Female undercover officers befriended protesters acting as ‘security’ for Coutts border blockade Newly released records show police believed the Alberta men now accused of plotting to murder RCMP officers debated having two women smuggle a hockey bag filled with guns into a protest against pandemic-related restrictions, suggesting they would go unnoticed by police because they were “girls.” However, those two women were actually undercover police officers. The next day, RCMP launched a rare “imminent harm” wiretap, which is permitted to be executed without a judge’s sign-off when there is an immediateRead more

Critics also worried domestic abuse survivors with new names are at risk Some teachers initially included in a new provincial registry say the government’s publication of all their legal names could lead to discrimination, harassment and safety issues. When the government’s new teacher registry went live last week, Calgary teacher, consultant and PhD student Jamie Anderson found an unwelcome surprise — his birth name, listed underneath his legal name. Anderson is trans. His former name is a legal identity he no longer uses. “Being outed and people having access to thatRead more

‘Whole cities, beautiful, one-of-a-kind cities are under water,’ B.C. businessman says Hours after returning to Canada from Pakistan, a Calgary businessman said he got word floodwaters hit the same area where he had been helping people with disabilities move out of the way of the impending deluge. Mohammad Farhan operates multiple charities and orphanages across Pakistan through his organization, House of Dreams. He said his team on the ground in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa called to tell him they had just watched a nearby hotel get inundated. “ARead more

Restoring Hidden Lake is a feat of conservation that Parks Canada worked on for more than a decade For the first time in 50 years, westslope cutthroat trout are swimming in Hidden Lake again — a feat of conservation that Parks Canada experts have worked on for more than a decade to achieve. Nestled high up in the Skoki Valley of Banff National park, specialists laboured through trial and error to restore habitat ideal for Alberta’s native, and at-risk, westslope cutthroat trout. This summer, thousands of fishlings strong enough to survive in theRead more

Hockey Canada’s new third-party complaint process hired the investigator Hockey Canada is covering the cost of a third-party investigator hired to look into allegations that a group of men on the 2003 World Junior hockey team sexually assaulted a woman in Halifax during a tournament nearly two decades ago. As part of Hockey Canada’s stated plan to address “toxic” behaviour on and off the ice, it created a new “independent third-party” system to respond to complaints of sexual violence. That new system hired Ottawa-based lawyer and sport investigator Jennifer White to findRead more

‘If farmers are under threat, then so are the rest of us,’ researcher Janos Botschner says Cathy Lennon can’t recall the last time she met a farmer who didn’t have a cellphone. “Whether that is sort of your modern-day farmer or your traditional even Mennonite farmer, they have cellphones and smartphones in their pocket,” Lennon, the general manager of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), said in a phone interview from her office in Guelph, Ont. She said there’s an increasing amount of technology and data on farms and in theRead more

‘We want the community to be made whole,’ says longtime resident Tammy Murray Tammy Murray is relieved the Ambassador Bridge no longer has Canadian approval to twin the international crossing after the permit expired this week, but the west-end WIndsor, Ont., resident is also among those worrying about what may come next. The more than 90-year-old bridge is owned by Michigan businessman Matthew Moroun, chair of the Detroit International Bridge Company. Boarded-up homes owned by the bridge company and green space where they once stood make the neighbourhood unrecognizable, said Murray. The federalRead more

Spiders were discovered in Nova Scotia on a new bus imported from California The discovery of western black widow spiders in a new bus delivered from California to Sydney, N.S., has led to the closure of Transit Cape Breton’s main Welton Street garage as the facility undergoes fumigation. Cape Breton Regional Municipality spokesperson Christina Lamey said the bus arrived last week after passing through Ontario. The spiders were discovered Monday while the new vehicle was being prepared for use. “It’s definitely been a first in the municipality,” said Lamey. “Our peopleRead more

WARNING: This story contains distressing details New documents related to the former Mohawk Institute Residential School in Brantford, Ont., have revealed 43 more deaths, according to the survivor-led group overseeing the search for potential unmarked graves at the site. The total number of student deaths, according to documents obtained so far, is 97. The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation only lists 48 deaths, while previous updates from the secretariat have said there were 54 deaths. “The impact and the legacy [of residential schools] is felt far beyond the boundaries of communities,” Laura Arndt, the newRead more