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Amanda Hicks of CTV News Northern Ontario has your first look at the week ahead.
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CBC
28 minutes ago
- CBC
Wild boar's future in jeopardy as Yellowhead County upholds pet prohibition bylaw
Rosie's Rescue in Yellowhead County, Alta., is wrestling with a prohibited pets bylaw, so it can keep a wild boar. The rescue's founder, Angela Pauls, rescued Wilber the wild boar from a meat farm in Whitecourt, Alta., a town just outside the county, in March 2024. She said she didn't know what kind of pig it was at the time, but felt it was her duty to take him in anyway. Wilber was a piglet at the time, suffering from a variety of serious health problems, including mange, pneumonia, dermatitis and a strep virus. At one point, he was put on an oxygen tank. "Our vet had actually told us not to get her hopes up; that he probably wouldn't survive," Pauls said. Wilber persevered, but he might not get to continue his comfortable life at the Rescue for much longer, after Pauls moved her non-profit in April from Leduc County, just south of Edmonton, to Yellowhead County, about 215 kilometres west of Edmonton. Not like other boars The county's council passed a bylaw more than six years ago that prohibits residents from keeping animals like wild boars as pets. Pauls said Leduc County did not have any similar bylaw. When she learned about the bylaw after moving, Pauls wrote a letter to council, detailing Wilber's species and medical history. But council decided to uphold the bylaw. "You also can look at a case on a case-by-case basis and say, 'You know what? Maybe he doesn't pose a threat,'" Pauls said. "Whereas the wild boar farm that is in Yellowhead County, that produces wild boars … for meat, is a much bigger threat than what my boy would be." Originally, council ordered Pauls to kill or remove the boar by the end of June. But they changed the requirement after an appeal, giving her six months to remove Wilber from the county. The decision was made because wild boars are considered invasive in Alberta, Mayor Wade Williams told CBC News, adding that the council is policy-driven and is not making any exceptions. Pauls finds that perplexing, though. "I'm not a random resident here in the county. I am a registered not-for-profit," she said. "We didn't go seeking this kind of pet. A rescue will help wherever it needs to help, and I don't think that [Wilber] should be discriminated against." Pauls said Wilber poses no threat because he has been neutered, and is being kept in an enclosure he cannot escape. But under the right conditions, wild boars can sow a messy web of destruction in the environments they live in, according to Megan Evans, executive director of the Alberta Invasive Species Council, a non-profit. "They're quick to reproduce," she said. Wild boars reach sexual maturity between six and 10 months old, Evans said. They can have two litters per year, and average six piglets per litter. "That's almost an exponential population growth, if all of those pigs survive," she said. A threat to Alberta's ecosystem Wild boars check all the boxes of an invasive species, Evans said. They are omnivores, thus can survive in most environments, she said. They can ruin crop fields, such as by turning them over to search for tubers and grubs, or eating growing crops, like corn. In some cases, wild boards have been "really destructive" to native grasslands and the birds that live there, she said, noting that they'll turn over turf grass. The animal is still relatively new to Alberta's ecosystem: they were introduced to the Prairies in the 1980s as a way to diversify agriculture. According to the Agricultural Service Boards, Alberta has 13 wild boar farms. "From an invasive species ecological perspective, the wild boar farms in Alberta are the source of our wild boar at large," Evans said. Wild boars that go on the lam are one of the biggest reasons why the provincial government can't keep track of the animal's population. Currently, it's up to municipalities to draft bylaws prohibiting the ownership of animals they consider to be pests. But in a statement, the Office of Agriculture and Irrigation Minister RJ Sigurdson told CBC News that the province would consider making changes to legislation at large regarding wild boars, after enough feedback and research. "When at large, wild boar are an invasive, destructive pest that poses a serious risk for the introduction and spread of foreign animal diseases, which could have massive financial impacts for the entire livestock industry," the statement said. In the meantime, Pauls is looking into legal avenues to keep Wilber by her side. "If you sit down, he will lay down beside you. He wants you to rub his belly. He wants you to rub his feet," she said. The fence of his enclosure is well over a metre tall, so he cannot jump over it, Pauls said. But he'll prop himself up and take treats gently from a person's hand. "He's just so sweet, he really is," she said.
