Tag: Canadian News

The Canadian Vote that Stomped on Some; but Showed How the Majority Stands

Posted on by Leave a comment
Canadian flag flying before Parliament Hill in Ottawa

Alberta voters reject move toward separation from Canada in referendum

Voters in Canada’s oil-rich province of Alberta have rejected a proposal to begin a process toward independence, results showed early Tuesday, delivering a victory for Prime Minister Mark Carney and supporters of Canadian unity amid President Trump’s trade war and annexation threats. The vote was not a direct referendum on independence but would have set oil-rich Alberta on a path toward a future vote on separation from Canada. With more than 1 million votes counted, about 76% supported remaining in Canada, compared with 23% who backed beginning a process that could lead to separation. “We are a solid country that’s united from coast to coast to coast,” Thomas Lukaszuk, a former Alberta deputy premier who led the Forever Canadian campaign against separation, told supporters.

Results were delayed after late openings forced more than 100 polling stations to extend voting hours Monday. More than 1.35 million Albertans, or 43% of eligible voters, cast advance or special ballots. Albertans were deciding whether to remain in Canada or begin a legal process that could have led to a second vote on separation. Alberta, home to the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves, is cowboy country and a conservative stronghold whose political culture has long had more in common with the American West than much of Canada. Resentment toward Ottawa runs deep, but has not traditionally translated into widespread support for independence. Dustin Degenhardt, a Wainwright voter, said Albertans have long been mistreated by Ottawa. “Alberta has essentially been treated as, you know, a colony,” he said after voting Monday. “They want to take and take and take from us and not return anything.” Taylor MacIsaac, another Wainwright voter, backed separation. “I think it’ll be good for Alberta to separate personally, as a very conservative individual that grew up in rural Alberta,” she said. Dave Malka, 59, of Edmonton, criticized spending money on a “referendum on a referendum” rather than health care.

Despite the proposal’s apparent failure, separatist leaders have said they turned a fringe cause into a movement that will not disappear. Carney earlier urged Albertans to deliver a decisive vote for unity. “Vote like Canada’s future depends on it because it does,” he told a rally Friday in Edmonton, where he grew up.

Source: Alberta voters reject move toward separation from Canada in referendum – CBS News

If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.
John 12:26

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

Coyote decoys help keep geese out of Royal Athletic Park

Posted on by Leave a comment
Huge flock of geese in Canadian park

The City of Victoria’s ­ongoing battle with large flocks of ­Canada geese damaging the field at Royal Athletic Park has gone to the dogs. In a bid to protect the playing surface, the city’s parks ­department has for the last few weeks been using a pair of coyote decoys to scare geese from the pitch. So far, it appears to be working. “Initially I’d say it’s been very effective, but time will tell,” said Brooke Stark, Victoria’s ­assistant director of parks and open spaces. “This is a tool that we thought we should give a try.

Royal Athletic Park is a premier sporting facility and we want to make sure the facility is maintained.” Stark said the geese have been a problem at the facility for years, but managing them in a humane way has been a challenge. The Capital Regional District in 2023 approved a Canada geese management strategy to reduce the impact of the birds’ rapidly growing population in the region. It included an egg-addling program — a technique that renders the embryo in an egg non-viable — and culling some birds. It also looked at modifying habitat to deter geese, including planting trees and hedges to prevent easy access to water from land, and using new grass seed mixes that are less palatable to the birds. The problem with large goose populations, according to the CRD, is that they can lead to high amounts of fecal matter in the water and on land, raising levels of fecal coliform and other pathogens, such as avian influenza and salmonella. In a report, the CRD said some playing fields have at times been rendered unusable because of the volume of goose droppings.

Stark said the experiment at Royal Athletic Park started with two stationary coyotes, which staff would move periodically based on the behaviour of the birds on the field. They have since ramped up their game, however, affixing one of the two stationary coyotes onto an autonomous grass mower. “It’s not actually mowing, but the coyote decoy is on top and moves around the field overnight.” Stark said the hope is that the geese will not be able to get used to having the decoys moving. “It’s like owl decoys on the roofs of buildings — sometimes birds get used to those, so here in the field we want to make sure the birds don’t get too used to it, and the mower changes direction, often in an ­unpredictable way.” Stark said the city is monitoring the decoy program and will be reporting back to the CRD on how effective it is, and how long it takes the geese to learn what the coyote mannequins are up to.

“Hopefully by changing up the location and how it moves, it will help extend the time that this is effective,” she said, adding the program could be expanded. “So far, two seems to be working, but again, geese are smart and they’ll figure it out. “It’s just one of a suite of tools and different things that we can do to help minimize their damage to the field.” She said there are no immediate plans to expand to other playing fields in the city, adding Royal Athletic Park is of particular concern, as it is enclosed and the geese feel quite safe there.

