After B.C.'s walk-back, uncertainty clouds Toronto decriminalization bid

The Canadian Press
Fri, May 10, 2024 



Toronto's bid to decriminalize the possession of illegal drugs for personal use has been plunged into uncertainty in recent days, as drug policy experts suggest political debates over British Columbia's backtracking on the issue have hurt the city's application.

The prime minister and the federal minister for mental health and addictions have both separately said that the city doesn't currently have an "active" application for the government to consider. Toronto Public Health, meanwhile, has said its application remains with Health Canada amid ongoing discussions.

Gillian Kolla, a public health researcher, says "it's not at all clear what the holdup might be" for the more than two-year-old application. But she worries the process has been coloured by politicization, with the "very fulsome" bid at risk of not being judged on its merits.


"There seems to be a total lack of urgency on the part of the federal government to respond to this application," said Kolla, a Toronto-based drug policy expert.

The city made a request to Health Canada in early 2022 for an exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. That application was put back under the spotlight recently after British Columbia scaled back its own decriminalization pilot program.

The B.C. government got federal approval this week to recriminalize public drug possession, a major climb down for the first-of-its-kind pilot in Canada.

Amid pressure from Conservative opposition to kibosh Toronto's proposal, federal Minister for Mental Health and Addictions Ya'ara Saks called the city's application "dormant" and said it has not reached her desk.

Asked to clarify, her office called Toronto's request "incomplete" and said Health Canada was waiting for responses to questions sent months ago about the application. The questions had to with whether the application – which is backed by Toronto police – "adequately addressed the dual objectives of public health and public safety."

"As such, the exemption application is not at the state where it would be in front of the Minister for consideration and is not an active application," Saks' office wrote in a statement this week.

The office said it would not comment on the specifics of the application when asked what questions Health Canada sent and to whom. Health Canada directed multiple requests for comment to the minister's office.

Toronto Public Health did not respond to questions about the statement from Saks' office and declined a request for an interview with the chief medical officer of health, Dr. Eileen de Villa.

The city's public health unit has said that its application for decriminalization is still with Health Canada, calling the discussions "active and ongoing."

"We are committed to maintaining an open and constructive partnership with Health Canada," Toronto Public Heath wrote in a statement earlier this week.

DJ Larkin, the executive director of the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition, said "regardless of who's waiting on who," Toronto's well-supported application is languishing before an overly onerous review process.

"We know that police forces and communities across the country and across the world already know that criminalization does not work," Larkin said.

"But because we have to go through these applications for exemptions, even in a circumstance where maybe, possession laws are not being heavily enforced already, it shines a light. It creates one of those sparks for controversy."

The federal government's pace when it comes to dealing with Toronto's application has long garnered criticism from drug users and advocates who say it fails to match the urgency required of an overdose crisis that has left hundreds of people dead in the city every year.

Decriminalization has been publicly backed by Toronto officials since at least 2018 for its stated goal to reduce stigma and treat the overdose crisis squarely as a health issue, rather than a criminal one. Criminalizing drug possession, Toronto's application says, only makes it harder for people who use drugs to get support.

The city sent a preliminary request to Health Canada in January 2022 and, after more consultations, updated its submission in March 2023. The proposal calls for decriminalization to be paired with a host of more direct public health responses, including scaled up harm reduction and mental health services.

The city's proposal goes further than British Columbia, by also shielding young people from criminal charges and extending the exemption to all drugs for personal possession.

The model was co-sponsored by Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw, who described the city as already under "de facto" decriminalization in the city's 2023 submission. Officers have been directed to minimize personal possession charges and federal prosecutors had been told to only pursue the most serious cases of personal possession, such as those tied to impaired driving or posing a risk to children.

The application has nonetheless been lampooned by the province. Premier Doug Ford has promised to fight it "tooth and nail" and on Thursday the province's associate minister of mental health and addictions called it a "made-in-Toronto disaster."

A spokesperson for Ontario's health minister noted, however, that cities are free to ask for a federal exemption without provincial approval.

But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office last week said the province of Ontario would be "required to support any request from Toronto, and they have not done so."

British Columbia's recent move to recriminalize possession in public spaces marked a major change of course. Premier David Eby said the move followed police concerns that officers had limited ways to deal with public drug use, though critics argue those concerns are unfounded.

"There's no data to link decriminalization to increased public safety issues or even increased public drug consumption," said Larkin, who is based in Vancouver.

The political debate has also inflamed fears over the topic of decriminalization, said Kolla.

"Even with legalized, regulated drugs like alcohol, we do have measures in place that to try to balance, you know, sometimes people are drunk and disorderly in public spaces and how do we deal with that," she said.

"On the flip side here, one of the worries is that we have such a long history of criminalizing people who use currently illegal drugs even if they were not causing any problems or any public disorder, that this is going to be another tool to just criminalize poverty and criminalize visible homelessness."

- with files from Stephanie Taylor and Mickey Djuric in Ottawa.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2024.

Jordan Omstead, The Canadian Press

Halifax renews push for development tool to address 'historic wrongs' in Black communities

CBC
Fri, May 10, 2024

Gentrification in the Nort End of Halifax has seen new apartments and high rents alongside public housing developments like Uniacke Square on Gottingen Street (Rob Short/CBC - image credit)


Halifax's North End has changed dramatically in the past decade, and Treno Morton can't help but wonder what it would look like if its established Black residents had a real say in how it grew.

New apartments and condos have brought in more residents and businesses, but bump up against public housing and buildings that were once affordable.

"Once it's all said and done and the development's finished, you don't see anyone of African Nova Scotian descent living in these buildings," Morton said.


Morton, of the North End Halifax New Roots Community Land Trust, is among multiple residents — and the municipality itself — calling for the province to change legislation that would allow Halifax to create community benefit agreements.

These agreements would grant communities legal standing in new projects, so residents could require affordable housing, green space, or jobs as part of a development.

Treno Morton stands beside the Cogswell redevelopment project in downtown Halifax.

