Due to "uncertain financial times," the pilot program will stop accepting applications after March 31.

A positive sample of the disease was recently found in a white-tailed deer in Cranbrook during a testing blitz by the province.

CUPE said Wednesday that its locals have reached a tentative deal with Foothills School Division south of Calgary, while Parkland School District west of Edmonton and the Edmonton Public School District accepted their tentative agreements, ending their strikes.

Dr. Gordon Giesbrecht, a cold-water safety expert known as “Professor Popsicle,” speaks alongside officials from Lifesaving Society Manitoba, MPI, Winnipeg police and Manitoba RCMP, during a media event in St. Vital Park on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (MPI / HANDOUT)

With warmer temperatures approaching, Manitoba Public Insurance is warning residents about the dangers of driving on ice roads, lakes, and frozen waterways.

In 2024, MPI received 22 claims for vehicles that broke through the ice, and so far in 2025, four similar incidents have been reported. The risks can be fatal, as cold-water submersion can lead to hypothermia or drowning. According to statistics, one-third of all drownings in Manitoba occur between October and April.

“Heading out onto the ice knowingly means you can take the steps to help protect yourself,” said Dr. Gordon Giesbrecht, a cold-water safety expert known as “Professor Popsicle.”

“Ice road safety looks a little different than the safety precautions we normally take on the roadways. For example, if you are heading out onto ice, unfasten your seatbelt and open your window so you can quickly exit the vehicle if it goes through the ice. I use the term ‘SWOC’: Seatbelts off, Windows open, Out immediately, Children first. If you remember those four things, your chances of getting out of a submerged vehicle increase.”

A minimum of 10 cm is recommended for walking, 12 cm for an ATV or snowmobile, and 20-30 cm for a car. However, even thick ice can be unpredictable.

Lifesaving Society Manitoba also urges caution, recommending that those venturing onto the ice wear a life jacket over winter clothing, never travel alone, and always inform someone of their route and expected return time.

With many expecting Prime Minister Mark Carney to call a federal election soon, new polling shows the federal Liberals gaining ground on Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives. 

Shelby St-Hilaire brings home two silvers from Special Olympics World Games

By William Crooks

Shelby St-Hilaire returned from the 2025 Special Olympics World Games in Turin, Italy, with two silver medals and a wealth of experience from competing on the world stage. The skier from the Eastern Townships represented Canada in alpine events, taking second place in both the Super-G and slalom competitions.

“It was an amazing experience,” St-Hilaire said. “I got fourth place in one of my events, which I was furious about, but then I bounced back and won two silvers.”

The Special Olympics World Games brought together 90 Canadian athletes who competed in various winter sports, securing an impressive haul of 116 medals. Beyond the competition, the Games were a celebration of connection, camaraderie, and personal achievement. For St-Hilaire, the journey to Italy started long before stepping onto the slopes.

Preparation and travel

The process began with a staging camp in Toronto, where athletes were introduced to Italian culture and etiquette before heading overseas. “We went to an Italian cathedral in Toronto and learned about what to do and what not to do in Italy,” St-Hilaire said. “No elbows on the table, no ketchup on pizza, and definitely no pineapple.”

From Toronto, the team flew to Frankfurt, Germany, before continuing to Milan and then by bus to Turin. The first week in Italy was spent acclimating, and the second week took them to Sestriere, where the ski competitions were held. “The ski hill was right on the border,” he noted. “If you took the gondola up, you were on the French side. If you stayed in Sestriere, you were in Italy.”

Competing against the world’s best

St-Hilaire competed in the advanced M2 division, facing top athletes from Norway, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United States. He credits his performance to diligent preparation and a bold strategy. “One of my coaches thought I wasn’t ready for a jump start, but I took the risk, and it turned out to be a good move.”

A jump start in skiing involves positioning on one’s knees, edging toward the bump, and pushing off aggressively to gain speed at the beginning of a race. The strategy paid off, helping him secure two podium finishes. “The key to my success was studying,” St-Hilaire explained. “I talked to my coaches in Quebec, got some advice, and applied it. It worked.”

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L’article “An amazing experience” est apparu en premier sur Sherbrooke Record.

Great Plains College is navigating a new reality for international students after some recent Canadian rule changes. 

Some of these changes include reduced permanent resident targets, stricter temporary resident document cancellation rules, and changes to open work permit eligibility for family members of international students and foreign workers.

Vice President of Programs and Students at Great Plains College Kaleah Ostrander noted fewer international students could have an impact on local students and job markets. 

"Our goal remains to preserve domestic access to minimize the cost to the public purse and ensure the labour market is getting the labour that they need whether that source may be domestic or international," Ostrander said. "That's certainly been impaired by these changing policies."

Fewer pathways to work and become permanent residents in Canada will make the country and certainly the college's programs less attractive to international students. 

"That means there's less interest in Canada," Ostrander said. "In becoming not only a part of our training environment, but also our work environment."

She added Great Plains College had made sure to target their offerings to international students to areas where there are labour needs. 

