In the news today: Carney scheduled to visit B.C. Interior Tuesday

He toured the Royal Canadian Navy vessel Sikanni accompanied by Navy Commander Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee and Commanding Officer Craig Piccolo from the testing facility.

Carney on Sunday met with B.C. Premier David Eby and officials from the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.

The prime minister’s visit to the province comes amid renewed tensions in the softwood lumber dispute with the U.S., which has placed anti-dumping duties on softwood products that the B.C. Council of Forest Industries has condemned as “unjustified and punitive trade actions.”

Here’s what else we’re watching…

Vancouver Island blaze now wildfire of note

The BC Wildfire Service says the Wesley Ridge wildfire on Vancouver Island has grown to more than five square kilometres in size as “numerous” fire departments on the island converge on the blaze to protect properties and structures around Cameron Lake.

Fire information officer Madison Dahl says the fire is now considered a wildfire of note, but growth was limited early Monday as helicopters equipped with night vision dropped water on hot spots and around the fire’s perimeter.

Dahl says crews are focused on keeping the fire from growing and affecting travel on Highway 4.

The wildfire has nearly 400 area homes under an evacuation order, and residents of more than 230 other homes are on alert to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.

Air Canada flight attendants wrap up strike mandate vote

Air Canada flight attendants are entering the final day of voting on whether to give a strike mandate to their union.

The vote, which began July 28 and closes today, comes after the Air Canada component of the Canadian Union of Public Employees concluded the conciliation process with no deal reached.

The union represents more than 10,000 flight attendants who have been in contract talks since the start of the year.

It has said that despite sustained efforts, including in the conciliation process with a federally appointed mediator, key issues such as pay, unpaid work and pensions remain unresolved.

Air Canada has cautioned the vote does not mean a disruption will happen, noting a potential strike can’t take place until after a 21-day cooling-off period following the 60-day conciliation period.

What happens after Canada Post workers vote no?

Labour experts say another postal service strike is unlikely after unionized Canada Post workers rejected their employer’s latest round of offers in a forced vote and the parties mull their next steps.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers said Friday that the roughly 55,000 members represented by the union shot down the Crown corporation’s latest proposal, which would’ve seen wage hikes of over 13 per cent over four years and restructuring to add part-time workers to the deal.

Some 68.5 per cent of urban mail carriers who voted were against the deal, while their rural and suburban colleagues were 69.4 per cent against.

Adam King, assistant professor of labour studies at the University of Manitoba, said the forced ratification vote ordered by the federal government and administered by the Canada Industrial Relations Board was a “distraction.”

Negotiations for a new collective agreement have been ongoing for more than a year and a half. The federal government asked CIRB to step in and scuttle a holiday season postal strike late last year, but the parties remain at an impasse.

Japan’s aging atomic bomb survivors speak out against nuclear weapons

Eighty years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, many of the remaining Japanese survivors are increasingly frustrated by growing nuclear threats and the acceptance of nuclear weapons by global leaders.

The U.S. attacks on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and three days later on Nagasaki killed more than 200,000 people by the end of that year. Others survived but with radiation illness.

About 100,000 survivors are still alive. Many hid their experiences to protect themselves and their families from discrimination that still exists. Others couldn’t talk about what happened because of the trauma they suffered.

Some of the aging survivors have begun to speak out late in their lives, hoping to encourage others to push for the end of nuclear weapons.

Despite numerous health issues, survivor Kunihiko Iida, 83, has devoted his retirement years to telling his story as a way to advocate for nuclear disarmament.

“The only path to peace is nuclear weapons’ abolishment. There is no other way,” Iida said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 5, 2025.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

In the news today: Carney scheduled to visit B.C. Interior Tuesday

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