Latest news with #Bushie
Winnipeg Free Press
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Minister says review will improve wildfire response
Manitoba's natural resources minister has said his government is keen to review the way it co-ordinates resources to better support municipalities in future wildfire seasons. Ian Bushie and his provincial and territorial counterparts discussed the need for more comprehensive wildfire management plans and resource sharing, at the annual meeting of the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers last month. 'We are there talking with municipalities, talking with First Nation communities as to how we can support going forward, how we can support this real-time as best we can,' Bushie said Thursday. RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES Natural Resources Minister Ian Bushie, left, has acknowledged the need for a more comprehensive wildfire response plan. Bushie said while there has been significant resource sharing between provinces and from other countries, firefighting crews have been strained right across Canada during this extreme wildfire season. Canada is on track to have the second-worst wildfire season in history; as of Thursday, fires had consumed more than 6.3 million hectares of land. The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, based in Winnipeg, reported on its online dashboard that 3,674 blazes have been sparked in Canada so far this year, including 47 that started on Thursday alone. 'At the end of the season, we'll see where we can best utilize the additional resources, where they can best be put in place,' Bushie said. Kathy Valentino, a councillor for the City of Thompson, wants provincial and federal governments to implement a national strategy to provide relief to municipalities. Valentino, who is vice-president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, is asking the federal government for a $2-billion infrastructure investment so municipalities can prepare for scenarios such as mass evacuations owing to natural disasters. On Thursday, Thompson renewed its state of emergency and the city's 15,000 residents remain on a 12-hour notice to evacuate as three wildfires burn nearby. Valentino said if it came time to order everyone out, it would be a logistical nightmare. 'There's only one highway in and out of Thompson, so when we were going through this a couple of weeks ago, when things were pretty intense, we were thinking, 'how would we get like 15,000 people out?'' she said. 'There has to be a federal strategy about this.' Amid Manitoba's fire season, Valentino said Thompson's municipal resources have been used elsewhere to support evacuees or attend meetings about wildfires and coordinate efforts. It means Thompson residents having a difficult time reaching staff for municipal issues. Valentino said a nationwide plan to prevent and react to wildfires must be considered when the wildfire season winds down so other towns and cities don't grind to a halt like Thompson has. 'We can never stop this from happening, but how we react to it happening can be a real collaborative approach,' Valentino said. 'I never thought something like this would happen to us.' In Manitoba, 362 fires have burned more than 1.5 million hectares of land. The federal government said it is discussing how better to support communities affected by, or at risk of, wildfires. Ottawa has a disaster mitigation and adaptation fund to help communities reduce the risk and impact of natural hazards. '(The fund) currently supports a range of large-scale, long-term resilience projects, including wildfire mitigation, but ongoing discussions at the federal level are focused on identifying where further investments or program adjustments may be needed,' a spokesperson from Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada said in an email. Bushie said once the fires die down and the province can put a price tag on the damage, discussions will begin about how to better support municipalities, including by enhancing infrastructure. The minister said removing jurisdictional barriers must be part of the conversation. Wednesdays Sent weekly from the heart of Turtle Island, an exploration of Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences. In late May, a massive wildfire that started near Creighton, Sask., jumped the border into Manitoba and headed toward the town of Flin Flon. At the time, Flin Flon deputy mayor Alison Dallas-Funk told the Free Press she was frustrated Manitoba wildland firefighters couldn't cross the border into Saskatchewan because they had to wait for Saskatchewan officials to request help. The fire destroyed 200 homes in the nearby community of Denare Beach, Sask. 'That's a first part of the conversation today: how can we help? How can we get involved and worry about the jurisdictional issues later on?' Bushie said. 'We're all hands on deck.' Nicole BuffieMultimedia producer Nicole Buffie is a reporter for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College's Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom as a multimedia producer in 2023. Read more about Nicole. Every piece of reporting Nicole produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew tours wildfire zones by air as 21,000 remain out of homes
