Wildfires have burned more than2 million hectares of land across Canada so far this year, during what has been one of the earliest fire seasons on record.

According to the National Wildland Fire Situation Report, the fires in Yukon, B.C. Alberta, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are among the nearly 1,600 recorded so far this year.

Experts use the Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System to identify where in Canada people should take precautions.

“Forest fire danger is ageneral term used to express a variety of factors in the fire environment, such as ease of ignition and difficulty of control,” the government’s website reads.  

Many parts of Canada are blanketed in red or yellow, indicating a high degree of fire risk, according to the Natural Resources of Canada interactive fire risk map.

The above graph was made using data from current and archived reports from Natural Resources Canada. Data was available from May to November for some of the entries and May to October for others. (Natasha O’Neill/ CTVNews.ca)

WHERE ARE THE RISKS OF FIRE?

With dry and sunny weather across the country, the risk of new fires is spreading, including in Northern Ontario and in Nova Scotia, where some Halifax-area residents are among the evacuees due to anout-of-control fire burning near Upper Tantallon.

In Alberta, where a brief period of cool, wet weather brought temporary respite, conditions changed over the weekend and fires threatened northern communities.

Parts of the Prairies have a heightened fire risk, and there are other parts of Canada that have been labelled as having an “extreme” risk of forest fires.

The highest risk of wildfires is labelled as “extreme,” a category that includes a fast-spreading, high-intensity fire that does not respond to suppression tactics from fire crews.  

Portions of B.C., Alberta and northern Saskatchewan are under these conditions. Much of Northern Ontario and part of Southwestern Ontario are also under extreme wildfire warnings. 

As of May 29, the risk of fires starting is lower in portions of Yukon, Northwest Territories, the area around Regina, most of Manitoba and northern Quebec, the Natural Resources of Canada map shows. This means any fires sparked are “likely to be self-extinguishing” and new ignitions are unlikely, the government website reads.

Despite some areas being labelled low-risk, in the Northwest Territories, for example, there are still out-of-control wildfires burning.

The term “moderate risk” describes areas where fire crews can “easily” contain fires with pumps of hand tools. These areas can often be seen as the buffer between low- and higher-risk forest fire areas. Currently, communities like Lac Mistassini and Lac Manouanis in northern Quebec have a moderate fire risk.

High-risk fire warnings are used in areas that would be difficult for crews to battle and where flames could spread quickly, such as in dense, old-growth forests. Large equipment would be needed, like bulldozers, tanker trucks and aircraft to transport water, to fight any fires that broke out. 

As of May 29, communities in B.C., Alberta and most of Ontario are in the high-risk classification.

Area around Carnaby, Red Rose and Boulder City, B.C., are in this category, as well as communities outside of Edmonton including Drayton Valley, Barrhead and Fort Saskatchewan.

 Communities in Ontario with a high risk of fires include Fort Albany, Timmins, Barrie and towards Lake Ontario in Oshawa and Belleville.

 A separate “very high” risk classification is for areas with conditions beyond the abilities of ground crews, with needed air attacks of fire retardant. Communities around Calgary and in Yellowknife are in this category, with officials warning fires could spread out of control.

The above map from Natural Resources Canada uses data from government agencies and may not show the current fire situation. (Screenshot)

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RCMP say they’ve found the remains of Madison (Maddy) Scott, 12 years after she went missing.

Scott was last seen on May 28, 2011, while celebrating a friend’s birthday at a campsite at Hogsback Lake, about 25 kilometres southeast of her hometown of Vanderhoof, B.C.

She was 20 at the time.

Police say the identity of the remains have been confirmed by the B.C. Coroners Service and RCMP are currently executing a warrant at a rural property on the east side of Vanderhoof, around 80 kilometres west of Prince George.

“The area has been secured, and additional resources are anticipated to be on scene for as long as may be required,” said Cpl. Madonna Saunderson in a statement.

