Man Who Robbed Nine Banks in Alberta and Saskatchewan Sentenced

A 29-year-old man who admitted to using a fake gun during eight of his nine robberies at banks across Western Canada has been sent to prison for four years.

Shaun Cornish was sentenced Tuesday in British Columbia Supreme Court in Kamloops but a seven-year term was reduced by 36 months to account for time spent behind bars since his arrest in January 2015.

The court was told Cornish robbed his first bank in Princeton in December 2014 and the heists continued in the Alberta communities of High River, Lethbridge and Claresholm, as well as in Swift Current, Sask.

Five dead, two injured in northern Saskatchewan school shooting

 

Five people are dead and two in critical condition after a school shooting in the northern Saskatchewan community of La Loche.

One person has been arrested, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed from an emergency press conference in Davos, Switzerland.

“We all grieve with and stand with the community of La Loche and the province of Saskatchewan on this terrible and tragic day,” Trudeau said.

Twenty 20 students, driver injured in Saskatchewan. as two buses collide

The Canadian Press
Saskatchewan RCMP say 20 students and a bus driver have been taken to hospital, most with minor injuries, after a collision involving two charter buses.

The accident happened Wednesday morning on Highway 21, about 10 kilometres south of Kerrobert.
The students, aged 13 and 14, were heading to Table Mountain Regional Park on a ski trip.

Mounties say one of the buses had stopped for a semi that was turning off the icy highway, but the second bus couldn't come to a complete halt and rear-ended the first one.

Staff Sgt. Geoff Buxcey says most of the injured were sent to hospitals in the area for possible whiplash.

Two of the students were sent by ambulance and another flown to Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon as a precaution.

Police Officer From Saskatchewan Charged With Child Porn Violations

In this 2010 file photo, RCMP officers march off the parade grounds following the RCMP National Memorial Service in Regina.

The Canadian Press
A Mountie in Saskatchewan is facing charges of accessing and possessing child pornography.

The 31-year-old officer, who has been with the force for more than four years, was stationed at Fond du Lac.

RCMP say computer devices were seized during a search of the man’s home in the remote northwestern community on Oct. 16.

He was removed from the detachment and suspended with pay, but charges were not laid until yesterday following an investigation by the Saskatchewan Internet Child Exploitation Unit.

Disgruntled man hurls snake at Saskatchewan Tim Hortons worker over sandwich dispute

The Canadian Press
Two men are facing mischief charges after a sandwich order sent them into a hissy fit at a Tim Hortons restaurant in Saskatoon.

Police say the 20-year-olds began arguing with an employee because they wanted their onions diced.

The argument got worse, and one of the men pulled a snake from his friend’s pocket and threw it behind the counter.

Officers called to the scene were able to quickly locate the snake and determined it was non-poisonous.

The two men were arrested nearby.

Police have found a temporary home for the snake until it can be released into the wild next spring.

Tragic! Saskatchewan family loses three children in farm accident

 Sean, Blake and Lyndon Arnal pose with a rugby ball in this undated family handout photo. Courtesy Arnal family

Chris PurdyThe Canadian Press
When one of her children was killed six years ago, Anne Arnal never dreamed she would have to go through the same pain again.

And again.

Three of her six children – her freckle-faced, youngest boys – have died in separate accidents on the family’s farm.

Arnal says most people can’t fathom the grief she and her family are suffering. “I could never imagine how or why I would be asked to have to do this,” she says.

“You try to figure out whether you’re supposed to gain something or whether you’re supposed to change somehow or what you’re being tested for … and I don’t have the slightest idea.”

Saskatchewan insurer won't pay for million dollar baby

Reece Huculak is pictured in a handout photo. Jennifer Huculak/The Canadian Press

The Canadian Press
Saskatchewan Blue Cross says it won’t reverse its decision denying the claim of a family facing more than $900,000 in medical bills for an unexpected birth in Hawaii.

