Just as Environment Canada lifted its air quality warning Sunday afternoon, it issued a heat warning for Ottawa and eastern Ontario. Smoke from wildfires in Quebec dissipated yesterday afternoon, but now we’re heading into a stretch of hot and humid weather. A yellow warning is in place with daytime highs from today through Wednesday ranging from 30 to 36 degrees, with humidex values between 38 and 45. To protect yourself from the heat, Environment Canada recommends drinking water often and before you feel thirsty to replace fluids, turning on air conditioning, using a fan, or moving to a cooler area of your living space and if your living space is hot, head to a cool public space like a cooling centre, community centre, library, or shaded park. Temperatures are expected to return to normal by Thursday.

Ahead of the increase in traffic that will come in September, when schools are back in session and federal employees return to in-office work, a new transit plan will be presented to city council for consideration this week. The plan aims to enhance express transit routes, optimize traffic flow through signal timing, and expand parking capacity to prepare for the increase of commuters in the fall. City staff have also consulted with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation to ensure the ongoing work on the 417 is completed before the fall. Council is expected to decide on whether to implement the plan on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is defending the deal between Canada and the United States to open the Gordie Howe International Bridge, insisting that profits split with the Americans will be minimal. Canada will receive 50 per cent of the bridge’s toll profits in the first 15 years, with the other 50 per cent going into an economic development fund. That’s a change from the original agreement signed in 2012, which had Canada pay for the full cost of construction, and then collect 100 per cent of toll profits until the investment was recouped. Despite those changes, Carney called it a “good deal for Canada,” and said the money in that economic development fund will be invested in the U.S. side of the region, which he argues will drive more traffic. The bridge connecting Windsor and Detroit is scheduled to open on July 27, and is expected to significantly streamline cross-border trade.