More conservation officers arrived in this central coast community Saturday to join the search for three grizzly bears that witnesses have said were in the area when a group of schoolchildren was attacked.
Four people – a teacher and three young students – were airlifted to hospital Thursday after the attack. They were among a school group of Grades 4 and 5 students. In all, 11 were injured.
Conservation officers in British Columbia say they are hoping to trap three grizzly bears as part of the search for the animal that attacked a group of elementary school students and their teachers on Thursday.
An update from the B.C. Conservation Officer Service says the investigation, including witness accounts, has found that additional bears were seen in Bella Coola at the time of the attack, which left three pupils and a teacher with major injuries.
The statement says efforts to capture and assess all three bears are ongoing and the investigation includes collecting “any forensic evidence that can be used to identify bears involved.”
© JONATHAN HAYWARD
The FBI say a Vancouver man is the latest to be arrested in connection to his alleged role in Canadian Olympic snowboarder-turned-fugitive Ryan Wedding’s intercontinental drug smuggling ring.
An update from the FBI says Rasheed Pascua Hossain was captured days after it was announced seven other Canadians had been charged for extradition to the United States over their connection to the ring.
Nearly two decades ago, a cave regarded as a sacred site by the Songhees Nation was destroyed to make way for the Bear Mountain resort development near Victoria.
There were no tangible Indigenous artifacts at the site, in an area called Spaet by the Songhees, so the provincial archeologists involved said there was no obligation to preserve it under B.C.’s existing Heritage Conservation Act of 1996.
© DARRYL DYCK
In October, 2024, police in Arkansas pulled over two vehicles carrying 521 kilograms of cocaine bound for Canada. Within hours, court records say, bosses in a powerful drug cartel were discussing “killing everyone involved” to keep them from talking to investigators.
Soon, a lawyer from Brampton, Ont., allegedly weighed into a group chat with the cartel’s leaders with strict instructions: “Clear this convo,” he said, adding “set up a separate group for you” and “only lawyer stuff for me.”
The Habsburg family has chosen the scion of a storied Canadian dynasty as trustee for its fabled collection of jewels, recently revealed to be stashed in Quebec after being presumed missing for a century.
Andrew Molson, a board member of the Molson Coors brewery and chairman of Avenir Global, a Montreal-based network of global communications firms, will be responsible for stewarding the 137-carat Florentine Diamond and an emerald watch worn by Marie Antoinette, among other treasures.
The Alberta government released a report on aggression and complexity in schools on Friday that echo what the teachers’ union and others have spent years calling for, prompting critics to accuse the government of dragging its heels.
The report from the Aggression and Complexity Action Team, created in June, addresses issues that were top considerations for the Alberta Teachers’ Association during its bargaining with the province in the lead up to the teacher strike last month.
The Canadian subsidiary of French dairy giant Danone SA has reached a $6.5-million settlement agreement in connection with last year’s deadly listeria outbreak in plant-based milks.
The agreement, which will go before the Superior Court of Quebec for approval in January, also names as defendants Joriki Inc., Intact Insurance Co. and Walmart Canada Corp.
Danone Canada had contracted third-party manufacturer Joriki to make its Silk brand plant-based milks at a facility in Pickering, Ont. Earlier this year, Joriki filed for protection from creditors. Intact was Joriki’s commercial general liability insurer at the time of the recall.
© Stephanie Lecocq
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is pushing back against British Columbia’s opposition to the prospect of an oil pipeline to the coast, saying that being part of “Team Canada” means co-operating on getting her province’s oil to market.
The Alberta and federal governments have been working to strike an energy accord, long sought by Ms. Smith to boost her province’s oil and natural-gas sector.
Immigration Minister Lena Diab has extended the pause on new applications through the Private Sponsorship for Refugees Program for another 12 months as the department works to clear its backlog.
New ministerial instructions were published in the Canada Gazette on Friday, along with a notice on the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada website.
Canada Post and the union representing thousands of its mail carriers say they have reached agreements in principle for new contracts after two years of contentious bargaining.
Both parties confirmed the outlines of a deal were in place Friday evening.
