RCMP in Clarenville have issued an arrest warrant for a 37-year-old man from Conception Bay South who’s believed to be with a wanted woman.

Police say Richard Dupe is wanted for failing to appear in court on a charge of theft under $5,000.

It’s believed Dupe and 43-year-old Samantha Piercey of Glovertown are together and hiding from police, likely in the St. John’s area.

Anyone with information regarding their whereabouts is urged to contact Clarenville RCMP at 709-466-3211.

To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers: #SayItHere 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), visit www.nlcrimestoppers.com or use the P3Tips app.

Opinion writers get used to seeing their words disappear into the ether. And fair enough: they are only one person’s take on things, not directions from on high.

So it came as a pleasant surprise when I got a call this month to say that some words of mine had helped make something actually happen.

Last May, I wrote about the sad state of Queen’s Park North, the oval-shaped public park next to the provincial legislative building. It is one of Toronto’s gems – or should be. It opened way back in 1860, named in honour of the reigning monarch, Queen Victoria. Now it is encircled by the rushing traffic of Queen’s Park Crescent and surrounded by the bustling campus of the University of Toronto.

An arrest warrant has been issued for 37-year-old Richard Dupe of Conception Bay South for failing to attend a recent court date. Dupe is currently before the court charged with theft under $5,000.

It is suspected that Dupe and wanted woman 43-year-old Samantha Piercey of Glovertown are currently evading police together.  The pair are likely in the St. John’s area.

Anyone having information about the current location of either of these individuals is asked to contact Clarenville RCMP at 709-466-3211.

After a week spent seeking a lifeline, Hudson's Bay says it has found a way to keep six stores open. Canada's oldest company is back in court today to seek permission from an Ontario judge to liquidate all its other stores, and hopes to begin that process starting Monday.

A Quebec coroner has revised his initial report into the death of a Mexican boxer after a Radio-Canada investigation found that her medical records had been falsified or were inaccurate. 

At the Leamington Council meeting of March 4, 2025, Council:

• Held a Court of Revision under the Drainage Act and confirmed the Schedule of Assessment in the engineer’s report for a new access culvert for the 8th Concession Branch of the Big Creek Drain.

• Approved a proposal to convert a single residential dwelling located at 719 Mersea Road 4, into an off-site farm worker dwelling and to establish requirements for parking, bicycle parking and loading spaces.

• Authorized installing speed humps along Bennie Avenue (Oak Street to Peter Avenue).

• Awarded the Queens, John, Albert, Baird, and Elliott Street Sewer Separation project to Sherway Contracting (Windsor) Limited for $7,308,153 plus applicable taxes.

• Awarded the Margaret, Audrey, Jane, Claire, and Sherk Street Sewer Separation project to J&J Lepera Infrastructures for $8,374,000 plus applicable taxes.

• Awarded consulting services for the Upper Pump Station upgrades at the Leamington Pollution Control Centre to Dillon Consulting Limited in the amount of $164,448 excluding HST.

• Approved entering into a service agreement for the collection and disposal of solid waste and compostable yard waste with Caldwell First Nation.

For further information, please refer to the Council agenda and minutes at leamington.ca/Meetings.

The post Leamington Council Matters — March 4, 2025 appeared first on Kingsville Times.

If you're looking for something to do this summer that involves meeting and greeting the public, rich history and being surrounded by passionate people when it comes to aircraft, you might want to consider joining the volunteer team at the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum (CATPM).

Volunteers are needed in most every department, from the reception desk to their library, from grounds keeper and general duties to aircraft and vintage vehicle restoration.

The museum and its programming have grown since it opened its doors to the public in 1982.  And now they're calling out for volunteers.

But first, some history!

The museum is located on the Brandon Airport grounds just north of Brandon. It's mandate: to collect, preserve, restore, and display artifacts of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) and to commemorate the 18,039 who gave their lives while in the R.C.A.F. between 1939 and 1945. 

The CATPM started in 1980 when a local group became concerned that several trainer aircraft owned by Hartney resident, Wes Agnew, would be sold to foreign interests.  Mr. Agnew was a flight instructor with the Royal Canadian Air Force in the BCATP and had a desire to see a museum formed to honor the many men and women who trained under the Air Training Plan.  A deal was struck between Agnew and Ed Baker, who led the interested party, and the five aircraft formed the nucleus around which the museum was formed in Hangar No. 1 at the Brandon Airport.

