Latest from Vancouver Sun
Vancouver Sun
an hour ago
- General
- Vancouver Sun
'Holy smokes it's beautiful here' Bahl staying in Calgary
Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here.
Vancouver Sun
3 hours ago
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
Granville's nightlife under pressure as social housing fires, floods persist
A fire Thursday at a government-run social housing building has drowned out the music at Aura nightclub, which won't be fully operational for at least a month. Alan Goodall's downtown Vancouver venue at 1176 Granville St. was once again disrupted by fire last week — the latest in a series of emergencies tied to the provincially owned single-room occupancy units above, known as the Luugat. Since the B.C. government purchased the building in June 2020 for $55 million and converted it into supportive housing, the Luugat has been the subject of 906 emergency calls, including 375 medical incidents, 334 alarms, 43 fires and 12 rescue or hazard events, according to Vancouver Fire Rescue Services. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'It's been just one problem after another since the hotel became social housing,' explained Goodall. This week's fire didn't reach the club directly, but water from the building's sprinkler system flooded parts of the business below. The blaze was started by a butane torch, which Goodall said fire officials told him is commonly used to heat opioids. 'Parts of my ceiling are still being rebuilt with drywall since the last fire two weeks ago,' said Goodall, noting that only part of the repair costs will be covered by B.C. Housing, which operates the building. Aura has only been able to reopen in the past week with a limited capacity, and the losses are mounting. 'On the first Friday we partially reopened, there were virtually no customers. We lost money that night,' Goodall said. 'Before we reopened, some of my staff told me they couldn't afford rent or groceries without their shifts. I've already lost one employee because of the instability.' Previous damage to the club's tile floor caused by flooding that leaked down from the Luugat into the nightclub in early 2023 cost Goodall $51,000 to repair. The emergencies affecting the government-owned SRO on Granville Street aren't isolated. Just steps from the Luugat, St. Helen's Hotel has seen 1,297 emergency calls since June 2020, including 935 false alarms, 251 medical incidents and 31 fires, according to fire officials. Further north, the Granville Villa generated 425 fire service calls between January 2020 and May 2025, the majority related to medical issues, including 128 overdoses. This latest fire at the Luugat comes as the city promises a new future for the Granville strip. Vancouver city council recently approved a 20-year plan to revitalize the Granville entertainment district — envisioning major redevelopment, rooftop patios, new venues, hotels and some of the city's tallest towers. But for Goodall and others, the crisis on the ground feels far from resolved. 'It's truly astounding to me that just one resident using drugs can cause so much damage, requiring around 40 firefighters to fight the fire, numerous police to respond, other residents to be sent to the hospital and all my employees to lose out on work,' he said. 'It just keeps on getting worse and worse.' According to the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, Granville's storefront vacancy rate rose from 22.1 per cent to 29.3 per cent in 2024. Major closures included Cinema Public House, 8th & Main, and Helly Hansen. Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim announced earlier this month that the province plans to relocate social housing out of the Granville strip, with potential new sites recently identified. The province has said it is waiting on the city to provide more details about long-term housing options. It remains unclear if these involve new construction or renovations, or when relocations will occur. sgrochowski@
Vancouver Sun
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Vancouver Sun
Contributions from Canadians keep injury-plagued Ottawa Redbacks in thick of CFL East race
While most of the few hundred fans in attendance at McMahon Stadium last Saturday were cursing the miserable conditions, a small, huddled group of about 20-strong who kept dry under an overhang at the top of the stands will remember it as a beautiful day. Those Calgary residents were family members and friends of Daniel Okpoko, a second-year Ottawa Redblacks who registered his first CFL sack while playing, by his estimation, a career-high 32-34 defensive snaps. 'It was amazing. I've been waiting a long time for that one,' Okpoko said of the sack. 'To get it in front of my mom, brother, sister …. it felt so nice.' Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Okpoko, who the Redblacks selected in the second-round pick (11th overall) of the 2024 Canadian College Draft, is a seasoned veteran compared to Muftah Ageli, another defensive lineman who was Ottawa's fourth-round pick (33rd overall) this year. Still a couple of weeks from his 22nd birthday, the former Windson Lancer was making his CFL debut. Ageli's time in the game was short but impactful. 