BC Hydro says it has begun filling the reservoir created by the massive Site C dam project in northeastern British Columbia. The provincial electric utility says in a statement that the filling of the reservoir is one of the last steps toward starting operations for the controversial dam project, located about 14 kilometres southwest of Fort St. John, B.C. BC Hydro says it will take between two and four months to fill the 83-kilometre-long reservoir, which will cover about 5,550 hectares of land while totalling about 9,330 hectares in surface area. The utility is warning people to stay away fr

A union representing full-time McGill University law professors launched an unlimited general strike today over what it describes as the school's refusal to negotiate in good faith. Law professor Kirsten Anker says the Association of McGill Professors of Law wants to secure its first collective agreement and stop the university from challenging its right to exist. The union was certified in November 2022 by the province's labour tribunal, but that certification is being contested by the university. Anker, the union's vice-president, says the professors' main demands are around faculty governan

Potential disruption to British Columbia's HandyDART transit service this morning was averted after workers suspended job action to vote on a final contract offer, but strike action remains a possibility. Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724 says it will give a 72-hour strike notice if the membership votes down the latest offer by Transdev Canada. Local 1724 president Joe McCann called the suspension of all job action "a gesture of goodwill" after what the union described as "months of bargaining and escalating job actions" ranging from uniform refusals to an overtime ban. McCann says the vote

The maximum allowable rent increase in British Columbia next year will be 3 per cent, down from the current 3.5 per cent. The Housing Ministry says the new amount, taking effect on Jan. 1, is tied to inflation, and comes after increases were kept "well below inflation" in 2023 and 2024. Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says in a news release that keying rent rises to inflation "saves renters hundreds of dollars" compared to the previous government's policy of allowing increases of inflation plus 2 per cent. He says the inflation-indexed rent cap protects tenants against unfair rent hikes while let

Heavy rain in parts of British Columbia over the weekend has lowered wildfire activity in the southern part of the province, but firefighters say strong winds are creating some tree hazards for crews. The BC Wildfire Service says in its latest update that the number of active blazes in the province has fallen to around 311, continuing a downward trend where about 240 fires were burning entering the weekend. The wildfire service says while much of the southern part of B.C. received rain and some parts had heavy precipitation, it was accompanied by winds gusting up to 102 kilometres per hour. Th

Parks Canada says a weekend drenching of rain on parts of Jasper National Park is doing a lot to quell fire activity, but the wet weather also comes with a warning. In a daily update on the local wildfire situation, Parks Canada says parts of the national park received over 30 millimetres of rain on Friday night. Cooler temperatures were also in the forecast, which the agency says could further decrease fire activity. But Parks Canada cautions all that rain could make slopes and burned trees unstable, and gusty or shifting winds could cause fire-weakened trees with loose roots to fall. The wil

Thirstier lawns, shorter showers and fewer but fuller dishwasher loads are in store for Calgarians again as a troubled water main undergoes a new round of repairs starting this week. The Bearspaw South Feeder Main in the city's northwest burst in early June, drenching a stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway and forcing the city to impose onerous restrictions on water use for several weeks. The rationing had just started to ease earlier this month when Mayor Jyoti Gondek announced several additional problem spots had been detected on the more than 10-kilometre pipe that would need to be fixed bef

Housing and immigration will take centre stage today as the federal cabinet retreat in Halifax moves into its first full day of meetings. The annual end-of-summer cabinet gathering is intended to set the agenda for the fall sitting of Parliament which begins three weeks from today. The Liberals are in a make-it-or-break-it moment, following more than a year of slumping polling numbers and at most a year left before the next federal election. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is scheduled to take questions from the media early this morning, something he has done far less frequently since the Libera

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government will reduce the number of low-wage temporary foreign workers with stricter rules, urging employers to hire Canadian workers instead. The federal government announced today that it will refuse applications for low-wage temporary foreign workers in regions with an unemployment rate of six per cent or higher. Employers will be allowed to hire a maximum of 10 per cent of their workforce from the temporary foreign worker program, down from 20 per cent. Workers hired through the low-wage stream will be able to work a maximum of one year, down from tw