Western Canada heat wave to stretch into Saskatchewan, then Manitoba
(CP) – A blistering heat wave is moving across Western Canada, pushing record temperatures and the threat of wildfires into Saskatchewan today.
Environment Canada meteorologist Jennifer Smith says a ridge of high pressure from Northern California crept into British Columbia on the weekend before invading the Northwest Territories and Alberta on Monday.
She says the heat will travel into Manitoba by Wednesday and may reach the edge of the northwestern Ontario border before it moves south into the United States again.
Smith says they’re watching for things that lead to wildfires: hot and dry conditions, wind and lightning without rain, something that is in the forecast already for parts of B.C.
A separate heat wave has sent temperatures into the 30s in Atlantic Canada and parts of Ontario.
Cache Creek, B.C. was a hot spot on Sunday, with a high of 40.3 C, breaking the record of 36.9 for the date set in 2015. It was one of almost two dozen records for July 7 in the province, and that region was also one of 25 historic heat records broken or tied on July 8, setting a new preliminary record of 40.5 degrees Celsius. The hot spell continued with 46 heat alerts issued across B.C. by noon on Monday.
Remnants of Hurricane Beryl to cause heavy rainfalls in southern Ontario, Quebec
(CP) – Heavy rainfall is expected in parts of southern Ontario and Quebec as Environment Canada warns remnants of Hurricane Beryl could cause downpours starting late Tuesday or Wednesday.
The weather agency warned of possible flash flooding in affected areas.
Environment Canada meteorologist Trudy Kidd said it’s hard to predict the exact track of the weather system caused by Hurricane Beryl, but stressed it could lead to significant rainfall.
“We’re expecting the remnants of Hurricane Beryl to begin impacting Southern Ontario overnight tonight,” she said on Tuesday morning.
“Then later (Wednesday) morning, like 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., give or take, we’ll expect to see rain in the GTA and then by the afternoon we’ll see rain in eastern Ontario.”
Kidd said heavy rain expected on Wednesday will continue for most areas overnight, possibly into Thursday.
Joly meets with new British counterpart after political sea change in the U.K.
OTTAWA (CP) – Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly met with her new British counterpart Monday for the first time since the Labour Party took power in the United Kingdom last week.
She is the first foreign minister to be invited to meet with David Lammy in London since his recent appointment as U.K. secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs.
The massive shift in the country’s political landscape saw the Conservative government ousted after 14 years in power.
“Few partnerships can match the U.K.’s unique relationship with Canada,” Lammy said in a social media post on Monday.
“By reconnecting with key allies, we will deliver security and prosperity at home and abroad.”
The political change in Britain has revived some hopes in Canada for a free-trade deal with the U.K.
Jonathan Pedneault resigns from Green Party, leaving Elizabeth May as sole leader
OTTAWA (CP) – The man who was chosen by Green Party members to be co-leader with Elizabeth May says he’s resigning.
Jonathan Pedneault says he is leaving for personal reasons and that it’s been an honour to serve beside May and the party’s other Member of Parliament, Mike Morrice.
Pedneault, who does not have his own seat in Parliament, says he is proud to have worked on rebuilding the party and stabilizing its base.
May says she is “heartbroken” by his decision and she remains committed to the co-leadership model she sought after the 2021 federal election.
In the party’s 2022 leadership race, May and Pedneault were chosen to lead the party together pending a change to the party’s constitution, with Pedneault formally serving as a deputy leader since then.
May also confirmed today that she plans to run in her Vancouver Island riding in the next election.
Judge in murder trial weighs motivations of admitted Winnipeg serial killer
By: Brittany Hobson
WINNIPEG (CP) – A judge is expected to decide this week whether a man who admitted to killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg did so because he was in the throes of a psychotic episode or was driven by a rare form of perverse sexual interest.
The tragic case dating back to 2022 renewed calls for governments and organizations to address the ongoing issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women.
Countrywide protests were also held demanding a search of a landfill for the remains of two of the victims. The search is set to start in the fall.
The judge is scheduled to give his verdict Thursday in the first-degree murder trial of Jeremy Skibicki.
Skibicki has admitted to killing Morgan Harris, 39; Marcedes Myran, 26; Rebecca Contois, 24; and an unidentified woman an Indigenous grassroots community has named Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman.
Pro-Palestinian protesters dismantle UBC camp after two months
By: Chuck Chiang
VANCOUVER (CP) – A pro-Palestinian protest camp that had occupied a sports field at the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver campus for more than two months has been dismantled by the demonstrators without fanfare or warning.
Last week, protest organizers had vowed to continue using “every possible avenue” on campus. But by Monday, every one of the dozens of tents once pitched on the field was gone, although barricades and fencing around the site remained in place.
A statement from UBC said the “protesters decamped from MacInnes Field” next to the school’s transit loop and student union building on Sunday, but did not elaborate.
A spokeswoman for the protest camp confirmed in a text message that it had closed.
A UBC security guard at MacInnes Field who declined to be named said the protesters vacated the site without giving any notice on Sunday evening.
Child welfare settlement among key agenda items as Assembly of First Nations meets
MONTREAL (CP) – The Assembly of First Nations annual meeting begins in Montreal today where leaders are expected to provide an update on negotiations to reform Canada’s child welfare system and compensation for the systems’ past harms.
The meeting is the first AFN annual general assembly taking place since Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak was elected national chief in December.
Last month, three regional chiefs representing more than half of First Nations wrote to Woodhouse Nepinak outlining concerns that the AFN is not including First Nations’ leaders in negotiations with Ottawa about reforms being discussed as part of a $43-billion settlement reached with Canada in 2023.
More than half of that money is intended as compensation for about 300,000 children and their families harmed when chronic underfunding of child welfare on reserves meant children were more often placed in foster care than provided support to remain with their families.
The agreement includes $20 billion to help pay for reforms to child welfare including properly funding it.