Construction of a cancer lodge in Saskatoon is underway, with shovels in the ground and government funding secured.

Ottawa and the Saskatchewan government are contributing approximately $7 million each to the construction of the new lodge as part of the Build Communities Strong Fund, said federal Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson.

He touted the federal-provincial agreement as being “the first of its kind,” while speaking with reporters in Saskatoon on Friday.

“The federal government has never historically contributed to health infrastructure. It’s been solely a provincial responsibility, but given the times, and given the importance of this infrastructure, the Government of Canada is now at the table as a partner,” he continued.

“Health infrastructure is about more than just the buildings. It is about ensuring that patients and their families can access the care and the services they need, when they need them the most.”

The Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan will also spend $10 million on the construction of the new facility. A contract for that work has been awarded and site preparations have started at the future location of the lodge at 1036 College Drive in Saskatoon, provincial Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill said.

It will replace the now-demolished lodge that was built in 1928.

Cancer lodges house patients who are undergoing treatment at nearby health-care facilities, along with their loved ones. In the case of the Saskatoon site, those clinics are located at the nearby Royal University Hospital and Saskatoon Cancer Centre.

Thirty-three private patient rooms, including three suites dedicated for stem cell transplant recipients and 14 spaces for the loved ones of patients will be available at the cancer lodge, according to Saskatchewan’s health minister.

The facility will also have a kitchen, lounge areas, common spaces, a reflection room and an exercise room with light equipment.

“Those receiving care at the cancer clinic here in Saskatoon, they may not all live in Saskatoon. They may not all live in Warman or Martensville or a community nearby. And they may be coming from the north, they may be coming from rural communities to receive care here. And so, while they’re receiving care, this will be their home,” Cockrill continued.

Construction is expected to be completed in the spring of 2028. While construction work is ongoing, temporary lodge services will be made available, the province said in a news release.

The federal infrastructure minister said the funds for this project are part of a larger agreement between Ottawa and the Saskatchewan government, which will see it receive $195 million over the next three years. Robertson said the money is being provided to the province to modernize facilities and ensure they can provide reliable care.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he understands separatist disillusionment with the state of affairs in Canada but that quitting isn’t the answer.

Poilievre says quitting is the easy way out and Albertans are not quitters.

He says the solution is to restore the greatness of a country that has been defended and built up through generations.

Poilievre made the comments Friday in a speech in Calgary, three days head of the Alberta referendum in which Albertans will weigh in on independence.

He and Prime Minister Mark Carney are in the province making last-ditch appeals to Albertans to vote to stay in Canada.

Albertans go to the polls Monday to decide whether the province should remain in Canada or hold a second, binding referendum on leaving Confederation.

That is one of 10 questions; the other nine have to do with immigration and the Canadian Constitution.

— More to come…

© 2026 The Canadian Press

A Burnaby man who pleaded guilty to the online sextortion of multiple teenage victims across Canada was sentenced to just under three and a half years in jail on Oct. 14, his 22nd birthday.

In acceding to a joint sentencing submission from Crown and defence counsel, B.C. provincial court judge Jennifer Oulton said the online communications Anwer Jelassi had with the teen girls he demanded money from after obtaining sexually explicit photos of them were “insulting, demeaning and hostile.”

Jelassi pleaded guilty last December to extorting eight victims between Oct. 14 and Nov. 8, 2022, extorting a ninth victim from Dec. 22 to 25, 2023, secretly recording sexual activity(voyeurism) on Dec. 22, 2023, distributing child pornography from Oct. 17 to 30, 2022, and publishing intimate images without consent from Oct. 14, 2022 to Jan. 23, 2023.

Jelassi also admitted to breaching an undertaking on Dec. 22, 2023 by using a device to communicate with someone under 18 contrary to his release conditions.

At a sentencing hearing Weds. in Vancouver provincial court, Crown prosecutor Margaret Mackie said Jelassi was 18 when the offences began in October 2022.

Court heard several teen girls in Ontario and Quebec reported they were being extorted online after sharing sexually explicit images with someone they met on various social media platforms.

Jelassi, Crown counsel said, then demanded up to $200 and threatened to send the photos to their friends, followers or schools if they didn’t pay.

In an Agreed Statement of Facts, Mackie detailed online messages between the victims and Jelassi.

“I’m about to ruin your life until all your family sees you nude,” Jelassi wrote in an exchange with a 17-year-old Ontario victim, who said she didn’t have the money to pay him.

Jelassi, court heard, shared seven intimate images of the teen with her friends on Instagram while nude photos of her were later sent to a porn website.

Another 17-year-old victim from Ontario received a message telling her to send $200 in 24 hours or her images would be sent to her followers and school.