'Muftah only got five snaps in the game before he got his concussion, but he did a good job,' said head coach Bob Dyce. 'Five snaps, one sack, and it was by being disciplined. Because if he wasn't in the lane he needed to be, he wouldn't have gotten that sack.' The Redblacks only have three sacks as a team through three games, and Okpoko and Ageli are prime examples of the Canadians who have stepped up to make big plays on a shorthanded roster. How shorthanded? The loss of Ageli means the Redblacks have 14 players on their one-game injury list and three more on the six-game. Of the 17 players, 12 are Canadians. Yet Ottawa is still considered a 2.5-point favorite for Sunday night's 'Canada Day' game at TD Place against the defending champion Toronto Argos, a clash of significant importance given that it's only Week 4 of the CFL season. When the Hamilton Ticats (1-2) handed the Montreal Alouettes (3-1) their first loss on Friday night, it kept the East Division standings compressed. The Redblacks (1-2) will be looking not only for some momentum and their first home win of the season on Sunday, but also to keep the winless Argos (0-3) in their rear view mirror. With Toronto No. 1 quarterback Chad Kelly still not ready to return from a knee injury, the game will be a battle of the backups, with former Redblacks QB Nick Arbuckle and Ottawa's Dustin Crum calling the signals. Arbuckle's last win was in November, when he was named the MVP in the Argos' second championship win in three years. Crum will be making his second start after guiding Ottawa to a 20-12 victory over the Calgary Stampeders at a rainy, windy and cold McMahon Stadium last Saturday. Lambasted by head coach Ryan Dinwiddie for taking too many penalties in last week's final play loss to Saskatchewan, the Argos will be desperate to break into the win column. 'We don't talk about them being 0-3, we talk about them being the defending Grey Cup champs,' said Dyce. 'The guy starting a quarterback won the Grey Cup for them. Ryan is a great coach. So we don't worry about the record. We're more focused on us, and what we have to do, not our opponent's record. 'We're at a point where we know we're playing an Eastern opponent, and we have an opportunity to keep a team behind us down and allow ourselves to move up and keep pace with Montreal.' Among the additions to the Ottawa infirmary is cornerback Adrian Frye, who suffered a knee injury last week in a game in which he had his league-leading third forced fumble. Alijah McGhee, a starter last season, will replace Frye, while American Gavin Heslop will make his CFL debut and see some action in the secondary. They also remain without two starting Canadian offensive linemen, which, because of the import ratio, limits the number of snaps running back William Stanback can play. With Ageli out, Canadian Anthony Bennett will join the rotation by making his Redblacks debut on the D-line. 'Everybody plays better when they've had a little break,' says Dyce. 'So it's been really good for the defensive line, keeping everybody ready to play at a high level and fresh at all times.' While 'Canada Day' celebrations at TD Place will include a live concert by JUNO AWARD-winning rockstar JJ Wilde and a post-game fireworks display, Okpoko would like to celebrate his continued progression with a new personal best snap count. At the same time, he's not at all growing impatient for more chances. Instead, Okpoko is content to take what is given him 'In our D-line room, there are so many people you can learn from,' said the former San Diego State Aztec. 'I'm just being able to pick up a lot from them and show that I'm putting those pieces together.' Dyce likes what he has seen from the guy nicknamed 'Big Maple' at his U.S. college 'This is Daniel's second year and I always say I really expect a boost in the second year,' said Dyce. 'Daniel is showing everything that we thought when we drafted him. He's playing physical. He's such a great athlete for his size. I mean, you'd never believe he's close to 280 pounds. He looks like he's about 250. And he's benefited from the fact that he's playing defensive end as well as inside.' Meanwhile, playing a Canada Day game in the nation's capital is special for Okpoko. 'Being like a Canadian, living in Canada and growing up here, and being able to play in this game means a lot,' he said. 'Growing up, you see games like this all the time watching TSN, and you're just like 'oh, that was cool.' Walking away with a win would be the best way to cap the day. 'Anytime you're going up against a team in your division, you always have to try to get one step ahead of them,' said Okpoko. 'Because at the end of the year, everything is always crazy. In the CFL, you never know what's going to happen. 'I know they're going to come in here and play good football. But we're also going to play better football.'