This is the very airfield that was the site of No. 12 Service Flying Training School operated by the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan during World War II.

"One of the things that we've been working really hard on is redoing our exhibits and redoing our signage," shares Executive Director Stephen Hayter. "It's kind of exciting to see the museum improve its displays and how it tells the story.  So, we're looking for volunteers who want to help improve the museum, work at our front desk. We certainly always need people to greet visitors and tell them about the story."

"Volunteers are the lifeblood of our museum," adds Hayter. "Things would not happen here if we didn't have engaged people doing the work out here. It's what makes the museum as good as it is!"

Please listen to more with Stephen Hayter below!

The museum will be opening their doors for the 2025 tourism season on Tuesday, April 1st and will continue their spring hours from 1-4 pm daily (including Saturday and Sunday).  May 1st officially begins summer hours 10:00 am-4:00 pm, 7 days a week till the end of September.

For more information visit the museum's website HERE! or call 204-7272-2444.

For more information specifically on volunteering and the areas where they could use extra help please click HERE!

Employee Excellence Awards presented to outstanding county staff

The first annual Employee Excellence Awards were presented to four winners and 20 others who received honourable mentions at the start of Wednesday’s Essex County Council meeting.

“We are extremely fortunate to have such exceptional, experienced, passionate and skilled professionals here at the County of Essex,” said Warden Hilda MacDonald. “The recipients tonight hail from different departments and they have different skillsets and backgrounds, but they have one thing in common – they are exceptional employees who serve our communities, and this Council, with distinction and pride.”

Tanya Fick, a Human Resources ability and wellness specialist, received the Teamwork Award for being a “friendly face, smile and support to team members in the face of at times uncertainty and crisis.” She was praised for finding “workable solutions that are advantageous to everyone” and for working “tirelessly” to ensure team members transition back to work safely and with purpose.

Adam Jamieson, a mechanic with the Infrastructure and Planning Services department, won the Innovation Award for being the “ultimate problem solver” who remains calm and collected under pressure to find solutions that work.” He used available parts and equipment to help his team complete a job when multiple pieces of equipment broke down, saving the county time and money.

Nicholas Kramer, a labourer at the Essex-Windsor Solid Waste Authority’s Materials Recovery Facility, received the Service Excellence Award. He was praised as a “dedicated and outstanding employee who consistently delivers exceptional customer service” with a “positive attitude, professionalism, and willingness to go above and beyond.”

Janey Murphy, a procurement officer in the Financial Services department, won the Empowerment Award for her “hard work, creativity and dedication” that empowers and inspires everyone with whom she collaborates, and for maintaining an open-door policy that “creates a welcoming and supportive environment, where team members feel safe to ask questions and seek guidance.”

Department leaders nominate team members for the awards. Then the County of Essex senior leadership team selects the winners and those who receive honourable mentions. The awards program is one of several county strategic initiatives aimed at making it an “employer with impact.”

“Thanks to the support of this Council we are building the Team Essex County envisioned in our Strategic Plan and becoming an employer of choice, where employees not only deliver value, but feel valued,” said CAO Sandra Zwiers. “Our employees are our greatest asset here at the County of Essex, they truly are. I’m honoured and humbled to be their CAO and I’m delighted we are honouring them tonight.”

Strategic Plan well integrated into county’s daily operations

The County of Essex is making steady progress on achieving the goals of its Strategic Plan for 2024 to 2027, says a report to council by CAO Sandra Zwiers.

“While we have much still to do, team members across the County have expressed positive feedback about the Strategic Plan and their ability to individually and collectively contribute to the County’s success,” says the report.

The plan’s mission states that “through meaningful partnerships, strong advocacy, and informed decision-making (the County of Essex will) deliver fair and valuable regional programs and services for our communities.”

The three strategic goals are: working as Team Essex County; growing as leaders in public service; and building a regional powerhouse. Of the action items developed in 2024, 19 have been completed, 42 are in progress and nine are ongoing.

Essex-Windsor EMS meeting growing demand while improving service

Essex-Windsor EMS is seeing a steady growth in demand while making progress in improving response times, says a report by Chief Justin Lammers.

Paramedics responded to 65,707 requests for services in 2024. The number of calls that required a prompt response decreased due to the success of the Essex-Windsor EMS Mobile Integrated Healthcare Community Paramedicine program and the work of Windsor Essex Ontario Health Team partners. However, the number of requests for paramedic service for the most urgent cases increased five per cent over 2023.

