News Talk 650 CKOM

Images of last year’s wildfires and the destruction they caused are still burned into the minds of many residents of northern Saskatchewan. And as another wildfire season looms, some are worried history will repeat itself. Jordan McPhail, the Saskatchewan NDP MLA for Cumberland, said Saskatchewan’s fleet of water bombers is not ready as the wildfire season approaches. On Friday, McPhail told reporters that two water bombers in Saskatchewan are “not going to be ready until mid-July or later,” with “another one that’s not showing up until August,” and a fourth “totally unaccounted for.” Read more:

• Public Safety Agency says several communities seeing spring flooding
• Saskatchewan ombudsman says government slow in responding to wildfire evacuees
• How Canadians can prepare for wildfire evacuations, from emergency plans to go bags

Those issues will mean a reduced fleet of water bombers in the province for the first few months of the wildfire season, McPhail said. “We will not have a full fire-fighting fleet until August, if at all,” he said. “That’s not just unacceptable, it’s dangerous.” The provincial government disputed McPhail’s claims about the readiness of the water-bomber fleet, accusing the NDP of spreading misinformation “without consideration of the facts.” In 2025, Rhonda Werbicki lost her family home of 26 years at Denare Beach to wildfires. Her home was one of around 200 in that area that was destroyed. She described the surreal feeling of getting a call from her home alarm company, letting her and her husband know their house was on fire. “You know that your house is burning down at that exact moment,” Wibicki said. “It’s just horrible.” An aerial view of the wildfire damage at Denare Beach in 2025. (Linda Lowe/Facebook) Werbicki and her husband lost their home on June 2, less than a week after they were evacuated from the community. “That’s just why I’m so passionate about this, is because I never want this to happen to anybody again,” she said. McPhail claimed the Government of Saskatchewan is “not prepared, yet again, for wildfire season,” which he said is infuriating to those who lost homes and property last summer. “We all remember what happened last year,” McPhail said. “Entire communities were threatened, homes were lost, families were displaced and, frankly, we’re lucky that nobody died. The fire that destroyed Rhonda’s home ripped through Denare (Beach) in June. So how can this government justify not being able to have their full fleet ready until August or at all?” McPhail said people in the northern parts of Saskatchewan are feeling deja vu over the “same lack of preparation, same talking points from the minister (and) same refusal to take responsibility.” He said accountability and transparency from the province is lacking, with a report that was promised in February still not available as of Friday. “My constituents are angry. They are anxious, and they have every right to be,” McPhail said. “They lived through this already. They watched their homes burn. They were forced out of their communities. They dealt with the trauma of losing so much, and now they’re being told the province still isn’t ready. That is an insult to those families, and it raises a bigger question. What has this government learned? Because from where people sit, the answer is ‘Not enough.’” In the fall, Werbicki and others visited Regina to meet with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Tim McLeod, Saskatchewan’s justice minister and attorney general. “I sat right across from (Moe), and I told him exactly how I felt,” Werbicki recalled. “He was somebody I voted for, and I told him that. I said, ‘I really respected you. I really trusted you as a government official.’ I looked at him right in the eye, and I said, ‘You disappointed us in the north.’” Werbicki said she was touched when Moe took his glasses off, looked at her and responded by saying “I know. And for that, I’m really sorry.” She said Moe approached her after the meeting, gave her a hug and promised her he would “do better.” Werbicki said the apology and promise meant the world to her, but she expressed disappointment that the premier hasn’t visited Denare Beach to hold a community meeting, though he did visit the community in September, and that he did not support a public inquiry into last year’s wildfire season, instead opting for an independent review. She said that decision “was just a slap in the face” to her and residents of the area. “If you really wanted to do better, actions speak louder than words,” she said. Wibicki, who was involved in a class-action lawsuit against the province that ultimately did not proceed, said she is still planning to rebuild her home. She presently is living in Gimli, Man. – about an eight-hour drive from Denare Beach – and returns frequently for work. She said she has two residences rented so she can go back and forth for work as needed. “So many people have commented that you should expect wildfires because you live in the trees. That is true,” she acknowledged. “I also expect that we are going to be protected by a government that we pay taxes to, regardless of where we live.” Wibicki said she wants the province to learn from its mistakes and improve its response. “It doesn’t seem like they’ve learned from it, and it just makes me so angry,” Wibicki said. Wibicki remembered her community’s last public meeting, held on June 23. She called the gathering “embarrassing,” saying the province had no answers for residents. She said another community meeting has been promised as the wildfires season looms, but expressed frustration that Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) president Marlo Pritchard and vice-president Steve Roberts are not expected to attend. “We’re going to just get the run around that they don’t have the answers,” Wibicki stated. “I just feel like everybody’s avoiding us. I would just like some accountability of what happened last year, and I really, really, really would like lessons learned.” “They deserve answers,” McPhail said, “and they deserve a government that takes their safety seriously. Instead, they’re getting delayed deflection, a firefighting fleet that won’t be fully ready until halfway through the season, and that’s not good enough, not for the people that I serve, which is almost the entire northern half of this province.” All aircraft accounted for, province says The provincial government said the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency has “one of the largest and most capable aerial firefighting fleets in Canada,” with 17 aircraft positioned across the province for quick and effective wildfire deployment. “It is disappointing the unserious NDP continue to politicize this matter without consideration of the facts, spreading misinformation on matters of public safety,” the province said in an emailed statement. “The Government of Saskatchewan deeply appreciates the heroic efforts of our first responders, pilots and support staff to ensure Saskatchewan families and communities are safe and secure.” The government explained that updates were made to the public safety agency’s website on Oct. 20. “The old content listed the Convair count as 4 aircraft and the Q400s were not mentioned,” the government explained. “The SPSA updated the website to reflect the new Q400 that entered the fleet and reduced the Convair count to three, to reflect the previously announced retirement of one Convair 580 that was retired from the fleet in 2025.” The government clarified that with the announcement of the airtanker renewal program in April 2024, “it was noted that the Q400s would be replacing the aging Convair 580s” when the new aircraft arrived. The province stated that the government and public safety agencies used “all available resources… including a fleet of water bombing aircraft” during the 2025 wildfire season. The current SPSA fleet includes three Convair 580A land-based air tankers, a Q400 land-based air tanker, six Cl 215T turbine-powered water-scooping air tankers and seven turbo commander bird-dog aircraft. “Due to the critical conditions of where these aircraft operate, there are times when planes will be temporarily removed from service for repair, a federally regulated inspection, maintenance and other issues,” the province noted. “If availability is hindered, the SPSA will request additional aircraft through its existing mutual aid agreements and compacts. The Government of Saskatchewan will not compromise the health and safety of our pilots and aircraft crews and will ensure that all air assets are in compliance with safety standards and regulations.” The province said the public safety agency brings its air groups into service in two phases, with the first already prepared for deployment as of April 20. “This approach ensures aircraft are available throughout the entire wildfire season, while maintaining flexibility to address fleet readiness and maintenance requirements,” the government said. Wibicki said she’s concerned that people in her community and other northern parts of the province where fires might spread will take matters into their own hands this wildfire season. She said people are installing sprinklers and pumps in preparation for the season. “I’m really fearful that if there is another fire, that people are not going to leave their homes,” she said. “Last year, people left, and I don’t think people will leave (again) because of the lack of help that we had last year. And that’s scary, because thankfully, there (were) no deaths this last year, but that could be something that is different in the years coming.”

