Saskatchewan News

Celebrating the history of Saskatchewan and the 100th anniversary of 620 CKRM with a look back at news from the last hundred years.

In the last fiscal year, Saskatchewan logged 474 robot-assisted surgeries. They shorten operating times and make some procedures less invasive, proponents say.

Ambitious downtown project by Duchuck Holdings Ltd. would feature two residential towers with about 600 units, add floors on top of the existing StarPhoenix building and include about 540 parking stalls.

A proposed campground for homeless people generated over two hours of discussion at a public forum last week. La Ronge town council is expected to decide whether or not to proceed with it at the next town council meeting on Monday, April 27.

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed … Poll suggests Canadians want Carney government focused on affordability in next year A new poll suggests Canadians give the Liberal government passing grad

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed … Poll suggests Canadians want Carney government focused on affordability in next year A new poll suggests Canadians give the Liberal government passing grades in international relations after its first year, but want it to focus more on affordability. The poll from the Angus Reid Institute was conducted ahead of the one-year anniversary of last year's election, which was focused on who was best positioned to manage the Canada-U.S. relationship. Just 31 per cent of the 2,013 respondents said they thought that relationship would be the top concern for the government in its second year, while the top priority for most respondents was the cost of living. Seventy per cent of people surveyed said they think the government has fallen short of expectations when it comes to addressing affordability, but people were split on whether Prime Minister Mark Carney's government is meeting its election promises. --- Child advocates to rally for online harms bill covering AI chatbots, gaming Children’s advocates will hold a rally and press conference on Parliament Hill today to call for online harms legislation that covers AI chatbots and video games. Sara Austin, founder and CEO of Children First Canada, says recent months have seen a real escalation in harms linked to AI chatbots. OpenAI banned the mass shooter in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., from using its ChatGPT platform due to worrisome interactions, but did not alert law enforcement. The federal government plans to bring in online harms legislation, but is still consulting on aspects of it, including whether to include AI chatbots. --- Bank of Canada expected to hold key rate as it grapples with Iran war shock The Bank of Canada is widely expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged later this week, but officials are also set to give more details about how the Iran war is affecting the central bank's forecasts for inflation and the economy. Inflation data for March showed the headline inflation rate jumped more than half a percentage point as conflict in the Middle East sent gasoline prices soaring. Economists say underlying inflation pressures, meanwhile, were cooling last month, which will let the Bank of Canada remain on the sidelines as it waits for more clarity on how long the war will last. Tony Stillo with Oxford Economics says he expects the Bank of Canada will lay out a handful of scenarios for how inflation might progress depending on how long the conflict persists. --- A major housing development is in the works east of Toronto, but some are crying foul The City of Pickering will vote on a housing development plan next month that could transform the municipality's landscape east of Toronto over the next quarter-century. Mayor Kevin Ashe says the plan could see homes built for more than 70,000 people, but a local First Nation is sounding the alarm about ""a complete lack of meaningful dialogue." The area under consideration covers more than 17 square kilometres in northeast Pickering, a city located within the territory of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation. Abdullah Mir, the co-chair of an advocacy group called Stop Durham Sprawl, has also raised concerns about the development plan and how much it could cost, and that the city should move work to intensify existing neighbourhoods. --- VPD officers haven't spoken at Myles Gray death hearing. Here's what the exhibits say The hearing into the actions of seven Vancouver police officers leading up to the 2015 death of Myles Gray resumes Wednesday, but exhibits released by the Police Complaints Commissioner tell the story of what happened that fateful day. Fifteen minutes of police radio recordings suggest a chaotic confrontation, with officers telling the dispatcher that the man they were dealing with was challenging them to a fight and he appeared intoxicated. A police disciplinary process previously determined that the seven officers did not commit misconduct, and no charges have been laid over Gray's death, which a 2023 coroner's inquest ruled was a homicide. The inquest heard that Gray was left with injuries including a fractured eye socket, a crushed voice box and ruptured testicles. --- This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026. The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER — None of the seven Vancouver police officers involved in a violent encounter leading up to the death of Myles Gray more than 10 years ago has yet testified at a public hearing that is scheduled to resume on Wednesday.

