The University of Regina (U of R) has terminated its main lease agreement with URSU, according to an update on social media on Friday.

U of R president Jeff Keshen provided the written statement, noting that the university’s loss of confidence in URSU’s ability to serve and represent students is what led to the lease termination.

This means URSU leadership will be required to vacate the office and commercial space it occupies on university campus, including office space, the multi-purpose room, and the Lazy Owl.

According to Keshen’s statement, the Lazy Owl will remain closed until further notice and bookings for the multi-purpose room will be managed by hospitality services.

“As previously communicated, the University will not be disbursing funds to URSU beginning this Fall semester and has processes in place to ensure core student services (including health and dental benefits, and U-Pass) continue without disruption,” the statement read.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Erin strengthened into a hurricane on Friday as it approached the northeast Caribbean, prompting forecasters to warn of possible flooding and landslides.

The storm is expected to remain over open waters, although tropical storm watches were issued for Anguilla, Barbuda, St. Martin, St. Barts, Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten.

Heavy rains were forecast to start late Friday in Antigua and Barbuda, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and southern and eastern Puerto Rico. Up to 4 inches (10 centimetres) are expected, with isolated totals of up to 6 inches (15 centimetres), according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Forecasters also warned of dangerous swells.

The storm was located about 415 miles (665 kilometres) east of the Northern Leeward Islands. It had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) and was moving west-northwest at 17 mph (28 km/h).

Hurricane specialist and storm surge expert Michael Lowry said Erin is forecast to eventually take a sharp turn northeast that would put it on a path between the U.S. and Bermuda.

“The forecasts for next week still keep the future hurricane safely east of the mainland U.S.,” he said.

Erin, which is the Atlantic season’s first hurricane, is forecast to become a major Category 3 storm late this weekend and pass some 200 miles (320 kilometres) north of Puerto Rico.

The hurricane centre noted “there is still uncertainty about what impacts Erin may bring to portions of the Bahamas, the east coast of the United States, and Bermuda in the long range.”

Dangerous surf and rip currents are expected to affect the U.S. East Coast next week, with waves reaching up to 15 feet (5 metres) along parts of the North Carolina coast that could cause beach erosion, according to Accuweather.

“Erin is forecast to explode into a powerful Category 4 hurricane as it moves across very warm waters in the open Atlantic. Water temperatures at the surface and hundreds of feet deep are several degrees higher than the historical average,” said Alex DaSilva, Accuweather’s lead hurricane expert.

Erin is the fifth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.

This year’s season is once again expected to be unusually busy. The forecast calls for six to 10 hurricanes, with three to five reaching major status with winds of more than 110 mph (177 km/h).

A helicopter fighting the Long Lake, N.S., wildfires crashed Friday afternoon, according to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

The helicopter crashed in shallow water around 4:24 p.m., according to DNR.

The pilot was conscious and talking with firefighters, who quickly reached the aircraft. He was rescued and taken for medical assessment around 6 p.m.

Transport Canada, which investigates all aircraft incidents, has been informed about the crashed.

Sarah Shaw moved from New Zealand to Washington state with her three young kids in 2021. She lives in Everett and works for the state government.

After she divorced the man who sponsored her, Shaw was able to stay in the U.S. with what’s known as a combination card visa, which recently came up for renewal.

“Sarah’s work portion was approved. But they didn’t actually articulate to her that the travel portion was still pending,” said Shaw’s friend Victoria Besancon. “They just sent her the renewed visa, and told her she was good to go.”

So, Shaw figured she could cross the land border into B.C., drop her two youngest kids off at Vancouver International Airport for a flight to New Zealand to visit their grandparents and then drive back home with her six-year-old son Isaac.

“It was upon trying to re-enter the United States that suddenly everything went wrong,” said Besancon.

Shaw and her son were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on July 24. She told her friend they were placed in an unmarked white van.

“She thought she was being kidnapped. Honestly, she didn’t have a whole lot explained to her in the beginning, and she was absolutely terrified,” said Besancon.

Eventually, ICE agents told her because one part of her combination visa was still pending, she had invalidated it by briefly leaving the U.S., Besancon said.

‘Very much like prison’

Canadian-born immigration lawyer Len Saunders, who now lives and works in Blaine, Wash., said what happened to Shaw and her son used to be unheard of.

“In the past in a case like this, they would parole the person back in and have them fix whatever’s lacking, and they’d be on their way. They would never been detained like this,” said Saunders. “I’m shocked at the overzealousness that’s happening.”

