Alberta’s energy “war room” – the oft-ridiculed agency famous for its feud with a children’s Bigfoot cartoon – is being retooled and brought in-house directly under Premier Danielle Smith’s office. “The Canadian Energy Centre is an important advocate for Canada and Alberta’s long-term position as a safe, clean and responsible energy supplier,” the province’s Energy […]

The Supreme Court of Canada has partly upheld an appeal from the media about a trial held in Quebec behind closed doors involving a police informant, but the high court insists no “secret trial” ever took place. The trial judge and Quebec Court of Appeal acted correctly in keeping information secret that could identify the […]

After a series of setbacks and delays, including two fires at the Lafarge cement plant in Richmond, the CRD board approved a biosolids management plan on May 14. The plan comes just in time as biosolids pile up in significant quantities at the Hartland Landfill and in the Cassidy gravel quarry south of Nanaimo. The […]

Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MP Alex Ruff’s “need to know” private members bill has cleared another hurdle in the House of Commons. On June 5, Ruff’s bill – C-377, An Act to Amend the Parliament of Canada Act (need to know), passed second reading. This bill will formalize the process for parliamentarians to request a secret security […]

The BC Wildfire Service has opened a Fire Origin and Cause Investigation into the May 10th Crescent Spur wildfire, says the Ministry of Forests. CN Rail is under scrutiny for alleged noncompliance with the fire prevention measures required by the Wildfire Act, according to the Province’s Natural Resource Compliance and Enforcement Database. Crescent Spur resident […]

A lawyer working with Concerned Citizens of Baynes Sound (CCOBS) — a group of Union Bay residents who came together to oppose a shipbreaking operation run by a company called Deep Water Recovery — says the government could easily shut down the ship dismantling activities if they wanted to. The site at 5084 Island Hwy. […]

More than 70,000 children are seeking support through the Ontario Autism Program, but fewer than 15,000 of them are getting funding for core therapies, the province’s Financial Accountability Office said in a report Wednesday. The Progressive Conservative government has more than doubled the budget for the Ontario Autism Program, now at $720 million, but that […]

When serial killer Robert Pickton was transferred from British Columbia’s Kent Institution to a maximum-security prison in Quebec about six years ago, correctional authorities gave no public explanation or confirmation at the time, citing privacy. But Darryl Plecas, a former prison judge at Kent who went on to be Speaker of the B.C. Legislature, said […]

Closed circuit television surveillance cameras equipped with state-of-the-art artificial intelligence (AI) are coming soon to all of Chatham-Kent’s downtown areas. Following a presentation from Chatham-Kent Police Chief Gary Conn May 13, municipal council approved the project that will cost just under $1 million to get off the ground. Dubbed “Bird’s Eye View,” the initiative will […]

The Stratford Police Service (SPS) has long needed more space – and more appropriate space at that. In fact, police chief Greg Skinner told the accessibility advisory committee at its May 7 meeting that it goes back longer than one might expect. “I can go back and find minutes back as far as 1991,” Skinner […]

A historic sexual assault case spanning nearly 20 years was the subject of a special news conference at RCMP Headquarters in Regina last week. C/Supt. Ted Munro, Saskatchewan RCMP’s Criminal Operations Officer, explained how investigation into a home-based licensed daycare in Assiniboia resulted in the arrest of Richard John Dyke, 47, late last year.. “Coronach […]

The federal government has unfurled a new cybersecurity strategy aimed at protecting its vast array of computer systems and information banks against a growing variety of threats.  The strategy released Wednesday says while the government has made progress on improving cybersecurity in recent years, the online dangers have advanced even faster.  A renewed commitment is […]