• 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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• 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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