FREDERICTON — New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt says she's shuffling around several provincial senior staff as of May 1. Deputy Finance Minister Travis Bergin becomes deputy minister responsible for government reform and modernization on Friday. Bergin will be part of the Executive Council Office working on ways to cut costs amid financial challenges facing the province. Amy Beswarick will take over Bergin's previous role at finance on an interim basis, adding it to her current deputy minister gig at the human resources department. Jim Mehan will become deputy minister of post-secondary education, training and labour, while Daniel Mills will take over Mehan's old gig as deputy minister of social development. Cabinet Secretary Judy Wagner will transition to a new role as senior advisor to the head of the public service ahead of a retirement. Wagner has spent more than three decades working at the New Brunswick government, according to her LinkedIn profile. "We extend our sincere thanks to Judy for her many years of dedicated public service and her outstanding leadership in key roles," Holt said Monday. "Her insight, commitment and steady guidance have made a lasting impact, and she will be missed." This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026. Eli Ridder, The Canadian Press

WASHINGTON — Quebec's premier met today in Washington D.C. with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, an influential member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet. Christine Fréchette met Greer ahead of negotiations between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico on the continental free-trade pact, scheduled to begin July 1. Fréchette's office did not release details yet from the meeting with Greer, a former U.S. air force lawyer who was chief of staff to Trump’s first-term trade representative, Robert Lighthizer. She is in Washington on her first official foreign trip since she was sworn in as premier earlier this month. Earlier in the day she held a roundtable discussion with representatives of business associations including the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association and General Motors. The United States is Quebec’s main trading partner, but since March 2025 U.S. tariffs have hit several of the province's industrial sectors hard. In 2024, nearly three-quarters of Quebec’s exports (73.5 per cent) were destined for the U.S. market, valued at $91.2 billion. These consisted mainly of aircraft, aluminum, aircraft engines, and mining products such as gold, silver, platinum group metals, and their alloys. Greer's official website says he “has made it a priority to put America First on trade by combating unfair foreign trade practices, expanding market access for Made in America products, and ensuring the United States has balance and reciprocity in its trading relationships.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026. -- With files from The Associated Press The Canadian Press

VICTORIA — Provincial gun regulations that have been nine years in the making will come into effect in British Columbia this fall, shutting down what the province call loopholes in federal laws that have helped allow extortion crimes to proliferate. The new regulations include a ban on firing from vehicles, which has been a feature of a wave of extortions involving shooters firing from cars at homes and businesses, then posting videos of the attacks online. Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger says the new regulations resulting from the Firearm Violence Prevention Act will help police crack down on such offences. The new regulations also make it an offence to operate a vehicle illegally transporting a firearm and requiring that imitation and low-velocity firearms, such as pellet guns, are securely stored when being transported. While the government drafted the legislation before the recent rise of extortion-related shootings, Krieger says the regulations are all about closing "loopholes that are exploited by organized (criminals) and specifically by extortionists causing harm in our communities." The act, which was originally passed in 2021 and comes into force on Oct. 1, was developed out of a 2017 task force report into illegal firearms. Krieger says it "took really extensive consultations" over the past five years to strike the right balance with "uninterrupted, safe access" for law-abiding gun owners and criminals. Attorney General Niki Sharma says extortionists have been testing the "limits of accountability" in several ways, including using rental cars or cars owned by family and friends to transport firearms. When police discover firearms, Sharma says, individuals often "claim that they didn't know that they were there, or that the firearms belonged to somebody else." She says such loopholes create "real challenges for prosecution under existing criminal laws, adding the new regulations will remove common defences used by organized criminals and help disrupt their mobility. "Police rely primarily on the Criminal Code and the federal Firearms Act," Sharma says. "But they come with high evidentiary thresholds, and do not always allow for swift intervention at the street level." Sharma says the new rules fill these gaps by creating provincial offences, while the act "provides a clear mechanism for police to confiscate and destroy firearms used to commit an offence." The regulations also prohibit the sale of low-velocity and imitation firearms to anyone under 18. Krieger says that list includes BB, pellet and airsoft guns, lighters designed to look like firearms, and other objects that could reasonably be mistaken to be firearms. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026. Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press

