On Wednesday morning, as Pierre Poilievre wrapped up the press conference portion of a Bay Street breakfast event, a clamour erupted at the back of the room. To those watching on TV, it sounded as if protesters had begun heckling the Conservative Leader. In fact, it was a handful of reporters, apparently frustrated by the campaign’s tight control of access, shouting questions they hoped Mr. Poilievre might answer.

The incident marked the second time tensions flared on the trail this week, after some campaign handlers attempted to physically restrain reporters trying to ask questions of Mr. Poilievre at a Tuesday morning event on a public wharf in St. John’s.

Voters in Vancouver are heading to the polls today – but not for the federal election that’s still weeks away from its conclusion.

Vancouverites will instead cast their ballots in the municipal by-election to select two new councillors to fill seats vacated by the Green Party’s Adriane Carr and OneCity’s Christine Boyle.

Officials in southern Ontario believe prolonged power outages could last well into next week after a spring storm caused heavy damage.

Provincial utility provider Hydro One says more than 107,000 customers are still without power as of Saturday morning, with 3,900 crews working to get the power back on.

The carbon tax was the smartest, boldest idea to come out of Canadian governments in decades. Now it is dead, the victim of scaremongering, disinformation and political cowardice.

Good riddance, some will say. Taxing fuel at a time when Canadians are struggling with everyday costs was always a terrible idea. Couldn’t be helped, others will say. The tax was just too unpopular. Tactically astute, still others will insist. Left-leaning governments had to kill it to keep conservatives from marching into power on an axe-the-tax promise.

The capital city will not pursue the purchase of a right-of-way to allow Kenmount Terrace residents access to trails from Lady Anderson Street.

Local resident Stephen Hinchey raised concern when heavy equipment started excavating the existing gap between homes that neighbourhood residents use to access trails.

He called on the city to do something to maintain a right-of-way for pedestrians.

Google Earth image.

Ward 4 councilor Tom Davis says while the city will not purchase a right-of-way for legal and planning reasons, the conversation is not over.

Davis says city staff are available to meet with residents to discuss their concerns and explore potential alternatives.

Meanwhile, Davis says he will meet with residents at the corner of Tigress and Lady Anderson this morning at 10:00 a.m.

Saskatchewan’s 2025-26 Anglers Guide is now available online, providing fishing enthusiasts with up-to-date regulations and best practices for the upcoming season.

The digital guide offers anglers access to important information on fishing regulations, catch limits, special restrictions on certain waterbodies, and guidelines for catch-and-release practices. It also includes details on preventing the spread of aquatic invasive species. The guide can be downloaded to mobile devices for easy reference, and printed copies will be available in early May at government field offices, select retail locations, and most provincial park offices.

"The new Anglers Guide is one sign of spring in Saskatchewan that so many of us look forward to," said Environment Minister Travis Keisig. "It is also an important way that anglers can make sure they are up to date on the rules and regulations before heading out to experience our world-class fishing opportunities."

The opening dates for the new angling season vary by region: May 5 in the southern management zone, May 15 in the central management zone, and May 25 in the northern management zone.

Anglers aged 16 and older must purchase a licence to fish in Saskatchewan, except for Saskatchewan seniors aged 65 and older. Saskatchewan and Canadian resident Armed Forces veterans who were honourably discharged are eligible for free licences upon verification. Licences can be purchased online at any time and stored digitally.

Saskatchewan also offers two Free Fishing Weekends, when both residents and visitors can fish without a licence in provincial waterbodies outside of national parks. These weekends are scheduled for July 12-13, 2025, and February 14-16, 2026. However, all other regulations, including possession limits, still apply during these periods.

For more information or to purchase a fishing licence, visit saskatchewan.ca/fishing.

The Saskatchewan Environmental Society (SES) reacted strongly on Tuesday to news that Premier Scott Moe is cancelling industrial carbon pollution pricing, with SES board members saying that not only does the move leave the province weaker on its climate change strategy and less well-placed for future energy initiatives — it's also illegal.

Industrial carbon tax pollution pricing in Saskatchewan is administered through the Output-Based Performance Standards Program (OBPSP), which was approved in 2023. As of April 2, Saskatchewan's government media site still lists the OBPSP as a "key component of Prairie Resilience," and claims it has been highly effective.

