Prairies

Prairies


Executive at Manitoba Crown corporation was reimbursed for flights, hotels and more

WINNIPEG — A senior executive at a Manitoba Crown corporation was sometimes being reimbursed for travel to Winnipeg from his home in the Toronto area twice a month, figures obtained by The Canadian Press show. The newly released detailed breakdown of expenses, which also includes hotel stays and meals, was obtained under the province’s freedom […]

Read More


Manitoba government planned a COVID 19 video and song for project that was abandoned

WINNIPEG — In the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Manitoba government laid out plans for a video to reflect on the effects of the novel coronavirus, complete with a song commissioned from noted singer-songwriter Sierra Noble. But the project, revealed in documents obtained by The Canadian Press, was abandoned. And while the song has […]

Read More


‘Old boys’ club’: Employees question how Regina rebrand was approved

REGINA — Federal government employees expressed relief that Prairies Economic Development Canada was not involved in a disastrous rebrand that saw Saskatchewan’s capital city criticized for sexualized slogans. Messages in a group chat obtained under freedom of information laws show federal employees were shocked by Tourism Regina’s campaign. All names of employees have been redacted. […]

Read More


Manitoba school divisions added to index of `high risk industries’

Manitoba public schools were reprimanded for shoddy electrical work, missing first aid kits and allowing asbestos to become airborne, among unsafe conditions provincial investigators uncovered in 2022-23. Last summer, the department of workplace safety and health added school divisions to its index of “high-risk industries” — a group with significantly higher-than-average employee injury rates. The […]

Read More


City of Winnipeg orders protesters at landfill to restore access by Monday at noon

WINNIPEG — The City of Winnipeg has ordered protesters who have been blocking access to a landfill in support of a search for the remains of two Indigenous women to leave the area. In an email, the city says it issued an Order to Vacate in accordance with the Emergency Management Bylaw late Friday afternoon […]

Read More


Saskatchewan immigration ministry fires more employees over privacy breach

REGINA — Saskatchewan’s immigration ministry has fired more employees for inappropriately accessing client records. The ministry says an audit found three additional instances of former employees obtaining records they were not authorized to view. The discovery follows an initial investigation that found one former employee had accessed 40 files as part of an alleged illegal […]

Read More


Saskatchewan privacy commissioner flags alleged illegal immigration scheme

REGINA — Saskatchewan’s justice department is investigating a former government employee who was found to have inappropriately accessed personal information as part of an alleged illegal immigration scheme. Richelle Bourgoin, the province’s deputy minister of immigration and career training, said Wednesday that prosecutors are looking into whether to lay charges after the ministry found the […]

Read More


Appeal Court denies release of man who killed five people in Calgary

EDMONTON — A man who stabbed five young people to death at a Calgary house party will not be released from a group home after a ruling Thursday from Alberta’s highest court. Matthew de Grood, who is now in his early 30s, was found not criminally responsible in 2016 for the killings of Zackariah Rathwell, […]

Read More


Commission increases refund ATCO owes over attempt to recoup contract costs

An Alberta regulator has added millions of dollars to the refund a prominent provincial utility must pay consumers after attempting to overcharge them for costs it shouldn’t have incurred — and then trying to cover up the wrongdoing. “These costs are under a cloud,” said Jim Wachowich of the watchdog group Consumers’ Coalition of Alberta. […]

Read More


Critics say Manitoba’s million dollar ad campaigns are aimed at buying votes

WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government has budgeted more than $1 million to promote its recent budget and other initiatives such as affordable child care and inflation-fighting cheques that have been mailed to households. While the Progressive Conservative government says the advertising is needed to help inform Manitobans of new programs and financial supports, critics accuse […]

Read More


Province increases support for victims of abuse and exploitation

On March 13, Manitoba’s Justice Minister, Kelvin Goertzen, announced an amendment to the Intimate Image Protection Act (IIPA) which will double down on efforts to protect an individual’s right to online image privacy. Under the new law, individuals distributing intimate images of others online will be required to provide proof of consent from the other […]

Read More


MP Kurek talks environment, ethics, flood mitigation at town hall

Battle River-Crowfoot MP Damien Kurek held a town hall meeting with residents of Drumheller on Tuesday evening, February 28, drawing a full audience to the Town of Drumheller council chambers. This was the third town hall meeting MP Kurek held on Tuesday, having held town hall meetings in Three Hills and Morrin in the morning […]

Read More