Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) says there are no reports of confirmed touchdowns after a severe thunderstorm prompted multiple tornado warnings across Saskatchewan on Monday.

The storm developed north of Regina and tracked east towards the Yorkton area, with tornado warnings issued throughout the afternoon and evening.

“No confirmed touchdowns, there were some storm chasers on it and none of them reported anything either, so we’re pretty certain of that,” Danielle Desjardins, a warning and preparedness meteorologist with ECCC said.

Desjardins said while not unheard of, May 12 is on the earlier side to see tornado warnings issued in Saskatchewan, but is considered tornado season.

“The tornado season peaks towards the end of June and early July, so it is a little on the early side but it’s not unheard of,” she said.

Snow in the forecast?

In classic Saskatchewan form, record breaking heat on Monday will give way to possible snow for southeastern portions of the province, including Regina on Friday and into the weekend.

Desjardins said they are currently tracking a “Colorado low” that is expected to arrive on Friday. The system is predicted to mainly impact Manitoba, but parts of southeastern Saskatchewan are on the storm’s western fringe, according to forecasts on Tuesday.

“It’s one of those situations where we could see rain switch over to snow overnight. It’s a Colorado low and a multi-day system but it’s mainly going to impact Manitoba,” Desjardins said.

Desjardins added that regarding snow in Regina, it is currently expected to be only flurries that will melt upon impact with the ground or by morning.

ECCC’s Tuesday forecast for Regina is currently calling for rain on Thursday and Friday and periods of snow Saturday with a high of 5 C.

The average daytime high for Regina this time of year is about 19 C, according to ECCC.

If you looked around a worksite considering what items may be a target for thieves, a multiple-ton pile of reclaimed asphalt might not register as a risk.

But the Saskatchewan RCMP says one group in west-central Saskatchewan gazed upon the rubble and saw opportunity.

In a news release on Tuesday, the RCMP said officers from the Rosetown detachment are on the hunt for people who stole several tons of reclaimed asphalt from a property near the hamlet of Stranraer.

Reclaimed asphalt has already been used as pavement but it gets smashed to smithereens and remixed to be used again, and several tons is enough to fill multiple large trucks, the RCMP says.

Police believe the theft from the worksite, located about 170 kilometres west of Saskatoon, happened sometime between April 28 and May 9.

The RCMP are asking any witnesses, or anyone in the area who saw suspicious activity in that timeframe, to come forward.

On Friday, the RCMP warned of a group potentially offering fraudulent paving services in the nearby community of Rosetown, but it’s not yet known if the two incidents are connected.

In that case, police say a group approached a Rosetown business offering paving services for below market price, if they completed the work immediately. Sensing the urgency as a red flag, the business turned down the offer, police say.

For now, the RCMP is asking landowners to check their property to see if any materials have been dumped or store there, and anyone with a security camera is being asked to check the footage.

Anyone with information can call police or Crime Stoppers, the RCMP says.

A new program launched by the province aims to create new incremental oil production and revenue from inactive and low-producing wells.

Known as the Low Productivity and Reactivation Oil Well Program (LPRP), the province says it will promote industry investment through a royalty structure for wells that are eligible for the program.

“There are inactive wells and old wells around this province. Lots of them and like I said, it just depends on the economics for those companies as to whether or not they want to reactivate,” said Minster of Energy and Resources Colleen Young.

The province made the announcement Tuesday, in front of a crowd at the University of Regina.

According to the province, in the final year of the four year program, it is projected that 30,000 barrels of oil per day will be added to current production, which would generate $21 million in royalty revenue for Saskatchewan.

“That’s more revenue for the province to be able to invest into schools, hospitals, health care facilities and roads and other. You know municipal revenue sharing comes out of that as well for our municipalities,” said Young.

Calgary based Saturn Oil & Gas Inc., is the first company taking part in the initiative.

“We wanted to create a win-win for the oil industry and the province. So by taking otherwise liabilities, which were inactive wells, by putting money into it and by turning them back on, it creates additional revenue for the province in terms of royalties,” Saturn Oil and Gas Inc. CEO John Jeffrey explained.

According to the province, the LPRP will contribute to the government’s goal of increasing oil production to 600,000 barrels per day.

Saturn Oil said a bulk of their work is expected to take place in southeast Saskatchewan with the interest of potentially expanding into the southwest.

