A man and a woman in Labrador are facing drug trafficking charges after being pulled over in Sheshatshiu last week.

Forty-two-year-old Nachelle Nuna and 35-year-old Brent Diamond were pulled over on March 21st.

The RCMP allege that inside the vehicle they located and seized suspected crack cocaine, cash, and other items consistent with possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Both of the accused have been released from custody and will appear in court at a later date to face charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine and possession of cocaine.

The Quebec government will invoke closure and pass the bill expropriating land in Blainville, Que., to expand a Stablex landfill, Radio-Canada has learned.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s efforts to defuse an escalating trade war with the United States should be commended.

Moe’s comment comes as Smith heads to Florida for an event at an undisclosed location with a far-right U.S. influencer who has mocked Canada as a “silly country” and spoken about it being annexed as the 51st state.

Amid continued tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump, Moe says Smith is one of Canada’s strongest advocates.

He says he commends Smith and all premiers for doing their best to advocate and educate Americans on how integrated both countries’ economies are “despite the rhetoric.”

Smith gave a passionate speech in the house Wednesday denouncing those who would accuse her of treason, saying she’s being unjustly criticized for trying to convince American decision-makers to abandon the tariffs.

Alberta’s Opposition NDP has called for weeks on the United Conservative premier to cancel her appearance in Florida, saying Smith is using taxpayer money to fundraise for an extremist, Islamophobic organization that denies the history of American slavery.

Police in Clarenville are investigating after they say up to $3,000 worth of cosmetics was stolen from a Shoppers Drug Mart in the town.

The RCMP say the items were taken on Tuesday when a woman entered the store and left without paying.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the RCMP at 709-466-3211 or Crime Stoppers.

The Manitoba government is giving a grant of $1.5 million to the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters to develop a program to support industries impacted by the Trump tariffs.

Tennis legend Serena Williams is now part of the ownership group of the Toronto Tempo, marking a significant moment for women’s professional sports. The Toronto Tempo is set to kick off their inaugural WNBA season in 2026 and her involvement will help secure the longevity, success and impact the team.

There has never been a better and more exciting time to be a fan, advocate and researcher of women’s professional sports. Momentum continues to build toward the ultimate goal of achieving equity in sports, and it’s clear that real progress is being made.

Back in 2023, I attended the first WNBA exhibition game in Canada at Scotiabank Arena. The overwhelming support and enthusiasm made it clear that Toronto was ready to embrace and support women’s professional sports. Fast forward three years, and that vision is fast becoming a reality.

Women’s professional sports are at an all-time high. Canada’s first professional women’s soccer league set to commence its inaugural season in April, the WNBA continues to expand and the Professional Women’s Hockey League keeps setting attendance records.

Across the board, media coverage is skyrocketing for women’s sports. Opportunities for women and girls in sport have never been greater. All this and Williams’ investment in the Toronto Tempo is a fitting milestone to celebrate during Women’s History Month.

A new era for women’s sports

Williams is a trailblazer and widely considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. She dominated tennis for years, made history and broke barriers, all while proudly being herself in the face of discrimination, blatant double standards and constant ridicule.

She stands as an example of excellence and perseverance in women’s sports and social justice.

Williams is a role model for many Black women and girls, athletes and non-athletes alike. Her new role as a part-owner of the Toronto Tempo holds just as much significance as her ground-breaking career in tennis. Now, she is once again paving the way by demonstrating how women, particularly Black women, can break into leadership positions in professional sports.

Williams highlighted the significance of her new role, stating:

“This moment is not just about basketball. It is about showcasing the true value and potential of female athletes. I have always said that women’s sports are an incredible investment opportunity.”

Her commitment to advancing women’s sports is nothing new. Williams is also a founding owner of the National Women’s Soccer League’s Angel City FC. The WNBA, and other sports leagues, need more women like Williams in ownership and executive positions to drive real change.