Vancouver Sun
4 hours ago
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
Noah Dobson will be highest-paid Canadiens player on ice next season
Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes wouldn't have acquired Noah Dobson from the New York Islanders if the 25-year-old defenceman wouldn't agree to a long-term contract. That's why Hughes asked Islanders GM Mathieu Darche for permission to speak with Dobson's agent before finalizing the trade on Friday that brought the defenceman to the Canadiens in exchange for the 16th and 17th overall picks at the NHL Draft, along with 23-year-old forward Emil Heineman . The Islanders were the only team that could offer Dobson a maximum-length contract, so it was technically Darche who signed the Summerside, P.E.I., native to the eight-year, US$76-million contract with an annual salary-cap hit of US$9.5 million in the sign-and-trade deal. But it was Hughes who negotiated it. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The contract makes Dobson the highest-paid player on the Canadiens — not counting the US$10.5 million for Carey Price in the final year of his contract while the goalie remains on long-term injured reserve before officially retiring. Patrik Laine now ranks second with a salary-cap hit of US$8.7 million, followed by captain Nick Suzuki at US$7.875 million, Cole Caufield at US$7.85 million and Juraj Slafkovsky at US$7.6 million. When Jeff Gorton, the executive vice-president of hockey operations, and Hughes started rebuilding the Canadiens three years ago, Suzuki's contract — signed with former GM Marc Bergevin — was considered the ceiling, which is why Caufield earns US$25,000 less than the captain. But times have changed as the Canadiens' rebuilding plan moves forward and the NHL salary cap jumps from US$88 million last season to US$95.5 million next season, US$104 million for 2026-27 and US$113.5 million for 2027-28. Hughes noted the contracts he negotiated for Caufield and Slafkovsky were for players coming off three-year, NHL entry-level deals and the parameters were completely different for a player like Dobson, with six years of NHL experience. It will be interesting to see what the parameters will be for Lane Hutson's next contract after he won the Calder Trophy this season as the NHL's top rookie. Hutson entry-level deal that has a US$950,000 salary-cap hit has one season left and the 21-year-old can become a restricted free agent next summer. It wouldn't be a surprise if Hutson becomes the Canadiens' highest-paid player with the new salary-cap structure. Then, Hughes will have to think about a new contract for Ivan Demidov, who can become a restricted free agent in two years. What will help Hughes two years from now is the contracts for veterans Brendan Gallagher (US$6.5 million cap hit) and Josh Anderson (US$5.5 million) will come to an end. Dobson's agent, Olivier Fortier, told Kevin Dubé of the Journal de Montréal the defenceman was offered more money by other teams before joining the Canadiens. 'As a general manager, I think that's very important,' Hughes, a former player agent, said with a chuckle. 'Some people may call me a hypocrite. I think it's very important. 'Listen, I represented hockey players,' Hughes added. 'A lot of them who made that decision. I always felt as an agent — and, obviously, Noah's agent feels the same way — that players drive decisions and they own their careers and we're here to kind of help guide them through. 'In my experience representing hockey players, once they get a taste of winning they chase it,' Hughes continued. 'They chase it and some of them look back and say: 'I wish I had figured it out sooner and chased it sooner.' I don't think there's a lot of players in Florida that are regretting that they took less money to stay in Florida (with the Panthers winning back-to-back Stanley Cups). That's a credit to the Florida Panthers organization for creating an environment where they can win and where they enjoy being there and working together, and that's what we're trying to do here.'
