NewsYahoo News CanadaWildfires in Canada: South African firefighters uplift Canada with 'awe-inspiring' display of solidarity at Edmonton airport
South African firefighters - visiting Canada to help fight a record number of blazes - brought an uplifting surprise for weary Canadians.
NewsThe Canadian PressWildfire triggers evacuation order for Tumbler Ridge, B.C.
VANCOUVER — An encroaching wildfire set off an immediate evacuation order Thursday for residents of the British Columbia District of Tumbler Ridge, a community of 2,400 people in northeastern B.C. The district said in a message issued by the B.C. Emergency Alert system that residents needed to leave the area immediately due to the West Kiskatinaw River Wildfire's threat to human life. The wildfire was only discovered on June 6 but has grown to 96 square kilometres in size. Joline Couture, a Cana
NewsThe Weather NetworkStorm risk shifts on the Prairies as heat builds in again
While the storm risk hangs on Thursday and Friday, an end to the last couple of thunderous weeks is in sight as high pressure moves in to kick off the weekend
NewsThe Weather NetworkClouds, rain stave off treacherous GTA air quality, pattern change ahead
Clouds and rain likely saved the Greater Toronto Area from hazardous air quality on Thursday. A pattern change will improve the smoke situation in the days ahead
NewsThe Canadian PressGovernment partners with Rainbow Railroad agency to seek out LGBTQ refugees
OTTAWA — Canada has partnered with a non-profit to seek out LGBTQ people fleeing violence all over the world and refer them to Canada as government-assisted refugees. Rainbow Railroad is based in North America and aims to help people facing persecution from systemic, state-enabled homophobia and transphobia all over the world. Until now, the agency has done that by offering emergency relocation, crisis response and cash assistance to people in danger. The partnership with Canada is the first tha
NewsThe Canadian PressWildfire roundup: What you need to know about blazes burning across Canada
The battle against hundreds of wildfires continues in Canada, as many jurisdictions are under either heat or air quality warnings from the federal government. Here's a look at developments Thursday: Number of wildfires decreases slightly The number of wildfires burning across the country decreased slightly with 431 fires burning in nine provinces and two territories. That's down from 441 on Wednesday, with Quebec extinguishing 10 fires. The number of out-of-control fires also fell to 234 from 25
NewsThe Canadian PressDefrocked priest facing new sexual assault charges in Igloolik, Nunavut
IQALUIT — Court records show defrocked Oblate priest Eric Dejaeger is facing six charges of indecent assault and two charges of sexual assault for crimes he allegedly committed in Nunavut between 1978 and 1982. The records indicate that five of the complainants are female and one is male. Their identities are protected by a publication ban. A Nunavut Court of Justice document also says that the alleged crimes took place in Igloolik, an Inuit hamlet in the territory's Qikiqtaaluk Region. Iqaluit
NewsThe Canadian PressLiberals face growing calls to create LGBTQ envoy, modelled on Biden appointment
OTTAWA — The Liberals are facing mounting calls to appoint a senior diplomat to advocate for LGBTQ people abroad, including from within their cabinet. "Do we need an envoy? Do we want an envoy? Absolutely," said Randy Boissonnault, the associate finance minister. "And they should be very focused overseas." The Dignity Network, a coalition of Canadian groups that advocate for gender and sexual minorities abroad, says Ottawa should follow the Biden administration in creating a special envoy who ca
NewsThe Canadian PressWildfires still causing smoke problems in much of Canada, though weekend may improve
OTTAWA — Air pollution from wildfires remained well above healthy levels across much of southern and northern Ontario and several communities in British Columbia and Alberta on Thursday. There may be some hope on the horizon after the number of fires burning across the country fell slightly, but forecasts suggest smoke warnings will remain in place in several provinces into the weekend. The record setting air pollution that blanketed Ottawa and much of eastern Ontario with a yellow-tinged haze W
NewsThe Canadian PressNewfoundland police issue Amber Alert for 14-year-old girl said to be abducted
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Police in Newfoundland and Labrador issued an Amber Alert Thursday for a 14-year-old girl who may be heading to New Brunswick. The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary said Melissa Morrell was abducted by an unidentified suspect whom they believe she knows. She was last seen on Friday at about 11:30 a.m. in St. John's, N.L. She was first reported missing on Friday evening, police said. "Investigators believe that an unauthorized adult was providing guidance to Morrell to travel acr
NewsThe Canadian PressSupporters of Hassan Diab say extradition must not be 'instrument of persecution'
OTTAWA — The federal government's representative in the Senate says he misspoke earlier this spring when he suggested that France had requested the extradition of Ottawa sociology professor Hassan Diab. In a new letter to Justin Trudeau, over 130 members of the Canadian legal community referred to the April 27 remarks by Sen. Marc Gold in urging that extradition must not be used as "an instrument of persecution and scapegoating." Diab, who has always claimed innocence, was tried in absentia in P
PoliticsThe Canadian Press'Unmitigated gall': Senator rejects minister's call to pass Liberal guns bill quickly
OTTAWA — A battle appears to be brewing between senators and Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, as he tries to see the Liberals' controversial gun legislation passed swiftly into law. On Thursday, his office sent a letter to leaders of the different Senate groups and the chair of a committee, saying the minister is "eager" answer senators' questions about Bill C-21 "given the urgency of passing legislation to protect Canadians." The letter comes with less than a month left before the House
NewsThe Canadian PressFresh D.C. breeze eases atmospheric angst as Canadian smoke chokes U.S. capital
WASHINGTON — A fiery orange sun rose over the iconic landmarks of Washington, D.C., before all but vanishing into a grey Canadian haze Thursday as wildfire smoke from Ontario and Quebec arrived in earnest in the U.S. capital. But the smoky sky appeared to do little to deter the typical pattern of life in one of America's most-visited cities, where crowds of tourists and school groups congregated as usual at museums, memorials and monuments. "When we went outside, we expected it to be much worse
NewsThe Canadian PressQuebec fires: situation 'stable' for coming days; evacuees stuck until next week
MONTREAL — Quebec's precarious wildfire situation is expected to remain stable over the next 48 hours but residents displaced by the raging forest fires likely won't be able to return home until early next week, Premier François Legault said Thursday. "We have (as of) today, 13,500 people that have been evacuated, we think that it'll be stable in the next few days," Legault told a briefing, but said that evacuees from Chibougamau and Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Que., which account for a large number of
NewsThe Canadian PressGovernment policy tells CRTC to exclude social media users from online streaming bill
OTTAWA — Canadians who make content online are to be excluded from future regulations that the Liberal government is imposing on digital giants, a new draft policy shows. The government's online streaming bill, which passed in April, aims to force platforms such as Netflix, YouTube and TikTok to contribute to and promote Canadian content — a requirement traditional broadcasters already follow. But the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission must now develop regulations to imp
NewsThe Canadian PressWhy is the federal government looking to create a national emergency agency?
