Saskatchewan teachers have voted overwhelmingly to renew their mandate for sanctions – giving the Sask. Teachers Federation (STF) the power to reinstitute job action if negotiations fall through.

Over the two day voting period, 83 per cent of teachers cast a vote – 95 per cent of which supported further sanctions if needed.

“You have sent a very clear message that your priorities need to be addressed through this collective agreement process and if they aren’t, we are ready to continue fighting for as long as it can take,” Becotte said in a message addressed to STF membership.

“We have seen some progress at the table over the course of this week but we are ready to announce sanctions if the talks break down at any point.”

The STF’s previous mandate expires at the end of June.

The vote follows a clear rejection of the tentative agreement reached by the STF and Government Trustee Bargaining Committee (GTBC) in mid-April.

The agreement would’ve seen teachers receive an eight per cent pay increase over three years. It would include three per cent increases for year’s one and two, ending with a two per cent bump in year three.

Pay would be retroactive to September of 2023.

The province also included a line in the agreement referencing accountability framework concerning funding for classroom size and complexity.

The STF’s longstanding position has been proper attention to these concerns within a provincial collective agreement – while the province has refused this suggestion on principle and insisted on granting measures outside of bargaining.

The STF and GTBC returned to the bargaining table on May 15. Another meeting between the two sides is scheduled for Friday, May 17.

In the event of an impasse – the federation will issue a 48 hours’ notice to the restarting of sanctions.

The renewed mandate will allow the STF the ability to reimplement sanctions until an agreement is in place.

Police have issued a Canada-wide warrant for a man wanted in a homicide which occurred in Regina on May 12.

Officers were called to the 4800 block of Sherwood Drive  for the report of a firearms offence around 1:50 p.m., according to a release from the Regina Police Service (RPS).

Police said officers discovered a 22-year-old man lying on a driveway suffering from a gunshot wound. He was transported to hospital but died from his injures.

Reshaun Norman Cote, 22, is facing second-degree murder charges. He is described as about six feet tall, with a medium build, short brown hair and brown eyes, with angel wing tattoos on both sides of his neck.

Two other suspects, a 24-year-old man and a 17-year-old youth, have already been charged with second-degree murder.

Police say Cote should not be approached as he is likely armed and dangerous. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Regina Police Service or Crime Stoppers.

The Speaker of the Saskatchewan Legislature Randy Weekes has severed ties with the Sask. Party after accusing some members of bullying and intimidation tactics, including a situation he claims saw the Government House Leader bring a hunting rifle to the legislative building.

Weekes is a member of the governing caucus but must remain independent and impartial in his role as Speaker. He was elected to the legislature in 1999 and lost his nomination to represent the Saskatchewan Party for this years provincial election.

On Thursday during closing remarks for the Spring Session, Weekes revealed concerning behaviour from Sask. Party members and claimed he experienced “many challenges” during his time as Speaker.

Weekes said that included intimidation and harassment as well as threatening gestures that began “almost immediately.”

“When I became Speaker the intimidating and harassing text messages began immediately trying to influence my rulings,” Weekes said.

Weekes said his experiences with the Government House Leader Jeremy Harrison in the chambers included threatening gestures whenever he ruled against him during session.

“He would start yelling at me and stand up and flash his suit jacket and storm out,” Weekes said.

According to Weekes, an example of inappropriate behaviour and attempting to influence him as a Speaker included a text message from Harrison on March 22, 2023, that said, “That’s an absolute bull shit ruling, completely wrong and Iris will tell you that.”

Weekes said he personally received hundreds of other text messages from Harrison before he then started sending them to the Clerk. Eventually Estevan MLA and Deputy Government House Leader Lori Carr began texting him, Weekes claimed.

“She especially harassed me during the emergency debate on the parental rights motion,” Weekes said, before reading off several messages he claimed Carr sent to him during the emergency debate.

Weekes said during the same emergency debate he left and handed the chair to the Deputy Speaker and faced more animosity from government members while walking to his office.

“There was a government staffer sitting in a chair, the only person out there, and as I went by the government lounge Reg Downs, special advisor to the premier came out of the lounge and lunged at me,” Weekes said.

According to Weekes that was not the first time he felt threatened.

“Another MLA rushed me at a party function [and] came very close to head-butting me,” Weekes said.

Weekes then referred back to Government House Leader Jeremy Harrison and said he showed signs of inappropriate behaviour from the time he was first elected.

“He expects his staff to go to his home and pick up his clothes. He has trouble keeping staff, there’s a revolving door of government staff coming and going,” Weekes claimed.

Weekes then went on to say the most disturbing fact to him was Harrison’s obsession with guns and physical and verbal intimidation tactics.

“His desire to get permission to carry a handgun in the legislative assembly is particularly disturbing. Another incident reported by a former special constable was when the Government House Leader flaunted the rules concerning weapons when he brought a hunting rifle into the legislative building,” he claimed.

