A good portion of British Columbia and Alberta are under heat warnings, with temperatures expected to reach the low 40s in some areas this weekend.
Daytime temperatures could crack the low 30s in the Lower Mainland and eastern Vancouver Island and rise to 40 C in Interior communities like Kamloops on Sunday, according to Environment Canada — and the sweltering weather could last into the middle of the week.
“A ridge of high pressure over the region will usher in very high temperatures and will last until Thursday morning,” Environment Canada said on Sunday.
Heat warnings are also in place across much of Alberta, where temperatures between 30 and 35 C were expected during the day. Like B.C., the region could see the extreme heat last “until at least mid-week,” the department said.
Misting stations were expected to be on full blast for the Calgary Stampede to cool attendees facing temperatures in the low 30s.
Visitors try to stay cool at the Calgary Stampede on Saturday. Heat warnings are in place across much of Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)
The warnings extend as far north as Fort Simpson in the Northwest Territories.
Environment Canada has urged people to take precautions because of the risk to public health, and to check on their neighbours.
“Heat affects everyone, but the risks are greater for seniors, people who live alone, people with pre-existing health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease or respiratory disease, people with mental illness such as schizophrenia, depression, or anxiety, people with substance use disorders, and people with limited mobility,” Environment Canada said in one of its warnings on Sunday.
The City of Vancouver said in a news release that it has opened cooling centres in libraries and community centres, and it’s reminding residents of the more than 200 permanent water fountains that are freely available for use across the city. It has also asked residents to check on vulnerable people.
“Guidance from health partners indicates that it may be unsafe for some people at greater risk of heat illness to spend time in indoor temperatures above 26 degrees Celsius,” the release said. “The risk may increase significantly when indoor temperatures are above 31 degrees Celsius.”
Seniors in Kamloops, B.C., like 72-year-old Laura Douglas, are taking advantage of BC Hydro’s offer for a portable AC unit for qualifying households.
She lives in an apartment complex for low-income seniors and said she was able to get the temperature from 78 C to 74 C in an hour in her one-bedroom suite.
“Next week when it gets into the 40s, I may sleep on the couch and have the air conditioner on and the ceiling fan right here (over the couch),” she told CBC News on Friday.
Seniors in Kamloops, B.C., are preparing for a heat wave. Laura Douglas, who lives in an apartment complex for low-income seniors, took advantage of B.C. Hydro’s offer for a portable AC unit. CBC’s Shelley Joyce dropped by to see how it’s working for her.
Cardiologist and epidemiologist Dr. Christopher Labos said “the very young and the very old” can be most at risk.
“They’re susceptible for different reasons,” Labos said. “The very old tend to have underlying health problems, which obviously puts them at higher risk. [But also] as we get older, we tend to lose our thirst reflex, so you’re more likely to become dehydrated, because you don’t have that instinct to keep drinking water.
“Kids, on the other hand, even though they don’t have any of these problems, they’re the ones who are most likely to be outside playing for extended periods of time.”
There is also concern about the heat fanning wildfires in British Columbia, so fire crews are on high alert.
The temperature in the town of Lytton — destroyed by a wildfire in 2022 — is expected to hit 41 C on Tuesday.�
The town of Osoyoos, south of Kelowna near the U.S. border, is expected is see a daytime high of 40 C on that day.
B.C. Wildfire Service said it’s keeping a close eye on the Patry Creek wildfire, 60 kilometres north of Fort Nelson, B.C. In all, there are 94 fires burning in the province, with 21 of them out of control, but none pose a risk to public safety at this time.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