Treno Morton leads the North End Halifax New Roots Community Land Trust, which is hoping to get a piece of land within the new Cogswell District. (Shaina Luck/CBC)

In November 2022, Halifax officially asked the province to change the city charter to allow for these agreements, and Mayor Mike Savage wrote a letter urging the move in 2023.

They might have changed what happened with former north-end school sites like St.Patrick's-Alexandra or Bloomfield, Morton said, which are still sitting vacant.

A new housing development in Halifax's North End on the corner of Robie and Almon streets.

A new housing development in Halifax's North End on the corner of Robie and Almon streets. (Rob Short/CBC)

"Perhaps we would have saw that community centre that we wanted to see, and the developer could have still had his 15- to 20-storey tower," Morton said about St. Patrick's-Alexandra school, which closed in 2010.

Under the city's density bonusing program, developers get extra size or height in exchange for paying fees that go into a fund for non-profit housing organizations or public art. Municipal staff are also working on an affordable housing strategy that could include tools like inclusionary zoning, which requires new buildings to keep some units affordable.

But, while both of those options can include community input, they don't bring residents to the table in an equal decision-making way.

Carolann Wright, executive director of the African Nova Scotian Road to Economic Prosperity, lived in Toronto for years where these agreements are often used. She said she was "really surprised" to find Halifax didn't have them when she moved back to the city.

The agreements were also used in Vancouver to ensure community centres and affordable housing came out of the 2010 Olympics, and the city brought in a formal policy in 2018 that applies to large-scale developments.

Wright, who meets with Black communities across the province, said she sees people "light up" when they learn about land trusts, zoning changes or community benefit agreements that could make an impact where they live.

"We have an opportunity to really have our communities the way that we want them, to do the things that we probably never imagined years ago," Wright said.

"We can also redress some of those historic wrongs that have been done as a result of policy that's been oppressive, and policy that really dismissed the needs and wants and desires of the community."

The historic Black community of Upper Hammonds Plains has also seen rapid growth, but had success last year when the Halifax Regional Municipality tightened local zoning laws.

However, Curtis Whiley, board member of the Upper Hammonds Plains Community Land Trust, said that's only a temporary measure. He said their area will need benefit agreements to ensure the community isn't eroded further.

"I think any community, any group of people that are, you know, tied to a place and really feel that sense of community, ought to consider one and ought to support those that are advocating for them," Whiley said.

Curtis Whiley is one of the community leaders helping develop the needs assessment and strategy report.

Curtis Whiley is a board member with the Upper Hammonds Plains Community Land Trust. (Shaina Luck/CBC)

"It's just another way for us to be able to solve a number of issues and feel more secure in the communities we live in."

A provincial spokesperson said Municipal Affairs Minister John Lohr responded to HRM last summer to let Savage know that the department's strategic policy and planning division would be in touch with municipal staff, and those discussions continue.

Coun. Lindell Smith said Wednesday he'd just learned that provincial staff had indeed reached out to Halifax this week, and is hopeful there has finally been some movement.

"I hope the province sees that there's actually more benefit in allowing communities to be part of how they develop than not," Smith said. "In my opinion, it's a win-win for everybody."

Coun. Lindell Smith represents Halifax Peninsula North.

Coun. Lindell Smith represents Halifax Peninsula North. (CBC)

The city's African descent committee recently passed Smith's motion calling for regional council to direct Savage to write again to the province about the issue. That has been deferred given the new conversations with the province, but Smith said it may come back depending on the outcome of those talks.

If the Nova Scotia government does allow the change, municipal staff would craft a policy on community benefit agreements and when they should be used.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.

Canada's first 30-degree day felt in B.C. with more heat coming this weekend
Forecast Centre

Fri, May 10, 2024 

It's official! Canada's first 30-degree day of the year has been reached, and the lucky winners are Lytton and Squamish, British Columbia.

Both communities saw temperatures soar well above seasonal values on Thursday, with an early taste of summer-like weather arriving just in time for the Mother's Day weekend.

DON'T MISS: Canada’s long weekend forecast may switch up your outdoor plans

The pattern change has forced a ridge to build over the province, bringing a long stretch of very dry and unseasonably warm weather across the region this week. Things will continue to heat up on both Friday and Saturday, with the likelihood of even more communities hitting that 30°C mark.

Baron - Atmospheric heights BC

Remember it's May however, a month that comes with varying extremes, so don't count on this blast of high heat to stick around for the unofficial kick-off to summer next weekend.
More 30-degree days likely this weekend

Temperatures began their steady climb on Thursday, with some areas seeing daytime highs about 10-12°C above normal for this time of year. Lytton hit 30.1°C on Thursday, while Squamish just barely made the threshold, sitting at exactly 30°C.

Highs soaring into the upper 20s will continue to be pretty widespread away from the coasts. Places like Squamish, Lytton, Kamloops and Osoyoos are all forecast to see a daytime high of 29°C on Friday, making it likely for more communities to reach those 30°C temperatures -- some for the second day in a row.

Baron - Friday BC temps - May 9

Temperatures will increase a degree or two more into Saturday, which will lock in the chance for several locations to hit 30°C, especially across the Interior.

Saturday will be the peak of the heat however, as the ridge begins to slowly break down on Sunday and into Monday.

Baron - BC Saturday temperatures

This pattern will certainly dry out many locations that saw a stretch of gloomy and wet weather at the end of April. Though welcomed by summer lovers and heat-seekers alike, it's not the best news to have such dry and hot weather this early in the fire season.

The only bright side to this pattern is that the warmest temperatures will likely miss northern B.C., which has been hardest hit by the ongoing drought conditions.

CANADA'S WILDFIRES: Visit The Weather Network's wildfire hub to keep up with the latest on the active start to wildfire season across Canada.

A cooler pattern is expected to take shape for next week, though much of southern B.C. will remain within a few degrees of seasonal.

Southern B.C. will also be mostly dry in the long range, with an active and wet pattern likely for the northern and central coast.

YOUR MAY OUTLOOK: Spring into summer or a stalling spring ahead, Canada?

