In December, Calix Marchand, 13, became the youngest player from the Maritimes to be designated a national chess master by the Chess Federation of Canada.

The growing cost of renovating FACE — a bilingual school near downtown Montreal — is prompting the Quebec government to scrap the project altogether.

The Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) have charged two suspects being sought for vandalizing a sign at the Sri Krishna Brundavana Hindu Temple in Georgetown.

On Sunday March 30, at approximately 1:10 am two male suspects wearing hooded sweatshirts were seen leaving a pub in the downtown area before walking to the Sri Krishna Brundavana Temple on Main Street South in Georgetown. Security footage captured the suspects ripping down and damaging a sign at the front of the temple.

On April 5, 2025, each suspect turned themselves in to HRPS officers.

As a result of the investigation  Matthew Maciejko (24), of Halton Hills and Nathan Pobgee (25), of Halton Hills have been charged with mischief.

Both accused were released on an Undertaking with a future court date in Milton.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact the 1 District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 905-825-4777 ext. 2416.

Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers. at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or through the web at www.haltoncrimestoppers.ca.

Four people were sent to hospital for injuries police say were from an edged weapon following a street disturbance in downtown Hamilton. Police say they were called to the area of Main St E and Hughson St S Saturday morning before 3 am for a report of a large street disturbance involving 10-20 people.

Police say the disturbance started as a result of minor damage to a vehicle. During the disturbance, non-life threatening injuries were sustained by members of each group consistent with an edged weapon. Four people attended hospital where they were treated for their injuries. The vehicle sustained more damage during the disturbance. Parties involved in the disturbance provided limited information to police.

If anyone has any information regarding this incident they are asked to call Central Detectives at 905-546-3816 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

The Atlantic lobster fishery got some welcome news this week, as we learned lobsters will not face U.S. tariffs. But there’s no sigh of relief from folks who depend on stability in the industry, says Geoff Irvine with the Lobster Council of Canada.

According to a new study by the Angus Reid Institute, 7 in 10 Canadians (69%) agree that all federal party leaders should get their security clearance, including Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, who has failed to do so.

Liberal (89%), NDP (81%) and Bloc Québécois (75%) voters are those most likely to agree with the sentiment. A plurality of Conservatives (44%) say the same.

“Pierre Poilievre has resisted calls to receive the security clearance necessary to read classified materials related to foreign interference. The Conservative leader contends that this would prevent him from speaking freely about these issues, while Liberal leader and Prime Minister Mark Carney has called his decision irresponsible. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh previously stated that he believes Poilievre’s unwillingness to get his security clearance is ‘disqualifying’ for his pursuit of leading the nation as prime minister.”

This is the second study that finds Canadians largely in agreement that security clearance should be sought by all federal party leaders.

The Angus Reid Institute conducted an online survey from March 28 to 31, 2025 among a representative randomized sample of 2,131 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum.

For our latest in news, please visit the News section.

The post Large majority of Canadians believe Pierre Poilievre should get his security clearance appeared first on Cult MTL.

REGINA – The Regina Exhibition Association Ltd. (REAL) has appointed Trent Fraser as their new interim CEO.

Fraser, who has experience in marketing, sales, and special event/project management, has previously worked as a consultant with REAL.

“He understands the different dynamics of all of the things that go on at REAL and with that business side of it,” said Jaime Boldt, chair of REAL’s board.

Fraser’s primary goal is to find ways to save costs and improve efficiency at REAL over the next few months. This will help kickstart REAL’s objective of presenting city council with options in 18 months.

One of those options could be the dissolution of the corporation if this turns out to be the most beneficial choice for Regina.

REAL’s increase in their budget ask to the city over the past few years hasn’t gone unnoticed by residents.

In 2025, REAL originally proposed a $12.7 million budget. After further consultation and decisions by city council, their budget was reduced to $11.2 million for this year.

With this increase in ask, Boldt said nothing is off the table for finding creative cost-saving measures and diving deeper into said ideas.

As for their expected $4.2-million deficit in 2025, Boldt wanted to clarify the misconception that REAL has a cash-flow problem.

“Money ebbs and flows in here,” she said. “When you buy a concert, you put money out. [We] don’t get the tickets until later. So that’s where that $4 million cash flow situation comes from.”

There is the possibility REAL could come back to city council for more money if unexpected costs occur from infrastructure.

