In the news today: MPs divided on hybrid rules, B.C. plane crash, wildfire aid

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed …

Years after the pandemic, MPs are divided on hybrid Parliament rules

During the COVID-19 pandemic, members of Parliament began voting and attending committee meetings from home, and six years later, they are now divided over whether those hybrid rules should remain.

Conservative MP Michael Chong told the House of Commons in February he thinks Canada should end “hybrid Parliament,” arguing it’s the only national legislature among several to remain in hybrid mode.

In response, Liberal MP Corey Hogan said that as a father of three young children, he has appreciated the flexibility that hybrid sittings have allowed on the unique occasions when it was necessary.

NDP MP Heather McPherson says there is “value” in the hybrid Parliament and that if Canada wants members of Parliament to represent the nation’s diversity, it has to offer flexible working conditions.

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The British Columbia provincial flag flies on a flagpole in Ottawa, Friday, July 24, 2026 in Ottawa.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Two planes crash in mid-air near Chilliwack airport, officials say

Two planes from a pair of flight schools crashed Monday while flying near the city of Chilliwack in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley.

Garry Atkins with the Chilliwack Airport says one of the aircraft carrying two occupants safely landed at the airport, while the second plane carrying a third person became submerged in a quarry lagoon.

BC Emergency Health Services says five ambulances were dispatched to an area of Wolfe Road and Schweyey Road, northwest of the airport, and that no patients were taken to hospital.

RCMP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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A man paddles a paddleboard on Okanagan Lake, in Lake Country, B.C., as the Quilpituk Creek wildfire burns on the mountainside across the lake, near Fintry, on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Hamburgers, water and support waiting for B.C. fire evacuees

With thousands forced from their homes due to fires around Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, the Salvation Army in Vernon has become a place for people to gather as they figure out what’s next.

Charity spokesman Ron Cartmell says since it opened Friday to offer emergency support services, local businesses have stopped by with help ranging from pallets of bottled water to hamburgers and coffee.

He says the community is doing what it can to ease some of the pain and the trauma evacuees are experiencing.

Winds, as high as 115 kilometres an hour in some spots, caused fires to spread rapidly over the weekend across a region dealing with a prolonged drought.

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Residents wait outside the Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough hall in Montreal before an evening council meeting, where many called on elected officials to move more quickly to address recurring flooding in the area, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Charlotte Glorieux

Repeated flooding, few answers drive Montreal West Island residents to demand action

Residents of Montreal’s West Island gathered on Monday to demand action from elected officials at the Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough’s first council meeting since hundreds of homes flooded in June.

There’s growing frustration among homeowners who say they have spent tens of thousands of dollars repairing flood damage only to see their homes flood again.

One resident told The Canadian Press that after the June storm, he didn’t see city crews cleaning up on his street, but Pierrefonds-Roxboro Mayor Jim Beis said crews handled more than 300 calls during the storm and that the scale of the damage required weeks of cleanup.

Paul Henry Danylewich, president of the Association of Citizens of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, said residents want the city to move beyond engineering studies and consultations by presenting a clear timeline for infrastructure upgrades.

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Delirium is often missed by health providers. Could an AI risk predictor help?

Dr. Amol Verma, left, physician scientist at St. Michael’s Hospital and Temerty Professor of AI in Medicine at University of Toronto speaks as Dr. Fahad Razak, physician scientist at St. Michael’s Hospital and Canada Research Chair at University of Toronto looks on at St. Michael’s Hospital, in Toronto, on Friday, July 24, 2026.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Thirteen hospitals in Ontario are testing out an artificial intelligence tool that predicts who is at risk of getting delirium. 

Research shows about one in four adults become delirious during a hospital admission, and that up to 40 per cent of cases can be prevented with proper sleep, hydration, nutrition and mobility. 

As delirium is often unrecognized, misdiagnosed as depression or dementia, or misattributed to aging, Dr. Amol Verma and Dr. Fahad Razak created an AI prediction calculator.

Research shows basic care like monitoring meals, suggesting sips of water and tracking daily mobility can make a difference. 

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2026.

Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.