For days, Abrar Sarwari has been concerned for the safety of his grocery store’s delivery drivers stranded in cold temperatures.

Sarwari is the assistant manager of Tetlit Co-op grocery store in Fort McPherson, N.W.T. He said they are struggling these days to keep the shelves stocked.

That’s because high winds, snow and poor visibility has closed the Dempster Highway for days, between Eagle Plains to Fort McPherson.

“They [truck drivers] were stuck for six days and some of them did not have a place to stay. They were freezing inside the cabins of their trucks … we’re concerned for their safety,” Sarwari said.

The store has run out of perishable food such as milk, eggs and fresh produce, and is low on backup stock, he said. Even worse, he says, is when trucks make it to the store with loads of food already expired.

“We can only stock up on so much… we end up losing margins, we end up losing potential sales.”

Sarawari has lived in Fort MacPherson for several years and he says this is the longest closure of the highway he’s experienced.

The mayor of Fort McPherson, Rebecca Blake, calls it “unprecedented.”

She says Dempster Highway has been mostly closed for over two weeks now, with short openings. The Northwest Territories’ Infrastructure department has not confirmed the length of the closure with CBC News, but according to the department’s last update on Feb. 1, the highway is seeing high winds, blowing snow and poor visibility.

Blake says while grocery supplies and mail delivery are her top concerns, the community is managing with access to supplies from Inuvik.

She worries that these sort of closures may become more common as the climate changes, and she wants to N.W.T. government to monitor impacts on infrastructure.

“It’s happening more and more often… with climate change and the different weather patterns, Dempster Highway can close for long periods of time,” she said.

“People in the fuel industry, in the grocery industry can adapt their planning around that.”

Meanwhile, Sarwari says his store right now has supplies of frozen bread and shelf stable milk — though they’re more expensive.

“Nobody wants to have shelf stable milk quite often. It’s only when there are no options left,” he said.

The territory’s Infrastructure department has not said when the Dempster Highway might reopne in the area.

Firefighters are at the scene of a fire at the Halifax Armoury, a Department of National Defence building near the city’s downtown. 

Crews responded to reports of alarms shortly after 4 a.m., according to Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency.

Assistant Chief Jim Stymiest said the fire was brought under control shortly before 7 a.m. There are no injuries, he said.

Firefighters found fires on the first and second floors, he said, and are still searching out hotspots. The cause will be investigated.

Halifax police said they have blocked off Cunard Street between North Park and Maynard streets, and a northbound section of North Park Street.

The Halifax Armoury was constructed in 1899 and is a National Historic Site. It is undergoing extensive restoration work.

The first firefighters to arrive on scene noticed smoke and haze, Stymiest said. Sprinklers in the building had deployed, he said.

Firefighters opened up walls and ceilings, “chasing hidden fire,” he said, and the roof of the building was also opened up for ventilation.

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There’s no community fridge in Charlottetown’s downtown, and advocates say that leaves a gap in the core of the capital city. While some say a fridge is still needed, there hasn’t been an application for one. CBC’s Tony Davis explains.

It’s been one year since the first measles cases in the latest outbreak were reported in Manitoba — and there’s no sign the spread of the highly contagious disease is slowing.

“It’s been very busy,” said Dr. Davinder Singh, a medical officer of health with Southern Health, the regional health area that has seen the majority of the province’s cases.

Since February of last year, there have been 371 confirmed and 32 probable measles cases reported in Manitoba, as of Jan. 24, the latest numbers available.

Manitoba had no reported measles cases in 2024, according to federal data.

The province announced the first five cases in the current outbreak on Feb. 4, 2025. Case numbers swelled in the following months, peaking in May with 72 infections, then dropped during the fall to 23 cases in October. 

But measles cases are growing again, with 51 confirmed infections so far in the new year, according to the latest data from the province.

“It’s obviously signalling that there’s still a challenge in Manitoba in addressing those growing number of cases,” said Michelle Driedger, a University of Manitoba professor who specializes in community health.

About eight in every 10 measles cases in Manitoba have been reported in Southern Health, according to Singh.

“The outbreak could be over in a month or six weeks if everyone who was not immunized and susceptible chose to get immunized,” he said. “That’s really what we need.”

Southern Health has a low measles vaccination rate compared to other parts of the province, said Singh. Most patients who contract the virus are from areas with the lowest rates of immunizations, he said. 

