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Winnipeg Free Press
29-05-2025
- Climate
- Winnipeg Free Press
Jenpeg employees evacuated
The wildfire threat in the northern part of the province has prompted the evacuation of Manitoba Hydro's Jenpeg generating station. The precautionary evacuation occurred late Wednesday afternoon when an advancing 3,290-hectare out-of-control wildfire reached a point five kilometres away. 'All Manitoba Hydro employees have safely left the area,' Peter Chura, spokesman for the publicly owned power utility, said Thursday. The 174-megawatt facility constructed in 1972 and completed in 1979 has been undergoing maintenance and was not generating electricity, so there is no effect on customers, Chura said. Normal staffing at Jenpeg — located where the west channel of the Nelson River flows into Cross Lake, about 135 km south of Thompson — is close to 30 people, he said. Its powerhouse and spillway structures are also used to regulate about 85 per cent of the water flowing out of Lake Winnipeg. All hydro employees have safely been moved from any areas under evacuation orders, he noted. The fire forced the evacuation of the nearby Pimicikamak Cree Nation; residents were among more than 17,000 people evacuated from several northern communities, including the City of Flin Flon and Town of Lynn Lake and the Mathias Colomb First Nation. Pointe du Bois and Slave Falls generating stations have returned to routine operations and staffing levels, Chura said. On May 14, Manitoba Hydro announced the imminent evacuation of workers from those two stations on the Winnipeg River as wildfires threatened to cut off road access. 'We continue to monitor the situation in case it changes, or new fire starts are observed,' Chura said. 'Power is mostly restored from wildfire-related outages in eastern Manitoba except for part of Nopiming, which is de-energized as a safety precaution due to fires in the area. He said fire and smoke conditions are currently preventing hydro from assessing damage or restoration of power outages — likely fire-related — in several communities. Out of firefighters, looking abroad The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre has called on its international partners for backup as Canada has run out of wildland firefighters. As of Thursday afternoon, every wildland firefighter and resource in Canada was spoken for due to increased fire activity across the country. 'We just raised the national preparedness level from a Level 4 to a Level 5 — which is the highest level — and essentially what that means is that all Canadian firefighting resources that are otherwise available have all now been committed,' said Alex Jones, the acting communications manager at CIFFC. The non-profit is owned and operated by the federal, provincial and territorial governments. It co-ordinates and allocates wildfire resources across Canada and, when called upon, internationally. Manitoba currently has personnel from Alberta, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Parks Canada, as well as support personnel from CIFFC itself, but still have more requests for help in the queue. CIFFC must now ask for help from outside partners, such as the U.S., Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Costa Rica, Portugal, Chile and France. Response to that call is based on availability and how quick help can get here. Jones couldn't say whether Manitoba would accept help from the U.S. amid current cross-border trade tensions. 'We do have a really strong, really long-standing agreement with the United States. It's been in place since 1982 and we just re-sign the agreement this spring and so right now essentially it's business as usual and they're ready to support if they can,' she said. 'We try and maintain those relationships with fire as much as possible because at the end of the day, public safety is No. 1.' At a Wednesday news conference, Premier Wab Kinew wouldn't comment on whether the province would ask its neighbours to the south for additional resources. Mining company lends hand A Toronto-based mining company operating in northern Manitoba is working to ensure its employees remain safe. Hudbay Minerals Inc. has ongoing care and maintenance activities in Flin Flon following the closure of the 777 mine in 2022 as well as services to support its Snow Lake operations, the company said in a news release Thursday afternoon. The company is securing additional accommodations in Snow Lake for its evacuated employees and their families; deploying trained emergency personnel to aid firefighting efforts; maintaining communication with local communities and provincial authorities about the resources it has available to support emergency-response efforts; and providing facility infrastructure information to assist with planning and response. Hudbay is continuing operations in Snow Lake, approximately 200 kilometres east of Flin Flon, and expects temporary reduced production levels, as a large portion of its workforce lives in Flin Flon. Hudbay is a copper-focused critical minerals mining company with three long-life operations and a pipeline of copper growth projects in Canada, Peru and the United States. — Compiled by Nicole Buffie, Carol Sanders and Aaron Epp
Korea Herald
01-05-2025
- Korea Herald
Filipino street kid now in college recalls encounter with Pope Francis
