April, 2023
With Alberta’s official election season imminent, the UCP and NDP are (unofficially) out in full force
UCP Leader Danielle Smith held event Saturday morning, NDP Leader Rachel Notley held event Saturday night Song unveilings and “Super Saturday” — Alberta’s provincial election season kicked into high gear with campaign-style rallies this weekend, even though the writ won’t officially be issued until Monday. Though the United Conservative Party and the Alberta New Democrats have, in effect, been campaigning for weeks, Monday will bring a new urgency to the contest as both parties will have less than 30 days remaining to convince Albertans they are best positioned to form the nextRead more
Lobster fishers set traps off Covehead, P.E.I., with Fiona still on their minds
It’s easy to see how the storm damaged the wharf, but how it affected the lobsters is uncertain In many ways, Saturday was like any other setting day for lobster fishers at Covehead Harbour, P.E.I. The seagulls lurked overhead and the familiar smell of saltwater and fresh bait cut through a crisp spring breeze. There was some good-natured teasing as the captain and deck hands heaved the 50-pound (23-kilogram) traps onto the boats over and over until there was just enough room to squeeze themselves in before starting the engines andRead more
Canadians forced to cope with stress and heat while waiting for Sudan rescue flight
Gamiela Elsied told CBC News Network that conditions at Sudan military airport ‘not very great’ A woman trying to get out of Sudan described a stressful atmosphere at a military airport as she and others coped with hot weather, dwindling cellphone batteries and other challenges as they waited on Friday for an expected Canadian flight out of the country. “Conditions here are not very great,” said Gamiela Elsied, a Sudanese Canadian who made a treacherous trip to the airport, located north of the capital Khartoum, two days ago and spoke to CBC News Network onRead more
Government submits new offer to striking federal union
PSAC says it hopes to bargain through the weekend The federal government presented a counter-offer Friday afternoon to striking Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) members. Details of the offer have not been released but it covers the larger Treasury Board group of about 120,000 workers. Talks are ongoing for the Canada Revenue Agency group of more than 35,000 workers, the union said in an email. In a statement, the office of Treasury Board President Mona Fortier called the offer “comprehensive.” A union spokesperson told CBC the two sides are talking FridayRead more
Social workers need permission to access parents’ medical records: B.C. Appeal Court
Court gives B.C. government 1 year to bring law into constitutional compliance The B.C. Court of Appeal has struck down a section of the province’s child protection legislation that allowed social workers to access a parent’s medical records without their consent, a search warrant or a court order. A three-judge panel said a section of B.C.’s Child, Family and Community Service Act is unconstitutional, finding the legislation lacked safeguards to protect parents’ deeply personal medical information. The ruling, posted Monday, says the act allowed child welfare workers with the Ministry of Children andRead more
Luge athlete claims life-altering Whistler head injury was culmination of coach’s ‘selfish’ abuse
Garrett Reid, 19, claims coach bullied him for diminished performance after suffering head injury in crash An athlete who was left with a long list of “catastrophic” injuries after a run at the Olympic luge track in Whistler, B.C., more than three years ago has filed a lawsuit claiming the incident was the culmination of years of harassment, bullying and hazing by a coach who put his own goals over a teenager’s safety. Garrett Reid, now 19, has claimed coach Matthew McMurray was abusive towards him while he was racing for the national NextGen team in 2018Read more
‘Disgusting’: Husband of N.S. mass shooting victim outraged after theft from memorial park
2 steel beams were to be used at Heart’s Haven Memorial Park for Heather O’Brien, Kristen Beaton The husband of one of the victims of the Nova Scotia April 2020 mass shooting is disgusted and disheartened after two steel beams were stolen from a memorial park in Debert, N.S., earlier this month. Nick Beaton, the husband of Kristen Beaton who died during the shootings, said the beams were going to be used to construct a bridge in Heart’s Haven Memorial Park. The six-hectare park serves as a memorial for both Kristen and HeatherRead more
Man dies in avalanche in closed-off area of Lake Louise resort
RCMP said victim was 21 years old A man died Saturday after he and two others were caught in an avalanche in a closed-off area of Lake Louise Ski Resort. In a statement, the resort in Banff National Park said the avalanche happened around 2:20 p.m. in the West Bowl area. When crews arrived at the scene, they determined that a group entered the closed-off area and triggered a size 3 avalanche. None of the people were wearing avalanche safety equipment, the resort said. According to AHS EMS, three people were buriedRead more
Canada’s inflation rate cools to 4.3% in March
Bank of Canada is forecasting rate to hit 3 per cent in a few months Canada’s inflation rate decelerated to 4.3 per cent in March, down from 5.2 per cent the previous month and also down to the lowest level since August of 2021. The cooling of the inflation rate was in line with what economists were expecting. Statistics Canada reported Tuesday that gasoline prices fell by 13.8 per cent in the year up to March, which is the fastest decline in the price of gas since July of 2020.Read more
Slow, unreliable and pricey: CRTC gets earful about northern internet
CRTC is holding hearings in Whitehorse through the week Slow and spotty connections, prolonged outages, high prices and few options for service providers. Those were some problems with northern internet that intervenors expressed to the Canadian telecommunications regulator at a hearing Monday on telecommunications in the North. “It’s mostly the Indigenous people who don’t have [internet] services,” Brenda Norris, who directs an Indigenous family internet initiative for the Native Women’s Association of the NWT, told the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). “There’s a certain unfairness in the fact that theseRead more