WINNIPEG — Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew took to the air Thursday, touring and meeting with those dealing with scores of wildfires in his province, while in Saskatchewan thousands of fire evacuees were given the green light to go home. 'Just this morning, the premier was in Flin Flon meeting with the firefighters, the boots on the ground, including our American firefighters that are up there,' Natural Resources Minister Ian Bushie told a wildfire update news conference. Bushie said the province has received or is receiving help from crews from Alberta, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, B.C., Parks Canada and the United States. 'It's been very positive to see a truly all-hands-on-deck approach,' Bushie said. Along with the Flin Flon visit, Kinew was scheduled to meet with municipal officials, evacuees and hospital staff in Thompson before returning to Winnipeg in the evening. The fires have been raging for more than two weeks, mainly in the north and northwest parts of the province, forcing 21,000 to flee in one of the worst fire seasons in recent years. About 6,000 people evacuated Flin Flon and its surrounding homes and cottages while 6,700 are out of the Pimicikamak Cree Nation. There are 21 wildfires, nine of which are out of control. The 600 residents of Cranberry Portage have been notified they can return starting Saturday morning. Bushie said cooler temperatures and scattered rain have helped crews contain the fires for now, but noted that along with wet weather there are lightning strikes that could bring more fires down the road. 'We're not out of the wildfire season yet,' he said. 'Actually I would almost hazard to say we're not even at the height of our wildfire season yet.' The sheer number of evacuees has put a strain on Manitoba's 15,000 hotel rooms to the point Kinew's government is asking tourists to reconsider visiting Manitoba for now. Also Thursday, the province confirmed it will be in charge of security going forward at the Leila congregate shelter in Winnipeg. This will be done with the help of police services from St. Anne's and Winnipeg, as well as First Nations groups. "It's really important to have solid security in place to keep Manitobans safe," said Lisa Naylor, minister of infrastructure. Naylor would not provide information on what led to the switch or who was providing security services before the changeover. Winnipeg police have committed to sending officers to evacuee shelters and hotels to ensure vulnerable residents aren't targeted. In Saskatchewan, rain and favourable winds have helped crews keep fires at bay and allowed 7,000 residents in the La Ronge area to begin returning home. Chief Tammy Cook-Searson of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band said on social media communities are 'beyond excited' to have residents back. 'We missed you more than words can say,' she said. 'As we reconnect and move forward together, support will be available for your mental health. You are not alone." Lyle Hannan, the director of the La Ronge's emergency operation centre, said gas stations, grocery stores and restaurants are open, while work is underway to get the hospital running. 'We had to go around and pick up all the residents' garbage so they had an empty garbage bin to fill when they come home,' Hannan said late Wednesday. Hannan said the Rona hardware store, Robertson Trading store and an air tanker structure at the town's airport were destroyed by the fire. He said he's heard some people are anxious to return. 'You miss home and you want to make sure you can see things and make sure everything is still here,' Hannan said. Saskatchewan officials estimate between 10,000 and 15,000 have been forced out by the fires. The province is fighting 23 blazes, six of which have not been contained. Both Manitoba and Saskatchewan have declared states of emergency to help different levels of government co-ordinate resources and relief. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's government has promised to top up aid with $500 for every person over 18 who has had to relocate. Moe made that announcement Wednesday while facing criticism from the Opposition NDP and the provincial ombudsman that his government failed to deliver immediate shelter, food and vital information to many running from harm's way. Ombudsman Sharon Pratchler said earlier this week her staffers have been overwhelmed trying to fill the void by connecting evacuees to food and shelter. Pratchler said she is hearing of evacuees forced to sleep in cars and parents lacking essentials like diapers for their children. Moe has said his government has done what it can to keep people safe from fires while fighting the swiftly moving conflagrations, but will strive to improve. The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency says it has scaled up the number of people available to help those with immediate needs. Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck has said the $500 will help but said citizens deserve better than a province that appears to be doing its disaster planning 'on the back of a napkin.' Fires in Alberta have also forced scores from their homes, mainly in the remote north. — with files from Jeremy Simes in Regina This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2025. Brittany Hobson and Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press