“That’s a big risk for us,” said Boldt. She noted that Regina is well aware of the items that are at risk of failure.

Boldt believes city council will support REAL if additional money is needed.

Along with finding cost savings, REAL has attended several council town halls to engage with residents.

“We’ve heard the frustrations [and] we understand the community’s concerns,” said Boldt.

Even with these concerns, Boldt said the community understands the value of REAL from its recent events.

REAL saw its busiest March in history, with Canada’s Farm Show Regina shifting to that month.

Events like the Jelly Roll and Riley Green concerts also sold out, said Boldt.

Looking ahead to future events, Boldt said, “there is another event that will be announced coming up, so we’re really excited about that.” In total, REAL has over 15 events planned for 2025.

As for their goals, Boldt said they want to have a viable business model laid out by year’s end.

Meanwhile, Fraser will serve as the interim CEO until the organization finds a permanent candidate in the summer.

The Canadiens, who hold the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, gave themselves a four-point cushion over the New York Rangers with six games remaining.

Ottawa police say they’ve charged a 31-year-old man with several offences following an incident that placed an area of Parliament Hill under lockdown on Saturday.

Police say in a media statement that a man entered East Block in downtown Ottawa at 2:40 p.m. Saturday and started issuing threats to those inside.

REGINA – With an ongoing trade war between Canada and the U.S., many travellers north of the border are deciding against taking a trip to America.

This has led to flight booking in Canada to take a sharp decline over the past year, according to OAG Aviation.

Their report found that “Passenger bookings on Canada – U.S. routes are currently down by 70 per cent compared to the same period last year.”

Even with these numbers, James Bogusz, Regina Airport Authority (RAA) CEO, said there haven’t been any decreases in bookings for American flights.

“We actually saw over 9,000 more transporter passengers [going from Regina to America] than we did last year at the same time period,” he said

These numbers take into account flights to Las Vegas, Phoenix, Orlando, and Minneapolis from Jan and Feb 2025.

One point Bogusz noted was that at this time last year, Regina had no direct flight to Minneapolis. This only came in April 2024, meaning a large spike of these passengers is likely attributed to this flight.

As for March numbers, Bogusz said the airport will have them in about two weeks.

One key announcement for the airport last year was introducing direct flights to Denver, Colorado, starting in May.

The flights will be provided by United Airlines, which operates heavily out of Denver International Airport. It’s expected to bring in nearly $10 million CAD annually for the Gross domestic product (GDP), said Bogusz.

From what they’ve told Bogusz, there has been a softening demand for connective flights to the U.S but nothing catastrophic.

However, he acknowledged, “we have concerns about softening demand. There’s no question about that.”

With these concerns, Bogusz said, “until I start seeing stats from April, May, June, it’s going to be very tough to see where this will go.”

Bogusz said the airport has been heavily marketing the return of the Regina-Denver flight to spread the word.

He will also be heading to Denver in May as part of a leadership roundtable with Economic Development Regina (EDR) as part of a mission to talk to local leaders about tariffs and enhancing relationships.

“I want to make sure that they can hear right from leaders like myself the importance of this connectivity,” he said.

Denver’s airport is the 10th busiest in the world, according to OAG Aviation. The airport goes to over 200 destinations in 19 countries.

Bogusz stressed the importance of having so many destinations at the expense of taking one flight.

“It puts us back on the map [to] have the ability for an event or conference.”

From the return of the Minneapolis flight, Bogusz said more than half the people use the flight for business purposes.

In his eyes, this could encourage companies to move their headquarters north of the border.

Speaking of flights, Bogusz mentioned the airport is trying to work with Porter Airlines to get a flight from Ottawa.

“We view this as a really good opportunity,” he said.

The airport had direct flights to Ottawa a few years ago courtesy of Air Canada, but that ended with no sign of returning.

Bogusz couldn’t give an exact timeframe for when this could happen, but he encouraged residents to tell Porter about wanting a flight to Ottawa.

“People should consider sending an email and tweeting them, whatever you got to do to push this.”

A new program at the London library is teaching seniors how to navigate technology on their cell phones and computers so they can be more connected and safe in the evolving online world.

The suspect arrested in connection to a death in Clarence-Rockland, Ont., on Friday has been identified as Gilles Martel, 83, and charged with second-degree murder, according to Ontario Provincial Police.