Canadian wood manufacturers are welcoming a trade inquiry into wood imports but say the investigation needs to be followed by immediate provisional tariffs on foreign-made goods entering the country. Earlier this month, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the government had directed the Canadian International Trade Tribunal to launch an inquiry into global imports of wood cabinets and vanities, hardwood flooring and storage furniture. Read more:

• Carney says tariffs ‘more than irritants’ as U.S. officials complain about booze ban
• Poll suggests Canadians want Carney government focused on affordability in next year
• Some Sask. shoppers still snub U.S. products a year after tariff war

He said the tribunal would have 270 days to decide if increased imports of the products are causing or threatening to cause serious injury to Canadian wood product manufacturers, and to make recommendations to the government on next steps. The Canadian Wood Products Alliance says it appreciates the government’s “swift recognition” of the situation but says it won’t be enough to provide the stability and relief the industry needs unless it’s followed by tariffs. It says there are tens of thousands of Canadians who depend on the industry. The alliance says there have been job losses and business closures already, and more will follow if tariffs aren’t implemented immediately. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The man who authorities say tried to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner with guns and knives was charged Monday with the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump and will remain at least temporarily behind bars as the case moves forward. Cole Tomas Allen appeared in court Monday to face federal charges in a chaotic encounter that resulted in shots being fired, Trump being rushed off the stage and guests ducking for cover underneath their tables. He was taken into custody after the shooting on Saturday night and sat beside his lawyers in a brief appearance Monday in Washington’s federal court. Read more:

• Trump unharmed, suspect in custody after shooting at White House correspondents’ dinner
• Prime Minister Mark Carney announces Canada’s first sovereign wealth fund
• Drought fears linger as seeding begins on southwest Saskatchewan farms

Besides being charged with attempting to assassinate the Republican president, Allen also faces two firearms charges. He did not enter a plea. A judge granted a prosecutor’s request Monday to keep Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, detained pending additional hearings. One of Allen’s lawyers, Tezira Abe, asked for a detention hearing and noted Allen has no criminal record. “He also is presumed innocent at this time,” she said. The Associated Press called multiple phone numbers listed for Allen and relatives in public records, and there was no answer when a reporter knocked on the door of his home. Prosecutors have not revealed a motive, but in a message reviewed by the AP that authorities say was sent by Allen to family members minutes before the attack, Allen referred to himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin,” made repeated references to the Republican president without naming him and alluded to grievances over a range of Trump administration actions. Investigators are treating the writings, along with a trail of social media posts and interviews with family members, as some of the clearest evidence of the suspect’s mindset and possible motives. Allen is believed to have traveled by train from California to Chicago and then onto Washington, where he checked himself in as a guest at the hotel where the gala dinner was held with its typically tight security, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “It does appear that he did in fact set out to target folks who work in the administration, likely including the president,” Blanche told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. Video posted by Trump shows a man, who authorities say was armed with guns and knives, running past a security barricade as Secret Service agents run toward him. Authorities say an officer wearing a bullet-resistant vest was shot in the vest but is expected to recover. Records show Allen is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer. A social media profile for a man with the same name and a photo that appears to match that of the suspect show he worked part-time for the last six years at a company that offers admissions counseling and test preparation services to aspiring college students.

OTTAWA — NDP Leader Avi Lewis said Monday he won't run in an upcoming Quebec byelection to fill a seat being left vacant by Alexandre Boulerice. Boulerice officially announced Monday he is leaving Parliament to run provincially for the Québec solidaire after spending 15 years as an MP. He will sit as an Independent until he formally resigns his seat in the Quebec riding of Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie ahead of the provincial election campaign call this fall. Boulerice said he feels he has completed his work federally and framed the move as a continuation of his progressive work rather than a political calculation. "It’s not a decision that is taken lightly," he said. "After 15 years and five election victories, I felt I had done what I needed to do in Ottawa and that it was now time to come back home, here, to Quebec." His departure is another blow to the NDP, which last year had its worst showing in a federal election, winning just seven seats. It needs 12 to be considered an official party in the House of Commons, which means it no longer has a seat on House committees, and had its caucus funding reduced. The NDP caucus was reduced to six in March when Nunavut MP Lori Idlout crossed the floor to the Liberals. Boulerice's departure will cut that further to five. He was also the only MP in Quebec, and the only one east of Manitoba. Lewis, who was elected less than a month ago to lead the party, said he encouraged Boulerice to stay on in Parliament. "I think everyone did and when I saw Alex in my first moments as leader, I did what I think a responsible leader should do because everyone had heard the rumours for a long time and we knew he was considering it," Lewis told reporters Monday. "But it's clear that this decision has been a long time in coming and we were ready." Although Lewis doesn't hold a seat in the House of Commons, he said he won't run in the vacated seat because Quebecers should be represented by someone from Quebec and it's too soon for him to consider a run. "This is not a riding where I will seek election myself," he said. "I'm not a Quebecer, and there's a lot of interest already locally." Boulerice said his shift to provincial politics reflects where he believes the most urgent battles are now being fought in Quebec. "The house is not in order," he said. "We need to fix Quebec." He said issues like housing affordability, public services and inequality have become increasingly difficult to address from Ottawa, and stronger provincial action is required to respond to what he described as mounting social pressures in Quebec. Lewis said Monday he believes Boulerice's move is different from recent floor-crossings and what he called "opportunistic moves that we've seen from MPs recently." In addition to Idlout, four MPs elected as Conservatives joined the Liberals between November and April. "This is a move of principle," said Lewis. "Alexandre wants to put his considerable skills as a politician and as a fighter for progressive values to work in his province, and we respect that decision." This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026. —With files from Charlotte Glorieux in Montreal Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press

