Saskatoon News

Saskatoon’s City Hospital has 40 new acute care beds, making the line to leave the emergency room a little shorter. Often, patients coming to the hospital start off in the emergency department, where Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) CEO Andrew Will said they’re initially assessed and treated. If a doctor determines the patient needs to be admitted, they’ll move into an acute care bed. Read more:

• Saskatoon City Hospital emergency department closed from 3 p.m.
• ‘It broke me’: Cancer patient recalls traumatic experience at RUH
• VIDEO: One family’s reality of the chaos in Royal University Hospital hallway

But, when none of these beds are available that person has to, “stay in the emergency department until one opens, contributing to pressures and longer waits,” according to Will. The 40 new beds, Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said on Friday, will help with patient flow. The newness of these beds has been a point of contention though. Last month, Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) President Bryce Boynton said, “these aren’t new beds. They’re beds that are being shuffled around and re-labeled from other units to be sold as new.” While the beds might not all be new to City Hospital, they are new to acute care. Certain outpatient and continuing programs at the hospital have been moved out to community care locations around Saskatoon, with Cockrill saying that Market Mall on Preston Avenue South is planned to be a “major destination for many of these units.” Some of the units that moved out of City Hospital to make room were “the former 30 bed Transitional Care Unit and 30 bed Convalescent Care Unit,” Will said. By moving patients out of the hospital and into continuing care in the community, it freed up beds for acute care. Work is also underway to relocate the hospital’s Geriatric Evaluation and Management Program, which Will said should make room for another 69 acute care beds. Speaking about the 40 new beds, Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said on Nov. 7, 2025 they, “will allow us to flow patients better through this facility, and really through all our facilities in Saskatoon.” (Marija Robinson/650 CKOM) More acute care beds coming in 2026 The 40 beds are part of the provincial government’s larger goal to add 109 new acute care beds to City Hospital by the end of 2026. This addresses some intentions of the Saskatoon Pressure Action Plan, which launched in 2023, and in total Will said these 109 beds will increase the hospital’s capacity by 14 per cent. The 40 beds currently added are for general medicine patients. There will be another 20 of those, as well as 22 for acute rehabilitation, 12 for acquired brain injury, and 15 for high acuity patients, according to Will. While 140 new full time equivalent healthcare positions have been created to support the 40-bed expansion, Cockrill said that will need to increase to roughly 500 when all 109 beds are operational. Read more:

• Saskatoon City Hospital emergency department closed from 3 p.m.
• ‘It broke me’: Cancer patient recalls traumatic experience at RUH
• VIDEO: One family’s reality of the chaos in Royal University Hospital hallway

Things will be chilly in Regina for the CFL West Final on Saturday, Environment Canada says. Around 2 cm of snow will fall in the city overnight, turning to cloudy weather Saturday and a high temperature of -6 C, but wind chill will make it feel like -15 C in the morning, -10 C in the afternoon and -13 C in the evening, the weather agency said in a 4 p.m. update Friday. Read more:

• A.J. Allen faces childhood teammate Nathan Rourke as Riders take on Lions
• Saskatoon spin studio’s Roughrider-themed class appeals to football fans
• The Blitz podcast with Jamie Nye and Britton Gray

Kickoff for the West Final at Mosaic is set for 5:30 p.m., so bundle up warm if you are planning to attend the Saskatchewan Roughriders game against B.C. Lions in the Queen City. If you are driving to the game, regular game-day road closures will be in effect around the stadium from three hours before kick-off as well as after the game. Access to the 1500, 1600, and 1700 blocks of Elphinstone Street will be limited to Regina Transit buses and local residents only, and 9th Avenue will be closed at Princess, Argyle, McTavish, Elphinstone, and Montague streets; 10th Avenue will be closed at Montague and Elphinstone streets; and North Railway Street and Saskatchewan Drive will be closed at Elphinstone. Wind chill hits many areas in province Saskatoon has only flurries forecast overnight, but a low temperature of  -13 C will make it feel like -19 C overnight and on Saturday morning, with the high temperature Saturday -7 C. A low minus of -14 C Saturday night will make it feel like -20 C. Environment Canada’s wind chill index uses research from human volunteers and advanced computer technology to present a forecast representative of what people actually feel. By equating the outdoor conditions to an equivalent temperature with no wind, the index represents the degree of “chill” that your skin senses. For example, if the wind chill is -20 C while the outside temperature is only -10 C, it means that your face will feel as cold as if it was a calm day (no wind) with a temperature of -20 C. Environment Canada also provides a wind chill calculator on its website. A wind chill of up to -9 C is considered low risk, Environment Canada says, with people only experiencing a slight increase in discomfort although it recommends dress warmly and staying dry. Wind chill values over -10 C and up to -27 C are considered moderate risk and bring the possibility of hypothermia and frostbite if outside for long periods without adequate protection, the weather agency says. Snow was forecast to continue in some other areas of the province, with Estevan and Weyburn forecast to get 2 to 4 cm, Kindersley, Swift Current, Gull Lake and Moose Jaw around 2 cm on Friday night. The cold blast is forecast to end Monday in most areas, with high temperatures of around 10 C forecast, and seasonal night-time lows. Saskatchewan Highway Hotline reported Friday evening that some roads were snow covered in western parts of the province around Meadow Lake and Kindersley, and some partly covered roads around Prince Albert, Lloydminster, Moose Jaw, Maple Creek and Yorkton. Read more:

