October, 2023
A northern Saskatchewan community is calling for help amid unrelenting violence
Pelican Narrows under state of emergency after killing of teen: ‘It’s crazy out there,’ elder says At 10 p.m., a blaring siren signals it’s time for people throughout Pelican Narrows to go home. Residents of the northern Saskatchewan community say it often precedes the sounds of gunshots. The siren is one action taken as part of a state of emergency that has been in effect for nearly a year in the approximately 2,173-person Pelican Narrows reserve, about 420 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon. That state of emergency has recently been expanded to the restRead more
Sask. would lead Canada in firefighter cancer coverage if bill passes
Sask. government announced in throne speech it wants to add 6 more cancers to WCB presumptive coverage Firefighters in Saskatchewan are thrilled that they may soon get the broadest cancer coverage in the country. The provincial government announced last week in its throne speech that it intends to table the Workers’ Compensation (Extending Firefighter Coverage) Amendment Act during the fall legislative sitting. If passed, the bill would add six types of cancer to the Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) presumptive cancer coverage. “It’s good to see that the provincial governmentRead more
Poilievre says Trudeau’s carbon tax pause is a ‘scam’ to win re-election
Conservative leader says home heating oil tax holiday does nothing to help Canadians using natural gas The prime minister’s decision to temporarily exempt home heating oil from the carbon tax is a “scam” designed to turn around Liberal fortunes in the polls, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Friday. “What caused [Prime Minister] Justin Trudeau to freak out yesterday and hold a sudden press conference to announce that he was going to pause the carbon tax on home heating oil? The answer is that he was plummeting in the polls,” PoilievreRead more
Accused RCMP leaker asked colleague to compile top-secret report on organized crime, jury hears
Cameron Ortis’s lawyers claim their client had the ‘authority’ to do everything that he did Former RCMP intelligence director Cameron Ortis asked a subordinate to compile a top-secret report on criminal organizations’ use of encrypted phones about a year before prosecutors say he leaked sensitive information to a Canadian accused of selling such devices, the jury in his trial heard earlier this week. Gregory O’Hayon worked under Ortis in a unit within the RCMP called operation research (OR), which was meant to brief senior leadership on emerging threats based on intelligenceRead more
Prison officials intervened to stop Paul Bernardo from making public statement
Bernardo’s transfer last spring to medium-security prison set off a political firestorm for the Liberals Newly released documents show that Correctional Service Canada stopped Paul Bernardo from having his lawyer make a statement to the media as controversy swirled around the notorious killer’s transfer to a medium-security prison. Bernardo was moved to La Macaza Institution, a medium-security prison about 190 kilometres northwest of Montreal, in late May from the maximum-security Millhaven Institution near Kingston, Ont. He is serving a life sentence for the kidnapping, sexual assault and murder of 15-year-oldRead more
5 dead, including 3 children, in intimate partner violence in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
Police say 44-year-old shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound WARNING: This story contains distressing details. Sault Ste. Marie police are investigating after a total of five people, including three children, were found dead at two homes in the northern Ontario city on Monday night. Police said in a news release they responded to a 911 call at 10:20 p.m. and found a 41-year-old dead of a gunshot wound at the 200 block of Tancred Street. Ten minutes later, officers responded to a second call, at a residence on Second Line East,Read more
Israelis living near Lebanon border fear Hezbollah may be about to join the war
Along Israel’s northern border, increasing Hezbollah attacks raise fears of a second front in the war On their fruit farm in Israel’s north, less than two kilometres from the border with Lebanon, brothers Nadav and Adam Ishach keep a grim souvenir of the last war that raged here. Back in 2006, a Katyusha rocket was fired onto their property in Betzet by Hezbollah, the powerful Iran-backed militia group that operates out of Lebanon and is again threatening war with Israel. The missile destroyed buildings and started a fire, but fortunately didn’tRead more
Palestinians in the GTA appeal to federal government to help loved ones flee Gaza
More than 4,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Hamas-run Health Ministry A group of Palestinians living in the GTA are appealing to the federal government to bring family members living in Gaza to Canada faster than standard immigration policies allow. Milton local and permanent resident Abdallah Alhamadni says they’re hoping Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will create a humanitarian pathway for Palestinians fleeing from the Israel-Hamas war, similar to those implemented for people escaping violence in places like Syria and Ukraine. “I have a great hope, it’s not impossible to do that,”Read more
RCMP tells owners to turn in guns after banned fully automatic model sold in Canada
Hundreds of firearms were misidentified as semi-automatic and sold commercially in Canada The RCMP has told owners to turn in what the force is calling fully automatic military surplus firearms after hundreds were misidentified and allowed into Canada for commercial sale. The Mounties say the registrar of firearms immediately froze records relating to the 245 prohibited guns after discovering the issue to prevent further sale or transfer of the firearms. The registrar believes three firearm businesses imported and registered the guns as semi-automatic Tavor X95s that are classified as restricted firearmsRead more
Judge grants more freedom to repatriated Canadian who married notorious ISIS fighter
Judge orders curfew, releases Dure Ahmed from house arrest The Ontario Court of Justice has granted more freedom to a Canadian woman repatriated in April from northeastern Syria who was married to a notorious ISIS militant. Dure Ahmed, who is now living in the Toronto area, was married to El Shafee Elsheikh, a member of an ISIS militant group known to its hostages as “the Beatles” because of their British accents. Elsheikh is serving multiple life sentences in an American supermax prison for his role in a hostage-taking scheme that ledRead more