Top Stories – October 4

The Insurance Bureau of Canada says the Okanagan and Shuswap wildfires this summer were the costliest in BC history. It says damage to date for the McDougall Creek and Bush Creek East fires total about 720 Million dollars… almost 4 times the amount of Okanagan Mountain 20 years ago. Just under 200 structures were damaged or lost on the west side of Okanagan Lake.

BC Conservative Party Leader John Rustad’s first question in the legislature was not well received. He asked the NDP to replace its Sexual Orientation Gender Identity program in schools, claiming it’s divisive and concerning to parents. Premier David Eby rejected the request and called Rustad’s question “outrageous.”

Liberal member of Parliament Greg Fergus from Quebec, has been elected the House of Commons Speaker. MPs gave Fergus a standing ovation, and members of the Liberal, NDP and Bloc Quebecois caucuses, and a handful of Conservatives, shook his hand and hugged him as he was announced the winner.

Feel free to take a dip in the lake at Rotary Beach in Kelowna once again. The swimming advisory that was put in place almost a month ago has been lifted. The city was warning swimmers to stay out of the lake in that area due to elevated bacteria levels because of plants and waterfowl.

A series of early fall storms haven’t dramatically lowered drought conditions in the province, but the cooler damp weather has carved into the number of wildfires. The number of active fires has dropped to around 330, with just 68 of those ranked as out of control… a decline of almost 100 since August. The majority of those are north of Prince George.

As the Canadian Parliament was electing a new speaker yesterday, the US House of Representatives was voting out theirs for the first time in American history. Democrats voted with a handful of Republicans to oust Kevin McCarthy. An interim speaker was immediately named in his place.

The city of Kelowna says the Parkinson Rec Centre will be open next Monday, Thanksgiving, but only from 10-3. The Glenmore Landfill will be open regular hours from 7:30am to 4:45pm. And while the Kelowna Memorial Park Cemetery administration office will be closed, the Cemetery gates will be open from 7am to 9pm.

BC’s Ombudsperson says programs to help people affected by natural disasters are outdated and in need of a revamp as climate-related emergencies become more common. A study looked at the government’s Emergency Support Services and the Disaster Financial Assistance programs. Jay Chalke says the model cannot be sustained and building capacity into the system is vital to improve the resilience and long-term effectiveness.

Fast food ads are targeting Canadian children through “privacy loopholes,” according to a study by the University of Ottawa. Researchers recruited nine-to-12-year-olds to order food through apps, then parents requested details about data collected on their children from those companies. Health Canada has previously said it will present new regulations to address food marketing to kids by winter 2024.

SPORTS

Game two for the Kelowna Rockets in Prince George tonight. Pregame show on 104.7 The Lizard starts at 6:30 and the play-by-play is at 7:00. Last night, in a game that saw 21 penalties, the Cougars took a 3-2 win.

In Minnesota it’s win or go home for the Toronto Blue Jays after they lost the first game of the best of three wild card series to the Twins. Final score yesterday was 3-1. Game two begins just after 1:30 this afternoon.

Preseason continues for the Vancouver Canucks tonight. The Seattle Kraken make the trip across the border, but not to Vancouver. The game will be at the Abbotsford Centre at 7 .

Former Canadian Olympic skier Allison Forsyth has settled her 2019 lawsuit with Alpine Canada over sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her coach in the 1990s. Terms of the settlement with the Nanaimo-born athlete were not disclosed.