Humboldt

A lawyer for one of two leaders of the Freedom Convoy facing sentencing told an Ottawa court Wednesday her client should not be left with a criminal record.

Crown prosecutor Siobhain Wetscher said Wednesday she is seeking stiff sentences for convoy leaders Tamara Lich and Chris Barber because of the broad community harm caused by the three-week 2022 protest in Ottawa's downtown core.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe wrapped three days of meetings with his fellow premiers and Prime Minister Mark Carney Wednesday with a message he admitted he wouldn't have sent over the past decade.

"We can be proud of the work our federal government is doing, in fairness," Moe said.

Moe has been one of the federal Liberal government's most vocal critics in recent years — and criticism of Ottawa is usually guaranteed when provincial leaders gather.

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency issued the latest update on the wildfire situation in northern Saskatchewan on Wednesday afternoon. 

As of 11:00 am, there are 50 active wildfires in Saskatchewan. Of those active fires, four are categorized as contained, 14 are not contained, 14 are ongoing assessments, and 18 are listed as protecting values.   

77 new and enhanced full-time positions will be added by the Saskatchewan Government and the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) that will serve 30 communities in the province.  

Since 2022, 315 new and enhanced positions have been added as part of the provincial Health Human Resources Action Plan. 

According to the annual crime statistics from Statistics Canada, there has been an increase in firearms offences and violent crime across the province along with the number of victims continuing to climb. 

There were approximately 6,700 more victims of reported violent crime than 10 years ago – a 45 per cent increase within Saskatchewan RCMP jurisdiction.

Manitoba is continuing to work on growing the agri-food sector. 

Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn announced over $6 million in funding from the province and the federal government to increase food processing opportunities.

The announcement was made at Maple Leaf Foods in Brandon, one of the recipients of the funding. 

Maple Leaf's President of Pork Operations Dennis Organ says the investment will help modernize the Brandon pork facility with state-of-the-art equipment, improving reliability, efficiency and production quality. 

A new report commissioned by the Alberta government says the City of Medicine Hat has been hobbled for years by a hostile dysfunctional city hall and something must be done.

“The governance function of the city is ineffective and is characterized by rancour, suspicion and accusations,” stated the report, authored by Ian McCormack and released by the Alberta government on Monday.

New Beef Cattle Research Council chair at the U of M to focus on best environmental practices and economic viability

A new beef-focused research chair will soon begin work at the University of Manitoba.

The 10-year role has been named the BCRC Chair in Beef Cattle Economic Sustainability.

“I believe this is the fourth chair position that we’ve developed,” said Craig Lehr, chair of the BCRC’s producer council.

Now that the British government has vowed to lower its voting age to 16 by the next general election, one Canadian senator says it's past time for Canada to do the same.

The U.K. announced last week that it would lower its voting age from 18 to 16 in a bid to strengthen British democracy and restore trust in politics.

Sen. Marilou McPhedran said the issue has been her "top parliamentary priority" since she joined the Red Chamber. She said lowering the voting age to 16 would be good for democracy and that the only arguments against it are "based on stereotypes."

The recent announcement by BHP regarding a delay in production startup and phase 2 development has registered in one local community.  

The Town on Lanigan, in its “Lanigan Lowdown – Mayor's Snapshot” release to residents, acknowledges the recent announcement on shifts to the Jansen project. BHP has stated that production startup will revert to mid-2027 from its previously projected 2026 initial production. Also Stage 2 of the mine's construction is now targeted to 2031, two years later than forecast.