CBC
02-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Manitoba more than triples moose hunt licences in 2025 after controversial cut led to court challenges
Manitoba is shaking up its moose hunt system after a slash to the number of licences offered last year received both flak and legal challenges from a northern Manitoba First Nation and a provincial conservation organization representing the interests of hunters. The province will grant 350 moose hunting licences this year, up from the 100 offered last year, Natural Resources and Indigenous Futures Minister Ian Bushie said in a Thursday news release. The move aligns with the province's obligations under the 1977 Northern Flood Agreement, which states Manitoba must prioritize Indigenous harvesters on traditional territory of Pimicikamak Cree Nation, Bushie said in the release. Jamie Moses, then the minister of natural resources, sparked fury from Pimicikamak and the Manitoba Wildlife Federation last summer after he cut the number of moose draw hunting licences for Manitoba residents by 75 per cent — from a total of 400 to 100 — across four of Manitoba's 62 game hunting areas. The traditional territory of Pimicikamak, also known as the Cross Lake Resource Area, spans nearly 15,000 square kilometres and portions of four of Manitoba's game hunting areas, including two of four GHAs subject to the 75 per cent licence reduction. Pimicikamak and the wildlife federation both challenged Moses' decision in court. Manitoba Court of King's Bench Justice Brian Bowman heard from lawyers representing Pimicikamak, the wildlife federation and the province during a two-day hearing last November. New wildlife advisory board Pimicikamak's lawyers argued the province's July 11 licensing decision infringed on its rights under provincial laws, Treaty 5 and the 1977 Northern Flood Agreement. The wildlife federation argued the cut in licences was not based on scientific data. The province's lawyers asked Bowman to dismiss both applications, but to dismiss Pimicikamak's case without prejudice so the First Nation could potentially pursue a lawsuit instead, because while both groups have an interest in Manitoba wildlife, they are not equal, as First Nations people have recognized treaty rights to hunt. Bowman has yet to deliver a decision in the case. The province also says aerial surveys focused on moose were conducted in GHAs 9A and 10 over the winter. Fifteen per cent of GHA 9A, and 12 per cent of GHA 10 has been set aside for exclusive use by Indigenous hunters. The 350 moose hunting licences being offered this year span the remaining portions of GHAs 9A and 10, as well as GHAs 15 and 15A. The province is going to work with Pimicikamak to create a wildlife advisory and planning board, which will impact shared wildlife-related resources, Bushie said in the release. The board will help manage resources and allow discussion of shared land and natural resource management, he said.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How Elise Stefanik lost a House race she wasn't even running in
The reason Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) is cooling her heels in the House instead of heading to the United Nations to give them hell at Turtle Bay is that Republicans have gotten a case of the nerves. Depending on what happens in a few elections being held Tuesday, their condition is about to get a lot worse or a lot better. Stefanik is a kind of House of Representatives version of Vice President Vance. She started out as an old-fashioned Republican national security hawk, working in former President George W. Bush's White House after Harvard, then the Romney-Ryan campaign in 2012. When a loss blocked that path forward, she went home to Albany and looked for another way. The House district just north of where she grew up had been redrawn after the 2010 census to include everything from above Albany all the way to the Canadian border, basically the right side of the 'Y' shape of the Empire State. Former Rep. Bill Owens, a moderate Democrat, had flipped the old district in a special election in 2009, but quit after the new district took shape for the 2014 midterms. That opened the way for Stefanik, then just 30 years old, to become the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. She was the dark horse in the primary, but tapped the deep pockets of the Bush political universe to win. Then, as her party changed, she changed right along with it. In the span of less than eight years, she went from Bush-Cheney wunderkind to the woman who knocked off