Vancouver Sun
7 hours ago
- Science
- Vancouver Sun
B.C. climate news: Western Canada glaciers melting twice as fast as in previous decade
Here's the latest news concerning climate change and biodiversity loss in B.C. and around the world, from the steps leaders are taking to address the problems, to all the up-to-date science. Check back every Saturday for more climate and environmental news or sign up for our Climate Connected newsletter HERE. • Western Canada glaciers melting twice as fast as in previous decade, research says • Intensifying heat dome over parts of Eastern Canada fuelling unpredictable weather in the West • How climate change could start the next financial crisis Human activities like burning fossil fuels and farming livestock are the main drivers of climate change, according to the UN's intergovernmental panel on climate change. This causes heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth's atmosphere, increasing the planet's surface temperature. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The panel, which is made up of scientists from around the world, including researchers from B.C., has warned for decades that wildfires and severe weather, such as the province's deadly heat dome and catastrophic flooding in 2021, would become more frequent and intense because of the climate emergency. It has issued a code red for humanity and warns the window to limit warming to 1.5 C above pre-industrial times is closing. According to NASA climate scientists, human activities have raised the atmosphere's carbon dioxide content by 50 per cent in less than 200 years, and 'there is unequivocal evidence that Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate.' And it continues to rise. As of June 5, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen to 430.51 parts per million, up from 429.64 ppm last month and 427.09 ppm in March, according to NOAA data measured at the Mauna Loa Observatory, a global atmosphere monitoring lab in Hawaii. The NOAA notes there has been a steady rise in CO2 from under 320 ppm in 1960. • The Earth is now about 1.3 C warmer than it was in the 1800s. • 2024 was hottest year on record globally, beating the record in 2023. • The global average temperature in 2023 reached 1.48 C higher than the pre-industrial average, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service. In 2024, it breached the 1.5 C threshold at 1.55 C. • The past 10 years (2015-2024) are the 10 warmest on record. • Human activities have raised atmospheric concentrations of CO2 by nearly 49 per cent above pre-industrial levels starting in 1850. • The world is not on track to meet the Paris Agreement target to keep global temperature from exceeding 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels, the upper limit to avoid the worst fallout from climate change including sea level rise, and more intense drought, heat waves and wildfires. • On the current path of carbon dioxide emissions, the temperature could increase by as much 3.6 C this century, according to the IPCC. • In June 2025, global concentrations of carbon dioxide exceeded 430 parts per million, a record high. • Emissions must drop 7.6 per cent per year from 2020 to 2030 to keep temperatures from exceeding 1.5 C and 2.7 per cent per year to stay below 2 C. • There is global scientific consensus that the climate is warming and that humans are the cause. (Sources: United Nations IPCC , World Meteorological Organization , UNEP , NASA , ) Researchers say some glaciers in Western Canada and the United States lost 12 per cent of their mass from 2021 to 2024, doubling melt rates compared to the previous decade in a continuation of a concerning global trend. The research led by a University of Northern British Columbia professor, Brian Menounos, says low snow accumulation over winter, early-season heat waves, and prolonged warm and dry spells were contributing factors. It says impurities such as ash from severe wildfire seasons have also 'darkened' glaciers, causing them to absorb more heat and triggering a feedback loop that will lead to continued loss unless the ice is covered by fresh snow. The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Geophysical Research Letters this week, examined glaciers in Western Canada and the United States, excluding Alaska and Yukon, as well as Switzerland, where glaciers lost 13 per cent of their mass over the same period. The research letter says glaciers in both regions lost mass twice as fast as they did between 2010 and 2020. Menounos says climate change and its effects, including heat waves and changing snow patterns, are draining the 'bank account' of fresh water that glaciers contain. Read the full story here. —The Canadian Press If you are over the age of 40, there is a good chance