‘Too big to rig’: Alberta separation petition succeeds with 223K verified signatures

EDMONTON - A citizen-led petition seeking to force a vote on Alberta quitting Canada is officially successful.

Elections Alberta announced Friday it verified nearly 223,000 signatures out of almost 280,000 valid names counted. The petition needed almost 178,000 signatures to be successful.

Despite the result, the document is largely moot.

It was quashed in court in May, although the ruling is being appealed by those behind the petition campaign as well as by Premier Danielle Smith's government.

Inner City Youth Alive changes lives, one program at a time, in city's North End

Inner City Youth Alive has worked in Winnipeg's North End neighbourhood, running programs including a drop‑in centre, summer camps, school support and a wilderness program, for 40 years. The Free Press spent a day following the organization’s work.

Canada, UAE conclude negotiations on a free-trade agreement

OTTAWA - The governments of Canada and the United Arab Emirates say they have concluded negotiations on a free trade agreement.

International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu told a press conference in Toronto on Friday that the next steps include legal review, the signing of the deal and ratification.

"It's been a busy couple of days. We've been at it negotiating and we literally just walked out of the room with the final touches," Sidhu said.

Sidhu said the government has been working to expand its partnership with the UAE and that while the conflict in the Middle East delayed the start of negotiations, his team was determined to reach an agreement.

Ottawa acknowledges “lasting impact” of forced adoptions but offers no apology

TORONTO - The federal government acknowledged this week that forced adoptions had a lasting impact on people and families in Canada after the Second World War but stopped short of offering the public apology sought by advocates, including some affected by the practice.

A petition calling on Ottawa to formally apologize for taking part in the system garnered signatures from more than 600 people from across Canada and was tabled in the House of Commons in May.

The petition was created by Christine Nayler, a mother whose child was taken away decades ago, who also launched a national advocacy campaign called Canadians for a National Apology.

The group said in a statement this week that the "state-sanctioned" forced adoptions had a lifelong impact on mothers and their children, calling it “one of Canada’s largest human rights violations.”

Human toll of drug crisis hurts everyday citizens, too: biz leader

The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce has given a thumbs-up to the recent 10-day police crackdown on open drug use and trafficking downtown, and says governments should follow up the effort with a public safety strategy.

The chamber released a statement Friday that says the enforcement initiative, which began June 24, was required owing to the city’s growing safety concerns.

“Businesses, employees are scared to come to work. Businesses are talking to me about closing their doors,” said president and CEO Loren Remillard in an interview. “There’s a human toll being exacted through this crisis, and it’s not just on the homeless community.”

Remillard said the news release was issued weeks after the crackdown to allow for the dust to settle.

First Nation evacuees fleeing wildfire face safety risks in Toronto, leaders say

TORONTO - In a Toronto hotel off Highway 401, a bag check station screening for alcohol greets people in the lobby.

Cat Lake First Nation operations manager Derek Spence said it’s to limit drinking among residents who evacuated from the community north of Sioux Lookout, Ont., last week as wildfires closed in and downed power lines. Alcohol and drugs are much easier to come by in Toronto than the remote fly-in community residents call home, Spence explained.

Substance use and fears of suspicious people hanging around the hotel where Cat Lake residents are sheltering have been fuelling some residents’ desire to return home as soon as possible, even as nearly 180 wildfires continue to burn in Ontario’s north.

“It is a scary city for some people, and there (were) people hanging around here trying to abduct some of the ladies,” Spence said. “Someone's gonna get lost, someone's going to get hurt, someone's going to get killed.”

‘Existential’: Community papers struggling to survive amid Canada Post flyer delivery

MONTREAL - Community newspaper owners claim Canada Post is helping to drive some of them out of business thanks to an expanded partnership it forged with the country's largest printing firm.

Last month, the Crown corporation launched the countrywide rollout of a joint venture with Transcontinental Inc. known as Raddar, which saw Canada Post start delivering discount-deal leaflets in all 10 provinces.

Community newspapers have traditionally relied on flyer bundles to fund their publications, which are delivered free to millions of readers in urban and rural communities.

Paul Deegan, CEO of News Media Canada, which represents scores of community papers among the 550 news titles it advocates for, says those outlets are now losing ad clients after being undercut by a government-backed enterprise. The revenue loss threatens to shutter news outlets and leave residents less informed about their communities, he said.

Critics accuse Ottawa of ignoring human rights as it signs trade deal with Ecuador

OTTAWA - Critics are accusing Ottawa of prioritizing trade over human rights by signing a free trade deal with Ecuador.

International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu and Ecuador's minister of production, foreign trade and investment Luis Alberto Jaramillo took part in a signing event in Ottawa on Friday.

A Global Affairs Canada news release issued Friday said the event marks an "important milestone in Canada's efforts to diversify trade and create new opportunities for Canadian businesses."