Work has already been happening on an inactive well, according to Jeffrey.

“It’s producing over 100 barrels a day, which is twice what we’d hoped it come on at. You’re looking at re-completing an existing well, all your vertical pipe and everything, that’s in the ground. Your surface lease that’s tied in, that’s already built. You save all those funds from drilling a well next to it,” he added.

In 2024, the province says oil and gas production reached $13.5 billion in Saskatchewan, The sector employed more than 26,000 people.

Saskatchewan is the second-largest oil producer in Canada and sixth largest onshore oil producer in North America.

A Saskatchewan woman is calling for changes to private care home regulations after she says her grandpa froze to death outside his Saskatoon home.

Ashley Benson Bonneville said on the morning of Feb. 4 she received a call that her grandfather, 96-year-old William Hastie, had unexpectedly died.

Benson Bonneville said the coroner’s report shows Hastie’s cause of death was a heart attack caused by hypothermia.

“My grandpa paid money to live in a care home where he should have been taken care of. And instead of dying warm in his bed, he died frozen outside,” she told media during a visit to the Legislative Building.

According to the Government of Saskatchewan’s website, care homes are typically inspected annually.

Records show the Northern Lights Care Home, where Hastie was living, hadn’t been inspected for three and a half years.

The care home was last inspected in March, a month after Hastie died. Before that, it was inspected in July of 2021. The reported cited several health and safety violations related to sanitation of bathrooms, infection control, and how medication is administered.

NDP seniors critic Keith Jorgenson says they wrote a letter to the provincial government last July expressing concerns over the Northern Lights Care Home.

“The government has not been doing assessments of patients in personal care homes as required by law. This is an incredibly important step because that allows us to know that that facility is capable of caring for the people that reside in it,” Jorgenson told media.

During Question Period on Tuesday, Minister of Seniors Lori Carr said she hasn’t seen the letter because she wasn’t the minister at the time, but said she takes the concerns seriously.

Carr said the coroner’s office is investigating Hastie’s case and the ministry is awaiting the final report.

“We will continue to look into what happened and take action appropriate,” Carr said.

She said all care homes in the province currently have an up to date review.

Benson Bonneville said safety standards for private care homes need to be enforced to prevent this from happening again.

“Nothing can change what happened to my grandpa, but I really hope going forward that there could be changes made so no other family has to deal with this,” she said.

CTV News reached a staff member at Northern Lights Care Home over the phone, but the conversation was cut short. Requests for a follow-up conversation went unanswered.

The care home has previously told CTV News Hastie was out on a walk when he slipped on ice.

Warning: Some readers may find details in this story disturbing.

An Assiniboia, Sask. man accused of historical sex crimes involving children at daycares pleaded guilty to 10 charges in Moose Jaw provincial court on Monday.

According to court documents obtained by CTV News, Richard Dyke, 48, submitted a guilty plea to three counts of sexual interference, six counts of creating child pornography and one count of publishing an intimate image without consent.

The offences spanned over the course of two decades – with the first being recorded in 2005.

Due to the age of the victims and nature of the offences, a publication ban has been imposed by the court. As a result, details, such as how Dyke came into contact with his victims, have been withheld.

Dyke is scheduled to appear in Moose Jaw provincial court again on May 21 for sentencing.

Dyke was initially charged by Saskatchewan RCMP in November of 2023 and faced more than a dozen counts in connection to alleged child sexual abuse at a home daycare in Assiniboia. At that time, police identified the victims as three boys under the age of 12.

In May of 2024, RCMP laid 60 additional charges against Dyke. The alleged offences included historical sexual assaults, sexual interference, voyeurism and making child pornography.

Speaking to reporters at the time, RCMP Chief Superintendent Ted Munro revealed that investigators had analyzed 1.5 million pieces of digital evidence as part of the investigation.

“If you were to take that evidence that we located and spread it out, it would equate to a six-storey building,” he explained.

In total, RCMP have identified 32 victims between the ages of 18 months and 17 years.

In addition to a home-based daycare operating out of his residence – Dyke also “attended” daycares in Coronach, Swift Current and Assiniboia.

Additionally, the communities of Tisdale, Estevan, and Gravelbourg were all said to be affected, according to RCMP.

Dyke also served as an instructor with the Royal Canadian Air Cadets - where he primarily interacted with children.

However, no victims have been identified in relation to his role with the cadets, according to RCMP.