Even though temperatures will remain around where they should for the middle of May, changeable conditions are possible across Western Canada for the long weekend. Don’t rule out the chance for showers if you’re heading outdoors, especially if you’re camping or hoping to catch some fireworks.

Stay tuned to The Weather Network for your latest forecast across British Columbia.

WATCH: 4 steps to protect your home and prepare for wildfire season

• Click here to view the video

Temperatures to soar above 30 C in parts of B.C. this weekend

CBC
Thu, May 9, 2024 

Temperatures could climb above 30 C in some parts of B.C.'s Interior this weekend. (Winston Szeto/CBC - image credit)

Time to bust out the sunscreen and a wide-brim hat.

Environment Canada meteorologist Ken Dosanjh said while last week brought cool, standard spring conditions, temperatures are expected to soar across the province in coming days, reaching above 30 C in some parts of the Interior.

Environment Canada is forecasting sunny days and warmer nights through Monday, when things are expected to cloud over and cool off.

A high of 32 C is forecast for Kamloops on Saturday, which is about 12 C above normal and would break a daily heat record stretching back to 1971.

Communities including Kelowna, Penticton, Clearwater, Lillooet and Cache Creek could also see highs above 30 C.

Prince George is looking at highs of 26 C on Friday, more than 10 C above the seasonal average, according to Environment Canada.

It'll be cooler on the South Coast, with temperatures of 21 C forecast for Vancouver on Saturday, climbing to 27 C further inland.

While it may seem tempting to go for a quick dip in a lake or river to cool off, Dosanjh is reminding British Columbians that bodies of water are still cold, and there is a risk of hypothermia for people exposed to cold for a long time.

Dosanjh said this time last year temperatures were well above average, which contributed to early wildfire activity.

"While this weekend definitely will be warming above seasonal, so far it's not packing the same punch as compared to May 2023," he said.

Wildfire risk

Nevertheless, the spike in temperatures comes as many parts of the province continue to deal with drought conditions, which forecasters worry could mean a long, challenging wildfire season.

Open burning bans are in effect for much of the province. And as camping season kicks off, officials are reminding campers to be cautious when it comes to campfires.

On Thursday, Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston said the heat over the weekend could lead to an increase in wildfires.

Ralston said the northeast, particularly around Fort Nelson, is most at risk because of high temperatures and wind. The vast majority of wildfires burning in B.C. right now are in the Prince George Fire Centre, which comprises the province's northeastern quarter.

He said additional firefighting resources are being sent to the region to assist existing crews should new fires begin.

Minister of Emergency Management Bowinn Ma is asking residents in the Fort Nelson area to be prepared for evacuation orders or alerts, and to pay attention to conditions through the weekend.

The B.C. River Forecast Centre is scheduled to release its latest snowpack information on Thursday.

Wildfire forces partial evacuation order in County of Grande Prairie

CBC
Fri, May 10, 2024 

Some residents in County of Grande Prairie are being told to evacuate their homes due to the threat of a nearby wildfire. (County of Grande Prairie - image credit)

Some residents in the County of Grande Prairie in northern Alberta need to immediately leave their homes due to the danger posed by a nearby wildfire.

The county issued an evacuation order at 8:46 p.m. MT, stating a fire is located four kilometres east of Teepee Creek near Range Road 31 and Township Road 740. The fire is moving away from the community, the alert states.

According to a post on Facebook from the county, the order is in effect from Kleskun Creek north to Township Road 742. The order is also in effect for the Riverstone Golf Course.

The alert says residents should travel north to Township Road 742 and west onto Highway 733. Evacuees should register at the Pomeroy Hotel and Conference Centre located at 11633 100 Street in Grande Prairie.

In addition to the area that is under evacuation, all residents from Township Road 744 to 750 and Township Road 744 to 730 and Range Road 32 are on evacuation alert, the county said. Residents should be prepared to leave, but no evacuation is required at this time.

Evacuees are advised to bring pets, important documents, medication, medical devices and enough food and water to be away from your home for seven days.

According to the Alberta Wildfire map, the fire was estimated to cover about 40 hectares as of 5:44 p.m.

'Risk has risen' in Fort Liard, N.W.T., after wildfire crosses river west of community

CBC
Fri, May 10, 2024 

A photo of the Fort Liard sign. The highway south of the community in northern B.C. has been reduced to single lane traffic due to poor visibility from smoke. (Alex Brockman/CBC - image credit)


What you need to know about the N.W.T. wildfires as of 7:00p.m. Friday:

Evacuation notice put out for Fort Liard, telling residents to prepare in case they need to evacuate


N.W.T. Fire says fire has crossed Liard River, increasing risk to Fort Liard


High winds preventing firefighting aircraft from taking off


Highway 7 closed due to B.C. wildfires


Highway 35 in northern Alberta closed due to fire near N.W.T. border


Highway 1 closed due to wildfire between Jean Marie River access road and Highway 3 junction

A wildfire burning west of Fort Liard, N.W.T., jumped the Liard River on Friday evening, posing a greater threat to the community that's under an evacuation notice.

"Risk has risen to the community of Fort Liard," reads an update from fire officials, issued just before 6:30 p.m. MT.


Fire information officer Mike Westwick said the river was a natural fuel break that the fire has now breached.

"That puts it on the same side of the river as Fort Liard," he said, early Friday evening.

"It's classified as out of control, it is uncontained, it is growing, and we are not able to suppress that growth directly at this time due to the safety conditions."

The fire had been burning to the west of Fort Liard and the Liard River earlier on Friday. Strong winds from the west through the day pushed the fire eastward, and across the river, Westwick said.

As of Friday evening, firefighters were unable to directly attack the fire because of unsafe conditions. Westwick said high winds and poor visibility meant that firefighting aircraft couldn't be used.

It was also hard to say how far the fire was from the community, he said.

"There's no road access, we can't fly. So we don't have an exact location," he said.

An evacuation notice was issued earlier Friday afternoon for Fort Liard as the wildfire was then burning about 22 kilometres away.

Westwick said fire crews are in Fort Liard, setting up sprinklers and focusing on "critical infrastructure" and protecting the perimeter of the community.