Despite the progress made toward equity in women’s professional sports, there is still a staggering difference in pay and representation in leadership roles.

A glaring example is tennis star Coco Gauff, the highest-paid woman athlete of 2024, who didn’t even make it into the top 100 highest-paid athletes. This highlights the persistent gap in earnings and need for continued advocacy for pay equity in professional sports.

Black women in sport leadership

Black women remain vastly underrepresented in sports leadership roles, including as owners, CEOs, coaches and presidents. In the WNBA, where 70 per cent of the players are Black, there is currently only one Black woman head coach.

There is a clear need for meaningful representation at all levels of the game. Leadership must reflect the diversity of the athletes on the court.

For the WNBA and other women’s professional sports leagues to achieve equity, Black women must be better represented in leadership positions. The focus needs to go beyond token representation toward true representation to inspire future generations of young Black girls.

Serena Williams’ investment in the Toronto Tempo is a step in the right direction. Equally significant is the appointment of Monica Wright Rogers, a former collegiate player and experienced executive, as the team’s new general manager.

Together, Williams and Rogers represent the progress being made toward better representation of Black women in leadership roles.

Elevating women’s sports

The fight for racial and gender equality in sports is far from finished. The Toronto Tempo is a business first, and centring community must be part of its investment strategy.

The Tempo must prioritize building connections with grassroots organizations and ensure racialized girls and women have access to opportunities in coaching, community spaces and building life-sports synergy skills.

I’ve always believed grassroots organizations are the beating heart of sports, laying the foundation for the next generation of athletes and role models. Without them, many young girls would never get the chance to see themselves in the game. Two organizations that are community development-focused are Lady Ballers Centre and Black Girl Hockey Club.

Read more: Women's sports are thriving in Canada — here's how to ensure it stays that way

The Tempo must reject the notion that success and equity in sports can be represented by just one story. While Williams’ journey is undeniably inspiring, it cannot be the sole narrative that defines progress in women’s sports. Instead, a multitude of stories, particularly those of Black and racialized women across all levels of sport, must be uplifted.

Investing in women’s sports isn’t just the right thing to do, but is also beneficial for society as a whole. Women athletes have consistently proven they deserve professional sports leagues, pay equity, endorsement deals, equal media coverage and better sporting facilities. Supporting this movement is the right direction for the Tempo.

Williams’ experience and commitment to women’s sports make her an ideal fit for ownership. Toronto fans are ready, and there’s little doubt the first Tempo games will be sold out. I, for one, am excited to attend the inaugural game in 2026. Let’s go Tempo!

Treisha Hylton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

A Nanaimo chef is helping tackle food and job insecurity at once in the city with his free lunch program — an initiative that’s also helping build employment skills. 

Calven Chow is the kitchen manager for Nanaimo Foodshare, which runs an employment program for young people who prepare and serve free weekly community meals in the city.

The program is offered most Mondays except statutory holidays, at St. Paul’s Anglican Church on Chapel Street — and is one of two free indoor hot-meal programs in the city. The second is a student-focused program at Vancouver Island University, which runs every second Tuesday.   

Nanaimo Foodshare’s  Homegrown employment program helps offer work experience to youth aged 15-30 who are neurodiverse and who face barriers to employment. 

The program helps build skills in the culinary and service industries, with participants learning about front- and back-of-house restaurant operations, food preparation, kitchen safety, and serving skills on Mondays. 

The participants are paid minimum wage for the hours they work at the program.

The St. Paul community meal is often accessed by people experiencing homelessness or living in poverty.  But Chow said anyone in the neighbourhood is welcome to attend.

The program, funded by Service Canada, feeds an average of 60 to 80 people each week, Chow estimates. 

A recent St. Patrick’s Day meal saw 71 people drop in for a special lunch of corned beef hash, spinach salad, and an Irish cream brownie.

Chow said the community meals started during the COVID-19 pandemic “as a way to give back to the local community.”

