TORONTO – Today, the Canadian Mental Health Association is pleased to announce an initial $450,000 contribution from West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd., a leading Canadian manufacturer of renewable wood building products. The funding will bolster the Canadian Mental Health Association’s (CMHA) Resilient Minds® program and enhance mental health support in rural communities. This contribution reflects West Fraser’s commitment to fostering mental health awareness and resilience among its employees and the communities where it operates. The majority of West Fraser’s manufacturing facilities are located in rural communities which can potentially be isolating with limited locally available mental health resources. …”At West Fraser, we recognize the importance of prioritizing mental health and supporting the well-being of those in our communities,” says Sean McLaren, President and CEO, West Fraser.
Fresh home sales data has finally answered the question for real estate watchers: The Bank of Canada’s initial interest rate cut in June did not open the floodgates to buyers, many of whom remain sidelined through an unseasonably slow spring housing market. Sales figures from local real estate boards released in the past week show last month’s home sales did not see much of an uptick after the Bank of Canada’s quarter-point cut on June 6, the first decrease in four years and a substantial shift in monetary policy after the central bank’s fastest tightening cycle on record. …The reaction to lower borrowing costs appears to be showing up first among existing owners who have started to list their properties, Soper says, as evidenced by rising inventories in markets across Canada.
Vernon, BC — Vernon Fire Chief David Lind likens the Interior B.C. city’s new artificial-intelligence-driven wildfire detection system to a fire alarm in the forest. The system involves cameras and scores of air sensors scattered among trees and other high points, collecting data that is fed into an AI system for analysis. Its creator, Vancouver-based tech firm SenseNet, says it warns firefighters when it detects a pattern indicative of ignition and allows for a response within minutes instead of an hour or more when using traditional visual detection. “It’s an exciting technology in that it’s really applying almost that fire-alarm system that we see in large buildings, where you’ve got every section of the building covered by some type of a monitor feeding back into a system that provides early notification to everyone … and almost taking that and applying it in an outdoors setting,” Lind said.
Following a stretch of high temperatures and several heat warnings throughout the province, and with potentially challenging wildfire weather forecast, the BC Wildfire Service is implementing a campfire ban in all parts of B.C., except Haida Gwaii. The ban will take effect at noon (Pacific time) on Friday, July 12, 2024, and will remain until further notice. The ban is being implemented to help prevent human-caused wildfires and help protect public safety. The category 1 (campfires) ban is in addition to current provincewide bans for category 2 and 3 fires. This means open fires of any size, except those licensed for prescribed burns, will be prohibited everywhere in B.C., outside of Haida Gwaii. Anyone found in contravention of an open-burning prohibition may be issued a violation ticket for $1,150, may be required to pay an administrative penalty of up to $10,000 or, if convicted in court, may be fined up to $100,000 and/or sentenced to one year in jail. 
A group of four Vancouverites is suing the city over its controversial move to cut down thousands of trees in Stanley Park. The Vancouver Park Board began removing the trees in late 2023, saying they were dead or dying because of a hemlock looper moth infestation. So far, about 7,200 trees have been cut down. The civil suit, filed Thursday, alleges negligence on the part of the park board, the City of Vancouver, the city’s urban forestry manager and consulting group Blackwell and Associates. …“We believe very strongly that the defendants … have been negligent in conducting a logging operation in Stanley Park,” said Michael Caditz, one of the four self-represented plaintiffs. …It claims staff failed to cite “credible science” for why the removal is necessary, and made “no attempt to employ … less-extreme methods” or “obtain corroborating opinions” from experts other than Blackwell.
VICTORIA – The BC Forest Practices Board has published its 2023-2024 annual report, marking 28 years of commitment to improving forest and range practices across British Columbia. The report provides an in-depth overview of the Board’s accomplishments over the past fiscal year, addressing key issues and setting strategic priorities for the future. …Statement from Board Chair Keith Atkinson: “As the independent watchdog for sound forest and range practices in British Columbia, we are proud to present this overview of our work during the 2023-2024 fiscal year. This year has been transformative, with significant advancements in forest management practices and increased engagement with Indigenous communities. Our goal is to achieve resilient forest conditions that remain healthy amid changing climate conditions and meet the needs and interests of our communities. We remain committed to advancing practices that benefit all of society and ensuring that our forests thrive for generations to come.”
A province-wide campfire ban is set to take effect at noon Friday, July 12, 2024, as wildfire risk rises along with temperatures. The B.C. Wildfire Service announced the ban Tuesday. The campfire ban will apply to every area of the province except the Haida Gwaii Forest District, “which has a somewhat different climate than many other areas,” said Jade Richardson, an information officer for the Coastal Fire Centre, which includes Vancouver Island. The ban applies to all public and private land, except when otherwise specified by a local government bylaw or other statute. It will remain in effect until noon on Oct. 31, or until it is rescinded.
New rules for dispute resolution will help support settle conflicts between the Province and First Nations about environmental assessments, a significant milestone in the ongoing commitment to reconciliation and environmental stewardship. The Environmental Assessment Office’s (EAO) dispute resolution regulation offers predictable and clear avenues for First Nations to dispute decisions related to large projects that require an environmental assessment certificate. It provides an alternative to the courts to resolve conflict and support durable decisions, relationship and trust building, and can help avoid lengthy court battles. Access to dispute resolution is affirmed in Article 40 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN Declaration) and is a procedural right for First Nations in the Environmental Assessment Act, which provides an opportunity for a qualified third-party facilitator to support the parties in consensus seeking and building good relations between governments.
Recent warm, sunny weather could be the start of a much-longer hot stretch “without a very obvious end to it,” raising concerns about wildfires, says an Environment Canada meteorologist. Victoria-based Armel Castellan told reporters Monday that even with typical July temperatures, residual moisture on the forest floor can be depleted in seven to 10 days. “That is the very strong concern as we go deeper into this week,” said Castellan, who said Environment Canada collaborates closely with the B.C. Wildfire Service at this time of year. …The outlook has changed, however, with recent rising temperatures, along with lack of rain in the immediate forecast. That means a campfire ban is now under consideration, said Coastal Fire Centre information officer Jade Richardson.
Rising sea levels are making each day slightly longer, and there’s no sign it’s going to stop, a new study funded in part by NASA and the Canadian government has found. …In short, as rising global temperatures melt the polar ice caps, more of the Earth’s water supply is converted to liquid, allowing it to swell the oblate bulge along the equator, when it might previously have stayed locked away in the ice. The swelling, in turn, changes the dynamics of how Earth spins in the first place, and invariably, the rotation decelerates. …the actual time it takes for a point on the Earth’s surface to make a full rotation is getting slightly longer, at a rate scientists say could get more severe as the perils of climate change deepen.
Sweltering temperatures stretching from British Columbia to the Ontario border have prompted hundreds of heat warnings, but it’s not as intense as the deadly 2021 heat dome in B.C., says a national warning preparedness meteorologist. Environment and Climate Change Canada said that while the “epicentre” of the heat is located in Northern California, it is expected to persist over much of British Columbia and into Alberta and Saskatchewan until about mid-week, after which it will move eastward. An unrelated heat wave has meanwhile sent temperatures into the 30s in Atlantic Canada.The weather office has issued more than 40 heat warnings in B.C., when more than 20 daily heat records were broken Sunday across the province. While Environment Canada says some of the heat warnings are expected to be lifted by Tuesday, particularly along the coastline and on Vancouver Island, other regions can expect the heat to continue longer.