A local value-added seafood producer says the current economic climate under U.S. tariffs has proved very challenging for his business.

Danny Dumaresque of Labrador Gem Seafoods says half of his product has traditionally gone to the U.S. market, but “there’s no way to overcome a 25 per cent tariff.”

While the province’s seafood industry has managed to avoid the tariff, for now, continued threats and the uncertainty that it created has forced many producers to look elsewhere.

Dumaresque is now working on securing greater access to buyers in Spain, Italy, France and the U.K.

He says while Canadians “dodged a bullet” in the latest round of American reciprocal tariffs, “Trump is not going to change” which is why he’s working on diversifying his markets.

Dumaresque says there are 450 million people in the European Union who “eat four times as much seafood as we do in North America” and already know Newfoundland and Labrador’s reputation for high-quality seafood products.

Meanwhile, provincial fisheries minister Gerry Byrne has launched a Seafood Marketing Support Program to help local companies expand into global markets.The program is being introduced to help identify, assess, target and develop new market opportunities in response to U.S. and Chinese tariffs.

Non-repayable funding of up to $100,000 is available to local businesses through a $5,750,000 seafood diversification fund.

Byrne says “it is absolutely essential that this threat never be a threat (to local producers) again. We can’t control what the White House or the President does…what we can do is diversify our markets.”

The Seafood Marketing Support Program will focus on:

• Market information and research
• Market development planning
• Adapting products and packaging for new markets
• Market development activities
• Marketing material and promotional tools

Examples of eligible activities include, but are not limited to:

• Re-development of packaging for new markets
• Participation in tradeshows/missions
• Market research
• Brand strategy development
• Advertising
• Export development planning

Collaboration between the Humboldt Broncos Memorial Committee and the community itself remains active on two projects that will pay tribute to the 2017-18 Broncos hockey team.

Some Vancouver precious metal dealers say more people are buying or investing in gold as a hedge during this time of economic uncertainty. On Thursday, stock markets plunged after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a new round of tariffs.

A display of Canadian and Manitoban pride will adorn the grounds of the Manitoba Legislative Building on Sunday afternoon for a rally hosted by the province.

The South Sudanese community stood together for a rally in Winnipeg at the steps of the Manitoba legislature, holding signs and chanting over the deaths of their co-nationals at the hands of the eastern African country's government. 

A 47-year-old Dalhousie Junction, N.B., woman is dead after a crash Saturday in Upper Tantallon, N.S.

There is a window of relief for British Columbia farmers from the devastating waves of avian flu, leaving them to assess the toll of outbreaks spanning more than three years that saw millions of birds culled at hundreds of farms.

Farmers and scientists also worry what the next migration of wild birds will bring this year.

A plan to send Tyra the tyrannosaurus, the popular tourist attraction that towers over the skyline in Drumheller, Alta., into proverbial extinction has sparked demands that she be spared.

The town of 8,400 northeast of Calgary bills itself as the Dinosaur Capital of the World. Home to the famed Royal Tyrrell Museum, the community also has statues of dinosaurs that look like they've crawled out of “The Flintstones” cartoon greeting people on the streets.

The first woman to be premier of Newfoundland and Labrador is looking back at her time in office as the province celebrates the 100th anniversary of women securing the right to vote and hold public office.

Kathy Dunderdale took office in December 2010, leading the PC Party following the resignation of Danny Williams.

Dunderdale received a standing ovation in the lobby of the Confederation Building last week during an event celebrating the centennial of women’s suffrage in the province.

Dunderdale indicates that the event was her first time inside the Confederation Building since her decision to resign as premier in January 2014.

She says she was aware of the significance of being the first female premier at the time, but back then, she was more focused on the role’s responsibilities.

She says she looks back at her time in the top job with “great affection” and a “better understanding of it now that (she) has had some distance from it.” She says she is proud of the work that she did and of the people she worked with.

Physical activity — primarily in the form of active play — promotes young children’s physical, mental, emotional and social health. It can also influence how active people will be later in life.

It’s recommended that pre-school children, aged three to four years, engage in at least three hours of physical activity per day, and that should include one hour of high-intensity, heart-pumping movement. Sedentary screen time should also be limited to less than one hour per day.

Despite this, many children in Canada and around the world do not meet recommended levels of physical activity and engage in far more sedentary screen time than recommended.