The moment Ryan Wedding’s life pivoted from one kind of white powder to another can be traced to the chilly slopes of Salt Lake City, on Feb. 14, 2002. The 20-year-old Canadian snowboarder was already being discussed as a superstar in the making, and was now preparing for his first Olympic qualifying run in the parallel giant slalom.
He had been groomed from a young age for this chance, after growing up near Thunder Bay in a family that ran the Mount Baldy ski club, with multiple competitive skiers in its ranks. Mr. Wedding had joined Team Canada at the age of 15 and raced around the world, from the Andes to the Alps.
Residents in North Bay are suing their city and the Department of Defence, alleging that firefighting foams used on a military site contaminated their wells with chemicals that have been linked to an array of health problems.
The class-action lawsuit, filed in Ontario Superior Court of Justice, seeks $100-million for losses in property values and $5-million for punitive damages. It excludes any claims for possible health issues linked to the chemical exposure, which stems from the use of toxic firefighting foams at the city’s Jack Garland Airport and an adjacent Canadian Forces base.
Ian Montagnes, who died on Oct. 26 at the age of 93, was a powerhouse in the world of Canadian publishing, serving for a decade as editor-in-chief of the University of Toronto Press. He worked on everything from a series of books on the photographer Yousuf Karsh (not an easy man to work with), to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, a massive, years-long project.
A man who loved words, he took a three-year leave to go to the Philippines to teach plain writing at the International Rice Research Institute outside Manila. It was part of the green agriculture revolution, with students from Bangladesh to Barbados, and the object was to teach people to express ideas in clear language.
© Yousuf Karsh
Hospitals across Canada are bracing for an intense influenza season, driven by worries of lower vaccine uptake and concerns that this year’s shot is a mismatch for circulating strains.
Canada’s flu season has officially begun, according to new data released on Friday from the Public Health Agency of Canada. It shows that the percentage of positive tests for the virus surpassed the 5-per-cent seasonal threshold in the week ending Nov. 15.
Valour FC, one of the Canadian Premier League’s original franchises, is closing shop.
The Winnipeg-based team — owned by the Winnipeg Football Club, the non-profit, community-owned organization that runs the CFL’s Blue Bombers — has been on shaky ground for some time.
Educators used bear spray, bear bangers and anything they could to fend off a grizzly bear that attacked their Grade 4 and 5 students on a field trip into the woods on B.C.’s central coast.
Four people – one adult and three children – were badly mauled Thursday in the coastal community of Bella Coola and were airlifted to hospital in Vancouver, with two in critical condition, BC Emergency Health Services said. Seven others were treated for mild injuries and nine students from the Acwsalcta School unscathed, authorities said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has made Canada’s first-ever cut to funding for a major program for fighting infectious diseases in the world’s poorest countries — a move that has been sharply criticized by Canada’s development sector.
The announcement of Canada’s $1 billion contribution to the Global Fund — down more than 17 per cent from its last contribution in 2022 — came just before Carney’s arrival in South Africa for the G20 summit.
Retail sales fell in September and early indications suggest a flat reading for October, ahead of the key holiday shopping season.
Statistics Canada said Friday retail sales were down 0.7 per cent to $69.8 billion in September as sales of new cars fell.
TD Bank economist Maria Solovieva said retail sales are heading into the holiday season on shaky footing.
© Justin Tang
What was to be a short afternoon field trip for about 20 students and staff of a school in Bella Coola, B.C., became a “traumatic event” where four people were badly hurt when a grizzly attacked without cause, the Nuxalk Nation’s elected chief said on Friday.
Samuel Schooner said in a statement that staff at the school followed all necessary protocols in Thursday’s attack and are well trained to be in their territories.
Veteran Regina police sergeant Robert Semenchuck sat stone-faced in a Regina courtroom on Friday, his eyes fixed straight ahead as his defence lawyer entered guilty pleas on two criminal charges.
Robert Semenchuck, 53, was charged in March with breach of trust and unauthorized use of a computer. The charges relate to using police resources to deceive dozens of vulnerable women into intimate relationships.
© Amber Bracken
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Ottawa is working on a $1-billion project aimed at expanding critical minerals processing capacity in Canada, while securing the equivalent of $70-billion in investment from the United Arab Emirates.
The announcements came as Carney concluded a visit to Abu Dhabi that focused heavily on trade amid concerns about the war in Sudan.
