Inquest explores challenges of remote health care after death of First Nations woman

VANCOUVER – The union representing port supervisors in British Columbia is formally challenging the legal and constitutional authority of the federal labour minister to order them back to work.

In a legal document dated Tuesday, International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 says it’s questioning whether the order issued by Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon last week violates the right to collective bargaining and the right to strike.

The union says these rights are protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

It says the questions will be considered by a panel of the Canada Industrial Relations Board on Dec. 9 and 10.

This isn’t the only challenge the federal government is facing on this issue, as the union representing port workers in Montreal also announced last week it intended to challenge the federal government.

MacKinnon stepped in on Nov. 12 to get ports in both B.C. and Montreal moving again after employers locked workers out.

His order directed the board to order all operations to resume and move both sets of talks to binding arbitration.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 19, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

VANCOUVER – Hurricane-force winds of more than 120 km/h are hitting parts of the British Columbia coast and more than 150,000 BC Hydro customers are without power as a “bomb cyclone” develops off Vancouver Island.

Environment Canada has issued more than 50 warnings, advisories and alerts related to the storm, covering most of Vancouver Island and other coastal areas and stretching deep into the Interior.

The weather agency says the worst of the storm is expected overnight when winds in the central and north coast could peak at 120 km/h, though the remote Sartine Island was already seeing winds exceeding 130 km/h Tuesday afternoon.

But it says risks, including coastal flooding, power outages and fallen trees, could continue long into Wednesday.

Meteorologist Cindy Day says there’s nothing alarmist about Environment Canada calling the system a “bomb cyclone,” which is a non-tropical storm caused by a rapid drop in atmospheric pressure at its centre.

Day says that when used appropriately, such scientific language is necessary and can help people better prepare for the impact of extreme weather events.

She said the term “bomb cyclone” had been used by scientists for decades to describe “a low-pressure system that is undergoing explosive cyclogenesis,” or the creation of cyclonic air circulation.

Day said terms like “bomb cyclone” and “atmospheric river” could help paint a picture that allowed people to better understand and prepare for various weather systems.

In British Columbia, an atmospheric river originating near Hawaii has long been known as a “pineapple express.”

“So, an atmospheric river — right away, people start to think, ‘OK, it’s a narrow band of moving water,'” Day said. 

“It does give you the sense that this is going to be a steady event and that there’s not going to be time for the ground to absorb the rain. It’ll continue to rain and eventually cause flooding because of that concentrated rainfall.”

In British Columbia, the government called for the creation of a scale to rank the power of atmospheric river events in 2021, in the wake of a devastating system that brought widespread flooding and shut down the Trans-Canada Highway and other key roads.

But Environment Canada said the next year that implementing such a scale for public warnings was premature.

Day noted that she had received “a lot of grief” for using the term “bomb” in relation to meteorological phenomena, with some accusing her of trying to sensationalize weather events. 

“I really believe that if they’re used in the proper context, that they’re not alarmist,” she said.

“As long as the people know that they’re getting their information from a qualified source, and that source (or) that person is using the terms correctly and not shouting out ‘bomb’ every time there’s an area of rain coming in, I think it’s really important to understand those words and to take them seriously and to know that they’re based in meteorological fact, in science.”

Environment Canada said Tuesday that the bomb cyclone 400 km off Vancouver Island coast would remain offshore, but its effects would be widespread.

“Strong easterly winds have developed over North Vancouver Island this afternoon. These winds will intensify through the night,” it said, bringing powerful winds through mainland inlets and valleys of the central and north coasts.

It said winds would gradually weaken Wednesday night as the system drifted further offshore.

Heavily populated areas including Victoria and the Sunshine Coast were forecast to be hit by winds of up to 100 km/h.

The province said in a statement Tuesday that the Ministry of Emergency Management would work closely with communities to ensure preparedness and that the River Forecast Centre was monitoring weather patterns and river conditions. 

It said the transportation ministry would also have maintenance contractors watching conditions so crews can respond quickly to flooding or debris buildup. 

BC Ferries cancelled numerous sailings for later Tuesday between the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, including ships leaving from Tsawwassen, Horseshoe Bay, Swartz Bay and Nanaimo, citing a “deteriorating weather forecast for high winds in the Strait of Georgia.”

Sailings for the late afternoon or evening service on Tuesday have also been cancelled between Metro Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island and the northern Gulf Island. 

The agency said in a statement that those changes were done “out of an abundance of caution,” adding there is also a “strong risk” of cancellations on major routes on Wednesday.

“As things can change quickly in the event of severe weather, we encourage all passengers to check for updates before travelling, and to remain flexible with travel plans today and tomorrow, as the weather conditions can change rapidly,” it said Tuesday.

The warnings about the bomb cyclone came after much of Metro Vancouver saw its first snowfall of the season Monday night.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 19, 2024.

VANCOUVER – Air traffic control audio shows a Boeing 767 cargo jet reported a “flight control problem” involving a mechanism on its wings used to slow the aircraft just before it skidded off a runway at Vancouver’s airport at high speed. 

Conversations between the pilots on the Amazon Prime Air jet and air traffic control reveal that the plane was experiencing a problem with its “leading edge slats,” and was carrying about 10,000 kilograms of fuel. 

In other recordings the tower tells awaiting emergency responders that the jet was “coming in fast,” while data from the Flightradar24 database shows the plane was travelling at a ground speed of about 200 km/h when it left the runway. 

The Transportation Safety Board said it’s investigating after the flight went off the end of the north runway at about 1:45 a.m. on Tuesday.

None of the three-person crew was hurt, but the airport said the north runway will remain closed for about two days as the jet sits in a grass field, nose down, with engines on each of the mud-splattered wings touching the ground.

Vancouver airport CEO Tamara Vrooman says there was “no risk” at any point of the plane breaching the runway’s “secure” perimeter, which separates it from the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet shopping mall and its parking lot.

Vrooman says that all flights originally scheduled for the day were moved to the south runway, and only about 5 per cent of flights experienced any disruptions due to the move.

Flightradar24, a global flight tracking database, says the plane operated by Cargojet Airways left Hamilton, Ont., just after midnight eastern time and its flight path shows it continued 500 metres past the end of the runway in Vancouver before coming to a stop.

The audio recordings of air traffic control in Vancouver show the crew reported problems with the plane’s control systems about 20 minutes before landing, with one crew member requesting time to run a checklist to try to resolve the issue.

An air traffic controller said they wanted to keep the plane “close to the airport,” while the crew tried to find a solution, but control also asked if emergency responders should be ready. 

“Yeah, we can bring out the fire trucks just for precaution,” a crew member told air traffic control.

The crew also confirmed to air traffic control that it had no dangerous cargo on-board, other than the fuel. 

According to the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Beginner’s Guide to Aeronautics, slats and flaps on an aircraft’s wings are deployed to both slow a plane for landing as well as generate lift.

At the time the jet slid off the runway, Environment Canada’s weather station at the airport showed light rain and snow had been falling for about 90 minutes.

The safety board’s website says runway overruns can damage planes and, in the worst cases, lead to injuries or deaths.

The board says the consequences can be particularly serious when there isn’t enough room at the end of a runway or a suitable system to stop planes.

“This closure will have an impact on YVR operations and flight schedules, but aircraft continue to arrive and depart on our south runway,” the airport said in an updated statement Tuesday. 

“We encourage passengers to check with their airlines for current flight schedules and status before heading to YVR.”

Vrooman did not offer a specific timeline for the removal of the jet, but she said that cargo would be removed before crews build some sort of roadway through the grassy area where the plane came to a stop in order to pull it out of its current location. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 19, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.