Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
A massive amount of land has already been scorched by wildfires in Canada this year, and federal fire officials warn the hot, dry weather fuelling the burns is nowhere near over.
The unusually severe start to fire season is prompting warnings to Canadians to know their risk and concerns about a shortage of firefighters as many jurisdictions are now in competition with each other for the number of trained workers available.
"These conditions this early in the season are unprecedented," said federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair.
"The situation in Canada today is very dangerous."
He said the amount of land already burned is more than 10 times the average amount of land burned by June 1 over the last 10 years.
It's equivalent to five million football fields, or almost five times the size of Prince Edward Island.
As the situation in Alberta grew quickly out of control in early May, the Canadian military moved in to help, and the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre also helped commission firefighters from other provinces and other countries.
But federal officials said in a briefing to reporters Thursday that the fire situation is troublesome almost everywhere now, and those provinces need their staff back at home.
The centre's daily report on the fire situation says demand for firefighting personnel and equipment from other jurisdictions "is extreme," but the "national availability of resources is limited," so they're turning to international partners for help.
Canada has agreements to share firefighters with six other countries -- the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Mexico and Costa Rica.
To date, the centre said 566 firefighters have travelled between provinces this year to help other jurisdictions, and another 443 firefighters and other trained experts have come to Canada from the U.S., Australia and New Zealand.
Most of them to date have gone to Alberta, where more than a million hectares burned in May.
Currently, the biggest threats are in Atlantic Canada, particularly in Nova Scotia.
Federal officials said another 100 firefighters from the U.S. will arrive in Atlantic Canada over the next few days, and they are also expecting more than 200 firefighters from South Africa in the coming days. It is not certain yet where those people will be sent.
There are also ongoing discussions with Mexico, officials said.
But Blair said the particularly challenging nature of this season, when big fires are burning in so many different regions, is a concern for having enough people and equipment where and when they are needed.
Burnout is also an issue, as many firefighters work days on end in extremely harsh conditions.
"We are, quite frankly, quite concerned with the early onset and, frankly, almost without precedent the extreme number of fires that we've already experienced so far this year. And we are very concerned about risk that current conditions present," he said.
"There are a limited number of resources."
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said Canada is moving on the first phase of a Wildfire Training Fund to hire and train Indigenous firefighters in their own communities, 300 new firefighters and another 125 Indigenous fire guardians are being trained this season.
His department is also working to help retrain urban and rural municipal firefighters, who are mostly trained to battle blazes in buildings, to help respond to wildfires as they increasingly encroach on urban areas.
More than 200 homes have been burned in Halifax as the Tantallon fire erupted and spread extremely fast over the weekend.
Wilkinson said six provinces and territories have also already taken advantage of a new $256-million federal fund for wildfire equipment. He said he expects all provinces and territories to use it this year.
Blair said the government accepted Nova Scotia's request for federal aid almost immediately Wednesday and the military is already preparing to send in additional help.
As of mid-afternoon Thursday, the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre was reporting 209 active fires burning in eight provinces as well as in the Northwest Territories -- and 87 of them were out of control.
There are about 28,000 people currently evacuated from their homes, including 18,000 in Nova Scotia alone. There were 25,000 evacuees in Alberta in May, but most of them have been able to return home.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2023.
-- With files from Sarah Smellie in St. John's.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.