Fort Liard under evacuation notice

The evacuation notice posted earlier Friday on the N.W.T.'s public safety website said residents should keep vehicles fuelled and prepare an emergency kit.

"It's a notice to just be prepared," said John McKee, Fort Liard's SAO.

"You can't wait until the last minute."

McKee said a lot of people in the community have cleared brush from their properties, and the hamlet has done the same around different municipal buildings.

McKee said in the case of an evacuation order, the destination for residents would be determined by highway conditions. He said as of Friday, it wouldn't be in B.C. because of the closure or Highway 7.

Highway 35 was also closed late Friday afternoon, just south of the Alberta/N.W.T. border.

Sean Whelly, mayor of Fort Simpson, told CBC News the community is listed as the evacuation centre in case Fort Liard residents are told to leave.

An evacuation notice is the first of three levels of emergency. The second would be an evacuation alert and the final is an evacuation order.

The hamlet of Fort Liard said on its website that a fire ban was implemented on Thursday and it also posted a list of necessities in the case of an evacuation.

Highway 7 closed

Two separate active wildfires have closed Highway 7 at the N.W.T./B.C. border, the territory's Department of Infrastructure said on Friday.

The department said residents and travellers should know that conditions in the area can change with little to no warning, and that they should expect smoky conditions and poor visibility in the area.

Residents should also stay out of the bush in the areas surrounding Highway 7.

"High winds are expected to continue through this region. Under these conditions, there is a high chance of tree fall - which is a serious danger to those on the land," the update said.

An evacuation alert has also been issued by the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality for the area stretching from southeast to the northwest of Fort Nelson, B.C. That's due to fires located near Nogah Creek and Patry Creek.

An evacuation alert map that was posted on the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality website.

An evacuation alert map that was posted on the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality website. (Northern Rockies Regional Municipality website)

N.W.T. fire officials are also warning that high winds and dry conditions could mean extreme fire activity in the South Slave and Dehcho regions. They said winds could gust from 50 to 85 km/h.

The Town of Hay River posted on Facebook that it was implementing a full-fire ban until after the wind event on Saturday. The town also said that the fire department is responding to an underground fire on Patterson Road, but that it is contained to an area that's been previously burned.

"There is no risk to the public but smoke will be visible," the post reads.

New fire detected east of Sambaa K'e

A holdover fire has also flared up near Sambaa K'e, roughly one kilometre southeast of the community. It is not considered a threat to the community. Winds were expected to push it away from the community, N.W.T. Fire said in an update.

Storms are also in the forecast for numerous areas, including the northern Dehcho and southern Sahtu, increasing the likelihood of lightning-caused fires.

Winds are expected to come from the west around Hay River and Fort Smith, and from west to northwest around Fort Simpson.

The M.V. Lafferty ferry at the Liard River crossing in Fort Simpson was briefly suspended Friday due to high winds.

But Jacqueline Demers, the regional superintendent for the Dehcho region with the Department of Infrastructure, said it reopened around 12:30.

The high winds are expected to end Saturday in most areas, the post reads, with some higher moisture levels returning to the Hay River and Fort Smith areas.

"However, Dehcho is expected to stay very dry and hot with continuing brisk winds," an N.W.T. Fire Facebook post reads.


Highway 1 partially closed east of Jean Marie River, N.W.T., as fire grows to 1,500 hectares
CBC
Fri, May 10, 2024 

Highway 1 in the N.W.T. is closed between the Jean Marie River access road and the Highway 3 junction. (Francis Tessier-Burns/CBC - image credit)


What you need to know about the N.W.T. wildfires as of 7:00 p.m. Friday:

Evacuation notice issued for Fort Liard, telling residents to prepare in case they need to evacuate


N.W.T. Fire says fire has crossed Liard River, increasing risk to Fort Liard


High winds preventing firefighting aircraft from taking off


Highway 7 closed due to B.C. wildfires


Highway 35 in northern Alberta closed due to fire near N.W.T. border


Highway 1 closed due to wildfire between Jean Marie River access road and Highway 3 junction

A wildfire that is now 1,500 hectares in size has closed part of Highway 1 about 72 kilometres southeast of Jean Marie River, N.W.T.

The fire is about 100 kilometres west of the Enterprise junction at Highway 1 toward Fort Simpson.

"It's grown really, really quickly," fire information officer Mike Westwick told CBC News on Friday afternoon.

The fire is from a previously undiscovered holdover fire from last year.

Westwick said his team is "working to assess that and take the right actions."

He said the quick growth was driven by extreme wind.

Westwick said no communities are currently under threat.

The fire comes after N.W.T. fire officials warned of a "major wind event" expected in some areas of the territory on Friday, along with warm, dry conditions — significantly raising the risk of wildfire.


Fort McMurray residents told to be ready to evacuate on short notice due to wildfire threat

CBC
Fri, May 10, 2024 

This photo shows a wildfire burning near Fort McMurray at 3:30 p.m. on May 10. (Alberta Wildfire - image credit)


Poor internet connection? Access a low-bandwidth, accessible version of this story on CBC Lite.

Alberta residents in the Fort McMurray area are being told to be ready to leave their homes due to the threat of an out-of-control wildfire in the region.

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo issued an evacuation alert at 6:38 p.m. MT for Fort McMurray and Saprae Creek Estates as the MWF-017 wildfire burns nearby.

The alert states the fire is southwest of Fort McMurray, and smoke could affect visibility on Highway 63 south of the northern Alberta community that was devastated by wildfire in 2016.

An evacuation order has not been issued at this time. Residents are advised to keep essential items like medications, important documents and emergency kits ready for a quick departure.

The municipality provided an update on the situation just before 8 p.m.

Wood Buffalo Regional Fire Chief Jody Butz told media the community is more prepared to deal with wildfires compared to 2016.

"From our experiences, we've continued to recognize that wildfires are the number one hazard in the region. And it's clear our community is prepared and more responsive to that reality," Butz said.

"When you're dealing with ... the powers of Mother Nature and the forces of wildfire, I'll take any advantage I can get," he said when asked whether the burned area from 2016 could play a factor in battling the current blaze.

