The fluoridation of the City of Regina’s water supply has been delayed until next year.

Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Plant CEO Ryan Johnson told CTV News that over 95 per cent of the major work on the plant’s renewal project has been completed.

What remains he says is some small commissioning work along with some deficiency work that’s being done by the project’s general contractor.

“There is a bunch of civil work that they’re still working on, and that should be wrapped up by this time next year. But for all intents and purposes, the most important work is basically done. Now they’re just cleaning things up for sure,” said Johnson.

“They still have to knock a building down and complete the administration lab, maintenance shop work, and then they have to move the control room over. The work is basically done with exemptions from civil work. So, from that perspective, it’s actually really, really good news. But there is still the general contractor on site for sure.”

Johnson said the work to implement fluoride into the water system was originally scheduled for the midway point of 2025.

That was when the general contractor involved with the plant’s renewal project was scheduled to be off site, and then the new contractor responsible for the fluoridation would come in.

But things did not go to plan, according to Johnson.

An error on the part of the current general contractor has seen the work backed up, causing delays with fluoride implementation.

“What has happened is in their construction, there is a piece of work they had to do in what we call a chemical building, and that’s where a lot of our chlorine is kept in other chemicals,” said Johnson.

“When we tendered out the work for the design work for the flooring system, at the time, all indications were that things would be built as just as it was designed. Unfortunately, after they were done the design work, I guess they found that the chemical building and some of the placement of equipment and how they ran pipes and electrical works were not as designed, which created a bunch of re-work.”

Johnson anticipates that the contractor who wins the bid for the fluoridation project will begin their work this summer.

“They can’t do a lot of the work until the equipment starts arriving. So when equipment arrives, by the time everything’s installed, we’re anticipating that we should be producing fluoridated water for the City of Regina sometime in the summer of 2027.”

Two people from Melville are dead following a serious crash near Balgonie over the weekend.

At around 8:15 a.m. on Saturday, March 7, a crash on the eastbound lanes of Highway 1 near McLean and Balgonie was reported to police.

Members of the White Butte RCMP Detachment responded to the scene alongside paramedics and firefighters.

RCMP discovered a pick-up truck and a car had collided. Both passengers of the car were declared dead at the scene by EMS. They were identified as a 39-year-old woman and a 44-year-old man from Melville. Their families have been notified.

The driver of the truck was taken to hospital by STARS with injuries described as “non-life threatening.” The passenger of the truck was taken to hospital with injuries also described as non-life threatening.

According to RCMP, its initial investigation found that the car was travelling westbound in the eastbound lanes of Highway 1.

“This and other potential factors in the collision will be confirmed as part of the ongoing investigation by White Butte RCMP and a Saskatchewan RCMP collision reconstructionist,” the service noted.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe spoke to reporters for the first time since returning from a trade mission to India, calling it an “important milestone” for the province’s relationship with the world’s most populous nation.

“This mission made significant headway for Saskatchewan and several Indian organizations, post-secondary institutions, and government programs, all of which will bring more opportunities for both jurisdictions,” the premier noted.

“India is an important partner for this province, and this mission, with the help of our trade and investment office in India, has helped us grow this relationship for the benefit of all those who live and work in Saskatchewan.”

The highlight of the trip was the signing of a nine-year, $2.6-billion uranium agreement between Cameco and India’s Department of Atomic Energy.

The province also signed several memorandums of understanding covering areas such as uranium, carbon capture and storage, post-secondary education and the development of joint agri-food technologies.

They specifically include:

• PTRC and the IIT Bombay National Centre of Excellence in CCUS on a partnership for CCUS research and collaboration.
• The Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) and Midwest Energy Private Limited collaboration on nuclear microreactor technologies.
• SRC and Nonferrous Materials Technologies Development Centre on collaboration in rare earth processing technologies.
• University of Saskatchewan and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics joint work on research collaboration.
• University of Saskatchewan and the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management - Kundli collaboration on agri-food technology and innovations.
• University of Saskatchewan and the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management - Thanjavur collaboration on agri-food technology and innovations.
• Saskatchewan Polytechnic, Cambridge International School, Atria University, and Axia International collaboration for post-secondary education.

The trade mission ran from Feb. 28 to March 6.

Key tariffs keep stranglehold on crops

Despite the mission being seen as a success, one key area remained untouched as the trip came to a close.

Indian tariffs on key Saskatchewan crops like peas and lentils continue to be in place.

“Our ask was obviously to remove them,” the premier said. “There is some domestic challenges India has with that, so they won’t be removed immediately.”

India has a 30 per cent levy on Canadian peas and 10 per cent on lentils.

Moe is hopeful the removal of the tariffs will be a part of a broader national deal between Ottawa and New Delhi expected later this year. However, that’s too late for Opposition Leader Carla Beck.