MANILA, Philippines (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) — Jun Chura, a second-year college student at the University of Santo Tomas, was enjoying the last day of the Holy Week break before classes resumed. He was doomscrolling that day when he read the news of Pope Francis' death. The 23-year-old did not believe the news at first, although he had been following developments regarding the Holy Father's health — from the time he was hospitalized on Feb. 14 to his discharge more than a month later until his last public appearance on Easter Sunday. But when he read more posts that indeed Pope Francis had died, he realized it was true. "I was just frozen in disbelief," Chura recalled to the Inquirer. "It was as if an important part of me had also died. All the memories I had with him 10 years ago flashed before my eyes. And I realized I was fortunate that I was able to meet him and hug him — I had been blessed from then on." Chura and Glyzelle Palomar were the two street children among the four youths who gave their messages to Pope Francis during the "Encounter with the Youth" at UST on Jan. 18, 2015, the fourth of the Pontiff's five-day visit to the Philippines. The two kids were beneficiaries of Catholic Church-supported Tulay Ng Kabataan Foundation. Chura was only 9 years old when he and his younger brother ran away from home. His father was jailed at that time and his stepmother was neglecting their needs, he said. Out on the streets for a year, he saw fellow street children getting addicted to drugs or getting high on "rugby" just to get the day by. Others resorted to stealing, prostitution and other means to survive. They were only fortunate because a street educator from Tulay Ng Kabataan found them. Seeing through tears Chura's harrowing experience along with Palomar's probing questions — "Why does God allow us children to suffer even if we are not doing anything wrong? Why are only a few people helping us?" — prompted Pope Francis to set aside his prepared speech and give the children an impromptu message. The Pope acknowledged that their questions were "deep down almost unanswerable." But he reminded the faithful not to be afraid to shed tears amid their hardships, saying that "we can only see more clearly through eyes washed by tears." Chura admitted that, at that time, he did not understand what Pope Francis meant. "I was too young back then and, to be honest, I was not good at understanding even the English translation of Pope Francis' message in Spanish," he recalled. "But I understood everything after he embraced us. It was the hug of a father I had always longed for. It was warm and it reassured us that everything will be all right." In broadcasts of that visit, Chura could be seen smiling awkwardly, trying to comfort the crying Palomar. He was also filled with emotion but could not shed a tear — at least not yet. "I promised myself when I left our home that I would not cry until I could meet my mother again," he said. Helping other street kids After that encounter with the Pope, Chura said something in him changed deeply. "Pope Francis left a lasting impact on me. I became closer to God. I pray and read the Bible diligently. I study very hard. I feel blessed but I want to prove that I am worthy of being blessed. And I want to share this blessing with other people, especially my family and other street children," he said. In June that year, months after the Pope's visit, Chura had another blessing — the Archdiocese of Manila agreed to shoulder his education from high school until his graduation from college. Chura said he never saw himself as a student enrolled at UST. "It is a school only for the rich and the smart ones. At that time, I did not think that I deserved to be there," he said. He finished high school in 2023 and is now completing a degree in mathematics. Chura still lives at a shelter of Tulay Ng Kabataan. In his free time, he and other college students help impart their education, teaching the growing number of children also being helped by the foundation. He said it was through God's grace and his encounter with Pope Francis that he is finally closer to fulfilling his promise to the Holy Father — to finish his studies and help his family and other street children. "A few more years, and hopefully I can become a teacher. I want to help my family get out of poverty, and I want to help other street children at Tulay Ng Kabataan," he said. Reuniting with his mother Chura had also been praying to God that he would finally meet his mother whom he had never seen. After he joined group chats in 2019 with people who also had his surname, a woman messaged him who turned out to be his aunt, his mother's sister. Chura said his mother had also been looking for him for years. Even if she had a new family, he said he was only "very happy" to be reconnected with her. "She even told me that she watched Pope Francis' visit on TV. She said she saw my face but did not know that I was her son." Chura said his encounter with Francis made his prayers more fervent and his yearning for her mother's embrace stronger. "I am thankful that I met Pope Francis. He changed the lives of many people, including me. I would not be where I want to be had I not met him." "It is just unfortunate that he will not be able to see me finish my studies as I had promised. I would have wanted to show him that the street kid that he met in 2015 is now doing well and thriving, that I am keeping my word to help other street children like me," he said.