Average response times improved compared to 2023 for all levels of urgency except one, which remained the same. The total time paramedics waited more than 30 minutes to offload patients at local hospitals was less than 2023, and there was a significant drop in the total time when no ambulances were available and when three or fewer ambulances were available.

Speed limits to decrease at two intersections on county roads

Council has approved a decrease in the speed limit on County Road 46 around the intersection with County Road 19 from 80 km/h to 60 km/h.

Signs will be posted indicating the speed limit on County Road 46 from 50 metres east of Middle Road to 50 metres west of North Talbot Road is 60 km/h. County staff recommended the change after a technical review of traffic speeds and conditions at the intersection, as well as consultations with the Town of Tecumseh and Municipality of Lakeshore.

Council also approved a decrease in the speed limit from 80 km/h to 50 km/h on County Road 11 from Concession Road 3 to 50 metres north of Concession Road 4 in the Town of Essex. The change was also recommended after a technical review and consultation with the town.

New by-law consolidates rules for delegating council authority

Council passed a by-law consolidating existing rules and clarifying when and how its authority is delegated to members of Essex County’s administration, including the chief administrative officer, clerk, treasurer and county solicitor.

Lighthouse Cove golf car pilot project supported

The County of Essex is supporting a pilot project that will allow golf cars to be used on roads in Lighthouse Cove from April 1 to November 30 annually, once a licensing program is established by the Municipality of Lakeshore.

Lakeshore Council and Essex County Council have now passed by-laws allowing the golf car pilot project to proceed. The county by-law is required because one of affected streets, Tisdale Drive, is also part of County Road 39.

A major concern for the county was liability. This has been addressed in the Lakeshore by-law, which requires golf car permit holders to have a minimum of $2 million in liability insurance and to sign liability waivers.

Council opts against county-led phragmites control program

Council voted against a motion to consult with local municipalities about establishing a county-led phragmites control program. Multiple councillors had taken the issue to their respective municipalities for consideration and favoured maintaining the status quo

Council passes resolution on water agreements

Council Council passed a resolution calling on the province to confirm that current water agreements in place to ensure the protection of fresh water in our area are followed and that water outflow is included in any ongoing discussions with the U.S. government.

The resolution further called for continued support of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative and for the senior levels of government to take all necessary steps so “the residents of the County of Essex can continue to maintain access to clean, fresh water.”

The post County Council Highlights for March 19, 2025 appeared first on Kingsville Times.

The reveal of each of the six clubs' kits Thursday was another signpost on the road to the Canadian women's professional soccer league that opens April 16 when Calgary's Wild FC visit Vancouver Rise FC at BC Place.

Roger “Brian” Taillieu;

Passed away peacefully on March 20, 2025 surrounded by his family at Erie Shores Hospice. He was 70 years old. Loving father of Steven Taillieu and daughter-in-law Jessica. Dear brother of Ron (Tracey) and Rick (Florence), Jim (Tina) Klerks and Helenne (Neil) Walker.

Uncle of Melissa, Ryan, Kevin, Mathew, Brad, Lindsey, Scott (Laura), Kari, Kate, and Laura; along with many great nieces and nephews. Predeceased by his parents, Roger and Jeanne Taillieu. Remembered by Elizabeth “Liz” Taillieu, his extended family, and beloved friends.

In his early years Brian was very athletic, playing baseball, volleyball, basketball, and running cross-country. He excelled in high school sports winning many championships.

Later in life, Brian pursued many passions outside his professional career; his true passion was for food and cooking. He loved tweaking new recipes to get the results he wanted and had collected over 200 cookbooks to inspire himself. Photography, astronomy, R/C aviation, and sailing with his family also drew attention over the course of his life.

His most proud achievements came in Lawn Bowling, which he picked up before retiring. He won his club singles tournament in 2014 and represented Canada at the World Short Mat Championships in Manchester England in 2016.

Brian’s ability to find joy in both the intricate details of his hobbies and the vastness of the universe serves as a reminder of the importance of pursuing one’s passions, no matter the stage of life.

Visitation will be held at Kendrick Funeral Home (91 Division St. S., Kingsville) on Monday, March 24, 2025 from 11:30am until the celebration of life begins at 12:30pm.

Burial will follow at Olinda-Graceland Cemetery.