Butz said the wind is also favourable as it is pushing the fire away from the community. He also said that neither Fort McMurray nor Saprae Creek were in imminent danger, but the municipality issued the alert out of an abundance of caution.

According to Alberta Wildfire's latest update, the wildfire is currently classified as out of control at 1,000 hectares and is about 16 kilometres away from Fort McMurray. It's located on the south side of the Athabasca River valley and is moving east.

The update states the fire danger in the area is extreme and fire restriction remains in effect for the Fort McMurray region.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation said Melissa Story, provincial information officer with Alberta Wildfire.

"There is a cold front that's passing through the province which generated some elevated wind for us today, which made the fire grow," she said.

There are four crews working on the fire with about 40 people on the ground, she said.

Three helicopters and air tankers and currently deployed with an additional three more night vision helicopters to be deployed overnight.

"Usually overnight, we see more subdued fire behaviour. And we're hoping that the wind speeds will reduce throughout the overnight activity that we can get the opportunity to get in there and hit it with some water."

Residents in Saprae Creek were put on evacuation alert late last month for a separate wildfire.

There are currently 52 fires burning across Alberta.

Weather causes crews to delay using explosives to demolish part of Baltimore’s Key Bridge to help free a trapped cargo ship

Paradise Afshar and Holly Yan, CNN
Fri, May 10, 2024 

A plan to use small explosives on Saturday to break apart a massive chunk of a Baltimore bridge that collapsed on a cargo ship six weeks ago has been delayed due to poor weather conditions.

US Coast Guard Petty Officer Second Class Ronald Hodges told CNN on Friday the controlled demolition will not happen on Saturday due to the adverse weather forecast. The Key Bridge Response Unified Command will determine if there’s an opportunity for the demolition to take place Sunday, Hodges said.

The plan was set to happen days after the sixth and final body was recovered from the waters where the 213-million-pound Dali cargo ship veered off course on March 26 and plowed into a pillar of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The crash killed six construction workers and destroyed a key thoroughfare, crippling the economy at the Port of Baltimore.

The discovery of the final construction worker lost in the tragedy is allowing crews to proceed with the next step in removing the massive debris and freeing the nearly 1,000-foot vessel.

“The safest and swiftest method to remove the bridge piece from on top of the M/V Dali is by precision cuts made with small charges,” according to Unified Command, which includes state and federal agencies responding to the disaster.

“This is an industry-standard tool in controlled demolition that will break the span into smaller pieces, which will allow the work of refloating the vessel and removing it from the federal channel.”

If the explosives are used this weekend, the ship could be refloated and returned to the Port of Baltimore as soon as early next week, The Baltimore Sun and CNN affiliate WBAL reported.

While the arduous work to clear the debris continues, several investigations are underway to find what caused the disaster and who is responsible.

The House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure plans to hold a hearing Wednesday to discuss an ongoing investigation into the catastrophe.

The chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, along with officials from the Coast Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Transportation, are expected to testify.

Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay

The Canadian Press
Thu, May 9, 2024 



A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated – and she says she has no intention of paying it.

Michele Campeau and her 83-year-old mother, Ruth Poupard, are caught up in a relatively new law that allows hospitals to place discharged patients into nursing homes not of their choosing in order to free up beds. If patients refuse to move, they face a fine of $400 per day as they remain at the hospital.

The bill came from Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, where Campeau's mother remains, with instructions to pay at the cashier's office or by phone or online. The hospital charged the family for 21 days in March.


"I'm never paying it because the law is wrong," Campeau said. "It's unfair what they're trying to do to seniors."

Campeau is expecting an even bigger bill to land in the coming weeks to account for all the daily fines that have racked up for April.

"We're expecting another bill for $12,000 soon," she said.

On Thursday afternoon, Campeau found out her mom was accepted into the nursing home that was her top choice. She is set to move next week.

"Then we'll get another bill for $6,000 for May," she said.

The law that allows hospitals to issue such fines – known as the More Beds, Better Care Act, or Bill 7 – was passed by the Doug Ford government in the fall of 2022 in an effort to open up much-needed hospital space.

It is aimed at so-called alternate level of care patients who are discharged from hospital, but need a long-term care bed and don't have one yet.

Hospitals can send patients to nursing homes not of their choosing up to 70 kilometres away, or up to 150 kilometres away in northern Ontario, if spaces open up there first.

Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare said it cannot comment on Poupard's case due to patient confidentiality.

The last few years have been tough for Poupard. Dementia set in, she underwent a heart valve transplant and survived cancer. She moved in with her daughter, who took care of her and became her power of attorney.

Poupard's most recent health-care journey began shortly after Christmas when she hallucinated during the night, fell and broke her hip. Campeau rushed her to hospital, where she had surgery. As part of her recovery, Poupard moved to Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare for rehabilitation.

By Feb. 21, Poupard recovered to a point where her physician determined she no longer needed the hospital's specialized care and discharged her.

Campeau and her brother decided that they alone would not be able to manage their mother's needs if she returned to live in her daughter's home.

So the family worked with a placement co-ordinator at the hospital and put five long-term care homes on Poupard's list. But those were full. Discussions about adding more nursing homes to Poupard's list then began, under the provisions of the new law.

Campeau agreed to put more nursing homes on her mother's list and the co-ordinator added homes until one that had a spot available came up. Campeau then had 24 hours to visit the nursing home and make a decision.

If she refused to move her mom into that long-term care home in downtown Windsor, the hospital said they'd begin charging her $400 a day. Campeau said she visited the home and found it "disgusting," refusing to place her mother there.

Several weeks later, the first bill landed.

The hospital also charged Poupard a co-pay rate – the rate she would pay in a long-term care home – of $653.20 for 10 days in March before she refused the move into that one nursing home.

"I paid it like I did the one in February, which I'm more than happy to do," Campeau said of the co-pay. "But I'm not paying $400 a day because I didn't go along with their plan to put her in a disgusting home."

