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.
Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser says the Liberal government is set to announce unprecedented measures to help with the lack of affordable homes in Canada. He said the measures will start with an announcement Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will make in London, Ont., Wednesday afternoon before meeting with most of his party's 158 MPs.
The federal government says it will match donations to the Canadian Red Cross over the next two weeks to help Morocco recover from a devastating earthquake. International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen says every donation to the Red Cross made by individuals from Sept. 8 to 28 will be matched by the government, to a maximum of $3 million.
Bruce Banman, the MLA for Abbotsford South, says he is proud to join his friend B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad in the provincial legislature. BC United Leader Kevin Falcon says in a statement that Banman's move to the Conservatives is not entirely unexpected but it betrays those constituents who elected him to serve as part of the BC United team.
A large majority of Canadians are worried about climate change and believe it is the reason for an increase in extreme weather, a new national poll suggests. The polling firm asked more than 1,500 people about their views on climate change in an online survey conducted between Sept. 8 and 10.
The federal housing agency says in its updated outlook that the supply picture has improved somewhat in Ontario, but has worsened in other provinces like Quebec, Alberta, and British Columbia. Overall, CMHC estimates 3.45 million houses are needed beyond current construction trends, compared with 3.52 million in its outlook from June of last year.
The case of a former truck driver who caused the deadly Humboldt Broncos bus crash is in Federal Court, where arguments are being heard today over his possible deportation. Jaskirat Singh Sidhu was sentenced in 2019 to eight years after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing death and bodily harm in the Saskatchewan crash that killed 16 people and injured 13 others.