The Downton Lake wildfire near Gold Bridge B.C., burns toward the north shore of Gun Lake in this Tuesday, August 1, 2023 handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Owen Rose *MANDATORY CREDIT*
Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…
Federal government to provide wildfire outlook
Federal officials are set to provide an update today on the outlook for the rest of this year’s devastating wildfire season.
Officials have already said Canada is experiencing its worst fire season on record, charring more than 130,000 square kilometres to date, which is more than six times the 10-year average.
Natural Resources Canada said last week there were more than 650 fires burning across Canada, about two-thirds of them in B.C.
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Here’s what else we’re watching …
Televising Trump: should D.C. trial be broadcast?
A group is working to convince the head of the U.S. Supreme Court that Donald Trump’s trial in Washington, D.C., should be televised.
The Radio Television Digital News Association is forming a coalition to petition the court system’s policy-making panel of judges, led by Chief Justice John Roberts.
RTDNA president and CEO Dan Shelley says if ever there was a trial that every American should see with their own eyes, it’s this one.
Shelley and others want the judges to exempt the former president’s trial from the 77-year-old ban on televising federal court proceedings.
Saskatchewan NDP on track to flip two seats
With a first preliminary count complete, the Saskatchewan NDP appears to have flipped two seats following three provincial byelections on Thursday.
NDP candidates Jared Clarke and Noor Burki had definitive leads over Saskatchewan Party candidates Nevin Markwart and Riaz Ahmad in the Regina ridings of Walsh Acres and Coronation Park, respectively.
Saskatchewan Party’s Blaine McLeod finished well ahead of the NDP’s Kaitlyn Stadnyk and Jon Hromek of the Saskatchewan United Party in the rural riding of Lumsden-Morse.
Canadian on Maui says ‘firestorm’ engulfed town
A Vancouver man who lives part time on the Hawaiian island of Maui says he watched smoke rising over the water and hills that separate the town of Lahaina and
Kihei, about 30 kilometres away and where he has owned a home for 20 years.
Brad Desaulniers describes the enormous blaze that engulfed Lahaina as a “firestorm” that raced across and destroyed everything in its path, killing at least 53 people.
Global Affairs Canada has issued an advisory telling Canadians to avoid non-essential travel to Maui.
The advisory also warned that Canadians already on the island should consider if they really need to be there, and if not to “think about leaving.”
Sentence cut for trans youth’s father who discussed treatment against court order
The British Columbia Court of Appeal has struck down a six-month prison sentence for a trans youth’s father who was convicted of contempt for publicly discussing his child’s private medical details in breach of a court order.
Instead, the appeal court sentenced the man to time served, effectively amounting to 45 days, according to the ruling.
The youth had taken his father to court to stop him from giving media interviews in which he identified his child and discussed their medical treatment for gender dysphoria, as well as the father’s objections to the process.
The father pleaded guilty to contempt, but his lawyer advised him to reject an offer to make a deal with the Crown for 45 days of imprisonment, and he was instead sentenced to six months.
The three-judge appeal panel found the man’s lawyer provided ineffective assistance by not recognizing the prosecutors’ deal would have seen his client released upon his guilty plea.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 11, 2023.
