More Canadians turning to crowdfunding for disaster relief

More Canadians are turning to crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe to cover losses from severe weather, wildfires and floods. As climate risks change and they struggle to cope, federal funding and insurance coverage isn’t always enough.

TORONTO — Intact Financial Corp. says it has launched a pilot program to reduce wildfire damage to customers’ homes in Western Canada as another season of elevated fire risk approaches. The insurer says it has contracted Wildfire Defense Systems to provide prevention services when a wildfire is less than five kilometres away from the homes of clients across most of British Columbia and Alberta. The services include a range of actions that such as removing combustible materials from around the pr

The National Weather Service put the entire area at a 3 out of 5 on the severe weather risk scale.

Canadian insurance company Intact Financial announced Tuesday that it is rolling out a pilot project that will see eligible customers in B.C. and Alberta access a service providing wildfire loss prevention and suppression through a partnership with Montana’s Wildfire Defense Services. As Sean Previl reports, the aim is to help mitigate potential damage homes could face as Canadians face an increased risk of wildfires.

Pro-Palestinian protesters who have set up an encampment at Montreal’s McGill University say they’re not satisfied after meeting with the school’s administration. (May. 06, 2024)

Pro-Palestinian student protesters at McGill University say school administrators failed to give a “clear timeline” in the first meeting about their demands that the university cut ties with Israeli academic institutions and pull all investments from companies that operate in the country.In a news conference Monday afternoon, the student protesters said they would be staying put until further notice.”We are waiting for actual divestments and are announcing that the encampment will continue as lo

The first witness in the criminal trial of a former Ottawa firefighter accused of choking a rookie colleague over a dishwashing dispute said the physical altercation initially appeared “mutual,” and said the accused later claimed he didn’t know his hand was briefly on his crewmate’s throat.Eric Einagel is charged with choking, assault causing bodily harm and harassment by threatening conduct to another person in relation to the incident at Fire Station 47 on Greenbank Road in Barrhaven. Greg Wri

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The South Dakota Governor and Trump VP hopeful suggested that Biden’s bite-prone dog should join the dog she admitted to shooting.

SURREY, B.C. — Three Indian nationals accused of murdering Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar are due to face court in Surrey, B.C., Tuesday over the killing that triggered a major diplomatic rift with New Delhi. Karanpreet Singh, Kamalpreet Singh and Karan Brar were arrested in Edmonton last week and are scheduled to appear in Surrey Provincial Court at 9:30 a.m. All face charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to murder. Nijjar, an advocate for an independent Sikh homeland and president

Israel has launched new airstrikes in Rafah, warning 100,000 people there to flee to a designated safe area ahead of an expected ground operation. The strikes came after Hamas agreed to a mediated ceasefire proposal but Israel did not.

Despite a decrease in the number of complaints filed against Air Canada over language-related issues, the airline still gets more language complaints nationwide than any other institution, says Commissioner of Official Languages Raymond Théberge.In his annual report, presented Tuesday morning, Théberge’s office said it received 847 valid complaints during the 2023-2024 year — less than half the number it received the previous year. Of these, 15 per cent — 130 complaints — were related to Air Can

Australia has accused a Chinese fighter jet of firing flares into the path of a naval helicopter last weekend over international waters of the Yellow Sea, an action that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese blasted as “completely unacceptable.”

Abandoned fishing gear or ‘ghost gear’ is a major source of ocean plastic pollution and a delay in federal funding has put this year’s annual cleanup in jeopardy in Newfoundland. Non-profit organizations that rely on the funding say they can’t scale up in time if it doesn’t arrive soon.

Ariana Grande hit the Met Gala red carpet Monday night with a look inspired by her upcoming film. Grande plays the Glinda in the highly-anticipated movie adaptation of the musical, “Wicked,” which is set to hit theaters in November. (May 6).

Jeremy Skibicki has admitted to a Winnipeg court that he killed four women in 2022. His trial will now be heard by judge alone and his lawyers will argue he should be found not criminally responsible. The remains of two of his victims are still believed to be somewhere in a Winnipeg-area landfill.

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At a time when the entire province is on alert for another potentially challenging wildfire season, a group of residents on the Sunshine Coast is voicing concern about the fire risk posed by 200 slash piles that were supposed to be cleaned up by now.The piles of wood debris were left by logging companies that clear cut blocks of forest around North and Klein lakes, near to the town of Egmont, B.C., about 80 kilomtres northwest of Vancouver, in 2022 and 2023.In a letter addressed to Minister of F

Australia has protested to Beijing through multiple channels that a Chinese fighter jet endangered an Australian navy helicopter with flares over international waters, the prime minister said Tuesday. The incident occurred Saturday as the Australian air warfare destroyer HMAS Hobart was enforcing U.N. Security Council sanctions against North Korea in international waters in the Yellow Sea, officials said Monday.

Heavy rainfall has already begun for the southern Prairies. It’s set to continue into Wednesday, and some regions could see up to 100 mm of rainfall. This is good news for farming and the wildfire season. Meteorologist Laura Power has the story.

After several consecutive years of drought in Saskatchewan, the first heavy rainfall of the year has given life to farmers’ soil in southern parts of the province.Ian McCreary’s fields near Bladworth, Sask., about 90 kilometres southeast of Saskatoon, have been dry for at least the past three years. He has about 1,300 acres of land — about 900 being cropland and the remainder being for hay, pasture and wetlands.In 2021, some sections of the Prairies experienced the worst drought in 50 years. McC