B.C. to end state of emergency as wildfire risk winds down
Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 14 Sep, 2023 05:12 PM
The British Columbia government says it is ending the state of emergency imposed last month when thousands of residents were chased out of their homes by wildfires.
The government says in a statement the wildfire risk is diminishing in much of the province as temperatures cool, allowing most residents to return home.
The inaugural sailings for a passenger ferry between downtown Vancouver and Nanaimo, B.C., were cancelled Monday because of a power outage. A statement on the Hullo ferry website says the loss of power to the berth and vessels affected the assessments of its systems and the safety and reliability of its operations.
The call comes as a heat wave blankets much of the province, raising memories of the deadly 2021 heat dome event. It isn't expected to get as hot this week, but the advocates say municipalities need to ensure that tenants don't face deadly risks of overheating in their homes.
Experts say the national housing crisis is becoming a political threat for the Liberal government, with voters likely to look elsewhere if drastic action isn't taken soon. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came under heat recently for saying the federal government wasn't primarily responsible for housing, though it can and will help with the crisis.
The Canada Border Services Agency says officers discovered two live tarantulas hidden inside plastic containers at the Edmonton International Airport earlier this year. In May, officers saw irregularities in a small package from Hong Kong and found a male tarantula hidden inside a plastic container.
The victim was at a bus stop when he had bumped into an unknown man on a bike. There was an exchange between the two, and the suspect then shot at the victim, hitting him in the face. Thankfully, the victim was immediately transported to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Mounties in British Columbia say a man they describe as a "dangerous repeat offender" has been arrested in Kelowna. Police then waited until the 32-year-old man and a woman entered the vehicle and drove it to a business where they were arrested.