Northern Ontario backyard continues to see rash of wildlife
A trail cam setup in a Sudbury-area backyard sees several critters visit over the month of May.
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CBC
31 minutes ago
- CBC
Windsor-Essex is in for a summer of heat waves, thunderstorms and smoke. How should you prepare?
Social Sharing The official start of summer is weeks away on June 21 — but experts are already warning you to brace for a hot, stormy season with the looming threat of wildfire smoke. "Windsor and southern Ontario are sitting in that above normal temperature category," said Rachel Modestino, a meteorologist with The Weather Network. "One of the biggest features we're going to be seeing this summer is a heat dome." Modestino said heat waves, as the heat dome moves sluggishly from the central Unites States through the Great Lakes, can begin in Windsor-Essex in late June into July, and could be "on and off" throughout the summer. Windsor-Essex will also see thunderstorms that occur along the edges of that heat dome: Known as "Ring of Fire" thunderstorms, they occur where cooler and warmer air meet. "It'll be a combination of the thunderstorms, the Ring of Fire thunderstorms, but also the storm tracks coming up the East Coast where that high pressure is located." Modestino said wildfire smoke could also be a potential threat, travelling from northern Ontario and the prairies. Warmer, wetter summer on the way: ECCC Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips agrees. He told Windsor Morning host Amy Dodge Monday that this week, temperatures will remain in the mid to high 20s, with Tuesday expected to be the warmest day of the year so far. Philips said Environment Canada and other models suggest that Canada is going to be "warmer than normal" this summer. "All [models] saying we're going to be warm, warm, warm," he said. "There's lots of reds on the weather map I'm looking at and the redder it is, the more confident you are. Most of the computer runs are saying the same thing. We're pretty confident that it's going to be warmer than normal." Philips said the summer, according to Environment Canada's current 90-day forecast, shows "a little wetter than normal" weather for the region. 'Two to three months of extreme heat expected in Windsor-Essex by the turn of the century' Caroline Metz is the managing director of climate resilience and health at the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo. Between 1990 and 2000, Metz said Windsor had 20 days with temperatures above 30 C. She said there has been "a noticeable increase," with that number jumping up to between 25 and 30 days in the past five years. "[Windsor-Essex is] projected to experience about 72 days of hot temperatures, that's above 30 C by the middle of the century, so 2050 to 2080. That's two and a half months of hot weather," she said. "In the latter part of the century, so 2070 to 2100, we're looking at 94 days of very hot temperatures above 30 C. That's three months of high heat." Drier weather in southwestern Ontario may impact farmers' crops How should you prepare for hazards this summer? Metz said "more intense, frequent and extreme" weather events are expected in the region. "The top three weather hazards that we need to be concerned about in Windsor and Essex [county] are flooding, extreme heat and wildfire or wildfire smoke," she said, calling extreme heat a silent killer. "Heat is really how climate change manifests most strongly." Metz said indoor overheating is a big concern: In 2021 a heat dome in B.C., saw more than 600 people die, with "98 per cent of deaths occurring indoors." To prepare for the summer heat, Metz says there are steps homeowners and tenants can take: Plant trees and plants around home. Even plants on a balcony can provide a cooling effect. Install exterior awnings on your windows. Add blinds or heat resistant curtains or window films that reduce the sun's rays coming into your home. Consider installing low emissivity windows that let sunlight in, but block solar heat. If renovating, upgrade the insulation in your home. Have a heat pump or an air conditioner or ensure you're able to get to a community cooling centre. Avoid using fans during extreme heat and use air conditioning instead if you have it. Most importantly, Metz advises people to stay connected with family and friends. "Social cohesion and social connectedness is a very big factor in heat resilience and in saving lives," she said. Metz said wildfire damage caused by burning embers coming from an existing wildfire is a threat too. She suggests people: Clear all combustible material like firewood, lumber and debris from around the home. Use as much non-combustible material as possible during construction. Use steel or fire-resistant material for fencing and decking. Install fire resistant roofing like a metal roof or class A shingles that are non combustible. Wildfire smoke is becoming an increasing threat for human health, Metz added. Fine particles that are less than 2.5 microns — roughly 30 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair — can affect the lungs and heart. She advises residents dealing with poor air quality and wildfire smoke to: Stay indoors as much as possible, if there is a warning for wildfire smoke. Seal your home. Keep windows and doors tightly closed to prevent the smoke from entering. Use an air purifier as it filters fine particles from the air. If you need to go outside, wear a well-fitted respirator, like an N95 mask. Windsor-Essex is no stranger to extreme rainfall events and flooding. Metz said the region has been experiencing a 40 per cent increase in precipitation compared to about 50 years ago and there are ways to prepare for flooding events: Resources available to affordably beat the heat Besides cooling centres and spray pads available throughout the summer, residents can access Keep the Heat, a Windsor-based program that helps low-income families pay a portion of their utility bills when they're higher because they're running an air conditioner more often. Dean Christie, the program's director of finance, said they have encouraged its clients to negotiate with their landlords to see if there is a possibility of saving on some of those costs. Christie said since the program's inception in 2005, rising temperatures have meant "an increasing demand." Consequently, they've had to reduce the amount people can access — from $1,000 to $800 — that people can access to pay their utility bills, so they can help more people. He said last year, 1,194 unique households, or 1,865 adults and 1,636 children, accessed the program — a 25 per cent increase from the previous year. But Christie says he worries about the future with extreme heat slated to become more common and prolonged. Higher consumption of air conditioning, as well as general inflation and cost of living pressure, has meant more people are looking to use the Keep the Heat program. "I think there will be more people this year," he said, "and that's one of the reasons why we have reduced the cap from $1,000 to $800 because we're hoping that we'll be able to service more people."
