B.C. police investigating reports of needles in Halloween candy in two cities

Clay Stevenson credits therapeutic side of hockey in learning to live with mother’s suicide

Hockey has always been more than just a game to Clay Stevenson. That was especially true after he suffered the biggest loss of his life: his mother, Holly, died by suicide seven years ago.

Separation is dead, now Canada must unite

The overwhelming majority of Albertans sent a message that should put any serious campaign to break up the country on the back burner for a very long time.

Monday’s referendum was a resounding endorsement of Confederation, with roughly 75 per cent of voters rejecting the call for a second, binding referendum on separation. Only about 25 per cent supported taking the next step toward leaving Canada.

That’s not a close call. It’s a thumping of the separatist movement in Alberta.

There will always be a small minority of Albertans who want out of Canada, just as there will always be a minority of Quebecers who want to separate.

B.C. police investigating reports of needles in Halloween candy in two cities

Police in two British Columbia cities are investigating multiple reports of sewing needles or pins being found in children’s Halloween candy.

A statement from Prince George RCMP says several families in the area of Bittner Road West and Bachinski Crescent reported finding the sharp objects in mini chocolate bars and bagged gummy candy.

There have been no reports of injuries but the Mounties are urging parents to have another look at their kids’ candy.

Delta police say in a separate statement that officers are investigating after a parent reported their child had opened a candy bar and found a sewing needle protruding from one end.

Winnipeg: Home of IG’s past and future

Shortly after IG Wealth Management was established in Canada, our founders chose Winnipeg as the home of our young, ambitious company.

Renters get break from proposed hikes

A call from Premier Wab Kinew’s office reduced Aidan Wilson to tears Monday after learning tenants of a West Broadway apartment no longer face hundreds of dollars in rent increases next month.

“It’s been a lot to deal with, it’s a lot to push for, and it’s a lot to speak up. All of these emotions just kind of came flooding out,” Wilson, who lives in the building, said Tuesday afternoon at a news conference alongside Kinew.

The premier announced that renters facing massive hikes on Nov. 1 — some exceeding 100 per cent — will no longer be forced to pay the increases before they are approved by the Residential Tenancies Branch, following a policy change announced by the province.

The move comes after tenants at eight Winnipeg apartment buildings owned by Alberta-based Wingspan Properties pushed back against proposed rent increases of between 54 and 125 per cent, arguing they should have the opportunity to challenge the hikes before being required to pay them.

Katz ‘violated public trust,’ Sheegl lacked ‘moral compass,’ police HQ inquiry commissioner concludes

The final report from the public inquiry into the scandal-plagued Winnipeg Police Service headquarters construction project concludes that former mayor Sam Katz and former city CAO Phil Sheegl broke public trust and engaged in unethical conduct.

And the report, released Monday by inquiry commissioner Garth Smorang, says the cost of the project — transforming a downtown Canada Post office tower and warehouse into the police HQ — soared, in part, because main contractor Caspian Projects overcharged the city by more than $40 million in expenses.

The project’s initial $135-million initial price tag rose to about $209 million in the end. The city purchased the complex in 2009; construction was completed in 2016.

Smorang’s report concludes Katz “violated the public trust” and council code of conduct, and Sheegl suffered from a “complete lack of a moral compass.”