Milk River to start flowing again as Montana siphon repair finishes three months early
Repair work on the St. Mary Canal Siphon in Montana is well ahead of schedule. That means water will soon flow through the Milk River once again.
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CTV News
27 minutes ago
- CTV News
‘It doesn't get back your history': Denare Beach rebuilding after devastating wildfire
WATCH: The mayor of Denare Beach says the long road to rebuilding has begun, but first the burned debris needs to be dealt with properly. Hundreds of Denare Beach residents are tired, frustrated and devastated by the ordeal of the last month. This week, locals returned to the place where their homes once stood. And while the road to rebuilding is long and arduous, residents say they feel much better now that they're back home. Some residents have called Denare Beach home for decades. '1948, my dad was a commercial fisherman and trapper up around Reindeer Lake,' said Gerry Angell, who says only seven families lived in the community when he first moved. 'I became school-aged, so they moved down here, and I've been here since 1948, that's 77 years.' While Angell says his home was spared, he's heard too many stories of neighbours returning to find piles of rubble. 'It's just sad, it's heartbreaking,' said Angell. 'I was just talking to a friend of mine who lost his wife to cancer a few months ago, and now he lost his home and he lost all his memories and pictures and everything else. It's devastating.' Gerry Angell Gerry Angell, Denare Beach resident since 1948, when the community had just seven families. (John Flatters/CTV News) In spite of all the destruction, the first thing on everyone's mind was the safety of those who stayed behind to try and save the community. 'We got all of our guys out of here, and that was definitely the priority of everybody,' said Jen Hysert, who lost her home to the fire. 'And to see a community lose 300 of 413 houses and every single person here saying that was the most important thing to us that our guys were safe. I don't know what it's like in a bigger centre, but we knew all of them, and they were either a friend or a relative or a neighbour or a friend of a friend.' While the damage was hard to comprehend, locals say returning home was a weight off their shoulders. 'This is what is left of my home,' said Hysert. 'And yet this feels better being here than the lost, sick feeling you were left with, with no supports for a month, living outside of here.' 'I equate it to like having a wake,' said Kari Lentowicz, who also lost her home in the fire. 'I always need that closure, and when I go to a wake, you get to see the person who's passed. And it gives you an opportunity to make it real and then move forward and grieve.' Kari Lentowicz Denare Beach resident Kari Lentowicz stands outside the site of her home destroyed in the wildfire. (John Flatters/CTV News) Lentowicz says finding a little peace on her dock was the best thing she could do when she returned home. 'I got out of the truck and heard the loons calling,' she said. 'Made my way down to the dock eventually and just looked out. And the reason I'm here is still here. The reason I settled here is absolutely, 100 per cent here.' Now the mayor of Denare Beach says the long road to rebuilding has begun. But it's going to take time for the burned debris to be dealt with properly. 'That comes with rules,' said Carl Lentowicz, mayor of Denare Beach. 'And like a lot of stuff, nobody's ever handled that before in that capacity. So there's going to be a learning curve. As far as what I see personally is there are many venues of damage and concern to be dealt with, and each one has a myriad of things that you have to do.' Denare Beach (John Flatters/CTV News) And once the wreckage is dealt with, the process of dealing with insurance begins. But residents like Lentowicz say that won't do much to replace the things you can't replace. 'Insurance does not pay for your sense of security,' she said. 'It doesn't buy back your traditional practices. It doesn't buy back all the things that you grew up with. The memories, the photos, those are priceless. Insurance is there, yeah, to help us build another house. But it doesn't get back your history.' But in spite of the mounting challenge of rebuilding, residents are confident in their ability to get back to normal. 'We had a real good thing going here, still do,' said Angell. 'But that has to be rebuilt.' 'Our little village will do what it does best to come together, support each other and rebuild together,' said mayor Lentowicz. 'We're all in this together.'
