The Canadian Press

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has shuffled one of his cabinet ministers and appointed a new one.

The change was necessitated by the death last week of Nello Altomare, who served as minister of education and early learning.

That role is being taken by Tracy Schmidt, the environment minister who also served as acting education minister after Altomare went on leave last fall.

With Schmidt in education, backbencher Mike Moyes has been appointed to cabinet and the environment portfolio.

Both Schmidt and Moyes were sworn-in at a private ceremony.

Mounties in Manitoba say six people from multiple countries were caught last week trying to illegally cross into Canada from the United States.

Police say the group was spotted from the air crossing the border on foot near Emerson on Jan. 14. 

Officers say some were not dressed for the freezing temperatures, and an ambulance was called to ensure their safety. 

The six were from Jordan, Sudan, Chad and Mauritania. 

They were put under arrest and transferred to the Canada Border Services Agency. 

Manitobans are going to pay a bit more for natural gas as well as propane used for home heating.

The province's Public Utilities Board has approved an increase for natural gas by Centra Gas as of Feb. 1.

The board says the annual bill for a typical residential customer will go up by roughly 2.6 per cent, or $15 a year.

It says the increase is being prompted by higher purchasing costs.

The board has also approved a hike in propane sold by Stittco for heating in Thompson, Flin Flon and Snow Lake that will start Feb. 1.

The Supreme Court of Canada will hear a challenge of Quebec's secularism law, setting up a final legal battle between the provincial government and minority and civil rights groups that say the legislation is discriminatory and unconstitutional.

The country's top court announced Thursday morning it has granted leave to appeal to several groups that oppose the law, which prohibits civil servants in positions of authority, including teachers and police officers, from wearing religious symbols on the job.

A defrocked Catholic priest pleaded guilty Thursday to indecent assaults against seven children decades ago in Nunavut.

Court heard Eric Dejaeger committed the offences between 1978 and 1982 at or near the hamlet of Igloolik. Six of the children were girls and one a boy. 

Prosecutor Emma Baasch described each of the assaults in graphic detail in the Nunavut Court of Justice.

In some cases, it began with the priest offering the children candy. Court heard Dejaeger gave a picture of Jesus to one girl to colour before taking her on his lap and assaulting her. 

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says he’s not straying from the Team Canada approach in responding to looming tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Moe and other premiers met virtually with the prime minister to discuss Trump's threat to slap 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods by Feb. 1, in response to concerns including border security.

Moe says he’s all for pushing back against the tariffs, if Trump follows through.

But the premier says he doesn’t want to see dollar-for-dollar counter-tariffs that would hurt Canadians and industry.

RCMP in Manitoba say residents near the U.S. border could start seeing and hearing Black Hawk helicopters on a regular basis as the national police force bolsters its presence in the area.

The first patrol flight took off a day before the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump on Monday. 

Trump had threatened to impose steep tariffs on Canadian goods on his first day back in office unless Canada moved to stem the flow of illegal migrants and drugs into the United States, but the tariffs did not materialize on inauguration day.

The federal privacy watchdog says he's "concerned" about a data breach involving a student information system used across Canada, and his office is seeking more information from the U.S.-based company behind the targeted software.

Privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne says his office is in touch with PowerSchool, which provides the affected platforms to schools across North America.

Earlier this month, PowerSchool told school boards in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Alberta and elsewhere that it had experienced a data breach between Dec. 22 and 28.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith won't be at president-elect Donald Trump's inaugural ceremony on Monday after all, due to bitter cold weather forecasted for tomorrow in Washington, D.C.

Smith, who is spending five days in Washington on a diplomatic trip, was scheduled to attend the event.

But her press secretary, Sam Blackett, says in a statement that most ticketed guests will no longer be able to attend the ceremony in-person because it's being moved indoors to the Capitol Rotunda, and that includes Smith.

The Public Health Agency of Canada says 61 cases of salmonella across the country, including 17 that have required hospitalization, have been linked to recalled mini pastries.

The agency said the Sweet Cream brand mini pastries have been distributed at bakeries, hotels, restaurants, cafeterias, hospitals, retirement residences, and catered events.

It said 33 of the 61 illnesses are in Quebec, 21 in Ontario, four in British Columbia, two in Alberta and one in New Brunswick.