The number of active wildfires in British Columbia is increasing after holding below 350 for days as officials warn of lightning in the forecast. There are just under 360 active blazes in B.C., including 25 sparked since Thursday as many areas in the southern part of the province bake under hot and dry conditions.
Poilievre made his announcement in front of a few dozen workers at the Stelco steel plant in Hamilton, with steel being one of the products he says China is trying to undermine in Canada. Poilievre said the Chinese government is "exploiting weak labour and environmental standards to produce artificially cheap steel, aluminum and EVs that create more pollution."
As gala apples ripen on British Columbia's trees, the president of the provincial fruit growers' group worries about a devastating season without a way for farmers to refrigerate their crops. Peter Simonsen of the BC Fruit Growers' Association says without infrastructure provided by the BC Tree Fruits Cooperative, which abruptly closed last month, it may not be worth picking this year, leaving a "carpet of apples" on the floor of orchards.
A new database from a project monitoring law enforcement and corrections in Canada lists more than 2,100 deaths in custody over the past 24 years. Alexander McClelland, associate criminology professor at Carleton University and lead researcher with the Tracking (In)Justice project, says the database was compiled using media reports, provincial data and more than 20 freedom of information requests.
British Columbia's Human Rights Tribunal has ruled it has the authority to hear cases about allegations of online hate speech. The tribunal says provincial human rights laws against publications that perpetrate discrimination or hatred fall under the province's jurisdiction, not the federal government's control over telecommunications.
B-C's jobs minister says the province is holding steady in the face of high interest rates and slower growth globally, adding nearly 64-thousand jobs in the past year. Brenda Bailey says the unemployment rate is 5.5 per cent, the second lowest among the provinces, while B-C had the highest average hourly wage last month.