Dick Cheney's daughter, Liz, to become the No. 4 member of the Republican House leadership. Her unflinching defenses of President Trump won her lots of cred in a MAGA world skeptical of her hawkish, Bushie past. But it was her evisceration of the then-president of Columbia University and other administrators of elite schools in the spring of last year over the anti-Israel protests on their campuses that won her a spot on the shortlist to be Trump's running mate. Vance, who had emerged and reinvented himself even more swiftly and thoroughly than Stefanik, got that gig. Her consolation prize, though, was a good one. Ambassador to the United Nations is a job with Cabinet-level visibility but located a comfortable 232 miles away from destructive White House drama. When Trump tapped Stefanik, however, he was plucking other Republicans from the House, including Mike Waltz of Florida—now famous as the father of the indiscreet airstrike chat—to be his national security adviser. When Trump also chose Matt Gaetz, a man with all of Stefanik's ambition and none of her self-control, for an abortive bid to be attorney general, it made three sitting members of Congress to be yanked out of what was already the narrowest House majority in history. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) was in charge of setting the replacement elections for Waltz and Gaetz, which made the timing no problem. And Gaetz's district on the Flora-Bama Coast is so Republican that the GOP could put up a conch shell with an American flag pin and still win by 10. Waltz's district on the other side of the state is almost equally red. And if they had gone with a patriotic conch shell over there, Republicans would have probably been OK. Instead of OK, they got Fine. Randy Fine 'semi-retired' in 2016 at the age of 40 from his work in the casino industry to set up shop near Melbourne Beach and ran for a seat in the Florida House. His bomb-throwing ways there won him few friends, but Fine deployed his personal wealth in 2024 to win an open seat in the state Senate, which made him an appealing recruit for Washington Republicans. But Fine did not initially self-fund, and given his many fraught relationships and the uncompetitive district, he did not find donors beating a path to his door. Democrat Josh Weil, a middle school teacher, quickly tapped into the network of Democratic small-dollar donors and raised heaps of cash for a long-shot bid. And as early voting began, the race in a district that went for the GOP by more than 30 points last year looked like a tie. Republicans probably caught it in time. Weil's early overperformance might have been sufficient in an ultra-low turnout election, but that success brought attention and money from Washington, including from President Trump and his right-hand man, Elon Musk. Even nudging up turnout by 10 percent would probably be enough to save the Republican. Fine will probably be, well, you know, fine. The loser isn't going to be Weil, though. It's Stefanik. The ramming-speed schedule in Congress as Republicans try to get their package of tax and spending cuts through means there won't be a good time anytime soon to be down another member. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul would have 90 days to call an election if Stefanik resigned, giving the Democratic governor plenty of time to delay while Republicans in Washington scrambled for votes. And given what Republicans are seeing with Fine and elsewhere, it's hardly a sure thing that the GOP could hold the seat in a special election. If they're sucking wind in Florida now, how much worse might things look in New York by the end of summer? The expectations game is a funny thing, though. If Fine wins by, say, 15 points after all this, it will look like a show of strength for the GOP. If the race had never looked competitive, Democrats would have been crowing about Fine's underperformance compared to 2024. If Fine cruises in Florida and Musk's massive spending in a Wisconsin state Supreme Court race can deliver a win there, Republicans will be feeling a lot more chipper about their chances. That would be an especially bitter pill for Stefanik, who came so close to the Cabinet. But if her story tells us anything, she'll be back. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
01-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
How Elise Stefanik lost a House race she wasn't even running in
