Residents describe sound of roaring river, breaking trees of B.C.’s landslide waters
By: Dirk Meissner
VANCOUVER (CP) – Max Paulhus says he could hear wood breaking and a roaring sound before an approaching surge of water raced down the Fraser River after breaking free from a landslide upstream.
Paulhus lives in Lillooet, B.C., and is one of several Fraser River community residents and business operators who described watching the power of water and debris churning from the Chilcotin River landslide towards British Columbia’s Lower Mainland.
“You could hear an abnormal sound coming from the river,” said Paulhus, Lillooet and District Rescue Society chief. “You could hear that noise. You could hear branches breaking. It was almost like a roar.”
Others downstream at Lytton and at the Hell’s Gate Airtram said they could also hear the river’s flow as the water and debris passed through Tuesday afternoon and evening.
Airfares could rise after Calgary hailstorm forces WestJet to cancel flights: expert
CALGARY (CP) – An aviation expert says airfares may go up in the immediate aftermath of a hailstorm that tore through Calgary on Monday evening, damaging WestJet planes and upending travel plans.
Hailstones as big as golf balls pummelled the tarmac, forcing the Calgary-based airline to ground 10 per cent of its fleet for major repairs and inspections.
WestJet says it cancelled 248 flights between Monday and Wednesday, and will have to cut trips across its network for the “foreseeable future.”
Barry Prentice, who heads the University of Manitoba’s transport institute, says a significant scale-back by the country’s second-largest airline will likely boost demand at other carriers and push up ticket prices during the peak summer travel season.
Longer term, he says more violent and volatile weather patterns could boost airline costs such as maintenance and insurance, an expense that will likely trickle down to travellers.
Passengers whose flights were cancelled due to the storm are entitled to a refund or alternate reservation free of charge if they could not be rebooked within 48 hours.
Minister delays appointment of new human-rights commissioner after independent review
By: Laura Osman
OTTAWA (CP) – After an independent review, Justice Minister Arif Virani announced Wednesday that Birju Dattani has agreed not to begin his appointment as chief commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission on Thursday as planned.
Virani launched the investigation after Canadian Jewish organizations raised concerns about allegations surrounding Dattani’s past activities.
Dattani, the first Muslim and racialized person to be appointed to the role, has previously denied allegations that he made anti-Israel statements, including what Conservatives characterize as a “justification of terrorism.”
“While I carefully consider this matter, Mr. Dattani has agreed to take leave at this time and will not begin work at the CHRC on Aug. 8, 2024,” Virani said in a statement Wednesday evening.
“I will have more to say in the coming days.”
Feds fund health study for Indigenous communities downstream of oilsands
By: Mia Rabson
OTTAWA (CP) – More than three decades after Indigenous leaders in northern Alberta began asking for funding to better understand if pollution from the oilsands was making their people sick, the federal government is funding a study to do just that.
“This should have been done 32 years ago, maybe 40 years ago,” said Mikisew Cree First Nation Chief Billy-Joe Tuccaro. “We know that there is something going on in this community. We can’t pinpoint it or anything in regards to what’s actually going on.”
Studies have previously shown higher rates of cancers in the communities along the shores of Lake Athabasca. The lake is fed by the Athabasca River, which runs through the region where most of Canada’s oil sands mines are located. In 2009 an Alberta Health study identified a potential problem but said more investigation was needed and could not pinpoint a cause.
Other studies have found unsafe levels of arsenic, mercury and hydrocarbons in the area’s water, as well as in its fish, sediments and surrounding wildlife.
Ontario man charged after Trudeau allegedly threatened in online video
(CP) – Another person has been arrested after allegedly making threats against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau online.
Police say a man made violent threats against Trudeau, the police and security personnel who might attempt to interfere with his plans in an online video.
RCMP made the arrest with help from the York Regional Police in Ontario.
Police charged 33-year-old Dawid Zalewski with two counts of uttering threats.
The arrest comes weeks after two Alberta men were charged after they allegedly directed death threats at the prime minister.
RCMP said in July that the men posted threats to kill Trudeau and other politicians on X and YouTube.
“Threats to our national security can come in many forms and Canada is not immune,” RCMP said in a press release Wednesday.
“We are aware of the heightened security environment for public officials and the danger this presents for all Canadians. Our No. 1 priority has been, and will always be, the safety and security of Canadians.”
Ultrafine particles linked to 1,100 deaths per year in Montreal, Toronto: study
By: Joe Bongiorno
MONTREAL (CP) – A study by researchers at McGill University has found that a microscopic air pollutant generated from vehicles and industry plays a role in the deaths of an estimated 1,100 people in Canada’s two biggest cities each year.
Their study, published recently in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, finds that long-term exposure to the ultrafine particles known as UFPs — which are typically less than 100 nanometres in size — increases the risk of mortality.
Researchers tracked air pollution levels between 2001 and 2016 in Toronto and Montreal and used information including mortality data and other records to follow about 1.5 million people over time and calculate the connection between the exposure to UFPs and risk of death.
The tiny size of the particles allows them to penetrate deep into the human body and enter the bloodstream, contributing to heart and lung diseases, as well as some forms of cancer, said Weichenthal, who is an assistant professor in the department of epidemiology, biostatistics, and occupational health at McGill.
Woman, child dead in Tuesday’s B.C. highway crash involving six vehicles
CHILLIWACK (CP) – Police in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley say a woman and a child died in Tuesday’s multi-vehicle crash on Highway 1.
A statement from RCMP Highway Patrol says a second child from the same vehicle is expected to survive after being taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Cpl. Melissa Jongema says the woman was from B.C. and she and the children were part of the same family.
The crash in Chilliwack, east of Vancouver, involved six vehicles with 10 drivers and passengers, but Mounties say there were no other injuries.
They say initial information suggests that one or more of the vehicles stopped abruptly due to an “obstruction” on the highway.
Jongema says police have received reports that it was a ladder, but they’re still investigating.
The statement from Highway Patrol says at least one vehicle failed to stop in time, setting off a “chain reaction of collisions.”