The health region has been trying to curb the spread of measles by encouraging vaccination during the last year — but that hasn’t been easy, he said.

WATCH | Measles 101: Understanding the contagious disease (from March 2024):

Measles: Understanding the most contagious preventable disease | About That

There are early signals that measles — one of the world’s most contagious but preventable diseases — may be spreading in parts of Canada. Andrew Chang breaks down the way the virus attacks the body and what makes it so contagious.

Most people who aren’t immunized have expressed either concerns about vaccine safety or think the virus is not severe enough to require immunization. 

The vast majority of measles cases in Manitoba — 334 cases, or 85.6 per cent — have been in people who are not immunized against the illness, while 25 cases, or just over six per cent, have been in people whose vaccination status is unknown, according to provincial data.

A total of 12 cases, or three per cent, were in people who had one vaccination dose against measles. Twenty-one cases, or 5.2 per cent, involved people with two or more doses.

Singh said the measles vaccine is extremely safe and its risks are very rare, but misinformation still spreads.

“It’s not something that can easily be changed with an advertising campaign,” he said. “You really have to get to kind of the roots of why someone might not be trusting vaccination to have any chance of overcoming it.”

Health officials are working with the education system, as well as family doctors, to get accurate information out, he said.

Southern Health has also been talking about immunization during sessions with families, including during prenatal and postpartum care programming, Singh said, which is intended to open the door to talk about concerns around the measles vaccine.

“I think a lot of it comes down to trust,” he said. 

Burden to the health-care system

The number of measles infections in Manitoba is adding work for already busy emergency departments, but also straining administrative units, said Singh.

With every positive case, health-care officials must contact trace to learn where the virus circulated, and then alert the public. 

“Any burden on those systems can be very significant,” he said. “It just adds up to a lot of additional work for a lot of additional people in the system.”

But Singh said his biggest concern is the unnecessary illness and suffering the outbreak is causing. 

“That is completely preventable, because we have a very effective vaccine,” he said. 

Since February of last year, 22 people have been hospitalized in Manitoba for measles, two of whom required treatment in an intensive care unit, the province’s data says.

Of those hospitalized, 16 were children under the age of 10. Children are among the most at risk from severe measles complications.

Listening to concerns

The University of Manitoba’s Driedger, who specializes in public health and health communication, said she feels like health authorities are doing what they can to increase immunization rates. 

That includes extending measles vaccination eligibility to children as young as six months in Southern Health last year. A spokesperson for the province told CBC News 2,078 infants between six and 12 months have received a dose of the measles vaccine since the eligibility was expanded. 

Driedger says her research on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in that region showed increasing the availability of immunizations didn’t necessarily translate into an increase in vaccination.

Public health messaging about vaccines is better when it comes from local health providers rather than from provincial authorities, she said, so primary care providers, including doctors, started having conversations directly with their patients about the COVID-19 vaccine.

“There was a greater willingness to listen because it was coming from people who also lived in the community,” she said.

“Having the conversation is making sure they leave the door open. Even if the patient didn’t want to accept the vaccine at that point, they might return to it.”

Driedger says conversations are key with the measles outbreak as well.

“It’s not a magic solution. It’s not going to solve that problem, but it is certainly one of those things that certainly helps.”

Kyle Penner, co-pastor of Grace Mennonite Church in Steinbach, which is part of the Southern Health region, said he has dealt with vaccine hesitancy by referring concerns about measles or immunization to health professionals among his congregation. 

Some congregants think that not getting vaccinated is a sign of trust in God, Penner said.

“To that I say, when my kids were little and I made a bath for them, I tested the water. I still wear seatbelts,” he said in an interview with CBC’s Information Radio. “I wouldn’t use vaccination as a test about how faithful we are to God.”

A conversation about measles vaccine has to be handled without shame or blame, Penner said.

“If we can establish we’re on the same team, then we’re not enemies.… We’re working to the same goal,” he said.

“I think we all just need a little bit of time to heal and remember that those of us who choose differently are still good people.” 

Vancouver councillors have voted to allocate up to $2 million in city funds to host a one-day free fireworks festival this August.

It comes months after the longstanding Celebration of Light event was cancelled due to a lack of senior government funding.

Mayor Ken Sim argued in a motion on Wednesday that the three-day Celebration of Light event attracted millions of people to downtown Vancouver, B.C., from around the region.

