Vancouver

News from © The Canadian Press, 2017