The chair of Charlottetown's parks and recreation committee says he's cautiously optimistic the new $33-million Simmons Sport Centre will indeed open in October of 2024, the latest date given by the city last month.

The federal government has announced an additional $46 million in funding for the Province House National Historic Site conservation project. CBC's Jane Robertson stopped by to hear what comes next — and when the building might reopen to the public.

The federal government is committing another $46 million to the conservation project that is restoring and updating P.E.I.'s historic legislature building in downtown Charlottetown, bringing the total cost to $138 million.

The twinning program pairs young women with female MLAs in what's being called an empowering way for young Islanders to see themselves reflected in politics. Olivia McNeill and Emma MacPhail took part in the program and say it's given them ideas for the type of political careers they'd consider in the future.

Premier Dennis King says constituents in Borden-Kinkora, whose district is now vacant after the resignation of PC MLA Jamie Fox, will have a byelection before the next legislative sitting. The next sitting is expected to start Feb. 27, 2024.

Former P.E.I. MLA Jamie Fox, who resigned his seat last week to run federally for the Conservatives, understood he could not campaign federally and be an MLA, says Premier Dennis King.

The City of Charlottetown has announced its lineup of festive events for the holidays.  The Christmas Tree Lighting is on Friday, November 24th at the Upper Plaza at the Confederation Centre of the Arts.  That will include live music and a candlelight promenade from Founders’ Food Hall & Market at 6:15 p.m.

The Charlottetown Christmas Parade is Saturday, November 25th at 5 p.m.

There will also be the Holiday Projection on the Plaza from Friday, November 24th to January 2nd with the animated, holiday-themed projection and music show on the Grafton Street façade of the Confederation Centre of the Arts.

Charlottetown city council voted unanimously Tuesday night to move a proposal for a 158-unit apartment building at 199 Grafton Street, in the parking lot behind the Polyclinic, to public consultation.

Summerside is announcing the return of its annual Yuletide Village downtown at Veteran’s Memorial Square Park. 

The Yuletide Village, organized by Explore Summerside, Downtown Summerside and Sport Entertainment Tourism Summerside, has become a highlight of the holiday season. 

The Yuletide Village will feature a range of activities, including light displays, a Santa’s Workshop for children, a holiday market showcasing local artisans, and live performances.  The village is set to open on December 1 directly following the Santa Claus Parade with the lighting of the city Christmas tree.

The Fiona After-Action Review report that was released last week was a focus in the PEI Legislature on Tuesday for both the Opposition Liberals and Third Party Greens.  The review was conducted by an Ottawa-based firm, and it examined how all levels of government and non-government agencies responded to the storm.  The King Government has said that it’s already been working on implementing some of the report’s recommendations.  Liberal MLA Gord McNeilly called it a “pat on the back” for the King government, and a “whitewash.”  He says it doesn’t mention shelters, vegetation management and barely mentions government’s responsibility to keep Maritime Electric accountable to Islanders.  Meanwhile, Green Party MLA Peter Bevan-Baker said the report lacked details and he pressed government for answers on what report recommendations it was implementing. 

Atlantic Canadians are being reminded about a scheduled test of the Alert Ready system on Wednesday.  The test of Canada’s national public alerting system will take place in most provinces and territories.

One test message will be sent from provincial or territorial emergency management organizations over radio, television, and smart phones.  

The test in PEI is scheduled for 12:55 p-m.

Debate has begun on a bill to replace P.E.I.'s Child and Family Services Act, and the government says the law makes it clear for the courts and anyone else involved in child protection cases that the best interests of the child take precedence over any other consideration. 

RCMP across PEI arrested 5 impaired drivers last Friday and Saturday. Three of those arrests were after single vehicle crashes. During the noon-hour on Friday, a 68-year old woman was arrested for impaired after driving her vehicle  over curbs and a stop sign near a local business in Stratford.    At 3:00pm on Friday, there was a single vehicle roll over crash in Murray Harbour. A 46 year-old man was arrested for impaired while two people were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.  At about 10:30 pm Friday, Kings District RCMP received a complaint of an impaired driver and located and arrested a 22-year-old man driving in Montague.