Early childhood educators (ECEs) play many important roles in helping young children grow and learn, and one of these roles is encouraging engagement in physical activity. Our research in the Child Health and Physical Activity Lab at Western University focuses on promoting physical activity of young children.

A large part of our research involves working with ECEs to create active child-care settings, where children are supported and encouraged to engage in the physical activity they need for their development. We believe providing physical activity training opportunities for ECEs is an essential first step towards reaching that goal.

Why kids aren’t moving

There are many barriers to promoting physical activity in child-care settings, including prioritization of academic outcomes and limited space or equipment.

For ECEs, the lack of formal training on the integral role of physical activity on children’s learning, health and development may present a key barrier.

Only 32 per cent of students in early childhood education programs in Canada have taken a course related to physical activity in their post-secondary degree.

Furthermore, ECEs across Canada have reported a lack of knowledge and confidence in their ability to incorporate physical activity opportunities into daily programming in child-care settings. This is the case even while ECEs have expressed interest in pursuing more training on these important subjects.

The TEACH course

We created the TEACH e-learning course (TEACH stands for Training EArly CHildhood educators in physical activity) to help bridge this gap.

This course aims to educate ECEs on the important role of physical activity in child development, and to provide them with the knowledge and confidence to implement physical activity within child-care environments.

The TEACH course was developed with both early childhood education experts and physical activity specialists to create comprehensive and relevant course content in four online modules. These include instructive videos, practical tips and “knowledge checks” (encouraging self-reflection on current knowledge and practices) for promoting physical activity and limiting sedentary behaviour in child-care environments.

Important topics like outdoor and risky play are also covered in the course. It strives to overcome some of the other barriers to physical activity promotion in child-care settings, including suggestions for incorporating movement with limited space or equipment, as well as how to combine physical activities with other important skills like literacy and numeracy.

The TEACH course is endorsed by the Canada Child Care Federation as a resource which can be used for practising ECEs to help fulfil their annual professional development activity requirements.

Real-world results show promise

The course has been tested with 200 practising ECEs and 300 ECE students across Canada, and has been shown to increase ECEs’ knowledge, confidence and intentions to incorporate physical activity during the child-care day.

Not only that, but the positive changes in self-efficacy and confidence were sustained up to three months after completing the training. This shows that the e-learning course can have a lasting impact.

Both practising ECEs and those in training benefited from the TEACH course. Practicing ECEs, who could immediately apply their new knowledge and skills to their everyday work, maintained these gains more effectively when compared to the ECEs still in training.

Read more: Outdoor play in shorter, more frequent windows can boost physical activity in early learning settings

Expanding and integrating the TEACH course

The online format of the TEACH course increases accessibility of the course, as ECEs can work through the content in their own time, from anywhere. The online format also provides promise for the feasibility of expanding the course to a wider audience to be a cost-effective way to train a large number of ECEs, without much strain on resources.

Members of the Child Health and Physical Activity Lab have translated the TEACH course into French (TEACH-FR). They’re currently testing its impact on francophone ECEs across the country, to ensure this resource can eventually be made available to both English- and French-speaking ECEs across Canada.

Children’s engagement in physical activity and healthy movement while at child care matters — and can impact their health and development. The TEACH course can help improve educators’ knowledge and confidence in promoting physical activity opportunities in child-care settings, better equipping them for this challenge.

By providing training for ECEs on the importance of physical activity behaviours, as well as how to effectively program daily active play opportunities, we can help children to move more during their time in child care. This helps set the stage for future healthy active lives.

Myranda Hawthorne receives funding from the Ontario Graduate Scholarship.

Sophie M Phillips receives funding from Children's Health Research Institute and Mitacs.

Trish Tucker receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and the Children's Health Research Institute.

A 24-year-old Winnipeg man is facing multiple charges following a violent carjacking and crash in the city’s West End.

Police say the incident began at around 7:10 p.m. on Friday when officers were called to the 100 block of Keewatin Street. A 25-year-old man reported being threatened and assaulted before his 2019 Honda Civic was stolen. He wasn’t injured.

Shortly after, the stolen vehicle was spotted driving erratically in the area. It later collided with another vehicle on St. Matthews Avenue, between Strathcona and Ashburn Streets. The suspect fled on foot after the crash leaving the vehicle inoperable.

Officers tracked the suspect nearby in the 1300 block of St. Matthews Avenue. He was taken to hospital in stable condition to be treated for injuries sustained in the collision. The people in the second vehicle also received treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.

