Extra spaces open at shelters ahead of freezing temperatures; heat pump users warned of pipe bursts
Extra spaces open at shelters ahead of freezing temperatures; heat pump users warned of pipe bursts
An extreme cold warning has been issued across the region, with some saying the arctic air could break record-low temperatures in the Maritimes.
The approaching weather has outreach workers working overtime to get as many people as possible off the streets.
The Sackville Warming Centre in Lower Sackville, N.S., is adding 10 more beds to bring their overnight capacity to 30.
"If more show up, I’m not going to say we’re going to shut the door on them either. We’re trying to be accommodating to whomever shows up," said Jim Gunn, a Beacon House board member.
Nova Scotia's community services minister says the province has been planning all week for the dangerous temperatures.
"If someone wants a bed, I promise that they will have a bed," said Karla MacFarlane.
Shelter locations have been shared through social media, libraries, service providers and MLA offices in an effort to get the word out to as many people as possible.
"They will be opening tomorrow and they will be open until Sunday, but please keep in mind that we will certainly be assessing the situation of the weather, all the time," said MacFarlane.
Bus passes will also be issued to anyone who needs transportation to a shelter in the Halifax Regional Municipality.
"There’s going to be good food already prepared for them, the freezers are full. There’s volunteers ready to serve the meals from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the evening," said Gunn.
In Nova Scotia, shelters open when temperatures drop to -15C – a number that will easily be passed this weekend.
Temperatures are expected to be even colder in New Brunswick, with the windchill forecast expected to be in the -40C range.
Mickey Maguire, who lives in Moncton, N.B., has been waiting for permanent housing.
"I spend pretty much every winter outside usually," said Maguire.
He admits he's not prepared for this weekend's weather.
"I don’t even have shelter, a tent or anything set up," he said.
It's an issue outreach workers are hoping to avoid.
HOMEOWNERS BEWARE AS TEMPERATURES DROP
Experts are also warning homeowners who rely on heat pumps to take note as extreme temperatures settle in.
"They (heat pumps) typically don't have the same heating capacity when it's this cold," said Gloria Haydock with the Insurance Bureau of Canada. "It's really important to include an additional heating source, such as your furnace or electric baseboard heaters that you've got. Especially if you go to bed thinking everything is fine and you’re okay, and you wake up in the morning; the last thing you want is some frozen pipes.”
Plumbers around the region are already receiving a stream of frozen pipe calls.
James Pentz, the CEO of Halifax Plumbing and Heating, said he responded to 10 calls on Thursday morning alone. Pentz said it is critical for heat pump owners to have another source of heat during extreme cold.
“The ambient temperature in the room is not always the same on the exterior walls,” said Pentz. “It can cause freeze ups if you have your heat pump running in one room and the other side of the building is not getting adequate heat.”
Ken Bain, the parts manager with Mr. Plumber in Charlottetown, said most heat pump owners make the necessary adjustments for extreme cold.
"Because so many people are using heat pumps today, they have their boilers either turned off or down very low," said Bain. "It would be a good idea, because of the wind and cold temperatures, to have that boiler up and running."
Bain said homeowners should also try to locate drafts of cold air.
"I just had a cottage, or small home, freeze up last night because of drafts,” said Bain. “A gentleman called this morning and everything had frozen on him.”
There are several preventative steps homeowners can take to avoid frozen pipes.
"Throughout this time, run water through all plumbing fixtures regularly just to make sure that things are not freezing up," said Haydock.
Other preventative steps include:
raising the temperature in your home by a degree or two, particularly at night
unscrewing any hoses, turning off outdoor water supplies, draining those taps
leaving a heat source on and having somebody check on your home if away for an extended period
Rogers Communications Inc's $26-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. cleared the last regulatory hurdle Friday, more than two years after the deal was first announced.
Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, prosecutors and defense lawyers said Thursday, making him the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge and jolting his bid to retake the White House next year.
The bodies of six people, including one child, were found in the St. Lawrence River Thursday afternoon after an air search involving the Canadian Coast Guard, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police said.
