TORONTO/OTTAWA —
Volunteer boaters who are helping to retrieve items from flood-ravaged areas of British Columbia are being told to slow down, as their waves are affecting the local farms.
B.C.’s Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham told reporters on Monday that volunteers need to be careful when traversing these areas.
“We really appreciate your help but if you could just keep the boat speeds down,” she said.
Popham added that several electrical transformers are already down, and bigger waves could hurt the farms that still have power.
A major route out of southern British Columbia has reopened after a brief closure.
Highway 3 — also known as the Crowsnest Highway — between the British Columbia communities of Hope and Princeton closed in both directions on Monday afternoon, before it reopened to essential traffic.
The Conservatives and NDP have called for an emergency debate in the House of Commons to address the government’s plans to combat the flooding.
“Given that this type of extreme weather is more common, we need to see investments from the federal government, real proactive investments to make communities more resilient, more prepared for what is now becoming more common,” said NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.
B.C. Conservative MPs Ed Fast and Dan Albas also called for an emergency debate on rebuilding B.C.
“The return of Parliament allows for British Columbians to see the House of Commons seized with this crisis and working together on the way forward, and this will be particularly important as the damage is assessed and rebuilding begins,” they said in a joint statement.
Abbotsford, B.C. Mayor Henry Braun said on Monday that some evacuated residents are allowed to return to their homes but are still under an alert, meaning they may need to flee at a moment’s notice.
“We are still a long way from being out of danger,” Braun told reporters.
Still, Braun added that the floodgates at the Barrowtown Pump Station remain operational and water is being pumped from the Sumas Prairie.
Queen Elizabeth II has issued a statement of support for British Columbians dealing with catastrophic flooding.
“My thoughts are with the people of British Columbia as you continue to confront the recent catastrophic flooding and gradually begin the process of recovery and rebuilding,” the statement reads, issued through Governor General Mary May Simon.
“I am grateful for the tireless work of the many first responders and volunteers who continue to provide comfort and support to their fellow Canadians during this difficult time.”
A family in Harrison Lake, B.C. whose home was damaged following a mudslide that ripped through the property were disappointed to find out their insurance will not cover them for repairs and cleanup.
Mervyn Thomas told CTV News Vancouver that their insurance will cover damage to the family’s two vehicles and boat, but not the damage to their home.
The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia has encouraged the Thomas family to take advantage for the government support programs to cover the costs of the damage to their home.
B.C. is bracing for a second storm as the province continues to recover from the aftermath of last week’s heavy rain, which brought flooding and landslides.
As of Monday morning, six B.C. communities are under a snowfall warning from Environment and Climate Change Canada, including the Fraser Valley, which saw thousands of residents evacuated last week. The Coquihalla Highway, which had already been partially destroyed due to mudslides, is expected to see 25 to 30 centimetres of snow from Monday afternoon to Tuesday.
Three communities in the province are also under wind warnings. Winds gusting up to 110 km/h are expected in the Central Coast, Haida Gwaii and the costal sections of the North Coast.
Environment and Climate Change Canada is also warning of possible freezing rain, localized flooding and landslides in the inland sections of the North Coast. The region is under rainfall, wind and winter storm warnings, and could see up to 90 millimetres of precipitation. In the North Coast town of Stewart, B.C., near the Alaskan border, snow is expected to melt as temperatures rise Monday, which could overwhelm or block drainage systems.
Officials from Environment and Climate Change Canada are scheduled to give an update Monday afternoon.
The City of Abbotsford announced on Sunday that a breach on the Sumas River dike had been sealed and the floodgates had been open.
The closure of the breach in the dike and the opening of the floodgates means that water is no longer flowing from the Sumas River into the former Sumas Lake bed, which was artificially drained in the 1920s to make way for farmland. Instead, the Sumas is flowing directly into the Fraser River, as intended, and the pump station is pumping water out of the former lake and into the Fraser.
The city remains under a state of emergency until Nov. 29. Abbotsford officials are also expected to provide an update on the flooding Monday afternoon.
The federal government announced Sunday that employment insurance applications would be expedited for those left jobless or displaced due to the flooding in B.C.
Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough said affected residents should immediately apply for employment insurance benefits — even if they wouldn’t normally be eligible.
Amid shortages at gas stations and grocery stores, Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said that British Columbians living near the border could cross into the U.S. to purchase essential supplies and return without requiring a COVID-19 test for re-entry.
The feds have also sent 500 members of the Canadian Armed Forces to help with sandbag efforts. Defence Minister Anita Anand says thousands more are ready to go if needed.
While the B.C. government has promised accommodation reimbursements for those who were forced to leave their homes, evacuees say they are still waiting.
“For those who have been waiting, we will be reimbursing accommodation costs for those who are eligible. The process for that reimbursement is being worked through right now,” Deputy Premier Mike Farnworth said during a news conference Saturday.
The province has not provided an estimated number of flood-impacted British Columbians awaiting reimbursements.
The entire town of Merritt — home to over 7,000 residents — was forced to flee to hotels and motels in Kelowna or Kamloops, unless they had friends or family elsewhere who could temporarily house them.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida State has asked a judge to decide key parts of its lawsuit against the Atlantic Coast Conference without a trial, hoping for a quicker resolution and path to a possible exit from the league.
Florida State requested a partial summary judgment from Circuit Judge John Cooper in a 574-page document filed earlier this week in Leon County, the Tallahassee-based school’s home court.
