Prairies wildfire smoke prompts special air quality statement for southern Ontario
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A special air quality statement has been issued for parts of southern Ontario, triggered by wildfire smoke from the Prairies.
Environment Canada says smoke from forest fires can cause reduced air quality and visibility that can fluctuate throughout the day.
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Toronto's air quality index was at eight, or 'high risk,' this morning.
Environment Canada says reduced air quality can cause mild eye, nose and throat irritation while more serious but less common symptoms include chest pains and a severe cough.
The weather agency advises people to limit their time outdoors and consider postponing sports or other outdoor activities.
It says air quality is expected to improve throughout the day from north to south.
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Global News
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Toronto community services face ‘absolute fallout' of consumption site closures
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Story continues below advertisement The Kensington Market Overdose Prevention Site in Toronto launched a Charter challenge of the new law in court, and in late March a judge granted an injunction to keep them open. However, the other nine sites chose to convert to the province's new abstinence-based model — homelessness and addiction recovery treatment, or HART, hubs – and closed. At the Kensington Market consumption site, which receives all of its funding from private donors, traffic is up by 35 per cent, said supervisor Felipe Diaz. 'It's not what we hoped for, we thought we would be a lot busier,' Diaz said, noting that staff are handing out many more harm reduction kits. There have been wild oscillations in site use, he added. In May, 168 people used the consumption site but that dropped to 68 in June, Diaz said. Traffic is up for other services, which include an on-site doctor and nurse. The site is growing, signing up about 12 new people a month, he said. But like several experts and drug users who spoke with The Canadian Press, Diaz said the practice of smoking fentanyl or meth instead of injecting the drugs is on the rise. On a recent visit to the Kensington Market site, Michelle Marshall popped out of the consumption room after injecting fentanyl. Get weekly health news Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday. Sign up for weekly health newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'It's sad,' said Marshall, who has been sleeping in alcoves, parks and alleyways after being kicked out of a hotel shelter in the spring and splitting with her partner. Story continues below advertisement 'There's too many of us out on the streets now. It's busier here then ever.' About a 20-minute walk down the road leads to Lois Dellert's home, which backs onto a graffiti-lined alley that connects on one end to a now-closed supervised consumption site that was converted to a HART hub. The area also has other services for homeless people and a new shelter. Dellert said she is not opposed to consumption sites and wants people to get the help they need. But she is against the drug use just outside her home and had been concerned about crime after seeing people sleeping on her property, fights, drug deals and discarded needles. The site's closure has calmed the area somewhat, Dellert said, and the alley appeared much cleaner last week. 'There's still drug use, but it's less and pretty much contained to the entrance near the laneway,' she said. 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When The Canadian Press visited the location last week, two dealers arrived on bicycles, sold drugs to two people and quickly left. No one was doing drugs outside the health centre but many visitors admitted to smoking drugs in the parkette or on nearby streets. Several security guards kept watch as site staff checked on people. Neighbourhood group Residents for a Safe Parkdale said their concerns are being ignored and the centre's hired security does little to crack down on the 'chaos and disorder' in the area. 'The centre failed to state how it would address neighbourhood safety concerns with concrete, effective measures to end hard drug intoxication causing the criminal and anti-social conduct on and around the outdoor portion of this site,' the group wrote in a recent email to Robertson that was also sent to the premier, other politicians and police. 'The entire neighbourhood is littered with drug paraphernalia such as used syringes, bloody alcohol swabs and smashed glass crack pipes that you give away,' the group wrote. Story continues below advertisement But Robertson said the centre's job is not to remove people from the parkette. 'That's not our role,' she said. 'If we see something illegal, we will engage the neighbourhood community policing team. But it is a significant challenge.' The centre has been promoting smoking over injecting drugs as a harm reduction strategy, Robertson said. She and others believe that is one reason behind a notable drop in overdose complications and deaths. Toronto Paramedic Services said they've seen a 'general decline' in overdose calls since May 2024. In June, they responded to 181 non-fatal overdoses compared to 354 non-fatal overdoses in June 2024. Provincewide, there were 609 suspected drug-related deaths from April to June, according to the latest data from the Office of the Chief Coroner. That is an 11 per cent decrease from the previous three months and a 41 per cent drop from the same time frame last year. Back at the Parkdale health centre parkette, Lexi Murdoch settled into a chair after smoking fentanyl down the street. 'I hate this stuff,' she said, adding that she was considering treatment that previously helped her get off opioids for years. Murdoch said the government's move to shut down consumption sites is 'already bringing chaos out in the open.' Story continues below advertisement 'We need a closed-in area where we can smoke,' she said. 'I don't want to be out here, but unfortunately a lot of people are homeless.' A young person began nodding off on a nearby bench before falling unconscious. Another ran to the centre for help. Laila Bellony, a harm reduction manager at the site, sprang into action along with members of her team to administer oxygen. A few minutes later, the young person regained consciousness. 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Montreal Gazette
an hour ago
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Opinion: ‘Climate change has infiltrated my medical practice. I have no choice but to respond'
As a physician, I'm alarmed that there has been little in the way of substantive input from senior authorities in Canada, and particularly in Quebec, about climate-related health risks. Since the start of summer, I've given more than 20 interviews about the health risks caused by extreme heat and wildfire smoke, both symptoms of the climate crisis. During the weekend of July 26-27, Environment Canada issued dual heat and air-quality warnings for the Montreal area and a large part of Quebec, and I was once again asked to speak to the media. I found myself wondering, where are our government leaders? I regularly address the media about these topics. I believe it's essential to clearly identify and raise awareness about the health impacts of the climate change crisis, which are still far too often overlooked in public discourse. I also wrote a book on the subject. Why do I do this? Because of duty. Climate change has infiltrated my medical practice. I have no choice but to respond. Late last month, while I was on call at a Montreal hospital, two elderly patients were admitted with heat-related complications. Paramedics had rescued them from apartments where the indoor temperature hovered around 30 Celsius — true ovens. I've long been used to reviewing treatment plans for patients with lung disease during cold and flu season. But now, I also have to do it during the summer because of wildfire smoke. I hesitate to draw comparisons with the COVID-19 pandemic because these are very different crises. However, one thing stands out. Beginning in spring 2020 and for weeks, there were daily official media briefings, often featuring Quebec's premier, health minister and director of public health. Yet, when extreme weather rolls through our summers, the response is nothing like that. Where are government officials while our lungs are choking on wildfire smoke? Why aren't they addressing the estimated 470 people who die from heat each summer in Quebec? Radio silence. During the height of the pandemic, they showed up every day to explain what was happening, what steps to take and what services were available. We got more than a social media infographic. Yet, the silence surrounding climate-related health risks sends a message that these issues aren't important, that they don't count and that they're inevitable. Nothing could be further from the truth. In politics, accountability can take many forms, but leadership, public presence and clear recognition of the problem are good places to start. Addressing the media and, through them, the public is part of the job. When it comes to climate-driven health challenges, it's time for more robust ministerial responsibility. Even during the summer vacation period. The science is crystal clear: Environment Canada's increasingly frequent warnings are a direct result of our collective failure to take meaningful climate action, of our continued dependence on fossil fuels, and of premiers who still support the building of pipelines. In the face of all this, we must break the silence. Every level of government must connect the dots between climate and health in public statements and in policy. We need political recognition that meets the scale of the crisis, just as the International Court of Justice recently affirmed. Only then can we make better collective choices to protect everyone's health.
Global News
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