The province said it believes only seven people have been fined under the law and that hospitals are responsible for the administration of fines. Health Minister Sylvia Jones said the government cannot disclose how much those patients were charged due to patient confidentiality.

Liberal parliamentary leader John Fraser said he supports Poupard and Campeau's refusal to pay the bill.

"It's the right thing to do," he said. "I think that the minister should intervene and try to find a solution."

The family also has the support of the NDP.

"This is a tragedy," said NDP Leader Marit Stiles.

Stiles said she is also worried about all the patients who have already been moved to nursing homes not of their choosing.

"I'm hearing increasingly about vulnerable people having to leave their communities to go far away to find long-term care beds," she said. "It's sad."

Some 300 patients have been moved into new homes not of their choosing.

Campeau is now in limbo, unclear on what will happen with her unpaid bill.

"I have no idea what happens next," she said. "I really just want my mom in a decent spot, that's all."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2024.

Liam Casey, The Canadian Press

As summer wildfire season nears, Quebec forest fire workers vote for strike mandate

The Canadian Press
Fri, May 10, 2024 


MONTREAL — Workers with Quebec's forest fire agency have voted 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate as the summer wildfire season approaches.

The Unifor union, which represents provincial fire service workers including firefighters, communications staff and mechanics, says the mandate allows members to strike "at the opportune moment."

Workers with the fire service — the Société de protection des forêts contre le feu, or SOPFEU — were kept busy last year during a record-breaking wildfire season.


Unifor says that despite the participation of a mediator, negotiations have stalled over such issues as salaries, vacations and workforce mobility.

Quebec law requires SOPFEU workers to maintain essential operations during a strike.

The forest fire protection service, which employs about 450 people, says Quebec saw slightly more fires than average in April, with 52 fires burning about 46 hectares.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 10, 2024.

The Canadian Press

Alberta premier 'glad' Gaza protest in Calgary ended as encampments escalate

The Canadian Press
Fri, May 10, 2024



Premier Danielle Smith says she's pleased the University of Calgary moved to have police dismantle an on-campus pro-Palestinian protest and hopes the University of Alberta will take note.

Smith’s comment comes as the head of the University of Calgary said the dismantling of the encampment Thursday night derailed into a clash with police because of counter-protesters.

Also Friday, a similar protest that began with one tent at the University of Alberta campus in Edmonton mushroomed to about 35.

Smith, speaking at an unrelated news conference in Calgary, said her government is on hand to help if asked but will otherwise leave decisions of what to do with the protest encampments up to the universities.

She said peaceful protest is fine, but rules must be followed and students’ education should not be disrupted.

“I’m glad that the University of Calgary made the decision that they did,” Smith said.

“I think what they found in Calgary is that a large number who were trespassing were not students, and we have to be mindful of that.

“Kids are having graduation ceremonies. A lot of these kids didn’t get a graduation ceremony for high school. It’s not fair for them or their families to be disrupted.”

She added, “I’ll watch and see what the University of Alberta learns from what they observed in Calgary."

The Calgary protest began early Thursday, as shelters and fencing were erected as part of the encampment.

The university issued protesters a trespass notice. When they would not disperse, police were called in.

The protest reached a peak of about 150 people in the early evening. By about 11 p.m. most had left, but the small number that stayed clashed with officers. Police set off flashbang explosives and tear gas and made arrests.

“Unfortunately, counter-protesters showed up — also putting themselves in violation of our policies and in a trespass situation," University of Calgary president Ed McCauley said in a statement.

"The situation very quickly devolved into shoving, projectiles being thrown at officers and – ultimately – flashbangs and arrests."

McCauley said the university respects and values protests within the confines of the school's safe operation.

Calgary Chief Const. Mark Neufeld said the protest was peaceful to begin with, but several people there, who were not students, were known to take part in other protests.

"There were individuals from the very start that were saying, 'We're not leaving.' There was every indication there was a group of people that didn't plan to leave," said Neufeld.

He said flashbangs and tear gas were used because officers were being pelted with glass bottles.

"That's where the escalation was at the end, where there was a small group of people that were throwing things and grabbing on to the police," he said.

"People were throwing projectiles at the police, refusing to comply with the lawful direction that had been given.

"Enough was enough."

Neufeld said five people were arrested and three of them were charged. All were released from custody.

About 150 pro-Palestinian supporters returned to the University of Calgary Friday afternoon but there were no tents or barricades.

Many sat in lawn chairs. Others sat on the grass listening to speakers and occasionally chanting "Free, Free Palestine."

A rock, painted in the Palestinian colours of black, white and green, included a number of messages including "70,000 kids killed" and "2.2 million starving."

Canada’s special representative on combating Islamophobia said on social media that the Calgary police approach to the demonstration was "jarring."

"A terrible message is being sent to generations of Canadians who were taught to believe in our democracy, in our freedoms, & taught to stand up for what they believe in," Amira Elghawaby wrote.

The protest was one of several recent demonstrations on academic campuses in Canada and the United States in response to Israel's offensive in Gaza.

Many protesters have demanded institutions make clear if their investments are helping fund Israel and its military in its conflict with Gaza. If so, they want those investments halted.

In Edmonton, tents were set up on a grassy area of the University of Alberta campus. There were Palestinian flags, both cloth versions and hand-painted cardboard ones.

“At the very beginning yesterday, it was one tent and four people. And it has just grown and grown and grown,” said David Kahane, one of the protest organizers.

Kahane, a political science professor at the university, said the protest is about students holding their institution to account in the “slaughter that is happening in the West Bank and Gaza.”

He said students are inspired by time-honoured protest methods. Campus protests and calls for divestment helped end the racist apartheid system in South Africa, he added.

The university has warned protesters that while it respects free speech, they are trespassing. Edmonton police say they are prepared to respond to matters of public safety.

In St. John’s, about 50 people laid down outside on the chilly concrete at Memorial University for a 76-minute “die-in” demonstration against what organizers say is Israel’s 76-year occupation of Palestinian territory.

During the demonstration, a protester read names of Palestinians killed in the war.

“A die-in like this is minuscule compared to the amount of terror and fear and pain the Gazan people (have been) going through for years and years,” said organizer Aramaria Yetman.

