The provincial government is defending a land sale to the Crosbie Group as the PCs accuse the governing Liberals of corruption.

Earthquakes Canada says some Alberta and B.C. residents may have felt the ground shake Thursday morning.

A 5.2 magnitude earthquake was detected roughly 63 kilometres northeast of Grande Cache, Alta., but it isn’t believed to have caused any damage.

The agency says the quake would have been lightly felt in the surrounding communities of Edson, Grand Prairie and Whitecourt, as well as in Prince George.

Unions for federal workers have filed a lawsuit to block the mass firings of probationary federal employees by President Donald Trump’s administration, alleging that officials are exploiting and misusing the probationary period to eliminate staff across government agencies.

The unions allege in the complaint filed late Wednesday in U.S. District Court in California that the firings “represent one of the most massive employment frauds in the history of this country.”

The lawsuit says the administration’s Office of Personnel Management acted unlawfully by directing federal agencies to use a standardized termination notice falsely claiming performance issues. The unions seek an injunction to stop more firings and to rescind those that have already happened.

“This administration has abused the probationary period to conduct a chaotic, ill-informed, and politically-driven firing spree,” American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley said in a news release. “The result has been the indiscriminate firing of thousands of patriotic public servants across the country who help veterans in crisis, ensure the safety of our nuclear weapons, keep power flowing to American homes, combat the bird flu, and provide other essential services.”

OPM did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The complaint contends that the firings were made on false pretenses and violate federal law, including the Administrative Procedure Act.

“Overnight, tens of thousands of federal employees received the same termination letter citing ‘performance issues’ without any explanation or reasoning,” said a statement from Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees President. “These mass firings are yet another unlawful attempt by this billionaire-run administration to gut public services.”

Congress, not OPM, controls and authorizes federal employment and related spending by the federal administrative agencies, the complaint said, and Congress has determined that each agency is responsible for managing its own employees.

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Brian Witte, The Associated Press

Someone has been modifying the results of hockey games in the Outaouais so players can avoid serving suspensions, according to the regional hockey league for youth aged 8 to 21.

Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader who helped Republicans remake the U.S. Supreme Court and also influenced how political campaigns are financed, announced Thursday that he would not seek an eighth term in office.

An Algonquin First Nation in Quebec is declaring victory after a federal judge upheld part of its court challenge to a proposed radioactive waste dump to be built about a kilometre away from the Ottawa River.

Taking questions from reporters for the first time in more than a week, the PC Leader said he would remove unnecessary red tape to bolster the province’s economy if re-elected. Ontario’s other major parties have also committed to improving interprovincial trade by removing barriers.

A boil water order for St. Stephen remains in effect after an initial notice was issued nearly two weeks ago. A water quality alert was first sent out on Feb. 8.

A Manitoba judge has delayed sentencing until next month for a man convicted of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old Winnipeg beer store employee in 2022.

The judge says she will render her decision in the sentencing of William Sampson, 55, on March 24.

At the Winnipeg courthouse Thursday, Crown prosecutors argued Sampson should be sentenced to life in prison with no eligibility for parole for at least 15 years. The defence asked for no more than 14 years without eligibility for parole.

Sampson was found guilty of second-degree murder in the Feb. 15, 2022, shooting of John Lloyd Barrion through a service window of the beer vendor on Notre Dame Avenue, where the teenager was working alone in the early hours.

Describing the crime as “heinous,” Crown prosecutors say Sampson stuck a sharpened .22 calibre rifle through the hole of the security kiosk while he and three men made demands for cash.

Sampson, who was 52 and on parole at the time, shot Barrion “in cold blood,” the Crown says, striking him in the lower back after the teen complied with demands from the suspects and handed over alcohol and money.

Prosecutors said planning went into the robbery; the men brought masks, a bag, gloves and the rifle. The Crown also said there was no consideration for safety after the robbery took place. The men filled up their vehicle’s gas tank using money obtained from the robbery and took drugs. At no point did anyone think to call for help.

The defence argued the judge needs to consider the “tragedies and challenges” Sampson has encountered growing up as a Black man in Canada. His attorney said he has experienced death of close family members, a miscarriage with his partner, and challenges with relationships and children.

She portrayed a lifetime of racism, instability in housing, foster care, violence, psychological abuse, sexual abuse, and health issues.

Members of the John Lloyd Barrion’s family were present in court Thursday, including his parents Maria and Manuel, his brother John Christian, as well as some friends.

More coming.

