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Safeguards like the land-title registry system make title fraud difficult to commit in B.C., experts say. But there are things homeowners can do to protect themselves.

The $230 million estimate is subject to change and include $52 million for contingency and inflation.

Here are some of the top business stories of this past week

VANCOUVER — More than 100 workers in Port Alberni are the latest forest industry employees to face layoffs as Western Forest Products confirms it will not restart its sawmill in that Vancouver Island city.

OTTAWA — The federal government posted a budgetary deficit of $3.6 billion in the first eight months of the fiscal year. In its monthly fiscal monitor, the finance department says the deficit compares to a deficit of $73.

The province will have to find housing for the 20 per cent of newcomers it absorbs, on top of current needs.

Home resale activity is showing signs of stabilizing after dropping to low levels

The rate for purpose-built rentals in the region fell below one per cent last year, while the average asking rent for vacant units jumped 43 per cent year over year

Mortgage and title fraudsters who impersonate homeowners and tenants have targeted at least 32 properties in Ontario and British Columbia, investigators and official warnings suggest.

About 200 jobs are expected to be lost as sawmill and pellet operations closed in Chetwynd; close to 300 more with temporary mill closure in Houston