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Two Northwest Territories communities under evacuation order as wildfires burn nearby

A fire burns near Enterprise, NWT, in 2023. Wildfires in parts of the territory have prompted evacuation orders and alerts this week.

The night before they had to leave their home in the Northwest Territories because of an encroaching wildfire, Paschalina Nadli and her daughter carefully packed up their truck.

Their community of Fort Providence, NWT, where fewer than 1,000 people live, is located west of Great Slave Lake along the Mackenzie River. It was placed on evacuation alert on Saturday evening as a wildfire raged nearby.

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Margaret Atwood responds to Alberta book ban with satirical short story

Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid’s Tale is among more than 200 books the Edmonton Public School Board is banning from schools.

Margaret Atwood is taking aim at Alberta’s controversial ban on school library books containing sexual content with a new, satirical short story after the famed author’s novel The Handmaid’s Tale was yanked from some shelves due to the province’s sweeping new rules.

In a social media post on Sunday, Atwood said since the literary classic is no longer suitable in Alberta’s schools, she has written a short story for 17-year olds about two “very, very good children” named John and Mary.

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Some Indigenous businesses halt exports to U.S. following suspension of the de minimis exemption

The U.S. tariff exemption for package shipments valued under US$800 ended on Friday.

Some small Indigenous businesses are halting shipments to the U.S. in the wake of President Donald Trump’s tariff regime, even though trade ties exist that predate the founding of both Canada and the United States.

“There needs to be a resolution to allow Indigenous Peoples to continue to undergo the trade routes that they have established and practised, and the treaties that have been signed in the past have suggested that these would be honoured,” said Matthew Foss, who serves as the vice president of research and public policy at the Canadian Council for Indigenous Businesses.

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Wildfire in NWT’s Fort Providence prompts evacuation order

An evacuation order was issued for a second community in Northwest Territories on Sunday due to a dangerously close wildfire.

After being told to be ready to leave a day earlier, the community of Fort Providence, which has a population of about 600 people, was ordered out because a forecast of strong winds in the afternoon risked flames encroaching the north side of town.

A NWT wildfire information officer said the wildfire was about two kilometres away from the community.

© JASON FRANSON

Fire continues to burn underground near Enterprise, Northwest Territories on Wednesday October 11, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
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Asteroid spacedust offers glimpse into celestial history as Canada readies to receive sample for research

A view of eight sample trays containing the final material from asteroid Bennu. Granules were collected and brought to Earth in September, 2023 as part of NASA-led OSIRIS-REx mission.

New research on a sample collected from the asteroid Bennu – a small portion of which should arrive in Canada soon – is offering a glimpse into how it came to be.

Studies published in Nature Astronomy and Nature Geoscience last week offer some insight into the granules that were collected and brought to Earth in September, 2023, as part of the NASA-led OSIRIS-REx mission.

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Services at Quebec end-of-life care home reflect growing demand for MAID

Quebec has the highest proportion of MAID deaths in Canada, at 7.3 per cent. In Lanaudière’s health region, it’s 12.4 per cent.

In nearly 30 years as a palliative care physician, Dr. Nathalie Allard has provided end-of-life care in busy hospital hallways, and consulted with families with only a curtain separating them from sick people screaming or vomiting on the other side.

On Thursday, she attended the opening of a brand-new palliative care facility northeast of Montreal that represents the kind of place where she wants to work and, one day, to die.

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As Ottawa drops elbows, most provinces stand firm against selling U.S. alcohol

A half-empty shelf of American whiskey is pictured at the 100 Queen’s Quay East LCBO in Toronto on March 4, 2025. Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the LCBO will not be putting U.S. liquor back on shelves until Canada and the U.S. reach a trade deal.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent decision to lift countertariffs on U.S. goods has renewed questions about whether more Canadian provinces will allow liquor retailers to put U.S. alcohol back on their shelves.

American industry associations have been calling for an end to the booze bans, arguing that they harm Canadian consumers and businesses.

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PEI man facing terrorism peace bond prohibited from accessing internet or having passport

A Prince Edward Island man facing a terrorism peace bond has been ordered to follow a raft of conditions, including not accessing the internet and not holding a passport.

The RCMP in Prince Edward Island sought a terrorism peace bond for the 51-year-old man, fearing he may commit a terrorism offence.

Officers say they seized 3D printed firearm components and arrested the man at his residence in February.

© JASON FRANSON

An RCMP epaulette is seen in Edmonton, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
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Public servants took fewer sick days during the pandemic, data shows

Treasury Board says the average usage of sick days includes people who used no sick leave and people who used up banked sick leave before accessing long term disability benefits. 

Federal public servants were less likely to call in sick to work during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, new government data show.

The figures shared by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat indicate that in 2020-21, when the pandemic had most office employees working entirely remotely, the average number of sick days for the public service was 5.9.

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44-year-old arrested for double homicide in Sudbury, Ont. as police seek additional suspects

Police in Sudbury, Ont., say they are looking for additional suspects after a double homicide in the city on Friday.

The Greater Sudbury Police Service says officers were called to a building on Paris Street just before 10:30 p.m. on Friday after gunshots were heard.

The bodies of a man and a woman were located in the building.

© Gino Donato

The Sudbury police are shown headquarters in Sudbury, Ont., Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Gino Donato
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