Body of missing woman found in Saskatoon landfill, police say suspect dead
SASKATOON (CP) – Saskatoon police say they have found the remains of a missing woman in a city landfill and that a suspect in her death has since died.
Officers began searching the landfill in May for 22-year-old Mackenzie Lee Trottier, who was last seen in December 2020.
She said she was going to get a lift with a ride-booking service when she left her family’s home.
Paul Trottier told a news conference Tuesday that it has been a long and difficult time trying to find out what happened to his daughter. The 93 days of the landfill search were particularly tough, he said.
“Today we have our answers. Mackenzie is home,” he said.
Chief Cameron McBride said an autopsy could not determine the cause of Trottier’s death.
Police said earlier this year they had collected evidence from electronic devices that led them to the landfill.
They said Tuesday it was an internet search for details about a garbage pickup. A suspect in Trottier’s death was identified but the person died of a drug overdose in 2023.
They said Trottier and the suspect were known to each other.
Parts of Calgary airport closed due to damage from hail and heavy rainfall
CALGARY (CP) – Parts of the domestic terminal building at the Calgary airport are closed due to damage caused by hail and heavy rainfall.
The Calgary International Airport said in a post on social media the work has started to clean up the water and assess the damage.
However, parts of the domestic terminal will remain closed until further notice.
“For the safety of all guests and staff, B gates and some C gates are being evacuated due to water damage,” the airport said.
“No injuries have been reported.”
The airport said passengers should check with their airline for flight updates as delays to inbound and outbound flights were expected.
Environment Canada had issued a severe thunderstorm warning for parts of south-central Alberta late Monday night.
The weather agency had warned of powerful wind gusts, baseball-sized hail and torrential rain.
Conservatives demand government explain how terror suspects immigrated to Canada
OTTAWA (CP) – Conservative House Leader Andrew Scheer says Canadians have a right to know how a man with links to a foreign terror group evaded Canada’s screening process to immigrate to Canada and become a citizen.
Sixty-two-year-old Ahmed Fouad Mostafa Eldidi and his adult son, Mostafa Eldidi, were arrested in Richmond Hill, Ont. last week and face nine different terrorism charges, including conspiracy to commit murder on behalf of the terror group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
Most charges relate to activities allegedly occurring in Canada, but the elder Eldidi is also charged with one count of aggravated assault outside Canada.
In court last week both men denied the charges but neither have entered a formal plea.
Scheer says it is a “colossal failure” of national security that terror suspects with alleged ties to ISIS were allowed to come to Canada and allegedly begin plotting an attack here.
The government has said very little about the matter and Scheer says the government must not only explain what happened, they must also tell Canadians if anyone else was similarly able to evade national security checks when immigrating.
Trudeau meets officials, evacuees following Jasper wildfire
By: Aaron Sousa
HINTON, ALTA. (CP) – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Hinton, Alta., to get a briefing on the status of the Jasper wildfire, as well as meet with the province’s premier and evacuees who fled the blaze that destroyed a third of the town.
Trudeau toured the mobile incident command centre in Hinton on Monday, but was not expected to tour the town of Jasper itself. He was expected to meet with evacuees later in the afternoon.
Wearing a blue shirt with rolled up sleeves and blue jeans, Trudeau walked into the command centre, where he greeted Premier Danielle Smith and the province’s public safety minister, Mike Ellis.
He also shook hands with wildfire officials and military personnel and participated in a moment of silence to honour a firefighter who died over the weekend.
Trudeau did not speak with reporters while he was in Hinton.
Saskatchewan latest province to restrict cell phone use in school classrooms
REGINA (CP) – The Saskatchewan government says students won’t be allowed to use cellphones in class in the upcoming school year.
The move, announced Tuesday, applies to all kindergarten to Grade 12 classrooms.
Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said in a news release that too often phones are taking students’ attention away from what they should be learning.
“This new policy will allow students to be more engaged with their teachers and focused on learning the skills and knowledge they need to reach their potential,” he said.
Saskatchewan follows several other provinces — including Alberta, B.C., Quebec and Ontario — that have moved to restrict cellphones in schools.
Bernie Howe, chair of the Prairie Spirit Board of Education, said the change in Saskatchewan will allow staff to focus on teaching students.
“It is important to take steps like these that work to improve our students’ mental well-being and academic success,” he said in the release.
The province said there are to be some exemptions for instructional purposes for high school classes, as well as for students with medical or learning needs.
Ottawa considers changes to reduce number of temporary foreign workers in Canada
OTTAWA (CP) – Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault says the federal government is considering new regulations that could make fewer employers eligible to hire temporary foreign workers.
It’s part of a suite of changes the minister is announcing in an effort to reduce the number of temporary foreign workers in Canada.
He says he told a group of large business associations today that the program cannot be used to circumvent hiring Canadian workers.
Boissonnault told them the government is considering new ways to restrict eligibility for the program, including looking at how long a business has operated and whether it has a history of layoffs.
He warns there will also be more rigorous oversight in areas with a high risk for fraud, and says he is considering increasing fees associated with the program.
Watchdog to probe fatal police shooting of axe-wielding man in Trois-Rivières, Que.
TROIS-RIVIÈRES (CP) – Quebec’s police watchdog will probe the fatal police shooting of a man in Trois-Rivières, Que., who was allegedly wielding an axe Sunday night.
According to the watchdog, a 911 call came in just before 8 p.m. about a man acting erratically in the city, which is about halfway between Montreal and Quebec City.
When municipal police arrived at the scene about 10 minutes after the emergency call, the man was allegedly perched on a public monument, holding something that resembled an axe.
The watchdog, known as the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes, says officers tried unsuccessfully to talk to him, but the man spoke disjointedly and was unco-operative.
Police used pepper spray several times and then discharged an electric shock weapon to subdue the man without success.
More than an hour after the standoff began, the man moved toward the officers holding the axe and they opened fire, killing him, the watchdog says in a news release today.
