Estevan

Saskatchewan is near the lead for Canada when it comes to retail trade, with Statistics Canada putting the province at the top compared to its peers.

The latest retail trade figures from Statistics Canada show that for June 2024 Saskatchewan placed second among all provinces for year-over-year growth.

In total figures, retail trade sales increased by 3.4 per cent in the month compared to 2023, totaling a $2.1 billion increase.

The Estevan TaeKwon-Do Club is gearing up for the new season, with classes set to begin on September 5.

Wayne Brown, a 7th-degree master and head instructor for Estevan TaeKwon-Do , shared that the season is divided into two sessions. Each session consists of 32 classes, with the first session running from September to January and the second session continuing until the end of May.

The federal government is intervening in a countrywide work stoppage at Canada's two biggest railways, but railworkers are pushing back against Ottawa's move to get them back on the job.

In the culmination of months of increasingly bitter negotiations, Canadian National Railway Co. and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. locked out 9,300 engineers, conductors and yard workers in the early hours of Thursday.

Here are the latest developments on the rail stoppage (all times are ET):

———

Get ready for a weekend filled with incredible music on The Canadian Country Showcase! We’ll be featuring Lawrence Maxwell from Prince Edward Island with his latest single, “What You See in Me,” and Savannah Jade, formerly of Five Roses, making her solo debut with the sassy new track, “He’s the One.” Plus, we’ll take a look back at this week in 2023 with a #1 hit from Jelly Roll.

Tune in to the Canadian Country Showcase on Saturdays at 12 PM and Sundays at 4 PM.

The fire ban previously imposed in the RM of Tecumseh #65 is no longer in effect.

The ban included any open burning, such as fire pits, fireworks, or burning of any garbage.

That ban was issued back on August 15.

The ongoing rail conflict between members of the Teamster's Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), CPKC, and CN Rail has had another development as the union is planning a strike.

This morning the TCRC issued a 72-hour strike notice which detailed that they would be withdrawing work for 6500 members from CN Rail beginning on Monday.

The union previously issued strike notices for CPKC, which will have workers remain off the job pending an order from the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

The ongoing rail conflict between members of the Teamster's Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), CPKC, and CN Rail has had another development as the union is planning a strike.

This morning the TCRC issued a 72-hour strike notice which detailed that they would be withdrawing work for 6500 members from CN Rail beginning on Monday.

The union previously issued strike notices for CPKC, which will have workers remain off the job pending an order from the Canada Industrial Relations Board.

Producers in the southeast are busy harvesting, desiccating and swathing, with 21 percent of the crop now in the bin so far. 

According to the weekly Crop Report from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture for the week of August 13th to 19th, this progress is in spite of some rain delays, and is ahead of the five-year average of 11 percent and 10-year average of 14 percent for the southeast region. 

The Carnduff RCMP is urging caution for the public after multiple reports of break-ins of properties and vehicles have come to their attention.

The incidents are currently under investigation.

Carnduff RCMP gave the following tips for people to avoid break-ins.

Heavy rainfall on Wednesday caused localized flooding in Estevan, affecting downtown businesses to varying degrees.

“I just opened up the basement at the top door, and it looks like somebody has come in and completely destroyed it,” said Laurel Buck, owner of A&A Jewelry and chair of the Downtown Business Association. “At first, it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, did somebody break in?’”

Buck estimated the flooding caused approximately $75,000 in damage to her business.