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By Nadine YousifBBC News, Toronto

Like many in Canada's Northwest Territories<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , Poul Osted has been relying on Social Media<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> to keep In Touch<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> with loved ones as they scramble to evacuate from nearby wildfires.

But Mr Osted said he has been left frustrated by his inability to share news articles on Facebook during the active emergency situation, due to Meta 's ban on news content for Canadian users.

" Instead we have to screenshot parts of a news story and post that as a picture, " Mr Osted told The Bbc<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> .

" Oftentimes this means you don't get the whole story, or have to go searching The Web<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> for verification. "

Mr Osted, who lives in the small hamlet of Fort Resolution, said this has affected his Family Members<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> who were forced to flee Hay River, which is threatened by a wildfire is burning nearby.

" The State<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> of the highway system is one example, " he told The Bbc<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> via Facebook Messenger<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> .

Several people were inquiring on The Platform<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> whether it was safe to drive out of town but couldn't share that information on the Social Network<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> .

Meta - which owns Facebook and Instagram<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> - began on 1 August, not Long After<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> Canada's parliament passed an Online News<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> bill that will require platforms like Google and Meta to negotiate deals with news publishers for content.

It has called The Law<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> " fundamentally flawed legislation that ignores the realities of how our platforms work".

As Meta rolls out the ban as part of its campaign against the legislation, a growing number of Canadian users have found themselves unable to view news shared by media organisations on its platforms.

They are also unable to view articles shared by friends, instead seeing a message that reads: " This content isn't available in Canada. "

This has raised concern about people's access to information, especially during the wildfire evacuations.

" The timing could not have been worse for this, " said Shawna Bruce, an instructor at the disaster and emergency management program at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology.

About 77% of Canadians use Facebook, She Said<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , And One<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> in four of them rely on The Platform<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> as their primary source of news.

" I Am wondering if we have a bit of an information void there because of this decision, " Ms Bruce said.

In response to questions from The Bbc<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , a Meta spokesperson declined to comment on the ban and its impact on evacuees.

The Bbc<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> has also reached out to the federal government, which passed The Law<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , for comment.

Residents in Yellowknife, The Territory<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> 's largest city with 20,000 people, have been ordered by officials to leave by Friday afternoon over fears a wildfire burning about 16 km (10 miles) could reach the City Limits<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> by the weekend.

Other towns in the Northwest Territories<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , including Hay River and Fort Smith<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> , are also under evacuation orders.

Many evacuees have been using Facebook groups like NWT Wildfires Safety Check to mark themselves safe from the fires and to ask about updates.

Officials have also relied on Facebook to share and directly to their official pages and websites.

" Some of them have really stepped up in The Absence<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> of not being able to use Facebook in a way they could before, " Ms Bruce said.

Meta 's restriction on news has forced other jurisdictions in Canada to rethink how they disseminate essential information.

Police in Manitoba, for example, told The Canadian<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> Press earlier this summer that it will rely on direct posts through Social Media<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> accounts to get news out to The Public<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> .

Nearly 240 wildfires are active across the Northwest Territories<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> as of Thursday, part of what has been Canada's worst forest fire season on record.

More Than<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> 1,000 wildfires are burning across Canada, including in British Columbia<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> and Quebec.

Experts have pointed to a warmer and drier spring than normal as The Reason<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> .

Scientists say Climate Change<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> increases The Risk<Meta itemprop='name' content='JJ Lin'> of the hot, dry weather that is likely to fuel wildfires.

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Source of news: bbc.com