The chief of a small rural fire department in the B.C.'s Okanagan area says 13 members of his own crew have lost their homes while fighting wildfires this season.Wilson's Landing Fire Chief Paul Zydowicz says members of the department still continued their fight to extinguish the wildfire.Their homes were among 181 destroyed around Okanagan Lake last week.Zydowicz says those who have lost their homes will be cared for by emergency support services.Much of the area in the west of the lake is still under evacuation orders.It is worth noting that there are currently about 370 wildfires active in

A clean energy think tank says Alberta's pause on approvals for new renewable energy projects is affecting 118 projects worth $33 billion of investment. In a new report, the Pembina Institute says those projects would create enough jobs to keep 24,000 people working for a year. Earlier this month, the province's United Conservative government said it would pause all renewable energy approvals until February as it considers issues such as land use and reclamation. The move has stunned Alberta's booming renewables industry, with several companies with projects in the works saying the uncertainty

The Edmonton Transit Service is starting 'super express' bus service this fall from the Leger Transit Centre near the Terwillegar Community Recreation Centre to the University of Alberta. "Students can get on this bus and get to university in 20, 25 minutes and from there connect to the LRT to go wherever they want to go," Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said while riding the new Route 31 during a media demonstration on Thursday promoting the new seasonal service, which will begin Sept. 5. Construction to turn Terwillegar Drive into an expressway began two years ago. Crews are adding bus lanes, a shared-u

Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit has written a letter to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.He has given an ultimatum to Mann that if the other letters including this letter are not answered immediately, then he will recommend the imposition of President's rule in the state and will be forced to take legal action against the CM.The Governor's letter to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann states that instead of providing the information sought by him, Mann has insulted the former by making unnecessary comments.The Governor had written this letter to Bhagwant Mann on August 15 which has now come to light.

Beijing and Ottawa are negotiating how to increase flights between China and Canada after a US deal in June.Transport Canada says there were more than 100 flights a week between the two countries during the summer in 2019 before Covid-19, but the number of weekly flights has dropped significantly.This number has come down to just 10 this season.The decline stems from China's strict Covid-19 regulations, which included overseas flights and frequent quarantine and testing requirements for tourists.However, China relaxed the Covid regulations earlier this year.Aviation analyst Helen Becker said d

A travel ban has been lifted for BC's Okanagan region as wildfires subside after this week's rain.Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma announced yesterday that travel restrictions for West Kelowna have been lifted from midnight.On August 9, travel restrictions were imposed in most parts of the region.Parts of West Kelowna, Westbank First Nation and parts of Lake Country are however still under evacuation orders.Travel bans for Penticton, Vernon, Kelowna and Kamloops were lifted earlier.The Emergency Operations Center has appealed that people returning home should ensure safety.The Stein Mou

British police are investigating the deaths of 88 people in the UK who bought products from Canada-based websites that allegedly contained lethal substances for self-harm.Britain's National Crime Agency said that in the last two years, 232 people in the U.K. who bought substances from websites have been identified and 88 of them have died.National Crime Agency deputy director Craig Turner said his sympathies go out to the family members of the victims.They are being assisted by specially trained officers of the police force.The investigation actually started after the arrest of a Canadian man

Singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh-starrer 'Punjab 95' based on the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, faces a setback.The movie has been removed from the line-up of the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival, starting on September 7. Directed by Honey Trehan, the movie was scheduled for a world premiere in the Gala Presentations section on September 11, but the TIFF’s website has no mention of the biographical drama in its line-up anymore. There has been no official statement regarding the removal of ‘Punjab 95’, nor has anyone from the film commented on the same. Produc

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has appointed senior public servant Natalka Cmoc as Canada's new ambassador to Ukraine.Global Affairs Canada describes Cmoc as a career expert on Ukraine who worked previously on the creation of Operation UNIFIER, the Canadian military's training and capacity-building mission in support of the Ukrainian military.The department says Cmoc also was involved in Canada's implementation of democracy programming in Ukraine and Canadian monitoring of Ukrainian elections following the 2015 presidential campaign.A Ukrainian speaker, Ms. Cmoc has deep connections to