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Victoria is spending $5.2 million in training programs aimed at helping nearly 1,000 unemployed British Columbians transition back into the labour force or to further their education.

The B.C. Securities Commission has banned two Lower Mainland residents from trading securities after they admitted to breaking various securities laws when they solicited funds for a failed investment scheme that raised approximately $9.

A project led by a subsidiary of Vancouver's Lignol Energy Corp. (TSX-V:LEC) has won a $4.7 million in funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada. The new project will add to Lignol's industrial scale pilot plant in Burnaby.

An 8.3% increase in imports overshadowed a 3.3% increase in exports, pushing Canada into a $1.4 billion trade deficit in July, Statistics Canada reported Thursday. Imports rose to $31.7 billion while exports increased to $30.

Vancouver-based Coastal Contacts Inc. (TSX:COA) reported record sales in its third quarter ending July 31, 2009. Sales rose 15% to a quarterly record of $37.5 million from $32.7 million in sales in the same quarter a year ago.

B.C. remains one of the most expensive places to purchase a home with affordability above long-term averages, but it is slowly improving, according to the latest report by RBC Economics. Home ownership costs for detached bungalows moved down to 58.

Vancouver-based Telus Corp. (TSX:T) has acquired Markam, Ontario-based Black's Photo Corp. for $28 million.

Vancouver's Western Standard Metals Ltd. (TSX-V:WSM) plans to acquire an Idaho gold project from Vancouver's Freegold Ventures Ltd. (TSX:ITF).

North Vancouver-based A&W Food Services of Canada has signed its first multi-site franchise agreement as part of its plans for aggressive growth in Ontario.

Victoria will provide the majority of the funding for a new $133.3 million faculty of pharmaceutical science building at the University of British Columbia. The expansion will increase the number of new pharmacists in B.C. by 47%.