The reason Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) is cooling her heels in the House instead of heading to the United Nations to give them hell at Turtle Bay is that Republicans have gotten a case of the nerves. Depending on what happens in a few elections being held Tuesday, their condition is about to get a lot worse or a lot better. Stefanik is a kind of House of Representatives version of Vice President Vance. She started out as an old-fashioned Republican national security hawk, working in former President George W. Bush's White House after Harvard, then the Romney-Ryan campaign in 2012. When a loss blocked that path forward, she went home to Albany and looked for another way. The House district just north of where she grew up had been redrawn after the 2010 census to include everything from above Albany all the way to the Canadian border, basically the right side of the 'Y' shape of the Empire State. Former Rep. Bill Owens, a moderate Democrat, had flipped the old district in a special election in 2009, but quit after the new district took shape for the 2014 midterms. That opened the way for Stefanik, then just 30 years old, to become the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. She was the dark horse in the primary, but tapped the deep pockets of the Bush political universe to win. Then, as her party changed, she changed right along with it. In the span of less than eight years, she went from Bush-Cheney wunderkind to the woman who knocked off Dick Cheney's daughter, Liz, to become the No. 4 member of the Republican House leadership. Her unflinching defenses of President Trump won her lots of cred in a MAGA world skeptical of her hawkish, Bushie past. But it was her evisceration of the then-president of Columbia University and other administrators of elite schools in the spring of last year over the anti-Israel protests on their campuses that won her a spot on the shortlist to be Trump's running mate. Vance, who had emerged and reinvented himself even more swiftly and thoroughly than Stefanik, got that gig. Her consolation prize, though, was a good one. Ambassador to the United Nations is a job with Cabinet-level visibility but located a comfortable 232 miles away from destructive White House drama. When Trump tapped Stefanik, however, he was plucking other Republicans from the House, including Mike Waltz of Florida—now famous as the father of the indiscreet airstrike chat—to be his national security adviser. When Trump also chose Matt Gaetz, a man with all of Stefanik's ambition and none of her self-control, for an abortive bid to be attorney general, it made three sitting members of Congress to be yanked out of what was already the narrowest House majority in history. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) was in charge of setting the replacement elections for Waltz and Gaetz, which made the timing no problem. And Gaetz's district on the Flora-Bama Coast is so Republican that the GOP could put up a conch shell with an American flag pin and still win by 10. Waltz's district on the other side of the state is almost equally red. And if they had gone with a patriotic conch shell over there, Republicans would have probably been OK. Instead of OK, they got Fine. Randy Fine 'semi-retired' in 2016 at the age of 40 from his work in the casino industry to set up shop near Melbourne Beach and ran for a seat in the Florida House. His bomb-throwing ways there won him few friends, but Fine deployed his personal wealth in 2024 to win an open seat in the state Senate, which made him an appealing recruit for Washington Republicans. But Fine did not initially self-fund, and given his many fraught relationships and the uncompetitive district, he did not find donors beating a path to his door. Democrat Josh Weil, a middle school teacher, quickly tapped into the network of Democratic small-dollar donors and raised heaps of cash for a long-shot bid. And as early voting began, the race in a district that went for the GOP by more than 30 points last year looked like a tie. Republicans probably caught it in time. Weil's early overperformance might have been sufficient in an ultra-low turnout election, but that success brought attention and money from Washington, including from President Trump and his right-hand man, Elon Musk. Even nudging up turnout by 10 percent would probably be enough to save the Republican. Fine will probably be, well, you know, fine. The loser isn't going to be Weil, though. It's Stefanik. The ramming-speed schedule in Congress as Republicans try to get their package of tax and spending cuts through means there won't be a good time anytime soon to be down another member. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul would have 90 days to call an election if Stefanik resigned, giving the Democratic governor plenty of time to delay while Republicans in Washington scrambled for votes. And given what Republicans are seeing with Fine and elsewhere, it's hardly a sure thing that the GOP could hold the seat in a special election. If they're sucking wind in Florida now, how much worse might things look in New York by the end of summer? The expectations game is a funny thing, though. If Fine wins by, say, 15 points after all this, it will look like a show of strength for the GOP. If the race had never looked competitive, Democrats would have been crowing about Fine's underperformance compared to 2024. If Fine cruises in Florida and Musk's massive spending in a Wisconsin state Supreme Court race can deliver a win there, Republicans will be feeling a lot more chipper about their chances. That would be an especially bitter pill for Stefanik, who came so close to the Cabinet. But if her story tells us anything, she'll be back.