Police confirmed that the suspect and the victim did not know each other.

The suspect is facing several charges, including robbery, uttering threats, dangerous operation of a vehicle, impaired driving, and failing to stop at the scene of an accident. He was released to appear in court.

By The Canadian Press

Members of the Ottawa police service investigate an incident at Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Saturday, April 5, 2025. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby)

Ottawa police say they arrested one man late Saturday evening after an hours-long lockdown on Parliament Hill.

Investigators say the man gained unauthorized access to East Block on Saturday afternoon and barricaded himself inside the building.

In a post on social media, they say he was taken into custody without incident.

There was no immediate word on charges.

Police initially released a warning Saturday afternoon telling anyone in East Block, which houses parliamentary offices, to seek shelter in the nearest room, close and lock all doors and hide.

People were evacuated from the building and police shut down a significant stretch of Wellington Street in front of Parliament Hill, blocking traffic and pedestrians.

More than three hours after the lockdown began, police extended the exclusion zone from Wellington Street one block back to Sparks Street.

Ottawa police Insp. Mark Bouwmeester told reporters at around 7:30 p.m. that the circumstances of this incident were “suspicious,” but gave few details about what was happening inside.

Police would not say whether the man was believed to be armed or whether he had made threats.

Ottawa police brought in specialized units, including at least one canine unit and explosives units. Two bomb disposal unit robots were seen in front of Centre Block.

A government web page says East Block houses the offices of Senators and their staff, but Parliament Hill is mostly quiet this month due to the federal election. Parliament has been dissolved since the election was called on March 23.

The site says the building once held the officers of Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir George-Étienne Cartier, and that it still contains “faithful recreations of the offices of its famous occupants from the 19th century.”

The provincial government has approved seven new projects through the Green Transition Fund.

The government has announced $740,000 in funding.

The recipients of the funding are Ever Green Environmental Corporation, Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University, Newfoundland Adventures Limited, Nunacor Development Corporation, Oceans Advance, Pedego Ebikes, and Qalipu Development Corporation.

To date, throughout the province, there have been 27 projects approved and 23 are currently under assessment by the department. 

The East Coast Music Association has announced the headline for the Kickoff Party.

The Irish Descendants and Newfoundland rock groups Mick Davis and Thin Love and With Violet will perform at the JAG Soundhouse in St. John’s on May 7 at 8:00 p.m.

he Irish Descendants played a pivotal role in introducing traditional Newfoundland music to a broader Canadian audience during the early 1990s, sharing the stage with other iconic bands like Great Big Sea. Their authentic renditions of timeless tunes from the East Coast, blended with an Irish twist, have made them a cherished part of Canada’s folk music scene. Their popularity soared to such heights that they were chosen as the official band for Newfoundland and Labrador’s 500th-anniversary celebrations, where they performed for Her Majesty the Queen.

Tickets are on sale now.

We've turned all four of our one-on-one interviews with NWT election candidates into a podcast. Listen here and get links to the transcripts.

Has there been a Yellowknife outage longer than Saturday's four-hour-plus blackout? Not for years, as far as we can tell, but we want your stories.

VANCOUVER — There is a window of relief for British Columbia farmers from the devastating waves of avian flu, leaving them to assess the toll of outbreaks spanning more than three years that saw millions of birds culled at hundreds of farms.

Farmers and scientists also worry what the next migration of wild birds will bring this year.

Some farmers moved their operations outside British Columbia’s Fraser Valley or have exited the industry altogether since the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu began circulating, said farmer Ray Nickel.

Nickel, who operates a farm in Abbotsford in the Fraser Valley, was forced to cull 60,000 chickens in the fall of 2022 due to avian flu. He said his flock of about 9,000 turkeys on another farm were also euthanized in 2023.

“It’s just daunting, and the uncertainty about what’s happening around you does weigh on you,” Nickel said of the virus.

“We’ve had reoccurring events, particularly in the fall, and the amount of anxiety and stress that goes in for producers when this is going on is significant.”

“Infection protocols” have been imposed on B.C. flocks 239 times since the first case was detected in the province in April 2022, but only six premises are currently infected, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

More than 8.7 million commercial and backyard birds have been culled in the province, more than half the national toll of 14.5 million.