“The cancellation of the Output-Based Performance Standards Program on industrial greenhouse gas pollution in Saskatchewan leaves a gaping hole in Saskatchewan’s climate change strategy, Prairie Resilience,” said Peter Prebble, an SES board member.

“It also brazenly violates federal law and undermines Canada’s commitment to the rest of the world to reduce nation-wide greenhouse gas pollution 40% by 2030.”

Under the OBPSP, big emitters only pay for greenhouse gas emissions that go above a certain threshold. Thus, the OBPSP creates incentives to cut emissions while keeping costs low for businesses. Large-emitter pollution pricing systems across Canada, like the OBPSP in Saskatchewan, are projected to be responsible for more than one quarter of Canada’s greenhouse gas emission reduction over the next five years. 

By cancelling the program, the provincial government is set for a revenue loss of more than $400 million, less than two weeks after introducing a provincial budget it said had a razor-thin surplus of $12 million. It also leaves uncertain the fate of the Saskatchewan Technology Fund, which is funded by the OBPSP and announced its second intake of $50 million in January. 

The Environment Society said that cancelling industrial carbon pollution pricing in Saskatchewan will create uncertainty for businesses and for investors who were planning clean technology investments. It could also undermine Saskatchewan exports to trading partners such as the European Union, which is bringing in carbon border adjustment tariffs to penalize jurisdictions with high greenhouse gas emissions, while giving low-carbon industrial producers a competitive advantage.

Premier Moe returns today from a trade mission to the UK and Germany, both jurisdictions that could react poorly to Saskatchewan's rollback of climate protection measures.

In January, Premier Moe’s government also signalled its plans to keep Saskatchewan’s conventional coal-fired power plants running well past 2030, a move the SES alleged is another violation of federal law:

Coal is the most polluting of all the fossil fuels. Alberta completed the phase out of coal-fired power stations last year. Ontario finished the job a decade ago. Saskatchewan is the only province refusing to comply with the 2030 deadline. And in February, the Saskatchewan government backtracked on its commitment to make new buildings more energy efficient. It has reverted to the very lowest standard in Canada’s energy efficiency performance tiers for low-rise residential buildings. Saskatchewan’s move will increase greenhouse gas emissions in the residential home sector and increase operating costs for homeowners.

“Sadly, Premier Moe’s government is ignoring all these distress signals of impending climate disaster. Saskatchewan already has one of the very highest per capita greenhouse gas pollution levels in the world,” says Glenn Wright, another SES board member. “With the policy changes of the last three months, Premier Moe is making Saskatchewan’s reputation on matters of the environment worse than ever.”

The SES is calling on the Government of Saskatchewan to reverse course and reinstate the Output-Based Performance Standards Program, with a greenhouse gas pollution price on the industrial sector that maintains alignment with other provinces. The Saskatchewan Environmental Society also calls on the provincial government to move forward with improved energy efficiency standards on new buildings and to comply with federal law by phasing out all conventional coal-fired power stations in the province by 2030.

Saskatchewan foragers noticed several new digital-only books on Amazon that feature dangerous misinformation about the edibility of mushrooms in the province. The CBC has determined the books are AI-generated.

A Calgary group is leading the effort to restore native plants to Fish Creek Provincial Park — by rescuing them from private development sites.

Royal Manitoba Winter Fair co-chair Clint Swain says he’s seeing more people at the Brandon event this year trying to find out how they can directly buy from farmers, both to support Canadian products and help keep cash in their wallets.

The Environment and Climate Change Canada Weather Office in Gander has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the following areas from midday Sunday until Sunday evening:

• Channel-Port aux Basques

Winter Storm Warnings are issued when multiple types of severe winter weather are expected to occur together.

Snow will arrive in the area around midday Sunday and will quickly become heavy at times. Snowfall rates up to 3 centimeters per hour are likely until Sunday evening when the snowfall tapers off. In addition, wind gusts of 60 to 80 km/h from the southeast will accompany the falling snow. The combination of strong winds and falling snow will reduce visibility in areas of blowing snow.

The weather alert states that 15 to 25 cm of snow will likely fall.

