2,500 forced from West Kelowna homes as wildfire sets stage for ‘difficult night’ | Globalnews.ca: “All of the predictions we expected came true,” West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund said in a media briefing Thursday evening.

“I
remain gravely concerned for the fire and where it’s going and how it’s
going to affect our community. Tonight is going to be a difficult
night.”

Inflation jumps to 3.3%. Why some economists think the Bank of Canada is worried – National | Globalnews.ca: The Bank of Canada is hoping restrictive interest rates will tamp inflation all the way back down to its two per cent target.

The
central bank’s mandate is to achieve price stability, which it seeks to
do by keeping inflation between one and three per cent.

“There’s
no sense sugar coating this one — it is not a good report for the Bank
of Canada,” wrote BMO chief economist Doug Porter in a note to clients
Tuesday morning.

While the central bank was almost certainly
expecting some waning in the inflation progress to date, Porter noted
that the July CPI report is already at the Bank’s 3.3 per cent forecast
for the entire third quarter. With gas prices continuing to climb,
August is likely to see yet another tick up in the annual inflation
rate, he added.

Ottawa’s Record Rain Produces ‘Mayhem’ of Flooded Basements, Health Risks: After Ottawa “faced more than 77 millimetres of rainfall on Thursday,” CBC News reports, “videos of water gushing out of bathtubs and toilets gripped and revolted local social media users.” Now, repair crews are “seeing the aftermath: damaged flooring, furniture, and personal possessions after unsanitary water surged up to fill basements.”

“We’re not talking portions of basements—we’re talking entire basement,” Deven Raval, owner of PuroClean, told CBC. “Six to eight inches of water came in, which is quite severe… that’s a huge volume of water kicking back.”

That can only mean that “something went very wrong with the sewer systems in Ottawa,” he added.

“It’s widespread. It’s all over the place,” agreed Richard Green, CEO of the local franchise of Paul Davis restoration. “There’s varying degrees of damage. Some of them are pretty catastrophic, where there’s been a lot of water going into people’s houses and it’s upset their whole routine and their lives.”

Green said sewage water backing up into homes and basements isn’t just gross—it’s also a health risk.

Fury as Alberta cuts renewables during Canada’s worst fire season ever: A decision by Canada’s largest oil- and
gas-producing province to halt new wind and solar projects has prompted
disbelief among environmental groups and economists. The move comes as
the country struggles with its worst wildfire season on record, a situation that experts agree is worsened by the climate crisis and a reliance on fossil fuels.

Alberta last week announced
a six-month moratorium on large solar and wind projects so it can
review policies surrounding the projects’ construction and impact on the
power grid, as well as rules for their eventual decommissioning.

“This came as a complete shock
to the industry. And it’s really a broader shock to all industries in
Alberta, for a government to take such a drastic action without any
consultation,” said Jorden Dye, acting director of Business Renewables
Centre Canada.

Nearly
C$2bn worth of projects have been proposed in recent months in the
province, and Dye warns companies might look to other jurisdictions to
develop them.

The decision to freeze projects
is a “mistake”, the head of the Canadian Renewable Energy Association
said in a statement, warning the move will weaken investor confidence in
the province, which represents 75% of the country’s renewable growth since last year.

Alberta minister says federal strings on electricity climate funding a ‘threat’: The gloves are coming off…

EDMONTON — Ottawa is threatening the provinces by suggesting it will withhold federal funding from electricity projects that don’t reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, says Alberta’s minister of environment and protected areas.

“We see (Federal Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan) Wilkinson saying it isn’t his style to have fights and wanting to work with the provinces and have a national conversation,” Rebecca Schulz said Tuesday.

“Announcing in a press conference a threat to withhold funding isn’t really the right way to start a conversation.

”Earlier Tuesday in Vancouver, Wilkinson said billions of dollars in tax credits and grants will be tied to progress toward Ottawa’s target for a net-zero electricity grid by 2035.

“To access the tax credit will require that we are moving in the direction of a non-emitting grid,” he said.

That’s an ultimatum, said Schulz.