Condolences and special memories can be shared with the family at www.kendrickfuneralhome.com

Service Details

Visitation

When
Monday, March 24, 2025 11:30am – 12:30pm

Location
Kendrick Funeral Home – Kingsville
91 Division St. S
Kingsville, Ontario N9Y 1P5

Get Directions: View Map

Service

When
Monday, March 24, 2025 12:30pm

Location
Kendrick Funeral Home – Kingsville
91 Division St. S
Kingsville, Ontario N9Y 1P5

Get Directions: View Map

Interment

When
Monday, March 24, 2025

Location
Olinda-Graceland Cemetery
Rd 5 E & Olinda Side Road
Ruthven, Ontario N0P 2G0

Get Directions: View Map 

.

The post Brian Taillieu (October 30, 1954 – March 20, 2025) appeared first on Kingsville Times.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish prosecutors filed charges Friday against a former defense minister who declassified parts of a plan for national defense that had been prepared years before under an earlier government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Mariusz Błaszczak, the defense minister in a national conservative government that held power from 2015-2023, revealed in 2023 a military defense plan that had been drawn up in 2011. The document laid out plans for the Polish army to retreat westward to the Vistula River, which runs through the center of Poland, in case of an invasion from the east by Russia.

Błaszczak was read the charges at the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw on Friday, he told reporters afterward, according to the state news agency PAP.

He said he believed the allegations were unfounded.

Earlier in the day he wrote on X that the prosecutor’s office was to “bring charges against me for declassifying the plan of the first Tusk government to give up half of Poland without a fight.”

“I would do it again without hesitation. I had not only the right, but also the duty” he said.

Addressing Tusk, he added: “Thanks to this, Poles know the truth about the fate you prepared for the inhabitants of Eastern Poland. Thanks to this, no one will ever return to such plans.”

The Associated Press

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Hashim Thaci, a former president of Kosovo who is facing war crime charges, was temporarily released from custody at a court based in the Netherlands on Friday to visit the tomb of his father who died last weekend.

Thaci, 56, wasn’t allowed to attend Tuesday’s funeral, which leaders and local politicians from Kosovo and neighboring Albania were present for. Kosovo Justice Minister Albulena Haxhiu complained to the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague that Thaci was barred from going.

“I was the last to come, dad,” Thaci wrote on the wreath he put at his father’s tomb on Friday in the village of Buroje, 70 kilometers (44 miles) west of the capital, Pristina. He was accompanied by police officers from the Kosovo-based European Union Rule of Law mission, known as EULEX.

Thaci was then taken to his house, where only close relatives could meet with him. It wasn’t immediately clear when he would be returned to the custody of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers court in The Hague.

His father, Haxhi Thaci, died on March 16 at age 87.

Three days before his father’s death, Hashim Thaci was allowed to visit his father for about three hours at a public hospital in Pristina accompanied by close family members.

Thaci and other senior leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army, or KLA, which waged Kosovo’s 1998-99 war for independence from Serbia, have been in custody in The Hague since November 2020. They face charges including murder, torture and persecution during and after the war.

The court and a linked prosecutor’s office were created after a 2011 report by the Council of Europe, a human rights body, that included allegations that KLA fighters trafficked human organs taken from prisoners and killed Serbs and fellow ethnic Albanians. The organ harvesting allegations haven’t been included in indictments issued by the court.

Around 11,400 people who died in the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo were ethnic Albanians. A 78-day NATO air campaign against Serbian troops ended the fighting, but tensions between Kosovo and Serbia remain tense.

Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, a move Belgrade and its key allies Russia and China refuse to recognize.

A European Union-facilitated dialogue on normalization of their ties, which started in 2011, has given scarce results.

The Associated Press

Amidst Donald Trump’s belligerence Canada continues to assist the US military and arms industry. In response to the president’s hostility Canada should cancel the Lockheed Martin F-35 contract, officer exchanges and our participation in NORAD.

Recently, outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Trump wants to sabotage Canada’s economy in a bid to annex the country. “What he wants is to see a total collapse of the Canadian economy,” he said, “because that’ll make it easier to annex us.” Subsequently, the New York Times reported that Trump told Trudeau he wanted to redraw the countries’ borders.