McGill University in Montreal is seeking a court order to have a protest encampment there dismantled. It has been up for two weeks.

University president and vice-chancellor Deep Saini said in a statement the school is concerned about safety, as neither university officials nor firefighters have been able to enter the camp to ensure it is following health and safety regulations.

Saini also said the camp has attracted protesters on both sides of the Israel-Hamas war, and that has increased tensions on campus.

He added the camp is also in an area where graduation ceremonies for most faculties take place.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 10, 2024.

— With files from Bill Graveland in Calgary and Sarah Smellie in St. John’s

Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press

New analysis of Beethoven’s hair reveals possible cause of mysterious ailments, scientists say

Ashley Strickland, CNN
Fri, May 10, 2024



High levels of lead detected in authenticated locks of Ludwig van Beethoven’s hair suggest that the composer had lead poisoning, which may have contributed to ailments he endured over the course of his life, including deafness, according to new research.

In addition to hearing loss, the famed classical composer had recurring gastrointestinal complaints thro

It is believed that Beethoven died from liver and kidney disease at age 56. But the process of understanding what caused his many health problems has been a much more complicated puzzle, one that even Beethoven himself hoped doctors could eventually solve.

The composer expressed his wish that his ailments be studied and shared so “as far as possible at least the world will be reconciled to me after my death.”

An international team of researchers set out nearly a decade ago to partially fulfill Beethoven’s wish by studying locks of his hair. Using DNA analysis, the team determined which ones truly belonged to the composer and which were fraudulent, and sequenced Beethoven’s genome by analyzing his authenticated locks.

The findings, published in a March 2023 report, revealed that Beethoven had significant genetic risk factors for liver disease and a hepatitis B infection before his death. But the results didn’t provide any insights into the underlying causes of his deafness, which began in his 20s, or his gastrointestinal issues.

Beethoven’s genome was made publicly available, inviting researchers around the world to investigate lingering questions about Beethoven’s health.

Meanwhile, scientists continue to figuratively go over the authenticated locks of Beethoven’s hair with a fine-tooth comb, teasing out surprising insights.

In addition to high concentrations of lead, the latest findings showed arsenic and mercury that remain trapped in the composer’s strands nearly 200 years after his death, according to a new letter published Monday in the journal Clinical Chemistry. And the insights could provide new windows not only into understanding Beethoven’s chronic health ailments, but the complicated nuances of his life as a composer.
A tangled web reveals lead

Christian Reiter, now the retired deputy director of the Center of Forensic Medicine at the Medical University of Vienna, had previously studied the Hiller Lock, a sample of hair long attributed to Beethoven. He authored and published a 2007 paper after determining there were high levels of lead in the hair, and suggested the lead may have contributed to the composer’s deafness, and potentially his death.

In a twist, the 2023 genomic sequencing study uncovered that the Hiller Lock did not belong to Beethoven, and it was actually a hair sample from a woman. But at the time the researchers did not test Beethoven’s newly authenticated hair samples for lead.

So the question remained: Did Beethoven have lead poisoning?

A separate research team used two different methods to search for evidence of lead in two authenticated locks of Beethoven’s hair: the Bermann lock, estimated to have been cut between late 1820 and March 1827, and the Halm-Thayer lock, which Beethoven hand-delivered to pianist Anton Halm in April 1826.

It was very common during Beethoven’s lifetime for people to collect and keep locks of hair from loved ones or famous people, said William Meredith, Beethoven scholar and study coauthor of the 2023 genomic analysis and the latest study.

The newer research detected incredibly high levels of lead in both samples: 64 times the expected level in the Bermann Lock, and 95 times the expected level in the Halm-Thayer lock.

“These levels are considered as lead poisoning,” said lead study author Nader Rifai, professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School and director of clinical chemistry at Boston Children’s Hospital. “If you walk into any emergency room in the United States with these levels, you will be admitted immediately and you will undergo chellation therapy.”
Diagnosing Beethoven

Elevated lead levels such as those detected in Beethoven’s hair “are commonly associated with gastrointestinal and renal ailments and decreased hearing but are not considered high enough to be the sole cause of death,” the study authors wrote. Because the researchers don’t have hair samples from earlier in Beethoven’s life, it’s impossible to understand when the lead poisoning started, Meredith said.

The study authors do not believe the lead poisoning was solely responsible for Beethoven’s death or deafness. But he experienced symptoms of lead poisoning throughout his life, including hearing loss, muscle cramps and renal abnormalities, Rifai said.

Both locks also contained increased levels of arsenic and mercury, about 13 to 14 times the expected amount, according to the study.

Study coauthor Paul Jannetto, associate professor in the department of laboratory medicine and pathology and laboratory director at the Mayo Clinic, carried out the analysis of the samples and said he’d never seen such high lead levels.

But Rifai said he saw comparable lead levels when he conducted research in two villages in Ecuador where the main trade is to glaze tiles with lead from batteries. The villagers experienced mental delays, hearing loss and hematological abnormalities, which are common in lead poisoning, he said.
Lead exposure in Beethoven’s lifetime

Currently, there is no understanding of the average amount of lead in the bodies of people like Beethoven who were living in Vienna during the 19th century, Rifai said.

He said he hopes to access old locks of hair people have from their families to determine the baseline level of the population at the time since there is no documentation.

But how did Beethoven end up with so much lead, as well as arsenic and mercury, in his body? The substances likely accumulated over decades of the composer’s life through food and drink, Rifai said.

Beethoven was known to favor wine, sometimes drinking a bottle a day, and he drank plumbed wine. A common practice dating back at least 2,000 years, the creation of plumbed wine involves adding lead acetate as a sweetener and preservative, Rifai said. At the time, lead was also used in glassmaking to give glassware a more clear and appealing appearance.

Beethoven also loved to eat fish, and at the time, the Danube River was a great source of industry, meaning waste ended up in the same river that was a source of fish caught for consumption — and that fish likely contained arsenic and mercury, Rifai said.