He would like to see the number of people attending the community meal increase,and hopes to feed 100 people every week. 

“My game plan is to feed as many as I can,” he said. “That’s why I joined up with Foodshare — to give back.”

According to the Foodshare website, the initiative served 2,932 lunches between 2022-2023, with the employment program’s participants prepared 37 Monday meals. 

Chow said the biggest thing he wants people to know is that the meal is open for people from all walks of life.

“We’ve tried to do our best to erase the stigma that we’re just feeding the homeless or the community at large,” he said. “It is for everyone.”

Chow said that some of the best responses from diners is when they are served meat as part of the free meal, something less common in such food programs.

“Two months ago, I had a burger day,” he recalled, “and it was the first time they had a burger or beef in forever.”

Foodshare also runs the Cultivating Abilities employment program that is geared towards people with disabilities. It offers other food-security programs, such as the Good Food Box, which provides over 600 bags of produce a week for just $15 or less. It also helps cultivate the Five Acres Farm on Park Avenue, and teaches cooking classes.

The post  Weekly community meal provides hot meals — and job training for neurodiverse youth appeared first on The Discourse..

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that President Donald Trump’s push for control over Greenland wasn’t surprising given longtime U.S. interest in the mineral-rich territory.

Speaking at a policy forum in the Artic port of Murmansk, Putin noted that the United States first considered plans to win control over Greenland in the 19th century, and then offered to buy it from Denmark after World War II.

“It can look surprising only at first glance and it would be wrong to believe that this is some sort of extravagant talk by the current U.S. administration,” Putin said. “It’s obvious that the United States will continue to systematically advance its geostrategic, military-political and economic interests in the Arctic.”

Trump irked much of Europe by suggesting that the United States should in some form control the self-governing, mineral-rich territory of Denmark, a U.S. ally and NATO member. As the nautical gateway to the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America, Greenland has broader strategic value as both China and Russia seek access to its waterways and natural resources.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his wife are due to visit an American military base in Greenland on Friday on a trip that was scaled back after an uproar by Greenlanders and Danes.

Speaking on Thursday, Putin noted that Russia is worried about NATO’s activities in the Arctic and will respond by strengthening its military capability in the polar region.

“We are certainly concerned about NATO members describing the Far North as the region of possible conflicts,” he said, noting that Russia’s neighbors Finland and Sweden have joined the alliance. “Russia has never threatened anyone in the Arctic, but we will closely follow the developments and mount an appropriate response by increasing our military capability and modernizing military infrastructure.”

Russia has sought to assert its influence over wide areas of the Arctic in competition with the United States, Canada, Denmark and Norway as shrinking polar ice from the warming planet offers new opportunities for resources and shipping routes. China also has shown an increasing interest in the region, believed to hold up to one-fourth of the Earth’s undiscovered oil and gas.

“We won’t allow any infringement on our country’s sovereignty, reliably safeguard our national interests while supporting peace and stability in the polar region,” Putin said.

While pledging to strengthen Russia’s military foothold in the Arctic, Putin said that Moscow was holding the door open to broader international cooperation in the region.

“The stronger our positions will be, the more significant the results will be and the broader opportunities we will have to launch international projects in the Arctic involving the countries that are friendly to us, and, possibly, Western countries if they show interest in joint work. I’m sure the time will come to launch such projects.”

Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Putin’s envoy for international investment who took part in talks with U.S. officials, told reporters last month that Russia and the U.S. should develop joint energy ventures.

“We need joint projects, including in the Arctic and other regions,” he said.

Vladimir Isachenkov, The Associated Press

The string of violent incidents in and between around Hamilton High Schools shows no signs of slackening despite police interventions and expulsions.

In the latest indecent, Hamilton Police have charged a young person after a misleading and potentially dangerous situation unfolded at Bishop Tonnos Catholic Secondary High School.

