When it comes to fighting wildfires, few resources are as precious as water, leaving residents of a small B.C. community wondering who vandalized their water system.

When the evacuated B.C. community of Boston Bar was ordered out Thursday due to the Brunswick Complex wildfire, officials shut the water off to protect critical infrastructure and prioritize firefighting efforts.

That night, someone turned the water back on, according to the Fraser Valley Regional District.

“Unfortunately, when they did so, they did it incorrectly and they caused some damage to the infrastructure,” said district chair Patricia Ross.

The district said crews had shut off the water system after water demand increased sharply and supply dropped.

At the time, Boston Bar was already under a boil water notice and Stage 4 water conservation measures, with water access being prioritized for BC Wildfire Service crews.

The regional district said it received a high-flow alarm at 11:30 p.m. Thursday, indicating someone had opened a valve feeding the water system.

Ross said after staff received an alert, they were able to shut the system off again at 1:30 a.m. Friday.

The district said the valve was operated incorrectly, creating the potential for a “water hammer,” a sudden pressure surge that could have caused catastrophic damage to the system.

The extent of any damage remains unknown because the area is still unsafe to access due to the wildfire.

Ross said the alleged vandalism has added to an already difficult wildfire response.

“We had enough to contend with with the wildfires and then now we have this damage to our water infrastructure,” she said.

She said no one should have been in the area because it remains under an evacuation order.

“It’s illegal for people to even be in that area,” Ross said. “They’re putting themselves at risk. They’re also putting first responders at risk and they’re impeding the ability of the firefighters to fight this fire.”

The regional district said the incident could leave taxpayers facing significant repair costs if the system sustained substantial damage.

“This could be very costly for the residents,” Ross said. “We’re hoping it’s minimal, but we don’t know anything for sure.”

“This is an active and ongoing police investigation,” the district further said, asking anyone with information to contact Hope RCMP.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

A car drove into a crowd during Berlin’s famed LGBTQ+ parade on Saturday, killing one person and injuring at least 15, prompting police to call off the event in the German capital hours after it had begun.

Police said some of the victims had life-threatening injuries. Firefighters and ambulances were out with many emergency staffers at the scene to attend to the victims.

In a post on X, police called on everyone to leave the premises of the event immediately. According to police, a car had driven into the Tiergarten park, near the route of the pride march, hitting several people. Police did not know how many officers had been deployed to the scene but that it was “definitely a lot of police.” They said they were searching for suspects.

“We are conducting an intensive search for possible suspects,” a police officer said on a short video released on the Berlin police account on X.

Hundreds of thousands of people had come to Berlin on Saturday to celebrate at Berlin’s pride parade, known in Germany as Christopher Street Day. It’s one of Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ celebrations.

The pride event in front of the city’s iconic Brandenburg Gate in downtown was called off around 10:15 p.m. and a band’s performance on stage was interrupted. People were urged to go home and to avoid taking the route through the Tiergarten park.

Before the incident, people had celebrated peacefully, marching through the city for hours, dancing to loud music, and cheering the around 80 floats that participated in the parade.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

The federal government’s decision to halt Ontario’s plan for a major expansion of Billy Bishop airport will guard Toronto’s waterfront against serious setbacks to its revitalization, advocates say.

The project would involve increased pollution and “massive destruction” of the Toronto Islands after billions of dollars invested in waterfront rehabilitation over the past couple of decades, said Tim Gray, executive director of Environmental Defence.

He pointed to the nearly kilometre of lakefill needed to build a runway and taxiways as well as the “gridlock” and aircraft and car emissions the additional plane traffic would cause on shore.

“The federal government listened to the people of Toronto who organized by the tens of thousands to push back against this proposal,” Gray said. “It shows that people working together can make real change and protect their city.”

On Friday, federal Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said the government is “exclusively” focused on approved safety upgrades already underway at Billy Bishop, rather than on building it out to allow jets to land.

He said the conclusion was based on public consultations that garnered more than 87,000 responses. But MacKinnon also left the door open a crack to a potential change of course in future years, framing the decision as “at this stage,” instead of a final one.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s proposal to significantly expand the runway drew criticism from environmental and community advocates over concerns around the project’s effect on noise, traffic and pollution levels as well as affordable housing and the Toronto waterfront itself.