Late Saturday night at about 11:25pm, RCMP responded to a single vehicle crash in South Winsloe. A 19 year-old man was arrested at the scene. No one was injured.  And at 11:30 pm, Kings District RCMP responded to a single vehicle crash in Fortune Bridge. This investigation led to the arrest of a youth for impaired driving. No one was injured.

Both P.E.I. opposition parties questioned the premier Tuesday about the Fiona After-Action Review report released last week, saying most Islanders would take issue with it.

The Town of Stratford is finding a way to spread the Christmas spirit around the community this season while it honours a man who, for years, helped do just that.

Shortly after 4:00 am on Saturday, Summerside Police responded to a 9-1-1 call regarding a collision at a home on Duke Street. A witness identified the driver of the suspect vehicle, who police say was showing signs of being impaired by alcohol. A thirty-year-old Summerside man was arrested for impaired and provided two breath samples – one of which was more than double the legal limit. 

Island New Democrats held their Annual Convention at Beaconsfield Carriage House in Charlottetown on Sunday.  Among the resolutions approved at the convention, New Democrats affirmed support for tenants, calling for an extension of the moratorium on renovictions, which expired on November 1st; as well as consideration of tenants’ wages and incomes in the determination of annual rent increase guidelines.  Leo Cheverie, a long-time Party activist who recently passed, was honoured with the establishment of the Leo Cheverie Labour and Advocacy Award which will be granted to an outstanding member at each future Annual Convention.

Summerside Police are investigating a single vehicle collision last Thursday afternoon.  Police received a 9-1-1 call shortly before 1:30pm about a vehicle in a ditch on Mill Crescent. Police arrived on scene and say the driver of the vehicle, a thirty-five-year-old woman from Summerside, was showing signs of drug impairment.  The woman was arrested for driving while drug impaired and released with a seven-day driving prohibition and the vehicle was impounded.  A blood demand was made to the driver and blood analysis is pending.

A new green energy project on Prince Edward Island is getting an unexpected boost: The small-scale hydroelectric project developed by Andrew Murray of Aslan Renewables in Stratford, P.E.I., is included in a new book about King Charles III.

The demand for Christmas hampers is expected to be higher this year on P.E.I.

The movie Who's Yer Father? has become a hit not just on P.E.I., but across the Maritimes and Toronto as well.

P.E.I.'s new Mental Health Act passed second reading in the legislature Friday. When it comes into effect, it will allow a patient who might otherwise become an involuntary patient in a psychiatric facility to work with a psychiatrist and mental health team outside of a hospital setting.

Relive the moment Canada White's Cameron Schmidt scored in overtime to win the gold medal, with the crowd in Charlottetown's Eastlink Centre roaring with excitement.

A survey by the Retail Council of Canada finds Atlantic Canadians will be among the biggest spenders during the Christmas holidays.

The Retail Council says people in the four Atlantic provinces are number one when it comes to spending at Christmas. This year most people plan to spend $1,100 per person.

Local businesses on the Island are hoping for a good season especially small business which is catching up from the COVID pandemic. 

62% of Canadians from coast-to-coast plan spend their largest amount of money in stores. 

There may be some changes as inflation affects consumers. Such as stocking stuffers may become a main gift. 

82% of Canadians surveyed say it is very important to shop locally and support small businesses.

The Stratford and Area Food Drive will be held this weekend on Saturday from a 9 a.m. to  2 p.m. with drive-thru locations at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, Stratford Town Hall, Sobeys in Stratford, Mike and Andreea’s No-Frills and the Pownal Sports Centre.

Collection boxes will be put in main entryways in apartment buildings in Stratford for pickup Saturday.   All donations for the Upper Room.

Feeling the weight of a world? Scholar Shannon Murray shares lesson in hope, patience, empathy and freudenfreude, and how Shakespeare’s words have become the narrative soundtrack of her life.

Canada’s National Public Alerting System will have a test of Alert Ready on Wednesday this week beginning at 12.55 p.m. Atlantic time.

The alert will be made on your smartphone and also on radio and TV.  

It will be just a test.

Road work continues in Charlottetown this week.

Queen Street between Summer St. and Pond St. will be closed Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Sidewalks will be open and flaggers will be onsite.

Construction work on Route 11 in Victoria West starts on Monday. 

Route 11 will be closed with only local traffic permitted between Higgins Wharf Road and Hall Road. Signage will be in place.

Work is expected to be finished by February.