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
How to make cleaning much easier
Cleaning tasks can take a lot of effort in ways that can be hard on your joints and muscles. Fortunately, there are now robots that can do the vacuuming for you, mops that save you the trouble of filling up a heavy bucket of water, and sponges that cut down on the scrubbing needed to get pots grime-free. In fact, Consumer Reports experts have tested a wide variety of tools and products and have plenty of advice about making cleaning painless. Here's what to try to make a variety of cleaning tasks easier. Keep helpful tools handy A long-handled grabber can be useful for picking up items on the floor without having to bend down. Microfibre dusters with extendable handles will allow you to dust the top of your ceiling fan blades or objects on high shelves without needing a step stool. Keep your balance Whatever household chores you have ahead of you, protect yourself from slips and trips. Getting regular exercise, including strength training, can not only help you stay up to the challenge of various tasks but also help you improve your balance and avoid falls. It's also wise to wear sturdy shoes with nonskid soles, light the space you'll be cleaning brightly, and keep high-traffic areas free of tripping hazards such as stray cords, loose rugs, and clutter. Make mopping a cinch If mopping feels like an ordeal, consider an electric steam mop. With these, hot water from the mop's tank creates steam, which gets floors clean with less effort. Use the right scrubbers A good sponge can significantly cut down on scrubbing. For dishes, our evaluators liked the Skura Style Skrubby Sponge for its flexibility and ability to easily dispatch tough grime. For grimy grout and food spills on stovetops, try a melamine foam sponge (aka a Magic Eraser). These abrasive sponges can take on tough stains and scum. Outsource your vacuuming While an upright or canister vacuum is still a necessity for deep cleaning (particularly for rugs and carpeting), a robotic vacuum can do lighter floor cleanups for you. Many can be programmed to sweep at the same time every day. By Catherine Roberts, Consumer Reports Senior Health & Food Reporter
CBC
3 hours ago
- CBC
Nearly 2,000 households in need of new home as Quebec's moving day nears
Social Sharing With Quebec's moving day fast approaching, more than 2,000 households across the province are still searching for housing — 320 more than at the same time last year, according to the province's housing corporation. Advocacy groups say they are bracing for more emergency calls. "There's been a lot more evictions, cases of repossessions," said Lyn O'Donnell, with the Citizen Action Committee of Verdun. "People are not only dealing with eviction. They're also dealing with the fact that they've received rent increases that, you know, like your average person just can't afford." In Montreal alone, some 270 have asked for help, the Société d'habitation du Québec (SHQ) says. Advocates warn the number is misleading. "That's just what's reported, right? So there's so much invisible homelessness involved in that. That even includes families with children," O'Donnell said. The city says help is available by calling 311. "We have enough resources, enough budget to help you find a new dwelling," said Philippe Sabourin, City of Montreal spokesperson. "We can also offer temporary resources or a temporary dwelling. We also have some resources for the storage if it's required." Help is out there — but not enough Help is also available through the SHQ and some people may be eligible for a rent supplement. But housing advocates say these resources are far from enough. "Housing is scarce, first of all. And also the program is mostly for low-income households," O'Donnell said. "And you have to have lived on the island of Montreal for the past 12 months and you have to have used up all of your own resources." O'Donnell said all of these measures are only temporary. The real solution is making more affordable housing available. Housing advocacy group Le Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU) says the increasing number of households in search of a home is due to the scarcity of affordable housing in the province. The SHQ says that of the 1,989 households at risk of homelessness, 473 are already in temporary accommodations, such as with family, friends or in a hotel. WATCH | How to get help: Struggling to find a place to live by moving day? Here's how to get help 1 day ago Duration 1:57 The City of Montreal and the provincial government say they have resources for people who can't find an affordable place to live, with a housing crisis making July 1 a particularly difficult date for some. The regions with the highest number of cases include Lanaudière (294), Montreal (269) and Montérégie (235). Véronique Laflamme, spokesperson for FRAPRU, said people are often hoping for a solution up until July 1, and then come forward looking for help soon after. She said some end up in their cars or camping. Assistance varies across province Although rehousing assistance is available throughout the province, the measures offered to tenants vary greatly from one region to another, said Laflamme. Not all municipalities offer the Quebec-backed rehousing assistance program like the one in Montreal, which provides temporary accommodations, moving and storage. The housing shortage is easing slightly across the province, with the housing vacancy rate at 1.8 per cent in 2024, up from 1.3 per cent in 2023, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). But this improvement does not translate into greater affordability, Laflamme said. In Montreal last year, the vacancy rate for units under $1,150 was less than one per cent. This compares to more than five per cent for units priced at a minimum of $1,675, which likely includes many recently built rental apartments, according to CMHC data. New data from Statistics Canada, released Wednesday, also shows soaring prices for available housing. The asking rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Montreal was $1,930 in the first quarter of 2025 — a 70.8 per cent increase from 2019. In Montreal, the average rent increase was 18.7 per cent in 2024 for apartments that changed tenants, compared to 4.7 per cent for dwellings where a lease was renewed, according to the CMHC. Since 2018, rents have jumped 47 per cent for all apartments in the province, according to a compilation by FRAPRU based on data from the CMHC. To address this unaffordability, FRAPRU urges Quebec to double the number of social housing units in the rental stock within 15 years, which would involve the construction of at least 10,000 new social housing units per year. The government has adopted a national housing strategy and set a target of 56,000 rental units per year — but no target for social housing, laments Laflamme. Even for tenants who are not moving this year, the situation is far from ideal, as many are facing steep rent increases, said Laflamme. The average rent increase suggested by Quebec's housing tribunal was 5.9 per cent for 2025. "This year's lease renewal period has been extremely difficult," said Laflamme, citing a large number of callers looking for ways to mitigate rent increases.