A Victoria-area high school teacher is facing multiple charges after allegedly having sexual relationships with students, police say.

Marnie Elizabeth Jolene Burnham was arrested by the Saanich Police Department’s special investigations unit on Feb. 15, 2024, when the then 36-year-old instructor was also teaching under the name Marnie Forin, the department said in a news release Tuesday.

Police began investigating after they received information that a female teacher in the Greater Victoria School District was engaging in sexual contact with students, according to the release.

“A criminal investigation was launched once a victim was identified,” police said. “During the initial investigation, additional alleged victims were identified, leading to a second separate investigation.”

Online court records show charges of sexual exploitation and telecommunication to lure a child under 18 were sworn against Burnham on April 19, 2024. Those offences allegedly occurred in Saanich on Jan. 1, 2023, according to the documents.

The second round of charges against the teacher were approved on March 28 of this year. They include two counts of sexual exploitation and one count of telecommunication to lure a child under 18. The records show those charges allegedly occurred in Saanich on June 9, 2023.

Deb Whitten, the superintendent of the Greater Victoria School District, issued a statement Tuesday calling the allegations against the former Oak Bay High School and Mount Doug Secondary School teacher “concerning.”

Whitten says the school district launched its own investigation and reported the matter to police as soon as administrators became aware of the allegations.

The district also notified the Ministry of Education and Child Care and the provincial Teacher Regulation Branch, according to the superintendent.

“Students known to have been involved have been contacted by the district and/or police services and advised of support services,” Whitten said, adding the teacher is on unpaid leave.

“The district will continue to fully co-operate with police as investigations continue.”

Burnham was released from police custody pending her next scheduled court appearance on May 26.

Conditions of her release include that she not contact anyone under 18, including her alleged victims, and not be on school property.

“We want to thank those who have come forward for their bravery,” the Saanich police said in the release. “Our investigators believe there may be more who have yet to do so.”

Anyone under 18 who had sexual contact with Burnham before December 2024 is asked to contact Saanich police investigators.

Warning: This article contains disturbing content.

A rock climber who fell hundreds of feet descending a steep gully in Washington’s North Cascades mountains survived the fall that killed his three companions, hiked to his car in the dark and then drove to a pay phone to call for help, authorities said Tuesday.

The surviving climber, Anton Tselykh, 38, extricated himself from a tangle of ropes, helmets and other equipment after the fall Saturday evening. Despite suffering internal bleeding and head trauma, Tselykh eventually, over at least a dozen hours, made the trek to the pay phone, Okanogan County Undersheriff Dave Yarnell said.

The climbers who were killed were Vishnu Irigireddy, 48, Tim Nguyen, 63, Oleksander Martynenko, 36, Okanogan County Coroner Dave Rodriguez said.

Authorities haven’t yet been able to interview the survivor, who is in a Seattle hospital, said Rodriguez, so much is still unknown of the fall and Tselykh’s journey.

Falls like this leading to three deaths are extremely rare, said Cristina Woodworth, who leads the sheriff’s search and rescue team. Seven years ago, two climbers were killed in a fall on El Capitan at Yosemite National Park in California.

The group of four were scaling the Early Winters Spires, jagged peaks split by a cleft that is popular with climbers in the North Cascade Range, about 160 miles (257 kilometres) northeast of Seattle. Tselykh was hospitalized in Seattle.

The group of four met with disaster that night when the anchor used to secure their ropes was torn from the rock while they were descending, Rodriguez said. The anchor they were using, a metal spike called a piton, appeared to have been placed there by past climbers, he said.

They plummeted for about 200 feet (60 metres) into a slanted gulch and then tumbled another 200 feet before coming to rest, Yarnell said. Authorities believe the group had been ascending but turned around when they saw a storm approaching.

A three-person search and rescue team reached the site of the fall Sunday, Woodworth said. The team used coordinates from a device the climbers had been carrying, which had been shared by a friend of the men.

Once they found the site, they called in a helicopter to remove the bodies one at a time because of the rough terrain, Woodworth said.

On Monday, responders poured over the recovered equipment trying to decipher what caused the fall, Woodworth said. They found a piton -- basically a small metal spike that is driven into rock cracks or ice and used as anchors by climbers -- that was still clipped into the climbers’ ropes.

