HighRiver

Legendary Alberta stuntman and animal wrangler John Scott says he was always better at faking stunts on a horse for the big screen than doing the real ones at rodeos.

His skills made it to Hollywood movie sets and later helped him teach actors Brad Pitt and Jackie Chan the ways of the saddle on his ranch near Longview in southern Alberta.

"(Chan) had never been on a horse, but after 15 days he looked like he had been on a horse forever," Scott said of Chan in the 2000 film "Shanghai Noon."

The newly created Build Canada Homes agency will oversee plans to build 4,000 homes on six federally owned sites, as part of a $13 billion agency budget to speed up affordable home building, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday. 

Carney said that the $13 billion will offer financial incentives for builders to construct affordable homes and reduce upfront costs of affordable homebuilding.

Specific locations for the homes have not yet been announced, but Carney said they will be in Dartmouth, N.S., Longueuil, Que., Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg and Edmonton.

Members of Parliament are gearing up for their return to the House of Commons in what's expected to be a busy fall. 

Here is a look at some of the things to watch for as Parliament gets underway this week.

The budget

The Liberal government took some heat in the spring when it decided to delay the introduction of the federal budget, which is typically done in March or April, until this fall. 

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said his fiscal plan is set to be released in October. 

The federal government is in discussions with Alberta and the oil industry about the future of the sector's emissions cap, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said Friday.

At a news conference in Winnipeg, Hodgson didn't say if Ottawa plans to scrap the emissions cap, but said Alberta and industry agree with the federal government that there needs to be a "fundamental change in the emissions intensity of the oilsands."

 The Canadian Wheat Research Coalition (CWRC) has engaged Synthesis Agri-Food Network to review Canada’s wheat breeding innovation system in an effort to safeguard its ability to serve the evolving needs of Canadian farmers.

A review of the current wheat breeding landscape will help the CWRC identify and address potential risks and opportunities in the Canadian system while ensuring it continues to generate elite varieties for farmers across the country.

The latest report from the Canadian Crop Hail Association shows minor hailstorms are still damaging crops in Western Canada as harvest continues.

CCHA member companies are investigating 310 claims of crop damage from storms that occurred August 31-September 6. Companies are still assessing damage from the storms that occurred in late August.

“Adjusters are out in full force to complete hail claims quickly as harvest is in full swing across the prairies,” said Brian Bernauer, Rain and Hail Insurance Services.

According to the latest Crop Report, 42 per cent of the provincial crop has been harvested; that's ahead of the five-year average of 40 per cent and the ten-year average of 32 per cent. 

Roy Larsen, Director of the Statistics and Data Development Section with Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation, says regionally, the South leads with 52 per cent of all crops harvested, followed by the Northeast and Northwest both at 41 per cent. The Peace is at 38 per cent and Central at 31 per cent.” 

Brianna Elliot has been named the recipient of the 2025 Reg Schellenberg Next Generation Legacy Award, the honour recognizing outstanding leadership in the Canadian Cattle Young Leaders (CYL) Program. 

This award celebrates individuals who embody the values championed by the late Reg Schellenberg - humble leadership, a commitment to mentorship, a spirit of collaboration, and unwavering dedication to the Canadian cattle industry. 

The early-1960s revelation that British spy Kim Philby had worked for Moscow alarmed Canadian intelligence officials who feared that he had betrayed confidences gleaned from Soviet defector Igor Gouzenko, once-secret archival records show.

Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby was recruited by Russian intelligence in the 1930s. He joined Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, known as MI-6, during the Second World War, rising through the ranks to become a senior liaison officer in Washington from 1949 to 1951.

Former federal environment minister Catherine McKenna says the Justin Trudeau government's efforts to explain the consumer carbon price to Canadians were "half-hearted" — and just getting a meeting with the prime minister to discuss it "seemed impossible."

McKenna offers those behind-the-scenes details in her new autobiography, Run Like A Girl, which is being launched next week.