Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press

Eviction warnings have been given to two longtime encampments on the Manitoba legislature grounds.

A handful of police were present Wednesday as the notices were given to demonstrators on the north and east sides of the legislative building.

A statement from Justice Minister Kelvin Goertzen's office said rallies and protests are acceptable on the grounds.

But, the statement said, encampments are not permitted for the safety of staff, visitors, tourists and other protesters. 

Campers say a convicted Canadian sex offender identified himself as security at a South Dakota campground, where he was staying with two children at the centre of a Saskatchewan Amber Alert with their mother.

Benjamin Martin Moore, 50, was located late Tuesday at a campground that takes part in the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in the state. Glencoe Camp Resort posted on social media that its security team assisted in locating and apprehending Moore. 

The campground did not respond to a request for comment. 

Two children at the centre of a Saskatchewan Amber Alert were found at a campground in the United States along with their mother and a man wanted by police, Mounties said Wednesday.

Benjamin Martin Moore, 50, was apprehended near Sturgis, S.D. He is behind bars in Pennington County and jail records show he is being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Marshals Service.

His common-law spouse is also in police custody.

A seven-year-old girl and eight-year-old boy were located with Moore and RCMP said they are safe. 

New statistics show that police-reported extortion cases in Canada rose by nearly 300 per cent in the last decade, as the crime swelled online during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These concerning increases are being facilitated by social media platforms and other electronic services providers," said Lianna McDonald, the executive director of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, in a news release.  

"It should be a wake-up call."

Susan Enge will be thinking of her mother’s time in a residential school during the long journey south from the Northwest Territories to see Pope Francis in Alberta. 

Her thoughts will linger on that legacy and the complexities of being Indigenous and Catholic during the eight-hour drive from her home in Fort Smith to Yellowknife, where she is to join a flight to Edmonton on Sunday. 

“Being a strong Catholic, I think it’s important to forgive people for their wrongdoings,” she says. 

A First Nations woman says she is disappointed a 92-year-old priest accused of assaulting her when she was a student at a former residential school did not attend his first court appearance.

"What a coward," said Victoria McIntosh, 63, outside a legion hall where court was held in Powerview-Pine Falls, north of Winnipeg, on Wednesday. 

"I don't care how old you are. You could have made it here if you wanted to."

Arthur Masse faces one count of indecent assault from when the woman was 10 and attended the Fort Alexander Residential School in Manitoba.

The federal government says it will provide more than $35 million during the papal visit to Canada to support Indigenous communities, organizations and residential schools survivors. 

Pope Francis is set to travel to Alberta, Quebec and Nunavut from July 24 to 29. The papal visit is to include public and private events with an emphasis on Indigenous participation.

A charge has been laid after a decade-long investigation into allegations of abuse at a residential school in Manitoba.

The province confirmed Thursday a person was charged with one count of indecent assault on a female related to the investigation into the former Fort Alexander Residential School northeast of Winnipeg.

Manitoba RCMP did not comment on the charge but said police have made an arrest in the investigation and would release more information Friday morning at a news conference in Winnipeg.

The Vatican says Pope Francis will stop in Alberta, Quebec and Nunavut during his visit to Canada this summer.

It says the capital cities of Edmonton, Quebec City and Iqaluit will act as bases for the trip from July 24 to 29.

The visit comes after the Pope's historic apology last month for the Roman Catholic Church's role in residential schools in Canada.

Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton, general coordinator of the trip for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, says it will be another important step for healing and reconciliation.

A Métis group from Manitoba was flying to Rome on Monday ahead of a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican later this week.

The delegation from the Manitoba Métis Federation on Thursday will be the first to meet the head of the Roman Catholic Church since he apologized to Indigenous people for the deplorable conduct of church members involved in residential schools.

The Pope apologized at the Vatican early this month following a week of meetings with Métis, Inuit and First Nations delegates.