“There’s no other reason it would be hooked onto the rope unless it pulled out of the rock,” said Rodriguez, the coroner, noting that pitons are typically stuck fast in the rock. Rodriguez added that when rappelling, all four men would not have be hanging from the one piton at the same time, but taking turns moving down the mountain.

Pitons are oftentimes left in walls. They can be there for years or even decades, and they may become less secure over time.

“It looked old and weathered, and the rest of their equipment looked newer, so we are making the assumption that it was an old piton,” Woodworth said.

Rock climbers secure themselves by ropes to anchors, such as pitons or other climbing equipment. The ropes are intended to arrest their fall if they should slip, and typically climbers use backup anchors, said Joshua Cole, a guide and co-owner of North Cascades Mountain Guides, who has been climbing in the area for about 20 years.

Generally, it would be unusual to rappel off a single piton, said Cole, adding that it is still unknown exactly what happened on the wall that night.

“We eventually, if possible, would like to get more information from surviving party,” Woodworth said.

The spires are a popular climbing spot. The route the climbers were taking, said Cole, was of moderate difficulty, and requires moving between ice, snow and rock.

But the conditions, the amount of ice versus rock for example, can change rapidly with the weather, he said, even week to week or day to day, changing the route’s risks.

While previously touting his pledge to make Canada an “energy superpower,” Prime Minister Mark Carney went further on Tuesday, explicitly saying he supports building a pipeline if the consensus exists for one.

“First off, I’ve said repeatedly: yes. First point,” Carney said in an exclusive interview with CTV News’ Chief Political Correspondent Vassy Kapelos on Tuesday, his first since becoming prime minister.

“Secondly, because I understand the need for that consensus. I’m a prime minister who can help create that consensus.”

Amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats, public and political support for new oil and gas pipelines has grown across the country, to reduce Canada‘s reliance on the United States.

While Carney committed in the Liberal platform to building Canada “into an energy superpower that combines our conventional energy resources with our unlimited potential when it comes to clean, affordable energy,” there was some mixed messaging during the federal election campaign about his support for pipelines.

When asked about energy projects and pipelines in an interview with Radio-Canada program Tout le Monde en parle back in April, Carney said in French, “We have to choose a few projects, a few big projects, not necessarily pipelines, but maybe pipelines. We’ll see.”

Pressed by Kapelos on his shifting stance on some environmental initiatives – such as the consumer carbon tax, which he eliminated as prime minister, despite previously endorsing the policy – Carney reiterated his support for a pipeline.

“If you want a simple answer on ‘Will I support building a pipeline?’ Yes. That simple answer. I’ve given that multiple times,” Carney said, while that a pipeline alone is “not enough to make Canada an energy superpower.”

“Just doing one pipe. It’s good. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good. That’s a positive thing and working collaboratively in order to happen. But it’s not enough,” he added.

Asked whether his push to make Canada an energy superpower means exporting more oil and gas, Carney said it’s “an element of it, but it’s not the element of it.”

“We need to do multiple things at the same time in order to build this base so that we are creating wealth and competitiveness, better lives for Canadians for generations,” he said.

“We’re going to be very ambitious across a range. That’s why we’re not asking for one nation building project. We’re asking for nation building projects, and we are going to move as rapidly as possible on as many of them as possible.”

Carney open to changing divisive C-69, emissions cap

In the past, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe have expressed concerns about some Liberal environmental policies that they called divisive and say inhibit their provinces’ economic success.

Those policies include the emissions cap on the oil and gas sector, and Bill C-69, the 2019 law which changes the environmental review process for designated energy projects to weigh environmental and social issues when approving or rejecting a project.

During the election campaign, Carney said he planned to keep both contentious Trudeau-era policies. But when speaking to Kapelos on Tuesday, Carney described recent conversations he’s had with both Premier Moe and Premier Smith as “constructive.”

“We will change things at the federal level that need to be changed in order for projects to move forward,” he said.

When asked by Kapelos whether those changes could include Bill C-69 and the emissions cap, Carney directly said “absolutely, could include both.”

“I’m not going to do it conceptually. I’m going to do it on specifics. Do it for moving forward,” he added.

Following Carney’s federal election win, Smith made a public appeal for a “reset” in the relationship between Alberta and Ottawa, while also calling her first conversation with Carney as prime minister a “positive first step.”

Carney is set to meet with premiers at a first ministers meeting in Saskatchewan on June 2.

🎉 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.

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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:

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