Due to accumulating snow, surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways, and parking lots will become challenging to navigate. Visibility will suddenly be reduced to near zero in heavy snow and blowing snow.

Postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve is something to be considered.

Monitor the latest weather alerts from ECCC NL here.

As the world warms, the West learns it’s not exempt

We’re looking back on a quarter century of local tunes, and this episode zooms in on the late noughties. Musicians Colleen Power, Ritche Perez and Liam Ryan rewind to the years 2005-2009 and play through the era’s biggest and best tracks.

Newfoundland and Labrador Housing will be tearing down a row of vacant homes on Livingstone Street in St. John’s that were damaged by fire last week.

The province says only one of the six units affected had a tenant, and that person has been put up in temporary accommodations before moving into another NL Housing unit next week.

Most of the units had been boarded up and vacant, and while repair work was underway, the units had been repeatedly targeted by vandals and had been broken into numerous times, causing extensive delays.

NDP leader Jim Dinn recently raised concerns about the number of vacant and boarded-up homes in the area and what he says is the government’s negligence in failing to get them back up and running.The province says more than 750 provincially-owned homes were vacated over a two-year period between April of 2023 and April of 2025. Repairs required ranged from typical sprucing-up to major and lengthy structural repairs.

The province says that, at that same time, more than 800 homes were refurbished and made available to families.

Work is now underway to construct 32 new units on Janeway Place in St. John’s, while work is expected to begin this year on a new 40-unit apartment building in the same area.

The Deer Lake Red Wings are on the verge of capturing the Herder.

They blanked the Clarenville Caribous 3-0 last night in Clarenville to go up 3-0 in the series.

Game 4 goes tonight at 7:40

The Royal Manitoba Winter Fair has been celebrating agriculture all week at the Keystone Centre, and the 4-H Manitoba simulation of a cow giving birth has been a fun interactive demonstration for families to experience this wonderful phenomenon that typically takes place out in the pasture in the springtime.

Tuesday of this past week was 4-H Day at the Fair where 4-H members from across the province had free admission, and the members participate in the evening show in the Westoba Place Arena, all to raise awareness to this dynamic youth program that's now around the world.

Four 4-H volunteer leaders were awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal in the Royal Courtyard at the Keystone Centre following the announcement by Minister of Agriculture Ron Kostyshyn that the provincial government has committed to $300,000 over the next three years to the 4-H Manitoba program.

Coral Meggison from Goodlands, Cheryl Antonio from The Pas, Gene Piasta from La Salle and Margaret Walker from Oakbank each received this prestigious award from Minister Kostyshyn.

"We were honored to have 4 medals set aside for 4-H Manitoba for four of our longstanding volunteers," shares Manitoba 4-H President Greg Penner.  "I believe there were 40 coronation medals given out to 4-H members across Canada."

The 4-H Beef program is just one of the many programs offered through 4-H.

"4-H is a great opportunity for youth," explains Penner. "It's a positive youth development organization so we do all sorts of skills from livestock to cooking to sewing to crafts, and everything in between.  And then our kids learn all of those wonderful soft skills such as leadership, communications, public speaking.  All of those things."

The calving demonstration does turn a few heads for those who weren't raised on a beef or dairy farm.

"We have our model cow, Clover, and she always gets to join us at the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair," shares Shannon Carvey, Executive Director of the Manitoba 4-H Council.  "Every day we have a calving demonstration and so the veterinarian comes and the baby calf is born.  And the kids get to help out and pull the calf and it's kind of a really neat experience.  When the vet isn't here, we encourage everyone to check and see and feel what it feels like and what it looks like to see a cow having a calf." 

The Ag aspect of 4-H includes beef clubs and horsemanship clubs, but the program has expanded to include so many different interests over the past 111 years," says Greg Penner.  "We started mostly with livestock and farming but we've definitely expanded into some technology and leadership programs, photography, home economics, crafts.  Yes, we're very excited about what we have to offer and we're coming up with new programs all the time!"

The Royal Manitoba Winter Fair continues today with the final show wrapping up a week of activities and events at 7:00 pm this evening in the Westoba Arena.  Ceremonies begin at 6:30 pm.

For more on 4-H Manitoba, visit their website, or click HERE!