Sim said that the city had already committed an average of $1.4 million in operational funding to support emergency costs, traffic changes and post-event cleanup for the event — and free events like it were an important part of building community.

Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung, who is part of Sim’s ABC Vancouver slate, said that the budget with a zero per cent property tax increase showed that council was focused on affordability.

“In an era when people are really struggling with affordability, these free events really matter to people and they … create a little bit less pressure,” she said.

WATCH | Businesses lament end of Celebration of Light:

How Vancouver businesses are reacting to the Celebration of Lights being cancelled

Vancouver businesses say the loss of a major summertime event, the Festival of Lights at English Bay beach, will lead to a major downturn in revenue. Organizers of the Celebration of Light fireworks festival said it can’t go ahead without long-term government and private-sector support. CBC’s Meera Bains reports on the impact.

Sim’s motion notes the $2 million was a “one-time, event-specific funding decision,” and it includes a commitment to lobby the province and federal government for more funds to resume the Celebration of Light.

The Celebration of Light event, which had been held at English Bay Beach for three decades, saw a number of fireworks shows being held in July.

But organizers said the event was indefinitely cancelled last November, citing dwindling provincial and federal funding and private sector investment.

WATCH | Vancouver and the ‘No Fun City’ nickname:

When was Vancouver first given its least flattering nickname of ‘No Fun City?’

The cancellation of Vancouver’s annual Celebration of Light fireworks festival brought back one of the city’s least flattering nicknames: “No Fun City.” We may have found what could be the earliest use of that phrase — an article written in the year 2000 from The Province newspaper. It was ironically also about the fireworks show being in jeopardy. And it was written by our very own CBC reporter Jason Proctor, who tells us about the article.

Opposition critical

Though Sim’s motion passed, opposition councillors were critical of it, saying committing funds to a one-day event went against the city’s recently-passed “austerity budget” and staff cuts due to financial constraints.

“The fact of the matter is the Celebration of Light wasn’t financially working,” Green Coun. Pete Fry said in an interview.

“The business model had failed and the funding didn’t come from senior levels of government … the reality is that we’re sacrificing a bunch of things to meet these budget commitments from the mayor.”

WATCH | Celebration of Lights cancelled:

Celebration of Light fireworks festival cancelled over funding issues

Vancouver’s Celebration of Light has drawn millions of people to English Bay for more than three decades, but the annual fireworks festival won’t be going ahead next year. As Amelia John reports, organizers say a lack of government and corporate funding is to blame.

Fry pointed out that hundreds of city staffers had seen their jobs cut due to budgetary pressures, and that Sim was “bailing out” the fireworks event in an election year.

Sean Orr, a councillor with COPE, said they had heard from arts organizations struggling to compete for a dwindling share of grant funding amid the affordability crunch.

He said he wasn’t against the fireworks show, but $2 million was a lot of money to commit for a one-hour-long event.

“There could be a better business plan to make this happen. You know, sponsors could step up … there’s a lot of very rich people in the city that could step up,” he argued.

Сильні морози поки що відступили, але з 9 по 11 лютого очікується нове похолодання.

Про це заявила синоптикиня Наталка Діденко, яка зауважила, що зараз “волога та тепліша Атлантика посипає Україну снігом, вітер від протистояння східного антициклону та західної циклонічності посилюється, температура повітря подекуди вже показує малесенькі “плюси”.

Водночас завтра, 6 лютого, за умови “протистояння східної антициклонічності та західної циклонічної депресії” поки що перемагає західний процес.

“Очікується сніг, мокрий сніг, на заході та півдні з дощем. На сході – без істотних опадів. Вітер залишається південно-східним, сильним, рвучким”, – зазначила експертка.

Уночі на півночі та в центрі очікується 3-8 градусів морозу, на сході 8-12 морозу, а на заході та півдні – близько нуля.

“Завтра вдень -2…-7 градусів, на заході та півдні -1…+3 градуси, на Закарпатті та в Криму +2…+8 градусів”, – написала Діденко.

У Києві ж 6 лютого – часом сніг, вітер південно-східний, сильний та рвучкий. Вночі та вдень 3-6 градусів морозу.