Florida State sued the ACC in December, challenging the validity of a contract that binds member schools to the conference and each other through media rights and claiming the league’s exit fees and penalties for withdrawal are exorbitant and unfair.
In its original compliant, Florida State said it would cost the school more than half a billion dollars to break the grant of rights and leave the ACC.
“The recently-produced 2016 ESPN agreements expose that the ACC has no rights to FSU home games played after it leaves the conference,” Florida State said in the filing.
Florida State is asking a judge to rule on the exit fees and for a summary judgment on its breach of contract claim, which says the conference broke its bylaws when it sued the school without first getting a majority vote from the entire league membership.
The case is one of four active right now involving the ACC and one of its members.
The ACC has sued Florida State in North Carolina, claiming the school is breaching a contract that it has signed twice in the last decade simply by challenging it.
The judge in Florida has already denied the ACC’s motion to dismiss or pause that case because the conference filed first in North Carolina. The conference appealed the Florida decision in a hearing earlier this week.
Clemson is also suing the ACC in South Carolina, trying to find an affordable potential exit, and the conference has countersued that school in North Carolina, too.
The dispute is tied to the ACC’s long-term deal with ESPN, which runs through 2036, and leaves those schools lagging well behind competitors in the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten when it comes to conference-payout revenue.
Florida State has said the athletic department is in danger of falling behind by as much as $40 million annually by being in the ACC.
“Postponing the resolution of this question only compounds the expense and travesty,” the school said in the latest filing.
The ACC has implemented a bonus system called a success initiative that will reward schools for accomplishments on the field and court, but Florida State and Clemson are looking for more as two of the conference’s highest-profile brands and most successful football programs.
The ACC evenly distributes revenue from its broadcast deal, though new members California, Stanford and SMU receive a reduced and no distribution. That money is used to fund the pool for the success initiative.
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QUEBEC – Australian road cyclist Michael Matthews raced to victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec on Friday.
Matthews earned a record third career victory in Quebec City. He was previously tied with Slovakia’s Peter Sagan with two wins.
The Jayco-AlUla rider won the fastest edition of the Quebec race on the UCI World Tour calendar.
Matthews, who claimed titles in 2018 and 2019, edged out Eritrea’s Biniam Girmay and France’s Rudy Molard in a thrilling sprint.
Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar, the heavy favourite, was unable to follow through with his attack launched just over two kilometres from the finish line. He finished in seventh place.
Pogacar will look to redeem himself at the Montreal cycling Grand Prix on Sunday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Whitecaps have loaned midfielder Jay Herdman to Cavalry FC of the Canadian Premier League and rewarded two Whitecaps FC 2 players with MLS contracts.
Midfielder Jeevan Badwal signed as a homegrown player through 2027, with options for 2028 and 2029, while forward Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau signed an MLS contract through 2025, with club options for 2026 and 2027.
Both have been playing for the Whitecaps’ MLS Next Pro team along with the 20-year-old Herdman, the son of Toronto FC coach John Herdman.
The moves were made before Friday’s MLS and CPL roster freeze.
Born in New Zealand while his father was working for the New Zealand Football Federation, Jay Herdman was also part of the New Zealand soccer team at the Paris Olympics with three appearances including two starts. Herdman’s loan deal runs through the end of the CPL season.
“Jay is an important signing for us, who will provide another attacking option for the run-in,” Cavalry coach and GM Tommy Wheeldon Jr. said in a statement. “He’s a player that we’ve been tracking since we played against Whitecaps in pre-season and he has very good quality, with terrific energy and the ability to contribute to goals.
“With the recent injury to Mael Henry, Jay’s positional profile and age helps us with on-field options and minutes that count towards the league’s required 2,000 U-21 domestic minutes during the regular season.”
Badwal, an 18-year-old from suburban Surrey, is the 26th academy player to sign an MLS contract with the Whitecaps.
“Having joined our academy in 2019, Jeevan continues to progress through our club and takes every challenge in stride,” Whitecaps FC sporting director Axel Schuster said in a statement. “He is comfortable on the ball, positionally sound, and does the simple things very well. We are excited for Jeevan to make the next step in his young career.”
Badwal has made 19 appearances with Whitecaps 2 this season, scoring two goals and adding three assists. A Canadian youth international, he started all three matches for Canada at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup
Badwal made his first-team debut off the bench in the first leg of the Canadian Championship semifinal against Pacific FC.
Chateau was originally selected 74th overall by the Whitecaps in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft after spending two years at St. John’s University.
The 22-year-old from Ottawa signed an MLS NEXT Pro contract with Whitecaps FC 2 in March. He leads Whitecaps FC 2 in goal-scoring this season with eight goals across 21 appearances (including eight starts).
“Nicolas leads MLS NEXT Pro in shots on target, has a very strong work rate and willpower. We are looking forward to seeing his growth as he builds on his young professional career,” said Schuster.
Chateau made his first-team debut as a second-half substitute at CF Montreal on July 6.
Herdman, who joined the Whitecaps academy as a 13-year-old, has made 19 appearances for Whitecaps FC 2 in 2024, scoring six goals and adding three assists. He made his MLS debut in April as a second-half substitute in a 2-0 victory at the Seattle Sounders.
Internationally, Herdman has represented New Zealand 29 times across the U-19, U-20, and U-23 sides. He was part of New Zealand’s squad at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, starting three matches at the tournament and scoring against Uzbekistan.
The Whitecaps host San Jose on Saturday while Cavalry entertains Atletico Ottawa on Sunday.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024
