Crews respond to house fire on Merlin Crescent
Firefighters arrived and found a fire burning in the home's basement, a social media post from Regina Fire said.
The fire was brought under control quickly and no injuries were reported, the post said.
A fire inspector is now on the scene working to determine a cause, the post added.
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Globe and Mail
2 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Vancouver can't stop the rain, but it can control where it ends up
When the rainclouds burst over Vancouver one grey day this past winter, Lon LaClaire was delighted to see floodwater streaming into newly terraced pools on the side of a steep hill in an east-side neighbourhood. Mr. LaClaire, Vancouver's chief engineer, is part of a team that has been working to ensure much of the city's abundant rain does not end up flooding through the sewer system, sweeping everything from road debris and toxic chemicals into surrounding waterways – False Creek, Burrard Inlet, the Fraser River – along with it. On St. George Street, heavy rain occasionally meant closing the roadway after large amounts of rubble washed onto it. But not this time. 'We were all watching the water spill out of each of those weirs,' Mr. LaClaire said. 'Every drop of rain on St. George didn't go to the drain. It performed better than all of our other projects.' The St. George Rainway is just one example of the new approach Vancouver and other Canadian cities are taking to stormwater management. Projects include tree trenches, permeable pavement, marsh-like areas built around sewer openings, plus rain gardens and bioswales. (The latter two are landscaped features that use vegetation to filter rainwater.) Montreal's 'sponge parks' have generated interest and praise, as have Toronto's efforts to encourage green roofs, which prevent rainwater from flowing down to the streets. Vancouver's strategy is not just about protecting the environment. It's also a cost-saving measure, since the hope is that the city won't have to spend as much money expanding sewer lines. The St. George project cost about $1.6-million for the water-improvement part. But along with rainwater-capture requirements for new developments, it will save Vancouver $16.5-million in upgrades, according to city estimates. 'The tanks and green infrastructure are going to save us hundreds of millions in not needing larger pipes,' Mr. LaClaire said. Vancouver's efforts have been going on for a few years, but were given a renewed push when council approved the city's Healthy Waters Plan earlier this year. 'We're super excited to see this kind of work happening,' said Emily Amon, the director of green infrastructure programs at Green Communities Canada. 'It is certainly among the leaders nationally in sustainable stormwater management. What you see in Vancouver is a more holistic approach. Often these issues elsewhere seem to be disjointed.' As of March, the city had developed 400 infrastructure projects aimed at treating and detaining rainwater runoff from 321,000 square metres of street. These include tree trenches built alongside a downtown bike route that absorb water and allow for bigger canopy trees to grow on the street because of the extra moisture. 'The goal is to mimic the natural hydrology, the same filtering and sponge characteristic of rainforests,' said Robb Lukes, Vancouver's associate director for green infrastructure. Mr. Lukes, who has worked in this field for 23 years, said other cities are taking similar steps. Seattle, Portland, Philadelphia and New York have been especially aggressive, with thousands of projects apiece. But, he said, Vancouver is catching up with those American cities in terms of standardizing the approach. 'We're making it business as usual everywhere. Any big road project, we look at how to put in green infrastructure. We're a bit ahead of the curve in Canada.' For example, any time the city installs a corner bulge – an improvement that extends the sidewalk out at intersections to make pedestrian crossings shorter – it builds in 'bioretention' instead of spending the same $20,000 to $30,000 to move the catch basin. Even though the rainwater projects are a small part of the city's overall system so far – the 27 hectares they cover represent 1 per cent of total street area – officials are eyeing the potential financial benefits. The council has budgeted $4-billion to spend in the next 50 years on its healthy-waters initiatives, in addition to its work to separate sanitary and storm sewers. Larger buildings in Vancouver have been required to manage rainwater on-site for several years. The policy was expanded in January, 2024, with developers getting credit for landscaping, green roofs and water reuse systems. The recently built Deloitte office tower has a 230,000-litre holding tank in its underground parking, with the water used for flushing all of the toilets in the building. As of July 1, all new homes require detention tanks, which will add $15,000 to $25,000 in construction costs – an expense that will likely make some people unhappy. (Detention tanks hold water temporarily. Retention tanks hold water on site so it never gets to the sewer system.) In a first for Canada, Vancouver has also amended its building bylaw to allow people in private homes to install systems that recycle their greywater from showers, clothes washers and sinks. Ultimately, Vancouver hopes to reduce the uncomfortably high number of sewer backups (1,242) and surface floods (2,653) it sees every year – issues that viscerally bother city engineers. 'If you look at a Metro Vancouver overflow map,' said Chris Radziminski, a city of Vancouver building-policy engineer, 'on a rainy day, it's a little bit sad.'
