In the news today: Carney making defence announcement in Toronto

Defence ministers from NATO countries met in Brussels last week to discuss raising the member spending target on defence to as much as five per cent of GDP.

Canada has never met NATO’s existing spending target of two per cent since it was established in 2006, and the topic will loom large when NATO leaders meet later this month in the Netherlands.

Carney promised during the recent election campaign to move up Canada’s deadline for meeting the two per cent threshold from 2032 to 2030 or sooner, but hasn’t yet revealed a plan for meeting that figure.

Here’s what else we’re watching…

B.C. wildfires merge, spurring evacuation order

The BC Wildfire Service says the Pocket Knife Creek wildfire in the province’s northeast has merged with another blaze, increasing its size “substantially.”

It says the fire is now more than 610 square kilometres in size and is considered an out-of-control wildfire of note.

The Peace River Regional District says the fire poses an “immediate danger to life safety” and issued an evacuation order Sunday for the area approximately nine kilometres west of the Buckinghorse River, and around the Redfern Trail down toward Redfern Lake.

The regional district issued earlier evacuation orders due to the Kiskatinaw River wildfire, another wildfire of note near the B. C-Alberta border that’s about 130 square kilometres in size.

The service says the third wildfire of note is the Summit Lake wildfire, and is also expected to keep growing due to winds and warm weather, and is now about 106 square kilometres.

Six infants born with congenital measles in Ontario

Ontario’s chief medical officer of health says six infants have been born with congenital measles since an outbreak began last fall, adding they were infected in the womb through mothers who were not vaccinated.

Dr. Kieran Moore says these infants recovered, but their infections could have been prevented if their mothers had been vaccinated and protected from contracting measles.

Congenital measles can result in severe complications, including inflammation of the brain and death.

On Thursday, Moore announced an infant born prematurely and infected with measles died in southwestern Ontario.

He says the infant also faced other serious medical complications unrelated to the virus.

B.C. pediatric closure spurs fear of ripple effect

Dr. Jeff Eppler, an emergency room physician at Kelowna General Hospital, is getting ready for a hectic summer.

He’s not only thinking about the typical seasonal spike — but the ripple effects of the closure of the hospital’s dedicated pediatric ward from May 26 to July 4 due to what Interior Health called “limited physician availability.”

And Eppler predicted the resource drain would extend outside the hospital, to ambulance services, as Kelowna General is forced to send other children to other hospitals, in Vernon, Penticton, or potentially even the Kootenays more than 300 kilometres away. Typically, it’s the other way around.

The closure of Kelowna’s pediatric ward is part of ongoing hospital staffing shortages that have caused rolling closures of emergency rooms across the province. Service disruptions at the pediatric ward and concerns about the state of care at Kelowna General are also not new.

But the abrupt nature of the pediatric closure last week, and a recent warning from doctors about maternity care is putting one of the province’s biggest regional hospitals in the spotlight.

A year of banning cellphones in school classrooms

Sixteen-year-old Roha Akram was skeptical when teachers in Calgary announced a cellphone ban during the first assembly of the school year.

She said the ban has been good for some students, who just need a reminder to focus in class, particularly when teachers are speaking. But some have struggled.

As the school year wraps up this month, education ministries across Canada say there have been overall positive results from banning cellphones.

Last fall, most provinces introduced policies to limit cellphone use in schools, similar to jurisdictions in other countries.

Ontario’s education ministry said parents and teachers find the ban has created a better learning environment.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2025.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

In the news today: Carney making defence announcement in Toronto

This Week in Flyers

This Week in Flyers

More Local News