Kelowna’s Ingo Abresch will have a very merry holiday, after claiming an amazing $31-million jackpot from the Lotto Max draw on September 23, 2025 that he bought on BCLC’s PlayNow.com.

Abresch, who has a PlayNow lotto subscription, was at work when he found out he won.

“I looked at my account and saw a big number in the right corner. I clicked on the ticket, and the song rang,” explained Abresch. “I was dumbfounded, there were lots of zeros!”

Abresch wasn’t the only one feeling dumbfounded. When he found out about the life-changing won, he called up his partner.

“[She] was hugely skeptical about it,” says Abresch. “Even when I phoned her, she had to ask who was calling – she thought it was a scam.”

Calling the win surreal and unbelievable, Abresch says while the $31-million will make retirement easier, he doesn’t plan on changing his lifestyle, adding he will do “a few more trips” and “not worry when dining out”.

So far in 2025, B.C. lottery players have redeemed more than $243 million in winnings playing Lotto Max. Lotto Max is a nationwide lottery game drawn on Tuesdays and Fridays after 7:30 p.m. (PST), with a top prize of $1,000 a day for life. Players can purchase tickets at lottery retailers or at PlayNow.com. Players can check their lottery tickets anytime, anywhere using the BCLC Lotto! App.

BCLC offers socially responsible gambling entertainment while generating income to benefit all British Columbians. Players can visit PlayNow.com to learn how to set time and money limits. For more information on tools and resources to encourage healthy play, visit GameSense.com.

A dispute over abortion messaging on high-profile billboards in the West Kelowna, B.C., area has led to a major policy shift at a company that controls many of the signs.

B.C. Billboards said it will no longer display ads supporting or opposing abortion, after a pro-choice advocate challenged its long-standing practice of selling billboard ad space for the Kelowna Right to Life Society's anti-abortion campaigns.

The decision came after Sophie Harms, a local pro-choice advocate, tried earlier this year to purchase billboard space for her own message.

Harms approached B.C. Billboards and Pattison Outdoor Advertising, the two companies that sell ad space for billboards located along the sides of Highway 97 on Westbank First Nation land near West Kelowna.

However, both companies eventually refused her request.

Pattison cited a policy of not accepting ads involving controversial topics such as abortion, and Harms said B.C. Billboards did not respond to her request at the time and later refused her, despite the company's history of allowing anti-abortion billboards.

"[Anti-abortion billboards] have had such a long-standing presence that they've almost been taken for granted," Harms said.

"And that is why it's shocking [these companies] refused the idea of having a pro-choice billboard ... It's not OK."

B.C. Humanist Association gives legal support

After learning about the refusals the B.C. Humanist Association stepped in, connecting Harms with legal counsel.

"She wanted to put up billboards saying that abortion is safe, normal and common," said executive director Ian Bushfield.

"We thought that was great. That was a fantastic initiative and one that we wanted to get behind."

The lawyers provided guidance and helped craft arguments in emails to the companies challenging their decisions.

They cited protections under the B.C Human Rights Code, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex — including pregnancy-related health care such as abortion, Bushfield said.

Policy change at B.C. Billboards

While the companies ultimately did not run Harms’ ad, the pressure contributed to B.C. Billboards confirming it would change its policy regarding abortion ads.

The B.C. Humanist Association provided CBC News with an email sent by B.C. Billboards president Jim Wannop to one of the lawyers involved in the case.

In the email, Wannop confirmed the policy change, saying "we will no longer be advertising pro-life or pro-abortion advertising. Any existing ads to that effect will be removed at the end of their contract."

CBC News reached out to Wannop by email and phone requesting an interview, but did not hear back.

Harms said she is pleased with the policy change, even if it wasn't the outcome she was seeking.

"It is absolutely a victory," she said.

"When I started this campaign, I had low expectations. But I’m constantly surprised at the success."

'We would like to continue'

The Kelowna Right to Life Society has relied on billboards along Highway 97 for years to share its anti-abortion campaigns.

In recent years the society has expanded its advocacy to oppose medical assistance in dying (MAID) and dedicated billboard ads to the cause.

Spokesperson Marlon Bartram said the group is seeking clarity from B.C. Billboards about the new policy.

The society currently has two ads with B.C. Billboards that are set to expire in about six months, according to Bartram.

"They have been good with us, and we have been treated fairly, and we would like to continue in the future," he said.

"We think that having a public debate on a difficult issue like this is important. All sides ought to put forth their arguments and positions, and may the best ones win in the end."

WATCH | Anti-abortion billboards to be removed:

Billboards with anti-abortion messages may soon be coming down in the Kelowna area. For many years, a local billboard company has allowed the signs along Highway 97 through West Kelowna. As Brady Strachan reports, pressure from a local pro-choice advocate has led to a policy change.

Bartram said the society will continue its campaigns through weekly rallies outside the Kelowna General Hospital and social media campaigns.

As for Harms, she's now exploring alternative ways to share her pro-choice message — including transit advertisements, poster campaigns, or partnering with a private landowner to construct a billboard.

'In Canada, I can't teach'

UPDATE 4:45 p.m.