"We've been very mindful to only place international students in programs where we felt there was a labour market need that wasn't being met domestically," Ostrander said. "As a result, we will certainly have impacts on our programs in terms of the volume of programming we are able to offer. We are trying to mitigate the impact overall in terms of staffing."

The college is doing what they can to assist current students who find themselves less certain about an available future in Canada and the southwest. 

"There's a level of nervousness," Ostrander said. "We do very much employ folks who try to understand these rules and get the best information we can in order to support those students. We have partners such as the Southwest Newcomer Welcome Centre that is a huge support. We try to give them the best information possible." 

The concerns Ostrander has doesn't mean she felt the immigration system needed to stay as it was.

"The system wasn't perfect," she said. "There are reasons for doing some level of policy change, but I think the blanketed approach and disproportionate effects on colleges and rural areas of the country are certainly where our concerns come from."

In a news release Wednesday afternoon, territorial RCMP said they have charged Krystian Cogswell, 22, with murder, attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault.

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin said it’s no secret Democrats don’t have their strategy figured out, but insists the “yelling” coming from some progressive Democrats has not stopped President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Slotkin was responding to a constituent who asked the freshman senator what Democrats can do besides reiterating they are against the administration while at a town hall Wednesday in Flint, Michigan. The exchange highlights ongoing division in the party on how to play defense with the administration when Democrats are out of power in both chambers of Congress.

“I get it that it makes people feel good to see people yelling,” Slotkin said. “But not one of those words is stopping the actual things that Donald Trump is doing.”

A constituent, Kristin Fellows, 62, had asked Slotkin and Democratic U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet what they would do to stand up to Trump like progressive Democrats Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

“We know that you are against these current awful happenings going on in the world, but it is simply not enough for you to repeatedly tell us that you are,” Fellows said.

Her question, posed at a gathering to address cuts to federal agencies made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and concerns about social services like Medicaid, was met with applause, the first of any questions asked of the congresswomen.

Slotkin responded by saying she also serves Michigan residents who voted for Trump and that she is responding to the needs of residents who are impacted by changes at the federal level and executive orders from Trump.

Sanders has gone on a national tour to rally against Trump. Ocasio-Cortez, a longtime Sanders ally, said she would join him on the road in the coming weeks.

“My job is to be more than just an activist,” Slotkin said. “It is to answer the call when there’s an immigration raid and we need to figure out where our people are. All of those things require me to be more than just an AOC.”

Slotkin’s firm response was also met with applause from the audience. Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Slotkin delivered the Democratic response to Trump’s address to Congress earlier this month. Both she and McDonald Rivet delivered key wins for the party in a battleground state that elected Trump in the November election.

They have both been looked to as potential models of the Democratic Party’s future that is closer to the center than the progressive wing.

Slotkin acknowledged to the town hall that Democrats are not united on how to handle the Republican control of Congress and Trump himself, pointing to a split vote in the U.S. Senate to foreword the GOP’s funding bill last week. Slotkin did not elect to advance the bill to a final vote while 10 other Democrats including Leader Chuck Schumer did.

When asked by The Associated Press if Schumer should retain his leadership position, Slotkin said, “Sen. Schumer is our leader, it’s a tough job.”

Isabella Volmert, The Associated Press

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Manitoba's public insurer is warning people to be cautious while travelling on ice roads in remote and northern areas or heading out to go ice fishing as frozen lakes and rivers start to thaw.

As Kyle Moore reports, the $17.1 million will be used for new water lines and sewer infrastructure at the former Tartan Downs.

The family of Leah Keeper, a woman missing from a First Nation in Manitoba, has been asked to submit DNA in what they believe is the search for Buffalo Woman.

Marilyn Courchene, aunt of Leah Faye Keeper, said Tuesday the request came from the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS).

“It’s scary,” Courchene said in a telephone interview from Sagkeeng First Nation. “We’re in a what-if situation.

“What if this means she’s dead? What if she’s Buffalo Woman?”

Keeper, 32, was reported missing on Nov. 21, 2023. There have been sightings of the mother of two reported to her family and the WPS before and since that date, Courchene noted.

Buffalo Woman, or Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe in Anishinaabemowin, is the yet-to-be-identified first victim of Winnipeg serial killer Jeremy Skibicki. She was given the spirit name by Winnipeg’s Indigenous community.

Skibicki, then 37, was convicted last July of murdering Buffalo Woman, Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran and Rebecca Contois in the spring of 2022, and disposing of their remains in the garbage.

Investigators told his trial they found DNA profiles of the four Indigenous victims and an additional 12 women in Skibicki’s suburban apartment.

“We’re just a family with probably 12 other families wondering what-if,” added Courchene.

The WPS would not confirm it asked the family for DNA.

During the trial, court heard nine of the 12 female DNA profiles were not identified by police.

That meant their DNA was not on file with police; it did not mean they were killed.

Courchene said her sister, Beverley Courchene, raised Keeper and four siblings on Sagkeeng, an Anishinaabe community 120 kilometres north of Winnipeg, after the children were removed from their mother.