A deal that could have led to the creation of 20 supportive housing units in Summerside has fallen through.

Housing, Land and Communities Minister Rob Lantz says a building owner refused to sell a property to the province over concerns about how it would be used.

Lantz says he attributes the refusal to sell to a “not in my backyard” type of attitude.

The minister says his department remains focused on delivering services to vulnerable people without disrupting the surrounding neighbourhoods.

The owner of a popular campground along P.E.I.'s North Shore has decided to shut it down permanently, more than a year after post-tropical storm Fiona caused extensive damage to his business.

The storefront selling yarn and knit goods has closed its doors, but the manufacturing side of things is ramping up.

In one of its main resolutions, the party said the new Residential Tenancy Act still allows landlords to terminate a tenant if they plan to do repairs or renovations, and that needs to stop.

Hockey Canada is heaping praises to the organizers and volunteers after staging the 10-day World Under 17 Hockey Challenge in Charlottetown and Summerside that was completed on Saturday night. 

Canada White went to overtime to edge Team USA, 2-1 for the gold before sell out crowd.

Six teams including two from Canada took part in 22 games.

Hockey Canada is pleased with the two host cities, the host committee and many volunteers efforts that helped deliver the event.

 The Government of Canada will have an update on progress restoring the Province National Historic site on Wednesday morning this week  at the restored building.

Charlottetown MP Sean Casey will provide updates on the work asthe next phase begins which is on the artistic masonry and treasures hidden behind the walls being hidden once again.

A media tour is being planned.

Restoration work on the historic building began in January, 2015 and will continue beyond the end of this year.

There have been four phases since work began.

In May, 2014, $10.2 million was invested to cover the cost of repairing structural issues in the building constructed in the 1830’s. The PEI legislature began meeting in Province House in 1847 and in 1867 it hosted the Fathers of Confederation meetings that led to Canada becoming a nation. 

The pandemic was one of several setbacks in the restoration.

The project is five years behind completion and the cost now is about $91.8 million.  Those numbers are now being revised by Parks Canada.

The last phase will involve designing a new visitor experience and interpretive exhibits inside.

For three years, Kaur's Boutique has been serving people in the local Indian community who want to dress to impress at weddings, proms, festivals and other big events.

The Island Peace Committee is supporting a Pan-Canadian Day of Action organized by more than 200 organizations across Canada today calling on the Canadian Government to support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.  In Charlottetown there will be a rally and walk for peace beginning at 1:30 this afternoon at Boulder Park on Grafton Street which is near the cenotaph and near Province House.

Scotiabank plans to shut down more than 15 branches across Atlantic Canada.

The bank says it is consolidating branches because customer preferences are changing and more banking is done digitally.

There will be three Scotiabank closures in PEI although no locations have been named. 

Four branches will be closed in New Brunswick, eight in Newfoundland and several more in Nova Scotia according to customers, mayors and bank officials.

The Holland College Hurricanes women’s soccer team should be proud of their bronze medal at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association championship after rebounding from a tough loss earlier in the week, coach Jonathan Vos said after the game Saturday in Summerside, P.E.I.

P.E.I.'s education minister says 150 frontline positions have been added to the Island’s public school system following a survey last spring that found 78 per cent of teachers experienced burnout, but the Green Party says the issues go deeper than staffing.

The carbon tax has officially come off the price of furnace oil. IRAC says that portion of the price per litre was dropped on Friday. The maximum price is 141.8 a litre.  It was 1.60 litre on Thursday.  The move comes with the federal government dropping the carbon tax on home heating oil over the next three years in Atlantic Canada. 

Remembrance Day cenotaph services will be held this morning across Prince Edward Island. 

The provincial service in Charlottetown begins at  10.45 in front of Province House.

A service in Summerside begins at 10.45 inside at Credit Union Place.  Doors will open at 9.30.

Please note that Kingston Legion Branch service for Cornwall and area  that was scheduled for the Clyde River cenotaph has been moved indoors at East Wiltshire Junior High School and starts at 10.50.

In Stratford, the service begins at 10.45 at the Town Centre.

Montague will hold its ceremony at the Legion cenotaph at 10.45

There are several other services in communities across PEI.

A property owner in Summerside refused to sell to the province over concerns about how they would use the property, said P.E.I. housing minister Rob Lantz.