Last Friday police were called to the school for a report of a person with a firearm. Information at the time stated that a student had pointed a gun towards another student and that the suspect may still be inside the school. As a result, the high school was placed into a hold and secure while Police cleared each room. Once it was completed and officers had confirmed that there was no further threat to safety, the hold and secure was lifted, but the search for the suspect was still ongoing.

A short time later, the suspect was placed under arrest and the investigation began to reveal that no firearm was ever observed. As such, the suspect was released.

Investigators soon discovered that the person who made the gun call to police had actually attacked a student with a can of bear spray and then concocted a story about the gun to displace any wrongdoing towards himself.

Yesterday, Police placed the youth under arrest for assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose, possession of a prohibited weapon, administering noxious thing with intent to cause bodily harm and public mischief.

The incident is just the latest in a series of violent events involving Hamilton High School, one of which has resulted in a fatality of a 15-year-old

Starting on Monday November 25, Police were called to the area of Upper Sherman and Rymal Road for a disturbance involving multiple students from Nora Henderson high school. Physical violence had erupted, and bear spray was discharged by some of the parties in attendance causing numerous injuries. Traffic was also disrupted as a result of melee. One adult was charged with Assault level one, one youth was diverted for Assault with a weapon, and four other youths were diverted for Assault level one.

Then on the following Monday, a student at St Jean de Brebeuf Catholic Secondary was charged after they were found to be expelling a can of bear spray into a school drain causing mischief to the property. The student was charged with Possession of a prohibited weapon, Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, and Mischief to property.

Then on  Tuesday December 3, 2024 Police were called to Ancaster Community Center for another large gathering of students from Ancaster High School, Bishop Tonnos High School, and St Thomas More High School. A fight broke out and some of the involved parties utilized bear spray against the opposing sides. Police charged one youth with Possession of a prohibited weapon and Assault with a weapon, while three youths were diverted for possessing a prohibited weapon.

The inter school violence was first reported in October, when at least 100 students were involved in a parking-lot fight in the days before 15-year-old Jayden Russell was killed in a high-speed crash on October 11. In that incident, Police say some sort of disturbance broke out resulting in a car chase on the Lincoln Alexander Parkway. Two of the vehicles collided and lost control.  One vehicle was able to regain control but a Toyota SUV left the road and rolled several times. During the roll, one or more occupants were ejected from the Toyota. And the 15 year old, was pronounced dead soon after arriving at the hospital.

In conjunction with the latest incidents, criminal charges and diversions, the accused parties in each of these incidents have also been suspended by their respective school.

Anyone with any information that could assist Police with this occurrence, are asked to contact the on-duty Division 3 Staff Sergeant at 905-546-3886. To provide information anonymously, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or submit  anonymous tips online at http://www.crimestoppershamilton.com

Dave "Pik" Turmel, who has been on the run for over a year, is believed to be the leader of the Blood Family Mafia.

In early March, the centre put its medical transport and its medical assistance programs on hold because it could no longer afford to provide those services.

The post Dartmouth Seniors Service Centre cancels two key services due to lack of funding appeared first on Halifax Examiner.

Barriers at Winnipeg’s major intersection of Portage and Main are seen on Friday, March 1, 2024. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods)

The City of Winnipeg will temporarily close eastbound Portage Avenue East to traffic on Friday.

The one-day closure will be in place from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. to accommodate a concrete pour, as part of the Portage and Main pedestrian reopening project.

The city will maintain pedestrian access along Portage Avenue East throughout the closure. Other current closures at and around the intersection will remain unchanged at this time.

Clarkin was 27 years old when he died by suicide in the summer of 2023. He was being held in custody at the Hillsborough Hospital in Charlottetown, but he was 'absent without leave' from the psychiatric hospital at the time of his death.

Alberta's government is putting $19 million toward municipal flood and drought prevention projects as part of its new budget.

Manitoba's government is pushing through legislation it says will strengthen penalties and deter drivers from driving while impaired, but a family who lost a loved one to a drunk driver calls the proposed amendments "inconsequential."