BC wildfire kills one, forces 20,000 out as Unifor opens GM talks

The Bald Range wildfire in British Columbia's South Okanagan region has forced more than 20,000 residents from their homes along the western shores of Okanagan Lake. RCMP believe the fire has claimed one life, an 80-year-old woman from Meadow Valley who was trying to flee with a family member. Evacuees, including Kyla Gaudiuso of Faulder, B.C., are only now learning the extent of their losses; Gaudiuso says a photo of her property engulfed in flames has convinced her that her home is destroyed, though she has not received official confirmation.

A communications staffer with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, Erick Thompson, kept livestreaming on YouTube even as he evacuated his own home in Summerland with his family on Saturday. His raw footage has been viewed by anxious residents seeking updates on the fire, evacuations and available support, and he later learned the videos had reached viewers as far away as Halifax.

In labour news, Unifor began contract negotiations with General Motors on Monday, representing more than 4,600 members at Ontario facilities including the Oshawa assembly plant, CAMI in Ingersoll, and operations in St. Catharines and Woodstock. The talks follow a new three-year deal with Ford that included three per cent annual pay increases, which Unifor described as successful pattern-setting negotiations.

Montreal police were expected to provide an update on a misconduct scandal at a station in a multicultural neighbourhood, where a 16-member patrol unit was disbanded in June amid allegations of racism and brutality. Separately, the New York trial of Luciano Frattolin, accused of killing his nine-year-old daughter, entered its fourth week, with the defence calling its first witness after prosecutors rested their case.