VANCOUVER — None of the seven Vancouver police officers involved in a violent encounter leading up to the death of Myles Gray more than 10 years ago has yet testified at a public hearing that is scheduled to resume on Wednesday. But a story of what happened on Aug. 13, 2015, emerges in a series of exhibits released by the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner, which is conducting the weeks-long hearing. Much of that story is depicted in recordings of interviews of the seven officers by investigators between 2016 and 2021. There are also transcripts of 911 calls about Gray's behaviour that preceded the incident, recordings of police radio chatter as it spiralled out of control, and photographs of the scene and the officers' injuries in the aftermath of Gray's death. A police disciplinary process previously determined that the seven officers did not commit misconduct, and no charges have been laid over Gray's death, which a 2023 coroner's inquest ruled was a homicide. The inquest heard that Gray was left with injuries that included a fractured eye socket, a crushed voice box and ruptured testicles. A paramedic told the inquest that Gray's bruising was so severe, he initially thought he was not a white man. The only respondent officer named on the witness list is Const. Eric Birzneck. It is not yet known if any of the other six officers — constables Kory Folkestad, Derek Cain, Josh Wong, Beau Spencer, Hardeep Sahota and Nick Thompson — intend to testify at the next stages of the hearing in Vancouver. Here's what the exhibits in the hearing depict: THE 911 CALLS: 'HE'S JUST GONE' Myles Gray's mother, Margie Gray, was the first to call 911 about her son on the afternoon of Aug. 13, 2015, telling the operator he had travelled from the Sunshine Coast to the Metro Vancouver area to deliver goods to a floral shop, but had disappeared, leaving his keys, wallet, ID and backpack in the vehicle. "He's just gone," she says in a transcript of the call. Gray describes her son as a 33-year-old, five-foot-10, white man with light brown hair who "body builds" and has a "known mental illness." When the dispatcher asked if he was physically or mentally disabled, Margie Gray clarified he had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and that was why she was "very concerned." "I don’t want to say mentally disabled but he has snapped in the past, like with bipolar, he has been psychotic back in his late teens," the transcript reads. A transcript of a second 911 call from a man named Daniel Rasmussen, who worked for the company where Myles Gray had been delivering a shipment when he wandered off, is included in the evidence folder. Rasmussen tells the operator that Gray had not finished delivering the shipment when an employee saw him walking away, heading east, around 12:50 p.m. A short time later, a third 911 call is made by a man named Muhammed Reza, who reports a man that he believed was drunk or high had harassed his mother, taken a garden hose she was using to water her plants and began "spraying her for absolutely no reason." Reza says the man appeared intoxicated, yelling and at one point began hitting his own head, while holding his shoes. "He looks like he's — like, he has his hands down maybe like he's going to, like, pass out, or something," he said. THE RADIO CHATTER: 'HE'S NOT IN CUSTODY,' THEN A ROAR, A 15-minute recording of police radio chatter captures events as police converge on the scene and try to restrain Gray, at one point capturing someone letting out a loud roar in the background. As police arrive on Joffre Avenue, just on the Burnaby side of the boundary with Vancouver, an officer tells a dispatcher that they were speaking with Gray. "He's challenging us to fight with us. He seems very intoxicated or very high," the officer says. One officer says he's heading to the scene and will be "the bean-bag", an apparent reference to a less-lethal firearm used by police. When a dispatcher asks for an update from the scene, the responses become breathless — and urgent. "Hey, hey, hey," says one voice. "We have him here, he's not in custody," says another, before a loud roar lasting a few seconds cuts her voice off. There is a call for ambulances, and a reference to people being pepper sprayed. A couple minutes later another officer tells dispatchers, "We've got a plan; we're going to hobble him first, and then we're going to pull him out" from under something. Just over seven minutes into the recording, an officer reports that Gray is "still fighting," but less than a minute later he is reported to be in custody. Then a few seconds later, a panting officer requests "code 3, EHS," meaning an ambulance with sirens and lights. "The male is unconscious. He's not responding." Ambulances are dispatched as an officer reports: "We also have two (police constables) that are injured here. One with a punch to the jaw, and the other one is bleeding from the head." The dispatcher is warned "if this guy comes to, we're going to need a sedation protocol." THE INTERVIEWS: 'SOMETHING JUST SNAPPED IN HIM' The encounter is described by the officers in recordings of interviews with the Independent Investigations Office of B.C., conducted long afterward. The constables often refer to their notes to answer questions in the interviews between 2016 and 2021. Const. Hardeep