Ten-year-old Balsam fir trees on Nov. 12, 2021 at Downey Tree Farm and Nursery at Hatley, Que., about 30 km south of Sherbrooke. (File photo: Reuters/Christinne Muschi)

B.C. floods may tighten market for real Christmas trees

'We're basically shut down until the water recedes'

Ottawa | Reuters — Finding the perfect real Christmas tree will be harder and more expensive this year. Canada, the world’s top exporter of natural Christmas trees, is grappling with a shortage that will likely be exacerbated by historic flooding in British Columbia, where some tree farms are underwater. A phenomenon known as an atmospheric

Thousands in B.C. still stranded by flood waters

'We are not out of this by a long shot'

Abbotsford | Reuters — Rescuers and workers in British Columbia were still trying to reach 18,000 people stranded on Thursday after floods and mudslides destroyed roads, houses and bridges in what could be the costliest natural disaster in the country’s history. Receding flood waters were helping rescue efforts, but the downpour blocked off entire towns


An aerial view shows a damaged road as a flood sweeps through, near Lytton, B.C. on Nov. 15, 2021. (Handout photo from B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure via Reuters)

B.C. rains shut CN, CP mainlines and Highways 1, 7

Repairs already underway, CN says

The effects of rainstorms pelting southern British Columbia’s Interior have reached into the Prairies by effectively cutting off grain traffic to Vancouver. Canadian National Railway said Tuesday that heavy rainfalls in the region have led to mudslides and washouts on its network. Crews are inspecting affected areas and “carrying out repairs which are critical to

Flooded roads are seen near Chilliwack, B.C. on Nov. 15, 2021 after rainstorms lashed parts of the province, triggering landslides and floods and shutting highways. (Photo: Reuters/Jennifer Gauthier)

Severe B.C. rainstorms spur landslides, shut roads

Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian helicopters carried out multiple missions on Monday to rescue hundreds of people trapped in their vehicles on a highway after huge rainstorms sparked landslides in British Columbia. The rainstorms that started on Sunday triggered landslides, shut roads, prompted the evacuation of an entire community, forced an oil pipeline to close


Comment: Biodiversity targets for 2030 under negotiation

World leaders are pondering new targets to protect flora and fauna in the coming years

Putting biodiversity on a path to recovery is a defining challenge of this decade.” So begins the Kunming Declaration on biodiversity, adopted at the 15th UN biodiversity conference on October 13, 2021, otherwise known as COP15. The purpose of the online gathering was to get governments from around the world to agree a new set

“With a binding goal, we ensure that the agricultural sector delivers a historically high reduction... ” – Rasmus Prehn, Danish Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries.

Danish farmers required to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030

The Nordic nation has some of the most ambitious targets in the world

Denmark’s agricultural and forestry sector must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55 per cent and 65 per cent by 2030 compared with 1990 levels, a majority in parliament agreed. The new legally binding target is part of the government’s action plan towards reaching 70 per cent reductions by 2030, one of the most ambitious climate goals


An eastward-facing view from the north edge of the crossing at Mile 98.14 of CN’s Ashcroft subdivision, where BCWS suspected the Lytton fire began. (TSB photo)

No evidence trains sparked Lytton fire, TSB says

Transportation Safety Board now stepping out of ongoing fire probe

There’s no proof the fire that largely destroyed a British Columbia village, damaged a key rail bridge and led to cuts in rail speed limits in high-risk areas was sparked by train traffic, the federal Transportation Safety Board says. The TSB on Thursday said its investigation, launched in early July, “has not revealed any evidence

A tract of Amazon jungle burns as it is cleared by farmers at Rio Pardo in Brazil’s Rondonia state on Sept. 15, 2019. (File photo: Reuters/Ricardo Moraes)

Brazil’s JBS bought 301,000 cattle from ‘irregular’ farms in Amazon, audit finds

Prosecutors 'negotiating improvements' with companies

Sao Paulo | Reuters — Nearly a third of the cattle bought by JBS SA in the Brazilian Amazon state of Para came from ranches with “irregularities” such as illegal deforestation, prosecutors found in a 2020 audit of the world’s largest meatpacker released on Thursday. In a presentation, federal prosecutors said they were “negotiating improvements”


The Garden City container terminal at Savannah is operated by Ports America on behalf of the Georgia Ports Authority. (Photo courtesy Georgia Ports Authority)

Canada’s CPPIB to buy major U.S. port terminal operator

Canada Pension Plan's play furthers its infrastructure push

Reuters — Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) said on Wednesday it had agreed to buy Ports America, one of the largest marine terminal operators in the U.S., from investment firm Oaktree Capital Management. While no valuation was given in the announcement, the deal values Ports America at over US$4 billion, according to two sources

(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Kansas City Southern plans to accept CP’s bid

Deal would create new lanes for Prairie freight, CP says

Reuters — U.S. railway Kansas City Southern said on Sunday it planned to accept Canadian Pacific Railway’s US$27.2 billion cash-and-stock acquisition offer as superior to its US$29.6 billion deal to sell itself to Canadian National Railway. CN now has until the end of Friday to submit a better offer or lose its deal with KCS.