Good morning. Across Canada, thousands of kilometres of major roads do not have reliable cellphone service. More on that below, plus news on Israel’s latest attacks on Gaza. But first:
© Willow Fiddler
Claudette MacLean was frantic with worry. Her son, Avery Dixon, had not responded to text messages for 23 hours, and she knew something was wrong.
Mr. Dixon also hadn’t shown up for his shift at the hospital, where he cleaned and delivered meals.
© Taylor Roades
An arbitrator has reinstated an instructor who was fired by a B.C. college after making comments that some interpreted as praising the Hamas-led attacks in Israel two years ago.
Natalie Knight, an English instructor at Vancouver’s Langara College, was dismissed in January, 2024, after being placed on paid leave in the wake of comments she made at a rally a few weeks after the attacks.
Arbitrator Randy Noonan wrote in a summary award issued Wednesday that Dr. Knight is to be reinstated to her position and should be made whole for the loss of compensation since January, 2024.
© Rafal Gerszak
British Columbia Premier David Eby said Thursday that his counterparts in Alberta and Saskatchewan are jeopardizing major economic development by engaging in what he called “secret” talks with Ottawa on oil pipelines through his province.
The pipeline fight escalated earlier in the day after Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe revealed he is involved in Alberta’s negotiations with Ottawa about a potential oil pipeline across northern B.C., which would mean allowing oil tankers to ply the waters off B.C.’s north coast, where they are currently banned.
The B.C. government has not been a party to those talks, and Mr. Eby said he learned about them through media reports.
© Jennifer Gauthier
Ontario’s Education Minister says he is withholding the results of provincewide standardized tests to better understand the data and make changes to the system, as critics push the province to reveal the numbers publicly.
Paul Calandra said he has purposefully held back the Education Quality and Accountability Office results, which are usually released in September or early October, in order to take a “very deep dive” into the numbers.
British Columbia Premier David Eby said Thursday that his counterparts in Alberta and Saskatchewan are jeopardizing major economic development by engaging in what he called “secret” talks with Ottawa on oil pipelines through his province.
The pipeline fight escalated earlier in the day after Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe revealed he is involved in Alberta’s negotiations with Ottawa about a potential oil pipeline across northern B.C., which would mean allowing oil tankers to ply the waters off B.C.’s north coast, where they are currently banned.
© DARRYL DYCK
A Northern Ontario chief is facing a criminal charge related to allegations of a historical sexual assault, just days since being re-elected leader of his First Nation last weekend.
After an investigation by Thunder Bay Police Service, Chief Wilfred King of Gull Bay First Nation (Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek) is charged with one count of sexual assault that is alleged to have occurred between August and September of 1992, according to court documents.
Mr. King’s lawyer issued a statement saying the chief will “vigorously fight these accusations” and describing the timing of the allegations as “suspicious.”
© David Jackson
Law-enforcement officials say there are nine people from Canada they have either arrested or are looking for as part of a larger investigation into Ryan Wedding, the former Canadian snowboarder who is accused of running a violent international drug-trafficking operation.
Many of the new details released in court documents on Wednesday relate to the alleged murder of Jonathan Acebedo-Garcia, a witness in Colombia.
Who is Ryan Wedding, the former Canadian Olympic snowboarder on the FBI’s Most Wanted list?
© Andrew Harnik
Emergency officials in Peel Region say two people are dead and four others are in hospital after a house fire in Brampton, Ont., early Thursday, as crews search for three people who remain unaccounted for.
Peel police said they responded to the scene near McLaughlin and Remembrance roads around 2:15 a.m. after several 911 calls reported a fire. Multiple homes were evacuated, police said.
Statistics Canada says the number of return trips from the U.S. by Canadian residents in September was down 30.9 per cent compared with a year ago, while trips to Canada by U.S. residents fell 2.6 per cent.
The agency said September broke a three-month summer streak that saw more Americans travel to Canada than Canadians headed to the U.S.
Tip your hat to Alex Tilley.
The avid sailor was frustrated by an inability to find a hat to protect his face and head from sun, wind and spray.
The “Lost Canadians” legislation, which aims to fix Canada’s unconstitutional citizenship, received royal assent Thursday after being approved by the Senate on Wednesday.