Instead, the insurance company said in a statement Monday that Jennifer Huculak should seek help from the national independent insurance ombudsman.

Huculak said she was six months pregnant when she left for a vacation in Hawaii with the blessing of her doctor and health insurance from Blue Cross.

Soon after arriving, her water broke and her premature baby required a two-month stay in an American neo-natal intensive care unit.

Huculak said Blue Cross denied her claim, saying a bladder infection that caused some hemorrhaging at four months constituted a pre-existing condition.

RCMP | Five missing teens found safe in Saskatchewan

David Giles | Global News
RCMP have confirmed they’ve located the five missing teens in northern Saskatchewan.

The five people observed by Civilian Air Search and Rescue (CARASA) on the shoreline of Malcolm Island at 12:50 p.m. Monday have been identified as the five youth reported missing to Southend RCMP last week.

Due to weather, a rescue boat picked up the youth on one side of island and transported them to the other side, where there is a small airstrip. CASARA was able to land at that airstrip and take them in two trips back to Southend, Sask.

They were all safely back in the community around 4:50 p.m.

All are said to be in good health, but are being taken to the Arthur Morin Memorial Health Center in the community as a precaution.

RCMP are still gathering details surrounding the incident.

Malcolm Island is located approximately 10 kilometres south of the community of Kinoosao near the Manitoba border.

The five, one female and four males between 13 and 17, were reported missing last Thursday after they left Southend, Sask on Nov. 4 with two aluminum boats to go moose hunting at Reindeer Lake. They were reported missing after failing to return home on Nov. 6.

Saskatchewan | Setback In Controlling Gas Fire Outbreak

Remaining gas is burned off after explosion and fire at a gas pumping station owned by TransGas near Prud'homme, Sask., Saturday, October 11, 2014. Liam Richards/The Canadian Press

Residents in a rural Saskatchewan community are out of their homes for a second time after a setback in controlling a fire at a natural gas pumping station that has been burning since the weekend.

There were no injuries reported when an explosion Saturday started the fire at a TransGas facility near Prud’homme, a village northeast of Saskatoon. TransGas is a subsidiary of Crown-owned SaskEnergy.

Company spokesman Dave Burdeniuk said there was a setback Wednesday morning, when a wellhead failed and caused a larger flame to burn.

The wellhead leads to one of seven underground caverns, which are used to store natural gas for the winter when demand for heating is greater.

“The pressure of the gas coming up the wellhead casing pipe … pushed the wellhead out of the way,” Burdeniuk said. “The wellhead was very heat damaged because it had endured the intensity of those flames.

“It was a situation that we had planned for. We had hoped to be able to use the existing wellhead to cap and seal off the cavern.”

Saskatchewan | Major Train Derailment Causes Fire Outbreak

A CN freight train carrying dangerous goods derailed in central Saskatchewan on Tuesday, sending plumes of thick black smoke into the air and displacing residents of a tiny nearby hamlet.

The derailment happened near the community of Clair, which has a population of about 50. Police told those people to leave their homes and also evacuated farms near the scene.

CN spokesman Jim Feeny said the train was made up of three locomotives pulling 100 rail cars and that 26 of them derailed.

He said the fire came from petroleum distillates, which spilled from two of the derailed cars.

The fire had "diminished'' as of Tuesday evening, Feeny said, but was still burning.

Clair is about 190 kilometres east of Saskatoon near the community of Wadena.

Alison Squires, who is the publisher of the Wadena News, went to the fire and said she has never seen anything like it in the 13 years she has lived in the area.

Government of Saskatchewan set to launch carbon-capture plan

Saskatchewan’s government-owned power utility is set to launch its flagship carbon-capture-and-storage project this week when it cuts the ribbon on a $1.4-billion addition to its Boundary Dam power plant near Estevan.

Billed by SaskPower as the world’s first and largest commercial-scale, carbon-capture operation of its kind, the project outfits part of the coal-fired power station with a mechanism to capture carbon dioxide emissions and transport the gas through a steel pipeline into storage deep underground.