CTV News
38 minutes ago
- CTV News
Canada's Wonderland is this child with autism's favourite place to go. The park's new accessibility pass will change her experience, her mom says
Every summer for the better part of a decade, Monica Matheson would take her daughter Jessica to Canada's Wonderland. But Jessica's mother says a recent change to the accessibility passes issued at the amusement park could dramatically increase the time her daughter will have to wait between rides, potentially leading to meltdowns that will colour their experience. Matheson says Wonderland is her 14-year-old's absolute favourite place to go—a place she constantly asks about. 'Jessica is a sensory seeker. So, she seeks any activity that's going to put great movement on her body, so she loves any ride,' Matheson explained to CTV News Toronto. With Jessica's autism—coupled with her secondary intellectual disability—Matheson says her non-verbal daughter behaves like a two-year-old and requires 24-hour supervision, needing assistance in all day-to-day activities with everything from eating meals to putting on clothes. Jessica An image of Jessica at Canada's Wonderland. (Courtesy of Monica Matheson) In previous years, Matheson says they would use the 'Plan Your Day' accessibility pass while visiting Wonderland, which would permit them to go on any ride every 30 minutes. That pass, however, has been replaced this year with a new accessibility pass which allows holders to proceed to their next ride based on current wait times. While the pass doesn't require those holding it to wait in line, Matheson suggested that it could still be a significant change for her daughter. 'It (the previous pass) gave us time. It gave her a choice in her rides, so she could leave the ride and choose the next one she wanted to go to and it was also perfect for times of Jessica felt overwhelmed,' Matheson said. 'If there (were) too many people there, if there was something noisy going on, sometimes we need to find a quiet corner to go to and calm her down, so it really helped.' 'One blanket pass for all disabilities' On May 12, the family went to the park to spend the day expecting the same accommodation that they have always received. Matheson says she reached out to the park days before to arrange to pick up their accessible passes—something she had done over the last few years—but never received a response, prompting the decision to head to the park a bit earlier to speak with customer service. 'When we went in to get the pass, we were told that they are no longer offering that, that they have one blanket pass for all disabilities,' Matheson said, noting a woman who had a bad knee and physically couldn't stand in line was offered the same accommodations. A spokesperson for Canada's Wonderland told CTV News Toronto they now offer the Attraction Accessibility Pass (AAP) to guests with mobility or cognitive impairments and have difficulties waiting in queues. 'The primary change is how return times are assigned. Previously, return times were issued in standard 30-minute intervals. Under the updated AAP, return times are now based on the current wait times for selected attractions,' Grace Peacock, the regional director of public relations for Six Flags, told CTV News Toronto via email. It should be noted that Cedar Fair, which previously owned Canada's Wonderland, merged with Six Flags in July 2024. With this pass, Peacock says guests do not have to physically wait in line and can visit other parts of the park or take time to relax until their designated return time. But for Jessica, it's not about standing in line—it's about how long it takes to wait to go on the next ride, which Matheson says can lead to 'meltdowns.' This can involve crying, hitting, pulling or running away, and throwing things. 'Jessica (…) and a lot of kids or a lot of people with autism get fixated on things,' Matheson said. 'Jessica is unable to transition herself to another activity until she's been on the Vortex (for example), because she's so fixated.' Matheson says she tried explaining it to the park that day, but they did not listen. 'I asked about the pass and they said, 'Your options are to take this pass—this blanket pass for everybody—or don't come to the park,'' Matheson said, adding they ultimately were refused an accessibility ride pass for Jessica that day. Since they were already at the park, Matheson said they could not leave the park without causing her daughter 'extreme distress'—but Jessica still experienced several meltdowns. In one video reviewed by CTV News Toronto, Matheson's daughter can be seen crying, burying her face into her one of her hands before looking back out at the park and letting out a sigh. 'Several times when she ran up the exit, she was met with staff who were annoyed that we were up there, despite seeing us struggle with her, demanding that we leave immediately and go to the other line,' Matheson said in a letter to one of the park's managers. After their day there, Matheson said she contacted another Wonderland manager—again explaining her position—but was only offered the Attraction Accessibility Pass or a refund for their existing season's passes, as the accommodations they were asking for were no longer available. 'I asked them for the reason for it, and if the pass was causing any disruptions to their businesses or anything like that, to figure out why this pass had just been taken completely away,' Matheson said. 