"It also reflects Canada and Ecuador’s shared commitment to strengthening their trade and investment relationship and bringing the agreement into force as soon as possible," said the release.

In an apartment above the Sherbie, famous local artists line the walls

Directly above the West Broadway vendor and noisy bar now known as the Kyoto Kat Club, amid a primly kept wardrobe and dirty coffee mugs, Josh Peterson’s bachelor suite is bursting with coveted Manitoba art.

Cab companies hailed for improved Indigenous relations

Three taxi drivers have been fired and others suspended without pay since a zero-tolerance policy for mistreatment of Indigenous passengers was implemented by Winnipeg’s two largest cab companies.

Giant metal roosters spread autism acceptance in Maine after town zoning spat

OGUNQUIT, Maine (AP) — Giant metal roosters are popping up on lawns in and around a community in southern Maine and as far away as New Zealand in support of a 6-year-old autistic girl and her love of the colorful creations.

David and Sara LeBlanc had a rotating display of the roughly 6-foot-tall (1.8-meter-tall) ornaments decorating their Ogunquit lawn until officials in the small coastal town deemed them to be impermissible advertising for their attached restaurant, The Omelette Factory.

The couple initially resisted the town's removal order, insisting the roosters were meant to comfort their daughter Pyper, not advertise their business.

“Roosters don’t lay eggs,” David LeBlanc told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Carney says ‘everything’s on the table’ for tariff retaliation against United States

CHARLOTTETOWN - Prime Minister Mark Carney says "everything's on the table" if Canada can't secure a deal to avoid a dramatic escalation in U.S. tariffs planned for next month.

Carney was asked Thursday what measures his government is considering in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose 50 per cent tariffs on a variety of Canadian goods.

While the prime minister said Canada has a "full range" of options, he refused to identify specific measures Ottawa could take in retaliation if Trump’s new tariffs come into force.

“It would be counterproductive at this stage to respond in advance. But it’s important to know what your options are, to have worked it through,” Carney said.

A foodborne parasite and government efficiency

Week-long explosive diarrhea. There. Now that we’ve got your attention, here’s a cautionary tale about red-tape reduction and public health.

Small business group says immigration cut makes it tough to hire workers

Canada’s immigration clampdown has put employers in remote and rural places in a bind and put fear into employees from abroad who want to stay.

Yi (Rick) Zheng and his family from China, who’ve been working in Thompson for two years and hope to gain permanent residency, said they fear their work permits will expire and they’ll have to leave the country.

Zheng, 41, says he works as a restaurant cook and his wife works at a hotel in the northern city, where their two children, ages 10 and 12, are thriving in school.

“I work very hard every day. Our kitchen doesn’t have enough staff.”

Winnipeg-developed new app Hostly seeks to bring community together

Stephen Hua enjoys making connections.

“That’s my calling or my passion here, so to speak: to find ways to bring people together and plan events,” he said.

Over the last 25 years, Hua has pursued that passion as a live events promoter and restaurateur in Winnipeg. He’s the founder of the annual electronic music festival Summer of Sound, he’s organized local concerts by major musical acts such as Drake and Lady Gaga, and he co-owns Commonwealth Kitchen and Bar on Main Street.

Now, Hua is helping people make connections via a new app.

Manitoba Premier Kinew ‘willing to entertain’ Alberta to Ontario pipeline

CHARLOTTETOWN - Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said Wednesday he's open to a west-east pipeline being pitched by his counterparts in Alberta and Ontario.

Kinew, speaking to reporters at a meeting of premiers in Charlottetown, said the pipeline could make Canada stronger and that there are workers in his province who would be eager to help build it.

"I love Alberta, I love Albertans, so (I'm) willing to entertain the idea," he said.

The pipeline proposal was announced earlier this month by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

New graphic images are rolling out on cigarette packs in Canada. Could more be done?

TORONTO - A baby swarmed by smoke. A toilet of bloody urine. A cancerous colon.

These are among the new series of 13 graphic images that are required to be printed on cigarette packages across Canada by Aug. 1.

This is the fourth set of warnings mandated by Health Canada since 2000, aiming to reduce tobacco use to less than 5 per cent by 2035.

According to the federal health agency’s latest projections, Canada appears on track to reach that goal. Tobacco use was down to an estimated 13 per cent in 2024, compared to 29 per cent in 2001. Approximately 300,000 Canadians who smoked in 2023 quit in 2024.

Climate change? It’s already here

Winnipeg’s roads are buckling. Ontario forests are burning. Toronto chokes on wildfire smoke. The summer heat dome in Europe has already killed thousands. Climate change is not some future dystopian vision. It’s right here, right now. And the cause is crystal clear: burning fossil fuels.