Saskatchewan News

The agency started seeing clients in its new Estevan home on Oct. 31.

Improvements in reading results and graduation rates highlights of report.

$107,736 raised for Integrated Health Facility Project.

Most area RMs see 26.27 per cent increase from 2024.

Traffic restrictions will begin along Elphinstone Street on Saturday as the Saskatchewan Roughriders play in the Western Final.

Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill and Associate Shadow Minister for Health Keith Jorgenson had contrasting views on the 40 new acute care beds.

This weekend the Saskatchewan Party will be hosting its biennial convention and there is plenty at stake with Premier Scott Moe's leadership up for review.

Hart Road intersection focus of signal light installation.

Kamsack art students create haunted houses.

Farmers and rural officials across Saskatchewan say Ottawa’s decision to review the strychnine ban could finally bring relief in the fight against gophers. Still, some warn that the solution needs to balance effectiveness and safety. At the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) midterm convention in Regina, delegates announced a resolution calling on the federal government to either reintroduce strychnine or provide a cost-effective alternative for pest control. The once-common chemical was banned by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) in 2023, leaving producers with few reliable options. Read more:

• SARM calls for reversal of ban on strychnine pesticide for ground squirrels
• Murray Wood: Sask. farmers pay the price for Ottawa’s gopher ban
• Sask. Wildlife Federation helping landowners control gopher populations

SARM President Bill Huber told delegates that the association had received a verbal commitment from Ottawa to review the use of strychnine in emergencies, with support from provincial and municipal governments. “We also asked for the reinstatement of strychnine to manage Richardson’s ground squirrels,” Huber said. “They’re not just a nuisance, they’re a plague on our crops. And before we even got home from Ottawa, the federal government verbally committed to reviewing its use.” While commitment is still informing many municipal leaders, they see it as the first progress since the ban took effect. Hazelwood Reeve James Husband says the gopher problem has worsened since strychnine was banned, leaving few effective options for farmers. (Jacob Bamhour/980 CJME) For Hazelwood Reeve James Husband, the damage from gophers is already adding up. “We’ve faced extensive crop and pasture damage,” Husband said. “Since strychnine was banned, the problem’s only grown. The new options don’t work; the old product, used right, was extremely effective. Husband says farmers want Ottawa to allow more potent formulations, not the diluted version that replaced it years ago. Further south, Val Marie reeve and farmer Larry Grant described the ripple effects gophers cause across the Prairies, from crop loss to machinery damage caused by badgers drawn to burrows. “Gophers are a destructive pest,” Grant said. “They eat crops, they eat grass, and when you get badgers going after them, they can wreck equipment. The most reliable and safest way to control them was strychnine; now we don’t have a product that really works.” Grant says gophers thrive in drought-prone areas, particularly in southwestern Saskatchewan, and the cost of repairs and re-seeding continues to rise. Still, some municipal leaders aren’t convinced strychnine should return. John Hilger, council member for the RM of Clinworth, says other products can work if used correctly, without harming natural predators. “I don’t know if it’s totally necessary to bring back strychnine,” Hilger said. “The new products can work if you put them out in time, and they don’t hurt the predators. Hilger’s view reflects a minority at the convention but highlights the ongoing debate over environmental risks linked to the poison, which also kills birds and mammals that prey on rodents. Also speaking at SARM’s convention, Sameer Thawer, operations lead for Ecopest Inc. and president of Canadian Pest Management Association, told delegates that rodent control can’t rely solely on chemicals. “We live in the pest world, they don’t live in ours,” Thawer said. “You can’t fix a rodent problem with chemistry, but you can fix it by managing rodents.” Thawer said regulators in Canada and the U.S. are reviewing rodenticides nationwide, which could lead to tighter safety rules and the reclassification of certain products. He urged municipalities to adopt an integrated rodent management plan built on three pillars: education, elimination, and control. “We’ll never live in a world without pests,” Thawer said. “The point is to manage them sustainably, through prevention, training and responsible control.” SARM says it’s still waiting for formal confirmation from the federal government, but calls Ottawa’s verbal commitment an encouraging sign. Read more:

• SARM calls for reversal of ban on strychnine pesticide for ground squirrels
• Murray Wood: Sask. farmers pay the price for Ottawa’s gopher ban
• Sask. Wildlife Federation helping landowners control gopher populations

Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris believes there’s one major difference when it comes to the team’s mindset for the CFL West Final. “We’re the big dogs,” Harris said. Read more:

• Find the latest Saskatchewan Roughriders news here
• The Blitz podcast with Jamie Nye and Britton Gray
• Chilly weather forecast for CFL West Final in Regina

