Inquiry must be called to get answers on sand mine scandal

It’s pretty clear by now that an inquiry should be called into the Sio Silica scandal.

Ethics Commissioner Jeffrey Schnoor released his long-awaited report into the matter this week. He found that former premier Heather Stefanson, then deputy premier Cliff Cullen and then economic development minister Jeff Wharton, violated the province’s Conflict of Interest Act by attempting to approve a licence for a controversial silica sand mining project after their government was defeated in the Oct. 3, 2023 provincial election.

All three ministers pushed to have a Class 2 licence under the Environment Act approved for Sio Silica, days before the new NDP government was sworn into office.

They did so even though they knew, or ought to have known, that it violated the “caretaker convention,” a longstanding constitutional principle in Canada that prohibits governments from making major policy decisions once a general election is called (unless it’s related to an urgent matter of public importance).

Alberta, Ottawa spending $7 million to fund six new urban wildfire teams

STRATHMORE - Nearly $7 million in provincial and federal spending will create six teams of urban wildfire crews, Alberta's public safety minister announced Friday.

Speaking in Strathmore, Alta., Mike Ellis told a news conference that having six more teams means Alberta will have up to eight specialized crews that can respond to fires threatening communities.

"We've witnessed the immense destruction wildfires can cause at home and in other parts of the world," Ellis said.

"That's why we're focused on building more skilled, specialized and ready to deploy teams that can work to ensure communities, businesses and critical infrastructure are protected in the event of a wildfire."

Leadership issues dominate opening session of teachers’ union AGM

Manitoba teachers want answers about how their top union officials plan to bring about stability at their Portage Avenue headquarters after “a rough year.”

More than 330 delegates are registered to take part in the 106th annual general meeting of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society this week.

Formal proceedings kicked off Thursday morning with an impromptu debate related to the organization being without a permanent executive director to oversee the day-to-day operations of supporting 16,600 members.

Three different people have served in that role over the last 18 months, a period during which MTS has grappled with infighting and low morale among support staff, as well as multiple workplace investigations.

Bloc Québécois files legal challenge of Terrebonne riding results after one-vote loss

TERREBONNE - The Bloc Québécois says it has filed a Superior Court challenge to overturn the election results in the federal riding of Terrebonne after losing by one vote.

In a news release, the party says there is doubt about who won the riding in the April 28 federal election because a mail-in vote from a Bloc supporter was returned to the sender.

Elections Canada has admitted that a misprint on an envelope used to mail a special ballot from Terrebonne led to one Bloc voter's ballot being returned to her.

Liberal candidate Tatiana Auguste initially won the riding, but it flipped to Bloc candidate Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné after the votes went through a validation process.

Picking buffaloberries and electric fences: how wildlife is being managed ahead of G7

OTTAWA - There surely won't be lions or tigers at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta., next month, and officials are doing their best to keep bears away, too.

As many as 5,000 participants are set to descend on the area in a few weeks, and officials are already working to install security barriers and clear out the area of anything that might attract bears to keep both people, and the animals, safe.

Earlier this week more than 200 local kids began plucking buffaloberry bushes around Kananaskis in an effort to detract bears from venturing into the area.

The bright red berries are quite popular with bears.

A stabbing at Hamburg’s central train station causes multiple injuries. A woman is arrested

BERLIN (AP) — A stabbing attack at the busy central train station in the German city of Hamburg left multiple people injured, some of them in life-threatening condition, authorities said. A woman was arrested as the suspect.

The attacker targeted people on the platform between tracks 13 and 14 in the station at around 6 p.m., according to police. The station in downtown Hamburg, Germany’s second-biggest city, is a major hub for local, regional and long-distance trains.

Police said that "several” people had life-threatening injuries, but didn't give specific figures. Late Friday evening, Hamburg's fire service said that 17 people were hurt in total — four of them with life-threatening injuries, another six with serious injuries and seven with light injuries, German news agency dpa reported.

Police said a 39-year-old woman, a German national, was arrested at the scene without putting up resistance and that they believe after watching video footage that she acted alone. They secured the knife.

Strike threat could push more customers away from struggling Canada Post

MONTREAL - Canada Post customers may face delays as tens of thousands of workers swear off overtime shifts, though a much bigger disruption was averted after the union backed down from a strike threat.

