EDMONTON — Edmonton fire responded to a small fire within a church in the Alberta Avenue area.
Firefighters arrived to a small fire at 12:40 p.m. Saturday that started in the foyer of the building located around 118 Avenue and 96 Street.
The fire was declared under control at 1:32 p.m. and fully extinguished around 2:00 p.m. Flames did not extend into the pews of the church.
Fire officials said no one was in the building at the time.
There is no word on a cause of the fire.
EDMONTON — Protesters gathered in Edmonton Saturday afternoon to draw attention to atrocities in Ethiopia.
The central African country is undergoing a period of civil war as many of its multiethnic nations fight for self-autonomy and recognition.
A caravan of cars with flags, signs, and stickers drove around north and northwest Edmonton to protest ongoing ethnic violence in Ethiopia.
Dereje Galeta, one of the event organizers and Oromo community leaders, said in an interview that the rally was meant to highlight the need for justice in Ethiopia as conflict plagues the state.
“The government is killing innocent civilians,” he said. “There is a mass killing going on.
“Especially targeting the Oromo people and other nations, nationalities, and people in Ethiopia.”
Dereje Galeta was one of the event organizers for the caravan rally held Saturday (CTV News Edmonton/Galen McDougall)
The Oromo people are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia who used to remain independent. There has been conflict between Ethiopia and the Oromo people for over 48 years.
Galeta added that the Edmonton community of Oromo-Canadians wanted to make a stand and ensure their voices were heard internationally so that an all-inclusive political dialogue in Ethiopia can happen.
“The Canadian government should also put pressure on the Ethiopian government to stop this genocide from going on,” he said.
For Galeta, the Ethiopian national election occurring on June 5 is concerning since he says many opposition leaders who want to participate are under house arrest or in jail.
“It is ruthless,” Galeta said.
The rally started at Kingsway Mall, headed down 109 Street toward Jasper Avenue and then proceeded to Westmount Mall.
CTV News Edmonton estimates there were about 200 cars that participated in the rally.
Ayantu Abduro, Oromo Youth Association of Edmonton president, hoped the car rally would raise awareness of the conflict to Canadians.
She added that while this is not the first rally the Oromo community in Edmonton has hosted, it is important for community members to continue showing their support.
READ MORE: Hundreds rally in Edmonton to ask Canada to take a stance against the Ethiopian government
“Never forget your roots from where you came from,” she said. “We are proud of who we are… We must make a stand.
“Even if we were are not known, we should show off our pride.”
OTTAWA — A new poll by Leger and the Association of Canadian Studies suggests the country is divided over plans to send athletes from Canada to the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo as Japan grapples with climbing COVID-19 cases.
Forty-two per cent of those surveyed said they don’t think Canadian athletes should compete in the Tokyo Games — delayed by a year due to the pandemic — while 39 per cent said Team Canada should attend.
When asked if they think competing in the games will be safe, 46 per cent of people said no, 35 per cent said yes and 19 per cent were not sure.
This torn perspective of Canadians could help give government officials, who will make the final call on whether athletes indeed take part in the Games, a way out, says Leger executive vice-president Christian Bourque.
“Canadians are so divided, certainly not convinced it’s safe for athletes, so it’s as if they’re saying, ‘If we decided to go, OK, and if we decide not to go, fine,”‘ Bourque said.
He added that he was surprised by these results.
“Usually it’s something that Canadians like to celebrate, whether it’s Summer or Winter Olympics, just to see the Maple Leaf out there competing, it always gets huge ratings on TV, so I would have assumed that there would be more of a willingness to say, ‘Let’s start enjoying ourselves again, including the Olympics,”‘ he said.
“But it seems again Canadians are prudent, careful, measured in how they answered the survey.”
The survey questioned 1,529 Canadians and 1,003 Americans online between May 7 and May 9. It cannot be assigned a margin of error because internet-based polls are not considered random samples.
If governments are concerned about Canadians being upset about athletes jumping the queue for their COVID-19 vaccines, they need not be.
More than six in 10 respondents said they believe Canadian athletes should be prioritized for vaccines in Canada.
Athletes aren’t required to be vaccinated to participate in the Games, however Pfizer and BioNTech announced earlier this month they would be donating COVID-19 doses to inoculate athletes and officials preparing for the Tokyo Games.
The Canadian Olympic Committee has said it believes it will have access to these donated vaccine doses as part of an International Olympic Committee initiative.
Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault was not available for an interview Friday, but his spokeswoman, Camille Gagne-Raynauld, said federal officials are closely monitoring the status of the pandemic and its effect on the Tokyo Games.
The government is working closely with its sport partners and with the support of the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo, Gagne-Raynauld said.
“The priority remains the health and safety of our athletes, coaches and support staff.”
The results from the poll of U.S. residents suggest our neighbours to the south are far more comfortable with the idea of sending their athletes to Japan for the Games, which open July 23.
A 55 per cent majority indicated they want American athletes to attend the games compared to only 20 per cent who said they should not, and more than half of U.S. respondents said they think it will be safe to compete.
Bourque said this isn’t surprising, because Americans overall have been far less favourable toward imposed public health closures and restrictions over the last year according to his firm’s polling.