It made up one piece in a broader bid by the Ford government to overhaul the city’s shores. The grand plans include a redeveloped Ontario Place, currently under construction, a possible new island to hold a massive convention centre and legislation that saw the province take over the city’s role in Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport in order to expand it — an effort that is now grounded.

Ontario Transport Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said Friday the province will continue trying to advance an expansion, stressing its benefits for job creation and economic growth.

“As this work continues, we look forward to seeing and anticipate a plan that ensures the project protects public spaces, including the Toronto Islands, addresses potential noise and environmental impacts, expands and improves Little Norway Park, supports new housing opportunities in the area and delivers lasting benefits for local communities,” he said on social media.

A spokesperson for Ford’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.

“This is a reprieve from an extremely ill-conceived and reckless idea that would have undone 50 years or more of progress in reconnecting Toronto to its place of origin on Lake Ontario,” said Ken Greenberg, an urban designer who helped lead a group called Reality Check that opposed the provincial plan.

Greenberg described the Toronto harbour, which is formed by the islands that lie just offshore and host Billy Bishop, as the “crown jewel” in the waterline of Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe.

“There’s no such thing as a whisper jet; it’s an oxymoron,” he said, while acknowledging that the regional jets that a larger airport could accommodate make no more noise than the turboprops that touch down there daily.

“The difference is not a single airplane, it’s the frequency,” he said.

The Ford government has said the airport would eventually notch a projected 10 million passengers a year and generate $8.5 billion in annual economic benefits.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Canadian manufacturers are already losing U.S. orders as businesses brace for President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threats, even as the Gordie Howe International Bridge prepares to open Monday.

William Pellerin, an international trade lawyer, told Global News on Saturday that some Canadian companies report already feeling the effects of Trump’s proposed 50 per cent tariff before takes effect Aug. 19.

“We’re already speaking with a large number of clients who, because of this tariff threat of 50 per cent that would come into force next month, are already losing massive orders to their U.S. customers,” Pellerin said.

Trump threatened the tariffs on certain Canadian goods last Sunday, along with another 10 per cent tariff affecting goods outside the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement.

Pellerin said the proposed 50 per cent tariff would make many Canadian products too expensive to compete in the U.S., particularly in sectors such as furniture and electronics.

“A 50 per cent tariff really makes those Canadian businesses uncompetitive in the United States,” he said.

He said the uncertainty alone is already affecting employers, with U.S. buyers pulling back over concerns they could soon face significantly higher costs.

“We’ve already seen some layoffs by Canadian manufacturers just because of that threat,” Pellerin said.

Furniture and wood products could be among the hardest-hit sectors, with manufacturers in smaller communities depending heavily on exports to the United States.

“A lot of these furniture manufacturers are often two or three hundred jobs in a small rural town somewhere,” he said. “This is going to shut down Canadian towns altogether. So we’re hearing the word ‘catastrophic’ from some of our clients.”

The latest tariffs threats are part of an escalating trade dispute between the two countries following Canada’s retaliation against previous U.S. tariffs.

Pellerin said Ottawa’s immediate priority should be returning to the negotiating table before the tariffs take effect, while also moving ahead with legislation aimed at strengthening Canada’s forced-labour rules.

The trade uncertainty comes as the Gordie Howe International Bridge prepares to open Monday, creating another major commercial crossing between Canada and the United States.

As it stands, the agreement states that Canada will share 50 per cent of net toll revenues with the U.S. during the bridge’s first 15 years, with the money going toward economic development on the American side of the border, according to the government of Canada.

Trump’s post on his Truth Social platform came during a ribbon-cutting ceremony being held by Canadian officials in Windsor last Sunday to mark the opening of the new bridge to Detroit, which is officially set for Monday.

“Canada disinvited the United States of America to the opening of the Gordie Howe Bridge, which is fine, considering they are paying substantial TARIFFS to the United States,” Trump wrote.

“The original Deal on the Bridge, which was terribly negotiated by a previous Administration, no longer stands. We changed the terms of the Deal so that the United States of America now gets 50% of the Profit.”

Despite the recent tensions, Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregory Robertson said the two countries continue to have a strong working relationship.

“There’s times when the elbows get up a bit… but we come out of this stronger and we’ve got a beautiful bridge here that’s going to serve Windsor in Detroit, Canada and the U.S. for generations to come.”

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she does not plan to retaliate against U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of a 50 per cent tariff on Canadian goods with an alcohol ban.

