Call comes from diverse groups including Canadian Chamber of Commerce, local governments and researchers A broad coalition on climate adaptation and disaster resilience says air conditioning should become a human right on par with winter heating — one of a series of hard targets it says Canada needs to meet in the next few years as climate change impacts increase. “We’re focusing on the immediate term,” said Blair Feltmate, head of the University of Waterloo’s Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation. “What is still missing with the federal government is aRead more

Comments arose during a panel discussion of police accountability The chairman of Nova Scotia’s mass shooting inquiry has raised concerns that budget constraints could tether investigations by the watchdog agency that oversees complaints against the RCMP. Michael MacDonald asked participants in an online roundtable discussion in Dartmouth, N.S., Wednesday whether funding concerns are a “blatant affront” to the independence of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP. While the oversight agency has the power to start its own inquiries, agency chairperson and panel member Michelaine Lahaie confirmed she must send aRead more

Number of veterans seeking reimbursement for medical pot grew from 100 in 2014 to more than 18,000 last year An internal audit by Veterans Affairs Canada suggests the federal government has all but lost control as it shells out hundreds of millions of dollars for veterans’ medical marijuana each year without proper oversight, direction or evidence of health benefits. Quietly published this week, the audit’s results come amid an explosion in the number of veterans seeking reimbursement for their medical pot, from around 100 in 2014 to more than 18,000Read more

Duncan’s First Nation using arguments similar to those used successfully last year by B.C. group A northern Alberta First Nation has filed what experts say is the province’s first lawsuit claiming cumulative effects from industry, agriculture and settlement are so pervasive, they violate the band’s treaty rights. Duncan’s First Nation, southwest of Peace River, a town located about 500 kilometres north of Edmonton, alleges the province has permitted so much activity and sold off so much Crown land that band members can only live their constitutionally guaranteed way of life withRead more

Eight schools have officially joined the board. Students of any background can attend Lauren Wallingham and her daughter Leah walk on a wooded path from their home in Whitehorse to Takhini Elementary School, where Leah is beginning Grade 2. Leah says she’s nervous to meet her new teacher — but something else is new at the school this year, as well. Eight schools in the Yukon, including Leah’s, have officially joined the First Nation School Board — the first of its kind in Canada — after a historic referendum vote last January. NowRead more

Myles Sanderson was ordered to stay away from alcohol, drugs Long before he became the main suspect in a mass killing and the subject of a multi-province alert, Myles Sanderson had a history of explosive violence, according to Parole Board of Canada documents from February of this year. Sanderson’s contacts with the criminal justice system span more than two decades. As an adult, he racked up 59 convictions for assault, assault with a weapon, uttering threats, assaulting a police officer and robbery. Roughly half of the offences were for breaches or failure toRead more

Female undercover officers befriended protesters acting as ‘security’ for Coutts border blockade Newly released records show police believed the Alberta men now accused of plotting to murder RCMP officers debated having two women smuggle a hockey bag filled with guns into a protest against pandemic-related restrictions, suggesting they would go unnoticed by police because they were “girls.” However, those two women were actually undercover police officers. The next day, RCMP launched a rare “imminent harm” wiretap, which is permitted to be executed without a judge’s sign-off when there is an immediateRead more

Critics also worried domestic abuse survivors with new names are at risk Some teachers initially included in a new provincial registry say the government’s publication of all their legal names could lead to discrimination, harassment and safety issues. When the government’s new teacher registry went live last week, Calgary teacher, consultant and PhD student Jamie Anderson found an unwelcome surprise — his birth name, listed underneath his legal name. Anderson is trans. His former name is a legal identity he no longer uses. “Being outed and people having access to thatRead more

‘Whole cities, beautiful, one-of-a-kind cities are under water,’ B.C. businessman says Hours after returning to Canada from Pakistan, a Calgary businessman said he got word floodwaters hit the same area where he had been helping people with disabilities move out of the way of the impending deluge. Mohammad Farhan operates multiple charities and orphanages across Pakistan through his organization, House of Dreams. He said his team on the ground in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa called to tell him they had just watched a nearby hotel get inundated. “ARead more

Restoring Hidden Lake is a feat of conservation that Parks Canada worked on for more than a decade For the first time in 50 years, westslope cutthroat trout are swimming in Hidden Lake again — a feat of conservation that Parks Canada experts have worked on for more than a decade to achieve. Nestled high up in the Skoki Valley of Banff National park, specialists laboured through trial and error to restore habitat ideal for Alberta’s native, and at-risk, westslope cutthroat trout. This summer, thousands of fishlings strong enough to survive in theRead more