'I asked to both managers and they both said, 'It's Six Flags.'' And when Matheson asked if her concerns would be escalated to Six Flags, she said that she was told that while they would be escalated, 'nobody's going to respond to you and nobody cares.' Peacock said they have since reviewed the matter internally, and said they believe 'this matter is the result of a misunderstanding.' 'We remain open to further conversation with the guest to resolve the issue,' Peacock wrote. Accessible accommodations to be made to the point of 'undue hardship' Under the Human Rights Code, it is the obligation of every organization—from schools to amusement parks—to provide proper accommodations to fit a person's disability needs to the point of undue hardship. 'That's a very, very high bar,' Ilinca Stefan, staff lawyer at ARCH Disability Law Centre, said of the provisions in the code more generally. 'There's only two appropriate justifications for discrimination and not providing an accommodation and that's either financial (…) or health and safety reasons.' Citing third-party preferences or business inconvenience are not valid reasons, and are not adequate considerations for an organization to claim undue hardship, according to the Ontario Human Rights Commission. And on top of that, accommodations need to be individualized to fit that person's specific needs. When asked CTV News Toronto spoke with Bruce McIntosh, director of the Ontario Autism Coalition, to discuss the accommodations offered to Matheson, McIntosh said he was a 'little bit mystified' as to why they would discontinue that particular pass, when it had been something Wonderland provided to parkgoers previously. 'The reasons to offer the accommodation are going to vary from person to person but it's just a thing that we do for people to make their disability to stop being an issue, a problem,' Bruce McIntosh, director of the Ontario Autism Coalition, said. 'People with disabilities should have the same access to activities and building and transit and whatever else as a person who is not disabled exactly.' Matheson says she and her daughter are going to try the AAP sometime soon, adding she will carefully document their day and Jessica's experience then, in hopes they can better understand the accommodations her daughter needs and bring back the pass that had worked for them for years. 'I just want them to work with me,' Matheson said.
CTV News
41 minutes ago
- CTV News
‘We have feelers already out': Sask. ready to lean on Alberta for help with evacuees if needed
WATCH: As the forests burn, and more people are displaced in the province, officials are reaching out to Alberta and Manitoba looking for support for evacuees. A wildfire raging near Pelican Narrows has led to nearly 2,000 people being evacuated from the area – with many of them finding refuge in Saskatoon. As of Sunday, June 1, more than 8,000 people had been evacuated due to wildfire risk. Monday evening saw that number expand by several thousand, as the communities of La Ronge, Air Ronge and Lac La Ronge Indian Band fell under mandatory evacuations. It's all hands-on deck to find places for people to go and that includes the local hospitality industry. 'When wildfires happen, that's typically the time of year when our hotels are getting full with other types of business so it can be a real challenge and can raise some real questions about how to best manage displaced persons, ' Jim Bence, CEO and president of Hospitality Saskatchewan, told CTV News. According to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), some people were taken to Cold Lake in Alberta last week. If needed, the province is prepared to lean on its western neighbour again. 'If Saskatchewan as a province is not able to support the numbers, then yes, indeed, we have feelers already out. Those are to our neighbours, obviously to the west which makes more sense because Manitoba is also constrained,' SPSA vice president of operations Steve Roberts explained. The Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) is helping to move evacuees from some reserves while the SPSA is moving others, sometimes in the same area. 'So, that's where there's some confusion on, who do I contact if I need support. So, we understand that, but the primary goal is to get people out of harm's way and then try to get them to support sending once they're out of harm's way,' Roberts said. The Canadian Red Cross continues their work to help evacuees at The Cosmo Civic Centre and various hotels in Saskatoon. They are also providing an opportunity for Canadians who want to help. Anyone interested can do so by donating to the 2025 Saskatchewan Wildfire Appeal. The donations support Saskatchewan people impacted by the wildfires. Donations will ensure the Red Cross can provide immediate and ongoing aid. The hospitality industry, meanwhile, is currently working on a system where people can go in an emergency to quickly find accommodations provincewide. 'It won't just list which rooms are available, but where they're available so that when the traffic cascades, where can we get people situated the fastest, the most efficiently,' Bence said. As of Monday evening, 36 communities across northern Saskatchewan have either been evacuated or are under an evacuation order –leading to a constantly changing evacuee support plan.