you remember where you were on September 15 2008, the day Lehman Brothers went bust. It was one of the first of many shocking moments during the last global financial crisis, a searing time of bank runs, crashes and bankruptcies when big economies tumbled into some of their deepest recessions since the Great Depression. Stunned Lehman staff, who left the 158-year-old investment bank's offices carrying their belongings in cardboard boxes, came to symbolize the millions who lost their jobs, homes and life savings in a disaster that destroyed trillions of dollars of wealth. There were multiple culprits for the mayhem but, as with so many financial debacles, the property market was implicated. In 2006, the air went out of a U.S. housing bubble fuelled by supposedly safe mortgage-backed securities that had been sold around the world and included risky 'subprime' home loans. As the number of mortgage defaults and foreclosures climbed, the value of these securities plunged, saddling investors with crippling losses and prompting panic in financial markets. In the months after the crisis hit, government bailouts and sweeping reforms began to put the battered financial system back together. Today, big banks are better capitalized. Markets are better regulated and investors more protected as a result of those reforms. And yet each month now brings warnings with echoes of that strife. Fears are growing that property markets could again be roiled, this time not by risky lending practices but by rising numbers of climate-related disasters putting pressure on insurers and other critical financial institutions. 'Property values will eventually fall — just like in 2008 — sending household wealth tumbling,' said Next to Fall, a December report on climate change and insurance from the then Democrat-chaired U.S. Senate Budget Committee. 'The United States could be looking at a systemic shock to the economy similar to the financial crisis of 2008 — if not greater.' In January, the Financial Stability Board, which was set up to keep an eye on the global financial system after the 2008 crisis, said insurance was becoming more costly and scarce in disaster-prone areas and 'climate shocks' could set off wider market turmoil. Read the full story here. —Financial Times Climate change appears to be making some of Switzerland's vaunted glaciers look like Swiss cheese: full of holes. Matthias Huss of the glacier monitoring group GLAMOS offered a glimpse of the Rhone Glacier, which feeds the eponymous river that flows through Switzerland and France to the Mediterranean, shared the observation with The Associated Press this month as he trekked up to the icy expanse for a first 'maintenance mission' of the summer to monitor its health. The state of Switzerland's glaciers came into stark and dramatic view of the international community last month when a mudslide from an Alpine mountain submerged the southwestern village of Blatten. The Birch Glacier on the mountain, which had been holding back a mass of rock near the peak, gave way — sending an avalanche into the valley village below. Experts say geological shifts and, to a lesser extent global warming, played a role. Fortunately, the village had been largely evacuated beforehand, but Swiss authorities said a 64-year-old man had gone missing after the incident. Late Tuesday, regional Valais police said they had found and were examining human remains of a person who died in the mudslide. Read the full story here. —The Associated Press Blame the heat dome hanging over Ontario and Quebec for some of the strange weather hitting other parts of the country. Environment Canada meteorologist Julien Pellerin says scorching temperatures over the eastern part of the continent are causing below-normal temperatures in other regions, which have led to warnings of wet snow and heavy rain in the West. 'If you have a heat dome on a sector, you can expect colder air in another sector, so that's what the Prairies are currently experiencing,' Pellerin said on Sunday. 'It's coming from the United States, a high-pressure system that doesn't move quickly … so it brings intense heat and moist air over southern Ontario and southern Quebec, and it'll settle there for the next three days.' The dangerous temperature levels span from southwestern Ontario towards North Bay, Sudbury and Timmins, while in Quebec, the highest temperatures were expected from Montreal to Shawinigan and north up to Abitibi. Pellerin expected Ontario and Quebec to hit their peak daytime highs on Monday and Tuesday with temperatures rising above 30 C, and the humidex making it feel more like 40 to 45 degrees, depending on the region. Read the full story here. —The Canadian Press Tens of millions of Americans sweltered outside or sought air-conditioned refuge as an 'extremely dangerous' heat wave blanketed the eastern United States on Tuesday with record high temperatures. As a fierce sun reflected off the skyscrapers of New York, the normally frenetic Times Square was virtually deserted by mid-day as the mercury reached 37 C, the hottest since 2012 in the Big Apple. By mid-afternoon Newark, N.J., hit 39.4 C, according to the National Weather Service, and Philadelphia also reached 38 C. 