TORONTO — Business groups say the federal government's decision to establish Canada's first sovereign wealth fund could be helpful to get projects going, but is not a singular fix. Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the Canada Strong Fund on Monday, saying it will invest in major Canadian industrial projects in areas such as energy, infrastructure, mining, agriculture and technology with an initial $25 billion in government funding. Matthew Holmes, head of public policy at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, says the fund is another tool to spur investment, but its success hinges on the details and speed of implementation. Holmes says in a statement that given the amount of time it could take to get such a fund running, the immediate focus should remain on areas like boosting trade relations, reducing regulation and tax reform. Pierre Gratton, head of The Mining Association of Canada, says a sovereign wealth fund could be helpful in areas like critical minerals that need patient, longer-term capital. He says it will be less helpful for more conventional metals projects like copper or iron mines, which he says would benefit more from tax and infrastructure improvements. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026. Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press

The three Liberals who won the byelections that secured a majority government for Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier this month took their seats in the House of Commons on Monday. The government moved quickly to make use of its new majority powers by introducing a motion to limit debate on a change to the House rules that would enable the Liberals to take control of committees. Read more:

• MacKinnon rejects Conservative’s call to leave some committee control to opposition
• MacKinnon defends Liberal move to seize control of House committees
• Prime Minister Mark Carney announces Canada’s first sovereign wealth fund

The Liberals are looking to change the structure of committees to ensure they have a majority of members. Committees study legislation and other government business and have the power to call witnesses and require the production of documents. Government House leader Steven MacKinnon said the changes reflect the “long tradition” in Parliament that majority governments also hold a majority of seats on committees — though he acknowledged the situation is unusual. “Let’s agree that it does not happen often that governments change status such that they grow to have a majority of the seats in the elected chamber during the typical mandate,” he said. Opposition House leader Andrew Scheer decried the move as undemocratic. “The very first vote that these new Liberal MPs will pronounce on will be a vote to shut down debate. So welcome to the Liberal Party of Canada, you can check your soul in at the door and just follow whatever the whip tells you to do,” Scheer said. The Liberals have enough voting members to force the changes through, in spite of the opposition. There are now 174 members on the government benches after five MPs — four from the Conservative benches and one from the NDP — defected over the last six months. Doly Begum, Danielle Martin and Tatiana Auguste took their seats on Monday after they were formally sworn in as members of Parliament on Saturday. Begum and Martin are newcomers who replaced outgoing cabinet ministers Bill Blair and Chrystia Freeland in Toronto-area seats. Auguste won the seat in the Bloc Québécois stronghold of Terrebonne in a rematch after the Supreme Court of Canada invalidated the results of last April’s election in the riding. The court found that Elections Canada had made an error in the printed return addresses on some mail-in ballots and ordered the vote redone. Auguste increased her one-vote margin in 2025 to more than 700 votes this year. Most members of the Liberal caucus came to the Commons chamber to welcome their newest colleagues with standing ovations and a few hugs. No more than two dozen MPs filled the sparsely populated opposition benches, and none of the other party leaders were there. The new additions came on the same day NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice announced that he was leaving the party to sit as an Independent MP before he resigns to run provincially for the Québec Solidaire this fall. The departure leaves the New Democrats with just five seats in Parliament. The party’s new leader, Avi Lewis, is not an MP. “I’m not fazed by this,” Lewis said Monday, adding that Boulerice began considering the move to provincial politics well before he was chosen as the leader. A byelection must be called within six months of Boulerice’s resignation in his riding of Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026.

WINNIPEG — Manitoba's education minister says the government may first turn to schools to ban children from using social media accounts and artificial intelligence chatbots. Tracy Schmidt says Manitobans can expect to see the ban's first phase roll out in schools, comparing it to when the province banned cellphones in classrooms. She didn't provide additional details on what the rollout would look like or a timeline. She says legislative changes need to be made and that implementing the ban in classrooms is an easy first step. Premier Wab Kinew announced the decision over the weekend, saying the province plans to protect kids from technology platforms that hurt their development. Details on the age limit or how the province would have jurisdiction over international platforms have not been revealed. Schmidt says the province is consulting with school divisions, the community and parents on what the ban in schools could look like. 
 Brittany Hobson, The Canadian Press

A proposed partial sale of Regina’s REAL District to Brandt is drawing both optimism and calls for caution, as council prepares to debate a deal that could reshape how the site operates. The non-binding agreement would see Brandt purchase several key buildings at the REAL District for roughly $6.4 million, with the city saying the move could save taxpayers money and shift risk to the private sector. Read more:

• City of Regina plans partial sale of REAL District to Brandt, promises cost savings
• Uncertainty around REAL makes booking live events challenging: CEO
• Struggling REAL asking for $12.7 million from Regina city budget

From groups already using the facility, the reaction has been largely positive. “It’s exciting for the community, for the city of Regina,” said Mike Reich, owner of Queen City Young Guns Hockey Academy. “It could bring a lot of good things to the entire community, and hopefully the youth sport community too.” Reich said his group has spent the past few years building relationships inside the facility, and he believes new investments could help it grow even further. “We found a way to work together with the other groups that are in there,” he said. “We’re developing young athletes, and it’s been good.” He added that potential upgrades to aging infrastructure at the facilities could benefit both users and fans. “For them to be willing to give that type of commitment to do some upgrades, I think that’s definitely promising,” Reich said. At city hall, some councillors are also backing the proposal, pointing to what they see as a shift in responsibility. “We have to really ask ourselves, is events something that the city should be involved in?” said Ward 10 Coun. Clark Bezo. Bezo said the decision ties into a broader debate around municipal government priorities. “When I campaigned, I talked about getting back to basics,” he said. “We didn’t really talk about event planning.” Ward 1 Coun. Dan Rashovich said what he’s heard from the community so far has been encouraging. “The feedback I’ve been getting has been really, really positive,” he said. Rashovich said he’s confident in the work done so far on the proposal, which has taken the city’s administration six months of effort. “I have no hesitations of moving ahead,” he said. He said the deal could allow the city to redirect more of its resources toward infrastructure and other long-term needs. But not everyone on council is ready to move forward. Ward 8 Coun. Shanon Zachidniak said there are still significant gaps in the information that was provided. “There’s a lot to be digested,” she said. “I still have lots of outstanding questions and concerns.” Zachidniak said she wants a clearer understanding of the full financial picture, including the costs, risks and long-term implications for taxpayers. “I’ve not seen any total of all of the costs that the city will be responsible for,” she said. She also raised concerns about the process, noting the proposal came forward without a broader public offering or competing bids. “We don’t really know if this is a good deal or not, because we don’t have anything to compare it to,” she said. Zachidniak said the scale of the decision means council needs to proceed carefully. “This is a major decision that will impact the city indefinitely,” she said. “We have to do this properly.” Council is expected to hear public feedback at upcoming meetings before making a final decision on the proposal.

