National News

Canada's current wildfire season is devastating evidence of the effects of climate change, scientists say, but for some conspiracy theorists, the thousands of square kilometres of burnt ground isn't enough to convince them.

Instead, space lasers, arsonists and government plots to restrict people's movement are some of the causes of the fires, according to fringe online circles. But despite being fringe, these theories are widely circulated and boosted by social media algorithms.

The last travel restriction for the Okanagan region in British Columbia has been lifted alongside all previous evacuation orders within Kelowna's city limits, as wildfires there diminish after this week's rainfall.

Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma said in a statement late yesterday that travel restrictions to West Kelowna — adjacent to the McDougall Creek wildfire — has been lifted as of midnight.

Protesters have tried to bypass an RCMP blockade on the Trans-Canada Highway in British Columbia's Shuswap region, amid tensions over the refusal of some residents to obey wildfire evacuation orders.

Live social media videos of the incident posted Wednesday evening show about 20 protesters confronting a blockade of police cars near the lakeside community of Sorrento.

They tell officers they do not believe politicians have the right to prevent them using the road, and that it is illegal for the RCMP to block it.

The mayor of Yellowknife says it's not safe for residents to go home to the territorial capital, but notes city officials are working on a return plan as a fire continues to burn about 15 kilometres away.

Most of the residents in the city of 20,000 evacuated by air or road late last week to cities and towns as far south as Calgary and as far east as Winnipeg.

"Of course, the question that everyone wants to know is when can we come home?" Rebecca Alty told reporters at a briefing Tuesday evening.

The return plan, she said, has two parts.

British Columbia's premier issued a direct plea to the head of Meta on Monday as he implored the social media giant to reinstate access to Canadian news on its platforms amid the province's ongoing wildfire crisis.

David Eby said it feels as though the social media giant is holding the province "ransom" in its ongoing spat with the federal government while it continues to ban news sharing on its Facebook and Instagram platforms.

The Law Society of Manitoba has barred two Alberta lawyers from practising in the province and ordered them to pay $5,000 after receiving complaints they hired a private investigator to surveil a judge who was hearing a case involving COVID-19 public health orders.

John Carpay, president of the Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, and Randal Jay Cameron faced charges from the independent regulator, including undermining public respect for the administration of justice and breach of integrity.

Canada's Heritage Minister is calling on Meta to allow people to share news articles on Facebook and Instagram as thousands flee wildfires that have devoured homes in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.

Pascale St-Onge says Meta's decision to continue blocking Canadian news articles on its two massive platforms is "reckless."

In a Friday post to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, she said those threatened by the out-of-control fires need more access to news about what's happening.

The wildfire battle in British Columbia continues today, focusing on the central Okanagan, where flames tore through West Kelowna suburbs and forced the evacuation of neighbouring Kelowna's University of B.C. campus.

The fire fight in the Interior is the epicentre for a battle against hundreds of fires across B.C. that have prompted the declaration of a provincewide state of emergency and forced the evacuation of about 15,000 people.

A state of emergency has been declared in the City of Kelowna, B.C., and thousands more West Kelowna residents have been ordered to leave their homes in the face of a fast-burning wildfire.

The "very active and unpredictable" McDougall Creek wildfire has now destroyed structures and put more than 2,400 West Kelowna properties under evacuation order, up from about 800 Thursday afternoon, after a frightening night that saw hills surrounding the Okanagan community ablaze.

The alarm bells are becoming bull horns: Canada's housing supply isn't keeping up with the rapid rate of population growth.

Academics, commercial banks and policy thinkers have all been warning the federal government that the pace of population growth, facilitated by immigration, is making the housing crisis worse.