Sahota, who had been working alone that day, was dispatched around 3:05 p.m. after Reza's 911 call. After locating Gray, she says she rolled down her vehicle's window to talk to him. "I then exited my vehicle at one point, and at that point he was very aggressive, very getting into my face, and even at one time nearly touched my pin number, which is on my uniform shirt," Sahota said in the July 18, 2016, interview. "He was agitated, seemed very frustrated, very disoriented, he was sweating, he appeared to be on some sort of substance." She said that when he refused to comply with her command to sit down, she returned to her wagon for her "safety." "My window was half down and he clenched onto the window and tried to attempt to pull it down or break it," she said. He eventually walked away and disappeared up a nearby stairwell. Sahota said she left the police vehicle and saw Gray at the top of the stairs. "He looked at me and he grabbed both of his fists in a clenched manner downward and said, 'welcome to the jungle' — screamed really, really loud," she told the investigator. "At that point, I was very frightened for my life, so I ran back into the police wagon and I decided to wait until cover came, which was Eric Birzneck and PC Kory Folkestad." Birzneck said in August 2021 that Gray was topless, wearing shorts and had dog tags and a bullet on a chain around his neck. He described him as "ripped" and said he immediately suspected Gray had "done a cycle" of steroids. He said Gray was "talking to himself and pacing and shirtless and sweating." Birzneck said he had his baton out but concealed from Gray. Folkestad likened Gray's demeanour to that of a hockey player getting ready to fight, in his January 2020 interview. "He had this arrogance, like he wanted to see how many police would come and respond to him," Folkestad said. Birzneck said the confrontation began quickly. "Something just snapped in him and his whole demeanour changed; his face changed," he said of Gray. "He dropped his head, kind of basically charging me … the next thing you know, as far as I recall, we are basically in it." He said Gray said their "badge doesn't mean anything" as Birzneck pepper sprayed Gray's eyes. Sahota, Folkestad said, tried to cuff Gray, but was only able to get one wrist secured. "There's this powerful movement, and he ripped himself off of me like nothing and he squared up to us, and the fight was on," Folkestad said. "I was extremely scared at that point. I knew it was a fight for my life." Birzneck reported striking Gray in the left leg with his baton about three times, saying Gray went "from being calm to like 'The Hulk,' so he'd have an incredible bout of strength." Folkestad said he thought they may have to shoot Gray. "I remember I (was) punched in the face and my thought was that I've got to punch him as many times as I can, as hard as I could, in order to create some sort of window of control where other tactics could be used to get control of him." He said he remembered feeling grass on his face, "choking on blood and mucus," and Sahota calling out his name before asking him to grab Gray's legs. "So, I'm trying to process how bad I'm injured, if I'm going to pass out again," Folkestad said, adding that he grabbed Gray's legs as he continued "kicking and thrashing." It was "like a nightmare," he said. BATON STRIKES, PEPPER SPRAY AND 'WEIRDEST' MOMENT OF CALM Constables Josh Wong and Nick Thompson arrived next, around 3:23 p.m. Thompson said in an April 2017 interview that as they approached, he heard screaming, like "someone experiencing psychosis," and a "terrifying roar." Wong said he reached the top of the staircase and saw three officers struggling to control the man, "who was face up on his back" and continued to fight. Folkestad looked "severely injured" in a crouched position, Wong said, with red, watery eyes and a "dazed and confused" look on his face, "as if he had just woken up." Thompson said he could feel the pepper spray in the air. "I just remember that split moment where I looked at them, they were — they looked worried and I've never seen that from, from anyone in a use-of-force scenario," he said. Thompson said Gray "lunged up so hard" in a "violent outburst" that the officer ended up cutting his head on the tree, "gushing blood." Wong said he began to hobble the man's ankles while Sahota struggled to control his arms despite being "visibly exhausted." Wong said he delivered several knee strikes to Gray's upper body. He also reported using "close hand strikes" to Gray's face, and told Thompson, whose face was covered in blood, to hobble Gray's legs as Wong put his "head in something similar to a headlock." Wong said his belt was being pulled at and believed Gray was pulling at his baton, so he "delivered several baton strikes to the upper arm and shoulder area." More pepper spray was deployed to Gray's face, allowing the officers to handcuff him, Wong said, noting he continued to hold him down by his right elbow. Thompson said it felt "like an eternity" before ambulances showed up. Constables Derek Cain and Beau Spencer arrived at the scene at 3:26 p.m. to see several officers on top of Gray, who was lying face down, said Cain in a 2021 interview. "Officers were yelling at the subject to stop fighting. It was very apparent to me that officers did not have control