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Heat warning issued for Toronto this weekend, city to open 24/7 cooling space
A man sun tans at Sugar Beach in Toronto on Friday, July 13, 2012. (Michelle Siu / THE CANADIAN PRESS) A heat warning has been issued for Toronto and much of southern Ontario this weekend, with temperatures set to feel like 40 with the humidity. Environment Canada issued the alert Friday afternoon and said daytime highs of 31 C to 33 C are expected on both Saturday and Sunday. 'Take action to protect yourself and others – extreme heat can affect everyone's health," the national weather agency said in the alert. Officials say there will be 'little relief' overnight Saturday, when the temperature will only drop to between 21 C and 25 C. The heat is expected to break Sunday night. Environment Canada urged the public to stay hydrated, use air conditioning if available, limit direct exposure to the sun and limit outdoor activities to the coolest parts of the day. This is the second time in as many weeks that Toronto has been under a heat warning. Toronto heat A beach in Toronto is seen on Monday June 23, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn The city broke a decade-old temperature record on June 23 when the mercury reached 36 C during the three-day event. Toronto Public Health said it saw 42 heat-related ER visits as temperatures soared that week. Friday's heat warning is far reaching, and covers Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Mississauga, Brampton, Newmarket, Niagara Falls, Barrie, Burlington, and many other municipalities. Environment Canada advised to watch out for early signs of heat exhaustion and call 911 if you, or someone around you, is showing signs of heat stroke, including red and hot skin, dizziness, nausea, confusion and change in consciousness. Toronto opens 24/7 cooling space The City of Toronto says it will activate the Metro Hall Rotunda as a 24/7 cooling space starting at noon on Saturday until the heat warning is in effect. Five air-conditioned civic buildings will also be open to the public on extended hours. The following eight outdoor pools are open this weekend until 11:45 p.m. while the warning is in effect: The city said it will be increasing staff by 30 per cent this weekend to ensure all 54 outdoor pools remain operational. Fans and shade structures have been installed for lifeguards and Toronto paramedics will provide wellness checks to high priority locations, the city added. In a news release, Hamilton's medical officer of health said the city is responding by offering so-called 'cool places' to go during the heat wave, the locations of which can be found here.
CBC
3 hours ago
- CBC
CFIA confirms Prince Edward Island's 1st case of dermo, in oysters from Egmont Bay
Canadian Food Inspection Agency lab tests have confirmed the presence of the highly damaging mollusc disease dermo in oysters from P.E.I.'s Egmont Bay. "This is the first confirmed case of dermo in P.E.I.," the agency said in a news release issued Friday evening. "Dermo does not pose a risk to human health or food safety, but it can cause increased oyster mortality and decreased growth rates." In a separate email, CFIA also said that tests had confirmed the first cases of both dermo and MSX for the province of Quebec, in oyster samples collected in Chaleur Bay. It's been eight months since what was considered the first detection of dermo in Canadian waters, in oysters from Spence Cove, about five kilometres west of the Confederation Bridge in New Brunswick. Dermo disease or Perkinsosis, caused by a parasite called Perkinsus marinus, had previously been detected in Atlantic waters between Mexico and Maine. It affects both cultured and wild American oysters (Crassostrea virginica). Oyster harvesters in P.E.I. fear overfishing, empty rivers next spring amid MSX concerns 25 days ago Duration 2:43 More than 80 of the Island's wild oyster harvesters had to find new places to fish after the MSX parasite forced the shutdown of Bedeque Bay last year. As CBC's Nancy Russell reports, the pressure to find more oysters has meant some rivers are being fished out — and that could mean no catches next spring. "Outbreaks of Perkinsosis usually occur with warm summer water temperatures above 20 C," a British government fact sheet on the disease says. "Clinical signs may include pale digestive glands, gaping, shrinking of the mantle away from the outer edge of the shell and stunted growth." The CFIA news release said dermo "does not affect other bivalves in this area, including mussels, scallops or clams." Already dealing with MSX News of the positive test results from Egmont Bay will be another blow to the Island's oyster industry, which has been reeling from last July's discovery of MSX, short for multinucleate sphere unknown. That oyster disease was first detected in samples from P.E.I.'s Bedeque Bay, with more cases confirmed in other areas of the province in the months that followed. Like dermo, it affects only oysters and not the humans eating oysters from waters known to have MSX. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says the parasite that causes dermo is easily transmitted among oysters, mostly when they are between one and three years of age. "Mortality rates are variable but are typically 50 per cent to 75 per cent," the agency says in a factsheet on its website. CFIA has power to limit movement In a statement to CBC News last month, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency acknowledged that it had been asked to test P.E.I. oyster samples for dermo, but said it had no results to share at that time. The agency did go on to outline what would happen if the samples did test positive. If a product in a PCZ [primary control zone] is deemed to be a potential risk, its movement would be controlled. — Canadian Food Inspection Agency "To prevent the spread of dermo or any other animal diseases, the CFIA may establish a primary control zone (PCZ) in areas where a disease is suspected to occur," the statement said. That kind of move would let the agency control how oysters are handled and shipped within and outside the zone. "For example, if a product in a PCZ is deemed to be a potential risk, its movement would be controlled; this means that a permit from the CFIA would be required to move this product within, through and outside of the PCZ," the statement said. "Any new PCZs would be posted as soon as possible on CFIA's website. When a new PCZ is put in place, the CFIA also notifies its provincial partners, stakeholders, Indigenous communities and industry through pre-existing communications channels."