“This is having a huge impact for people in this province,” she told reporters Monday. “This is going to have a huge impact on the bottom line of some producers who are already going into this year with a lot of worry.”

“The fall is too late. I’d like to see it sooner. Perhaps the premier and the prime minister can get together and hit it with with more urgency.”

Even with the delay, the premier says removing the tariffs remains a high priority.

“Our hope we get [India], first of all, to have them removed in the near term in the next number of months. Second of all, is to have some certainty moving forward,” Moe reiterated.

A 44-year-old man is facing multiple charges after assaulting a police officer during a weekend traffic stop.

Around 2:40 p.m. on March 7, an officer spotted an unregistered vehicle in the area of Park Street and 10th Avenue. A short time later, the officer stopped the vehicle on the 600 block of 6th Avenue East.

Police say the driver refused repeated requests to identify himself.

The man was outside the vehicle when the officer told him he was under arrest.

According to police, the suspect then punched the officer twice, leading to a brief struggle. The officer attempted to deploy a conducted energy weapon, but it was ineffective.

The suspect was eventually taken into custody.

The 44-year-old is charged with assaulting a peace officer, obstructing a peace officer, and assault with intent to resist arrest.

He made his first appearance on these charges in Regina Provincial Court Monday morning.

Saskatchewan’s police watchdog has completed its investigation into the death of a man on Fishing Lake First Nation in late 2024.

The Saskatchewan Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) released its final report Monday, concluding that no offences were committed by the officers involved.

The 34-year-old man, referred to as the “affected person” in the report, died on Sept. 24, 2024, after fleeing a traffic stop in a stolen van and leading officers on a 38-minute, 67-kilometre chase through the community.

During the pursuit, a dangerous-person alert was issued for the First Nation, located 120 kilometres northwest of Yorkton, after the Saskatchewan RCMP learned the affected person was armed.

Information released by RCMP at the time indicated the affected person was wanted on 20 charges related to a series of armed robberies across east-central Saskatchewan, including the theft of several firearms.

Officers had been in the community that day to arrest him on outstanding warrants.

SIRT’s report states the affected person died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The event

On the day of the incident, RCMP received information that the affected person was on Fishing Lake First Nation. At 1 p.m., officers visited a home in the community and spotted a white van nearby, believed to be driven by the affected person.

Officers attempted to stop the van, but the driver sped away. At 1:05 p.m., they reported they were in a pursuit.

At 1:15 p.m., RCMP received a 911 call reporting the affected person had stolen a 15-passenger van belonging to the local school and that he was believed to be armed.

Over the next 38 minutes, the van led police on a chase through Fishing Lake Cree Nation at speeds between 100 km/h and 140 km/h. Officers were authorized to use spike strips, but the only opportunity to deploy them was unsuccessful as the suspect maneuvered around the device.

At 1:41 p.m., a police vehicle from the RCMP Emergency Response Team (ERT) caught up to the van.

According to the report, the ERT officer discovered the affected person had parked across the road, blocking it, and was attempting to raise a shotgun from the driver’s side window. The officer drew their pistol and fired several shots through the vehicle’s windshield, hitting the affected person in the left arm.

The officer radioed “shots away,” though subsequent radio messages varied between “shots away” and “shots fired,” causing confusion about whether the affected person had fired at officers.

After the first shooting, the van circled a nearby home and continued toward police. By 1:42 p.m., a second police vehicle carrying two more ERT officers arrived.

One officer fired multiple shots from a service carbine, hitting the van but missing the affected person.

The van continued through the field and down a rough ATV trail, leading to another residential area of the First Nation. As the van approached the area, it veered to the right and slowed down.

It’s at this point, the affected person died as the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to the report.

Officers, who were maintaining their distance due to the firearm, reached the van at around 1:43 p.m. The lead RCMP vehicle hit the van’s rear bummer and dragged it to a stop. Believing the suspect was still armed, officers surrounded the vehicle and ordered him out.

When there was no response, a drone was deployed, followed by officers with ballistic shields and a police dog.

At 1:57 p.m., RCMP removed the affected person from the van, discovering a 20-gauge pump-action shotgun underneath him.

Paramedics arrived on the scene shortly after 2 p.m., and the affected person was pronounced dead at 2:20 p.m.

Verdict

According to the report, the witness told police that shortly before the incident, the affected person had made comments about “ending his own life.”

The autopsy confirmed that the affected person died from a self-inflicted single shotgun wound to the head. SIRT found in their evaluation, that the shots fired by officers did not cause or contribute to his death. However, the use of force was investigated all the same.

SIRT found that officers acted reasonably, given that the affected person had stolen firearms and was confirmed to be armed during the pursuit.

Referencing the first incident, SIRT determined the affected person pointing a shotgun at an officer met the criteria for use of force under Section 25 of the Criminal Code.