of the subject and for everyone's safety, including the subject's." Cain recalled trying to get hold of Gray's left wrist using a wristlock, but he "showed no pain compliance." Meanwhile, Spencer said he assessed the scene, saw Gray in a hobble, and believed his "main goal" was to get Gray's arm behind his back to handcuff him. Cain described a moment where it appeared Gray was doing a pushup with an officer on his back. "I positioned myself near the subject's head and placed one knee on his shoulders and the other on his right temple as his face was turned away from me," Cain said. "The subject proceeded to lift me up in the air with another officer on his back. I repositioned again and delivered multiple knee strikes to his upper left arm." Cain said it took "at least four officers,' including himself, to handcuff Gray, two sets being required due to Gray's "muscular build." Cain said Gray then let out a big sigh and his face started turning red. "The subject was not breathing and his pulse was weak and thready at approximately 180 beats per minute." The officer said he gave him a "sternal rub" and Gray began breathing again but within seconds of being revived, "the subject began flailing about, trying to stand up," Cain said. Spencer, who said he is six-foot-four and 200 pounds, said Gray was on his stomach, so he knelt on his upper right arm and shoulder area. "He was bucking me off like I was a child. He's again displaying levels of strength I've never seen from somebody and he's causing me to fall onto my back and onto my onto my butt and legs, continuously with me just kneeling on his arms," he said. Spencer then described a moment he called the "weirdest part about the entire interaction." "While I was doing that, he was bucking me off (and) at one point he completely stopped resisting and almost became calm and a different person. He looked towards me and asked me what was happening," he said. "At that point, I said, 'you've just been involved in a fight with about eight officers. We got an ambulance coming. You're going to be OK.'" Spencer said he looked "almost scared," in a complete demeanour shift. "And then all of a sudden he snapped back into a very aggressive and angrier state. I've never seen it before, I don't know how to explain it to you, but it was like two people, one person came and then they left." Spencer said Gray then "went completely limp," while Cain said his "face went red and he stopped breathing again." Wong said Gray "became unresponsive and his face and lips appeared blue and white." "The handcuffs were removed and first aid was applied by several police constables," Wong said. Another officer, Const. Chris Bowater, a former paramedic who is not a subject in the inquiry, arrived and began assessing Gray, Cain said. "Firefighters were gathered at the top of the stairs, so I yelled at them to grab their defibrillator, their automated external defibrillator, and medical jump kit and bring it over," he said. Cain said Gray was uncuffed, and he and Bowater attempted to resuscitate him, including using a defibrillator, chest compressions and bag ventilation until paramedics arrived. Spencer said he watched CPR efforts before deciding they needed to give medical staff more room. "We went down to the road toward my squad car, at which point we were told that he'd passed away," Spencer said. THE PHOTOS Photos of the scene show signs of a struggle — yellow evidence markers alongside apparent blood stains on patches of grass and wooden garden bed retainers. There are close-ups of various items — a watch, sunglasses, a police baton and a pepper spray canister — strewn across the lawn. One photo shows a yellow garbage bag of medical equipment, including masks and gloves, and a red hazardous materials bag. The black, strap-like hobble restraint referred to in the police interviews is shown loosely coiled on the ground. Photographs of the officer's injuries are also disclosed. Most depict surface marks, grazes, scuffs, abrasions and scrapes to officers' necks, legs, arms and toes. One shows a deeper laceration on the head of one of the officers, blood showing through black hair, while another depicts a bandaged cut to an officer's jaw. Other photos attached are a pair of grey pants or shorts, two bloodstained dog tags in the name of Walter E. Kurtz, from the film "Apocalypse Now," and a UCLA Athletics shirt and badge with a broken neck tie. There are two images that depict Gray. One of them, redacted with black bars, is taken after his death. It depicts his left hand and arm, which is swollen to a purple hue. His arm has a small cut, still bleeding, and a piece of medical tape is near his elbow. A medical tube is lodged between Gray's middle and ring fingers, while two tightly bound handcuffs remain fastened to his swollen wrists. The Canadian Press has chosen not to publish the image. Muhammed Reza, the 911 caller, supplied what appears to represent the only full photo of Gray on the day of his death. It is taken from a distance, blurry and washed out. Gray sits shirtless in the shade of a tree, on a short set of concrete stairs leading down to a townhouse complex. His elbows rest on his knees and his head hangs low, as if lost in thought. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026. Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press