While its proponents say the project represents a way to burn fossil fuels — such as coal — more efficiently with less greenhouse gas, critics argue carbon capture simply enables the status quo and does little to mitigate the damage caused by carbon emissions.

Saskatchewan woman deported to Pakistan For Adultery Verdict

A Saskatchewan woman accused of adultery in her home country has been deported to her native Pakistan, where she fears her life could be in danger.

Jamila Bibi broke down in loud sobs at the Saskatoon airport Tuesday as her journey out of the country began.

Her supporters had been working to stop her deportation, saying the woman in her early 60s could be stoned to death once she returns to Pakistan.

Bibi was arrested and detained last Wednesday during a “pre-removal interview,” according to federal court documents. After being informed of the decision to deport her, the documents said Bibi repeatedly asked the officers for help, saying her life would be in danger in Pakistan.

She then became “hysterical” and began hitting herself in the head and chest, the officers said.
“I haven’t done anything wrong, not stolen anything, I worked and now they are doing this,” one officer is quotes Bibi as saying in the documents.

“I can kill myself now,” she said, and was then arrested for “her safety and the officers.”
After being handcuffed, Bibi’s bank card was taken from her and given to the friend who accompanied her to the interview. Bibi was left with $184.25 in cash.

Nine yr Old Boy Steals Saskatoon Transit Bus

Jeff Jorgenson, Saskatoon's general manager of transportation and utilities, says the bus stolen by a nine-year-old boy on Saturday morning was left in an unsafe and accessible condition.

The City of Saskatoon says a bus stolen by a nine-year-old boy on Saturday morning was left running and in an unsecured state during repairs when it was stolen.

Jeff Jorgenson, Saskatoon’s general manager of transportation and utilities, told reporters the nine-year-old boy was in the bus, which was taken from 300 block of 24th Street West, for 12 to 14 seconds before he put the bus in gear and drove off through the parking brake.

“From what we know, and again we’re very early in the investigation, the bus was left in a very unsafe and accessible condition,” he said outside Saskatoon’s transit maintenance building.

Jorgenson said the boy drove the bus north towards 28th Street, then turned east on 28th Street towards Idylwyld Drive before getting caught up on a curb near 25th Street and Idylwyld.

During the incident, the nine-year-old hit another transit bus and a parked car, but no one was injured.

Jorgenson said the boy drove the bus north towards 28th Street, then turned east on 28th Street towards Idylwyld Drive before getting caught up on a curb near 25th Street and Idylwyld.

During the incident, the nine-year-old hit another transit bus and a parked car, but no one was injured.

Woman survives 8 days in Saskatchewan wilderness after husband killed

A 62-year-old Saskatchewan woman has been rescued after surviving more than a week in the wilderness.

The Prince Albert woman had been out canoeing with her husband when their boat capsized on a set of rapids. Her husband died in the incident.

Police haven’t released the identities of the couple, but news agency has confirmed them to be 66-year-old David Dice and his wife, Enid Dice.

The RCMP said they received a call on Aug. 20 from a man saying his parents had been on a canoe trip, but that he had stopped receiving updates from the satellite tracking device they had with them.
“The parents were extremely well-known with the area and they were extremely well-versed in canoeing,” said RCMP spokesperson Mandy Maier in a press conference. “So they had lots of experience.”

On Tuesday morning a float plane operator on Kinosaskaw Lake spotted a capsized canoe and a body in a nearby river.
 

More than 30 cars jump the track in Saskatchewan train derailment

At least 33 cars went off the track in a train derailment in southwestern Saskatchewan on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014. (Photo courtesy of Sarah Merret)

At least 33 cars went off the track in a train derailment in southwestern Saskatchewan, Canadian Pacific Railway has said.

The derailment happened shortly after 7:30 p.m. on Thursday near the community of Waldeck, located about 230 kilometres west of Regina.