Marilyn said it was a request from Keeper’s mother, who died about two years ago.

“What if that was a trigger for Leah,” she wondered while noting the family had been helping Keeper recover from drug addiction.

One of several searches for Leah Keeper of Sagkeeng First Nation who went missing in Winnipeg. Photo: APTN News

Keeper disappeared when she was taken to Winnipeg for a medical appointment, said her aunt.

“We have searched for her in the city, with help from Bear Clan (Patrol) and Darryl Contois (of Evelyn Memorial Search Team),” Marilyn said.

“What if Leah was wearing that jacket? She always liked name brands.”

Court heard Buffalo Woman’s DNA was located on the cuff of a distinctive-looking jacket designed by Baby Phat. WPS released photos of the jacket on Dec. 1, 2022 while announcing homicide charges against Skibicki.

Marilyn said she was angry police waited this long to request DNA samples. She said she and her sister met with detectives nearly two years ago to discuss suspicious messages left on Keeper’s phone.

“You think that would be the first thing they would do,” she said.

Marilyn described how police cadets instead of officers initially met the group, which included Cora Morgan, Manitoba’s special adviser on Indigenous women’s issues who comes from Sagkeeng, at a district police station and tried to turn them away.

“I told them these recordings were very important information. They were a matter of life and death,” Marilyn said.

Meanwhile, the remains of Harris and Myran were recently recovered from the Prairie Green Landfill just north of Winnipeg. The search didn’t start until Dec. 2, 2024 following a lengthy lobbying campaign by the victims’ families and a change in provincial government.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, whose NDP is leading the process, told reporters Monday the search team was continuing to find remains that could belong to the known victims.

Gene Bowers, the new chief of WPS, said the need to identify Buffalo Woman was a priority.

“We’ve never stopped. We’ve been working hard to identify Buffalo Woman,” he told reporters following his swearing-in on Monday.

“We continue to try for everybody, and we won’t stop until we identify her.”

The post Family of missing Manitoba woman asked for DNA appeared first on APTN News.

RCMP named Krystian Cogswell as the suspect in the fatal Fort Providence shootings, saying he is charged with murder and attempted murder but remains at large.

Over $2.2 million of the $950 million Hudson's Bay owes to creditors is due to dozens of Manitoba companies, according to a creditor document.

P.E.I.’s forestry commission has made several recommendations aimed at protecting the province’s forests against the inevitable next big storm. Some of its members, however, worry that the province may be overlooking the concerns outlined in the final report.

GREEN RIVER, Wyo. (AP) — A series of chain-reaction crashes and a fire in a Wyoming highway tunnel that killed three people started when a pickup truck lost control and partially blocked traffic on the slick roadway, federal investigators said Wednesday.

It had snowed before the Feb. 14 crashes along Interstate 80, the primary east-west road corridor through Wyoming, near the small town of Green River, Wyoming. The highway was wet with possible ice or slush near the tunnel exit when a westbound Toyota pickup drove out of the tunnel and spun, hitting a guardrail before stopping, blocking the right lane and part of the left lane, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report.

Other vehicles headed out of the tunnel tried to avoid hitting the Toyota, including a tractor-trailer that jackknifed and blocked both lanes of traffic about 200 feet before the tunnel’s exit, it said.

A Dodge pickup hit that tractor-trailer, and another tractor-trailer hit the Dodge pickup. That second tractor-trailer, entangled with the Dodge truck, hit the jackknifed tractor-trailer again before hitting the Toyota and another truck outside the tunnel, the NTSB said.

Several other vehicles then collided inside the tunnel, and there was a post-crash fire, the report said.

Two of the people in the Dodge pickup truck died as a result of the crashes, the NTSB said. The driver of a tractor-trailer in the tunnel was trapped inside the vehicle and died in the fire, it said.

Twenty other people had injuries of varying degrees, the NTSB said.

The crash took place in the westbound tube of the twin tunnel under Castle Rock, a sandstone formation that looms over the town of Green River in the state’s southwest region.

The Associated Press

Nova Scotia's fisheries minister is downplaying the potential short-term effects of a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian seafood products that is scheduled to be imposed by China on Thursday.

Hamilton General Issues Committee has voted 13-0 to ask the province to drop strong mayor powers for Hamilton. The surprise vote came as council was considering a motion by Councillor Spadafora to have the strong mayor powers removed from the budget process only. A two-hour debate ensued at which several councillors made reference that the use of the strong mayor powers was originally intended to support the province’s mission to see 1.5 million new houses constructed, but that they did not see the power being used as broadly as it has. Once council was assured that the strong mayor powers would not affect housing bonus money the city stands to receive for meeting its housing targets, it became clearer that few councillors actually were in favour of the strong mayor policy overall. Mayor Horwath suggested  that the motion be presented as a resolution by council, rather than having her make the pitch to the province.

More on this story to come.

A woman is dead and a man is critically injured in hospital following a fire in a highrise residential building in North York on Wednesday, Toronto police say.