CBC
25-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Scrapped carbon tax will provide some relief to Manitoba Hydro customers, drivers
One Manitoban has mixed feelings about receiving a break on his Hydro bills next cycle. Currently, all Manitoba Hydro customers pay a 'federal carbon charge' on their monthly bills. Earlier this month, Prime Minster Mark Carney signed a directive to remove the consumer carbon tax effective April 1, and the first place Manitobans will notice the change could be their Hydro bill. Ryan Kochie, a homeowner in the Elmwood area where he lives with his partner and their four children, says the carbon charge was a large portion of his natural gas bill. "Looking back at February with our $100 bill, [the federal carbon charge] was about $40 on that bill." Removing the monthly carbon charge will help with the cost of living, Kochie says, while adding he's going to miss the carbon tax rebate he used to get every three months. "It was definitely a nice bonus to help with unexpected bills and stuff," Kochie said. "We're very careful in our budgeting as a family of four, so we're watching everything anyway, but having that bonus just helps that monthly budget out, and helps us put more into savings." Kochie says he has friends living cheque to cheque who depend on the carbon tax rebate to stay afloat. Manitoba Hydro's website says the average household used 2,075 cubic metres of natural gas in 2024 at a cost of roughly $316, or just over $26 a month in carbon tax. Peter Chura, media relations officer for Manitoba Hydro, says the Public Utilities Board had to approve the changes to Hydro bills before they could be reflected on customers' bills. "The federal carbon charge will not apply to any natural gas used by our customers on or after April 1. It will still apply the gas used before then, so that will still appear on customers' bills in a prorated fashion." Chura says customers on an equal payment plan will see a slight change in their hydro bills as well. He said the federal carbon charge wasn't being paid to Hydro. "The federal carbon charge was levied by the federal government. They set the amounts and we would simply collect it on their behalf and then remit that to the federal government." Prior to the change in carbon tax policy, Chura says, tax was scheduled to rise on April 1. As a result, some customers might find a pamphlet with their bill that refers to the federal carbon charge going up, even though it's going to disappear altogether. Ecology group discouraged by carbon tax removal Manitobans can expect to see savings at the pump, too. Gas prices will fall almost 18 cents a litre, or about $9 less to fill a 50-litre tank. Before Carney scrapped the carbon tax, gas prices were slated to rise another three cents. The Manitoba Eco Network says it's discouraged to see the removal of the consumer carbon tax. Executive director James Beddome wants to know what policy will be implemented in its place that encourages people to reduce their carbon footprint. "Can we expect to see the Carney government end all subsidies to the oil-and-gas sector, for instance? Can we expect to see them put major investments into public transportation? Beddome said. "Can we expect to see them, sort of lay down the line in the regulatory approach … that we're going to go away from fossil fuels, which unfortunately isn't what I've heard in some of the first opening remarks." Beddome says the carbon tax alone wasn't going to get Canada to meet its climate change goals, but it was better than nothing. "Certainly we need more than just pricing on greenhouse gas emissions, but it's disappointing that politics has won out over good policy," Beddome said, referring to the divisive nature of the carbon tax. Kochie also thinks the carbon tax was dividing the country. He said he understands why the Liberals chose to abandon it, but he hopes there's more climate policy in the works. "I really hope this doesn't mean they're going to abandon climate action overall," Kochie said. "We need to be actively working against [climate change], healing our planet instead of making it worse."