(photo credit CJRB Radio / Discover Westman)

The Boissevain Playground Project is one of three Manitoba projects contending for the 2025 BASF Growing Home Contest and now it's down to the community vote to determine which community project gets the $25,000 First Place Prize.

Each year BASF accepts donations from across Western Canada for their Growing Home contest for Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.  They receive hundreds of community project nominees and narrow it down to three finalists per province for the public to vote on.

The voting deadline is coming up quick:  April 15th

"So, we want everyone in Westman to vote for the Boissevain School's Playground Project," shares committee co-chair Heather Janssen.  

"It's so very exciting! I think it was over 600 nominations between the 4 provinces so to be one of the final three in Manitoba is really quite exciting!" she adds.

The Boissevain Playground is up against another southwest Manitoba project, the Louise Aquatic Centre in Pilot Mound.  The third project in Manitoba is the Hero's Alliance group in Lac du Bonnet.  All three projects are very unique and worthy of the $25,000 Grand Prize.  Second place contenders receive $10,000 and third place lands $5,000 towards their community project.

The Boissevain playground project stems from the equipment needing some serious upgrades as many of the playground structure is 50 years old.  Fundraising efforts began in October of 2023.

"It started with our playgrounds just kind of starting to fall apart," explains Janssen. "They're 30 to 50 years old. Our maintenance crews have done a fabulous job of looking after them all these years and making fixes where needed. But the reality is that there's a good bit of equipment that's 50 years old and it just can't continue being fixed. So, it's time to replace it."

"Both of the playgrounds, the middle years and the primary, have pea gravel for their base, which is not an accessible surface," she adds. "One of the big things will be to put down engineered wood fiber or rubber safety base on the primary side so that anyone needing mobility aids like wheelchairs or walkers will be able to participate on the playgrounds and play along with their peers and families."

The entire project is divided into 3 stages, with the first phase being to upgrade the Middle Years playground with hopes to work on that this summer.  The Primary Years playground is the next phase, to be followed by the high school area where teens can hang out with a sitting area and perhaps a basketball hoop.

"We're definitely aiming for the Grand Prize of $25,000," adds Janssen.  "That $25,000 would be really exciting for the project!"

Please listen to more with Heather Janssen on the Boissevain playground project below.

To view the three finalists per province, visit the Growing Home with BASF website page HERE.  To see the Manitoba contenders specifically click HERE!

How closely have you been reading our online stories this week? Take The Walrus Weekly Quiz to find out—released every Saturday.

Manitoba Agriculture farm management specialist Ben Hamm calls low enrollment in the federal AgriStability program a “missed opportunity” for livestock and crop producers. The income-based risk management tool, he argues, offers broader protection at lower costs than alternatives—yet only 20 per cent of eligible producers use it.

“It’s about understanding the calculation”

“AgriStability is one of the best risk management tools we have,” Hamm says. “It’s based on your margin—it's allowable income minus allowable expenses—and costs about a tenth of production insurance. But if producers don’t grasp how their five-year income average works with accrual adjustments, they won’t see its value.”

Whatever you've done in the last five years, or however long you've been farming, it's compared to your current year. He notes the prices are extremely high at the moment -- $4 a pound; $4.50 or $5,00 -- the prices are high and this is the prime time. Volatile markets are what AgriStability was created for, and that's exactly what we're in at the current time.

"You take the average of the last five years, and you drop the high level out to get a true level of what your farm is doing. So, you won't have all the high prices in there, but commodity values are all there. And that commodity change is incorporated into the accrual adjustment. So, when these commodity prices come back down, the accrual adjustments will bring you down on top of what the allowable income minus the allowable expense calculation does." 

He notes, if ever there was a time, now is the time. Hamm notes it's a little expensive but they can guarantee extremely strong prices. 

"If we knew these prices were available to us at the times of BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy), every one of us would take Livestock Price Insurance. We have this opportunity now, and we have 10 or 20 per cent of the producers taking it. It's a missed opportunity. And it does cost a bit more compared to AgriStability, but if you're going to go in one or the other -- I encourage both, and even forage insurance  -- but AgriStability is all-encompassing, whereas Livestock Price Insurance (LPI) is just looking at one very individualistic thing. It's a little bit limiting that way, whereas AgriStability covers absolutely anything and everything."