In response to Trump’s threats many Canadian nationalists are calling for a big boost in military spending. The National Observer’s lead columnist Max Fawcett recently said, “it’s probably time for Canada to bump its military spending to 5% of GDP,” while commentator Dean Blundell noted, “Canada needs to re-arm, recruit and sign strategic security deals worldwide while figuring out how to get the [atomic] bomb.” During the recent Liberal leadership debate both Chrystia Freeland and Karina Gould criticized eventual winner Mark Carney for not committing to their (near impossible) plan to boost military spending to two percent of GDP in two years (Carney committed to five years).

While each have slightly different motivations for seeking increased military spending, there’s no credible anti-Trump, nationalist, argument for boosting the military that doesn’t include decoupling from the US military. As I detail in Stand on Guard for Whom: A People’s History of the Canadian Military, Canada’s forces act as an extension of the US empire. Last month Université du Québec à Montréal political science professor Justin Massie told Le Devoir, “Our forces are designed like Lego bricks that fit into another piece.” A Canadian battalion, he noted, is designed to be inserted into a US or international brigade. “We have a sample army to ‘patch’ holes,” Massie added.

The man seeking to annex Canada appears to agree. Trump has repeatedly demanded Ottawa increase military spending. If the US president thought the Canadian Forces were a check on his annexationist plans, he probably wouldn’t seek to strengthen them.

Instead of blissfully echoing Trump’s call to increase military spending on a force structured to assist the Pentagon, Canadian nationalists should oppose paying $19 billion to US arms giant Lockheed Martin for fighter jets so Canada’s air force can be “interoperable” with their US counterpart. The US controls the F-35s software and hardware upgrades required to continue operating the planes. As a result, some have suggested the US will effectively have a “kill switch” on Canada’s $19 billion ($70 billion over lifecycle) purchase.

In their response to Trump the Green Party has called for cancelling the F-35 contract and Bloc Québécois leader Yves Francois-Blanchet told me that he’s open to canceling the fighter jet deal in response to Trump’s belligerence. Last week, former Liberal Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy added his voice to a rapidly growing number of Canadians speaking out on the jet deal. Since March 11, over 4,000 individuals have emailed new Prime Minister Mark Carney to call on him to cancel the contract for the offensive, nuclear weapons capable, F-35. The campaign calls on individuals to “Stop Canada’s plan to spend billions on US-made & controlled weapons of war.”

But, as of two weeks ago the NDP wasn’t willing to even consider canceling the contract. On February 25 I asked Jagmeet Singh if he’d consider canceling the Lockheed Martin contract as part of his plan to take a hardline with Trump. The NDP leader refused to answer directly.

It shouldn’t be controversial to reconsider a $19 billion outlay to a US military giant as part of responding to an annexationist president’s economic siege. Halting the payment would send a message to the most powerful arms firm in the US. It would also send a message to the Pentagon since Canada chose the F35 largely to be more “interoperable” with the US Air Force.

According to the Department of National Defence, there are “80 treaty-level agreements, more than 250 memoranda of understanding, and 145 bilateral forums on defence” between the two countries’ militaries. Ottawa should pause/cancel some of these accords to communicate disapproval with US trade and annexation threats. Under NORAD the Colorado-based US commander of the accord could deploy Canadian fighter jets based in this country without any express Canadian endorsement. Instead of continuing the Liberals’ plan to spend tens of billions of dollars on bolstering NORAD shouldn’t we be questioning Canada’s participation in the accord?

While canceling NORAD may be a step too far for mainstream politicians, there’s a host of less controversial, cost-free, measures Ottawa can adopt to signal displeasure to the Pentagon. How about a pause in officer exchanges until Trump stops threatening annexation? Or what about halting US arms testing in Canada until the president stops pursuing his economic siege? Or how about discontinuing joint naval patrols in far flung oceans until Trump stops referring to Canada’s Prime Minister as governor?

It makes little sense to bolster the military of a country whose president is seeking to annex Canada.

Please take a minute to ask new Liberal leader Mark Carney to halt plans to buy F-35s.

Yves Engler has been dubbed “one of the most important voices on the Canadian Left today” (Briarpatch), “in the mould of I.F. Stone” (Globe and Mail), and “part of that rare but growing group of social critics unafraid to confront Canada’s self-satisfied myths” (Quill & Quire). He has published nine books.

A new report examining the effectiveness of the Atlantic Physician Register since its launch two years ago says it has not substantially improved access to health care in the region.

WINDHOEK, Namibia (AP) — Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was sworn in as Namibia’s first female president on Friday, reaching the highest office in her land nearly 60 years after she joined the liberation movement fighting for independence from apartheid South Africa.