The agency said in January that the worldwide scale of the avian flu is “unprecedented and continues to have significant impacts on Canada’s poultry industry.” But there have been no new infections reported in B.C. since Jan. 11.

Nickel, who also serves as director of the BC Chicken Marketing Board, said farmers are feeling “relieved” at the moment, but there’s an underlying concern about the virus persisting.

“Although there’s relief that we seem to be out of it now, there’s anxiety on what is next and what the next episode is possibly going to look like in the fall,” he said.

“We’ve had some (farmers) that have certainly decided to move their operations out of the valley. We’ve also had producers that accelerate their succession planning and have decided to exit.”

Farmers are diligent about safety measures, but researchers say it is currently impossible to know exactly how a virus is transmitted to flocks.

Troy Bourque, a veterinary operations specialist for the CFIA, said Canada first detected the highly pathogenic avian flu in 2021 and had since gone through six waves of outbreaks.

“They are both in the spring and fall during migration season. Over the last couple of years, particularly in B.C., we have seen larger outbreaks in the fall rather than the spring,” he said, noting the Fraser Valley had been hit hard.

Bourque, the planning chief for avian influenza outbreak response, said it’s too soon to say how this year’s spring migration will impact poultry flocks.

“The challenge is highly pathogenic avian influenza is circulating in the wildlife population, and so we don’t have a good idea of what the virus level is in those migratory birds,” he said.

B.C. Chief Veterinarian Teresa Burns said preliminary research suggests fall migration periods are worse than spring because birds land and spend more time in the Fraser Valley. They seem to bypass the region in the spring, she said.

“Each fall, we’ve had quite a serious outbreak but we’ve actually been fortunate to have no infections in the spring last year, although the year before, there were some infections in the spring period.”

Burns said all influenzas mutate and the H5N1 strain that emerged in 2021 is “significantly worse than other strains that we’ve had historically.”

She said the hope is that wild birds develop more immunity and the virus mutates into a less damaging strain.

Pandemic researchers worry that avian flu could mutate into a widespread human illness, and Bourque noted human transmission is “always a concern because these viruses can infect mammals, including humans, which is another reason why we don’t want it in our domestic bird population — because it is a threat to humans.”

However, person-to-person transmission of H5N1 is considered very rare.

Canada reported its first domestically acquired human case of bird flu on Nov. 9, 2024. The teenage patient became very ill, and spent two months in a B.C. hospital. She was discharged in January and authorities said they do not know how she was infected.

The federal government announced in February that it had purchased 500,000 doses of a bird flu vaccine as a proactive measure, pointing to guidance that says high-risk people, such as farm workers exposed to infected animals, should be prioritized for the shot.

Bourque said that “if poultry is handled properly, it is safe. There’s no risk for bird flu by eating any poultry or eggs.”

He said the industry is very focused on biosecurity to prevent introduction of the virus to flocks. But, when it happens, the CFIA follows a strict protocol.

Farmers are mandated to report suspicion of avian flu in flocks to the CFIA. Bourque said the agency will quarantine the farm as it administers diagnostic tests. Then, if tests are positive, the animals are ordered to be destroyed.

He said that on large farms, the animals are killed using CO2 gas, while for smaller flocks the bird’s necks are broken. Then, they are buried or composted.

The process isn’t finished after the birds are destroyed. Bourque said that the completion of disposal triggers outbreak surveillance of the surrounding 10 kilometres — also referred to as a control zone — to ensure the virus did not spread.

“Outbreak surveillance is a minimum of 28 days,” he said. “So, it has to be disease free for at least 28 days before that zone can come down.”

The CFIA pays market value for any animal that is culled, to encourage farmers to report outbreaks.

“It is quite costly, but I think it’s important to understand that we do this to keep that disease out of our domestic flock, because the disease itself is very costly. Our poultry export is a billion-dollar-a-year industry,” Bourque said.

The farmers must pay the cost of cleaning and disinfection and “any loss of production,” he said.

Nickel said that’s one of reasons the past three years have been emotionally and often financially taxing.

He said when he was forced to euthanize his flock in 2022, disinfection cost him more than $2,000. Then there’s the farm workers who are forced to stand down when an infection is detected.

“It’s not fun. Nobody wants this,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2025.

Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is announcing measures to combat rising rents and improve housing security for tenants

Saint Andrews is working to create more year-round opportunities for recreation in the picturesque town that is almost completely surrounded by the ocean.