Scott’s family was notified on Sunday, and police say they are asking for privacy. Saunderson said Scott’s body was found “days ago” but didn’t specify exactly when it was found.

Neither did Saunderson say whether the information leading to Scott’s discovery came from new information provided by the public.

She said the possibility of foul play has still not been ruled out, but no arrests have been made.

“This has been a priority investigation for the RCMP over the past 12 years,” she said in the statement.

“The discovery of Maddy is a significant development [but] this investigation remains an active and ongoing missing person’s investigation.”

Saunderson said she wasn’t aware of any danger to the public related to the discovery of Scott’s remains.

High-profile case

Scott’s disappearance maintained a high profile, with billboards and posters asking for tips about her disappearance still a common sight in Vanderhoof and neighbouring communities, including Prince George.

Her family has offered a $100,000 award for information resulting in arrests related to her disappearance, and her story has been the subject of multiple investigative media reports in Canada and internationally.

The last known sighting of her was around 3 a.m. PT on May 28, 2011.

She disappeared with her iPhone and the keys to her pickup truck, leaving her tent and the vehicle behind.

Family and police said it was unusual for her not to be in touch, leading investigators to believe foul play was involved.

Extensive ground, air and water searches were carried out to no avail, and family and friends have kept the hope of her discovery alive through a Facebook page and an annual search of the area where she was last seen.

 

Former Vanderhoof mayor emotional as Madison Scott’s remains found 12 years after disappearance

 

RCMP say the remains of Madison Scott have been found more than a decade after she mysteriously went missing from a party near Vanderhoof, B.C. Gerry Thiessen was mayor at the time.

In a video statement released in 2021, her mother described her as “wonderful, messy, creative, loving,” while a hockey teammate remembered her as a photography enthusiast.

In its statement Sunday, on the 12th anniversary of Scott’s disappearance, the RCMP said Scott loved to immerse herself in family, friends and sports.

“This year, Madison would be 32 years old. She would likely be immersed in her career and may even have gotten married and had children.”

Saunderson said RCMP are still looking for any additional information about the case.

“You never know what small piece or even big piece will crack open the case,” she said. “Every piece of the investigation will help us answer a question the family may have.”

She says anyone with information is encouraged to call the police’s tip line is 778-290-5291 or 877-543-4822.

‘Everybody knew Madison’: mayor

Gerry Thiessen, the mayor of Vanderhoof from 2008 to 2022, describes Scott as a “vibrant part” of the central B.C. district municipality of more than 4,346 people and says, in the beginning, everyone hoped she’d be found alive.

“Twelve years ago, there was just such hope that Madison would be found…[and she] would come back and make the family whole again,” Thiessen said.

Mayor Kevin Moutray says Scott’s disappearance shocked the community.

“Everybody knew Madison [as] a sister, a daughter, a friend … somebody knew her in some way, and you have all that connection,” he said.

Moutray says he hopes the discovery will lead to a resolution in the RCMP’s investigation of Scott’s death, but in the meantime, he hopes it can help her family begin to heal.

“It’s going to be a long journey for them, and hopefully, as a community, we can be there for them and provide them the support they need to go through this.”

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When Tara Vanderloo’s employees are mulling leaving her enterprise software company, she wants to be one of the first people they tell – and to hear their unvarnished reasons why.

“I know people get called by recruiters, so I’ve asked the question: ‘who are you talking to or what type of organizations?”’ said the chief experience officer at Sensei Labs in Toronto.

“Have you had any thoughts or are you questioning why you want to be here?”

Vanderloo poses the questions in one-on-one meetings she and other staff periodically have with the company’s workforce of roughly 70.

The discussions, which some companies call “stay interviews,” are designed to collect feedback from employees and are aimed at learning what the company can do to retain valued team members and keep them happy.

Some companies have been hosting such meetings for years, but many more adopted the practice over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic as the health crisis caused workers to rethink their careers or seek more flexibility, advancement or support from their employers.

