WestCentral

The Federal Court has approved a multi-billion-dollar class-action settlement for people who suffered abuse at federally run 'Indian hospitals' following out-of-court negotiations between Ottawa and Indigenous survivors.

The federal government ran 33 such hospitals between 1936 and 1981. The total compensation amount is expected to be between $3 billion and $5.3 billion.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Thursday that a 49-year-old Canadian has died while in its custody.

A detainee death notice from the agency, commonly known as ICE, said that Johnny Noviello was pronounced dead by the Miami Fire Rescue Department at 1:36 p.m. on June 23.

The agency said he was found unresponsive at 12:54 p.m. at a federal detention centre where he was being held pending deportation proceedings. Medical staff attempted CPR and defibrillation but were unsuccessful, the agency said.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders enter Saturday’s Week 4 matchup against the BC Lions with a perfect 3-0 record good for first place in the CFL West — but they’ll need a win to stay ahead of the surging Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who moved to 3-0 with a 36-23 win over Edmonton on Thursday night.

The Roughriders have a big question mark entering the game. Quarterback Trevor Harris was once again listed as questionable on Thursday's team injury report with a head/illness issue. Seven Roughriders are already listed as out for the game, including receiver Samuel Emilus. 

A substantial amount of rainfall for west-central Saskatchewan was detailed in the Ministry of Agriculture's crop report for June 17-23. 

Approximately 300 copper-served customers in Kindersley have been experiencing SaskTel service outages this week, that according to the crown corporation in an update shared Thursday afternoon.

A Tisdale settlement worker told a Saskatchewan courtroom this week that she had serious concerns about the safety and immigration status of a woman at the centre of a human trafficking case, describing the referral she received as highly unusual and troubling.

Jody Campbell (Armstrong), a settlement advisor with Northeast Newcomer Services in Tisdale, testified she was contacted in early March 2023 by Saskatchewan MLA Hugh Nerlien, who asked her to connect with the complainant. He cited possible employment and immigration issues but offered few details.

A wide load caused traffic disruptions west of Rosetown on Thursday morning after the semi hauling it ended up partially in the ditch.

The incident occurred before noon, a few miles west of town, as a semi-truck pulling a large building sank into the soft shoulder, blocking much of the highway in the process. The circumstances leading up to the incident have not been confirmed, but the load’s size and weight posed a challenge for recovery crews.

Saskatchewan MLA Doug Steele says he was concerned for a woman’s safety but never contacted police, even as concerns mounted around her immigration status, working conditions and alleged mistreatment by her employers.

Steele testified this week in a human trafficking trial involving two accused men, Mohammad Masum and Sohel Haider, both arrested in June 2023. Masum faces additional charges of sexual assault. The complainant’s identity is protected by a publication ban.

Four people are facing multiple firearms-related charges following a police investigation into suspicious activity near a downtown Lloydminster business.

Lloydminster RCMP say they responded around 9 p.m. on June 18 after receiving a report of several individuals behaving suspiciously. Officers located four people matching the caller’s description and determined they were in possession of firearms.

Three of the individuals were arrested without incident at the scene, while a fourth was located later in Onion Lake, Sask.

After escaping police last week, Donny Gurney is in custody.

Swift Current Rural RCMP say they arrested Gurney earlier today in Swift Current.

They also recovered the stolen 2005 F350 truck they found him in on June 19th.

The incident started with a report of a stolen 2005 F350 in the RM of Swift Current at 8:00 AM last Thursday.

Police said their investigation determined that someone broke into two buildings on a rural property and stole the truck.