'Some structural damage' from wildfire near Fort Nelson, B.C., mayor confirms
More than one home has been damaged or lost due to a massive wildfire outside of the B.C. community of Fort Nelson, the mayor confirmed Wednesday.
Liquor connoisseurs the world over are pouring out Russia-made vodka in a show of support for Ukraine, but the boycott is impacting distillers from other regions, some of which are trying to give aid to Ukrainian refugees.
“Generally, the world is taking anything off the shelves that looks like Russia,” Intars Geidans, chairman of the board at Latvijas Balzams, the largest alcoholic beverage producer in the Baltic states, told CTV National News.
No brand knows this better than the maker of Stolichnaya vodka, which announced a major rebrand last week in direct response to its founder's "vehement position" against the Putin regime and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Stolichnaya, which will now be sold and marketed under its nickname “Stoli,” has long been marketed as Russian vodka, despite its production facilities being located in Latvia.
In an effort to further distance the brand’s Russian ties, Stoli Group says it will only use Slovakian sources to make sure that none of its ingredients are sourced from Russia. The company is also offering jobs to Ukrainian refugees in Latvia.
“More than anything, I wish for 'Stoli' to represent peace in Europe and solidarity with Ukraine,” Stoli Group founder and Russian-born billionaire Yuri Shefler said in a statement last week.
Shefler, a fierce critic of Putin, is asking consumers to focus their boycotts carefully on Russian brands, reminding spirit enthusiasts that not all vodka is Russian.
Smirnoff, which brands itself as the world’s number one vodka, has also made an effort to distance itself from its Russian roots, updating its website with a banner that reads “proudly made in America.”
"While Smirnoff had its beginnings in Russia, Vladimir Smirnoff fled the country during the Revolution and re-established the brand in Europe more than a century ago," the homepage reads.
Originally founded in Moscow in 1864, Smirnoff has been operating in America since 1934 and is owned and operated by British company Diageo. The product is distilled in Illinois.
Russian-made vodka accounts for a very small percentage of the roughly US$7 billion in annual vodka sales, according to the Distilled Spirits Council (DISCUS), a national trade organization that represents spirits makers.
In the United States, less than one per cent of vodka consumed is produced in Russia and more than half of all vodka consumed domestically is actually made in the U.S., according to data from IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, a global firm that tracks alcohol sales.
- With files from the Associated Press
More than one home has been damaged or lost due to a massive wildfire outside of the B.C. community of Fort Nelson, the mayor confirmed Wednesday.
A warning from a Saskatoon driver about using your fast-food app while in the drive-thru line — a trip to get some free lunch cost him a lot more than he bargained for.
An 'unrepentant' YouTuber has been ordered to pay $350,000 in damages as compensation for a 'relentless' campaign of defamation waged online against a business owner and his company, the B.C. Supreme Court has ruled.
Chief Robert Michell says relief isn't the right word to describe his reaction as the search begins for unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school he attended in northern British Columbia.
While it's unclear what these closures might mean for the 27 restaurants in Canada, Red Lobster is expected to file for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. this month.
A man from B.C.'s Lower Mainland has been sentenced to four years behind bars after shooting a sex worker in the back during a drug-fuelled 43rd birthday.
Nearly six dozen dogs were seized from a home Wednesday morning by the Winnipeg Humane Society. It is the largest known seizure of animals in the city’s history.
Of the $40-million Aiden Pleterski was handed over two years, documents show he invested just over one per cent and instead spent $15.9 million on "his personal lifestyle." The 25-year-old Oshawa, Ont. man was arrested and charged with fraud and money laundering on Tuesday.
A man with a long record of dangerous driving told investigators he smoked marijuana oil and took prescription drugs hours before he sideswiped a bus, killing eight Mexican farmworkers and injuring dozens more, according to an arrest report unsealed Wednesday.
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.