Residents of a Kelowna neighbourhood are concerned that somebody will get hurt if further safety measures aren’t put in place near a busy crosswalk adjacent to an elementary school.

“It’s just very scary to hear the screeches,” Curtis Bennett, a longtime area resident on Hollywood Road, said in reference to the sound of brakes being slammed on what he assumes are close calls on the crosswalk on Hollywood Road North.

The busy thoroughfare sits between Leathead and McCurdy Roads, two very busy connectors in the city. Drivers often use it to cut over to either street.

The street is also close to Pearson Elementary.

There is a sign marking yield for motorists near the crosswalk, but Bennett and others said that’s not enough.

Bennett, and others, want the city to acknowledge that the road has become busier and, in turn, there need to be flashing lights put in place so motorists get more time to stop when someone is in the crosswalk.

“So you’ve got families, you’ve got (children) every day walking by, all kinds of traffic. It’s a very, very, very busy crosswalk,” resident Jessie Basran said.

Basran said he’s tried to tell the police and city councillors about what’s happening because if he doesn’t, he worries a child could be gravely injured otherwise.

Within a short period of time, Global News did witness people blowing through the crosswalk as pedestrians tried to cross.

The city was reached for contact but has yet to comment.

Both Bennett and Basran plan to get through to the city themselves.

“I will do what I have to do to save somebody’s life. Period,” Bennett said.

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

No one was hurt Thursday morning when a shot was fired at a house near the Fisher River Cree Nation school, Manitoba RCMP say.

Police continue to investigate the incident. They believe four suspects drove up to the residents around 4:30 a.m., when one man got out and fired the shot before getting back in the car and driving away.

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• Dauphin RCMP seek two after report of assault, shots fired at car

Although there were people in the house at the time of the incident, including children, no one was hurt. When police discovered a bullet hole on the exterior of the house, a nearby school was placed in lockdown and later closed for the day by staff.

Anyone with information that can help identify the suspects and vehicle captured on video surveillance is asked to contact Fisher Branch RCMP at 204-372-6329.

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The Alberta government has signed an agreement with a First Nations group to return an ancient meteorite to its original location.

Manitou Asiniy, also known as the Creator’s Stone or Manitou Stone, is a 145-kilogram iron meteorite that landed in the Iron Creek area, close to the Alberta-Saskatchewan boundary, billions of years ago.

Read more:

Royal Alberta Museum returns artifacts to First Nation

The stone held spiritual significance to Indigenous people across the Prairies and was thought to protect buffalo herds.

It was moved to Toronto in the late 1800s and later went to the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton.

Read more:

‘Ongoing care’: How to mark 2nd official Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Consultations between the museum and Indigenous groups about the fate of the stone started in 2002.

Elder Leonard Bastien says the return of the stone is important to reawakening a sense of peace, prosperity, hope and healing for all people.

© 2022 The Canadian Press

British Columbia’s First Nations say they’re deeply concerned that B.C. hasn’t made Sept. 30 a statutory provincial holiday.

On Friday, the First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) issued a statement regarding National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.

Specifically, it said that B.C. “has so far failed to designate September 30th a statutory holiday marking the profound horrors of residential schools, and the enduring needs for healing and honour of survivors, commemoration and widespread public education.”

Read more:

Truth and reconciliation an ‘ongoing process,’ Indigenous voices say

The statement continued, saying, “the ongoing recoveries of missing and unidentified graves at former residential school sites have brought to public attention the immense trauma, violence, and abuse perpetrated against Indigenous children, as well as deep-rooted systemic racism across Canadian institutions and public sectors.”

National Day of Truth and Reconciliation is a federal statutory holiday — first declared in 2021, and also known as Orange Shirt Day — with B.C.’s government saying it only applies to federally regulated workplaces.

According to the federal government, “the day honours the children who never returned home and survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.”

However, in B.C., Sept. 30 is mixed, with some people getting the day off while others don’t.

The government says public-sector employers should follow the same process as last year, though ultimately, “it will be at the discretion of other workplaces how to recognize the day. Some collective agreements, including provincially regulated employees, may already recognize the federal holiday as a paid day.”

The province also says it’s engaging various groups on how Sept. 30 should be observed each year in B.C., adding the earliest it could be named a holiday would be 2023.

Potentially marking it a holiday one year from now isn’t good enough, says the FNLC.

“B.C.’s immediate response to the passing of the Queen was a prompt provincial memorial holiday, despite her being the head of the colonial institution that spearheaded and perpetuated the continued oppression, subjugation, forced assimilation and genocide of Indigenous people in these lands,” said Stewart Philip, Grand Chief of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs.

“The fact that B.C. has not afforded Indigenous people the same dignity and time for reflection and healing on September 30th is unconscionable.

“One day a year for truth and reconciliation is a bare minimum for the thousands of lives that were lost or have been impacted by residential and day schools, and the continued delay and denial for survivors’ healing demonstrates the lasting inequity and blatant racism in this province.”

“The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is an important opportunity for all Canadians to remember and recognize this horrific time in our history,” added Cheryl Casimer of the First Nations Summit.

“The B.C. government should elevate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation from observance to a statutory holiday as an important commitment to continuing to walk down a path toward reconciliation.”

B.C. Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief Terry Teegee said it’s been nearly three years since the province adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a shared framework for reconciliation.

“However, the province’s continued failure to designate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a statutory holiday is a grave impediment to this progress,” said Teegee.

“September 30th is a day to honour residential school survivors, their families, and their communities. As First Nations, we have been grieving and processing the history and ongoing legacy of Canada’s horrific residential school system for many generations.

