Latest news with #Leader-Post
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Yahoo
Bear found up tree in Regina had to be euthanized by authorities
A black bear weighing around 200 pounds was on the loose in central Regina early Monday morning. The bear was reported near the intersection of Victoria Avenue and Montreal Street, according to an email from Saskatchewan's Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety in response to a Leader-Post inquiry about the incident. The Regina Police Service (RPS) says it received a call to the area around 4:20 a.m. The ministry email says police were first on scene and reported the bear was up in a tree. Conservation officers later arrived with a 'chemical immobilization kit' in order to sedate the animal and 'relocate' it outside of the city, says the email. However, it goes on to state that 'due to complications' the officers had to make the difficult decision to take the bear outside of the city where it could be euthanized. 'Immobilizing and relocating a large animal is a difficult and complex task. Officers have a high rate of success but sometimes the outcome for the animal is not the one we hope for,' the ministry email states. It goes on to advise that if anyone encounters a bear, they should keep their distance and not try to scare the animal away. 'Make a wide detour, calmly back away, speak in low tones and don't look directly at the bear. Most often, the animals will move on without any intervention.' It notes that if a bear is 'repeatedly doing damage' or if a person has an aggressive encounter with a bear, a call should be made to the RCMP or the Turn in Poachers and Polluters (TIPP) line at 1-800-667-7561. Moose loose in Wascana Lake Wild Regina: Our complex relationship with urban wildlife The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe. With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Rider Rumblings Ep 160: Roughriders training camp preview
With the Saskatchewan Roughriders set to open rookie camp on Wednesday before main camp opens on Sunday, the Rider Rumblings podcast is back for another season. In Episode 160, Leader-Post sports editor Taylor Shire is joined by columnist Darrell Davis as they reflect on the off-season that was for the Green and White from a busy free agent period to the CFL draft. With training camp getting underway on Wednesday in Saskatoon when the rookies take the field before main camp opens Sunday, the duo gives their thoughts on the high expectations many fans have this year for the Roughriders after the team lost in the West final last year. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Shire and Davis also share their thoughts on the the main storylines heading into camp and what to watch for at each position. Each week throughout the season, the duo will be back for a new episode to break down the week that was while looking ahead to what's on the table for the upcoming week. Related The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe. With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Sask. minister says farm eggs allowed at farmers' markets after confusion
After confusion and concern over proposed food safety changes, Saskatchewan's Minister of Health has announced producers will not be required to grade their eggs when selling directly to Farmers' market consumers. The directive comes after outcry from egg farmers. They worried proposed amendments to food safety regulations would prohibit them from selling farm eggs at such venues. That was followed by confusion about the province's standing rules. Executive director Holly Laird of the Regina Farmers' Market (RFM) first sounded alarm bells on behalf of their vendors last week. They said the change would restrict local producers from selling farm eggs at markets as they always have. A statement posted to RFM's social media channels following the minister's direction said the market is 'pleased' to see the province reconsidering. 'We are thrilled that the ministry has recognized the vital role farmers' markets play in the local food ecosystem,' said the post. The amendments are to subsection 22 of the Food Safety Regulations Act. The changes are out for public feedback until April 16. The Ministry of Health said the changes are meant to provide clarity to the legislation. When asked to address concerns they would restrict smaller farmers, the ministry said the changes would not alter any rules for producers, that Saskatchewan was already prohibiting the sale of ungraded eggs at markets. But Laird said that's not how SHA or health inspectors have been operating. She noted RFM's inspector 'indicated that if the new regulations proceed as proposed, they will no longer be able to permit the sale of farm eggs at our market. 'We have worked closely with our public health inspector, who has approved egg sales at our market for as far back as anyone involved with the organization can remember,' said Laird in an interview last week. 'And my hope is that we may be caught up in an unintended consequence of making these changes.' Saskatoon Farmers' Market, in an email to the Leader-Post, said it was also watching these regulatory changes closely for the same reason. The Leader-Post wasn't able to get answers on the conflicting messages. The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) deferred a request asking for the status of the rule changes back to the ministry. Instead, a statement said engagement on the regulations is 'interested in making sure that we are meeting the public's expectations of food safety protections in this province.' Pam Miller, of Miller's By-Gone Farms in Whitewood, Sask., said if she were to be barred from selling eggs as a market vendor, it would cut her business by about 40 per cent, and be a loss for both her and the customers who seek farm-fresh eggs each week. Miller said Saskatchewan only has one egg-grading facility, located in Saskatoon. Due to travel and cost, she said it would be a barrier for farmers with flocks the size of hers to take small batches of eggs there for inspection. 'I'm allowed to sell those very same eggs to the public from my farm, so this is not a food safety issue at all. It's a government bureaucracy issue,' she said. 'If we're pushing for more local sales, for supporting local farmers, this is going in the opposite direction.' RFM is now asking the Ministry of Health to write the minister's exemption formally into the Food Safety Regulations, in order to 'ensure ungraded farm eggs remain protected.' 'We want clear assurance that our small farmers and farmers' markets will be safeguarded under the new regulations,' said RFM's post. lkurz@ Alberta's red tape blocks trade for Saskatchewan farm retailer, as U.S. tariff threats continue Regina Farmers' Market says move to Confederation Park is a 'full circle moment' The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe. With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What to know about city's proposed 2025 budget as Reginans brace for tax increase