Mother and son were sent to a family immigration detention centre in south Texas. They’ve now been there for three weeks, sharing a room with a dozen other detainees, according to Besancon.

“Those rooms are locked from 8 p.m. until 8 a.m. There is a singular phone. There is a shared bathroom. It’s very much like prison,” said Besancon.

Saunders says what happened to the Shaws is a reminder that under President Donald Trump, it is not business as usual at the Canada-U.S. border.

“It’s exhausting hearing all these stories,” said Saunders. “If someone’s lacking documents or doesn’t have the proper passport or re-entry permits, instead of maybe having some discretion there, they’re just detaining them and deporting people.”

A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection tells CTV News that the agency follows “all protocols to keep families together” when a parent or guardian is detained at the border in the company of a minor.

“Immigration law will be enforced, and our officers and agents will act accordingly,” the spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement.

Pressure for release

Fearing she would be deported, Shaw’s friends contacted the media, and her colleagues in the Washington state government contacted ICE.

“There has been a huge amount of pressure on the facility from Washington representatives, from various news outlets for the release of Isaac, as well as the parole of Sarah. And thankfully, with all of the support that she has been given, they are releasing her and she will be able to come home this week,” said Besancon.

While Shaw expects she will be able to get her paperwork order to remain in the U.S., the single mom won’t be making any more trips to Canada.

“Sarah is very wary about ever crossing the border again,” said Besancon.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says the detention centre in Dilley, Texas, that is housing the mother and son has been retrofitted to accommodate families.

“ICE takes its commitment to promoting safe, secure, humane environments for those in our custody very seriously,” a spokesperson for the agency said in an email Friday.

“It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody. This includes medical, dental, and mental health intake screening within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility, a full health assessment within 14 days of entering ICE custody or arrival at a facility, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care.”

RCMP in Wadena, Sask. are reporting success after a pair of traffic stops earlier this month resulted in an array of illicit drugs and guns being seized by officers.

On Aug. 6 around 11 a.m., Wadena RCMP stopped a vehicle in the village of Kylemore, Sask. The driver did not stop for police and pulled into a residential driveway where he also failed to comply with officers’ orders.

Police arrested the driver. During their search, officers found 97 grams of cocaine, 27 grams of crack cocaine and seven grams of methamphetamine.

Further searches revealed a set of brass knuckles and a semi-automatic handgun.

A 37-year-old man from Wadena faces eight charges, including possessing drugs for the purpose of trafficking, possessing a weapon without a license, resisting arrest and obstructing a peace officer.

The accused will remain in custody until his next scheduled court appearance in Wadena on Sept. 4.

Two days later, at around 6 a.m., Wadena RCMP received several reports an apparent impaired driver travelling near the beach on Fishing Lake First Nation.

Officers searched for the vehicle and found it a short time later in the town of Wadena. The driver failed to follow the instructions from officers and was arrested.

Police found two guns, one of which was loaded, in addition to several hundred rounds of ammunition during a search.

The 39-year-old accused from Fishing Lake First Nation was charged with 17 counts, ranging from possessing a firearm without a license to driving while prohibited to resisting arrest.

He has been remanded into custody until his next court appearance in Wadena on Aug. 21.

Wadena is located approximately 200 kilometres northeast of Regina.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Prime Minister Mark Carney’s weak leadership is costing Canadians, and it’s time to speak up and defend Western Canada’s canola producers.

“It’s like he doesn’t care about Western Canadian producers,” Poilievre said. “I had my team check his Twitter account. He hasn’t tweeted a single thing about canola. Yet, he’s been able to tweet about International Cat Day.”

China’s latest tariff on canola — this time a 75.8 per cent rate targeting canola seed imports — was put into action Thursday following an anti-dumping investigation, escalating a year-long trade dispute.

Beijing previously imposed 100 per cent tariffs on canola oil and meal in March, effectively stagnating Canada’s second largest foreign Canola market.

The latest tariff has been seen as a response to the previous Liberal government’s decision last year to impose a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles in 2024.

Poilievre made a stop at a farm just outside Saskatoon Thursday ahead of a byelection in Alberta, where Poilievre is looking to regain his seat in the House of Commons. He wouldn’t directly answer a question if Ottawa should repeal its EV tariff, but said revenue from that tariff should go to producers.

“The money raised from the by the Canadian government in that dispute should go back to the people who are paying the bills,” Poilievre said. “And that, of course, is mostly our canola producers.”