The City of Pickering is set to vote next month on a secondary housing development plan that could transform the municipality's landscape east of Toronto over the next quarter-century. Mayor Kevin Ashe is presenting the move, which could result in the building of homes for more than 70,000 people, as a job creator and key solution to address the housing shortage. But critics argue the plan to develop the agricultural area is costly and unnecessary, and a local First Nation is sounding the alarm about a lack of consultation. The area under consideration covers more than 17 square kilometres. It is bordered by 6th Concession Road to the south, 8th Concession Road to the north, Lake Ridge Road to the east and Westney Road to the west. The Ontario government added the land to Pickering's urban boundary in December 2024. The mayor said in an interview earlier this month that the area is mainly used to farm crops such as wheat, corn and soybeans. "We certainly recognize the importance of farmland," he said. "But the province has made the decision to expand Pickering's urban boundary, and our responsibility now is to plan the growth carefully … and building a complete, well-designed community." Over the next decade, Ashe said Pickering's population is expected to increase to more than 150,000 from around 100,000. "We have to be proactive and effectively make Pickering a place we can all be proud to call home," he said in an interview earlier this month. Durham's Regional Official Plan predicts the region's total population will jump to 1.3 million by 2051, from around 700,000 now. The policy document was approved by the regional council in May 2023 and allows the region's eight municipalities to make amendments based on their own housing needs and priorities. If approved, Pickering's new housing development would fall under the broader regional plan. But it has already been facing headwinds. The initial vote on the development plan was scheduled in March, but it was pushed back twice to April, and then to May after the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation raised concerns about a lack of meaningful consultation. Pickering is located within the First Nation's territory. "In our view, there has been a complete lack of meaningful dialogue and our requests to meet to discuss our significant concerns have largely been ignored," the First Nation said in a social media post last month. "A consultation protocol between the City of Pickering and MSIFN is needed." Ashe said the city is committed to respectful engagement with the First Nation. A spokesperson for the city confirmed that Ashe met with Chief Kelly LaRocca last Monday to discuss "interests and concerns," as well as the next steps for continued engagement. "Following the April 20 meeting, and in recognition of the importance of allowing more time for dialogue and review, the mayor issued a directive to postpone council’s consideration of the secondary plan," it said. Ashe said he hopes Pickering's council will give the green light at a special meeting scheduled for May 20. Abdullah Mir, the co-chair of an advocacy group called Stop Durham Sprawl, is advocating against it. "The reason it's a bad idea is because it's classic urban sprawl, and urban sprawl is very, very costly," said Mir. "Pickering is a growing city. I love living here, and I always felt and continue to feel that we need to do some responsible planning." Mir said he understands the need to address expected population growth, but projections must be recalculated to reflect more recent immigration restrictions imposed by the federal government. Existing neighbourhoods have huge capacity to add housing, Mir added. He believes the city should move forward with intensification rather than focusing on "unserviced greenfield lands" without knowing the fiscal or environmental cost. Such studies have not yet been completed. Ashe said what's being voted on is just a "road map" for the next steps in a 10 to 20-year development process that he believes is inevitable. "It's really the beginning of a process rather than the end of a project," he said, adding that environmental, fiscal, wastewater and other studies would still be required and he expects them to be completed in the next five years. David Amborski, an urban planning professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, said he agrees with Ashe that development of the area is necessary. Prioritizing plans such as that in northeast Pickering is necessary to help cities get "ahead of the game," he said, since development takes a long time to come to fruition. "We're trying to catch up now on our housing supply nationally, and in areas like Toronto, and it's a struggle to catch up to where we should be," he said. "So I think we have to look before planning and try and make sure that we have adequate supply in the future, and I think it's important to do the proper planning early on." Amborski said while the area east of Toronto has seen some development in recent years, it has historically lagged far behind the York region to the north and Peel in the west due to fewer economic opportunities. That needs to change, he said. The federal government acquired vast areas of land to build an airport in north Pickering more than 50 years ago to bridge the gap between the east and the rest of GTA, Amborski said. But that plan was officially cancelled last year after decades of stagnation. Meanwhile, a lack of "shovel-ready," serviced and approved land for development factored into a significant increase in housing prices in the province, he said. He said there is a need for both intensification and new development plans to address the housing shortage. "I have always argued … that you need all types of housing in all locations," he said In 2024, the Ontario government announced a policy statement meant to streamline land use planning and accelerate development. Amborski called the statement a "very important" step to make sure all municipalities, including Pickering, have the land they need available. He said while environmental studies can be done in the earlier stages of planning, it is close to impossible to know the total cost of a development project in advance, because there are so many variables: density, the type of housing, infrastructure costs and whether provincial or federal funding is available. "You can't stop growth. You have to find ways to finance it," he said. "So, you have to look at ways to mitigate the impact of finances and have some faith that there's going to be ways to deal with that and address that." This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026. Sharif Hassan, The Canadian Press

