Conservation specialists say Poweshiek skipperling, Dakota skipper play critical role in biodiversity The numbers of endangered butterflies in the Prairies are slowly creeping up thanks to a team of dedicated specialists in Manitoba, but more work needs to be done to protect their habitats to ensure the pollinators’ populations can continue to increase. Over three weeks in July, Assiniboine Park Conservancy staff released 191 critically endangered Poweshiek skipperling butterflies onto Nature Conservancy of Canada properties in the rural municipality of Stuartburn, southeast of Winnipeg. The butterflies are raised at the Assiniboine Park Zoo until they are oldRead more

Aydin Coban was convicted of harassment, extortion, child pornography and child luring A sentencing hearing for a Dutch national convicted of harassing and extorting British Columbia teenager Amanda Todd before she died by suicide has been scheduled for next month. Justice Martha Devlin set the hearing for Aydin Coban to begin on Sept. 20 in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster. A jury delivered a unanimous verdict on Saturday, convicting Coban of extortion, harassment, communication with a young person to commit a sexual offence, and possession and distribution of childRead more

Public safety minister s On the night before Justin Trudeau took the historic step of invoking the Emergencies Act during last February’s Freedom Convoy occupation of Ottawa, the prime minister’s national security and intelligence adviser told cabinet there was “potential for a breakthrough,” court documents reveal. The office of Canada’s public safety minister says the adviser was referring to negotiations led “principally” by the City of Ottawa that were “ultimately unsuccessful” after being “disavowed” by many associated with the convoy. The disclosure about the potential breakthrough, contained in the summary of a cabinet meetingRead more

‘This is the best season I can recall in my lifetime,’ says 40-year industry veteran The summer of 2022 is shaping up to be a bumper season for both pink and sockeye salmon in British Columbia rivers, with one veteran Indigenous fisherman reporting the biggest catches of sockeye in decades. Mitch Dudoward has worked in the salmon industry for more than 40 years, and says fishing on the Skeena River in northwest B.C. has never been better. “This is the best season I can recall in my lifetime with the numbers we are catching,”Read more

‘I believe that we are teaching responsible citizenship,’ assistant professor says The University of Prince Edward Island will now require all graduating students to have completed a course in Indigenous Studies. The course, part of the university’s newly established Faculty of Indigenous Knowledge, Education, Research, and Applied Studies (IKERAS), is launching this fall. Assistant professor David Varis, who is Cree and a member of the UPEI Indigenous Circle, says the Indigenous Teachings course will cover Indigenous history, cultures and practices. “We will also be getting into some very heavy topics, such as trauma, intergenerational trauma as a result of residentialRead more

Unifor is the largest private-sector union in Canada, representing more than 300,000 members In its first contested election in almost 10 years, Canada’s largest private-sector union has elected Lana Payne as the new national president of Unifor. She is the first woman to hold the position. “We have to consider that economic policy should be working for workers, and not just for a few corporations in this country,” said Payne after being elected. Payne was previously national secretary-treasurer of Unifor. She defeated executive assistant to the president Scott Doherty and Unifor Local 444 presidentRead more

Kyrgios ousts top-ranked Medvedev, Paul upsets Alcaraz in men’s tournament Canada’s Leylah Fernandez was eliminated from the National Bank Open women’s single tournament following a 7-6 (4), 6-1 loss to Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia on Wednesday. Fernandez, the 13th seed in Toronto, was playing in her first tournament following a two-month layoff to recover from a stress fracture in her right foot that she sustained at the French Open. She and her sister Bianca Fernandez then teamed up in the doubles tournament, losing to Andreja Klepa─ì of Slovenia and Alexa GuarachiRead more

Following Fort St. John accident, Snowbirds fleet under pause until fleet is assessed The Royal Canadian Air Force has ordered an “operational pause” for its Snowbird air demonstration squadron jets after a crash earlier this month. A statement from Maj.-Gen. Iain Huddleston, commander of 1 Canadian Air Division, says the CT-114 Tutor jets will not fly until an airworthiness risk assessment can be completed. The decision to ground the planes comes after a crash of one of the jets on Aug. 2 at the airport in Fort St. John, B.C. No one was hurt whenRead more

Father submitted unverified medical studies about vaccine efficacy In a case between a separated couple, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has dismissed the father’s appeal to not get their young children vaccinated against COVID-19. CBC News is not naming the couple, so as to not identify their children. In December 2021, the mother filed an application for sole decision-making authority on COVID vaccination for her children. The judge at the Court of Queen’s Bench in Estevan, Sask., found that the father “was opposed to the vaccinations on religious grounds” but grantedRead more

In July, Canadian Centre for Child Protection saw over 3 times the number of reported cases year-over-year A new analysis from the Canadian Centre for Child Protection suggests a stark rise in sextortion crimes targeting youth, with the majority of victims being adolescent boys. The Winnipeg-based agency says it opened 322 cases this July, compared to 85 in July 2021 and just 15 in July 2019. Of those 322 cases last month, 92 per cent involved boys or young men. In the past, the centre would see mostly cases of girls andRead more