The 72-year-old Nandi-Ndaitwah won an election in November to become one of just a handful of female leaders in Africa after the likes of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, Joyce Banda of Malawi and Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania.

Sirleaf and Banda, now former leaders of their countries, and current Tanzania President Hassan all attended Nandi-Ndaitwah’s inauguration.

Nandi-Ndaitwah’s swearing-in coincided with the 35th anniversary of Namibia’s independence, but the ceremony was switched from a soccer stadium where thousands were due to attend to the official presidential office because of heavy rain.

The new president made her pledge to defend, uphold and support the constitution in front of other visiting leaders from South Africa, Zambia, Congo, Botswana, Angola and Kenya.

Nandi-Ndaitwah succeeds Nangolo Mbumba, who had stood in as Namibia’s president since February 2024 following the death in office of President Hage Geingob. Nandi-Ndaitwah was promoted to vice president following Geingob’s death.

Nandi-Ndaitwah is just the fifth president of Namibia, a sparsely populated nation in southwestern Africa which was a German colony until the end of World War I and then won independence from South Africa in 1990 after decades of struggle and a guerilla war against South African forces that lasted more than 20 years.

“The task facing me as the fifth president of the Republic of Namibia is to preserve the gains of our independence on all fronts and to ensure that the unfinished agenda of economic and social advancement of our people is carried forward with vigor and determination to bring about shared, balanced prosperity for all,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.

Nandi-Ndaitwah is a veteran of the South West Africa People’s Organization, or SWAPO, which led Namibia’s fight for independence and has been its ruling party ever since.

She was the ninth of 13 children, her father was an Anglican clergyman, and she attended a mission school that she also later taught in. She joined SWAPO as a teenager in the 1960s and spent time in exile in Zambia, Tanzania, the former Soviet Union and the United Kingdom in the 1970s and 1980s.

She had been a lawmaker in Namibia since 1990 and was the foreign minister before being appointed vice president.

She said she would insist on good governance and high ethical standards in public institutions and would promote closer regional cooperation. She pledged to continue calling for the rights of Palestinians and the people of Western Sahara to self-determination and demanded the lifting of sanctions against Cuba, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

She also said Namibia would continue to contribute to efforts to fight climate change, a persistent threat for an arid country of just three million people that regularly experiences droughts.

Nandi-Ndaitwah’s husband is a retired general who once commanded Namibia’s armed forces and was formally given the title “first gentleman.” Nandi-Ndaitwah’s inauguration came a day after Namibia’s Parliament elected its first female speaker.

___

More AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

Sonja Smith, The Associated Press

Power lines are seen against cloudy skies near Kingston, Ont. , Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022 in Ottawa. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)

Manitobans will begin seeing a drop in their natural gas bills next month as a result of the federal government’s decision to scrap the carbon tax.

Manitoba Hydro says with the federal carbon charge on natural gas now off the table beginning April 1, the typical Manitoba household will save about $338 annually.

The Public Utilities Board has since authorized removing the charge from Manitoba Hydro customers’ gas use.

The carbon tax will still apply to any gas customers use before April 1 and will show up during the next billing cycle.

Canadians who qualify for the Canada carbon rebate will receive their final payment in late April.

Manitoba Hydro has about 298,000 natural gas customers.

LONDON (AP) — A large fire near London’s Heathrow Airport knocked out power Friday to Europe’s busiest flight hub, forcing it to shut and disrupting global travel for hundreds of thousands of passengers.

Heathrow said it didn’t know when power would be restored — raising the possibility that the shutdown would last longer than just the day, as previously expected.

At least 1,350 flights to and from Heathrow were affected, flight tracking service FlightRadar 24 said, and the impact was likely to last several days as passengers try to reschedule their travel and airlines work to get planes and crew to the right places.

Authorities do not know what caused the fire but so far found have no evidence it was suspicious.

Residents in west London described hearing a large explosion, followed by a fireball and clouds of smoke, when the blaze ripped through the electrical substation near the airport.

Some 120 flights were in the air when the closure was announced, with some turned around and others diverted to Gatwick Airport outside London, Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris or Ireland’s Shannon Airport, tracking services showed.

Lawrence Hayes was three-quarters of the way to London from New York when Virgin Atlantic announced they were being diverted to Glasgow.