According to Weekes, as Harrison would yell and flash his suit jacket at him over time he became more worried that he was carrying a handgun in his jacket.

“My concerns over his mental stability and his obsession with guns was only confirmed when he heckled after the passing of the motion to devolve all relevant parts of the Firearms Act to the province he twice yelled, ‘open carry, open carry next,’” Weekes said.

NDP Leader Carla Beck did corroborate Weekes’ recollection of the “open carry” chant by Harrison.

She went on to tell reporters that she is expecting answers surrounding the allegations.

“These are very, very serious allegations not only in terms of integrity but in terms of safety in this building,” Beck said.

“Absolutely, I want answers to this.”

Weekes’ speech to the assembly can be seen using the video player at the top of the article.

Both Harrison and Carr did not speak to reporters following the conclusion of proceedings on Thursday.

A sore loser says premier

Speaking to reporters following Weeke’s speech – Premier Scott Moe claimed to have no prior knowledge of any of Weekes’ claims and complaints.

“I don’t know about this,” Moe said while chuckling. “We heard a number of comments here at the end of session … I mean most of this occurred, allegedly occurred, prior to December 14 when the Speaker was still running in a nomination for this party. So I’ve never spoken to him about these items of concern.”

Moe went on to label Weekes a “sore loser.”

“I have no basis for any of that to be quite frank,” he said. “Like I said, he still ran in a nomination knowing most of what he said. So it’s unfortunate – but nothing more than unfortunately a sore loser.”

“I’m as shocked as anyone as to what the Speaker was reading into the record there again if he truly wanted to be part of this party and raise some of [his] concerns he would bring them to me.”

Moe referred to Harrison as a “strong government house leader” and expressed confidence in his ability to hold the role.

“I would say he serves quite competently,” he said.

In reference to Weekes’ comments about Harrison’s state of mind – reporters asked the Premier if any conversations have taken place discussing the government house leaders mental health.

“None, no. First time I’ve heard of any of this,” Moe responded. “I don’t know what’s going on in the speaker’s mind and how he’s interpreting various texts and thoughts that he might have. That’d be a question for him.”

“At this point I can’t attribute it [the speakers claims] to anything more than just sour grapes, that he wasn’t successful in the nomination because up until December 14, he wanted to be part of Minister Harrison’s caucus,” Moe added.

Moe also said he had no knowledge of a firearm being brought to the legislative building.

“I never have experienced that, and I’ve never seen a gun or heard of a gun being in the building,” Moe told reporters.

Moe did say that conversations would be had with those named in Weeke’s allegations.

“Will I have a conversation with Minister Harrison? Maybe even others? Sure,” he said.

“But these allegations, I don’t know what substance there is to them.”

A tornado warning has been issued for a small region of southwest Saskatchewan.

At 4:39 p.m. on Thursday, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) said it was tracking a thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado.

The warning was issued for the Gull Lake region before being amended to include the R.M. of Bone Creek including Simmie and Scotsguard.

The thunderstorm was reportedly located six kilometres south Illerbrun and was recorded moving east at 20km/h.

“This is a dangerous and potentially life-threatening situation,” the warning read.

ECCC said 90km/h wind gusts and nickel size hail are possible given the storm.

Several people in Lumsden, Sask. were in for a unique encounter over the past couple of days as a young bear made its way into town.

Early Thursday morning, Curtis Koskie was driving when he spotted the bear.

“I was going down one of the hills in our town and it was right in front of me. I had to stop so I had a little while to look at it,” he explained.

Koskie said the cub stood around five or six feet and looked about two years old.

“Once my vehicle stopped, he walked over to the next tree and just started climbing up but it looked like he was playing,” he said.

Koskie was able to snap a photo, which he posted to social media. He said other people in Lumsden also saw the inquisitive mammal on the move on Wednesday.

A video of the bear walking across the street can be seen using the video player above.

While Koskie has seen different signs indicating bear activity in the Lumsden area, such as droppings, this is the first time he has seen an actual bear.

“I know that they’re out and around but … we don’t really see them in around town a lot,” he said.

Koskie explained that the bear was close to a daycare, so he first let them know. He then contacted the RCMP directly and gave them a description of the bear and where it was located. He said RCMP told him they would contact a conservation officer (CO) to handle the situation.

“I know that that’s a process you could go through when there’s something like a bear or anything larger that could potentially harm someone,” he said.

While this particular bear was brown in colour, Matthew Tokaruck, a bear biologist with the province, said the cub spotted was a black bear, as they come in a variety of colours.

“The species we have in the province is the black bear, that’s the common name,” he said. “There’s going to be brown, cinnamon, blonde, black, black and white lace on the chest.”