Bill Prybylski, the president of the Agriculture Producers Association of Saskatchewan who farms west of Yorkton, says urgent action is needed from the Prime Minister soon.

“He’s got to do something because right now it looks like we’re being sacrificed,” Prybylski said. “Sacrificing canola producers to save an EV industry that for the most part, is non-existent in the country.”

Prybylski says while initial downturn in the market resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue for an industry which contributes more than $43 billion to the economy and employs roughly 200,000 people, he expects more uncertainty in the days and weeks ahead with harvest quickly approaching.

On Thursday afternoon, Carney took to X to provide an update, saying he spoke with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe. He said both men are “focused on a series of measures to support hard-working farmers.”

Carney says Canada does not dump canola, a key motivation for the tariff.

“We will advance a constructive dialogue with Chinese officials to address our respective trade concerns, while diversifying our trade abroad and supporting our canola producers at home,” the statement read.

Prybylski appreciates the federal government’s efforts, but says the situation is disappointing. He feels Saskatchewan farmers are caught in the middle of a trade war the federal government started.

“We’re basically helpless here,” he said. “Other than we can advocate for changes and hope that our voices are being heard.”

Air Canada abruptly ended its press conference Thursday after a lineup of union members entered the room and held signs reading “unpaid work won’t fly” and “UnfAir Canada,” among other statements.

Before the news conference ended, the airline revealed details on its plans to ground all flights by Saturday if a deal with the union isn’t reached.

Some long-haul flights due to depart tonight have already been cancelled. Air Canada plans to cancel 500 trips Friday in a step towards a total stoppage Saturday morning.

The disruption would impact about 130,000 customers per day, including several thousand Canadian travellers who are at risk of being stranded abroad, Air Canada executives explained Thursday.

Will tickets be rescheduled?

Air Canada says it’s actively rescheduling tickets with other airlines, including competitors.

But, it’s peak travel season, chief operations officer Mark Nasr explained, and the airline’s capacity to rebook “will be very limited.”

“Please do not come to the airport unless you have a confirmed flight,” he said.

Air Canada will offer affected customers a full refund or a new ticket for a later date at no additional cost.

Union disrupts press conference

As Air Canada executives answered reporters’ questions on Thursday, a handful of Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) members streamed into the room with signs protesting the airline.

They stood silently, most of them flanking the stage.

The demonstration prompted Christophe Hennebelle, Air Canada’s vice-president of corporate communications, to address the flight attendants directly.

“I’m asking CUPE, one last time the question: ‘Are you preventing us from continuing with a press conference?”’ he asked, before being met with silence.

“Unfortunately, we will have to interrupt this press conference here. I am really sorry about the questions we have not been able to answer.”

The union issued a notice earlier this week to strike just before 1 a.m. EDT on Saturday. The airline also plans to lock those workers out.

What’s on the table?

If Air Canada flight attendants accept the company’s latest offer, they will be the best-compensated staffers in that position in Canada, according to the airline. But the union says that’s not the full picture.

Flight attendant compensation consists of base pay, incentive rewards, a pension plan, health benefits, bankable sick days, paid vacation and discounted travel options.

Half of Air Canada mainline flight attendants earned more than $54,000 annually last year, excluding incentive rewards and health and pension benefits, Air Canada wrote in a handout provided to journalists.

Their salaries increased through their first 10 years of service, and “by 10 years, an airline attendant is making roughly $70,000,” said Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, Air Canada’s chief human resources officer. “A service director is making more than that.”

“And on top of that, you would add on our offer of 38 per cent,” she said.

The union says it has not seen that offer.

“They keep saying 32, 38 [per cent] packages of this and that,” said Natasha Stea, who represents flight attendants in Montreal and spoke to reporters outside the news conference after it was cut short.

She added that the union had been offered a first year’s salary bump of eight per cent. “Inflation is nine per cent, so we’re still under inflation.”

The Bank of Canada put Canada’s total consumer price index – the principal measure of inflation – at 1.9 per cent in June. In a statement published earlier this week, the union wrote the eight per cent offer was lower than total inflation accrued since 2015 over the course of their last contract.

Stea said that Air Canada is putting a price tag on things like pensions, benefits and crew rest periods, then “using that price tag to say that we are the most compensated.”

“But if we go down to the basics of this, the money coming into our pockets to pay for rent, transport and food is only the wage part.”

“We still have members living out of their cars,” said Wesley Lesosky, CUPE’s airline division president, during a press conference later Thursday.

