B C Update – CP
Source: The Canadian Press – Broadcast wire
Aug 28, 2017
(BC-Wildfires)
Premier John Horgan and Forests Minister Doug Donaldson are visiting four B-C communities, including Kelowna, where residents have been affected by wildfires.
Horgan says the day-long tour is meant to give him and Donaldson a better sense of efforts to control wildfires and get evacuees back to their homes, and he says it will take more to rebuild than just cutting cheques — although he also says that is a good place to start.
Evacuation orders affecting about 120 more people just west of Kelowna, were lifted this morning after about 600 people were allowed to go home yesterday near the roughly five square kilometre Philpott Road fire that still threatens 160 properties.
The wildfire service says 1,123 wildfires have been reported since the start of the season in April, chewing through 10,600 square kilometres of bush and destroying dozens of homes and properties. (The Canadian Press, CHNL)
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(BC-Harvey-Gasoline-Prices)
Experts in Canada are scaling back predictions of a hefty jump in gasoline prices caused by refinery disruptions in hurricane-hammered Texas.
There was concern that gas prices could leap up to 12 cents a litre in B-C and across the country in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, which is now a tropical storm causing devastating flooding in the Houston area.
GasBuddy senior petroleum analyst Dan McTeague says most gas traders are taking a wait-and-see approach, and gasoline prices could rise on average two to four cents per litre in many parts of Canada by the end of the week.
Another oil industry analyst estimates Harvey has affected about 2.2 million barrels per day of refining capacity in the States, including ExxonMobil, Shell and Phillips 66 operations that began shutting down Sunday. (The Canadian Press)
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(BC-Cabinet-Shuffle)
B-C Liberal member of Parliament Carla Qualtrough is one of several ministers affected by today’s modest federal cabinet shakeup.
Qualtrough, who represents the riding of Delta, becomes the new minister of public works and procurement, while former Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr takes over her Sport and Persons with Disabilities portfolio.
Other changes include the elevation of Seamus O’Regan to cabinet as veterans affairs minister while Health Minister Jane Philpott jumps to the Indigenous Services post and another cabinet newcomer, Ginette Petitpas Taylor moves into the health minister’s job.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also moved Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett to Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs in the shuffle partly prompted by the resignation of Newfoundland MP Judy Foote. (The Canadian Press)
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(BC-Human-Trafficking)
A Nova Scotia-based scheme to allegedly force women into the sex trade and traffic them across Canada has reached as far as British Columbia.
R-C-M-P investigators working to locate victims of human trafficking travelled to B-C as part of Operation Hellbender.
The officers also took the probe to Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland — and charges have now been laid against three Nova Scotia men.
Police say the investigation began after they learned last April that the men, including one with links to a Halifax-area street gang, had moved to Ontario and were believed to be operating a nation-wide ring to traffic and exploit several women. (The Canadian Press)
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(BC-Open-Air-Taxi)
Two Saskatchewan men made what seemed like the appropriate choice to take a cab after a night of drinking in Fernie, but they are still in trouble with Mounties in that East Kootenay city.
Officers say the men were actually riding on the cab, not in it — with one hanging off the roof and the other crouched on the bumper, while the driver was unaware of the hitchhikers.
Elk Valley R-C-M-P say it happened early Saturday morning and the Saskatchewan duo will be facing charges.
The men were spotted just before the driver was about to pull onto Highway 3, where officers say the cab would have reached speeds of at least 80-kilometres an hour, potentially causing a tragic end to the unauthorized ride. (CHBZ)
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(B-C Update by The Canadian Press)
(The Canadian Press)