OTTAWA — Conservative MPs are calling on the auditor general to probe the federal government's handling of a $250 million program which is reportedly set to be scrapped next month. PrescribeIT was launched in 2017 to modernize the way doctors send prescriptions to pharmacies and to phase out older technology, such as fax machines. Conservative MP Dan Mazier cites reporting by The Globe and Mail which suggests fewer than five per cent of prescriptions are sent using the PrescribeIT program, which is being shut down on May 29. Mazier says Conservatives have been working at the committee level to produce documents related to PrescribeIT. He accuses the government of filibustering those efforts until it can restructure the parliamentary committees to reflect the Liberals' new majority in the House of Commons, which is expected to happen this week. Mazier says if that happens, the public may never see documents explaining the government's handling of PrescribeIT. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026. Nick Murray, The Canadian Press

MONTREAL — Alexandre Boulerice has announced he is leaving the federal NDP to join the leftist, sovereigntist Québec solidaire party ahead of October's provincial election. Boulerice, the only Quebec member of Parliament remaining for the NDP, says he will immediately sit as an Independent and will formally resign the day before the provincial campaign is called. His departure had been an open secret for some time, and he made the official announcement today in the Montreal riding of Gouin where he plans to run for Québec solidaire. Québec solidaire co-spokesperson Sol Zanetti says his party's new recruit represents a strong endorsement of its pro-independence platform. The Gouin riding is considered a safe seat for Québec solidaire, which has been struggling with the electorate since the 2022 election and is polling behind the other major parties. Boulerice is the last MP standing in Quebec from the NDP's 2011 "orange wave" election, which catapulted the party under Jack Layton to official Opposition status in the House of Commons. The departure of the MP from Montreal's Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie riding leaves the NDP with five seats in Parliament, all located west of Ontario. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026. The Canadian Press

The movies always feel bigger in the summer. The budgets. The ambition. The names. The stakes. This summer, Hollywood has many of the regulars on the lineup: “Spider-Man,” “Minions,” “Star Wars” and “Toy Story.” But the most eagerly anticipated is not a superhero, toy, or franchise: It’s a 3,000-year-old epic poem. For filmmaker Christopher Nolan, “The Odyssey,” out July 17, isn’t just a story. It’s the story: A foundational piece that deserved to be done on the biggest possible scale, with all the resources modern Hollywood had to offer. Read more:

• Child advocates to rally for online harms bill covering AI chatbots, gaming
• Poll suggests Canadians want Carney government focused on affordability in next year
• Prime Minister Mark Carney announces Canada’s first sovereign wealth fund