“So, we’re trialing at Royal Athletic Park, and being a secure facility, we can put things out like this overnight.” When the CRD adopted its goose management strategy, the region was experiencing ongoing problems with geese damaging farmers’ fields and sensitive ecosystems, as well as accumulations of feces on fields and playgrounds. At the time, the regional district said local goose numbers were doubling every four years. Many of the Canada geese on Vancouver Island today are descendants of those brought to B.C. starting in the 1950s and into the 1980s in part to offer more hunting opportunities.

Prior to that, the Island’s goose population had been relatively modest. Stark said she doesn’t know if the city has been getting calls from residents concerned about prowling coyotes in the North Park neighbourhood, but they have been fielding calls asking if dogs are now allowed in Royal Athletic Park. The answer to that remains no.

Source: Coyote decoys help keep geese out of Royal Athletic Park – Victoria Times Colonist

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
Luke 9:23

What Do You Do When Your New Truck Tells You No?

What happens when your new truck decides you’re not allowed to drive it? Modern trucks and SUVs are becoming rolling computers, packed with driver monitoring systems, advanced driver assistance technology, software-controlled features,…

Keep reading

Bears out of Middlebury tree

A mama bear and her two cubs are out of a tree after being stuck for 2 days. The Middlebury Police Department says a mama bear and her two cubs are stuck…

Keep reading

Hunted for Following Jesus

In some communities, Muslims who leave Islam to follow Christ face rejection, threats, violence, and even death because of their faith. For Muslim-background believers, choosing to follow Jesus can place their lives…

Keep reading

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

Dangerous smoke from Canadian wildfires moves into the Great Lakes and Northeast

Posted on by Leave a comment
mountainous countryside against cloudy morning sky

Massive plumes of Canadian wildfire smoke are set to pour over the border into the United States, bringing dangerous air quality to more than 100 million people in the Midwest and Northeast. Smoke has already been an issue this summer in parts of the West, Plains and Midwest as stateside fires have burned more than 3.6 million acres, mostly in the western half of the country. But the thicker smoke, forecast to move over New York, Washington, DC and other cities in the East, is from wildfires to the north. Check out the smoke forecast in the CNN Weather app In Canada, more than 3,000 fires have burned nearly 4.5 million acres this summer, with a dozen blazes flaring up in Ontario in recent weeks, filling the skies with smoke that is starting to drift south, like it did in an extreme way in 2023. Canadian wildfire activity this year is nowhere near the hyperactivity of 2023 but the combination of wildfires in Ontario and a heat dome in the central US spells smoky trouble for millions.

Planet-heating fossil fuel pollution is increasing the chance of prolonged smoke seasons as it tips the odds that extreme wildfire seasons like 2023’s — Canada’s worst season on record — won’t remain an outlier for long. Unhealthy smoke heads for Great Lakes and Northeast A first round of smoke is already floating over a large area from Chicago to Boston. This smoke has largely stayed higher up in the atmosphere, which means it hasn’t precipitously lowered air quality or posed a significant health risk. But a weather pattern change in coming days will cause lingering smoke and additional plumes to sink to the surface Wednesday and Thursday bringing unhealthy air quality from the Upper Midwest to New England. Wildfire smoke contains dangerous, tiny pollutants called PM2.5 that can travel deep into the lungs or enter the bloodstream when inhaled. The minuscule particles can lead to breathing problems like bronchitis and cause inflammation that aggravates diabetes, heart disease and other health conditions.

Much of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin are under air quality alerts due to smoke over the next few days, and the National Weather Service has warned that smoke could become an air quality concern in Chicago later this week. People with lung or heart disease, children and older adults are especially at risk for smoke-related illness. The NWS advises people avoid smoke by limiting outdoor activities and keeping windows closed overnight. The only silver lining the smoke brings is that it could dampen some of the heat. Smoke blocks sunlight, which would be welcome news for many parts of the Northeast expected to see high temperatures in the coming days. The smoke is now streaming into the US thanks to a record-breaking heat dome parked over the central part of the country. So far there have been several heat domes — large, slow-moving high pressure systems — this year from the West Coast to the Northeast.

Air flows clockwise around these domes, but until now, none of them have been in quite the right spot to drag Canadian smoke south. The northern edge of this week’s heat dome is perfectly placed over northern Minnesota and southern Ontario, where wildfires rage. This placement means smoke will flow east and south, right into parts of the Midwest and Northeast. With several months left in wildfire season, the door will remain open for more Canadian smoke plumes to migrate south. How does this smoke compare to 2023? This time three years ago, records were being broken as 4,300 fires had already burned 25 million acres across Canada. In June 2023, smoke consumed the New York City skyline as northerly winds pushed a wall of wildfire smoke from Quebec into the Big Apple. The culprits were a dominant high pressure system in the Hudson Bay and a storm system over Atlantic Canada. Together, they funneled smoke into the Midwest and Northeast. Both systems were stagnant, keeping the smoke in place for about four days. 2023’s smoke event was so far-reaching, a study from last year estimates more than 350 million people were exposed to daily wildfire smoke-induced air pollution. Fortunately, wildfire activity in Canada started later compared to that record-setting year, making it unlikely this year’s smoke will be as pervasive.

