Category Archives: Canada

Bidding war over fast-food costume renews old feud over Canadian snack

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Costume consisting of a silver jumpsuit and a lifelike depiction of donair, a giant pita bread stuffed with meat, prompts questions

At some point over the last decade, the Canadian province of Alberta acquired a costume consisting of a silver jumpsuit and a lifelike depiction of a giant pita bread stuffed with meat.

Now, the provincial government has decided to part with the outfit in an online auction that has renewed a longstanding feud over the proper recipe for the beloved late-night snack.

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Canada recruits high-skilled foreigners in US – and gets 10,000 applications

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Government launches work permit for foreign workers with H-1B visa in US and meets target number of applicants in just two days

The Canadian government is recruiting high-skilled foreigners working in the United States to move to Canada instead – and the program has been so successful that it met its target of 10,000 applicants in just two days.

Canada this week launched a special work permit for foreign workers who already have obtained an H-1B visa in the US, who number nearly 600,000 and come mostly from India and China. The program’s 10,000 quota was filled in the first two days of the week, a spokesman for Canada’s immigration minister, Sean Fraser, said on Wednesday.

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Millions on alert as wildfire smoke from Canada to spread to US

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Officials issue air quality advisories across US and with nearly 900 forest fires – many of them ‘out of control’ – burning to the north

As they did last month, wildfires in Canada are again expected to spread increased air pollution to the US this week, as millions in the country are under air quality advisories.

About 70 million people could be under air quality alerts as wildfire smoke from western Canada spreads to parts of the northern US and as far south as Alabama, CNN reported.

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Trudeau pays tribute to firefighter, 19, killed battling Canada wildfires

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Devyn Gale killed while tackling British Columbia blaze as wildfires continue to rage across country with little reprieve

Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has paid tribute to a young firefighter who was killed while battling a forest blaze in British Columbia, as wildfires continue to rage across the country and the western province requested an extra 1,000 international firefighters.

Devyn Gale, 19, was part of a team that was tackling a fire outside the town of Revelstoke, about 310 miles (500km) north-east of Vancouver. Revelstoke Royal Canadian Mounted Police said she had been clearing brush in a remote area where a small fire had started. She lost contact with her team and was discovered caught under a fallen tree.

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Weather tracker: heat dome raises temperatures in Spain and Portugal

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Phenomenon is forecast to expand as it strengthens, triggering conditions of more than 30C in parts of Europe

Parts of southern and western Europe have been experiencing unusually high temperatures. Areas of Spain and Portugal have recorded daily maximum temperatures in the high 30s celsius for more than a week, exceeding 40C in parts of southern Spain on Sunday. Italy, France, Germany and the Benelux region also reached the low- to mid-30s celsius in places at the weekend.

The heat is caused by a large area of high pressure that is stagnating over Europe and preventing the usual pattern of low pressure systems moving eastwards into Europe from the Atlantic. This is known as a blocking high and results in very dry and stable conditions, as the fronts associated with more dynamic weather patterns are forced away by the high pressure.

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Canada faces ‘long, tough summer’ of wildfires with even hotter temperatures

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More than 9m hectares of country had burned, federal data shows, shattering 34-year record

Canadian officials have warned that the country faces a “long, tough summer” of wildfires as the current season shatters previous records and forecasts predict even hotter temperatures to come.

Federal data showed that on Friday more than 9m hectares (22.2m acres) of the country had burned, shattering a 34-year record.

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‘We’re all afraid of bears’: judge fines Canadian man for shooting animal

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The judge rejected Serge Paincahud’s ‘scared’ defense to fire at a black bear while illegally carrying a shotgun on a trail

A Canadian man, who had pleaded guilty to shooting a black bear in a national park, will pay a fine of C$7,500 after the judge rejected his “fear” of the predator as justification for bringing a loaded firearm on a popular hiking trail.

Serge Painchaud, 42, was this week fined for violating a hunting restriction under the National Parks Act.

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Canadian judge rules thumbs-up emoji can represent contract agreement

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A Saskatchewan court rules emoji is just as valid as a signature and orders a farmer to pay $61,442 for unfulfilled contract

A Canadian judge has ruled that the “thumbs-up” emoji is just as valid as a signature, arguing that courts need to adapt to the “new reality” of how people communicate as he ordered a farmer to pay C$82,000 ($61,442) for an unfulfilled contract.