“I swear I’m messing up your life and this won’t be the only time,” Jelassi wrote. “You’re not graduating this year…no university will accept a ho.”

Several victim impact statements were submitted at the hearing and read in court by Crown counsel.

“I was in fear every day,” wrote a 15-year-old victim who transferred $100 to Jelassi, who she said put her address, name and phone number online.

“I was afraid to go out or to go to school for fear someone had seen my photos,” wrote a 16-year-old in Quebec who said she now has trouble trusting people. “This crime disgusts me and wounds me deeply.”

A cross-country investigation led by Burnaby RCMP’s Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Unit identified Jelassi as the suspect.

In January 2023, Jelassi was arrested and released on an undertaking, following the execution of a search warrant at his family’s home in Burnaby, where police seized a phone, laptop, and USB.

Court heard Jelassi was arrested again in Sept. 2023 and released ahead of a May 2024 court date.

In March 2024, Mackie said he was arrested a third time and charged with two breaches before being released on an order with conditions.

When Jelassi was charged with 23 offences in July 2024, RCMP said he was subject to several court-ordered conditions – including not contacting anyone under age 16, and not accessing TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Bumble, and Tinder.

The judge said the persistence of Jelassi’s criminal behaviour – even after three arrests and being bound by police undertakings – was an aggravating factor, along with the number of victims and their age – eight were under 18.

In two cases, Oulton noted Jelassi pretended to be a concerned parent and emailed the victims’ schools – falsely alleging the teen girls had tried to send intimate photos to the parent’s “child” – and then called for the victims to be expelled.

Court heard nude images were emailed to the school a 15-year-old Quebec victim attended after she couldn’t meet the demand for $50-200, and Jelassi, posing as a mother, contacted the school with fake allegations the girl had sent the nude images around.

Prosecutors said Jelassi told that victim she would “never be free” unless his demands were met.

Oulton said Jelassi’s guilty pleas, his lack of a criminal record and his young age were mitigating factors.

Defence counsel said Jelassi experienced culture shock after arriving in Canada from Tunisia and settling permanently in Vancouver at the age of 15.

Guillaume Garih said his client delved into social media and dating websites and it became an addiction.

Garih said Jelassi, who declined to address the court, has a great deal of remorse and recognizes the victims did not deserve what happened to them.

Jelassi has been ordered to remain on the sex offender registry for 20 years, or until he’s 42, and the judge said she expects he will complete sex offender treatment in prison.

Oulton also agreed to a forfeiture order for a seized laptop and two cell phones, which the Crown said contained child pornography and child sexual images.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Reality TV star Jon Gosselin is speaking out in support of his son Collin after the 22-year-old accused his mother Kate Gosselin of abuse.

The Gosselins famously had eight children (now 22-year-old sextuplets Aaden, Alexis, Collin, Hannah, Leah and Joel, and a set of 26-year-old twins, Mady and Cara), and their TLC reality show, Jon & Kate Plus 8, premiered in 2007.

Collin recently released his memoir, In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood, and spoke about what he alleged took place behind the scenes of the popular reality TV show that he grew up on.

“First and foremost, I couldn’t be more proud of my son’s heartbreaking memoir and his mission to help other victims of abuse,” Jon told Us Weekly in a statement on Thursday.

Jon also appeared to respond to Kate’s recent comments on TikTok, where she spoke about Collin and mental illness.

“Also, let me be very clear: If you continue to falsely label my son Collin as ‘mentally ill,’ you will be held accountable,” he continued. “As you know, Collin has been evaluated by multiple independent psychiatrists, and that narrative is proven categorically untrue.”

“Repeating false claims about his mental health is damaging to his reputation, his credibility and his future,” Jon added. “Consider this fair warning: The days of using mental health to discredit and silence my son are over.”

On Oct. 10, Kate shared an update about her dog in a TikTok video, which was flooded with comments about Collin’s new book.

“I know you already know this, but you have the support of so many. Most importantly your seven precious children. I’m so frustrated that my FYP is being flooded with such terrible lies. It should be illegal to defame someone that way, but I just wanted to say you are doing a great job keeping your head up through all of this,” one TikTok user wrote.

“Thank you so much. I know rational logical ppl or anyone who has dealt with mental illness understands what’s going on here,” Kate said in response.

During an appearance on the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast, Collin spoke more in detail about the abuse he alleged he experienced as a child.

“When it was Jon & Kate Plus 8, even though it looked like America’s happiest, biggest family, behind the scenes it was not like that,” Collin said.

“My mom would be physically and verbally abusive to me,” Collin alleged.

When asked about some of the earliest memories he had, Collin said he began to face his mother’s “wrath” when he was eight-years-old.