She told her call-in radio show a ban is an extraordinary measure, and she is leaving it up to retailers and consumers to decide how to stock their shelves and whether to drink American products with the looming tariffs.

Several Canadian provincial liquor boards stopped purchasing American alcohol last year in response to Trump’s previous tariff threats and annexation comments.

While Saskatchewan and Alberta returned American booze to the shelves after a few months, major purchasing provinces like Ontario and Quebec have not resumed stocking U.S. alcohol.

It has become a pressure point among both political parties in the United States.

Smith says she prefers to stay calm and win the hearts and minds of Americans instead of retaliating with an alcohol ban.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

As hundreds of families across British Columbia and Ontario remain out of their homes due to wildfires, a survivor whose home burned in a wildfire a decade ago is sharing the lessons she learned.

Terese Greenwood’s home was destroyed in the 2016 Fort McMurray, Alta., wildfire. She joined Global News to reflect on the disaster, the challenges of rebuilding, and the advice she hopes will help families now.

She said one of the biggest lessons from the wildfire was the importance of following evacuation orders and prioritizing safety.

“Your job as the resident, as the citizen, is to make sure you’re safe, your family’s safe,” Greenwood said. “Obey the directions of the fire department and the municipality.”

Greenwood said her family had little time to prepare before being forced to flee.

“The flames were already sort of heading towards my home,” she said, describing the wildfire as “apocalyptic” and unlike anything she had ever imagined.

Despite the chaos, Greenwood said Fort McMurray residents remained calm and worked together to help one another evacuate safely.

“Our whole community was able to evacuate,” she said. “We did not experience any panic.”

She added that emergency crews focus on protecting critical infrastructure and keeping evacuation routes open, making it essential for residents to leave when instructed.

Greenwood’s home burned to the ground, and although her family rebuilt, they eventually downsized after realizing they no longer needed as much space or possessions.

“We went from a four-bedroom house with … kids’ curling brooms and things like that … to not even owning a teapot,” Greenwood said.

Greenwood said the emotional impact of a wildfire can last long after the flames are out.

She wrote about the experience, but said some Fort McMurray residents found it difficult to read her book because it brought back painful memories. She added that everyday objects can unexpectedly trigger emotions years later.

“The oddest things trigger you,” she said, recalling how some survivors became emotional after seeing a Lego set because one had been given to a child during evacuation.

Her book, What You Take With You: Wildfire, Family and the Road Home, chronicles her family’s experience during and after the Fort McMurray wildfire.

Greenwood said it has since been used by university instructors to help students understand what people experience during an evacuation.

For those currently living under evacuation alerts or orders, Greenwood encouraged leaning on their communities and allowing themselves to process the experience.

“There’s no right or wrong way to feel about this,” she said. “Talk to your neighbours, talk to other people going through it … that’s how we’ll come out the other side.”

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

MONTREAL – Nearly two months after opening the season against one another, the Montreal Alouettes and Hamilton Tiger-Cats meet again Sunday at Percival Molson Stadium with plenty having changed for both teams.

Hamilton will turn to Tre Ford, for the second straight game. The Niagara Falls, Ont., native has been thrust into the starting role in his first season with the club after veteran Bo Levi Mitchell suffered an ankle injury earlier this month that required surgery.

Ford, who threw for 218 yards, a touchdown and an interception in last week’s 24-23 home win over the Toronto Argonauts, is looking for his first career win against Montreal after losing both of his starts against the Alouettes while with the Edmonton Elks.

While Ford’s mobility presents a unique challenge, Hamilton’s (3-3) offence isn’t looking to overhaul its identity.

“We’re pretty much a veteran group on offence,” Tiger-Cats receiver Kenny Lawler told reporters in Hamilton. “Just because we got a new quarterback, don’t make anything up and keep it the same.

“You’ve got to understand the timing and the rhythm of the offence. We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing and just rally with each other.”

Montreal (5-1) has adjusted its defence accordingly.

“(Ford) has very much the skillset and the capabilities of making things happen, but if you’re disciplined with how to control him, you can do it,” said Alouettes head coach Jason Maas. “He is going to make plays, there’s no doubt about that. You just want to limit the damage when you can, but also, when you get near him, we’ve got to hit him.”

Return specialist DeVonte Dedmon will make his Montreal debut against the Tiger-Cats.

