Category Archives: Prairies/BC

Alberta proposes changes to better protect emergency staff, roadside workers

EDMONTON — Alberta is proposing to change laws to better protect those who work near traffic. Drivers must already slow down to at least 60 kilometres an hour when passing a tow truck or emergency worker. Transportation Minister Rajan Sawhney has intro...

B.C. provincial data show 23,000 people experienced homelessness in 2019

VICTORIA — British Columbia's housing minister says a new method for collecting data on homelessness is the first of its kind in Canada and will help the province improve how it tackles the issue.  David Eby said Wednesday the government used

B.C. to review how its COVID-19 pandemic response decisions were made

VICTORIA — The British Columbia government will conduct an independent review of its operational response to the COVID-19 pandemic to help it prepare and respond to emergencies. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth has appointed a three-person team, i...

Brian Jean set to return to Alberta legislature, gears up for showdown with premier

EDMONTON — Brian Jean, the new member of Premier Jason Kenney’s United Conservative caucus, is expected to return to the Alberta legislature this week and escalate his campaign to get Kenney ousted from the top job. “I’m going to be speaking

Transition mode: Manitoba to close some COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites

WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government says it will soon close some of its COVID-19 vaccination and testing sites and will no longer deliver regular news briefings as case counts continue to drop. "We're certainly at a different place in this pandemic,

Yukon to lift state of emergency, mask mandate and COVID-19 vaccine proof Friday

WHITEHORSE — Yukon will be rescinding most of its COVID-19 public health measures Friday on the advice of medical professionals, said Premier Sandy Silver.  The territory will lift its state of emergency, imposed in November when rising COVID-19 cases ...

Saskatchewan premier calls on Ottawa to legislate railworkers as essential service

REGINA — Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe is urging the federal government to classify railworkers as essential and to ensure back-to-work legislation is passed if Canadian Pacific Railway employees go on strike. Moe says the Saskatchewan Party governmen...

United Conservative Party candidate Brian Jean wins Alberta byelection in landslide

FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. — Brian Jean, the co-founder of the governing United Conservative Party, is back in the Alberta legislature, setting up a showdown with his fellow founder turned political foe, Premier Jason Kenney.  The former UCP legislature memb...

Vehicle impounded: Saskatchewan premier says he’s supporting ‘friend or family’

REGINA — Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says it's been a tough couple of days since a pickup truck registered in his name was impounded in British Columbia. Vancouver police say a 28-year-old driver with a Saskatchewan driver's licence failed a

Manitoba lifts mask mandate, all remaining COVID-19 public health orders

WINNIPEG — Manitoba's health minister says the province is prepared to respond if infections and hospitalizations begin to rise again with the lifting of all remaining COVID-19 restrictions.   "If the need be, we have a plan," Audrey Gordon said. "If