“Надалі в Україні порівняно тепліше, хоча й з опадами. З 9 по 11 лютого очікується похолодання, знову антициклон, хай він сказиться! Далі має бути легше”, – зауважила синоптикиня.

Чи варто чекати на швидке потепління в Україні – прогноз метеорологині

Як повідомлялося, Віра Балабух, кандидатка географічних наук, завідувачка відділу прикладної метеорології та кліматології Українського гідрометеорологічного інституту ДСНС та НАН України зауважила, що цього року лютий в Україні розпочався з сильних морозів, але говорити про те, що ця зима аномально сніжна та морозна, не варто.

За її даними, більшість розрахунків вказують на те, що протягом першої половини лютого західні, північні, центральні та східні області України все ще перебуватимуть під впливом Антарктики. Тому температура повітря в цих регіонах, ймовірно, буде нижчою за норму.

До кінця місяця у південних та південно-західних областях температура повітря, ймовірно, залишатиметься вищою за норму, а на решті території – в її межах.

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The Toronto Raptors have added frontcourt depth ahead of the NBA trade deadline, acquiring Golden State Warriors centre Trayce Jackson‑Davis in exchange for a 2026 second‑round pick originally belonging to the Los Angeles Lakers, according to multiple reports.

The deal, first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania, gives Toronto a young, athletic big man who has shown flashes of strong interior play since entering the league. Jackson‑Davis, 25, was selected 57th overall in the 2023 NBA Draft and has spent his first two seasons with Golden State. He averaged 6.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists while shooting 63.5 per cent from the field last season.

This season, however, his role diminished as the Warriors reshaped their frontcourt. He appeared in 36 games this year, averaging 4.2 points and 3.1 rebounds in 11.4 minutes per game.

The Raptors made an earlier deal on Wednesday, trading guard Ochai Agbaji and their 2032 second-round draft pick to the Brooklyn Nets in a three-team deal also involving the Los Angeles Clippers, which sent veteran point guard Chris Paul to Toronto.

Paul isn’t expected to report to the Raptors, as the deal was orchestrated to ensure Toronto gets under the tax.

The Raptors are coming off a tough 128-126 home loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night. They’ll host the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena.

TORONTO – For 24 minutes, the Toronto Raptors dominated the Minnesota Timberwolves.

But then turnovers and the explosive play of Anthony Edwards gave Minnesota momentum in the second half and the Raptors fell to the Timberwolves 128-126 on Wednesday. Brandon Ingram, who led Toronto with 25 points, said that he and his teammates have to get back to their fundamentals.

“Every game is different. I think we can learn how to take care of the basketball for sure and what plays we are gonna run in the fourth quarter to be the best effectively,” said Ingram post-game. “Also, just standing our ground on the defensive side of the basketball and getting stops over and over again.

“We’ve done it before.”

Scottie Barnes had a double-double for Toronto (30-22) with 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Barnes tied Pascal Siakam for fifth on the Raptors’ all-time double-doubles list with 102.

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But those weren’t the numbers Toronto was talking about post-game.

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It was the fourth game in a row where the Raptors scored 22 or fewer points in the fourth quarter. Toronto also dropped to 1-12 against teams currently ranked in the top 10 in the NBA.

After giving up only four turnovers in the first half, the Raptors gave up nine after intermission.

“I think that was the main thing there, that out of those turnovers, they were able to get out in transition and then run and score easy on us,” said Toronto head coach Darko Rajakovic. “When you’re not getting your shots, you score less and you allow them to score on the other side of the floor as well.

“I thought that was the main thing there.”

Backup centre Sandro Mamukelashvili was reluctant to say that the Raptors were forcing passes in the second half, but he acknowledged they should have been more careful.

“We kind of got a little sloppy with the ball, and that’s the main thing,” said Mamukelashvili, after Toronto led by as many as 18 points. “I think that when you when you have the lead, you control the game.

“We like to play fast, but at the same time, just kind of slowing it down and understanding when we can go and when not (to pass).”

The loss came within 24 hours of the NBA trade deadline.

Media reports had the Raptors making a small transaction earlier Wednesday to get below the luxury tax line.

The three-team deal that saw the Los Angeles Clippers send veteran guard Chris Paul to Toronto and the Raptors move forward Ochai Agbaji, their 2032 second-round draft pick and cash to the Brooklyn Nets.

Several reports said that Paul was not expected to report to Toronto.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2026.

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