In the news today: U.S. smoke complaints, Vancouver safety review, weak condo market

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Republicans call on Canada to curb wildfires

Six Republican lawmakers have sent a letter to Canada’s ambassador calling for action on the wildfires, sending smoke billowing across the international border into their states.

In a Tuesday letter to Ambassador to the U.S. Kirsten Hillman, representatives Tom Tiffany, Brad Finstad, Tom Emmer, Michelle Fischbach, Glenn Grothman and Pete Stauber of Wisconsin and Minnesota said their constituents are coping with suffocating smoke from Canadian wildfires.

Read more:

• Wisconsin and Minnesota Republicans call on Canada to curb wildfire smoke
• Canada continuing to lag in the number of EV charging stations needed to meet goals
• Canada to ‘align’ with U.S. airport screening rules as TSA drops shoes-off policy

Natural Resources Canada said wildfire is a global problem caused by the effects of climate change, including prolonged drought.

“This is why the government of Canada, during its G7 presidency this year, led the development of the Kananaskis Wildfire Charter — the first leader-level wildfire initiative aimed at preventing, responding to and recovering from wildland fire,” Marie Martin, a department spokesperson, said in a statement.

The office of Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski has not yet responded to a request for comment.

Festival tragedy prompts safety review B.C. wide

Terry Yung says that when he attends Vancouver’s Chinatown Festival this weekend, he’ll enjoy himself knowing that the work has been done to make him and other attendees feel safe.

British Columbia’s minister of state for community safety said pursuing that sense of security was “the foundation” of a report he released Wednesday making six recommendations on improving safety for community events in the wake of the April 26 attack on Vancouver’s Lapu Lapu Day festival, that killed 11 people and injured dozens more.

Yung said the point of the report was “not to look at one moment in time in the past which we cannot change.”

“I can’t speculate what could or could have happened but what we can do in future to make us all safer,” he said.

The report by former B.C. Supreme Court chief justice Christopher Hinkson recommends that all public events, regardless of size, should be supported by a risk assessment, and that a provincial events hub be developed for sharing information and advice.

Weak condo market holding back move-up buyers

While optimism is building in some parts of Canada for a rebound in the real estate market, condominium dwellers wanting to move up to a larger space face tough choices amid little sign of improvement for that segment.

Cities like Toronto and Vancouver have seen condo sales drop off, if not stagnate, in recent years following a rush of new supply opening up and plummeting investor demand.

For some regions, that marks a divergence from the overall real estate picture. Many industry watchers are now forecasting a turnaround in the housing market in the coming months after the first half of 2025 was plagued by economic uncertainty related to tariffs and job losses.

It’s left those looking to leave condo life behind and upgrade to a house in a tough spot: sell now at a lower than anticipated value, or wait out the storm.

Alberta to update rules on school library books

Alberta’s education minister is set to provide an update today on the development of new provincial rules for school library books.

Demetrios Nicolaides announced in May that Alberta would be setting new standards for the books.

He said the review came after his ministry became aware of four coming-of-age graphic novels in school libraries in Edmonton and Calgary.

Nicolaides said each of the books contained inappropriate content, including graphic sexual material as well as depictions of molestation, drug and alcohol use.

A government survey on the topic launched after Nicolaides’s announcement found that the majority of respondents across demographics didn’t support the government setting new standards for library books.

South Asian music festival during Stampede

For those who don’t necessarily want to kick up their cowboy boots at the Calgary Stampede, there’s Stampede Mela.

It bills itself as the largest 18+ South Asian music festival in North America and begins Friday at Fort Calgary, not far from the midway ferris wheel of the Stampede itself.

“Probably about four or five years ago, we actually decided that we wanted to do something in the South Asian music space in Calgary because Stampede has become quite a big music festival scene,” organizer Amar Duhra said in an interview.

“Our goal was to bring some representation from the South Asian community.

“We want to bring a more multicultural approach to the Stampede instead of the usual rodeo-style country music.”

N.L. bottle note found in Ireland 13 years later

A romantic message in a bottle thrown from the cliffs of an island off Newfoundland nearly 13 years ago was found on a beach in Ireland this week — and the couple behind it are still in love.

Brad and Anita Squires had been dating for about a year when they decided to end a quiet September picnic on Bell Island in 2012 by casting a message out to sea.

“Today we enjoyed dinner, this bottle of wine and each other on the edge of the island,” Anita wrote on a piece of lined paper before stuffing it into the bottle. Brad stood up and hurled it into the waters of Conception Bay.

“I gave it everything I had,” he said in an interview Wednesday. “We didn’t see it hit the water, it was too high up … I just assumed it smashed on the rocks.”

It didn’t.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2025

The Canadian Press