“There’s a massive amount of pressure,” Nolan told The Associated Press. “Anyone taking on ‘The Odyssey’ is taking on the hopes and dreams of people for epic movies everywhere and that comes with a huge responsibility.” It’s a familiar feeling, though. He did three Batman films after all. “What I learned from that experience is that what people want from a movie about a beloved story, a beloved set of characters, is they want a strong and sincere interpretation,” Nolan said. “They want to know that a filmmaker has gone to the mat for it. I really tried to make the best film possible.” Three summers ago, “Oppenheimer” made nearly a billion dollars. “The Odyssey” has battles, gods, creatures and an army of movie stars — Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya and Tom Holland included. It’s also the first movie shot entirely on IMAX film. Tickets for some IMAX 70 mm showings sold out in under an hour a full year in advance. “The Odyssey” will be shorter than “Oppenheimer”; Three hours is the longest they’ve been able to get onto an IMAX film projector, after all. “It’s an epic film, as the subject matter demands,” Nolan said. “But it is shorter.” Summer movie season’s fashionable kickoff Hollywood may not save all its blockbusters for the hottest months anymore, but the 18 week corridor running from the first weekend in May through Labor Day remains the industry’s most important, accounting for around 40% of the year’s box office. And it’s only surpassed $4 billion once since the pandemic, in 2023. Marvel movies often kick off the season, but last year filmmaker David Frankel got a call from Disney: “Avengers: Doomsday” wasn’t going to be ready by the first weekend in May; Could “The Devil Wears Prada 2” step up? May 1 is just days before the Met Gala and it would give the movie a long runway to play, he figured. It would also require a bit of a sprint — they finished the film just weeks ago. But the enthusiasm was motivating, from fans snapping photos of Hathaway and Meryl Streep on the New York streets, to support from Anna Wintour. Love for “Prada” isn’t the only thing that’s changed in 20 years; Magazines have also become an endangered species. “How does Miranda Priestly deal with this changing world and what’s her future?” Frankel said. “The same with Andy Sachs: If all your ambition has been funneled in this one direction, what happens when you have to pivot and how do you adapt?” The $4 billion question The movie industry is also adjusting to a new paradigm. Box office is down over 20% from pre-COVID levels. The rise in streaming, the pandemic and shifting theatrical windows altered people’s moviegoing habits, perhaps permanently. And there may be one less major studio if Paramount acquires Warner Bros. But, as James Cameron said, “hope springs eternal. “We still have a very robust theatrical industry at a time when it was kind of almost pronounced dead,” Cameron said. The gap is not widening. Studios are committing to longer exclusive theatrical windows. Original movies and premium formats are drawing crowds. And the market continues to expand globally. Cameron is behind one of those only-in-a-theater experiences with the 3D Billie Eilish concert film (May 8). Using new technology, they used 17 camera systems to capture four nights of her Manchester shows last year. “Seeing it in 3D is astonishing,” Cameron said. “You really feel an intimacy with her and yet you feel the scale of the spectacle.” A summer for heavyweights Nolan isn’t Universal’s only giant of cinema on its summer roster: Steven Spielberg is also returning to one of his most beloved genres with “Disclosure Day” (June 12). There are superhero movies as well, with “Supergirl” (June 26), which DC Studios co-head Peter Safran said is “is something cool and original and we haven’t seen before,” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” (July 31). The last Spidey film, which made over $1.9 billion, ended with Holland’s Peter Parker erasing himself from everyone’s memory. “This is a blockbuster action movie with all the humor and emotion we love about Spider-Man,” director Destin Daniel Cretton said. “But at its heart, it’s a story about learning how to reconnect with the ones you love.” A lot of power recently has shifted to PG-rated offerings. This summer has “Toy Story 5” (June 19), “Minions & Monsters” (July 1) and a live action “Moana” (July 10), which could all very well hit a billion dollars each. One non-franchise family friendly film is “The Sheep Detectives” (May 8), in which the animals (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston) investigate the death of their beloved owner (Hugh Jackman). Writer Craig Mazin understands the hurdle: There have been a lot of stupid talking animal movies. But this one is different, he said, it’s not just silly sheep doing silly things. “There are some really beautiful moments and themes and things that parents can talk about with their kids,” Mazin said. “And most importantly, it is legitimately a movie that is meant for everyone.” Then there’s “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” (May 22), which is rated PG-13 but has an impossibly cute alien going for it. It’s also one of several made for IMAX. “People have got great TVs at home,” said director Jon Favreau. “You’ve got to give them a reason to go out.” The scary movies Movie studios also continue to lean into horror and this summer has both franchises, like “Evil Dead Burn”(July 10) and “Insidious: Out of the Further” (Aug. 21) and unnerving indies, including the “conversion therapy” horror “Leviticus,” “Rose of Nevada” (both June 19), “Backrooms” (May 29) and a new Jane Schoenbrun, “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” (Aug. 7). And then there is “Scary Movie 6″ (June 5), which sees the return of Regina Hall and Anna Faris, as well as Marlon and Shawn Wayans, who haven’t been involved in the franchise they helped create since the 2001 sequel. And there were so many movies ripe for parody, like “M3GAN,” “Get Out,” “Weapons,” the just-released “Michael,” and “Sinners,” which Marlon Wayans was most excited about. “Mockery is the greatest form of flattery,” Wayans said. “Sending up their movie was definitely tipping our hat to them.” The festival darlings and other gems Audiences want more than brands and blockbusters though. This year moviegoers have already proven they’ll turn out when the buzz is right, whether it’s for a big crowd pleaser like “Project Hail Mary” or for something more challenging like “The Drama.” One that has the potential to break through is Olivia Wilde’s “The Invite” (June 26), a chamber dramedy about two very different couples (Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton) over one wine-filled night that sparked a bidding war at the Sundance Film Festival. Wilde was heartened that most studios were offering theatrical releases, and ultimately chose A24. They’ve even made a 35 mm print. “The whole project for me is really tipping my hat to Mike Nichols,” Wilde said. “We thought of the audiences that have always loved those films.” There are plenty of indies and originals to choose from throughout the summer, including Daniel Roher’s “Tuner,” about a piano prodigy turned safecracker, Boots Riley’s colorful shoplifting movie “I Love Boosters,” (both May 22) a John Carney musical with Paul Rudd (“Power Ballad,” June 5) and David Wain’s wholesomely raunchy comedy “Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass” (July 10). As Wilde said, there’s room for both originals and franchises. “The audience really likes to recognize risk,” she said. “There’s something exciting about that.”

Jewish advocacy group B’nai Brith says anti-Jewish hatred is being normalized in Canada and its annual count of antisemitic incidents hit another record high in 2025. “We cannot allow antisemitism to be rendered into mere statistics that we grow numb to. There was an immense and tragic human cost to the 6,800 incidents recorded in 2025,” the group’s advocacy head Richard Robertson said Monday at a news conference on Parliament Hill. Read more:

• Senators call on Carney to restore antisemitism envoy, step up fight against hate
• Israel seeking ‘significant change’ in how Canada tackles antisemitism
• Redvers man who founded nationalist party once again charged with promoting hatred