Nonetheless, the possibility of escalating job action could continue to scare off customers who pulled their shipments over the past couple of weeks, draining more business from the cash-strapped organization.

“I’m scared for the future,” said Edmonton mail carrier Dustin Ellis, who recently went on leave to study for a new career in social work.

He said the union should show more flexibility on key sticking points such as part-time weekend work and "dynamic routing" — where the path carriers take can vary day to day.

Canadians warned to prepare for hurricanes regardless of how many storms are forecast

HALIFAX - As the Atlantic hurricane season is about to start, a senior Environment Canada meteorologist says experts are predicting another active year for tropical storms.

But Bob Robichaud at the Canadian Hurricane Centre in Halifax said Friday the actual impact on Canada is impossible to forecast. That's because there's no telling where these storms will go once they form over the ocean.

"Although we can predict the level of activity, we can't necessarily predict ... if any will make landfall and what the impacts might be," he told an online briefing. "Sometimes, you can have a very active season, but the storm track keeps most of the storms offshore."

As an example, he said last year's very active season produced 18 named storms — 11 of them hurricanes — but only one storm, Ernesto, made it into the so-called Canadian response zone and it didn't cause much of a fuss by staying offshore.

Demonstrators demand overpass at dangerous Carberry intersection

CARBERRY — More than 150 people stood near the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5 to denounce the preferred option for a redesign of the intersection in response to a collision two years ago that killed 17 people.

They carried signs that read “safety not shortcuts,” and “how many more accidents before they listen.” The group opposes a U-turn option, which is called an RCUT.

Jordan Dickson, 31, one of the organizers, said the RCUT model isn’t safe for the farmers and truckers who live in the area.

“There’s hundreds, if not thousands of trucks … plus all the other everyday passenger traffic coming through here,” she said.

‘Under a microscope’: Cottagers call for wildfire management plans after fatal fires

WINNIPEG - Cottage owners and disaster prevention experts in Manitoba are urging governments to develop comprehensive wildfire management plans after a pair of devastating wildfires.

Close to 1,000 people were forced from their homes last week as a wildfire near the Rural Municipality of Lac du Bonnet, spurred by dry, hot and windy conditions, burned nearby.

The quick-moving fire, which is currently being held, destroyed 28 homes and cottages and left two people dead.

"The whole emergency plan for every municipality should be under a microscope review right now," said Brad Wood, a Winnipeg firefighter whose cottage was destroyed.

RCMP, city police brace for ‘largest domestic security operation’ as G7 summit nears

OTTAWA - RCMP and local police say security planning is well underway for next month's G7 summit in Alberta.

Officials told The Canadian Press they're expecting protesters and are taking steps to deal with new technological threats, such as the weaponization of drones.

David Hall, Alberta RCMP superintendent and event security director for the G7 Integrated Safety and Security Group, told The Canadian Press the G7 is "the largest domestic security operation" a country can take on.

"It is a large undertaking in terms of the security footprint," he said, adding that the RCMP is responsible for protecting the heads of the delegations and the safety and security of the summit.

More than half of Canadians say they understand Alberta separatism: poll

OTTAWA - A new poll suggests more than half of Canadians say they understand why Alberta might want to split from Canada — even if almost two-thirds say they don't want that to happen.

The Leger survey, which polled 1,537 Canadians between May 16 and 18, suggests that 55 per cent of Canadians understand Albertans' desire for independence.

Because the poll was conducted online, it can't be assigned a margin of error.

Seventy per cent of Albertans said they understand why their province might want to become an independent country.

Crowns to get training to help prosecute hate crimes

Manitoba Crown attorneys will receive enhanced training on the prosecution of hate crimes as part of a national effort to crack down on racism, discrimination and violence against marginalized groups.

The federal and provincial governments are providing $95,000 for the program, which follows the recent arrests of two Winnipeg men charged with separate hate-related offences.

“The impact of a hate crime is significant in a number of different ways. If you are a member of the targeted group, it involves the deep, personal injury of being made to feel this is not a place for you,” said Crown prosecutor Ami Kotler, a member of the working group of provincial attorneys who handle hate crime cases.

“The occurrence of hate crimes… corrodes the bonds that hold communities together; it normalizes perspectives and approaches that can never be allowed.”