“The act of the affected person raising a firearm towards the first subject officer, regardless of the affected person’s intentions, created a reasonably perceived risk of death or grievous bodily harm on the part of the subject officer, who was lawfully entitled to take action responsive to that danger,” the report read.

The second incident, which saw an officer fire on the van but not strike the affected person, was slightly affected by the miscommunication over whether the suspect had fired at police – but ultimately was justified.

“During that encounter, the second subject officer acted in response both to the risk presented by the affected person raising the firearm towards the first subject officer, and the reasonably-apprehended future risk both to police and the community should the affected person have been able to continue the incident, particularly in light of the (now known to be) misapprehension that the affected person had fired at the first subject officer,” the report read.

SIRT concluded there were “no reasonable grounds to believe that an offence was committed by any police officer during the incident.”

“As a result of the application of the facts established by the evidence to the standard established by law, no charges will be laid,” the report concluded.

Police in multiple B.C. jurisdictions are reporting concerning increases in the number of counterfeit bills being reported.

The North Vancouver RCMP is one of several departments that responded by sending out a warning to the public.

“We’ve noticed since the first of January 2026 we’ve had an uptick in reports of counterfeit fifties and hundred-dollar bills. We’ve had 11 reports to date,” says Const. Paul Reece of the North Vancouver RCMP.

In a recent release, Nanaimo RCMP say they have 17 reports of counterfeit currency being passed at businesses in the past two months.

In a similar situation, Sgt. Andrew Leaver says the New Westminster Police Department has seen 10 reports of counterfeit currency, up from two in the same period last year.

“Knowing that there’s counterfeit currency out there and that the numbers are increasing is very concerning,” says Leaver.

The fake bills are predominantly $50 and $100 denominations, and Leaver says most of them are being found at businesses that are used to handling cash.

“These reports have come to us from the casino, grocery stores, jewelry stores, and banks,” he said.

“We encourage businesses or anyone that’s dealing in cash to be vigilant, to know the immediate signs to look for when you’re handling cash and checking to see if currency is counterfeit or not.”

Canada has seen a massive spike in the number of counterfeit bank notes in recent years. According to a report from the RCMP, almost 47,000 counterfeit bills were seized in 2024. In 2025 that number tripled to just over 143,000.

The provisional statistics show 751 counterfeit Canadian bank notes were seized in B.C. in 2024. That number skyrockets in 2025, to more than 27,000 captured in the province.

The amount of bills that were passed in transactions in the province nearly doubled as well. There were 2,061 in 2024, and 3,955 in 2025.

The Bank of Canada’s website shows what to look for to help identify fake bills, and police are encouraging anyone handling cash to make sure they’re familiar with the security features.

If someone does find themself in possession of a fake bill, the best option is to turn it over to police, or a financial institution. Knowingly passing a counterfeit bank note is a criminal offence, authorities warn.

“Given the numbers that we’re seeing being on the rise, there are likely people out there that are in possession of counterfeit money that they obtained legitimately,” Leaver says.

“They just don’t know what to do with it, so we encourage them to report it to us.”

U.S. President Donald Trump had a call Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the war in Iran and other issues, which according to the Kremlin was a “frank and businesslike” conversation that lasted about an hour.

Heavy U.S. and Israeli bombardment of Iran has been going on for more than a week, while Iran has launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf countries. Israel is striking Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, while the militant group fires rockets into Israel.

Iranian state TV announced early Monday that Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei was named supreme leader, in defiance of threats by Trump. Khamenei is seen as even more hard-line than his father, the supreme leader killed on the first day of the war. He will now be in charge of Iran’s armed forces and any decision about Tehran’s nuclear program.

U.S. stocks closed higher following a remarkable reversal as oil prices fell from nearly US$120 per barrel below $90.

A 26-year-old Army staff sergeant from Kentucky was identified as the seventh U.S. service member killed during the Iran war, after being wounded on a base in Saudi Arabia on March 1. The first six deaths were Army reservists killed the same day at a Kuwaiti port.

New footage has raised the likelihood that the U.S. military struck an Iranian elementary school where a blast killed at least 165 people, mostly children.

OpenAI’s artificial intelligence chatbot acted as the “collaborator, trusted confidant, friend and ally” of the shooter in the Tumbler Ridge, B.C., mass killings, according to a lawsuit by the mother of a girl critically wounded in the attack.

Cia Edmonds, whose 12-year-old daughter Maya Gebala was shot three times, launched the civil court lawsuit on Monday against the American firm, saying its ChatGPT bot provided “information, guidance and assistance” to carry out such an attack.

Edmonds alleges that OpenAI had “specific knowledge of the shooter utilizing ChatGPT to plan a mass casualty event like the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting.” 

OpenAI came forward to police after 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar killed eight people and then herself on Feb. 10. The firm said the killer’s ChatGPT account had been shut down last June, but added that she got around the ban by having a second account. 

