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CTV News
23 minutes ago
- CTV News
Jasper seniors wait for temporary housing in Hinton
Workers assess, repair and rebuild as residents return to Jasper on Monday, August 19, 2024. Alberta's social services minister says $112 million earmarked for 250 new permanent homes in Jasper, Alta., is off the table if Parks Canada and the local government continue to pursue a different vision for the town's post-wildfire rebuild. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amber Bracken About a dozen seniors displaced by the 2024 Jasper wildfires are waiting to move into interim housing while their homes at Pine Grove Manor in Jasper are rebuilt. The seniors are currently staying at Pine Valley Lodge in Hinton, but are waiting for shovels to break ground across the street where the province is building interim housing for the seniors. Kristen Chambers, the chief administrative officer of the Evergreen Foundation, said Pine Valley Lodge is often used to help evacuated communities by hosting seniors at the facility. The Evergreen Foundation manages several subsidized seniors housing facilities across the province. While some seniors are settling into their temporary homes in Hinton, others have had to be housed in other communities further from their Jasper base. Chambers said one senior had to be housed in Edmonton. seniors Seniors of the burned-down Pine Grove Manor in Jasper are seen in this supplied photo. 'They miss home. Many have their kids there, their doctors there. That's where they've lived for generations,' Chambers told CTV News Edmonton. On the one-year anniversary of the Jasper wildfire, many seniors are reaching out to Evergreen to see when they can come back home. Some are requesting to be put on a list to get into Hinton so they can be closer to Jasper. 'It's a tough, tough struggle,' said Chambers. The province committed $18 million to provide interim housing for Pine Grove Manor residents displaced by the fires. A statement from the Ministry of Assisted Living and Social Services said the procurement of the modular homes is complete and the homes are in the process of being manufactured. Housing will consist of 21 individual modular homes with kitchen, full baths and porches. Sixteen of the homes will be one-bedroom dwellings and five will have two bedrooms. Press secretary Amber Edgerton said a geotechnical survey on the site is complete. Site, design and construction plans are in the process of being finalized. 'We are working towards having the modular homes on-site later this summer, so residents can move into their new homes this fall,' said Edgerton's statement. Hinton has seen a steady stream of Jasperites settling in the town since the fire. 'Houses are going fast and there's a lot of activity in the real estate market,' said Chambers, who is also a Hinton councillor. Council is exploring infill options and identifying public land that could be used for homes. Chambers expects her town will be feeling knock-on effects from the Jasper wildfire for years to come.
CTV News
24 minutes ago
- CTV News
How lessons can be learned from B.C.'s Red Chris mine to help future rescues
The entrance to the Red Chris mine near Iskut, B.C., is shown on Wednesday, July 23. (Dave Middleton / The Canadian Press) A rescuer who has experienced the relief that comes with successfully freeing people trapped underground, says lessons learned at a rescue operation at British Columbia's Red Chris mine can help teams across the country. Mine operator Newmont Corp., has promised an independent investigation into the factors that led to the rockfall that trapped three workers underground for more than 60 hours before they were rescued late Thursday. Danny Taillefer, deputy chief mine rescue officer at Ontario Mine Rescue, said it's common for reports that detail such rescues to also be made public for anyone who wants to read them. 'Even a successful rescue has its ups and downs. There's definitely always stuff that you could do better. So why not allow others to learn from your mistakes and make sure that the next one goes off even smoother?' he said in an interview on Friday. 'At the end of the day, we care about miners. We care about the people going underground to make a living for their family, regardless of where you're from, whether it be another province in this country or another country altogether.' Taillefer said he was following the B.C. rescue closely from Ontario and is relieved the three contractors were brought above ground safely. The men moved to a steel refuge station more than 280 meters below ground after the first rockfall on Tuesday and their communication was severed during the second rockfall. Taillefer was involved in the 2021 rescue of 39 miners at Vale's Totten mine in Sudbury, Ont., where the workers survived being trapped almost a kilometre underground for four days. He said while rescues are underway it feels like 'you've got the weight of the world on your shoulders' and that's followed by the relief that comes with success. 'When (rescuers at Totten) finally got to see that last gentleman that got to the surface hug his wife, and know that he's going home to his kids after he gets checked out by the medical professionals, it's an extreme amount of relief,' he said. The three contractors in B.C. were trapped by what the company said was 'localized' ground falls. Bernard Wessels, global safety chief for Newmont Corp., told a news conference Friday that open-pit mining has resumed at Red Chris but the underground work will be halted as an investigation is completed. 'Newmont will do an extensive inspection and investigation into this incident, and ultimately we will share the results of this incident so that we can learn from that. But it's not a common thing, and it's not a common thing for this operation,' he said. This report by Ashley Joannou of The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2025.
CTV News
30 minutes ago
- CTV News
Man in his 90's donates War of 1812 artifact to Stratford museum
Gorden Willder holds the ammunition pouch believed to be from the War of 1812. (CTV News/Ashley Bacon) An ammunition holder believed to be from the 1700s has a new home at the Stratford Perth Museum after a man says he found it more than eight decades ago. Gordon Willder was only 15-years-old in 1945, when he and his grandfather began renovating their home on Cobourg street in Stratford. 'That was a long time ago, and I've kept it ever since,' said Willder, referring to what the pair found that day. When an interior wall came down, it unearthed a treasure. 'Out popped this ammunition pouch and it was buried in sawdust, which was installation in those days,' said Willder, who is now 95-years-old. Gorden Willder Gorden Willder holds the ammunition pouch believed to be from the War of 1812. (CTV News/Ashley Bacon) For the last 80 years, the ammunition belt has been carefully kept at the Willder home, according to Willder's daughter Debora Reid. 'It was just part of the decoration. Mom and dad decorated their house so lovely, and it was just part of it,' said Reid. 'I never really thought much of it.' Willder believes after all these years, it's time to pass it on. 'I didn't want money for it. I just wanted to give it to verify the history of it and that's hopefully what's happening here in this museum,' Willder said. He is now donating the artifact to the Stratford Perth Museum. 'This wonderful item that came to the museum on Monday is a cartridge holder or an ammo pouch that contained shot and balls,' explained. Kelly McIntosh, general manager at the museum. 'Our collections manager has dated it back to not only the War of 1812 but earlier to the 1700s.' The belt is believed to have been used in the War of 1812 and with the local militia before it somehow ended up in a wall. 'What we can determine is that whoever had this at the house, at that time in 1945 - which was 146 Cobourg Street, that they probably brought it here,' said McIntosh. Gorden Willder Gorden Willder holds the ammunition pouch believed to be from the War of 1812. (CTV News/Ashley Bacon) Bringing with it a lifetime of memories and history to pass along. 'I'm glad the museum here has verified that, and I'm happy about it. I can sleep better now,' added Willder. Museum staff said they are grateful for the donation. 'It's probably one of the artifacts in the best shape that we have dating back that early. And it's great because we already have an exhibit about this history, and we'll be able to tell it's story,' said McIntosh. After being a treasured family heirloom for so long, it will be another few weeks before the public can view it on display at the Stratford Perth Museum.
