In the news today: Hundreds of wildfires burn across Canada, Montreal’s trash problem

In Yukon, the territorial government has lifted an evacuation alert for the area surrounding Ethel Lake, located approximately a four-hour drive north of Whitehorse.

Despite this change, the wildfire that prompted the alert on June 24 remains out of control.

According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, there are approximately 465 wildfires currently listed as active across the country.

Montreal slow to adopt biweekly trash pick up

The garbage may be piling up and causing some disgruntlement on the sidewalks of a few Montreal streets, but municipal officials say it’s all part of a plan to become a zero-waste city by the year 2030.

And they say their plan is working.

“People are making progress in their thinking, realizing that when they participate in the recycling collection, the organic waste collection, that there is not much waste left,” Marie-Andrée Mauger said.

As a member of the city’s executive committee in charge of ecological transition in Mayor Valérie Plante’s Projet Montréal party, Mauger is the point person overseeing a switch that has reduced the frequency of garbage collection in some neighbourhoods to a biweekly pickup.

Man jailed in Coutts, Alta., protest granted bail

One of two men jailed last year for their roles in the Coutts, Alta., border protest has been granted bail while he appeals his conviction and sentence.

An Alberta appeal court judge says Chris Carbert does not pose a threat to public safety and is unlikely to commit a criminal offence if released from custody.

Last fall, a jury found Carbert and Anthony Olienick guilty of mischief over $5,000 and possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace for their role in the blockade.

They were each given prison sentences of 6 ½ years.

Olienick was also convicted of possessing a pipe bomb.

Man in custody in deadly human smuggling case

A dual Canadian-American citizen that United States authorities allege was part of a deadly human smuggling operation that left migrants drowned in the St. Lawrence River will remain in custody following a detention hearing in the Northern District of New York District Court on Tuesday.

The U.S. Justice Department said 34-year-old Timothy Oakes was arrested as he attempted to enter the United States on June 15.

Oakes, who is from Akwesasne which straddles the Canada-U.S. border west of Montreal, was indicted in April for conspiring with others to smuggle people from Canada into the United States, as well as four counts of alien smuggling for profit and four counts of alien smuggling resulting in death.

U.S. court documents allege Oakes was a key facilitator in the smuggling operation which left a Romanian family of four, including two young children, dead in March 2023.

Iran’s president reportedly orders country to suspend cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog IAEA

Iran’s president on Wednesday reportedly ordered the country to suspend its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency after American airstrikes hit its most-important nuclear facilities.

State media online reported the decision by President Masoud Pezeshkian.

It follows a law passed by Iran’s parliament to suspend that cooperation. It also already received the OK of a constitutional watchdog as well.

It wasn’t immediately clear what that would mean for the IAEA, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.

Paramount to pay $16 million in settlement with Trump over ’60 Minutes’ interview

In a case seen as a challenge to free speech, Paramount has agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump over the editing of CBS’ “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris in October.

Paramount told media outlets the money will go to Trump’s future presidential library, not to the president himself. It said the settlement did not involve an apology.

Trump’s lawyer said the president had suffered “mental anguish” over the editing of the interview by CBS News.

Paramount and CBS rejected Trump’s contention that the interview was edited to enhance how Harris sounded and had sought to get Trump’s lawsuit dismissed.

There was no immediate word from the White House about the settlement.

Marner bolts for Vegas as NHL free agency opens

A star winger on the move. A star goaltender and sniper staying put.

NHL general managers were hard at work before and after the league’s annual free agency sprint began Tuesday.

And once the market opened, unlike years past, the pickings were fairly slim.

The biggest news came some three hours before the opening bell when it was announced that pending unrestricted free agent Mitch Marner had inked an eight-year, US$96-million contract with the Maple Leafs and was then immediately shipped to the Vegas Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade deal that ended his time in Toronto.

The 28-year-old winger, who grew up just north of the city and had a full no-movement clause in his contract, spent nine roller-coaster seasons with the Original Six franchise that included memorable moments, along with plenty of heartache.

—

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 2, 2025

The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

In the news today: Hundreds of wildfires burn across Canada, Montreal’s trash problem

What's Trending