Smoke seasons are getting worse In the US, the window for outbreaks of unhealthy wildfire smoke is getting bigger, as fire seasons in the West have become longer and more extreme. Climate change was found to be responsible for the majority of the increase of surface wildfire smoke. This smoke has eroded decades of air quality improvements in parts of the US, particularly in the West. Planet-warming pollution caused approximately 15,000 more deaths in the US from wildfire particulate matter from 2006 to 2020 than would have otherwise occurred in a cooler world, a study published last year found.

Source: Dangerous smoke from Canadian wildfires moves into the Great Lakes and Northeast | CNN

In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
John 14:2

Powerful earthquake shakes Panama

A major earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.7 has struck Panama, according to the US Geological Survey. Local media are reporting structural damage in some parts of the country. Some…

Keep reading

Somalians Turn Minnesota Into War Zone

Peaceful Minnesota has become a terrifying scene for its residents. Minnesota nice has become a deceitful badge of horror. The saftey they once had is gone. Source: Somalians Turn Minnesota into…

Keep reading

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

Political dissident who fled China by boat arrives in Canada, his friend says

Posted on by Leave a comment
Man rowing an inflatable boat at sunrise on calm water near rocky shore

A Chinese political dissident who fled to South Korea last month in a dinghy has arrived in Canada, his friend said on social media Saturday. Dong Guangping was aboard a 10.8-foot inflatable boat in the waters off a western South Korean island in May when he was detained by South Korea’s coast guard for allegedly violating the country’s immigration law. It was his fourth known attempt to flee China. Dong, a former police officer in China, had previously been detained several times for his activism.

He was imprisoned for three years in 2001 for “inciting subversion of state power” and spent more than eight months behind bars after being arrested in 2014 for participating in a memorial for victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, according to past statements from Amnesty International. He previously escaped to Thailand and Vietnam, but authorities there deported him back to China. Dong also unsuccessfully tried to swim to a Taiwanese island.

The rubber boat that a Chinese national was in when he was detained in the waters off South Korea’s west coast, at a port in Taean, South Korea. The Taean Maritime Police via AP

At a court hearing in South Korea after his arrest, he told reporters that he hopes to go to Canada to reunite with his wife and daughters, who have already been resettled there, according to South Korean media. In a post Saturday on X, his friend Sheng Xue, a Chinese Canadian activist, said Dong had landed in Toronto following an Air Canada flight on Friday. “He just had a big bowl of noodles with eggs, tomatoes and shrimps,” she wrote in the post, adding that she has spent more than 10 years trying to get him out of China.

She attached a photo of Dong in a car with her and another photo of Dong holding a bowl. Xue wrote Saturday in a follow-up post, “In the process of fleeing for his life more than ten times over a decade, risking his life and facing constant failures, he has never uttered a single word of complaint or discouragement.” She added, “Souls that love freedom are full of strength.” Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has not immediately commented.

Source: Political dissident who fled China by boat arrives in Canada, his friend says – CBS News

However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.
1 Timothy 1:16

Plague in Russia?

Russian authorities have sought to allay global worries over the death of a young woman who worked at a Siberian anti-plague laboratory. But moves to isolate her…

Keep reading

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

Air France flight bound for Detroit diverted to Canada over passenger from Congo, officials say

Posted on by Leave a comment
an airplane parked on a tarmac

An Air France flight from Paris to Detroit was forced to divert to Montreal on Wednesday due to U.S. flight restrictions linked to the Ebola outbreak after it was determined that one of the passengers was from the Democratic Republic of Congo, federal officials and the airline said. Air France boarded the passenger “in error on a flight to the United States,” a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson told CBS News in a statement. “Due to entry restrictions put in place to reduce the risk of the Ebola virus, the passenger should not have boarded the plane,” the CBP spokesperson said. “CBP took decisive action and prohibited the flight carrying that traveler from landing at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, and instead, diverted to Montreal, Canada.” CBP did not say when the person had last been in the Congo or whether they were showing symptoms of the virus.

When reached about the incident, the Federal Aviation Administration directed CBS News to CBP. CBS News has also reached out to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for comment. Air France said in a statement to CBS News that it “confirms that, at the request of U.S. authorities, (the flight) was diverted to Montreal Airport after a Congolese passenger on board was denied entry into the United States. In fact, under new regulations, passengers arriving from certain countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, may only enter U.S. territory via Washington (IAD) Airport. There was no medical emergency on board, and like all airlines, Air France is required to comply with the entry requirements of the countries it serves.”

