DEVELOPING Latest updates on the major wildfires currently burning in Canada
Thousands of Canadians have been displaced as fires burn in Alberta, B.C. and Manitoba. Here are the latest updates.
When staff at Iqaluit's Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre heard the news last week that water from the city's distribution pipes wasn't safe to drink because of fuel contamination, they knew some people weren't going to be able to get the precious liquid themselves.
The city set up two distribution sites where people could fill up jugs with potable water, and many were able to drive to the nearby Sylvia Grinnell River and collect it themselves to boil for drinking.
But Rachel Blais, executive director of the food centre, which runs a meal service and other community programs, said many people don't have vehicles. Others, she said, have kids or work multiple jobs and don't have time to get water.
"We know that we have a lot of community members who are experiencing homelessness, or don't have access to transportation, or have disabilities or mobility issues, people who are elders, people who have children at home, the list goes on," Blais said in a phone interview Sunday.
The Nunavut capital's 8,000 residents were told on Tuesday not to drink the tap water after complaints started flooding in that it smelled of fuel.
City officials later said testing revealed a high concentration of various fuel components in a tank that supplies the water. The city has isolated and bypassed the tank, and once it is emptied and flushed, the authorities will investigate where the contaminants came from.
Tap water can still be used for bathing, showering, laundry and washing dishes, according to the city.
Blais said the first thing her group did was post a message on Facebook asking if anyone needed help getting water. They got calls and emails immediately, and at first their staff and members of their pre-employment training program filled the need. They then applied for and received emergency funding from Qikiqtani Inuit Association and Community Food Centres Canada to hire a full-time driver.
That driver now fills water jugs at the city's distribution points, or goes to the river himself if the lines are too long, and brings them to homes in a cargo van. Deliveries are also made to other community groups like the local women's shelter.
The water that's needed isn't just for drinking. The city is also advising people not to cook with or clean food with tap water.
"We've got a lot of community members who have a lot of people in their households -- a lot of children in their households -- and they need a lot of water," Blais said.
Another challenge, she said, was that local stores ran out of water jugs right away. Some of the people who needed water delivered couldn't afford the jugs anyway, Blais added. So starting Monday, she said they'll be delivering water in large Rubbermaid totes.
The Nunavut government has also been flying in shipments of potable water. Agnico Eagle Mines delivered approximately 15,000 litres of water to Iqaluit on Friday and Saturday as well.
Nunavut's chief public health officer, Dr. Michael Patterson said last week that there does not seem to be any health risks to Iqaluit residents who drank contaminated tap water, and that people may be able to start drinking it again in the middle of this week depending on more test results.
Patterson said the contamination didn't happen naturally, and could be from an old oil spill that's been released with thawing permafrost.
The city said its water-engineering consultants suspect that contaminants outside of the plant, that are located in the soil or groundwater, have entered the tank from the exterior.
Blais noted the water situation in Iqaluit is not unusual in many Canadian Indigenous communities, where boil-water advisories are the norm. Climate change and the city's growing population are other threats to water security, she said.
Iqaluit is very lucky to have the Sylvia Grinnell River so close, she said.
"If we didn't have access to that clean water source, I don't know what the situation would have been."
-- By Rob Drinkwater in Edmonton
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2021.
Thousands of Canadians have been displaced as fires burn in Alberta, B.C. and Manitoba. Here are the latest updates.
Slovak politicians have called for calm in the Central European country after Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot multiple times by a would-be assassin on Wednesday, a rare instance of political violence that came as a shock despite deep political polarization.
Auto technology has evolved and many newer cars use wireless key fobs and push-button starters instead of traditional metal keys. But that technology also makes things easier for thieves.
Canada's transportation department had a UFO 'lead' who tried to 'quell' media interest and planned to meet with U.S. intelligence officials.
Regaining your focus requires you to be mindful of how you are using technology -- a daunting task if you consider the average American spends at least 10 hours a day on screens.
May 20 is Victoria Day. If you're going across the border this long weekend, follow these tips for a smoother trip.
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.
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 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.
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.