• Powering Metro Vancouver’s first net-zero-emission school

  Source: British Columbia - Government News
  Date: 2026-09-11 18:30:00.0
  Tags: [British Columbia, Education, Energy, Environment, Climate, Infrastructure]

  The Government of British Columbia and BC Hydro announced that École Snokomish Elementary in Surrey has opened as Metro Vancouver's first all-electric, net-zero-emission school and latest Power Smart Champion. Supported by CleanBC funding and more than $14,000 for an initial energy study, the 27-classroom, 655-student school utilizes a heat-pump-based HVAC system designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 89% and avoid an estimated 961 tonnes of emissions over 15 years. The project directly advances Surrey Schools' target to lower emissions by 40% by 2030 and aligns with BC Hydro's Power Smart 2.0 plan to drive public building energy efficiency.

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• Schools in Summerside area resume Friday as shelter-in-place order lifted

  Source: Prince Edward Island - Regional News
  Date: 2026-09-11 11:10:07.0
  Tags: [Prince Edward Island, Municipal, Energy, Emergency, Education, Environment]

  Schools and city-owned facilities in the Summerside area resumed operations on Friday following the lifting of a voluntary shelter-in-place order issued by the Chief Public Health Office. The order had been in place since Monday morning due to an ongoing, multi-day fire at the Sunbank solar farm. Emergency fire crews remained active on the scene controlling the fire, while third-party air quality testing results were sent directly to the Chief Public Health Office for evaluation.

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• CPHO recommends Summerside-area students return to school as solar farm fire continues

  Source: Prince Edward Island - Regional News
  Date: 2026-09-10 21:11:14.0
  Tags: [Prince Edward Island, Energy, Environment, Emergency, Education]

  Following an ongoing battery fire at the Sunbank solar farm in Summerside that began on Monday at approximately 5:30 a.m., Prince Edward Island Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison recommended that students in the Summerside area return to school after air-quality data proved reassuring. The incident had previously prompted a shelter-in-place order, a voluntary evacuation notice, and temporary closures for the Three Oaks family of schools and the French-language École-sur-Mer. City and provincial officials continue to conduct air and water testing while monitoring the active fire site.

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• Three Oaks Family of schools cancel classes Wednesday due to fire at Summerside solar farm

  Source: Prince Edward Island - Regional News
  Date: 2026-09-09 09:35:25.0
  Tags: [Prince Edward Island, Energy, Environment, Emergency, Education]

  Classes were cancelled for students in the Three Oaks Family of schools and École-sur-Mer due to potential safety conditions stemming from a fire in a large battery bank at the City of Summerside's Sunbank solar farm. The City of Summerside issued a voluntary shelter-in-place order for the immediate area surrounding the solar farm while air and water testing remained ongoing. Although expected weather and wind conditions improved, allowing the city to rule out mandatory evacuations, monitoring for potential flare-ups continued.

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• Some Cape Breton residents no longer stranded as flooding recovery continues

  Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
  Date: 2026-09-08 16:26:46.0
  Tags: [Nova Scotia, Emergency, Infrastructure, Environment, Education]

  Following a slow-moving storm that dumped over 200 millimetres of rain across Cape Breton island in less than two days, the Nova Scotia Department of Public Works reported that more than 120 roads and 200 culverts were damaged or washed away, leaving 25 roads still closed as of Tuesday afternoon. Provincial officials and local contractors are working to repair major washouts—including on West Bay Road in Richmond County—and replace two damaged bridges. The severe weather triggered local states of emergency and subsequent school and campus closures across Victoria, Richmond, and Inverness counties managed by the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education, the Strait Regional Centre for Education, and the Nova Scotia Community College. The flooding was also linked to the death of a 46-year-old woman from Richmond County whose vehicle was found near a flooded bridge.

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• Funding boost to help Nunavut Arctic College build on research capability

  Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
  Date: 2026-08-31 16:46:05.0
  Tags: [National, Education, Indigenous, Environment, Infrastructure]

  Nunavut Arctic College has been awarded $600,000 through ArcticNet's North-by-North Program—part of a broader federal $9.3 million investment funded by the federal government's Strategic Science Fund—to expand the research capabilities of the Nunavut Research Institute in Iqaluit through 2029. The funding will specifically support the development of parasite and DNA detection capabilities, upgrades to the college's online research licensing portal, and the creation of training modules for Nunavummiut and early-career scientists regarding ethical research practices. The Nunavut Research Institute operates as the sole facility in the territory conducting wildlife parasite testing, notably monitoring for trichinella in wildlife and mercury levels across the Arctic food web.

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