According to Tokaruk, now that warmer weather has arrived, the bears are out of their dens looking for food to put on fat after hibernation. Moving later into the summer, bears are trying to eat thousands of calories to put on fat for the winter.

While black bears inhabit most parts of the provinces, they are most frequently seen in the forests of northern Saskatchewan.

“They can be common, for sure. We really try to highlight that Saskatchewan is bear country,” he said. “Especially at this time of year, young bears are dispersing and they can travel tremendous distances so we can encounter them in areas we don’t expect them.”

The “teenage” bears are about two or three years old, so Tokaruk said it’s not strange that a young bear was wandering by itself.

Black bears are generally not aggressive and will avoid people if possible, but they may approach if they feel threatened or hungry, Tokaruk said.

He said people should make sure they practice caution and reduce the chance of negative encounters.

To do that, it is recommended that people bear-proof their yard or campsite by:

•  Storing garbage in a secure building or container and only putting the bin out on the morning of collection
•  Ensuring pet food is stored where it’s not accessible to wildlife and only using bird feeders in the winter when bears hibernate
•  Not adding fish, meat, fat, oils, unrinsed eggshells, or cooked food to the backyard compost
•  Properly cleaning and storing barbeque grills
•  Not cooking, eating, or storing food inside a tent or trailer
•  Placing garbage in containers provided
•  Not burning or burying scraps
•  Cleaning fish only at designated fish-cleaning
•  Keeping pets on a leash while hiking

If someone does see a black bear, Tokaruk advised people to speak in low tones, leave room between themselves and the bear, just move along, or throw something on the ground to distract it.

He said once conservation officers are contacted, they would assess the situation and decide what their role is from there.

“If you do have an encounter with a bear where there’s an imminent risk to human safety, of course, we call 911,” Tokaruk said. “That’s incredibly rare.”

“It’s still safe to be outside and enjoy the outdoors, and in most cases, we see a black bear, it’s already running the other way where you can grab a quick picture before it’s done and it’s a positive encounter with wildlife,” he said.

Tokaruk said they do monitor bear populations and said there is a steady trend of black bear sightings in the province.

“All the data would suggest that the black bear populations are stable,” he said. 

Saskatchewan Mounties want the public to be aware of fraudulent phone calls circulating where people claim to be from the RCMP.

According to a news release from the Craik detachment, officers were notified that a resident received a phone call from a person claiming to be an RCMP officer who then asked the resident to purchase and send gift cards to him.

Police say the call originated from a 613 area code.

“This call was not from the RCMP. If you receive such a call, hang up immediately. Do not provide any information to the caller,” the release said.

RCMP said people should never give out personal information such as your name, address SIN (social insurance number) or banking information over unsolicited phone calls.

Police are also reminding people to set strong passwords, research who is asking you for money or information and to not be afraid to say no.

“Don’t be afraid to say no! Don’t be intimidated by high-pressure sales tactics or requests to send money right away. Walk away or hang up the phone,” RCMP said in the release.

RCMP are asking anyone who receives a similar call to contact their local detachment at 310-RCMP and to report the possible scammer to the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre.

As fatal crashes in the province have nearly doubled when compared to last year – Saskatchewan RCMP are encouraging safe driving practices ahead of the May Long Weekend.

According to RCMP, the service has investigated 19 fatal crashes across the province as of May 9. This marks a 90 per cent increase when compared to the 10 crashes reported during the same time last year.

“It’s important to note that many of these collisions remain under investigation and we can’t yet speak to what has caused them all. But this is not a trend we want to see continue,” Supt. Grant St. Germaine said in a news release.

“Given the anticipated increase in traffic as we head into the long weekend, I encourage all motorists to make safe choices when they are behind the wheel. We all have a part to play in keeping Saskatchewan’s roads as safe as possible.”

Drivers can expect to see RCMP patrolling highways across Saskatchewan as the service conducts high-visibility enforcement during peak travel times.

When approaching a check stop, drivers are encouraged to slow down and follow the directions of officers on scene.

Drivers must slow to 60 km/h when passing an emergency vehicle with their lights engaged. These include police, fire trucks, highway service, construction vehicles or tow trucks.

Additional tips for drivers include:

•  Keep your phone out of reach – Give your full attention to the task at hand.
•  Ensure everyone in the vehicle is wearing a seatbelt. For those 12-years-old and younger, the back seat is safest in addition to car seats and or booster seats.
•  Don’t take a chance. If you question whether you’re “too impaired to drive or not” you likely are.
•  If you see a suspected impaired driver, pull over and immediately call 911.

City-sized blazes are bearing down on isolated communities across Western Canada as responders and residents alike brace for the worst.

The 2024 wildfire season has begun, and its shaping up to follow last years unprecedented destruction with thousands of square kilometres already consumed.

Here are the latest updates from across the front line:

How many fires are currently burning?