With volatile markets and environmental pressures rising, Hamm stresses the program’s flexibility. It covers all eligible commodities, from cattle to canola, and adjusts for price swings.

“When prices are high like now, locking in coverage protects you when they drop,” he adds. “We’d have killed for these rates during BSE.”

Hamm recommends both LPI and AgriStability.

"If prices do come down, you have LPI to back you up. AgriStability can do some interesting calculations on the accrual side that can offset some things, but to have full protection, I encourage both., It is just a lot more well-rounded. the cost of AgriStability is going to be a tenth of what LPI costs are. It's $315 roughly for a $100,000 margin. So, it's very very basic costs. It's just going to be education that you need.  And if you are going to go into it, calculation and program benefits is the most important piece of information. Every producer needs to understand what that calculation program benefit is, and understand what each page is. It's all of their individual information and if they don't, I'd encourage them to look at some education help, whether it's accounts or whoever it is, they need to understand what that is."

Deadline looms for “all-encompassing” protection

Producers must enroll by April 30 to access 2024 coverage. Hamm urges farmers to request participant packages from AgriStability administrators, noting simplified paperwork: “You don’t need full inventory lists anymore—just basic cash basis info.”

“This isn’t optional—it’s survival”

“If I could scream one thing, it’s learn the program benefits calculation,” Hamm continues. “Once you see how it compares your current year to past performance and factors commodity price changes, it clicks. But without that effort, you’re leaving money on the table.”

While Hamm encourages pairing AgriStability with price insurance for “full coverage,” he acknowledges budget constraints. Roughly 315 per 100,000 margin makes AgriStability the priority: “It’s dirt-cheap disaster-proofing. If you skip education, you’re skipping your safety net.”

Manitoba farmers urged to grasp AgriStability benefits before deadline

Manitoba Agriculture’s Ben Hamm emphasizes the critical need for producers to understand AgriStability’s program benefits ahead of its April 30 enrollment deadline. The federal risk management tool covers crops and livestock—key commodities in the province—but low uptake persists due to confusion over its calculations.

“Eligible commodities cover Manitoba’s core sectors”

“It has to be an eligible commodity, which crops and livestock all are part of,” Hamm says. “It is covering a lot of commodities there that we do have in Manitoba.”

“Program success hinges on farmer education”

Hamm stresses that grasping the program’s accrual adjustments and five-year income comparisons is non-negotiable.

“There’s no point in being in the program if you don’t put the effort into understanding it,” he adds. “Once you see how it factors allowable expenses and commodity price shifts, it becomes a powerful tool.”

The specialist warns that skipping this step risks leaving thousands in potential aid unclaimed. Simplified enrollment, now requiring only cash-basis data, aims to reduce barriers.

Hamm encourages producers to consult accountants or request enrollment kits immediately. “Bottom line, this could save them a lot of money,” he notes. “They just need to do a little bit of education.”

Province announces funding for AgriStability

It was just announced today (April 2) that Manitoba Government is providing $150 million for agricultural producers including $10 million to match federal AgriStability funding.

"The Manitoba government will provide $10 million in additional matching funds for the AgriStability program, as well as $140.8 million for business risk management programming including AgriInsurance, Wildlife Damage Compensation and AgriInvest."

One of the federal leaders is in the metro region today.

NDP Jagmeet Singh will be campaigning with candidate Mary Shortall in St. John’s East.

He and Shortall will be making an announcement today as part of the campaign stop.

He is scheduled to leave the province after making a few stops before heading to Halifax.

Metro police are dealing with a suspected incident of road rage.

The victim reported to the RNC that he had been assaulted by a man last night.

A 27-year-old has been arrested and was released with a future court date.

Canadian and U-S stock markets’ worst crisis since the COVID-19 pandemic slammed into a higher gear Friday as the numbers sank for a second straight day.  There were sharper losses Friday compared to Thursday as U-S President Trump’s tariffs continue to stir recession fears.  They come as China matches Trump’s big raise in tariffs announced earlier this week, escalating a trade war.  The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 4.7 per cent — more than six per cent off from last week’s close.