In the news today in Canada: U.S. consulate shooting, raging wildfires, psychiatric waits

From a shooting outside the U.S. Consulate in Toronto and growing concerns over Canada’s aid efforts in Gaza to devastating wildfires in British Columbia and France, along with new concerns about lengthy emergency room waits for psychiatric patients, here are some of the stories making headlines across Canada and around the world today.

U.S. consulate in Toronto shot at for second time this year, suspect vehicle flees

Efforts by police to identify who fired at the U.S. consulate in Toronto on Monday are underway.

No injuries were reported in the early morning shooting that prompted a brief high-speed police chase of a white late-model Honda Accord without licence plates.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has weighed in, saying on social media he is “totally disgusted” by the shooting, while Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow called it a “blazen attack” and said whoever is responsible will be found.

The consulate was previously targeted on the morning of March 10 when two suspects allegedly fired multiple shots at the building before driving away in a stolen vehicle.

UN’s Gaza water chief says Israeli destruction, restrictions squandering Canadian aid

A Palestinian woman carries a jerry can with water collected from a desalination plant in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, in front of a sign bearing the logo of Canadian non-profit International Development and Relief Foundation, on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Jonathan Veitch, the United Nations official overseeing water and sanitation in the Gaza Strip, is praising Canada’s ongoing support for Palestinians.

But Veitch also says some Canadian taxpayer dollars are being squandered by Israel’s attacks on water facilities and restrictions on aid groups.

Veitch, who leads the U-N’s child-protection agency UNICEF, says the Israeli military’s destruction of water facilities and attacks on those paid to deliver water are making it harder for desperate Gazan families living in rat-infested tents.

He says Canada helped to end a famine there and is giving Gaza’s children a chance to attend school for the first time in years, but that Israel is restricting access to supplies that could repair water infrastructure.

This handout still image from a video shot on Saturday, July 25, 2026, shows the smouldering aftermath of the Pear Lake wildfire that swept towards Clinton, B.C., a day earlier. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout — Facebook, Joey Johnson (Mandatory Credit)

Mayor of Clinton, B.C., says crew assessing damage in community after wildfire

The mayor of Clinton, British Columbia, says an assessment crew is going through the village to assess wildfire damage after residents were evacuated from their homes last week.

Roland Stanke says on social media that people whose properties suffered damage will be contacted personally, hoping they’d hear about the damage from assessors rather than from “misinformation posted on Facebook.”

Stanke says hydro crews are also assessing damage before power can be fixed because lines are still down in the village, which has about 650 residents and sits 125 kilometres northwest of Kamloops.

The BC Wildfire Service map shows there are more than 135 active wildfires burning across the province, more than 50 of which are classified as out of control.

Firefighters in France hold back vast wildfire as heat returns to test their grip

Firefighters kept a vast wildfire in southwest France from advancing overnight Tuesday, extinguishing flare-ups near Atlantic coast dunes before returning heat and drier air threatened to test their hold on the blaze.

The fire remained stabilized at 6 a.m. after a calm night and the burned area was unchanged at 420 square kilometres, the Gironde prefecture said.

Several flare-ups were detected overnight north of Le Porge and in dune land north of Cap Ferret but were brought under control by firefighters.

The areas lie along the Atlantic coast west of Bordeaux, where crews have battled the wildly unpredictable blaze since it erupted near Saumos last week.

Data shows some psychiatric patients wait days in the ER for a hospital admission. Why?

Mental-health experts say psychiatric patients wait far longer for an in-patient bed than other people do.

Research shows the emergency department environment’s near-constant noise, lights that never dim, and turbulent atmosphere can be harmful to a person in a mental-health crisis.

Alberta Psychiatric Association President Dr. Karen Duncalf says emergency departments are not designed for people to be there for a long period of time and can have a “real meaningful impact” on patients as they wait.

A patient in Alberta waited 16 days in an ER for a psychiatric hospital admission last year, while another patient in British Columbia waited just over nine days.