Sensei Labs adopted engagement interviews in late 2021, when companies saw millions of people worldwide leave their jobs in what economists and businesses branded “The Great Resignation.”

“It was substantial, and it was concerning for us because it’s hard to hire great people and we don’t want to lose them, so the first thing we did is we addressed it head on,” recalled Vanderloo.

A companywide meeting was called to discuss the labour market changes afoot, and team leads _ Sensei Labs doesn’t use the term managers _ followed up one-on-one to learn about employee happiness in more detail.

Despite a softening job market and suggestions that negotiating power has tipped back in favour of employers, Sensei Labs has kept up with the practice and a quarterly happiness survey.

The survey asks workers whether the company lives up to its values and “would you recommend Sensei as a place of employment to others?”

Sensei Labs has a near perfect score for people who would recommend it, but staff still have wants, particularly around flexibility.

That’s part of why Sensei Labs has eschewed formal return-to-office requirements. The company has space staff can use but no rules on how often staff must use it for work.

It also piloted a four-day work week that has been expanded because the happiness survey and chats with staff have shown it’s a hit.

“Their language was like, ‘this has changed my life,”’ said Vanderloo. “If you have kids, it just makes things easier to get all your chores done or doctors’ appointments or focus on your hobbies or whatever you want to do.”

Sensei won’t green light every ask, Vanderloo cautioned.

“It’s not like the sky is the limit,” she said.

“If it’s not something we can implement, we’re very open about it.”

Chief people and culture officer Michelle Brooks has done “engagement interviews” twice with the 200 staff at Toronto cybersecurity firm Security Compass.

They started the interviews a few years ago because they wanted to build on data they were already collecting by measuring engagement, which they thought would help indicate whether people intend to stick around.

The goal isn’t to prevent everyone from leaving but to ensure the company couldn’t have done something simple to prevent the departure of high performers.

“Some level of turnover is healthy,” said Brooks. “We only want them to stay as long as they want to be here and they’ve having their needs met just like in a relationship… We don’t want to lock people in.”

The interviews Brooks has done so far have yielded valuable insights. For example, she learned that some workers aren’t necessarily seeking a promotion. They just want more responsibilities, opportunities to learn and even the ability to go to a conference.

Jenna Hammond, an Ontario woman working for a Norwegian biotech company, used a stay interview, which her company calls a “touchpoint,” to ask for a better employment arrangement.

Hammond was hired as a sole proprietor on a six-month contract with no benefits. She took the job because it was a way back to working after 15 years raising kids.

“I really needed financial stability and financial independence and being on contract just wasn’t ideal,” she said.

When the chief executive of the company asked her what it would take to get her to stay in a touchpoint, she told him and ended up being made a full-time employee with benefits.

Her company repeats these meetings every quarter and does a more fulsome one each January that can last up to 3.5 hours.

In her last meeting, Hammond asked the company to cover cleaning services for her home, which she said would help with work-life balance. They declined but offered her Fridays off this summer to help her juggle responsibilities.

“The worst thing that they were going to say to me was no, but I found that if I didn’t ask, I wouldn’t receive,” she said.

Jennifer Hargreaves, who runs Tellent, an organization that helps women find flexible work opportunities, believes every company should be having open conversations to hear about employee needs on a regular basis, but warned the process can also be a “double-edged sword” for staff.

“The huge benefit to doing it is obviously you can get what you want” she said.

“But there’s this fear that if I ask them and they say no, they’re going to know I’m unhappy, so then I might get punished for it right down the road.”

She encourages employees asked to complete such interviews to step back and think about they want and what is most important to them before coming up with an ask that is focused, specific and realistic.

But even more important to the process, she said, is employers willing to be transparent with staff and make changes based on what they hear.

“Candidates and employees are getting really tired of a lot of talk with no action,” she said.

“People need to see things backed up. If not, they know how much opportunity is out there.”

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