Firefighter’s death delays tours for Jasper residents in zone destroyed by wildfire
JASPER, ALTA. (CP) – Jasper residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed by an out-of-control wildfire were told they’d have to wait until Monday to view the devastation in person, following the tragic death of a firefighter.
Alberta’s minister of public safety said bus tours of the community that were scheduled to begin Sunday were postponed 24 hours because of the death over the weekend of a firefighter in Jasper National Park.
Mike Ellis said in a social media post that the decision was made out of respect for the family, crew and all those impacted by the tragedy.
Later Sunday, Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen told a news conference that was updating the fire situation that conditions in the park would also have prevented the tours for that day from proceeding.
RCMP said they learned Saturday afternoon that a 24-year-old employee of Alberta’s fire service who was a resident of Calgary was seriously injured by a falling tree while fighting an active fire northeast of Jasper, and later died.
Shootout between suspect and Montreal police leaves three people seriously injured
MONTREAL (CP) – Quebec’s police watchdog is investigating after a shootout between a suspect and Montreal police left three people seriously injured in a western suburb on Sunday night.
The shooting occurred around 10:45 p.m. on a busy street corner in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, a Montreal suburb.
The watchdog says police received a call from someone who reported an argument inside their home and that they had heard gunshots.
One of the people involved in the dispute left the home and allegedly pointed a firearm at a motorist, who then fled.
The suspect then walked toward a second vehicle nearby, beside which were three people.
Police arrived at the scene and exchanged gunfire with the suspect, who was hit and suffered serious injuries but whose condition has since stabilized.
Two people who were near the car were also hit by gunfire and seriously injured, but the watchdog says their lives are not in danger.
G7 foreign ministers say ‘no country stands to gain’ from rising Middle East tensions
OTTAWA (CP) – Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and her G7 counterparts have issued a joint statement calling for a de-escalation of tensions in the Middle East.
The foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States issued the statement, along with the High Representative of the European Union.
The statement, which was released Sunday by Global Affairs Canada, says the ministers are expressing their “deep concern at the heightened level of tension in the Middle East, which threatens to ignite a broader conflict in the region.”
It urges all parties to refrain from retaliatory violence, saying: “No country or nation stands to gain from a further escalation in the Middle East.”
Fears of an all-out regional war in the Middle East are mounting after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.
On Saturday, Global Affairs Canada upgraded its travel advisory for Israel to its highest risk level, warning Canadians to avoid all travel to the country due to the unpredictable security situation and ongoing regional conflicts.
Canada had previously upgraded its travel advisory in April to warn against all travel to Israel and the West Bank, but soon after downgraded its warning for Israel to “avoid all non-essential travel.”
Trudeau makes unscheduled stop at Vancouver’s Pride events, does not walk in parade
VANCOUVER (CP) – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an unscheduled stop Sunday at Vancouver’s Pride festivities but did not walk in the annual downtown parade.
Trudeau walked a block in the city’s West End before the event’s official start.
The prime minister stopped to shake hands and take selfies with people gathering for the parade.
Trudeau also made an unannounced appearance at a festival in Surrey Sunday celebrating 77 years since South Asians in B.C. won the right to vote in Canadian elections.
Trudeau attended the 28th annual Mela Gadri Babian Da festival at Surrey’s Holland Park.
Trudeau was also presented with a framed certificate of appreciation by the Prof. Mohan Singh Memorial Foundation for his 2016 formal apology in the House of Commons for the Komagata Maru incident.
The prime minister’s official government of Canada website says, “On May 23, 1914, a steamship arrived in Vancouver carrying 376 passengers who had hopes for a new life in Canada. After a long journey from India, the majority of the passengers – who were of Sikh, Muslim, and Hindu origin – were denied entry into Canada due to the laws in existence at the time.”
Wildfire Service expands wildfire evacuation orders in southern Interior
VICTORIA (CP) – Two out-of-control wildfires in British Columbia’s southern Interior have forced officials to issue evacuation orders for people at almost 100 properties.
The Thompson-Nicola Regional District said it expanded evacuation orders Sunday for residents and owners of 83 properties in a remote area north of Lytton, including recreational cabins at Turnip Lake, due to the continued growth of the Shetland Creek wildfire.
The regional district said in a statement Sunday the evacuation order was issued “due to immediate danger to life safety caused by the Shetland Creek Wildfire.”
The Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District issued an evacuation order late Saturday for 16 properties in a rural area south of Princeton, B.C., because of the out-of-control Calcite Creek wildfire.
The properties are located near Highway 3 along the Pasayten Forest Service Road, about 40 kilometres south of Princeton, while evacuation alerts were issued for people at nearby properties at Eastgate and Placer Creek.
The province’s Wildfire Service reports eight fires of note in B.C.’s southern regions, including the Dogtooth wildfire south of Golden, which has destroyed 15 structures; the Dunn Creek wildfire located about 100 kilometres north of Kamloops; and the Sitkum Creek wildfire northeast of Vernon.
A wildfire of note is described as highly visible with the potential to pose a threat to public safety.
Federal cabinet minister Pablo Rodriguez being sought to lead Quebec Liberal Party
By: Maura Forrest
MONTREAL (CP) – A spokesperson for Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez says he is fielding “a lot of requests” to join the race to lead the Quebec Liberal Party.
But Rodriguez, the Quebec lieutenant for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, has not confirmed whether he will seek the leadership of the provincial party.
Jacques Martineau, director of communications for Rodriguez, says the minister is “sincerely touched by the many requests he received” to make the leap to provincial politics.
A source with knowledge of the Quebec Liberal leadership race says the minister is seriously considering a bid to lead the party. The source did not want to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
However, the source raised some doubts about whether Rodriguez is the right person for the job, in part because he carries the baggage of nine years in the federal Liberal government.
The Quebec Liberal Party did not immediately return a request for comment. The party will choose its new leader next June. Former Montreal mayor Denis Coderre is so far the only official candidate in the race.
Liberals borrow ‘weird’ tactic from Democrats in latest attack on Pierre Poilievre
By: Maura Forrest
OTTAWA (CP) – In a bid to import what some might call American-style politics, the Liberals are labelling federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre “weird” with a new line of attack borrowed from the United States Democrats.
The slight, which Vice-President Kamala Harris and other Democrats have been using to some effect against former president Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance in recent days, has spawned myriad reactions and think-pieces south of the border.
Its effect in Canadian political circles is less clear, though it has at least provoked a response from the Conservatives. In a nutshell: You think our guy’s weird? Well, yours is weirder.
The Canadian weird-a-thon began late last week, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted on the X platform that Poilievre needs to “touch grass,” or reconnect with reality, after the Conservative leader accused him of admiring communist dictatorships. Poilievre’s dig was a reference to comments Trudeau made in 2013, before he was prime minister, when he said he admired China’s “basic dictatorship” because it allowed the Chinese to “turn their economy around on a dime.”
Several Liberals MPs, including one cabinet minister, quickly took things a step further. In response to a social media attack from Poilievre, Housing Minister Sean Fraser on Thursday accused him on X of “using incel hashtags to find friends online, begging for the attention of the far-right, and posting weird wood videos.”