The 30-year-old signed a one-year contract with the Alouettes on Jan. 30, three days after being released by the Ottawa Redblacks following six seasons spent with the club.

A hamstring injury suffered during training camp, however, forced the former CFL Most Outstanding Special Teams Player to the sidelines before the season even officially began.

“It was tough because they gave me an opportunity to play some receiver,” Dedmon said. “I was enjoying it and playing pretty well. Then the injury happened.

“You’ve got to control what you can control in that moment. The guys had my back and they pushed me every day to get back faster than I should have.”

Montreal released veteran returner Mario Alford earlier this week to make room on the roster for Dedmon. The Alouettes have averaged a CFL-low 10.2 yards per punt return this season.

Dedmon’s track record as one of the league’s most dangerous returners has Maas eager to finally see him in action.

“The type of returner he is, I think, sets up well for how we like to do things here,” said Maas. “He’s put in a lot of work and effort into getting back and being ready. We’re excited to have him back and do the things he’s been accustomed to in this league.”

While Montreal’s special teams could receive a significant boost, the Alouettes’ offence has been among the CFL’s best through six games.

Montreal leads the league in net offence (2,754 yards), with quarterback Davis Alexander accounting for 2,181 of those yards. Alexander has eclipsed the 300-yard passing mark in every game this season, including a 402-yard, three-touchdown performance in last week’s 38-32 victory over the Calgary Stampeders.

Receiver Tyson Philpot leads the CFL with 50 receptions and 807 receiving yards, while running back Travis Theis is coming off the first 100-yard rushing performance of his CFL career.

“It was probably my best game, but I feel like there’s so much more to improve on,” Theis said. “I’m looking to do that this week.”

The 25-year-old was named one of the CFL’s Top Performers of the Week after rushing for 123 yards and a touchdown while adding 49 receiving yards on five receptions.

“It’s fun,” said Theis. “You get recognized more for going over 100 (yards). You could have 99 or 100, they’ll recognize it a little more if you have 100.”

Montreal is on a three-game winning streak. Another win would move the Alouettes six points ahead of the Tiger-Cats atop the East Division standings, while also clinching the season series and the head-to-head tiebreaker.

“It’s a huge game,” Theis said. “We can take the series lead. We’re up 1-0, but just beating a divisional opponent is huge. It’s a big game.”

Hamilton, on the other hand, views Sunday’s contest as an opportunity to close the gap.

“We want to be first in the East and we want to show that we’re still a competitive and dominant team in this East Division,” said defensive back Stavros Katsantonis. “That is our plan going out there on Sunday night to prove that to the rest of the league.

“No one else believes in us and we don’t need anybody else to, other than the guys that are in this locker room and the people that are in this organization.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2026.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Calgary police are closing a parking lot and pathway entrance at Nose Hill Park this weekend as the search continues for missing 11-year-old Parker.

Police said in a news release Saturday that the west parking lot and pathway entrance off Shaganappi Trail N.W. will be closed throughout the weekend to allow search teams to work safely and efficiently in the area.

They stressed the closure does not mean Parker has been found or that investigators have information placing him in Nose Hill Park.

Residents are being asked to use other entrances and avoid areas where police and search partners are working.

The new search effort comes as the effort to find Parker enters its ninth day.

He was last seen in the 5000 to 6000 block of Travis Crescent N.E. in Calgary’s Thorncliffe neighbourhood at around 12:52 p.m. on July 16.

Police have previously asked residents in several nearby streets, including Travis Street, Travis Crescent, Trail Drive, Taylor Crescent and Travis Place N.E., to repeatedly check vacant homes and surrounding properties.

Local real estate agents have also joined the search, organizing checks of vacant properties and listings in and around Thorncliffe.

Calgary Realtor Justine Poirier told Global News agents have been coordinating through a shared spreadsheet to make sure vacant properties are searched.

“We’re all banding together,” Poirier said.

Poirier said police have also collected footage from some residential cameras during the investigation.

Police are continuing to ask anyone in the Thorncliffe area with CCTV, residential security camera or dashcam footage recorded from July 16 onward to submit it, even if Parker does not appear in the video.

The Amber Alert for Parker remains in effect.

– With files from Ken MacGillivray and Meghan Cobb, Global News

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

A Canadian woman of Chinese origin who was an intern at NATO’s military headquarters in Belgium has been arrested on spying charges, Belgian prosecutors said on Saturday.