The report marks the first time lead levels have been established for Beethoven and points to another possible cause for Beethoven’s kidney failure in the months before his death and the liver failure he experienced at the end of his life, Meredith said.

Lead poisoning appears to be the fourth factor that contributed to his liver failure, apart from genes that predisposed Beethoven toward liver disease, his hepatitis B infection and his penchant for drinking alcohol, Meredith said.
Linking Beethoven’s health and music

The composer wrote a letter to his brothers in 1802 asking that his doctor, Johann Adam Schmidt, determine and share the nature of his “illness” once Beethoven died. The letter is known as the Heiligenstadt Testament.

But the documents kept by Beethoven’s favorite doctor, who died 18 years before his patient, have been lost.

In the 1802 letter to his brothers, Beethoven admitted how hopeless he felt as a music composer struggling with hearing loss, but his work kept him from taking his own life. He said he didn’t want to leave “before I had produced all the works that I felt the urge to compose.”

“People say, ‘the music is the music, why do we need to know about any of this stuff?’ But in Beethoven’s life, there is a connection between his suffering and the music,” Meredith said.

May 7 marked the 200th anniversary of the first performance of Beethoven’s famed Ninth Symphony, largely regarded as his greatest work and his final symphony. Completely deaf at the time, Beethoven was onstage as one of the conductors, but the orchestra was instructed to follow the conducting of Beethoven’s friend, who was also onstage. The concert marked one of the most triumphant moments in Beethoven’s life, and the female singers turned him to face the crowd as they clapped and waved their handkerchiefs at the beloved musician, Meredith said.

Three days later, Beethoven gathered with three of his friends who helped him organize the concert. What first seemed like a dinner to reward his friends actually resulted in Beethoven yelling and accusing them of cheating him out of money.

The outburst was ironic, considering that Beethoven had been inspired as he worked on the Ninth Symphony in part by Friedrich Schiller’s poem “Ode to Joy,” and the concluding themes of the symphony include living in peace and harmony with one another, Meredith said. But above one sketch Beethoven did for the Ninth Symphony, he included the French word for despair.

“When you look back at his life, it’s a life that is so full of despair. He went deaf. He never found a woman that he could settle down to love. He had terrible abdominal problems ever since he was a child. He really had a hard time sustaining relationships with people,” Meredith said. “If you understand how much pain he was in and the paranoia he experienced from the deafness, it makes that whole story of the Ninth Symphony much more complex.”

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'This is bananas': Canada's labour market blows past expectations, adding 90k jobs in April


Alicja Siekierska
Fri, May 10, 2024 


Canada’s labour market added 90,000 jobs in April.

 (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) (The Associated Press)

Canada’s labour market added a net 90,400 jobs in April and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.1 per cent, blowing past analyst expectations. But underlying weakness means a June rate cut is still on the table for the Bank of Canada.

The April increase soared past analyst expectations, and marked the largest gain since January 2023. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast an increase of 18,000 jobs in April, and for the unemployment rate to rise to 6.2 per cent.

While a June cut remains on the table for the Bank of Canada, money markets trimmed the bets of a rate cut from 54 per cent to 48 per cent. They are now fully pricing in a cut in September compared to July before the report was released.


"Today's showy headline jobs increase will give the Bank of Canada some pause, since it reinforces the point that the economy is clearly not rolling over," BMO chief economist Douglas Porter wrote in a research note.

"Still, the reality is that economic slack is still rising... Our call is for a rate trim, but that will require a seriously cool core CPI result."

The employment gains were driven by an increase in part-time employment, Statistics Canada said, with 50,000 part-time jobs added in April. Jobs were added in the professional, scientific and technical services, accommodation and food services, health care and social assistance and natural resources, while employment fell in the utilities sector.

The unemployment rate held steady amid a surge in Canada's population. CIBC economist Andrew Grantham noted that the headline jobs increase "appears to largely reflect a further surge in the base population, as the labour force count catches up with the quarterly population tally." At the same time, average hourly wage growth – closely watched by the Bank of Canada – slowed slightly, rising 4.7 per cent year-over-year in April, following an annual growth rate of 5.1 per cent in March.

"With the unemployment rate remaining higher than it was at the start of the year and wage pressures easing slightly, the data is still consistent with a gradual loosening of labour market conditions," Grantham wrote in a research note on Friday.

"We continue to forecast a first interest rate cut at the next meeting in June, although after today's data that call relies even more heavily on core measures of inflation remaining subdued within the next CPI print."

Desjardins managing director and head of macro strategy Royce Mendes said the details of the April report "suggest that the labour market is actually exhibiting some evidence of slack."

"Still, after an increase of 90K jobs, the upcoming CPI report will take on even more importance in the Bank of Canada’s decision-making process, as policymakers debate whether or not cut rates in June," he wrote in a research note.

"But we’re not convinced that this report will materially change the Bank of Canada’s assessment of the labour market. So we’re sticking with our call that the central bank cuts rates in June."
'This is bananas'

The slowdown in wage growth and the fact that more than half of the total jobs added were in part-time work "suggests that slack in the Canadian economy is still growing," Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay, wrote in a note on Friday. But the strength could potentially mean fewer rate cuts from the Bank of Canada.

"Taken in combination with other releases showing a mild acceleration in growth, today’s data could limit the extent to which the central bank cuts borrowing costs over the next year, and could contribute to a more optimistic rhetorical stance from policymakers in the weeks and months ahead," Schamotta said.

TD director and senior economist James Orlando wrote in a research note that the report is "likely to raise eyebrows at the Bank of Canada."

"Even for this notoriously volatile data, this was a shocker. Our own Chief Economist's immediate reaction was that 'this is bananas!'," Orlando said. TD expects the Bank of Canada to begin cutting rates in July.

"The central bank has been looking for evidence that inflation will continue moving towards the 2 per cent target. With the labour market showing renewed strength, there is potential for consumer spending to rise in the coming months, forcing inflation higher. This will be a concern for the BoC, which has seen this narrative play out in the U.S. over 2024."

With files from Reuters.

Alicja Siekierska is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow her on Twitter @alicjawithaj.

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