• A.J. Allen faces childhood teammate Nathan Rourke as Riders take on Lions
• Saskatoon spin studio’s Roughrider-themed class appeals to football fans
• The Blitz podcast with Jamie Nye and Britton Gray

After the first big snowfall of the season for Saskatchewan, people are preparing for winter in all kinds of ways with excitement and dread for the coming months.

VANCOUVER — The Canada Border Services Agency says it has removed three people from the country as part of its work within the B.C. Extortion Task Force. The agency says in a statement that it is also investigating another 78 foreign nationals who may be inadmissible to the country and connected to the spate of shootings and extortion attempts in the province. The unit was created earlier this year and is made up of investigators from the border agency, RCMP, gang squad and several other police departments. It's looking into dozens of extortion attempts and subsequent shootings — many of them aimed at South Asian business people — that have terrorized several communities in the province. Nina Patel, the regional director general for the agency's Pacific region, says their investigations highlight the critical role its teams play in disrupting organized transnational criminal groups. There have been arrests and a few convictions for the crimes, including some linked to the India-based Lawrence Bishnoi gang, which the federal government recently declared a terrorist entity. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2025. The Canadian Press

A company that says it is the biggest private landowner in the Cowichan Tribes' Aboriginal title area in Richmond, B.C., says it will ask the British Columbia Supreme Court to take the rare step of reopening the landmark case. Montrose Properties says it should be party to the litigation that resulted in a judgment that critics say casts doubt over private land ownership in the title area and beyond. Montrose says it owns about 120 hectares of land in the 300-hectare title area next to the Fraser River and it intends to file an application with the court in coming days. Ken Low, president of Montrose, says the firm is surprised by the impact of the court case that it was not even a party to, and has no choice but to seek reopening of the case. In August, the court ruled the Cowichan Tribes have Aboriginal title over the land, that Crown and city titles on it are defective and invalid, and the granting of private titles by the government unjustifiably infringed on the Cowichan title. Low says the firm doesn't have "the luxury of waiting years" while an appeal is heard, so will seek reopening instead. While the province, the City of Richmond and other defendants have said they plan to appeal — the typical recourse for any party that disagrees with a court decisions — the B.C. judiciary says on its website that in "limited circumstances" a judge could reconsider a decision, so long as any orders related to it have not been entered. The declarations in the Cowichan decision were suspended for 18 months, so the Cowichan, Canada, and Richmond have time "to make the necessary arrangements." Paul Sullivan, a principal with tax firm Ryan, says the company is representing a large number of owners in the Cowichan claim area, and they plan to appeal against their tax bills with the BC Assessment authority over the next couple of months. Sullivan says the major developers and investors he has spoken with "would not go near" properties in the title area. He says owners felt cheated because they were not told earlier about the ruling and are scared to talk about it publicly because they don't want to be perceived as racists. The judge in the case declined to have the court reach out to private property owners in the title area, and some say they only found out about the ruling after they received a letter from the City of Richmond about the decision last month. "I think our Canadian society really does want to work with the (First) Nations and repair relationships, but nobody's prepared to give up their property, and so they're angry," said Sullivan. "But they're a little nervous about getting out and talking publicly, because they don't want to get characterized as some of those against the nations." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2025. Nono Shen, The Canadian Press

A 40-year-old Saskatoon man who allegedly punched a police dog and officer faces numerous charges after evading the police Friday morning. Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) said in a news release on Friday that just before 5:30 a.m. on Nov. 7, police tried to conduct a traffic stop on a vehicle in the 22nd Street West and Avenue South area but the vehicle drove off. Read more: 