As city council prepares for a week of budget talks starting Monday, there are several key facts and figures to know heading into those discussions. The Leader-Post has flipped through the 200-page budget book and pulled out some of the most interesting numbers, including specific areas where cuts and trims are always possible. On the table is a city budget totalling $653.7 million for 2025, including an 8.5-per-cent mill rate increase and a 5.82-per-cent utility rate increase put forward to help generate needed revenues. If passed, the two bumps combined would cost around $320 more per year for the average taxpayer. Approximately 4.25 per cent of that increase is to accommodate funding requests from the city's various partners, including the Regina Police Service (RPS) and Regina Exhibition Association Ltd. (REAL). Those two groups are responsible for the city's largest funding requests once again this year. Plans for the capital budget are at $209.6 million in spending, if approved as outlined with no changes. Highlighted investments for this year include: $21.1 million for the third year of the four-year 11th Street Revitalization project; $23 million for ongoing transit and paratransit fleet replacements, including 20 new electric buses; $6.3 million to build a new southeast fire station; $10 million for the Speaker's Corner drainage fix; $1.15 million to implement a Vision Zero pedestrian safety framework; $5.9 million for replacing lead water service connections. Tourism Regina's budget is also positioned to double — from $937,000 to $1.8 million — now that the organization has been reabsorbed as a city department from its previous home at REAL. A connective downtown pathway, identified by the city's catalyst committee in 2022 as a priority project, has been delayed again to 2026. It was pushed ahead during 2024's budget deliberations as well. All of the major capital projects that are moving forward add a combined two per cent onto the overall proposed mill rate, including 0.5 per cent for a new indoor aquatic facility. The utility operating budget is outlined at $187.4 million and the utility capital budget at $170.8 million, including $73.2 million for the eastern water network expansion project set to begin this year. Regina police have laid out a $122.4-million plan for 2025, seeking $6.9-million more in operational funding from the city than last year's budget. At a meeting in February, the Board of Police Commissioners agreed to reduce its original ask by $800,000 and placed several capital projects on hold to deliver a zero-per-cent increase onto its capital funding request. RPS also prepared a $130-million budget for 2026 — a $7.6-million increase year-to-year — that was to be tentatively approved as part of a two-year budget planning process the city adopted in 2023 but paused this year due to the recent municipal election. According to RPS's submission, the increased funds needed for both years are attributed to salaries under a new collective bargaining agreement and 'uncontrollable operating costs.' 'All requested increases have been limited to those essential to the operation of the Regina Police Service,' reads the budget report sent to council. The two-year capital budget outlines $8.4 million in 2025 and $7.6 million in 2026, with the largest investments going into IT infrastructure, video upgrades to RPS facilities and vehicle replacements. RPS's budgets, if approved, would account for matching 2.2-per-cent increases to the mill rate in both 2025 and 2026. Approximately $13 million of RPS's operating expenses will be funded by provincial, federal and other sources in both years. Regina's two business improvement districts (BIDs) are proposing slight increases to their special levies in 2025, which apply only to commercial properties inside each designated district's boundaries. Regina Downtown BID has outlined a $3.95-million operating budget — an increase of $1.4 million from 2024 — which requires a three-per-cent increase to the levies. The organization plans to land $2.6 million in grants to fund the remainder. Regina Warehouse BID is asking for $638,593 in 2025 — an increase of $159,388 from 2024 — due to what the organization describes as a 'conservative approach' to planning its revenues. Tank: Massive property tax jump in Regina should surprise nobody Regina city council passes budget in quick-fire motion to end lengthy debate REAL has outlined a $12.7-million ask from the city, which is more than double what the entertainment district received in 2024's budget ($5.6 million). But it's still less than the $17.7 million the city inevitably provided throughout last year in a series of funding top-ups. Board chair Jaime Boldt told city council in February there would be very little fat to trim in an effort to reduce the request, unless it comes from the $4.2-million operating line included in the overall total. In addition to regular operating needs, REAL also requires $2.7 million to fulfil its debt responsibilities this year, $1 million in capital funding and a $4.7-million cash contingency to cover additional expenses as needed. REAL's budget request accounts for 2.21 per cent of the overall proposed 8.5-per-cent mill rate increase. After several years of low to no mill rate asks, the Regina Public Library (RPL) is asking for a 4.58-per-cent increase to the library mill rate in 2025, plus a 5.5-per-cent dedicated mill rate increase to begin raising funds for the future Central Library renewal project. Both increases combined amount to one per cent of the city's overall proposed mill rate increase, and would mean an extra $21.12 per year for homeowners on their property taxes. Economic Development Regina (EDR) is seeking an annual budget of $2.1 million in 2025, which is an increase of 24 per cent (or $405,000) from 2024 — and its first increase in at least three years. EDR's budget request accounts for 0.13 per cent of the 8.5-per-cent mill rate increase, or about $3.12 per month for the average taxpayer. The Provincial Capital Commission is also seeking $2.7 million from the city, an annual ask that folds into its $14.4-million maintenance plans as stewards of Wascana Centre. The request represents zero change from the city's contribution in 2024, as established by legislation that dictates the province pay 55 per cent, the city 30 per cent and the University of Regina 15 per cent of the commission's operations. lkurz@ The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe. With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.
CBC
22-02-2025
- Politics
- CBC
A late start to the spring sitting
Provincial MLA's won't be returning to the legislature for the spring sitting until budget day on March 19. The Opposition wants the assembly back now. Leader-Post columnist Murray Mandryk discusses the last time this happened, why the current government is doing it, the possible need to be back in session earlier and out-of-province private health care. This week's panel featured Mandryk and Morning Edition host Adam Hunter.