The City of Pickering is set to vote next month on a secondary housing development plan that could transform the municipality's landscape east of Toronto over the next quarter-century.

OTTAWA — Children’s advocates will hold a rally and press conference on Parliament Hill Monday to call for online harms legislation that covers AI chatbots and video games.

OTTAWA — Children’s advocates will hold a rally and press conference on Parliament Hill Monday to call for online harms legislation that covers AI chatbots and video games. "Just in recent months, we've seen the real escalation of harm that's happening using AI chatbots," said Sara Austin, founder and CEO of Children First Canada. OpenAI banned the mass shooter in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., from using its ChatGPT chatbot due to what it called worrisome interactions, but did not alert law enforcement. The shooter got around the ban by having a second account. Austin said the tragedy "could have potentially have been prevented had OpenAI acted sooner to disclose the risks to the police." One of the people who will attend the rally Monday is James Sokolowski, whose 15-year-old daughter Penelope died in 2025 in connection with the terrorist group 764. Austin said Penelope’s grooming began on the online gaming platform Roblox. The federal government added 764 to its list of terror entities in December 2025. It described the group as a "decentralized transnational network of online nihilistic violent extremists." It said members of the group use social media and gaming platforms "to lure, groom, and extort youth to commit violent and sexual acts, including self-harm." Matt Richardson of the Canadian Open Source Intelligence Centre has said that in the course of his research into online spaces involving members of 764, he's seen images of self-harm, initials and names of abusers carved into victims' skin, animal abuse and even invitations to watch livestreamed suicide attempts. "Many of our kids are spending extensive amounts of their daily lives on gaming platforms and they have proven to be unsafe," Austin said. She said there are multiple "gaming platforms that are risky for kids because they allow for chat features with kids to be able to communicate with strangers" who can pretend to be children. Children First Canada said in a press release it’s leading Monday’s rally on Parliament Hill, with support from a coalition that includes medical organizations, youth and parents. Austin said the group is bringing 15 children and 15 parents to Ottawa. In addition to AI chatbots and gaming, the group wants the bill to cover social media. It says legislation must include a duty of care for platforms requiring them to prevent foreseeable harm, safety by design for online platforms, and a "strong, independent regulator with enforcement power." The Liberal government previously introduced the online harms bill C-63 but it did not become law before last year’s federal election was called. After initially signalling it would not bring the bill back in the same form, but would instead tackle aspects of it in other legislation, the government changed course and Culture Minister Marc Miller is now taking the lead on a new bill. Miller has reconvened an expert group the government previously consulted. The group is expected to consider multiple questions, including whether the legislation should cover AI chatbots and if it should restrict social media access for kids and teenagers. AI chatbot safety and social media bans for children have emerged as global political issues since the earlier version of the bill was introduced. Austin said the government has had plenty of time to prepare and needs to take action now. "We continue to hear from key leaders in government that they are taking their time to get this right. And I appreciate the sentiment behind that, because they've had a couple of false starts with online safety legislation before," she said. But the government doesn’t have to "recreate the wheel here," she said, noting Canada can follow the lead of others, including the United Kingdom, the European Union and Australia. "The fact that they're still debating this, the fact that they’re still consulting, is concerning to me as a parent, let alone as somebody who's advocating for all of our children." This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026. — With files from Erika Morris Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press

ST. JOHN'S — The Newfoundland and Labrador government has approved hikes in greenhouse gas emissions at a nickel mine in northern Labrador and the Cenovus-owned White Rose oilfield off the coast of St. John's. Cenovus estimates that its new West White Rose platform will increase emissions at the oilfield by about 21 per cent at peak operation, or an amount equivalent to about 100,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide, according to documents obtained through access to information legislation by The Canadian Press. That's roughly the same as the emissions from more than 23,300 vehicles driven for one year, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The West White Rose project was roundly applauded for bringing hundreds of construction jobs to rural Newfoundland and for extending the life of the White Rose oilfield by about 14 years. A massive component was built in Argentia, N.L., and towed out to the oilfield last year. Its effect on greenhouse gas emissions has not been as widely discussed. Climate scientist Marilena Geng said she wished these projects' greenhouse gas emissions were talked about more often. However, she wondered how effective more awareness would be as other issues — affordability, an unstable geopolitical landscape — seem to have eclipsed concerns about the climate crisis. "Things are just going down in terms of our interest in climate change and cutting emissions," said Geng, who is part of an energy transition research group at Memorial University in St. John's, N.L. "But we can't bench climate change. It's going to catch up, and it's going to really hurt." Climate change is fuelling extreme weather across Canada, including in Newfoundland and Labrador, where wildfires destroyed more than 200 structures last year and Hurricane Fiona ravaged the southwestern tip of the island in 2022 as a post-tropical storm. The Insurance Bureau of Canada estimates insured losses due to catastrophic weather events and wildfires totalled $37 billion between 2016 to 2025, nearly tripling losses from the previous decade. Cenovus and mining company Vale Base Metals, which operates the Voisey's Bay mine in Labrador, wrote to the provincial government last year to ask for an increase in their operations' baseline emissions levels. The province uses the baseline levels to set emission reduction targets, which can come with financial penalties if missed. This year, according to legislation, a facility's emissions must be 20 per cent below the baseline level. Credits to offset missed reduction targets will cost $110 per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to carbon dioxide, the rules say. Emissions at Voisey's Bay mine more than doubled from 2016 to 2024, reaching more than 180,000 metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent, according to government data. In its note to the province, Vale said the increase was due to a switch from open pit to underground mining. In January, the province's new Progressive Conservative government approved Vale's and Cenovus' requests via two orders-in-council. Provincial legislation allows the government to amend a facility's baseline emission rate if it has changed its operations or technology. Vale's new underground mine at Voisey's Bay will undergo a three-year baseline-setting program, "after which they will have annually increasing greenhouse gas emission reduction targets at the rate set in legislation," said Sherri Breen, a spokesperson for the provincial Department of Environment, Conservation and Climate Change. The West White Rose expansion will also be factored into Cenovus' annual reduction targets, Breen said in an email. Cenovus said the bump in emissions from the West White Rose platform will largely come from generating electricity. The platform is powered primarily by natural gas, with diesel on backup, a spokesperson said. "The new West White Rose platform will steward to environmental measures set by the province," said spokesperson Colleen McConnell in an email. The current baseline emissions rate for the White Rose oilfield is 389,034 metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent, the company's request to the province said. A new baseline of 489,034 metric tonnes is equivalent to greenhouse gas emissions from more than 114,000 vehicles driven for one year, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. However, it's a fraction of the 3.8 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent that spewed from Cenovus' oilsands operation at Christina Lake in Alberta in 2024, according to federal data. Vale powers much of its operations at the Voisey's Bay mine by burning diesel, according to plans it submitted to the province for a wind farm to offset fossil fuel burning at the site. The plans were approved in 2022, though the company did not directly respond to a question asking whether construction on the wind farm had begun. "While the remote location of Voisey’s Bay is far from the provincial power grid posing logistical and economic challenges to the use of renewable energy, we remain committed to reducing emissions at the operation and continue to explore available options," spokesperson Vincent Tulk said in an email. "Our ambition is to achieve net zero … emissions by 2050." This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026. Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press