• Saskatoon police urge drivers to use caution after responding to 22 minor crashes
• Volunteer firefighter joins call for public inquiry into wildfire response
• Judge denies Romana Didulo’s request to move Swift Current case

SPS said that a few minutes later officers found the man and the vehicle parked in the 400 block of 18th Street West. After the driver ran away, a police dog was “deployed.” When the police dog was trying to help with the suspect’s arrest, police said the man punched and kicked the dog several times and punched the officer twice. More officers came to help arrest the man without any further incident, noted the police, adding that paramedics treated the man for a dog bite. The man has been charged with assaulting a police officer, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, operating a vehicle being pursued by police and willfully injuring a law enforcement animal. Read more: 

• Saskatoon police urge drivers to use caution after responding to 22 minor crashes
• Volunteer firefighter joins call for public inquiry into wildfire response
• Judge denies Romana Didulo’s request to move Swift Current case

A boy has been charged with first-degree murder after a man’s death in Whitewood on Thursday. Saskatchewan RCMP said in a statement on Nov. 7 that officers from the Broadview detachment were sent to a home in Whitewood around 4 p.m. on Nov. 6 and found the injured man, who was then taken to hospital and pronounced dead. Police said they arrested the boy at the home, and he was also injured. He was taken to hospital as a precaution before being released back into police custody, they said. No further details about the boy were released as it is prohibited under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Police also did not say when he was scheduled to appear in court. Police said the investigation is continuing with help from the RCMP Forensic Identification Section, Broadview RCMP Detachment and Saskatchewan Coroners Service. Read more: 

• Woman charged with second-degree murder after three men shot dead in Turtleford: RCMP
• Moose Jaw police seize fentanyl, methamphetamine in traffic stop
• Lloydminster man, 21, facing seven child pornography charges: Police

 

Saskatchewan Roughrider A.J. Allen and B.C. Lion Nathan Rourke used to play football together as children growing up in Ontario. Now the two will try to help each of their respective teams reach the Grey Cup with a win in Saturday’s CFL West Final. Read more:

• Find the latest Saskatchewan Roughriders news here
• The Blitz podcast with Jamie Nye and Britton Gray

“It’s insanely cool. I saw it all the time — I’m just a kid from Burlington and for him, he’s just a kid from Oakville. It’s super cool that we have come this far and have this opportunity to show what Canada can do,” the Riders linebacker said. The Lions quarterback also has fond memories of those times. “Going back to 2008, I have a picture on my wall of that team. It’s pretty cool to have that connection and super proud of him and happy for him and all his success,” Rourke said. But despite the two going back so far, Allen said there aren’t any pleasantries being shared ahead of the game. “We won’t talk until after the game. Until then, he’s the enemy and that’s how it’s supposed to be,” Allen said. Allen got thrust into a starting linebacker spot this season due to an injury to C.J. Avery in Week 1 of the season. Allen rewarded the Riders with 87 tackles, four sacks, three interceptions and three forced fumbles. He was named the Riders’ Most Outstanding Canadian. Rourke put up historic numbers now that he is back as a full-time starter in the CFL. After giving the NFL a shot after a stellar 2022 season, the 27-year-old came back to the league last season but never found a rhythm. This season, Rourke threw for 5,290 yards, 31 touchdowns and 16 interceptions to go along with 564 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. He was named the CFL West Division’s Most Outstanding Canadian and Most Outstanding Player. Allen knows the Lions’ offence brings a lot to the table. “They have a good running game, they have a good passing game and good receivers. It’s a challenge for sure. We’re the best defence in the league and it’s time to show why,” Allen said. The Riders will also have the benefit of playing at home at Mosaic Stadium in front of a crowd of over 30,000 and possibly some cold weather — Environment Canada is reporting a high of -7 C with a wind chill of -15. “(Home field) is what we were fighting for — winning the west and getting it done,” Allen said. “People have to play in the elements and in front of the best fans in the CFL, and face that too. They aren’t just facing us 12 but the 13th man.” The Riders will also get a boost on defence as defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. is set to return to the lineup this week. One of the only starters missing from the game will be all-CFL wide receiver KeeSean Johnson, who has missed a few weeks due to a knee injury. Joe Robustelli, who has appeared in 12 games this season, will start in his place. Kickoff for the CFL West Final is set for 5:30 p.m. The Green Zone pregame show begins at 3:30 p.m. Read more:

• Find the latest Saskatchewan Roughriders news here
• The Blitz podcast with Jamie Nye and Britton Gray