Whether you’re headed to the registry in Okotoks, St. Paul, or anywhere else in Alberta to renew your driver’s licence, you’ll soon notice that it may look different. The United Conservative government announced Wednesday it will be including proof of citizenship, as well as Alberta Health Care numbers, on driver’s licences going forward. The change […]

A private laboratory report has confirmed the presence of asbestos in soil at the former General Motors site on Ontario Street, right next to downtown St. Catharines. The alarming data confirming the presence of a highly dangerous cancer causing compound significantly escalates long-standing concerns about one of the city’s most controversial industrial properties.  Received just […]

The GNWT says its public survey on its Access to Information and Protection of Privacy (ATIPP) Act will shape new program policies, but the total number of survey respondents is a little over 100, and an even smaller sub-section of them have actually used the service. The ATIPP Act is, in part, intended to allow […]

THUNDER BAY — Kevin Mamakwa died “a very tragic death, a senseless death, that could have been avoided.” That’s according to Nishnawbe Aski Nation Deputy Grand Chief Anna Betty Achneepineskum, the third witness to testify at a coroner’s inquest into the 27-year-old Kingfisher Lake First Nation man’s death in custody at the Thunder Bay District […]

A new sport court beside Franklin Carmichael Park in Thornhill is turning into a broader battle over consultation and transparency for some nearby residents. The project, which includes a year-round multi-use court expected to operate daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., is being constructed approximately 20 to 30 metres from nearby homes and is […]

HUMBOLDT — A tense exchange unfolded during Humboldt city council’s May 25 meeting as Coun. Marilyn Scott publicly questioned city manager Joe Day over an email she said intentionally excluded herself and Coun. Karen Siermachesky from information distributed to the rest of council. The discussion took place during the inquiries portion of the meeting and […]

A new grassroots initiative in the Central Plains region is seeking volunteers with lived immigrant experience to help local service providers shift away from assumptions and address the actual systemic barriers facing newcomers. The Portage Local Immigration Partnership, a program under the Portage Community Revitalization Corporation (PCRC), has partnered with the Portage Learning and Literacy […]

A Markham resident says she has spent nearly a year trying to get answers about the condition of her parents’ burial plot at Christ the King Catholic Cemetery. Yvonne Regner alleges repeated disturbances to the grave site, prolonged restoration delays and a lack of transparency from cemetery management and provincial regulators after problems first emerged […]

Three regional municipalities are working together to come into compliance with new privacy legislation from the province set to take effect June 11. Beaverlodge, Wembley and Sexsmith are joining together on a joint initiative to create a shared privacy management program. Sexsmith council was the last to pass a motion to enter into the partnership […]

A successful court challenge from First Nations and an ongoing privacy investigation have placed Alberta’s separation petition under renewed scrutiny. Piikani Nation Chief Troy Knowlton called the May 13 Alberta Court of King’s Bench decision to quash Elections Alberta’s approval of the separatist petition a “historic victory” for Piikani Nation, the Blackfoot Confederacy and Treaty peoples. The […]

The City of Toronto has a $2-million annual grant program to help Rockcliffe-Smythe residents recover from basement flooding. So far, it’s distributed just under $60,000 — less than 3% of the annual budget. The Rockcliffe No Fault Grant for Basement Flooding Damages Program provides “owners of certain residential properties within the Rockcliffe Special Policy Area” […]

Ontario’s newly passed ban on invasive medical research involving dogs and cats appears poised to directly affect Queen’s University’s controversial hemophilia dog colony, despite the university saying it remains unclear how the legislation will impact existing research programs. The amendments to Ontario’s Animals for Research Act were included in Bill 75 and passed final reading […]