The report says those 6,800 incidents were up from 6,219 in 2024, and were the highest number recorded since B’nai Brith began collecting the data in 1982. They included acts of violence, harassment and vandalism aimed at Jews in Canada. The organization tracked an increase in antisemitic acts in B.C. and Ontario and a decrease in Quebec and Alberta. The reported incidents include shocking acts of physical violence — including the beating of a visibly Jewish man in Montreal, captured on video, whose attacker threw his skullcap into a puddle. “An assault on a Jewish man in a park in front of his children is not just another notation in the violence column. It is an incident that creates generational trauma and leaves an entire cohort of society questioning if they are safe to remain in this country,” Robertson said. “A Jewish person that was harassed is not just a statistic. They are a person that was told that they should have been gassed along with their ancestors at Auschwitz. A Hakenkreuz (swastika) drawn in a schoolyard is not just an incident of vandalism. It is a diabolical act of hate that leaves Jewish children afraid to go to school.” The report also includes incidents that do not meet the legal threshold of a hate crime — such as Montreal’s Pride festival barring Jewish groups over concerns about anti-Palestinian commentary, a decision the festival reversed following calls from politicians. The report says antisemitic incidents in Canada — which have included gunfire, arson and vandalism attacks on synagogues and Jewish schools — have doubled in number since 2022. The increase followed the brutal October 2023 attack by Hamas militants on Israel, which prompted Israel to bomb the Gaza Strip, triggering massive political shifts from Iran to Syria. Israel’s campaign in Gaza has drawn widespread condemnation over the high number of civilian deaths. Israel also has been widely denounced for rising settler violence in the West Bank and a series of policies targeting the rights of Palestinians. B’nai Brith said anti-Jewish hate is being spread under the guise of anti-Zionism, which the group frames as the act of demonizing those who support in the existence of a Jewish state in the Middle East. Other groups — including some run by Jewish critics of Israel — say justified criticism of how Israel treats Palestinians and Arabs has been wrongly conflated with anti-Jewish hate. Israeli ministers have expressed Jewish supremacist ideas and called for actions widely understood as ethnic cleansing. The Israeli parliament has passed a death penalty law that Ottawa last month called a discriminatory act that is “dehumanizing the Palestinian people.” Robertson argued there is a difference between criticizing Israel’s government and blaming Canadians. “It is OK to hold political views. It is OK to challenge a nation’s response to issues. It is not OK to subject a minority in this country to unprecedented levels of hate because of the actions of a foreign government,” he said. The group also argued that online hate is going unchecked, with Jewish Canadians being exposed to threats and racist imagery that could serve to normalize violent attacks. “We have ceded our digital spaces to radical actors who seek to incite hate and indoctrinate others with their extremist ideologies,” Robertson said. The group is calling for tighter regulation of online spaces, more training for police on identifying and countering incidents of hate, and banning “events that incite hate and intimidation.” The report also called for terrorism listings for three foreign branches of the Muslim Brotherhood but did not suggest the group is operating in Canada. Monday’s report comes days after the Senate Human Rights Committee called for more education, better digital literacy and a federal task force on hate to fight a spike in anti-Jewish hate crimes and acts of intimidation. The committee noted calls from civil society groups to avoid a chill on free speech while bolstering actions that counter anti-Jewish hate. The Senate committee called on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government to restore the antisemitism envoy role it scrapped in February. The Liberals have replaced the role — along with a separate envoy on Islamophobia — with a new advisory council on rights, equality and inclusion. B’nai Brith CEO Simon Wolle said the switch removes a co-ordinating role for someone focused on anti-Jewish hate. “We have a void, a vacuum, a gap. The problems continue to escalate and there’s actually no mechanism in this country to solve the problem,” he said in an interview. He said Ottawa is offering “more words about a possible solution or alternative with very little action, very little definition, very little understanding” of the new advisory council’s mandate and timeline for action. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026.

OTTAWA — Jewish advocacy group B'nai Brith says anti-Jewish hatred is being normalized in Canada and its annual count of antisemitic incidents hit another record high in 2025. "We cannot allow antisemitism to be rendered into mere statistics that we grow numb to. There was an immense and tragic human cost to the 6,800 incidents recorded in 2025," the group's advocacy head Richard Robertson said Monday at a news conference on Parliament Hill. The report says those 6,800 incidents were up from 6,219 in 2024, and were the highest number recorded since B'nai Brith began collecting the data in 1982. They included acts of violence, harassment and vandalism aimed at Jews in Canada. The organization tracked an increase in antisemitic acts in B.C. and Ontario and a decrease in Quebec and Alberta. The reported incidents include shocking acts of physical violence — including the beating of a visibly Jewish man in Montreal, captured on video, whose attacker threw his skullcap into a puddle. "An assault on a Jewish man in a park in front of his children is not just another notation in the violence column. It is an incident that creates generational trauma and leaves an entire cohort of society questioning if they are safe to remain in this country," Robertson said. "A Jewish person that was harassed is not just a statistic. They are a person that was told that they should have been gassed along with their ancestors at Auschwitz. A Hakenkreuz (swastika) drawn in a schoolyard is not just an incident of vandalism. It is a diabolical act of hate that leaves Jewish children afraid to go to school." The report also includes incidents that do not meet the legal threshold of a hate crime — such as Montreal's Pride festival barring Jewish groups over concerns about anti-Palestinian commentary, a decision the festival reversed following calls from politicians. The report says antisemitic incidents in Canada — which have included gunfire, arson and vandalism attacks on synagogues and Jewish schools — have doubled in number since 2022. The increase followed the brutal October 2023 attack by Hamas militants on Israel, which prompted Israel to bomb the Gaza Strip, triggering massive political shifts from Iran to Syria. Israel's campaign in Gaza has drawn widespread condemnation over the high number of civilian deaths. Israel also has been widely denounced for rising settler violence in the West Bank and a series of policies targeting the rights of Palestinians. B'nai Brith said anti-Jewish hate is being spread under the guise of anti-Zionism, which the group frames as the act of demonizing those who support in the existence of a Jewish state in the Middle East. Other groups — including some run by Jewish critics of Israel — say justified criticism of how Israel treats Palestinians and Arabs has been wrongly conflated with anti-Jewish hate. Israeli ministers have expressed Jewish supremacist ideas and called for actions widely understood as ethnic cleansing. The Israeli parliament has passed a death penalty law that Ottawa last month called a discriminatory act that is "dehumanizing the Palestinian people." Robertson argued there is a difference between criticizing Israel's government and blaming Canadians. "It is OK to hold political views. It is OK to challenge a nation's response to issues. It is not OK to subject a minority in this country to unprecedented levels of hate because of the actions of a foreign government," he said. The group also argued that online hate is going unchecked, with Jewish Canadians being exposed to threats and racist imagery that could serve to normalize violent attacks. "We have ceded our digital spaces to radical actors who seek to incite hate and indoctrinate others with their extremist ideologies," Robertson said. The group is calling for tighter regulation of online spaces, more training for police on identifying and countering incidents of hate, and banning "events that incite hate and intimidation." The report also called for terrorism listings for three foreign branches of the Muslim Brotherhood but did not suggest the group is operating in Canada. Monday's report comes days after the Senate Human Rights Committee called for more education, better digital literacy and a federal task force on hate to fight a spike in anti-Jewish hate crimes and acts of intimidation. The committee noted calls from civil society groups to avoid a chill on free speech while bolstering actions that counter anti-Jewish hate. The Senate committee called on Prime Minister Mark Carney's government to restore the antisemitism envoy role it scrapped in February. The Liberals have replaced the role — along with a separate envoy on Islamophobia — with a new advisory council on rights, equality and inclusion. B'nai Brith CEO Simon Wolle said the switch removes a co-ordinating role for someone focused on anti-Jewish hate. "We have a void, a vacuum, a gap. The problems continue to escalate and there's actually no mechanism in this country to solve the problem," he said in an interview. He said Ottawa is offering "more words about a possible solution or alternative with very little action, very little definition, very little understanding" of the new advisory council's mandate and timeline for action. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026. Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press