Canadian Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne has approved Rogers Communications Inc.'s $20-billion takeover of rival telecom Shaw Communications Inc., but there are conditions attached and penalties of up to $1 billion if the companies violate them.
The numbers of babies born with syphilis in Canada are rising at a far faster rate than recorded in the United States or Europe, an increase public health experts said is driven by increased methamphetamine use and lack of access to the public health system for Indigenous people.
Disgraced South African Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius has been denied parole, the lawyer for Reeva Steenkamp's parents said after the parole hearing.
A Toronto man, whose neighbours vanished eight years ago and left their home completely abandoned, said he's fed up living next door to a property that is in complete disarray.
Former Conservative leader Erin O'Toole says he will not seek re-election and plans to resign his seat this spring. The Ontario MP led the Conservatives and served as official Opposition leader from August 2020 until February 2022, when a majority of his caucus voted to remove him from the post.
The vote of a Manhattan grand jury to indict the Republican former president on charges related to hush money payments made on his behalf during his 2016 presidential campaign catapults the now-candidate Donald Trump into a new era of legal risk and complicates his attempts to return to the White House.
A 10-year-old boy is dead following a chain-reaction crash on the QEW. The highway was closed for several hours as police worked to piece together exactly what happened.
The six people who were recovered from the St. Lawrence River Thursday consisted of two families from Romania and India who were likely trying to enter the U.S. illegally, police said Friday. A child under three is still missing.
Hydro-Québec annual indexation of its electricity rates will take effect this Saturday, capped at 3 per cent. The Crown corporation says that for residential customers, the monthly impact of the 3 per cent increase would be $2.28 for a five-and-a-half dwelling, $4.27 for a 111-square-metre home, $5.65 for a 158-square-metre home and $6.97 for a 207-square-metre home.
The Quebec government's crackdown on Airbnb has upended Montreal's short-term rental market, leading some to welcome the changes and others scurrying to evade the new rules.
The federal government now expects far more Canadians with long-overdue dental needs to sign up for its insurance plan, and the health minister says that's why the estimated cost has risen by $7 billion.
The bodies of six people, including one child, were found in the St. Lawrence River Thursday afternoon after an air search involving the Canadian Coast Guard, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police said.
As the dust continues to settle around Wednesday's verdict in the Renee Sweeney murder trial attention is now turning to what's next for the case. CTV News spoke to a legal expert and here is what he had to say.
A Toronto man, whose neighbours vanished eight years ago and left their home completely abandoned, said he's fed up living next door to a property that is in complete disarray.
The Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) has issued a flood outlook. Upwards of 50mm of rain is expected in 24 hours with minor flooding expected within low-lying flood plains.
Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, prosecutors and defense lawyers said Thursday, making him the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge and jolting his bid to retake the White House next year.
The six people who were recovered from the St. Lawrence River Thursday consisted of two families from Romania and India who were likely trying to enter the U.S. illegally, police said Friday. A child under three is still missing.
The Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry filed a charter challenge against the provincial government for stipulations in its disability program that require seniors to take their Canada Pension Plan (CPP) money out early.
At Academy Farms in Langley, they raise bison and water buffalo, but this is more than a farm. It's a place that's helping people from across the country find their way out of addiction.
Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, prosecutors and defense lawyers said Thursday, making him the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge and jolting his bid to retake the White House next year.
The redevelopment planning process was quietly halted earlier this year, and now the Kwikwetlem First Nation is speaking up about what they’d like to see happen on the land where the Riverview Hospital operated for a century.
The Regina Anti-Poverty Ministry filed a charter challenge against the provincial government for stipulations in its disability program that require seniors to take their Canada Pension Plan (CPP) money out early.
Videos posted on the social media app TikTok showing individuals in Regina experiencing mental health crises are bringing into question the stigma still attached to addictions.
A large-scale Canadian Coast Guard exercise was held near Victoria on Thursday, with members training to respond to an emergency aboard a whale-watching vessel.
The father of a Vancouver Island man who was shot twice in the head by police during a dramatic incident in Duncan, B.C., on Tuesday evening is questioning why such lethal action had to be taken by police.
