Canada takes bronze in men’s swimming, British Columbia landslide assessment planned – 620 CKRM

Kharun ends Canadian men’s pool dry spell

For Ilya Kharun the moment was not so big.

While La Defense Arena was in turmoil over his university teammate and host nation hero Leon Marchand, the 19-year-old from Montreal kept his composure and claimed the first Olympic swimming medal by a Canadian in 12 years.

Kharun won bronze in the men’s 200m butterfly in Paris on Wednesday, behind French winner Marchand and silver medallist Kristof Milak of Hungary.

“It means a lot. I’m really happy that I reached this moment,” Kharun said.

His third swimming medal in Paris was for Canada, following Summer McIntosh’s medley gold and freestyle silver. Kharun was the first Canadian to reach the Olympic podium in the 200 butterfly, although McIntosh is set to join him in the women’s event on Thursday.

BC assesses risks to river after landslide

The British Columbia Ministry of Land and Water says staff are conducting assessments near a landslide that blocked the Chilcotin River in the province’s interior, and are seeking to understand risks that may occur downstream.

A government statement said the landslide blocked the river that flows into the Fraser River on Wednesday, and that a sudden release of water could cause “rapid rises in water levels downstream along the Fraser River” south of Hope, B.C.

The River Forecast Centre has issued a flood warning for the Chilcotin River upstream of the landslide and a flood alert downstream.

A flood warning is also in effect for the Fraser River from the Chilcotin River confluence to Hope. A high water warning is also in effect for the Fraser River west of Hope.

Evacuation orders issued Wednesday remain in effect, covering 66 miles (107 kilometers) along both sides of the Chilcotin River. The Cariboo Regional District said there was an immediate threat to life and safety due to flooding.

Forest fire in Jasper leaves foreign workers in limbo

It didn’t take long for Namneet Singh to find a full-time job again after a fire last week in Jasper, Alta., destroyed the hotel where he had worked for more than a year.

Singh, one of hundreds of temporary foreign workers making a living in the picturesque town in the Rocky Mountains, was at work when the community was ordered to evacuate on the night of July 22.

All 25,000 people in Jasper National Park, including 5,000 town residents, were given five hours to flee as flames began to close roads and escape routes. Two days later, fire destroyed a third of the town’s buildings, leaving Singh and others in limbo.

Singh, who grew up in India, now lives in Edmonton and works at the Jasper Employment and Education Centre to help other displaced foreign workers obtain new passports and other documents so they can get unemployment insurance or find new jobs.

Jury deliberates at Coutts murder conspiracy trial

The jury in the conspiracy to commit murder trial of two men involved in the border protest in Coutts, Alta., will continue deliberating today on their guilt or innocence.

The jury of five men and seven women was assigned the case late Wednesday afternoon after five hours of instruction from Alberta Court of Appeal Judge David Labrenz.

Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert are charged with conspiracy to commit murder, $5,000 worth of vandalism and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. Olienick is also charged with possession of a pipe bomb.

The two men were arrested after police seized a cache of weapons, ammunition and bulletproof vests during an early morning raid in February 2022.

Prosecutors said the two men planned to use Coutts as a springboard for revolution and were prepared to use violence against the RCMP.

Project developers ask for tax breaks for new homes

A coalition of Ontario developers has written to three levels of government asking for a reduction in taxes on new homes. The coalition says the savings will be passed directly to home buyers.

The new group, the Coalition Against New-Home Taxes (CANT), is made up of 18 developers who collectively plan to build 100,000 new homes over the next 10 years.

The coalition wants the federal and provincial governments to eliminate the harmonized sales tax on all new homes, as they have done for rental housing construction. The coalition also wants the province and the City of Toronto to eliminate the land transfer tax on new homes.

The coalition also wants municipalities to reduce development costs to 2009 levels, adjusted for inflation.

—

A glimmer of hope in whale reproduction research

The small population of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales has long struggled with inbreeding. But a new scientific study, led by researchers from Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, reports an encouraging finding.

Although inbreeding appears to limit the number of calves born each year, it does not affect genetic diversity, a trait essential to the survival of any species.

Last October, the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium estimated that there were 356 North Atlantic right whales left on the planet.

The new peer-reviewed study, published Wednesday in the journal Royal Society Open Science, found that researchers initially found that most female North Atlantic right whales did not calve every three years, as females in the much larger southern population typically do.