Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Smoke and flames continue to engulf much of Canada, with Alberta imposing new evacuation orders, Manitoba bracing for heavy, lightning-generating thunderstorms and high wildfire risks and poor air quality from coast to coast.
Air pollution from wildfires remained well above healthy levels across much of southern and northern Ontario and several communities in British Columbia and Alberta.
Forecasters expect moderately bad air quality on Friday and Saturday throughout most of Ontario.
Meanwhile, Alberta issued two evacuation orders for Yellowhead County in the province's northwest and an evacuation alert for Grande Prairie County.
The worst air in that province is near Fort Chipewyan, which remains on an evacuation order as a fire burns out of control. Wood Buffalo and Grande Prairie also have high risk air quality forecasts.
Moderately bad air quality is forecast for Edmonton and Calgary on Friday.
In British Columbia, air quality was expected to improve almost everywhere in the province except for Fort St. John.
The number of fires burning across the country fell slightly Thursday, 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 Wednesday had mostly cleared by Thursday morning. But further south, Environment Canada maintained very high-risk air quality rating in the Toronto area, southwestern Ontario and the Niagara region.
Multiple health studies have linked wildfire smoke to serious health consequences including heart attacks, strokes and breathing problems, and the poor air quality has prompted cancellations or changes to outdoor activities as a result.
The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre said there were 431 fires burning on Thursday in nine provinces and two territories. That was down from 441 Wednesday, with Quebec extinguishing 10 fires since Wednesday morning.
The number of out-of-control fires also fell from 256 on Wednesday to 234 on Thursday, including a change in status for more than a dozen fires in Quebec.
The week's events prompted the second debate in the House of Commons related to climate change and fires this week on Thursday.
The Bloc and NDP accused the Liberals of claiming to be acting on climate while still subsidizing and approving the expansion of fossil-fuel projects. The Liberals blamed the Conservatives for pushing back on climate policies such as carbon pricing without offering alternatives.
More than 43,000 square kilometres have burned so far this year, making 2023 the second-worst year for fires on record. That's before the hottest months of the year have even begun.
In 2014, more than 46,000 square kilometres burned, the most ever in a single year. At the current pace, that total is expected to be passed this weekend.
Mohammad Reza Alizadeh, a climate environmental researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is studying climate extremes including wildfires, heat waves and droughts. Alizadeh, who did his PhD at McGill University in Montreal, said in an interview this spring's unusually severe fire season in Canada is "really a clear sign of climate change."
Fires, said Alizadeh, love three things: dry fuel, windy hot weather and frequent lightning strikes. Climate change is bringing all three, he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2023.
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.