The post Sentencing delayed for man convicted in shooting of 19-year-old Winnipeg beer vendor employee appeared first on CityNews Winnipeg.

You probably know what an “influencer” is — people with large, highly engaged social media followings who have the power to sway beliefs and purchasing decisions.

But you might not have yet heard of virtual influencers.

They’re like human influencers … but they’re not human. They’re characters brought to life by CGI and AI, designed to target demographic groups from a first-person perspective.

Virtual influencers are becoming more popular and prevalent every day. A full-blown industry has sprung up around them — an industry with agencies and companies dedicated to creating and managing them, with some of the top personas earning millions annually.

But our guest today has noticed a troubling pattern — many virtual influencers are crafted as young women of colour. And their creators are often men with different racial identities who work at marketing agencies.

Jul Parke is a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information specializing in social media platforms, digital racism, virtual influencers and AI phenomena. She is currently a visiting scholar at New York University.

Parke’s doctoral research explores what motivates companies and creators to produce these virtual, racialized women, which she says is a new form of commercializing gender and racial identity in digital spaces.

As we enter the era of AI proliferation, it seems virtual influencers are here to stay. There are at least 200 digital personalities out there today, and platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok are rolling out new tools that will enable everyday users to craft their own virtual personas.

Given the absence of laws for non-humans, the rise of virtual influencers on social media raises a whole host of urgent ethical questions about authenticity online.

Resources

Virtual influencers mentioned in this episode include: Miquela, Shudu, Rozy, imma and Bermuda

Virtual Influencers - Identity and Digitality in The Age of Multiple Realities by Esperanza Miyake (Routledge, 2024)

Instagram Visual Social Media Cultures by Tama Leaver, Tim Highfield, Crystal Abidin (Polity Press, 2020)

The Influencer Industry: The Quest for Authenticity on Social Media by Emily Hund (Princeton University Press, 2023)

“Racial Plagiarism and Fashion” by Minh-Ha T. Pham (QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking, Fall 2017)

Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code by Ruha Benjamin (Polity, 2019)

When Chatbots Play Human, NPR (February 9, 2025)

Glitch Feminism: A Manifesto by Legacy Russell (Verso, 2020)

The Health and Wellness Centre at the University of Prince Edward Island is celebrating a significant milestone for the facility, having achieved full accreditation from Accreditation Canada.

The MD of Pincher Creek utility rate open house scheduled for Feb. 20 has been postponed due to road conditions.

Watch for an update once the open house has been rescheduled.

The post MD Open House Postponed appeared first on Shootin' the Breeze.

After it was declared the worst humanitarian crisis in the world by the African Union, Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller says Canada is committing to resettle 4,700 refugees fleeing the ongoing civil war in Sudan. 

Prince Edward Island Premier Dennis King is holding a news conference at 3:15 p.m. AT in Charlottetown. Watch live coverage here.

A stretch of Highway 1 between Swift Current and Gull Lake is closed due to blowing and drifting snow, according to the Saskatchewan Highway Hotline.

RCMP were seen stopping traffic in both directions near the community of Webb, as captured in a video by Trayjay Francis. Officials have not confirmed the exact cause of the closure, but visibility and road conditions have been deteriorating throughout the region.

Meanwhile, a train derailment occurred along Highway 1 near Webb earlier in the day. According to CPKC spokesperson Terry Cunha, three rail cars carrying finished vehicles went off the tracks northeast of Gull Lake but remained upright.

Related Stories:

• Train derailment near Webb
• Trans-Canada Highway closed by Swift Current

"We currently have crews on site working to re-rail the three cars," Cunha said, adding that there is no timeline for completion. However, he stated the derailment should not be affecting highway traffic.

Drivers are advised to check the Highway Hotline for updates before travelling.

Big Brothers Big Sisters says they have exceeded targets for their 75 Doors campaign.

The initiative, launched last August is based on the idea is that each door represents a child waiting to be matched with a big brother or sister, and the funding challenges that come with that.

The organization says it costs $1,500 to make and support a match for one year.

Executive director Kelly Leach says they not only reached their goal of opening 75 doors, but they surpassed it, and as of today they have opened 86 doors.

Leach notes that they are “just getting started” and there are more doors to open.

The program was launched due to a significant increase in demand.

She says pre-pandemic they averaged 60 to 70 inquiries a year, but in the last few years they have been receiving between 140 and 170 per year.

The waitlist is down thanks to the campaign and volunteers coming forward, but even with 86 doors being opened they still have 60 kids waiting for their match, and there are even more going through the approval process to get on the list.