In a recent case the Court of King’s Bench in the province of Saskatchewan heard that a grain buyer with South West Terminal sent a mass text message to clients in March 2021, advertising that the company was looking to buy 86 tonnes of flax at a price of C$17 ($12.73) per bushel.

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US temperatures continue to rise as millions affected by extreme heat and wildfire smoke – as it happened

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East coast cities under air quality alerts while southern states grapple with record-breaking deadly heatwave

Here are some pictures coming across the newswires of the heatwave in Texas:

The National Weather Service has issued a fireworks warning as the country heads into next week and Independence Day with record-breaking temperatures across the country.

“In addition to the increasing temperatures, fire danger will also be increasing as we head into next week and Independence Day. Please be safe with fireworks and review any and all burn bans in your area,” it said.

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Extreme heatwaves continue to grip US as millions under heat and air quality alerts – as it happened

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Smoke from Canadian wildfires drifts south into US cities as Texas grapples with record-breaking temperatures

Here are some air and heat safety tips from Dr Nasim Rahman, an indoor air quality expert at Lennox International, a provider of climate control products.

Keep windows and doors closed: When outdoor air quality is at its worst, keep the entry points to your home closed to preserve the air in your home – without unsafely blocking your ability to exit the home.

Keep your system in “on” or “circulate” mode: When avoiding opening doors and windows in your home you should opt to turn your thermostat fan to “on”. In this setting, the air in your home will continuously move through the furnace filter and improve the quality of the air in your home. If you have a smart thermostat in your home, you should utilize the “circulate” option, which will cycle your air for a few minutes every hour, using less energy than the traditional “on” setting.

Avoid activities that increase unhealthy air quality: Avoid activities that create or contribute to smoke or other pollutants in your home. You should avoid smoking, burning candles, or frying foods as these types of activities can significantly decrease the air quality in your home.

Install a high efficiency carbon filter or air purifier: Carbon activated filters can filter out fumes, smoke (up to 99% efficiency), and other chemicals you want to avoid having in the home. While regular filters are capable of removing dust and other similar allergens, a carbon filter is the upgrade you need to keep your home’s air the best it can be during wildfire season.

Maintain seasonal maintenance to keep your unit at top performance: Contacting your trusted HVAC dealer for seasonal maintenance will ensure that your unit is in top condition and ready to perform at maximum efficiency.

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Inquisitive, beloved Canadian sex educator Sue Johanson dies aged 93

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Johanson was venerated as a forthright educator who filled voids left by the absence of sex ed curricula at US and Canadian schools

Sex educator Sue Johanson, who once declared that “horny is a beautiful thing”, has died at the age of 93 after more than two decades of giving frank advice to audiences in Canada and the US.

Johanson gained an international audience with her plainspoken guidance to Canadians on her radio and TV programme Sunday Night Sex Show – and then Americans on her Talk Sex programme.

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Suspect charged in hate-motivated stabbing in Canada university gender issues class

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Professor and two students were stabbed in attack on class on Wednesday at University of Waterloo

A suspect has been charged in the stabbing of a professor and two students during a class on gender issues at Canada’s University of Waterloo in what police are calling a hate-motivated attack.

Waterloo regional police said Geovanny Villalba-Aleman, an international student who had been studying at the University of Waterloo, faces three counts of aggravated assault, four counts of assault with a weapon and two counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

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Skin disease in orcas off North American coast concerns scientists

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Lesions found on 99% of southern resident orcas studied on Pacific north-west coast

Scientists studying an endangered population of orcas resident off the Pacific north-west coast of Canada and the US have recorded a “strong increase” in skin lesions on the animals’ bodies, which they believe is owing to the decreasing ability of their immune systems to deal with disease.

The lesions appear on the whales as grey patches or targets, or black pin points. Some resemble tattooed skin. Their presence on the animals’ graphically black and white bodies is “increasing dramatically”, according to Dr Joseph K Gaydos of the SeaDoc Society at the school of veterinary medicine at the University of California, lead author of the scientific paper.

