As end looms for Calgary water restrictions, mayor warns daily usage way too high
CALGARY (CP) – Calgary’s mayor says residents have blown past the daily threshold the city has set to keep water service going amid a conservation crisis.
Jyoti Gondek says Calgarians used 500 million litres of water on Thursday.
It is 20 million litres more than the daily limit the city says is needed to ensure enough water is available for firefighting and health-care services.
It is also the highest amount reported since the city imposed a mix of voluntary and mandatory water restrictions following a water main rupture on June 5.
Gondek says Calgarians need to keep reducing their water use by 25 per cent to prevent reserves from running dry.
The ruptured pipe, which supplies 60 per cent of the city’s water, has been replaced and if testing goes well, water restrictions are to be lifted as early as Monday.
Military was following ‘legal orders’ to try to rescue Afghan Sikhs, Gen. Eyre says
By: Stephanie Taylor and Sarah Ritchie
OTTAWA (CP) – The Canadian Armed Forces was following “legal orders” when it tried to rescue a group of Afghan Sikhs during the fall of Kabul three years ago, Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre said.
Eyre’s comment came as former defence minister Harjit Sajjan explained his decision to intervene on behalf of a group of around 200 Afghan Sikhs who were trapped along with thousands of others in August 2021.
Sajjan said in a statement that he passed along information through “appropriate” channels that he had been given about the group’s whereabouts and that doing so was in line with government policy to help vulnerable groups on the ground in Afghanistan.
Sajjan said he did not instruct the forces to prioritize this group above Canadians or Afghan interpreters, who aided Canadian soldiers during previous operations.
When Kabul fell to the Taliban in August 2021, Canada and its allies scrambled to evacuate their citizens, along with Afghan interpreters who had worked for Canada.
Canada and other countries also sought to help members of groups they designated as at risk of persecution from the terrorist organization, including women leaders, human rights defenders, journalists and religious minorities.
Poilievre’s office silent on leader’s Pride plans, other party chiefs look to attend
OTTAWA (CP) – Pierre Poilievre is the only federal leader whose staff would not answer questions about whether their chief intends to participate in Pride events this summer.
Instead, his office is pointing to Melissa Lantsman, the party’s deputy leader, who attended a Pride flag-raising ceremony on Parliament Hill earlier this month.
Poilievre has not publicly observed Pride month during cross-country June travels to meet community groups while marking St-Jean-Baptiste Day, Italian Heritage Month and Toronto’s Christian Music Festival.
LGBTQ groups across North America celebrate June as Pride month, although festivals and parades happen throughout the summer in different Canadian cities.
The office of NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh confirmed he will be marching in this weekend’s Pride parade in Toronto, a tradition dating from his days as a member of the provincial legislature.
The office of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed he will be attending summer Pride events across the country, but didn’t disclose details.
The office of Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet also confirmed he will be participating in Pride events, and Green Leader Elizabeth May has said on social media she will be at gatherings.
Liberal caucus quiet after major byelection defeat rattles party
By: Laura Osman, Mia Rabson and Mickey Djuric
OTTAWA (CP) – Liberal campaign co-chair Terry Duguid insisted Thursday that his caucus is united behind Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, even as the majority of elected Liberals remain silent on the prime minister’s political future.
The Canadian Press contacted dozens of Liberal MPs following the unexpected loss of a Toronto stronghold in a byelection earlier this week.
Most of them didn’t respond at all. Those who agreed to be quoted on the record, including Duguid, are all standing by Trudeau.
Several Liberals responded only on the condition they not be identified because they weren’t comfortable criticizing their leader in public at this point. Those MPs either suggested it’s time for Trudeau to go or, at the very least, that the caucus needs to meet soon to discuss how to move forward.
The byelection loss happened just days after Parliamentarians left the House of Commons for the summer break and returned to their home ridings for the summer.
While some MPs have met with others in their own regions since Monday, the rest remain scattered across the country. The full caucus isn’t scheduled to gather again until a retreat in British Columbia before the House of Commons returns in September.
Immigration levels could lead to ‘overreaction,’ Quebec premier says
MONTREAL (CP) – Quebec Premier François Legault says there’s a risk of overreaction against newcomers if current immigration levels continue.
The premier made the comments today to reporters on the Gaspé Peninsula, in response to a question about whether he feared a rise of the “right” in Quebec and Canada.
He says he doesn’t want to see the province end up like the United States or France, where immigration has become a toxic political debate.
Legault says there has been an increase of 300,000 temporary immigrants in the province over the last two years and that while Quebecers are welcoming, they cannot accommodate so many newcomers.
Legault tied immigration to Quebec’s housing crisis, and said immigrants are also putting a strain on health care and education.
The premier has asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to reduce immigration levels to the province.
Fire Chiefs calls for firework safety as heat intensifies
EDMONTON (CP) – With Canada Day fast approaching, Canadian fire chiefs are reminding the public about the safe use of fireworks.
Chief of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs Ken McMullen says people should remember that fireworks are still explosives and are dangerous when the conditions are hot and dry.
McMullen also says in a statement more than 700 fire departments nationwide respond to at least one call due to mishandling publicly available fireworks.
This from McMullen comes after wildfires sparked in several provinces this year, including Alberta, Manitoba and British Columbia.
Temperatures in all three provinces, as well as Ontario and Quebec, have also hovered around the 30-degree-Celsius mark at times as well, fuelling the fires and leading Environment Canada to issue heat warnings.
McMullen says as climate conditions become increasingly extreme, a national fire administration will be needed to examine the human causes of fire, which can include fireworks.