A 29-year-old man is facing a murder charge in connection with the death of Myles Anderson in Regina earlier this month. According to the Regina Police Service, officers were called to the 3100 block of Fifth Avenue in the city’s North Central neighbourhood just after 1 a.m. on April 13. When the officers arrived, they found an injured man who was later identified as the 36-year-old Anderson. Read more:

• Police in Regina open homicide investigation after death of 36-year-old man
• Man charged in two Regina vehicle arsons
• City of Regina plans partial sale of REAL District to Brandt, promises cost savings

“Life-saving measures were attempted by officers until EMS arrived and declared the victim deceased on scene,” the Regina Police Service said in a statement. “The area was secured and the Regina Police Service Major Crimes Unit, the Regina Police Service Forensic Identification Unit and the Saskatchewan Coroners Service were called in.” Police said officers raided a home on Toronto Street on Friday, where they arrested Blayne Okemaysim. He’s now facing a charge of second-degree murder in connection with Anderson’s death. Okemaysim is expected to appear before a judge on Monday morning at Regina Provincial Court, police said.

The City of Regina is using some interesting math to justify why it should sell a big chunk of its exhibition association property to a private buyer. Murray Wood wonders, what’s the big rush? Murray Wood delivers sharp, insightful commentary with a blend of wit, skepticism and straight talk. Whether he’s exposing political maneuvering, celebrating cultural icons or unpacking life’s everyday quirks, he never holds back. Read more:

• Prime Minister Mark Carney announces Canada’s first sovereign wealth fund
• Drought fears linger as seeding begins on southwest Saskatchewan farms
• Hospitality Saskatchewan says change to liquor laws could help struggling service industry

Listen to more commentary from Murray Wood: Fri., April 24: Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look back at the week’s news and decides who’s hot… and who’s not. This week’s list includes the winter that just won’t end and stores that ignore warranties. Thurs., April 23: Murray Wood says Pierre Poilievre has suffered some bad timing in his career as Conservative leader, but the question is whether or not time will be on his side going forward. Wed., April 22: Murray Wood says the Food Fuel and Fertilizer Global Summit happening in Regina this week underlines why the 21st century belongs to Saskatchewan. Tues., April 21: Murray Wood says the debate about whether Saskatchewan should change it’s clocks like other provinces is being replaced with a new one: Will other provinces stop changing their clocks and be in synch with us? Mon., April 20: Darryl Schemenauer is closing down his Regina gun store after 35 years, and he puts the blame squarely on the federal Liberals. Murray Wood says he doubts the gun bans will make us safer.

OTTAWA — The three Liberals who won the byelections earlier this month that secured a majority government for Prime Minister Mark Carney are taking their seats in the House of Commons today. Doly Begum, Danielle Martin and Tatiana Auguste were sworn in as members of Parliament on Saturday. Begum and Martin are newcomers who replaced outgoing cabinet ministers Bill Blair and Chrystia Freeland in Toronto-area seats. Auguste won the seat in the Bloc Québécois stronghold of Terrebonne in a rematch after the Supreme Court of Canada invalidated the results of last April's election in the riding. There are now 174 members on the government benches after five MPs defected to the Liberals over the last six months. NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice is expected to announce that he's resigning to run provincially today, dropping that party's caucus to just five members. This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2026. Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press

Like most negotiations, Canada and the U.S. are laying their cards on the table publicly, but Sarah Mills says in Canada’s case, there’s a little bit of spin mixed in as well. The Mills Minute is a daily commentary heard on 650 CKOM and 980 CJME, where Sarah Mills offers sharp insights, strong opinions, and a touch of wit on the stories that matter to people in Saskatchewan. Read more:

• Prime Minister Mark Carney announces Canada’s first sovereign wealth fund
• Drought fears linger as seeding begins on southwest Saskatchewan farms
• Hospitality Saskatchewan says change to liquor laws could help struggling service industry

Listen to more commentary from Sarah Mills: Fri., April 24: After months of waiting and wading through FIFA’s Kafkaesque ticket-buying process, Sarah Mills finally has tickets to see England in the World Cup, thanks to help from a colleague. Thurs., April 23: Sarah Mills says there are great health-care costs associated with smoking, but those costs are also associated with obesity, so will governments start passing laws to say what people can eat and drink? Wed., April 22: Sarah Mills says the tale of the Regina husky Missy escaping her vet to head to her favourite doggy daycare is the heartwarming, bring-a-smile-to-your-face story that we need in this world. Tues., April 21: A soon-to-be learner driver in Sarah Mills’ house is making her pause and think about some of the bad habits drivers display on the roads, and what they are being taught. Mon., April 20: It sometimes feels like leaders in our cities and towns don’t plan for construction very well, but Sarah Mills says the zipper merge, when done properly, can reduce those construction-zone frustrations.