Close X
Thursday, November 14, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. rescue team waiting for Turkey quake go-ahead

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 09 Feb, 2023 04:29 PM
  • B.C. rescue team waiting for Turkey quake go-ahead

VANCOUVER - A British Columbia search and rescue team is ready and willing to head to Turkey to help after a devastating earthquake, but it's facing multiple hurdles as it awaits approval from federal authorities.

Justin Mulcahy, spokesman for Vancouver's Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Team, says "there has been no official request" from Ottawa to deploy the team.

B.C.'s Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma says the province reached out to Public Safety Canada on Monday morning, just hours after the quake, because such emergency assistance needs to be co-ordinated.

Ma says the province has since been in constant daily contact with Public Safety Canada but has "yet to receive direction."

The minister says she can't presume to know what conversations Global Affairs Canada is having with partners as she waits on a federal response.

Mulcahy says the Vancouver rescue team is also waiting on international accreditation from a UN-affiliated agency that would allow them to deploy on short notice.

"We're working on that through this accreditation process so we can be in a position in the future to be able to immediately deploy our teams internationally," Mulcahy said.

"Our focus has been on having these teams available for use locally, provincially and federally."

The Vancouver Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Team operates under the city's fire department.

Taylan Tokmak, Turkey's consul general in Vancouver, said Wednesday that a separate volunteer group, the Burnaby Urban Search and Rescue Team, is already in the Turkish quake zone.

Ma says the Burnaby team "self-deployed" this week.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake, followed by several powerful aftershocks, ravaged parts of southeastern Turkey and northwest Syria, flattening buildings and killing many thousands of people.

MORE National ARTICLES

'Sikh' struck on head in hate-motivated assault in Canada

'Sikh' struck on head in hate-motivated assault in Canada
Upon reaching the scene, police found that a man had been struck on the head causing his "religious head covering" -- which they later identified as turban -- to fall on the ground. The suspect allegedly passed derogatory comments at the victim before he left the TTC station, the Toronto Police said in a statement.

'Sikh' struck on head in hate-motivated assault in Canada

42 year old man ends up with serious injuries after being stabbed in Granville Entertainment District

42 year old man ends up with serious injuries after being stabbed in Granville Entertainment District
Officers patrolling near Granville and Smithe Street were flagged down by the victim around 9:40 p.m. Sunday after he was attacked. The man had serious injuries and was rushed to hospital. He is expected to recover.    

42 year old man ends up with serious injuries after being stabbed in Granville Entertainment District

Abbotsford Police investigate Saturday night shooting

Abbotsford Police investigate Saturday night shooting
Upon arrival, officers located a male victim in his twenties. The man sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The initial investigation suggests that this incident was not random.

Abbotsford Police investigate Saturday night shooting

Man dies following a single-car collision in East Vancouver Sunday night

Man dies following a single-car collision in East Vancouver Sunday night
The 65-year-old driver was heading west near Nootka Street and East 6 Avenue, when the Chevrolet Malibu he was driving suddenly veered off the road and struck a pole at about 7:35 p.m. The driver went into medical distress and died after being taken to hospital.

Man dies following a single-car collision in East Vancouver Sunday night

Federal ministers begin three-day cabinet retreat

Federal ministers begin three-day cabinet retreat
Trudeau is fresh off a week of cross-country travel focused on Canada's push to expand its battery and electric-vehicle industries, part of a broader goal to get more competitive on clean technology. Senior Liberals are expected to use the retreat to hammer out political and policy priorities for the months ahead, keeping in mind their confidence-and-supply deal with the NDP.    

Federal ministers begin three-day cabinet retreat

Canada inspires U.S. refugee settlement program

Canada inspires U.S. refugee settlement program
The U.S. describes the program, which will allow ordinary Americans to privately sponsor refugees, as the boldest innovation in refugee resettlement in four decades. They also acknowledge that it borrows heavily from Canada, where citizens have been able to privately help resettle refugees since the 1970s.    

Canada inspires U.S. refugee settlement program