“It was a red-eye flight and I’d already had a full day, so I don’t even know how long I’ve been up for,” Hayes told the BBC as he was getting off the plane in Scotland. “Luckily I managed to get hold of my wife and she’s kindly booked me a train ticket to get back to Euston, but it’s going to be an incredibly long day.”

Heathrow is one of the world’s busiest airports for international travel. It had its busiest January on record earlier this year, with more than 6.3 million passengers, up more than 5% from the same period last year.

Still, the disruption Friday fell short of the one caused by the 2010 eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed clouds of ash into the atmosphere and created trans-Atlantic air travel chaos for months.

Unclear what caused the fire but foul play not suspected

It was too early to determine what sparked the huge blaze about 2 miles (3 kilometers) from the airport, but there’s “no suggestion” of foul play, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said.

The Metropolitan Police force said counterterrorism detectives were leading the investigation because of their ability to find the cause quickly and because of the location of the electrical substation fire and its impact on critical national infrastructure.

Miliband said the fire, which took seven hours to control, also knocked out a backup power supply to the airport. Heathrow said in a statement that it had no choice but to close the airport for the day.

“We expect significant disruption over the coming days, and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens,” the airport said.

The fire’s widespread impact on travel led to criticism that Britain was ill prepared for disaster or some type of attack if a single blaze could shut down Europe’s busiest airport.

“The U.K.’s critical national infrastructure is not sufficiently hardened for anywhere near the level it would need to be at to give us confidence this won’t happen again,” said Alan Mendoza, the executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, a security think tank. “If one fire can shut down Heathrow’s primary systems and then apparently the backup systems, as well, it tells you something’s badly wrong with our system of management of such disasters.”

Tom Wells, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, acknowledged that authorities had questions to answer and said a rigorous investigation was needed to make sure “this scale of disruption does not happen again.”

Heathrow — where the U.K. government plans to build a third runway — was at the heart of a shorter disruption in 2023 when Britain’s air traffic control system was hit by a breakdown that slowed takeoffs and landings across the U.K. on one of the busiest travel days of the year.

Disruption could last days

Though the fire has been brought under control, the airport said in a statement it does not have “clarity on when power may be reliably restored.”

It said it expects “significant disruption over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until the airport reopens.”

Heathrow earlier said the airport was not expected to reopen until Saturday.

The London Fire Brigade sent 10 engines and around 70 firefighters to control the blaze and about 150 people were evacuated from their homes near the power station.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said in a post on X the power outage affected more than 16,300 homes.

Diverted, canceled and in limbo

At Heathrow, a family of five traveling to Dallas showed up in the hopes their flight home — still listed as delayed — would take off.

But when Andrea Sri brought her brother, sister-in-law and their three children to the airport, they were told by police that there would be no flight.

“It was a waste of time. Very confusing,” said Sri, who lives in London. “We tried to get in touch with British Airways, but they don’t open their telephone line until 8 a.m.”

Travelers who were diverted to other cities found themselves trying to book travel onward to London. Qantas airlines sent flights from Singapore and Perth, Australia, to Paris, where it said it would bus people to London, a process likely to also include a train shuttle beneath the English Channel.

Budget airline Ryanair, which doesn’t operate out of Heathrow, said it added eight “rescue flights” between Dublin and Stansted, another London airport, to transport stranded passengers Friday and Saturday.

National Rail canceled all trains to and from the airport.

Blaze lit up the sky and darkened homes

Matthew Muirhead was working Thursday night near Heathrow when he stepped outside with a colleague and noticed smoke rising from an electrical substation and heard sirens crying out.

“We saw a bright flash of white, and all the lights in town went out,” he said.

Flights normally begin landing and taking off at Heathrow at 6 a.m. due to nighttime flying restrictions. But the skies were silent Friday morning.

“Living near Heathrow is noisy, there are planes every 90 seconds or so, plus the constant hum of traffic, but you get used to it, to the point of no longer noticing,” said James Henderson, who has lived next to the airport for more than 20 years. “Today is different, you can hear the birds singing.”

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Associated Press writers Stefanie Dazio in Berlin, Yirmiyan Arthur in Kohima, India, Hallie Golden in Seattle, and Christie Hampton, Brian Hannon and David Cohen in Bangkok, contributed.

Brian Melley, Danica Kirka And Jill Lawless, The Associated Press

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A former Hells Angels hitman has had his day parole revoked because the Parole Board of Canada has found he can’t control his bad attitude.