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Microplastics are polluting our beaches and these volunteers are cleaning them up
Along the shore of Lake Huron on a sunny Saturday morning in July, Amanda Saxton and her children carefully sift through the sand. They're on a hunt — but not for treasure. Isla, 9, and Theo, 8, and their mom are busy scouring for microplastics hidden among small pebbles and grains of sand. "They're not like usual colours that you would find at the beach. They're blue, sometimes red," said Isla. They are among nearly 70 volunteers out at Station Beach in Kincardine, Ont., with buckets, sieves and trash pickers in hand, part of a beach clean-up organized by the Lake Huron Coastal Centre on July 19. The goal is to remove as much plastic pollution from the shore as they can — from cigarette butts to food wrappers to balloon bits. This time, volunteer efforts total 75 pounds of garbage, largely made up of small pieces of plastic, including 2,119 cigarette butts. Amanda, a teacher and member of the Kincardine Environmental Action Network (KEAN), has been picking up garbage along rivers and beaches in Kincardine for years. "I've actually noticed a reduction in trash overall, which is really great. But the microplastic piece is the concerning part, because they're just so hard to find," she said. "There are pieces of plastic that when they go into the water and beat upon the shore, then they get cut into smaller and smaller pieces, and they become microplastics ... but they started out as something much larger," she explained to her children. Microplastics — particles under five millimetres in length — can be from manufacturing, but many of them also come from degrading plastic items such as packaging and synthetic fabrics or litter left on the beach. If they're in the environment, they can also end up in almost every level of the food chain. 'Challenging to remove' Among the pollutants hidden in the sandy shore, tiny plastic pellets known as nurdles are plentiful at Station Beach. "These are pre-production plastic pellets, which are used to form larger types of plastic, so we find a lot over near the pier and all across Station Beach," said Meredith Watson, stewardship program co-ordinator with the Lake Huron Coastal Centre. They can be challenging to remove, said Watson. Tiny pieces of plastic take a lot of time to find. "There's really no other situation where tiny pieces of plastic are being picked up other than a beach clean-up like this," she said. "The time investment by people to carefully go across the beach and pick up plastic and garbage of all sizes is huge." If this garbage didn't get picked up, it would likely end up in the lake, and then be impossible to clean, she said. Even small amounts of garbage add up, said Watson, and people should be more intentional about making sure their garbage is properly disposed of. At a recent clean-up in Port Elgin, the group found a dead bird with a plastic ring around its neck. "[It] was really sad to see, and really, really impactful to see why we're doing this. It does directly impact the wildlife around as well." Don't leave garbage behind at the beach The problem of both industrial waste and litter from beach-goers is a problem cottager Catherine Marshall knows all too well. "It's a huge problem," said Marshall, who has a cottage near Bruce Beach. "Fortunately, there's a lot of cottagers around this area who really care and are very diligent in doing clean-up," she said. Tourists aren't always as diligent about picking up after themselves, and it affects the marine life, Marshall said. "If you see garbage on the beach, pick it up," said Watson. "It just makes the beach a better place for the community. We all care about the beauty of the beach here in Kincardine and along the Lake Huron coast, and it makes it a better place for everyone."
Cision Canada
6 hours ago
- Cision Canada
Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation - EVENING LOTTERY WINNING NUMBERS - July 26, 2025 Français
TORONTO, July 26, 2025 /CNW/ - Saturday 26/07/2025 LOTTO 6/49 estimated jackpot $5 million 05, 08, 13, 26, 44 & 49 Bonus 47 LOTTO 6/49 Guaranteed Prize 16253989-03 ONTARIO 49 2, 18, 29, 30, 46, 48 . Bonus 8. LOTTARIO estimated jackpot $250,000 11, 12, 18, 28, 30, 44. Bonus 20. Early Bird: 17, 31, 40, 42. POKER LOTTO Winning Hand: 6-H, 5-C, K-S, A-H, 7-D. Legend: C = CLUB, H = HEART, S = SPADE, D = DIAMOND J = JACK, Q = QUEEN, K = KING, A = ACE MEGA DICE LOTTO 6, 9, 13, 15, 25, 30 Bonus 5 PICK-2: 7 6 PICK-3: 3 0 6 PICK-4: 0 6 7 1 ENCORE: 5854914 DAILY KENO 4, 16, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 29, 31, 36 37, 42, 45, 54, 56, 57, 66, 67, 68, 69. POWERBUCKS™ WATCH 'N WIN: 5, 7, 19, 20, 28, 29 MidDay lottery winning numbers Pick-2: 1 9 Pick-3: 9 0 0 Pick-4: 5 2 0 1 Encore: 4491606 Daily Keno 4, 5, 7, 10, 15, 16, 18, 27, 29, 33 45, 47, 48, 52, 53, 56, 57, 63, 65, 70 POWERBUCKS™ is a trademark of IGT or its affiliates. SOURCE OLG Winners OLG, 1-888-946-6716