“Today, a junior Air Canada flight attendant working full time will earn just $1,952 a month, pretax,” he said.

He said a key sticking point for the union is unpaid work. Flight attendants are not paid for certain work done when a plane is not in the air, including things like boarding, deplaning and preflight safety checks, said Lesosky.

Will Ottawa step in?

Air Canada asked Ottawa to send negotiations to binding arbitration, Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu wrote on X Thursday.

She said she’s asked the union to respond to Air Canada’s request, adding that federal mediators are available to step in, but stopped short of saying she would order them to do so.

The union asked to respond by Friday. Hajdu agreed to that request.

“I understand this dispute is causing a great deal of frustration and anxiety to Canadians who are travelling or worrying about how they will get home,” her statement continued. “I urge both parties to put their differences aside, come back to the bargaining table and get this done now for the many travellers who are counting on you.”

A man has been arrested and charged with child pornography following a joint investigation between police services in Toronto and Australia.

In a release on Thursday, Toronto police said their Internet Child Exploitation unit launched the investigation in Dec. 2024.

It is alleged that the accused was communicating online in attempts to “gain access to someone under the age of 16.”

Police said he was operating on various social media platforms under the username ‘Cravingjocks.’

In Jan. 2025, officers conducted a search at a home in the area of Whites Road and Finch Avenue in Pickering.

On Thursday, Peter Patlakas, 41, of Pickering, turned himself in to police.

He has been charged with multiple counts of child pornography, including possessiing, accessing, and making it, and has also been charged with making an arrangement or agreement to commit sexual assault to a person who was or was believed to be under the age of 16.

The charges have not been tested in court.

Police did not share how the Queensland Police Service’s Task Force Argos assisted with the investigation.

🎉 Update Completed Successfully! 🎉

We are thrilled to announce that our scheduled network update has been completed without any issues! 🚀 All our broadcast stations, streams, and websites are now fully operational and running better than ever.

What’s New?

Here’s what you can expect from this update:
✅ Improved Audio Player – No more interruptions or cutting off! Enjoy seamless streaming on our websites.
✅ Enhanced Stream Stability – Our radio streams are now more reliable than ever.
✅ Upgraded Security & Quality – Improved protection and enhanced broadcast quality for an unmatched listening experience.

Fully Operational Services:

🎵 Stations:

• Z103.5 – https://z1035.evoradio.ca/
• 979 The Cowboy – https://979thecowboy.evoradio.ca/
• 101 The Rockhound – https://101therockhound.evoradio.ca/
• Classic 88.7 The Goat – https://887thegoat.evoradio.ca/

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• EVO Media Corporation – https://evomcorp.com/
• DJ Spinderella – https://djspinderella.evomcorp.com/

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Thank you for your patience and understanding during this process. We’re committed to providing you with the best listening experience possible and appreciate your support!

🎧 Happy Listening!
The EVO Radio & EVO Media Corporation Team

We’re committed to providing our audience with a listening experience like no other! To maintain this standard, we’re excited to announce a major update to our Broadcast Network.

What’s New?

This update will bring:

• A Better Audio Player: Improved performance on our websites to resolve issues with streams cutting off.
• Enhanced Session Operations: Ensuring error-free radio streams.
• Upgraded Security & Quality: Improved protection and overall broadcast quality.

Downtime Details:

• Expected Downtime: 1 hour (we’ve allocated up to 4 hours for any unforeseen circumstances).
• Impacted Services:
  • Live Broadcasts & Website Access for these stations:
    • Z103.5 – https://z1035.evoradio.ca/
    • 979 The Cowboy – https://979thecowboy.evoradio.ca/
    • 101 The Rockhound – https://101therockhound.evoradio.ca/
    • Classic 88.7 The Goat – https://887thegoat.evoradio.ca/
  • Websites:
    • EVO Radio Advertiser Access – https://advertiseraccess.evoradio.ca/
    • EVO Media Corporation – https://evomcorp.com/
    • DJ Spinderella – https://djspinderella.evomcorp.com/
  • Third-Party Apps: Any apps relying on our live broadcasts will also be affected.

Commitment to Excellence:
During the downtime, our team will work diligently to complete the update and monitor the network to ensure peak performance. We’re committed to enhancing your listening experience to the highest standards.

Stay Updated:
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• 101 The Rockhound: https://www.facebook.com/101TheRockhound/
• Classic 88.7 The Goat: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093402861183

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding as we work to improve our services.

Thank you for your continued support,

The EVO Radio & EVO Media Corporation Team