Veteran Rob Pullen, left, and Warren Pullen, who were evacuated from their home on Thursday due to wildfires, sit with their dogs outside their trailer in the parking lot at an evacuation centre, in Kelowna, B.C., Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…
Evacuation, travel orders lifted as fires diminish
The last travel restriction for the Okanagan region in British Columbia has been lifted alongside all previous evacuation orders within Kelowna’s city limits, as wildfires there diminish after this week’s rainfall.
Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma said in a statement late yesterday that travel restrictions to West Kelowna – adjacent to the McDougall Creek wildfire – has been lifted as of midnight.
The ban for Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon and Kamloops was lifted earlier this week after being placed over much of the region on Aug. 19 to ensure there are accommodations for evacuees and emergency personnel.
N.W.T. wildfires disrupt phone, internet services as evacuee anxiety mounts
Wildfires in the Northwest Territories are continuing to disrupt communication services as fire crews fight the blaze threatening the capital city.
Northwestel released a statement initially clearing communications as stable, but later announced damage to a fibre line that caused issues for several communities.
The wildfire threatening Yellowknife remains 15 kilometres from the city’s outskirts, but a territorial update says fire-friendly weather will make for a stressful two days.
Here’s what else we’re watching …
Fear, falsehoods and conspiracy theories ignite amid Canada’s wildfires
The wildfires raging through parts of Canada are some of the most devastating evidence of the effects of climate change to date, experts say – but for some conspiracy theorists, about 137-thousand square kilometres of burnt ground isn’t enough to convince them of this scientific consensus.
Space lasers, arsonists and efforts to restrict people’s freedom of movement are among the explanations bandied about in fringe online circles where the wildfires are framed as the latest plot point in an ever-growing web of conspiracy theories tinged with fear and hate.
Eric Kennedy, associate professor at York University’s school of administrative studies, says people turn to conspiracy stories to help understand and explain the world when making sense of a disaster such as in Hawaii or the recent wildfires in British Columbia and Northwest Territories.
‘It’s a beast’: Sudbury grapples with opioids
The northern Ontario city of Sudbury is working to deal with what it calls an opioid crisis.
Data from Ontario’s coroner’s office shows that from April 2022 to March 2023, the Sudbury and District public health unit had a fatal opioid overdose rate of approximately 50 per 100-thousand population.
That’s the third highest in the province after the Thunder Bay and Algoma public health units, also in northern Ontario.
The provincial rate for that time period was 17 per 100-thousand population.
Ontario adds $160M to skills training funding
Ontario is set to put $160 million toward skills training programs, prioritizing help for people on social assistance and people with criminal records.
Labour Minister Monte McNaughton is set to announce the fourth round of funding through the Skills Development Fund today.
He says it’s aimed at giving at least 100,000 people free training in health care, auto manufacturing, IT, hospitality and skilled trades.
Parents offer tips on back-to-school savings
Research leading up to this year’s back-to-school season shows Canadian parents are feeling the pinch as the cost of living soars.
A survey by P-C Financial says forty-six per cent of Canadians are more worried about their finances during this back-to-school season than in previous years.
According to NerdWallet, Canadian parents who plan to do back-to-school shopping this year expect to spend an average of five-hundred-twenty-four dollars on those purchases, as more than a quarter intend to buy fewer school supplies than in previous years due to inflation.
More than half say they plan to shop during sales events for those purchases.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 25, 2023.
