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A powerful atmospheric river has swept across southern British Columbia, unleashing floods and mudslides from Vancouver Island to the Alberta border, trapping motorists, closing major highways, and forcing the evacuation of thousands.
The historic rainfall led to unprecedented flow in rivers, flooding homes and washing out numerous highways on Sunday and Monday.
Several highways were closed by mudslides, and Chinook helicopters were used on Monday to rescue motorists who had been trapped between two slides since Sunday night on a section of Highway 7 between Agassiz and Hope.
- Video: Footage of B.C. flooding in Princeton and Merritt
- In photos: Major flooding across southern B.C. prompts rescues and evacuations
Planet Ice Hockey rink in Delta, B.C. where several vehicles were stranded overnight from flooding.Shane MacKichan/The Globe and Mail
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Doctors worry COVID-19 could overwhelm health care systems in smaller communities
Cases of COVID-19 are surging in rural and remote parts of Canada, bringing infection rates to levels many smaller communities have not experienced so far during the pandemic.
Doctors say they’re worried the pandemic’s shift toward more isolated regions could pose serious risks to the health care systems in smaller communities, which are already stretched and geographically distant from hospitals that could help with a patient surge.
Experts say a number of factors – including people who remain unvaccinated and fewer people immune from prior infections because of a smaller number of cases in those remote areas – are helping to drive this new surge.
Trudeau to push back against U.S. protectionism in one-on-one meeting with Biden
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will hold an in-person meeting with President Joe Biden on Thursday in which he will push back against rising U.S. protectionism, as three of North America’s largest business organizations urge greater international trade co-operation on the continent.
The Prime Minister told reporters yesterday that he intends to use his one-on-one time with Biden in the Oval Office to stress the economic vitality of continental trade and the importance of integrated supply chains, especially because the President seems intent on forging ahead with a “Buy American” strategy for the auto sector and infrastructure projects.
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ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Biden and Xi hold virtual summit: U.S. President Joe Biden tried to balance confrontation and co-operation in his first face-to-face summit with China’s Xi Jinping since Biden’s inauguration in January. Speaking via video link on Monday, Biden told his Chinese counterpart that he wanted to establish “guardrails” – an apparent reference to Washington’s contention that Beijing is increasingly violating international rules and norms.
Divisions in Conservative Party break into the open: Conservative Senator Denise Batters launched a petition calling on party members to support a review of Erin O’Toole’s leadership, in a move that is expected to be the opening salvo of a protracted internal battle.
Canada’s housing market soars again in October: Canada’s housing market soared in October, with sales jumping nearly 9 per cent and price increases accelerating at a pace not seen since the pandemic’s real estate boom hit a peak in the spring.
Cannabis companies’ acquisitions fail to drive sales: In an attempt to boost revenue and expand market share, some of the largest cannabis companies have spent much of the past year acquiring smaller pot producers for hundreds of millions of dollars, but most of these deals have failed to accomplish either of those goals.
Russian test blamed for space junk: A Russian weapons test created more than 1,500 pieces of space junk that are now threatening the seven astronauts aboard the International Space Station, U.S. officials said yesterday.
MORNING MARKETS
World markets march on: Global stock markets marched on toward new peaks on Tuesday as U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held over three hours of virtual talks, helping to nudge China’s yuan to a five-month high and pulling the U.S. dollar lower. Just after 5:30 a.m. ET, Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.02 per cent. Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.20 per cent and 0.30 per cent, respectively. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei finished up 0.11 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.27 per cent. New York futures were slightly weaker. The Canadian dollar was trading at 79.81 US cents.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
Campbell Clark: “Mr. Kenney, whose disdain for Mr. Trudeau’s federal Liberals is famous and whose dislike of subsidized child care is on record, just decided he had to take the money. Sure, Mr. Ford can argue $10.2-billion is not enough, but can he leave it on the table?”
Editorial: “To combat climate heating requires a never-before-seen level of global co-operation. The world has not been able to overcome domestic self-interest but it has moved relatively quickly in a short amount of time. Glasgow encapsulates this. Progress, but not enough progress. Glasgow is at once a disappointment and also offers hope.”
TODAY’S EDITORIAL CARTOON
cartoonBrian Gable/The Globe and Mail
LIVING BETTER
Why vitamin K should be on your radar
You might not give much thought to vitamin K. But you should. Growing evidence suggests this lesser-known nutrient plays an important role in healthy aging. Here’s what you need to know.
MOMENT IN TIME: NOVEMBER 16, 1970
Canadian singer Anne Murray in concert, c. 1970.Feature
Anne Murray’s Snowbird goes gold
Anne Murray’s version of Gene MacLellan’s song Snowbird launched her career internationally and was certified gold on this day in 1970, the first American gold record awarded to a Canadian solo female artist. The melody is carefree, the tempo is chipper and Murray’s sunbeam alto could melt ice and sour dispositions. And, yet, the lyrics are melancholic and the story behind the song is bittersweet. The stage-shy singer-songwriter MacLellan wore an eye patch as a result of a traffic accident that cost him his father. In a song inspired by a flock of snow buntings on a PEI beach, he rhymed “emptiness within” with “I can’t win.” Although Murray’s recording was just a B-side, when a Cleveland disc jockey played it the station’s switchboard lit up. The song cracked the top 10 on three U.S. charts. However, the next few years were “a blur,” according to the Nova Scotia-born singer. “It was not fun,” she later said. As for MacLellan, he won a Juno Award in 1971, but in 1995 he died by suicide. “Spread your tiny wings and fly away” were among his most memorable words. Brad Wheeler
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