The elected representative for the B.C. Interior region on BC Teachers’ Council said the group has been working diligently over the past four to five years to remove barriers for those seeking teacher certification in B.C.

“Council does recognize that this is incredibly frustrating and difficult. We have been working through as many barriers as we can and do understand that there is still some work to do in this area,” said Danielle Neer.

She said the challenge is that there is one certification standard for people educated in British Columbia and those educated outside the province. While labour mobility laws now mean anyone certified elsewhere in Canada is automatically certified in B.C., that doesn’t apply to those coming from another country.

“While we have recognized that this is a problem for some internationally-educated teachers, we want to maintain a high standard of excellence for teachers in B.C., and so that’s where the regulatory and public interest component of the BC Teachers’ Council really comes up against some of these cases (like Sharon Boscoe).”

There used to be a loophole where foreign-trained teachers with years of experience could bypass some of the requirements, but that was quashed by legal counsel. Neer said a recent attempt to introduce alternate pathways for some experienced, foreign-trained educators was voted down by some of the council’s K-12 partners.

“It was seen as deprofessionalizing the work of teachers,” said Neer, who went through a similar situation herself when she moved to this province before changes to labour mobility rules.

“I had done my teacher training in Ontario, and I couldn’t get a certificate here until I did some courses. So, she’s absolutely right. There are many people who do face this. It’s incredibly frustrating.

“What we as councillors feel the tension is just, like said, to maintain the high expectations because at this point, we do not have alternate pathways, so we have to maintain what we have agreed upon – all the different stakeholders sitting around the table have agreed upon as essential or important for teacher education.”

ORIGINAL 12:20 p.m.

A woman who was an elementary school teacher in the UK for 15 years is frustrated with the hurdles she faces to practice her profession in B.C.

Sharon Boscoe moved to Kelowna with her family more than four years ago. She would like to teach French Immersion, but has been denied a teaching certificate. To get one, she was told she would have to go back to university.

“I’m a permanent resident in Canada, and I mean, for me, being a teacher was part of the points that allowed me to come to Canada, because, obviously, you get points for your skilled work. So, having many years of experience as a teacher was part of the reason why I was able to gain enough points to get to Canada, yet now that I’m in Canada, I can’t teach,” explained Boscoe.

She accepted that she would have to go through the accreditation process. She submitted all her required documents, including University certificates and transcripts. That’s why she was so surprised when her evaluation results said she was not eligible, even on a temporary basis, while she brushed up on Canadian studies.

Instead, she was told she needed 15 more university credits.

“However, the real shock is that the credits don't need to be in any specific area; you can choose from a list of hundreds of courses, none of which are related to teaching, just to tick the box for extra credits,” said Boscoe.

“It basically means I would have to go back to university for about two years, and not quite do it all again, but it would almost be worth just starting again, because nobody’s going to do this. No one who’s been a teacher for 15 years is going to go back to university with undergraduates and do six credits of English, three credits of math, three credits of science, three credits of Canadian studies,” said Boscoe.

She was told she could challenge the results. That prompted her to write a letter to the director of certification.

“I said, this is my stance on it – I think this is probably one of the reasons why you have a shortage of teachers. Because as a working parent, which a lot of teachers are, they’re not just going to do this. They’re not going to go back to university and study for another several years for something which they’re already qualified to do and have done for many years.”

Adding to her frustration was that many of the credit courses listed have nothing to do with teaching.

“You’re literally looking at a piece of paper that somebody may have gotten 10, 15, 20 years ago, and in the interim, they’ve been a teacher for all that time, but that’s not taken into account,” said Boscoe. “It’s taken into account that you didn’t do three additional credits of English composition and literature when you were 22, but now that you’re 40, that matters. And it just means that people aren’t doing it.

I’ve spoken to loads of people. I’ve been on Facebook groups to try and find people in this situation. Everybody’s just said, we didn’t bother.”

Castanet contacted the Ministry of Education and Childcare about Boscoe’s situation. The ministry said the BC Teachers’ Council – an independent body made up of educators and education partners – sets the teacher certification requirements for the province.

“The Teacher Regulation Branch (TRB) can only issue certificates based on those requirements,” said the ministry.

The ministry said approximately 85 per cent of the over 1,900 international applicants in 2025 qualified to receive a teaching certificate. It did not say what happened to the other 15 per cent.

Boscoe said it’s not just foreign-trained teachers facing hurdles to practice in B.C. It’s people in many other professions. In her email to the director of education, she pointed out that the International Credentials Recognition Act, which came into effect in 2024, was supposed to remove barriers for internationally trained professionals, including teachers.

“So, I said I would appreciate an explanation as to how this new act is actually working, because it doesn’t seem to be working very well. And I did get a response that basically said, this is the rule, this is what I’ve got to stick to.”

She also questions Canada’s targeted pathway for permanent residency.

“You can come to Canada based on the points that you’ve got from being a teacher, but once you get here, you can’t teach, unless you go back to university?” said Boscoe.

“It’s almost like, 'Here, come to Canada, we want you, but oh, now you have to spend a whole bunch of money in Canada.'”