“One day out of the year dedicated to honouring survivors and sitting with their stories is not too much to ask. If the province of British Columbia is genuinely committed to reconciliation, they must prioritize public commemoration of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a vital part of our society’s reconciliation process.”

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Police are investigating after a collision in Toronto.

In a tweet Friday, Toronto police said the collision occurred in the Warwood Road and Burnhamthorpe Road area around 1:30 p.m.

Police said officers received reports that a motorcycle was involved in the collision.

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It was not immediately clear if anyone was injured.

Officers said it “appears all involved remained at the scene.”

Police asked motorists to “consider alternate routes.”

COLLISION: Warwood Rd & Burnhamthorpe Rd
-reports of a motorcyle involved
– no information on injuries
-consider alternate route
-appears all involved remained at the scene
call time: 1:32 p.m.#GO1903424
^mf

— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) September 30, 2022

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) Leader Francois Legault is defending his government’s decision to award millions of dollars worth of consulting contracts during the COVID-19 pandemic to a major American consulting firm.

Legault says McKinsey & Company helped advise his cabinet on best practices from around the world on managing COVID-19.

A Radio-Canada investigation published on Friday reveals the company billed the Quebec government $6.6 million — or $35,000 a day — for advice on issues like COVID-19 vaccination and strategic communications.

READ MORE: Quebec’s ‘completely post COVID’ election campaign has few mentions of deaths, emergency powers

Legault’s four main opponents are denouncing the lack of transparency regarding the role that McKinsey & Company played during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Conservatives, Liberals, and Quebec solidaire say the Radio-Canada report is another reason to hold an independent public inquiry into the CAQ’s management of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the PQ has suspended one of its candidates, Pierre Vanier, who made anti-Muslim comments on social media.

 

© 2022 The Canadian Press

Events featuring Indigenous traditions are being held across Ontario as communities mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

In Toronto, a gathering at the city’s downtown Nathan Phillips Square began with a sunrise ceremony followed by Indigenous musical performances and speakers who addressed the crowd.

A sunrise ceremony was also held in Niagara Falls, Ont., where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was among those who participated – he later spoke with residential school survivors and gave a speech at an event marking the day.

Read more:

Truth and reconciliation an ‘ongoing process,’ Indigenous voices say

Later today, Premier Doug Ford is set to attend the unveiling of a garden at Queen’s Park that the province says is meant to recognize the continuing treaty relationship between the Crown and Indigenous Peoples.

Ford wrote in a statement that Ontarians will take the time today to learn and reflect on the dark legacy of the residential school system and its effects on Indigenous communities.

The federal statutory holiday, also called Orange Shirt Day, was established last year to remember children who died while being forced to attend residential schools, those who survived, and the families and communities still affected by lasting trauma.

© 2022 The Canadian Press

A 38-year-old cyclist has been pronounced dead after a collision with a motor vehicle Thursday.

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On Sept. 29 around 5:12 p.m., members of the Regina Police Service responded to a traffic incident involving a vehicle and a cyclist at the intersection of Heseltine Road and Heseltine Gate.

The female cyclist was critically injured as a result of the accident and was pronounced deceased later in the evening at the hospital.

No charges, criminal or Traffic Safety Act have been laid in conjunction with this incident at this time.

The investigation is ongoing and anyone who has information to assist police is asked to contact the Regina Police Service at 306-777-6500 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPPS).

© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Equifax Inc. says new business openings in the second quarter of 2022 were down almost 50 per cent compared to a year ago.

New business openings were also down by almost 49 per cent compared to the same quarter in 2019.

Jeff Brown, Equifax’s head of commercial solutions, says normally around 100,000 businesses open in the second quarter of each year.

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Brown sees the significant drop in new openings as a sign of the potential impending recession.

He says small businesses, which make up the bulk of new openings, are struggling with inflation, decreased consumer spending, increased debt from pandemic loans, and supply chain problems.

The credit reporting agency says debt levels, delinquencies and bankruptcies are creeping back up toward pre-pandemic levels as stresses on businesses rise.

© 2022 The Canadian Press

Suspected Chinese hackers tampered with widely used software distributed by a small Canadian customer service company, another example of a “supply chain compromise” made infamous by the hack on U.S. networking company SolarWinds.

U.S. cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said in a blog post that it had discovered malicious software being distributed by Vancouver-based Comm100, which provides customer service products, such as chat bots and social media management tools, to a range of clients around the globe.

The scope and scale of the hack wasn’t immediately clear. In a message, Comm100 said it had fixed its software earlier Thursday and that more details would soon be forthcoming. The company did not immediately respond to follow-up requests for information.

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CrowdStrike researchers believe the malicious software was in circulation for a couple of days but wouldn’t say how many companies had been affected, divulging only that “entities across a range of industries” were hit. A person familiar with the matter said that there were a dozen known victims, although the true figure could be much higher.

Comm100 on its website said it had more than 15,000 customers in some 80 countries.

CrowdStrike executive Adam Meyers said in a telephone interview that the hackers involved were suspected to be Chinese, citing the hackers’ patterns of behavior, language in the code, and the fact that one of the hack’s victims had repeatedly been targeted by Chinese hackers in the past.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately return messages seeking comment. Beijing regularly denies such allegations.

Supply chain compromises – which work by tampering with a widely used piece of software in order to hack its users downstream – have been of increasing concern since alleged Russian hackers broke into Texas IT management firm SolarWinds Corp and used it as a springboard to hack U.S. government agencies and a host of private firms.

Meyers – whose firm was among those that responded to the SolarWinds hack – said the Comm100 find was a reminder that other nations used the same techniques.

“China is engaging in supply chain attacks,” he said.

© 2022 Reuters