Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press

Saskatchewan declared a provincewide state of emergency Thursday in its fight against rampaging wildfires that have forced thousands to flee.

The declaration by Premier Scott Moe came one day after his Manitoba counterpart Wab Kinew did the same.

“It's a very serious situation that we're faced with,” Moe told a news conference in Prince Albert.

“We do need some rainfall. We need that sooner rather than later, and in light of that not being in the forecast, we most certainly are putting in place every measure possible to prepare the province.”

The Saskatchewan chapter of the Royal Canadian Legion says it has cancelled events hosted by a group discussing the province's separation from the rest of Canada. 

Chad Wagner, the legion's executive director in Saskatchewan, says he made the decision based on Unified Grassroots' public statements on separation. 

He says such calls don't align with the legion's founding principles and nor do they promote Canadian unity.

Unified Grassroots has an online petition calling on Saskatchewan to negotiate new terms with Ottawa or look at separating from Canada.

Saskatchewan's legislature has passed a bill that opens the door for local governments to order firefighters to burn down derelict buildings, a move firefighters say they oppose. 

Bill 21, the Construction Codes (Derelict Buildings) Amendment Act, received royal assent Tuesday. The legislation lays out the framework for a pilot project where volunteer firefighters conduct burns on municipal-owned buildings as part of training exercises.

A black bear spotted Monday morning in a tree in Regina has been euthanized. 

The Public Safety Ministry, which now oversees conservation officers, said the decision was made because of complications.

"The officers attempted to immobilize," the ministry said in a statement. "However, due to complications, the officers had to make the difficult decision to take it to a safe location outside the city where it could be humanely euthanized."

The underground tunnels in Canada’s most notorious city have always been open to Americans, including rumoured hotshot gangsters – and they want to keep it that way.

The Tunnels of Moose Jaw, along with other businesses in the city of roughly 35,000 people west of Regina, say they’re in line with a new campaign to welcome Canada’s southern neighbours at a time when tariffs have pushed elbows up.

It’s not personal, it’s just business.

“It’s typical of Moose Jaw, this open arms approach,” said Bobby Hill, general manager at the tunnels, in a recent interview.

Saskatchewan's Opposition NDP is planning to introduce legislation that aims to amend referendum and plebiscite rules, a move it says will hold Premier Scott Moe's feet to the fire on talk of separation. 

NDP Leader Carla Beck's private member's bill contains the words "Keep Saskatchewan in Canada" in its title. 

The Opposition was unable to provide details on the legislation as it has not been put before the legislative assembly. 

A notice of motion from the legislature says Beck plans to introduce the bill tomorrow. 

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says he’s a true Canadian but wouldn’t stop a public vote on separating from the country if it came forward.

Moe says residents are allowed to trigger provincial legislation for a plebiscite on the issue.

He says he does not judge people for having different opinions, but says he supports a united Canada.

Saskatchewan law allows the public to bring forward a petition for a plebiscite as long as 15 per cent of eligible voters sign on.

Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says Moe should rule out a vote on separation.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says the province is reducing the industrial carbon levy to zero. 

He says the move makes Saskatchewan the first "fully carbon tax free" province, saving ratepayers money on their electricity bills. 

Moe says the measure will also make businesses more competitive amid tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump. 

He adds he hopes the next federal government does not impose a backstop to collect levies from Saskatchewan.

A move by Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe to pause the industrial carbon levy appears to have blown a hole in the province's finances. 

Saskatchewan is forecasting a surplus of $12 million this year, with $431 million in revenue from those levies. 

The Opposition NDP says without those dollars, the province would find itself in a deficit. 

"This government continues to pretend that they have somehow delivered a balanced budget or a budget with a surplus," NDP Leader Carla Beck told reporters Thursday.

The head of Saskatoon's only safe consumption site says she saw the current drug crisis coming.

Kayla DeMong, executive director of Prairie Harm Reduction, says that since January, staff at the facility have spent their days responding to drug overdoses, reviving four to six people at any given time.

She said a more toxic supply of drugs entered the city earlier this year and she flagged to public officials that something needed to be done.