Van Rootselaar killed her mother and 11-year-old half-brother in their home in the community, then went to Tumbler Ridge Secondary School, where she killed five students and a teacher’s aide, and wounded Maya and another student, then shot herself. 

The lawsuit says “approximately 12 employees” of OpenAI identified the posts as “indicating an imminent risk of serious harm to others” and recommended that police be called.

It says the concerns were “escalated to leadership” but “rebuffed.”

“Instead, the only step the OpenAI defendants took in response to the gun violence ChatGPT posts was to ban the shooter’s first OpenAI account,” it says.

Some of the lawsuit’s claims closely match an account published by the Wall Street Journal last month.

None of the allegations have been proven in court and OpenAI hasn’t yet responded to the claims made in the lawsuit. 

No one from OpenAI immediately responded to a request for comment on the allegations on Monday. 

The legal action says the company knew ChatGPT had the ability to provide “detailed, actionable information” on subjects like how to conduct a mass casualty event. 

It says the company took no steps to avoid providing ChatGPT with dangerous information and had no safeguards in place to prevent users from obtaining the information.

“Possessing vast amounts of harmful information and the technical ability to distil it, ChatGPT equipped the shooter with information, guidance and assistance to plan a mass casualty event,” like that in Tumbler Ridge, the lawsuit says.

It provided Van Rootselaar with information about various methods of carrying out a mass casualty event, including “the type of weapons to be used, and describing the precedents for other mass casualty events or historical acts of violence,” the lawsuit says. 

OpenAI had a duty to warn in circumstances where ChatGPT “fostered” a close relationship with the killer and “assumed the role of mental health counsellor and pseudo-therapist,” the lawsuit says.

The company should have known that the shooter was using the chatbot to conduct long-range planning of a mass casualty event and that she posed a clear and imminent risk of death.

“OpenAI’s lack of safeguards, proactive mechanisms to protect the public, and creation of the very situation that led to the Tumblr Ridge mass shooting is a misfeasance, lending itself to imposing a duty of care.”

Premier David Eby met virtually last week with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

The premier said Altman agreed to apologize to the community of Tumbler Ridge. An apology has not yet been issued.

The lawsuit says that as a result of the company’s conduct, Maya was fired upon three times at close range, with one bullet hitting her head, another her neck and the third grazing her cheek. 

It says she has a catastrophic brain injury that will leave her with permanent cognitive and physical disabilities.

Maya and her sister Dahlia are also plaintiffs in the lawsuit, with Edmonds acting on their behalf.

Edmonds said in a Facebook post last Friday that Maya’s breathing tube had been removed and she was breathing on her own.

Edmonds said the removal was a “terrifying experience.”

“I held her hand while she winced, but she’s doing great,” Edmonds wrote.

“Almost a month has gone by. Still none of this feels real,” Edmonds added on Saturday. “I feel like I will wake up and it will all be over.”

EVO Radio Network – Scheduled Maintenance Notice

EVO Radio will be conducting a network-wide server migration and infrastructure update beginning Saturday, January 17, 2026 at 3:00 AM, with work expected to be completed by Sunday, January 18, 2026 at 8:00 PM.

During this maintenance window, the following services may be temporarily offline or intermittently inaccessible at various points:

Websites

• https://z1035.evoradio.ca/

• https://979thecowboy.evoradio.ca/

• https://101therockhound.evoradio.ca/

• https://887thegoat.evoradio.ca/

• https://advertiseraccess.evoradio.ca/

• https://vipclub.evoradio.ca/

• https://evomcorp.com/

• https://djspinderella.evomcorp.com/

Live Broadcasting

• Z103.5

• 979 The Cowboy

• 101 The Rockhound

• Classic 88.7 The Goat

Stream Relay Network

• All Stream Relay services will be unavailable during the migration.

Because this update involves server transfers, database installations, and name server changes, exact downtime periods cannot be guaranteed. Individual service interruptions may vary, with some components taking up to several hours to complete.

Our support and technical teams will work to keep all stations and websites online for as long as possible and will restore services immediately as each system becomes available. Broadcast services and station websites will be prioritized, followed by additional network services.

We appreciate your patience and understanding as we complete these upgrades, which are designed to improve performance, reliability, and long-term stability across the EVO Radio Network.

Thank you for your continued support,
EVO Radio Network

🎉 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/

🌐 Websites:

• EVO Radio Advertiser Access – https://advertiseraccess.evoradio.ca/
• EVO Media Corporation – https://evomcorp.com/
• DJ Spinderella – https://djspinderella.evomcorp.com/

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While everything is running smoothly on our end, we’re here to help if you encounter any issues. If you’re having trouble with our broadcasts or websites, please report the issue to us immediately so we can address it.

📧 Contact Us:

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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