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Presumed human remains recovered from within Titan wreckage, US Coast Guard says

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Pieces of mangled craft brought ashore in Newfoundland, Canada, after five killed on voyage to Titanic wreck

Presumed human remains have been recovered from within the wreckage of the Titan, the submersible that imploded on a voyage to the Titanic earlier this month, the US Coast Guard reported on Wednesday.

The Coast Guard will transport the evidence recovered from the north Atlantic to a US port where medical professionals will conduct a formal analysis of the remains, officials said.

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Canada’s wildfire carbon emissions hit record high in first six months of 2023

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This year’s wildfire season is already worst on record as nearly 600m tonnes of carbon has been released since early May

Wildfires raging across Canada, made more intense by global warming, have released more planet-warming carbon dioxide in the first six months of 2023 than in any full year on record, according to the EU’s Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service.

This year’s wildfire season is the worst on record in Canada, with some 76,000sq km (29,000sq miles) burning across eastern and western Canada. That is already greater than the combined area burned in 2016, 2019, 2020 and 2022, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

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Olivia Chow wins election as Toronto’s first Chinese-Canadian mayor

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Progressive political leader vowed to raise low property taxes and support people facing unaffordable housing

A woman who arrived in Canada as a 13-year-old immigrant has been elected as the first Chinese-Canadian mayor of Toronto, vowing to pursue a more progressive approach in Canada’s largest city after ending more than a decade of conservative rule.

Olivia Chow, 66, emerged victorious from a record field of 102 candidates after promising to raise the city’s low property taxes and do more to support tenants facing a housing affordability crisis.

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Queen was asked to block Evgeny Lebedev’s peerage, claims documentary

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Exclusive: Channel 4 film says officials contacted the palace in 2020 owing to concerns about Lord Lebedev’s father’s links to Putin regime

Government officials asked whether the late Queen would block Evgeny Lebedev’s peerage because of concerns that he could be a national security risk due to his father’s links to the Putin regime, a documentary has claimed.

The aides contacted Buckingham Palace in July 2020 to request that the monarch intervene, which she was constitutionally entitled to do, after Boris Johnson decided to press ahead with the controversial peerage despite warnings from the intelligence agencies, according to the film-makers.

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US navy says it picked up ‘anomaly’ hours after sub began mission – as it happened

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A popular Mexican travel Youtuber, Alan Estrada has recalled his trip down to visit the wreck of the Titanic aboard the Titan submersible.

Estrada told the BBC that everyone who joined on the trip “were fully aware of the risks we were taking”.

But I never felt unsafe. I was fully aware of the risks and I knew that if something happened, if there was a failure in those depths and the submersible imploded, we probably wouldn’t even notice.

We continue to come together for our friends, their families and the ideals of The Explorers Club, and the cause of safe scientific exploration of extreme environments.

There is good cause for hope, and we are making it more hopeful.

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Titanic sub: rescuers intensify search as fears grow over Titan’s remaining oxygen supply

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Equipment including deep sea vehicles heading to site as theoretical limit of oxygen supply inside Titan submersible nears

The search for a submersible that went missing during a dive to the wreck of Titanic has entered its fourth day, amid concerns the oxygen supply sustaining its five passengers is running dangerously low.

Equipment from the US, Canada, UK and France is heading to the scene of the search, about 400 miles (640km) south of St John’s, Newfoundland, joining an international coalition of rescue teams that is sweeping a vast expanse of the north Atlantic for the Titan after it went missing on Sunday, nearly two hours into its dive.

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Missing Titan sub likely intact but out of power, says expert who designed deepest-diving submersible

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Engineer Ron Allum says missing tourist sub unlikely to have suffered a ‘catastrophic implosion’ but partial flooding could be preventing it from resurfacing

The missing Titan submersible is unlikely to have suffered a catastrophic failure of its pressure hull, according to a deep-sea engineer who designed the vessel that film-maker James Cameron used to reach Earth’s deepest point.

Ron Allum, an Australian deep-sea engineer and explorer, co-designed the Deepsea Challenger submersible that Cameron used in 2012 to reach the deepest-known point of Earth’s seabed in the Mariana Trench.

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