OTTAWA — The federal government is looking at creating some kind of national disaster response agency in the face of an unusually intense and destructive start to the wildfire season across the country. At the moment, federal departments including Emergency Preparedness, Public Safety and National Defence co-ordinate when there is a request for help from one of the provinces or territories after a major event like a flood, hurricane or wildfire. Here's a look at what a national emergency agency
NewsThe Canadian PressTrudeau Foundation board chair says donation from Chinese company has been returned
OTTAWA — The chair of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation's board says the organization has returned a $140,000 donation to Millennium Golden Eagle International. Edward Johnson was speaking to a House committee that's investigating allegations that Beijing orchestrated donations to the charity in an attempt to influence the prime minister. Those allegations came from a report in the Globe and Mail in February, which cited an unnamed security source. Johnson told the committee he has confirmed
NewsThe Canadian PressSenate report recommends Canada develop targeted suicide prevention strategies
A Senate report released Thursday says Canada can make major strides in suicide prevention if all levels of government develop strategies tailored towards men and Indigenous people, the groups facing the highest suicide rates. The Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology also says the Federal Framework for Suicide Prevention Act has done little to bring down the rate of suicides across Canada since it was adopted in 2016 because it does not prioritize evidence-based interventio
PoliticsThe Canadian PressLiberal budget bill passes in House of Commons after Conservative filibuster attempt
OTTAWA — The House of Commons passed the Liberal government's budget bill today, which seeks to roll out vast new incentives for clean energy and expending dental care subsidies — despite a Conservative attempt to hold it up. The bill passed 177 to 146 with the support of Liberals and New Democrats, while the Tories and Bloc Québécois voted against it. The bill includes a new anti-flipping tax for residential properties, a doubling of tradespeople's tools deduction and an enhancement to the Cana
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India angered by apparent Sikh parade float in Canada portraying assassination
OTTAWA — India's foreign minister is condemning images of a parade said to have occurred in Brampton, Ont., which seemed to portray the 1984 assassination of prime minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards. The Canadian Press has not verified the source of a short video that appears to show a parade float on a suburban street with men in turbans pointing guns at a woman who resembles Gandhi. India's External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar argues the incident shows Ottawa's lax
NewsThe Canadian PressTrudeau says kids denied a Pride flag at their schools have one on Parliament Hill
OTTAWA — Children who do not see a Pride flag at their schools should know one is flying for them on Parliament Hill, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday, as he condemned the sharp rise in laws curtailing the rights of transgender people across the United States. Trudeau hoisted the flag that celebrates the LGBTQ community at an event where he was joined by MPs from all political parties, marking the eighth time he has done so since being elected to power in 2015. "We all thought it woul
NewsYahoo News Canada‘Plotting revenge on Canada’: American backlash over Canadian wildfire smoke makes little sense, expert says
Americans in eastern cities like New York City, Washington D.C. and Baltimore are taking to social media to vent about poor air quality, as a result of wildfires burning in Canada -- but it's not our fault.
NewsThe Canadian PressFederal Liberals want to make hybrid work permanent for members of Parliament
OTTAWA — The federal Liberals want to make virtual participation in the House of Commons a permanent option for members of Parliament and they are vowing to make sure that happens before any can go home for the summer. All parties agreed to create a hybrid workplace once MPs started returning to the House of Commons after the initial lockdowns at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Voting by app began in 2021. The hybrid system, designed to be temporary, has been in place ever since, eve
NewsThe Canadian PressEx-adviser to PM says government's approach to classified intel 'particularly weak'
OTTAWA — A former top adviser to the prime minister said Thursday that a memo warning about Beijing's alleged targeting of Conservative MP Michael Chong was produced after he retired — but he was aware of issues in the way intelligence is handled. Vincent Rigby continues to call for a full review of Canada's national-security system to respond to ongoing concerns over how authorities are dealing with foreign interference. He made the comments at a meeting of a parliamentary committee investigati
PoliticsThe Canadian PressAmended bill that would extend citizenship rights to some born abroad heads to House
OTTAWA — A committee of MPs approved Citizenship Act changes that allow some born abroad to adopt their Canadian parent's citizenship Wednesday, despite objections from Conservatives about a lack of due process. In 2009, the Conservative government changed the law to make it so that Canadian parents who were born abroad could not pass down their citizenship unless their child was born in Canada. The NDP has proposed a change that would grant citizenship to the child if the Canadian parent can pr
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