ST. JOHN'S — The Newfoundland and Labrador government has approved hikes in greenhouse gas emissions at a nickel mine in northern Labrador and the Cenovus-owned White Rose oilfield off the coast of St. John's.

HALIFAX — The RCMP are dismissing recent claims made by the Nova Scotia government that unregulated cannabis dispensaries are selling guns and women. The remarks, made by Nova Scotia Minister of L'nu Affairs Leah Martin, are the latest in a series of unsubstantiated claims shared by members of the provincial government after it directed police to crack down on illegal dispensaries last December, urging First Nations leaders to co-operate to stop this activity in their communities. Martin made the comments during a legislative committee meeting. “We've had nine deaths in our community in the last month. And I say: ‘Okay, so and so, where did they get the stuff?' Like, 'Well, at the shop.' And I know what all this means. And I've seen raids that have come out with this, that, and the other,” she said on March 27. “We all know some just sell unregulated product (cannabis), some sell much more than that. We've seen some that sell guns, some that sell mushrooms, some that sell cocaine, women,” the minister added. While Martin's comments appeared to fly under the radar, some First Nations leaders have said the government's ongoing rhetoric is villainizing Indigenous communities by using outdated colonial tactics and undermining their treaty rights. Premier Tim Houston has previously said fentanyl was found in unregulated cannabis, while Justice Minister Scott Armstrong has said the unregulated drug market is linked to human trafficking. Police have said they have no evidence to support either of the claims made by Houston and Armstrong. The comments are feeding into a volatile political environment as the government comes under fire for a series of police raids in recent months that have mostly targeted dispensaries in First Nations communities. The raids have also prompted fierce opposition, including two temporary blockades of Nova Scotia highways that caused traffic slowdowns ahead of the Easter long weekend. When asked about Martin’s comments, a spokesperson with the Nova Scotia RCMP said investigators have discovered “other illicit items” while searching illegal cannabis storefronts, including cocaine and psilocybin mushrooms. During searches at dispensaries in the Southwest Nova RCMP district, officers seized eighteen firearms. “However, there’s no evidence to support charges related to firearms trafficking,” Allison Gerrard said in an email. “The Nova Scotia RCMP isn’t aware of any evidence showing a direct connection between human trafficking and illegal cannabis markets, but both crimes can coexist. That means overlap is possible, even if not documented today,” she said. A Halifax Regional Police spokesperson said their officers have also located psilocybin mushrooms while searching unregulated cannabis shops, and “a small quantity of cocaine which was in someone's personal possession." “Human trafficking and firearms have not been linked to any investigation or enforcement HRP (Halifax Regional Police) has been involved in,” said police spokesperson Cst. Martin Cromwell. Martin's office did not answer when asked what evidence the minister has for the claims she made, but said she is in "constant" contact with Mi'kmaq communities and regularly hears from individuals and groups during confidential discussions. "These conversations are private in nature. We can advise that a common thread expressed is the resounding presence of grave concerns about the adverse effects of illegal activity reaching their communities," a spokesperson for Martin's department said in an email. "In these confidential exchanges, it is expressed repeatedly that community members are terrified to verbalize their concerns publicly. Concerns about repercussions that could put their safety and well-being at risk are genuine and significant," reads the emailed statement. Provincial law strictly controls the sale of cannabis, which is done through 51 Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. outlets across the province. Since early December, when the government issued its directive for law enforcement officers to prioritize cannabis, police have staged a series of raids across the province, including at dispensaries in Eskasoni First Nation, Potlotek First Nation, Paq'tnkek First Nation and Waycobah First Nation. Armstrong also wrote to 13 Mi'kmaq chiefs, requesting their co-operation to tackle illegal cannabis sales. Since the directive was issued, RCMP say seven of the 11 seizures at illegal cannabis storefronts were within First Nations communities. In March, the council of Cape Breton’s Membertou First Nation, led by Chief Terry Paul, passed a resolution saying the province and RCMP have no right to carry out enforcement on its lands. And the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs issued a statement saying raids have undermined the positive work that had been done to build relationships between the First Nations, police and the province. The Sipekne’katik First Nation has cited the cannabis directive for banning Martin, Armstrong and the premier from the community. The province maintains that multiple court decisions have consistently rejected the idea that cannabis sales are a treaty right. Meanwhile, there are cases involving Indigenous-owned cannabis operators currently making their way through the provincial court system. This includes Thomas Durfee’s legal proceeding. He’s a Mi’kmaq cannabis advocate who asserts he has a treaty right to grow and sell the drug. His shops are called treaty truckhouses — the term used for trading posts in treaties signed by the Mi’kmaq and British Crown in the 1700s. In an interview, Durfee said he believes the message being spread by government is an attack on Mi’kmaq sovereignty and an attempt to vilify First Nations cannabis sellers. He said the truckhouses always put health and safety first, and he challenged Martin to either prove her claims with evidence or resign. “The lies about our communities are not mistakes. They are tactics. Economic genocide, meant to kill our right to trade," Durfee said. “Mi’kmaq people from Unama’ki to Kespe’k to Ktaqmkuk will not have our treaty rights erased by disinformation. False accusations are a colonial tactic of assimilation." Meanwhile, Martin said many families wish their children “didn’t have to drive by 10 cannabis stores on the way to school in the mornings," adding that youth experience this on a daily basis. “And so, I trust that the RCMP are going in there to do their job, and I support that,” she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026. Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press