The Riders proved they were the top dog throughout the CFL regular season, finishing with a league-high 12 wins. Finishing at the top of the standings gave the team the right to have the divisional final at home at Mosaic Stadium. This is the first time the Riders have hosted the West Final since 2019 and only the fourth time since 1972. Kickoff for the game against the B.C. Lions is set for 5:30 p.m. The Green Zone pregame show begins at 3:30 p.m. Harris knows it’s important to take advantage of these opportunities. “I think early on in your career, you believe you will do this a bunch of times,” Harris said. “Eventually, you realize it’s difficult. When you get these opportunities, you relish them. I remember growing up, I used to watch press conferences and go to games and watch players, and I was like, ‘I would love to be that guy someday,’ … I’m grateful for these moments. “It’s not something where I sit here and put pressure on myself. I get to live this moment. I get to go out there in front of a packed house in the West Final in the CFL, playing professional football, and I am 39 years old. It’s pretty stinking awesome and I am grateful.” Harris had one of the best seasons in his lengthy CFL career, throwing for 4,549 yards, 24 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. On the other side will be the B.C. Lions, who have rattled off seven wins in a row to get to this point, including defeating the Calgary Stampeders in the West semifinal. The Lions, who boast the number one scoring offence in the CFL, are led by CFL West Division Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Canadian in quarterback Nathan Rourke. Rourke threw for 5,290 yards, 31 touchdowns and 16 interceptions to go along with 564 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. Linebacker Jameer Thurman knows it’s a challenge to keep Rourke contained as a rusher. “It’s a challenge because a lot of their big plays come when he gets out of the pocket. We understand what’s at stake when we go against someone like him, but as long as guys do their job, we will be fine,” Thurman said. The Riders’ defence has been one of the best in multiple categories this season, especially when it comes to stopping the run. Saskatchewan only surrendered 76 yards per game — the next lowest was the Ottawa Redblacks at 91.4 yards per game. B.C. running back James Butler was among the best in the league with his 1,213 yards being good enough to be the third-highest in the CFL. With the weather expected to be cold, Thurman said it’s important they continue to focus on their identity. “We talk about all season, stopping the run. That’s a key to victory. We have done that throughout the year and we continue to look forward to doing that. It’s not about who is coming in or anything like that. As long as you continue to be yourself and what you have been doing all season long, we will come away with the win,” Thurman said. Meanwhile, the Riders could lean heavily on running back AJ Ouellette in the game. He finished with 1,222 yards. “Everybody is fired up. We know we have the team that has what it takes to go all the way. Just go out there and show what we are made of,” Ouellette said. Both defences in the game have had success getting to the quarterback this season. The Lions finished the season tied at the top of the CFL with 45 sacks, but right behind them were the Riders with 43. The same can be said for the offensive lines as well as the Lions surrendered the least amount of sacks (20), while the Riders were tied with the Montreal Alouettes in second (25). The Riders did win two of the three showdowns between the two clubs, but the Lions did win in Week 21. In that game, the Riders rested their starters in the second half while also giving some other players the game off. Head coach Corey Mace this is the type of showdown you want to be a part of. “I think for the fan base, it’s excellent. This is what you want. From the players’ standpoint, I think this is what they want as well,” Mace said. “At this point in the season, where everyone is trying to go, you have to show up and you have to be the best. It’s a tall task, no doubt. We’ve talked about two really good football teams. It should be excellent for the league and CFL fans.” Read more:

• Find the latest Saskatchewan Roughriders news here
• The Blitz podcast with Jamie Nye and Britton Gray
• Chilly weather forecast for CFL West Final in Regina

Featured works from a number of local trailblazers are on display at the Outlook Art Gallery.

A police service dog was used to track the fleeing suspect.

The North Battleford Crime Reduction Team – Gang Task Force and the Saskatchewan RCMP’s Critical Incident Response Team executed a search warrant at a residence on Moosomin First Nation on Nov. 6.

EDGEWOOD, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA — Katie Pasitney, whose mother co-owns the British Columbia ostrich farm where hundreds of the birds were shot dead in a cull ordered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, says she is focused on creating change fo

EDGEWOOD, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA — Katie Pasitney, whose mother co-owns the British Columbia ostrich farm where hundreds of the birds were shot dead in a cull ordered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, says she is focused on creating change for other farmers. Standing on the highway overlooking the field where the cull took place Thursday night, Pasitney says the CFIA's so-called stamping-out policy is "broken" as it fails to prevent mounting outbreaks of avian influenza in B.C. and other parts of Canada. She says the farm near Edgewood in southeastern B.C. is "ground zero for change" in outbreak response, but adds her family will "never recover from this." The owners of Universal Ostrich Farms had been fighting the cull order issued during an avian flu outbreak last New Year's Eve, but their hopes were dashed Thursday as the Supreme Court of Canada said it would not hear their case. The cull went ahead that night, with sounds of gunfire starting at about 6 p.m. from within a hay-bale pen built by the CFIA, a method Pasitney describes as inhumane. A statement from the CFIA says using "professional marksmen" was the "most appropriate and human option" to kill the flock of about 300 to 330 birds. Pasitney's voice filled with emotion as she described her father, who uses a wheelchair, crying because he felt he couldn't protect his family and their ostriches. "In a way I feel like I failed 'cause I couldn't protect my mum," she said through tears during an interview Friday as dead ostriches were loaded into containers in the field behind her, though the view was largely obstructed by the hay-bale enclosure. "Our land that had so much life 24 hours ago is a cold, empty shell," Pasitney said. "We're going to use that as motivation and we're going to change Canada." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2025. Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press

At its annual convention, the Sask. Party focuses on reconnecting with urban voters while Moe faces a leadership review.

Ryley Mantei was arrested four times in an 11-month span in 2024 and early 2025.

After losing their 10 previous provincial football championship games, the Holy Cross Crusaders were looking to create a different result on Friday. Read More

Temperatures are expected to be well below normal in the southeast.