The Early Edition from CBC Radio British Columbia (Highlights)

New Westminster mayor Jonathan Cote aka Johnny X is teaming up with Roya Kish aka Mr. India to defend the royal city's honour. But is Cote ready to rumble?

Premier John Horgan has called the current system we use to budget for wildfire fighting 'Laughable.' So what should we do instead? We ask George Abbott, who co-authored a report on the very topic. *

The Toronto Real Estate Board will now have to publish home sales data. This after the Supreme Court of Canada says it won't hear an appeal. Should that practice come to BC? We speak with real estate agent Mayur Arora.

We have an update on the wildfire situation when we speak to Rise Johansen, the owner of the Takysie Lake Resort near Burns Lake about efforts there. *

Conservative BC MP Todd Doherty resorted to name calling after fellow Conservative Quebec MP Maxime Bernier announced he was leaving the party to form his own. We take a look at how likely Bernier is to have success attracting BC candidiates before the next federal election.

BC Premier John Horgan says BC's wildfire situation could be the "new normal". We speak with a couple of young people involved in climate activism who say this shouldn't be the new normal. They'll share their thoughts on growing anxiety over climate change and the best action to take to cope. *

Should you be allowed to buy and sell handguns in this country? A Surrey mayoral hopeful is the latest politician to say no and one of his party members has quit over his comments. We head south of the Fraser for the latest.

Debates over immigration loom large over the Liberal cabinet meeting in Nanaimo today and the Conservative convention in Halifax tomorrow. We convene a panel to unpack how identity politics may be entering the Canadian political debate. *

With wildfires raging in Northern BC, Grand Chief Ed John joins us to voice his concern over disaster relief funding from the federal government. *

The municipal elections are in less than two months and the race in Delta is heating up. Municipal Affairs Reporter Justin McElroy takes a look at the candidates for us.

The president of The Canadian Association for the Environment Dr. Courtney Howard says BC's wildfire situation underscores the need to see climate change as a threat to human health. We hear from her about her research on the health impacts of wildfire smoke. *

While federal Liberals meet in Nanaimo this week, we speak to Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale about the growing calls for tighter gun laws. *

The federal government is scrapping the family reunification lottery and increasing the number of people it is accepting. We speak with Shachi Kurl with the Angus Reid Institute about a recent poll on immigration.

The Federal Government says the economy and the environment must be grown hand in hand. We speak with to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna about what that really means. *

It's already been one week since an air quality advisory was issued for the Lower Mainland and it`s looking like things aren`t going to improve much in this week ahead. We get an update from an air quality planner with Metro Vancouver, Julie Saxton. *

Smoke from wildfires has really socked in parts of our listening area. We know how it affects us physically but what about mentally? We speak with Nicola Cherry, Tri-party Chair of Occupational Health at the University of Alberta.

BC's biggest fire rages on near Shovel Lake, and Fort St. James is preparing for the worst but hoping for the best. We speak with Mayor Rob MacDougall. *

Has the wildfire situation in BC impacted your travel plans? We speak to the CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of BC Walt Judas on how this year's wildfire season has impacted tourist season around the province. *

Vancouverites have spoken. 63 competitors have been eliminated and only the winner remains in our search for Vancouver's unofficial ambassador. Justin McElroy join us with the results.

Wildfires and First Nations, joke day, APD public warning, Team China hockey team, Forests Minister Doug Donaldson, South of the Fraser, big tobacco, Camp Cloud arrests, RIP Aretha Franklin, Andrew Kurjata on fires

We speak with Forests Minister Doug Donaldson about the state of emergency in place for BC as wildfires continue to burn. *

The Shovel Lake Wildfire in Northern B.C. is big, and to give you a sense of it, it would stretch from Delta, to North of Vancouver, and include Richmond and Burnaby too. We hear from CBC reporter Andrew Kurjata, who is nearby in Burns Lake. *

Saturday will mark exactly two months since the city of Surrey dismantled the tent city on 135A Street. We head south of the Fraser to find out how the neighbourhood has changed.

Maybe today's wildfires aren't so "wild" after all. There's a clear explanation for their intensity: they're increasingly fuelled by human-caused climate change. We speak with ecologist Bob Gray. *

The federal government is reportedly consulting with Indigenous groups about a national statutory holiday to mark the legacy of residential schools. We speak with the CEO of Reconciliation Canada Karen Joseph. *

Our Metro Matters column takes a peak into some of the resolutions on the agenda for the upcoming Union of BC Municipalities. Municipal Affairs reporter Justin McElroy join us with a look at the ones sure to get people talking.