Are you feeling lucky?
Good morning, and happy Monday!
We hope your weekend was lucky, except not in the way this kid said he was lucky after being hit by lightning in New York.
(Pro tip: Don’t shelter under trees in a storm.)
Some of our readers were very lucky—I’m happy to announce the winners of our book giveaway and readership survey draw! Have I mentioned I love giving things away? I love giving things away.
Our book giveaway winner is Joanne K. of Halifax, and the winners of our $250 gift cards for the readership survey are Oluwasen B. of Calgary and Nancy C. of Toronto.
Others weren’t so lucky. Today, the air quality in Winnipeg sits at 8 (that is bad) and over the weekend, it was at 10+ (very, very bad.)
It was the same story in many other parts of the country, and on Thursday, Manitoba declared a state of emergency—for the second time this summer—as forest fires once again grew, many of them out of control.
Speaking of lightning, the vast majority of forest fires have started this way on the prairies, which is ironic given the drought here for the past several years.
But I had to admire the sheer audacity of six U.S. lawmakers who complained to the Canadian ambassador about the smoke drifting into their states, annoyed that they’ve been unlucky enough to have to deal with “Canadian wildfire smoke” during the summer.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew was more restrained in his response than I would have been, calling these particular members of the U.S. Congress “ambulance chasers,” pointing out that people have died, and noting American firefighters are on the front lines of the fires, helping us fight.
They’re just lucky I’m not the premier.