HALIFAX — The RCMP are dismissing recent claims made by the Nova Scotia government that unregulated cannabis dispensaries are selling guns and women.

OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada will share how it's thinking about price pressures from the Iran war on Wednesday when it publishes a new monetary policy report and makes its next interest rate decision.

OTTAWA — A new poll from the Angus Reid Institute suggests Canadians are giving Prime Minister Mark Carney's government a passing grade in its first year of international relations, but it has failed to meet expectations on affordability issues. The poll asked 2,013 Canadians a series of questions about the government's performance since it won the election on April 28, 2025. Last spring's election campaign was dominated by the trade war with the U.S. and centred on who was best positioned to handle the relationship with the mercurial President Donald Trump and the economic turbulence of his tariffs. Carney has continued to lead in national polls all year as the leader Canadians consider to be most capable of managing that relationship heading into the July review of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade. A year later, just 31 per cent of those polled said they think the Canada-U.S. relationship will be the top concern for the government in the next year. The No. 1 priority for 52 per cent of respondents was reducing the cost of living. Seventy per cent of those polled said they feel the government has fallen short of expectations when it comes to addressing the high cost of living and 67 per cent felt the Liberals missed the mark on improving housing affordability. The Liberals pledged to create the "most ambitious housing plan since the Second World War" in the last election, which they said would double the rate of residential construction over the next decade. The annual rate of housing starts decreased six per cent last month, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. A majority — 59 per cent — of those polled felt the Liberals met or exceeded expectations on defence spending and meeting its NATO commitments. Canada has finally met the NATO alliance pledge to spend the equivalent of two per cent of GDP on defence this year. The picture was brighter, however, when it comes to the government's performance internationally. A majority of people who took part in the poll — 56 per cent — said they felt Carney was meeting or beating expectations at managing the relationship with Trump. Sixty-four per cent said the Liberals met or exceeded expectations in improving Canada's international reputation, and 57 per cent said expectations were met or exceeded when it comes to diversifying trade. That's been a major focus for the prime minister since he took office. The Liberals have set out to double non-U. S. exports over the next decade and have boasted about signing 20 strategic trade and defence agreements around the world in the last year. Carney has travelled to 25 countries during 17 international trips that date back to March 2025. Those high-profile trips have included stops in China and India, countries with whom Canada has had strained relations in recent years. Carney's travel has also drawn criticism from the opposition. The poll respondents had mixed reviews for whether the government is meeting its election promises: 41 per cent said it had, while another 41 per cent said it had not. Among Liberal voters, just 12 per cent said Carney has exceeded expectations in the first year. And 42 per cent said they feel the country is on the wrong track, compared to 34 per cent who said it's on the right track. Conservative voters felt most strongly that the country is headed in the wrong direction, at 75 per cent, and that the government is falling short of expectations on addressing cost-of-living challenges, at 86 per cent. Carney's own ratings continue to be high, with 58 per cent of respondents saying they approve of his performance as prime minister. Angus Reid notes that number is higher than past prime ministers Stephen Harper, Paul Martin and Brian Mulroney at the one-year mark, and lower than Jean Chrétien and Justin Trudeau. The poll was conducted between April 15 and 20. The Canadian Research Insights Council, an industry organization that promotes polling standards, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026. Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — A new poll from the Angus Reid Institute suggests Canadians are giving Prime Minister Mark Carney's government a passing grade in its first year of international relations, but it has failed to meet expectations on affordability issues.

OTTAWA — A new poll from the Angus Reid Institute suggests Canadians are giving Prime Minister Mark Carney's government a passing grade in its first year of international relations, but it has failed to meet expectations on affordability issues.