'Extremely dangerous heat persists across the Midwest and East Coast … affecting nearly half of the U.S. population at 161 million people,' the NWS warned in an advisory, which also urged people to limit their physical activity due to poor air quality. Read the full story here. —AFP War and climate change are existential threats that need to be battled at the same time and often with the same tools, experts say. Their comments come as NATO members gather this week in The Hague to discuss boosting military budgets amid conflicts raging in Ukraine, Gaza and, most recently, Iran. The meeting is also happening against a backdrop of rising global temperatures, which have increased the threat of more intense and frequent natural disasters, such as wildfires and floods. Catastrophes across Europe have already become so overwhelming that governments have increasingly deployed their armies for relief efforts. Countries should identify the areas where climate and conflict overlap to use budgets more efficiently, said Julian Popov, a senior fellow at Brussels think tank Strategic Perspectives and Bulgaria's former minister of the environment. 'We can't tackle these crises separately because the resources are insufficient,' he said. 'We have to find ways to deal with them in a combined way.' NATO and armed forces across the world routinely recognize climate change as a security risk that will touch every aspect of defence over the long term. Water scarcity is contributing to instability in some regions, adding fuel to existing conflicts, according to the United Nations. The melting Arctic is unlocking new maritime routes, spurring a race to control the resources-rich region. Armies are vulnerable to climate change, too, with extreme weather events threatening strategic infrastructure and making military operations harder to plan. Read the full story here. —Bloomberg News In the months before Ottawa sweated through this week's extreme heat event, Glen Kenny was creating his own heat waves at the University of Ottawa research unit he heads. Inside the extensive series of labs, volunteers exercised, spent time and even slept in temperatures topping 40 degrees during the day and slightly cooler at night while being closely monitored. Kenny, a professor of physiology at the University of Ottawa and the University Research Chair in Human Environmental Physiology, has spent the past 35 years studying the impact of heat on people – including himself. Kenny is one of the world's leading experts on the subject and heads the world's largest research lab assessing the effects of heat stress. Kenny's work has helped inform policies and guidelines to protect people who work and live in the heat. It has helped reshape the understanding of human heat resiliency. With growing numbers of extreme heat events driven by climate change, that work has taken on a new urgency. Kenny warns that society needs to do a better job of understanding the impact of extreme heat and how to mitigate it because things are likely to get worse with potentially disastrous consequences. Read the full story here. —Ottawa Citizen A report by B.C.'s Forest Practices Board urges the provincial government to enlist logging companies in the effort to reduce wildfire risk across B.C. A report following a two-year investigation found that outdated rules and unclear responsibilities are preventing forestry from becoming a powerful wildfire-defence tool. The independent forestry watchdog agency examined forestry operations from 2019 to 2022 in wildfire risk zones where communities and forests meet in the Sea to Sky, Cariboo-Chilcotin and Peace natural resource districts, covering the Coast, Interior and northeastern regions of B.C. 'More than one million British Columbians live in interface areas with high or extreme wildfire risk,' said Keith Atkinson, the chairman of the Forest Practices Board. 'Foresters are already active in these spaces. With better rules and incentives, their efforts can become part of the wildfire solution.' B.C. forest ministry officials said it will take time to 'carefully' review the final report and consider its recommendations. The Forest Practice Board's research shows that logging occurs at about 11 times the rate of wildfire risk reduction work in B.C. Read the full story here. —Gordon Hoekstra, Glenda Luymes