The term “Lost Canadians” refers to people who were born outside of the country to Canadian parents who were also born in another country.
The Ontario government announced plans to introduce legislation Thursday that would require public-sector organizations to prioritize Ontario-made goods and services first, then Canadian suppliers.
The province said the Buy Ontario Act would apply to all public-sector organizations, including municipalities, ministries, agencies, contractors and subcontractors.
Backhoes tore into the brick and plaster of the White House’s East Wing, sending a chalky cloud drifting across the South Lawn. In a single morning last month, a piece of America’s most familiar building collapsed under the teeth of heavy machinery.
The metaphor was almost too crude, but U.S. President Donald Trump has never been subtle. In ripping down and remaking “the People’s House,” he is broadcasting a clear message: The rules don’t apply to him.
© Jacquelyn Martin
Prime Minister Mark Carney signed an investment-protection agreement Thursday with the United Arab Emirates during a visit to Abu Dhabi that has involved limited media access as concerns grow the country is fuelling ethnic violence in Sudan.
Carney announced the investment pact after a meeting with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and also launched talks for a full trade deal aimed at an eventual comprehensive economic partnership agreement.
© Sean Kilpatrick
The latest entrant in the race to lead the federal New Democrats is a long-time activist who has confronted and filmed cabinet ministers and MPs in the street and is due to stand trial this month for allegedly harassing a police officer.
Yves Engler, a self-described “political activist agitator,” announced last week that he had formally submitted a nomination package after spending months campaigning, holding meetings and raising money toward the $100,000 entry fee.
© Dax Melmer
Good morning. Because the flu shot is locked in six months early, it missed the strain now circulating through Canada – more on that below, along with a lopsided peace plan in Ukraine and the latest timeline to release the Epstein files. But first:
© Doug Ives
Until his arrest this week, Deepak Balwant Paradkar was known as the kind of flashy, brash defence lawyer that drug dealers in Canada paid handsomely to help keep them out of jail.
On Wednesday, Mr. Paradkar was in custody in Toronto, facing extradition to the U.S., where officials accuse him of helping an international drug boss plot the murder of a key witness.
When you introduce a new policy, there are two key questions that need to be asked, and answered: 1) What is the problem you’re trying to solve? and; 2) will the new policy solve it?
Alberta plans to introduce legislation that would allow some doctors to practise simultaneously in the public and private health systems.
Specifically, surgeons will be allowed to do some elective procedures like cataracts, and hip and knee replacements, and be paid either by public insurance, private insurance or out-of-pocket.
© Jeff McIntosh
This is an edited excerpt from Under Assault: Interference and Espionage in China’s Secret War Against Canada. The author, Dennis Molinaro, is a former national security analyst and policy adviser for the Canadian federal government.
In mid-century British Columbia, student politics were frequently occupied with the issue of Japanese imperialism, particularly as China came under attack by Japan. Among the most vocal of students was Paul Lin, a child of Chinese immigrants who came to Canada in the late 1880s. He grew up in B.C. and travelled to the U.S. to study engineering, but switched to law as his pro-China advocacy evolved during the 1940s. He changed his name to Paul Ta-Kuang Lin, a more “proper” Chinese name, as Mr. Lin himself put it. By 1948, he was opposed to the Nationalist Party and an avid supporter of the CCP. He eventually moved to the newly formed PRC with his family.
© PETER BREGG
The British Columbia government is backing a proposal to move more Alberta crude oil to the West Coast. The plan aims to increase the capacity of the Trans Mountain pipeline system by roughly 40 per cent, with results as early as 2026.
It is a sharp reversal from a government that once fiercely opposed the initial Trans Mountain expansion, arguing when it was proposed that increased shipping traffic would put B.C.’s marine environment at risk.
RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme joined U.S. Attorney-General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and other American officials in Washington to announce new arrests, sanctions and ongoing efforts to locate and arrest Canadian ex-Olympic snowboarder-turned-fugitive Ryan Wedding, who prosecutors allege leads a transnational crime network.
Appearing at a joint news conference in Washington, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed a new indictment outlining charges against more of Mr. Wedding’s alleged associates and increased the reward for information leading to the alleged drug kingpin’s arrest from $10-million to $15-million.
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