“They’ve always had very much more of a laissez-faire attitude toward everything pandemic-related, compared to Canadians. In their case, a majority are saying, ‘Yes, we should go and yes, it’s safe.”‘
A state of emergency in Tokyo and Osaka was extended earlier this week to more parts of the country as sports and health officials around the world continue to monitor the evolving situation on the ground.
Anti-Games sentiments have been gaining ground in Japan, where only about two per cent of the population has been vaccinated.
On Friday, a petition calling for the Olympics to be cancelled “to protect our lives” with more than 350,000 signatures was submitted to Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike. The petition says money spent on the Games would be better used on people in financial need because of the pandemic.
On Thursday, Japan reported 6,800 new coronavirus cases, increasing its total to 665,547 with 11,255 deaths.
Meanwhile, the Leger and Association for Canadian Studies survey also looked at Canadians’ travel plans for the summer and for the remainder of the year. The results suggest a majority of Canadians plan to stay put and are not ready to get back on airplanes or travel to the U.S. any time soon.
These results mirror those from surveys of Canadians’ travel plans conducted last year, Bourque said — which he equated to a kind of “Groundhog Day.”
“I think Canadians will remain very careful of what plans they’re making,” he said.
“A lot of people too don’t fully trust they will get refunded if they reserve now and cancel later, so this is probably not helping Canadians say, ‘Let’s plan for the fall, let’s gamble on (the pandemic) being fine by then.’ So there’s a bit of a wait and see.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2021.
— With files from The Associated Press and Lori Ewing, The Canadian Press
EDMONTON — A local state of emergency remains in effect as Parkland County firefighters continue their efforts to contain the wildfire west of Tomahawk, Alta.
According to Parkland County officials, the fire continues to be held and is approximately 75 per cent contained.
The fire near Tomahawk started last Thursday and forced hundreds from their homes.
READ MORE: Massive wildfire burns near Tomahawk, Alta., forcing residents from their homes
A special air quality statement from Environment Canada remains in place Friday for Lac Sainte Anne County, Morinville, Mayerthorpe, Evansburg, Onoway, Stony Plain, Wabamun, and Spruce Grove as smoke from the fire near Tomahawk continues to billow.
“Individuals may experience symptoms such as increased coughing, throat irritation, headaches or shortness of breath,” the air quality statement read.
Environment Canada says people with lung diseases, children, and seniors may be more susceptible to symptoms and advised people who experience symptoms to limit time outdoors.
READ MORE: Tomahawk wildfire causing poor air quality, visibility in Parkland County: Environment Canada
Officials say the local state of emergency will likely remain in place until the fire is fully contained.
“We kept that on because fire conditions can change quickly,” Parkland County Fire Chief Brian Cornforth told CTV News Edmonton in an interview.
“We’ve got a lot of fuel both inside the perimeter of this fire and outside of this perimeter so every time the winds pick up we get anxious.
“Every time the wind picks up, it creates a new fire within the burned area – there’s a lot of unburned material in that burned area – that we have to action again.”
Progress against the fire is also being slowed because of swampy and bog-like areas where only firefighters using hand lines can access.
“Heavy equipment is not an option there,” he said.
“Ideally, we would like to be out of here in a few more days,” Cornforth added. “This could be anywhere from a week to a week and a half to fully extinguishing this fire.”
Cornforth said that damage assessments are underway. Two residences were lost in the fire and several outbuildings, shops, tack sheds, and gardening sheds.
Kathleen Dumas was one of the home owners who returned after being evacuated to nothing.
The place Dumas and her three-year-old son called home was reduced to ash and twisted metal.
“It’s just devastating that all that hard work, just in one second, is gone,” Dumas said tearfully. “That’s my whole life.
“I was expecting to see building (when I returned) and there’s nothing. It’s like my heart broke into a thousand pieces.”
Kathleen Dumas looks at what little remains of her home. Dumas was one of the local residents who returned after being evacuated to nothing (CTV News Edmonton).
Dumas is a nurse working in Drayton Valley and is used to helping people. Now people are helping her.
A GoFundMe has been started to support Dumas rebuilding efforts and her three-year-old son. Over $4,500 has been raised so far.
“They’re gonna stop what they’re doing and be here for (me),” Dumas said. “This is how amazing this community are.”
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Amanda Anderson
EDMONTON — Alberta added fewer than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases for a sixth straight day on Friday, but the number of patients in intensive care units remained at record-high levels.
The province reported 1,433 new cases Friday afternoon as well as nearly 2,200 new recoveries. There are now 23, 873 active cases in Alberta, the tenth-highest active case count to date.
The last time Alberta reported more than 2,000 new daily cases was on May 8.
The 177 COVID-19 patients in intensive care units tied the record high set on Thursday. There are now 713 patients in hospital, up 49 from the start of the month.
The province’s 9.99 per cent test positivity rate on Friday snapped a streak of two weeks of over 10 per cent. The province administered just over 15,000 tests by the end of Thursday.
The province also reported five more deaths, ranging in age from 60s to 90s, on Friday, bringing the number of Albertans to have died due to COVID-19 to 2,137.
More than 1.7 milllion Albertans, nearly 40 per cent of the population, have now received at least a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine as of the end of Thursday.
More than 325,000 individuals have now received a second dose. The number of total doses of vaccine administered across Alberta as of the end of Thursday reached 2,086,589.
The province’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, is expected to return for an in-person update early next week.
COVID-19 data will be updated on the province’s data site over the weekend.