“She is suspected of spying on behalf of a third country and of being a member of a criminal organisation,” the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.

The woman worked as an intern at NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in the Belgian city of Mons, the statement said. It did not provide further details of her identity or the country or organisation she is suspected of spying for.

SHAPE is NATO’s top military headquarters, the base of Allied Command Operations, which is responsible for planning and carrying out all operations of the 32-member transatlantic security alliance.

The suspect had come to the attention of SHAPE’s security services, who reported her to Belgian intelligence officials, according to the prosecutors’ statement.

Investigators searched the suspect’s home and her workplace at SHAPE, and she was placed under arrest on Friday.

A SHAPE spokesperson said there was no indication that NATO or SHAPE operational readiness, command and control arrangements or ongoing tasks had been affected.

“SHAPE continues to fulfil its responsibilities without interruption,” he said.

The prosecutor’s office said it would make no further comment as investigations continued.

© 2026 Reuters

France was preparing to use a massive specially adapted cargo aircraft to dump flame retardants Saturday on a wildfire that has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people, including from some suburbs of the wine region city of Bordeaux.

Including some 70,000 people evacuated in central Spain, wildfires in southern Europe this week have displaced more than 250,000 people.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the hulking A400M aircraft will join 18 other water- and retardant-dropping planes and helicopters waging an expected “long and very difficult” battle against the blaze raging in the Gironde region of southwestern France.

With winds expected to shift in a west-to-east direction on Saturday afternoon, potentially driving the fire closer to Bordeaux, fire crews and authorities were digging trenches, using retardants and taking other steps to block it, Nunez said. He said the fire was about 30 kilometers (20 miles) west of the city and lost some of its intensity overnight.

The government mobilized soldiers to join the battle and was rushing in 1.5 million face masks to protect against choking smoke.

Authorities ordered people between the fire and Bordeaux to evacuate, including from parts of the city’s western suburbs and other towns and villages.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu described the fires as unprecedented and said the Gironde blaze became so strong on Friday that it had begun generating its own winds.

“Our priority is clear: protecting human lives,” he posted on X, adding that evacuation orders “must be respected without delay.”

He said firefighting teams were being reinforced Saturday with the addition of hundreds of soldiers and that breathing masks to filter out smoke particles were being rushed to the Gironde region for those exposed to the clouds of potentially noxious fumes.

Blazes caught authorities off guard

The virulence of the wildfires, fueled by high temperatures and the long-term effects of climate change, caught fire crews and authorities off guard in both countries. Firefighters in Spain said the blazes spread so fast and violently that they could not be tackled head on. In France, some people even fled by boat when flames swept through touristic towns on the Atlantic coast.

Dozens of French firefighters have been injured, authorities said, but no deaths were reported in either country despite the scenes of panic as townsfolk fled by car and police went door to door to tell people to leave as large plumes of smoke darkened the skies.

Successive heat waves that hit unusually early and hard this year, baking Europe with record-shattering high temperatures, have turned forests and scrublands into tinderboxes.

Fires have burned 130,000 hectares of forest already this year in Spain, up from an annual average of 100,000 hectares over the past decade, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Saturday as he visited a command post west of Madrid.

He said more favorable weather Saturday offered “a window of opportunity” for fire crews to bring the blazes under control. Madrid’s regional government said the fires decreased in intensity as winds and temperatures dropped.

Other European nations were helping, with Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia already providing or expected to deploy water-dumping planes and helicopters to the Spanish and French fire fronts.

Wildfire headed toward Bordeaux

Gironde region prefect Sophie Brocas said on Friday night that strong winds from the west were pushing the fire closer to the Bordeaux metropolitan area and that it had grown to “an unprecedented magnitude.” Bordeaux’s western suburbs covered by evacuation orders included Le Haillan and parts of Eysines and Mérignac, where the city’s airport is located. The airport said it remained open but that its bus and tram services were suspended.

The Gironde blaze broke out Wednesday near the Cap Ferret peninsula on France’s Atlantic coast, 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Bordeaux. Bordeaux authorities took in thousands of evacuees, offering them food and shelter in an exhibition center, and the city’s mayor said it could be equipped to welcome as many as 10,000 people if that became necessary.

Evacuation orders were sent with special alerts to mobile phones, instructing people to leave, Brocas said.

“We want everyone to be quickly brought to safety. We must act quickly together,” she said.

© 2026 The Canadian Press