A CP spokesperson said that no dangerous goods were onboard the train and no injuries or leaks have been reported.

The cause of the derailment is under investigation.

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall asks PM for $100M flood relief advance

On the ground in the Melville area, Premier Brad Wall gets a close up view of the damage to Saskatchewan's highway infrastructure. (CBC

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall says he has no doubt the federal government will approve his request for an advance of $100 million for disaster relief, to deal with damage from the recent intense flooding.

During the province's daily flood update call with media Saturday morning, the premier unexpectedly spoke up on the line. Usually the call includes representatives of government departments involved with emergency management, such as the Ministry of Highways, Government Relations and Social Services.

Wall said he had just gotten off the phone with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The premier explained he asked Harper for an advance of $100 million for disaster assistance in light of the flood damage felt across the province all week.

"We're going to follow that up with a quick note, but I am pretty optimistic we are going to see some support there," said Wall.

It is the same amount the province requested in an advance for flood relief assistance in 2011.

According to the premier, the cost of flood damages in 2011 amounted to $360 million. Wall said he expects the amount needed to deal with the flood aftermath this year will exceed the 2011 total.

"We think the number will be a lot higher than the $360 million of 2011, which was just basically the damage, the repair and not necessarily the economic impact. Because in this case, we have oil leases now inaccessible. We have farmland under water. So in addition to whatever numbers I am talking about right now, there will be an economic impact and is too early to assess that just yet."

CBC

Saskatchewan provost resigns amid controversy over firing of outspoken professor

Robert Buckingham, the now-former executive director of the University of Saskatchewan's school of public health, was fired, escorted off campus by security and told not to return to his office, May 14, 2014

The provost at the University of Saskatchewan has resigned amid a controversy over a professor who was fired for speaking out about budget cuts.

University president Ilene Busch-Vishniac says in a news release issued shortly before an emergency board of governors meeting Sunday night that she has accepted Brett Fairbairn’s decision to quit.
Fairbairn is also the university’s vice-president academic.

The news release says Fairbairn wrote in his resignation letter that he made the decision because of his “genuine interest in the well-being of the University of Saskatchewan.”

Robert Buckingham was removed as executive director of the School of Public Health and escorted off campus last week after writing a letter to the government and Opposition New Democrats about an overhaul at the university.

University of Saskatchewan Fires And Revokes Benefit For Dean Who Criticised Spending Cuts

University of Saskatchewan dean Robert Buckingham, pictured in a university newletter in 2012, has been stripped of tenure and banned for life for speaking out about cuts.

A University of Saskatchewan dean who spoke out about the university’s efforts to muzzle senior administrators has been fired, stripped of his tenure, had his retirement benefits revoked and was escorted off campus by security. That is rather harsh.

 

Robert Buckingham, former executive director of the University of Saskatchewan’s School of Public Health, was dismissed from both his role as the executive director of the school of public health and a tenured professor Wednesday morning because of a letter he wrote in which he detailed efforts to keep senior leaders in line over a new plan to cut spending and potentially merge his department with another.
 

“I always thought, of any place, freedom of speech would be at a university,” Buckingham told the Star from Saskatoon. “I’ve learned differently.”

Power of Facebook: Connecting 33 years of Missed Connection

Moose Jaw's Terra McKean put this photo on Facebook on Friday and was rewarded with hundreds of replies and thousands of shares. Less than two days later, she was reunited online with her sister. (Facebook)

In another demonstration of the power of social media, a Moose Jaw, Sask., woman has had a speedy reunion with her long-lost sister after turning to Facebook.

On Friday, Terra McKean posted a photo of herself holding a poster a with information about the sister who was put up for adoption more than 33 years ago.

"Please help me find my sister," the poster said. "Please like and share."

Her mother, she said, was a young, single parent in 1980 and felt she couldn't care for a second child. So she turned to adoption.