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.
A statement from the air carrier said the most recent scheduled flight from Maui to Vancouver was cancelled as access to the airport was closed. It also said a larger, and empty, plane lifted off from Vancouver Wednesday evening, bound for the island, to pick up the stranded passengers and those booked on the next regularly scheduled flight.
In 1962, then-prime minister John Diefenbaker visited Hugh Segal's school in Montreal to present the principal with a copy of the newly minted Canadian Bill of Rights. So impressed was Segal with Dief's description of Canada as a country that was open, free, democratic and based on the presumption of innocence that, at the tender age of 12, he became a lifelong Conservative.
Wildfire crews across British Columbia are keeping a close eye on the backcountry after recent lightning storms raised the potential for smouldering fires to erupt as the next hot spell arrives this weekend.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault released draft regulations Thursday that are designed to clean Canada's electricity grid in an affordable way by 2035. The regulations would drive up the cost of energy slightly, but federal officials say that would be offset by the savings expected to come from moving away from fossil fuels.
The fire service says in a statement that the leading cause of fires remains discarded smoking materials including matches, lighters, candles, cigarettes, and drug paraphernalia, causing nearly 60 per cent of all incidents. The fire service says it's also worried about more fires occurring in single-room occupancy buildings, as well as a notable spike in outdoor fires.
Federal Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan is launching an examination of the recently resolved British Columbia port dispute to see if "structural issues" in negotiations led to a 13-day work stoppage. In a written statement released through social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, O'Regan says officials will immediately begin by reviewing reports on previous, similar disputes.