According to the flight tracking website FlightAware, Air France Flight 378 from Paris-Charles de Gaulle International Airport landed at Montreal Trudeau International Airport at 5:15 p.m. ET. The status of the passenger from the Congo was unknown.  Deborah Mistor, a business class passenger aboard the flight, told CBS News in an interview Thursday night that the rest of the passengers were then flown from Montreal to Detroit aboard the same aircraft. Mistor revealed that the passengers were notified by the captain about four hours before they were initially due to arrive in Detroit that U.S. authorities were not allowing the plane to land in the U.S. and the flight was being diverted. The captain did not provide a reason, however. “I think enough people must have been questioning what was going on because 30 minutes later, he came back on and said that he wanted to confirm that there was nothing wrong with the plane, there were no technical difficulties, that it was strictly because of U.S. authorities not allowing us to land in the U.S.,” Mistor told CBS News.

Source: Air France flight bound for Detroit diverted to Canada over passenger from Congo, officials say – CBS News

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
1 John 5:13

For God so Loved the World

“God loved you enough to send His Son, Jesus loved you enough to give His life, and through faith, you are offered a hope this world can never take away.”…

Keep reading

2 Timothy 3:12 

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted Paul was reminding Timothy that following Christ does not guarantee an easy life. When we choose to…

Keep reading

John 15:18–20

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you…

Keep reading

Galatians 1:6-10

“When truth becomes negotiable, faith becomes vulnerable so know the Gospel, stand on God’s Word, and seek His approval above the world’s applause.” “I am astonished that you are so…

Keep reading

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

Gunman at Mexico’s Teotihuacán pyramids kills Canadian tourist, injures at least 13 people

Posted on by Leave a comment
pyramid of the sun in teotihuacan under clear sky

A Canadian tourist was shot and killed Monday while visiting the Teotihuacán pyramids in Mexico, according to local authorities. Mexico’s security officials said a gunman opened fire at the popular tourist spot, killing a Canadian woman and injuring at least 13 people, including seven Americans. The shooter is believe to have taken his own life, the Security Cabinet said. Local prosecutors identified the gunman as Julio Cesar Jasso Ramirez, a Mexican national.

His cause of death has not yet been officially determined, Mexico’s attorney general’s office said. Mexico’s Security Cabinet said a firearm, a bladed weapon and ammunition were found at the scene. The gunman also had notes that appear to reference the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, local officials said. In a video posted on X, verified by CBS News, a man with a gun is seen pacing near the top of the Pyramid of the Moon. In another video, gunshots can be heard as visitors of the archeological site are seen walking at the bottom of the pyramid. “I have hostages and if you try to climb up I’ll kill them,” the gunman can be heard telling responding officers in another video taken by a witness.

Source: Gunman at Mexico’s Teotihuacán pyramids kills Canadian tourist, injures at least 13 people – CBS News

Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, And I have loved you; Therefore I will give men for you, And people for your life.
Isaiah 43:4

The stabbing. Canada has a serious knife problem

Posted on by Leave a comment
silver and gold switchblade on gray and white surface

Driving a blade into another person’s body is a savage, intimate act of violence. Why are we paying so little attention to these attacks?

Source: The stabbing. Canada has a serious knife problem | National Post

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23

25 dead after cargo ship fire in Chinese port

A cargo ship docked for repairs in a Chinese port caught fire, killing 25 people, Chinese state media reported Thursday. The ship was being repaired in the Beihai Shipbuilding Co. at the port of Qingdao, a major shipping hub on the northeastern Chinese coast. A photo released by Xinhua news agency identified the ship as…

Drink of Jesus's avatar by Drink of Jesus

Record-setting cyclospora outbreak is over, U.S. health officials declare

The cyclospora food poisoning outbreak linked to recalled iceberg lettuce is over, U.S. health officials said Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there is no longer a risk of people getting sick with cyclosporiasis from this outbreak and is confident that all related iceberg lettuce is off the market. The U.S. Food and…

Drink of Jesus's avatar by Drink of Jesus

Field of Flags marks 25 years since 9/11 at Kennesaw Mountain

At the foot of Kennesaw Mountain, 2,977 American flags now stand as a reminder that every person killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks had a life and a story. People of all ages joined first responders and community groups to plant the flags at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. Each flag represents one person…

Drink of Jesus's avatar by Drink of Jesus

Teen survives for days clinging to capsized boat off Alaska

A 15-year-old boy survived on top of an overturned skiff in Alaska’s frigid Bering Sea for roughly two days, losing his older brother and then his cousin to the ocean after the boat capsized while they were out fishing. The teen, identified by a relative as Derek Parker Aghnaanga, was finally hoisted to safety Monday…

Drink of Jesus's avatar by Drink of Jesus

Subscribe

Enter your email below to receive updates.