Christian Monnin, ou la chance d’un esprit de famille

Christian Monnin a été nommé juge à la Cour du Banc du Roi pour le Manitoba au début du mois de mars, un évènement fortement symbolique au regard de son histoire familiale.

Symbolique, et sûrement unique au Manitoba. Comme son grand-père, Alfred, mais aussi son père, Michel, et également son oncle, Marc, Christian Monnin, ancien président de la Société de la francophonie manitobaine (SFM), est devenu lui aussi juge à la Cour du Banc du Roi.

Si c’est une fonction sur laquelle il serait pour lui difficile de se prononcer en début de carrière, une question s’avère pourtant légitime: le monde dans lequel a grandi Christian Monnin a-t-il pu influer sur ses envies et ses aspirations?

“Il y a d’évidence une question de socialisation, qui s’applique à toutes les familles,” note tout d’abord Christian Monnin. “La première fois que j’ai assisté à une cérémonie d’assermentation, c’était celle de mon grand-père il y a 42 ans, quand il est devenu juge en chef du Manitoba. Je devais avoir 8 ou 9 ans. Ça a été impressionnant, en tant que jeune, de voir cette cérémonie, tout ce monde qui était présent. Je n’ai bien sûr rien décidé à ce moment-là, mais la carrière de juriste a toujours été quelque chose qui mijotait en moi.”

Increase in sextortion cases prompts call for legislation to combat predators

The spike in online sextortion cases in Winnipeg has alarmed police and augmented advocates’ calls for Canada to begin regulating social media platforms to help protect children from predators.

Increasingly sophisticated deepfake AI-generated political ads threaten to unravel Canada’s social order

Increasingly sophisticated deepfake AI-generated internet political ads threaten to unravel Canada’s social order, experts warn, pointing to the successful war on truth U.S. President Donald Trump is waging south of the border.

Despite ease of digital media, candidates still rely on old-fashioned campaign lawn signs

When the federal election was called last month, candidates across Canada quickly arranged to have lawn signs printed and placed in willing supporters’ yards. Does all of the the planning, care and consideration that go into such an old-fashioned aspect of the democratic process pay off in the end?

Truth, lies and videotape

As an old warhorse journalist whose biases have always skewed toward rabid dislike of anyone who tries to control the media, my biases are working overtime right now.

‘Special to the world’: Supporters hope to save beloved Drumheller dinosaur

DRUMHELLER - A plan to send Tyra the tyrannosaurus, the popular tourist attraction that towers over the skyline in Drumheller, Alta., into proverbial extinction has sparked demands that she be spared.

The town of 8,400 northeast of Calgary bills itself as the Dinosaur Capital of the World. Home to the famed Royal Tyrrell Museum, the community also has statues of dinosaurs that look like they've crawled out of "The Flintstones" cartoon greeting people on the streets.

There's an extinct reptile riding a motorcycle. A triceratops in a frilly dress sits on a bus bench. Another dinosaur wearing a fireman's hat and holding a hose is poised outside a fire station.

The biggest is Tyra, standing across from the intersection of Gorgosaurus Street and Tyrannosaurus Drive near a visitor information centre. A nearby ice cream stand offers fossils, T-shirts and dino toys.

Runway show focuses on treasures, not trash

Some of Manitoba’s best-known public figures — including radio host Ace Burpee, activist Mitch Bourbonniere and politician Nahanni Fontaine — walk the catwalk in a fashion show at 109 Higgins Ave. tonight.

Global extremism, as close as your keyboard

An arrest in Winnipeg has provided yet another reminder of just how much extremist attitudes have spread across the world.

Conservative MPs beat Liberals, NDP on online engagement, study finds

OTTAWA - A new study from McGill University says Conservative MPs far outpace their Liberal and NDP counterparts in online engagement, partly due to the their voices being amplified on X.

The report from McGill’s Media Ecosystem Observatory found in 2024, online posts from federal Conservative MPs garnered 61 per cent more engagement — likes, shares and comments — than those from Liberal and NDP MPs combined.

It found that engagement with Conservative politicians on X has increased 52 per cent since Elon Musk, a key ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, took over the platform previously known as Twitter in 2022.

The report looked at online posts from all members of Parliament on Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and TikTok between January 2022 and November 2024.