Charlottetown's Remembrance Day service is a few hours away from beginning on this chilly, wet November morning. It will be live streamed here on the CBC P.E.I. website around 10:30 a.m. AT. 

Carlene Donnelly is currently the executive director of CUPS, a non-profit organization in Calgary that helps people overcome poverty. She was born in P.E.I. and will bring over 30 years of social service experience home with her for a new government post.

A third-party review commissioned after post-tropical storm Fiona has advised the P.E.I. government to boost emergency resources, improve communication and find ways to increase co-ordination among response agencies and provincial departments before the next disaster hits.

Progressive Conservative Jamie Fox is resigning as the MLA for Borden-Kinkora, the P.E.I. electoral district he has represented since 2015.

Some Scotiabank customers on P.E.I. are raising concerns about plans to close the Crapaud, Kensington and O'Leary branches.

The Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce has announced the 26 finalists that are up for its 2024 President’s Excellence Awards.  There are nine award categories.

The finalists include:

The Emerging Business Excellence Award is presented to a for-profit business that has demonstrated remarkable growth, innovation, and leadership in its industry sector during the first years of operation. The finalists are: East Coast Hospitality Inc., Spot On Dog Training, and Kitbag Theatre.

The Excellence in Business Award is given to a for-profit business with more than 15 full-time employees that has been operating for ten years or more while demonstrating excellence in all areas of business operations. The finalists are: Charlottetown Metal Products, Red Shores Charlottetown, and Reddin Farm Equipment (Green Diamond Equipment).

The Excellence in Small Business Award is given to a for-profit business that has been operating for ten years or more while demonstrating excellence in all areas of business operations, with fewer than 15 full-time employees. The finalists are: Bernadette’s Flowers, Northern Watters Knitwear, and New Glasgow Lobster Suppers.

The Excellence in Customer Service Award recognizes an organization that has shown a strong commitment to outstanding customer service, customer loyalty, community involvement and has demonstrated innovation within their sector. The finalists are: JC’s Tiki Bar, The Birches Cottages Inc., and Coast to Coast Beauty.

The Not-for-Profit Excellence Award recognizes a not-for-profit organization that contributes to the economic, social, or cultural well-being of the Greater Charlottetown Area and has a track record of efficient and effective management and board governance. The finalists are: PEI School Food Program Inc., Blooming House Women’s Shelter, PEI Alliance for Mental Well-Being, and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Foundation.

The Innovation Excellence Award recognizes a business that has demonstrated outstanding performance and achievement through innovative and creative approaches, resulting in new or improved programs, products, services or initiatives. The  finalists are: Island Abbey Food Science Ltd., Somru BioScience Inc., and Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.

The Workplace Excellence Award recognizes an organization that provides employees with a positive, healthy, and productive workplace through innovative human resource practices. The finalists are: A.M. Financial Matters Inc., m5 Marketing Communications, and Camp Gencheff.

The People’s Choice for Community Impact Award recognizes a small for-profit business that has earned an engaged and loyal following, has community support, and contributes to the greater good of the community. The recipient will be determined through an online public vote that will be open until November 10^th. This year’s finalists are:  Big Brothers Big Sisters of PEI, Habitat for Humanity PEI, and Canadian Blood Services.

The Lifetime Achievement Award, previously known as the “Entrepreneur of the Year Award”, recognizes an individual’s accomplishments and entrepreneurial spirit in the community, as nominated by the public and selected by the Chamber’s Executive Committee. The 2024 recipient will be announced at a later date.

The Provincial Government has received the Fiona After-Action Review, which examined how all levels of government and non-government agencies responded to Hurricane Fiona.  The review gathered public feedback and included consultations with over 140 partner and stakeholder organizations.  Officials say the consultations helped identify over a dozen areas of strength in the Fiona response that should be sustained moving forward.  They also identified areas for improvement in areas that include Resource Management; Training and Exercise; Information Management and Distribution; Operational Concepts; Business Continuity; and Decision Centre and Situational Awareness Tools.  The Department of Justice and Public Safety says it has accepted the report’s recommendations and has already taken some action.  It points to establishing a Major Incident Readiness Team (MIRT) that works with PEI EMO and other Government Departments; generators being secured for seniors living complexes across PEI; funding for NGOs across PEI to access generators; and increased funding and formal agreements with Community Reception Centres.