“She had a room specifically built in the storage part of our unfinished basement that was cinder block walls and cement floors with a bolt lock on the outside of the door, where she would keep me” the In The Shadow Of Eight author continued. “She’s denied that previously, publicly, saying that she has never done any of that.”

Gosselin claimed that he has documentation where his mother admitted that she “does in fact have a room where she locks me in.”

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Kate has previously denied her son’s allegations of abuse.

In a statement shared to Instagram in 2023, Kate wrote, “Collin’s distorted perception of reality is one of the many issues that he has always struggled with. As many people who have family members grappling with mental health issues can attest, it is rarely and sadly surprising when complete fabrications occur, and this is just another heartbreaking facet of this fight.”

“All parent-child relationships are complex, but when mental illness is involved, it is incredibly complicated and painful, and certainly not easy for others on the outside to understand,” the Kate + Date star added.

“All measures that were taken in our home were at the explicit recommendation of his pediatric psychiatrist and/or his team of specialists and were put into place to safeguard every member of our family, our friends as well as our family pets,” she wrote.

“Unfortunately, I believe Collin remains a very troubled young man who continues to need a lot of help. His brothers and sisters and I have not been directly involved in his life due to his history of unpredictable behavior and violent tendencies towards us,” the post concluded.

Collin has been estranged from his mother since 2016.

His father Jon was awarded sole legal and physical custody of Collin in December 2018.

During an interview on First Class Fatherhood in 2020, Jon said, “I got sole custody of Collin, Kate has a no-contact with him, so there’s a whole bunch of stuff that happened with him.”

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

A resolution of the standoff between the federal government and Stelco is a “question of days,” Industry Minister Melanie Joly said on Friday.

The Ontario-based steel manufacturer announced last month that pressure from U.S. tariffs forced it to concentrate steel production at its Lake Erie Works plant in Haldimand, and halt production at its plant in Hamilton. Some employees would be offered transfers, but many would be out of work.

After the announcement, Joly said Stelco Holdings Inc. cannot use the trade war to justify cutting jobs it committed to.

“It’s a question of days,” Joly said on Friday when asked if there was a timeline for how soon the federal government plans to resolve the standoff.

The federal government believes there have been “multiple breaches of the commitments” that Stelco made under the Investment Canada Act.

Stelco is facing financial penalties and “a potential forced divestiture,” which would force them to sell all their assets in Canada, Joly said.

“We will apply the full force of the law and every tool in the toolbox to ensure that this strategic capacity remains operational. And they must keep the jobs in Canada or face the prospect of having to sell their Canadian assets,” she said on Friday.

Approximately 90 workers received notices last week, and the first layoffs took effect Sunday, the president of United Steelworkers local 1005 previously told Global News.

The remainder of the layoffs are expected to roll out over the course of three weeks.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Hitachi Energy and the federal and Ontario governments have announced a $479-million plan to build a new transformer insulation factory to help meet skyrocketing demand from data centres, green energy and industrial development.

“All those investments are creating more demand for components, and transformers are a major element in the customer energy chain,” Bruno Melles, chief executive of Hitachi’s transformers business unit, said in an interview ahead of Friday’s announcement in London, Ont.

“Because in every place where there is power generation and in every place where there is a connection, there is a transformer.”

The 21,000-square-metre facility would be the first in Canada to produce pressboard — a material made from paper pulp that’s key to keeping transformers cool — and the first Hitachi would establish in the Americas. Currently in Canada that material sourced from Europe, Melles said.

Construction is set to be complete by the end of 2028 and the project is expected to create 100 permanent skilled jobs.

Hitachi is shouldering the bulk of the investment, with the federal and Ontario governments collectively contributing $50 million.

Of that, $20 million is through the federal strategic response fund, $10 million is from Natural Resources Canada and up to $20 million is through the Invest Ontario Fund.

The power industry has been dealing with supply chain challenges as electricity demand booms. The factory aims to ease at least one of the big pinch points.

“Today we are in a situation where the industry for transformer manufacturing is going at a very high speed, but not all the industrial parts are going at the same speed,” Melles, who is based in Zurich, said.

“This is why we want to give a strong message to the market and say, ‘We want to be an integral part of the supply chain resilience and we are going to invest in order to ensure that the market is not going to have any shortage.'”

In May, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Canada’s new electricity strategy, which aims to double the country’s electricity grid by 2050.

“Electricity demand in Canada is growing at an unprecedented pace, something we’ve never seen before,” said Carla Vicente, managing director of Hitachi Energy’s Canadian division, in an interview.

“By ensuring that we have this factory operational by the end of 2028, we will be able to respond to the higher needs and demand for the transformers that are an essential part of anything that we want to do to be able to electrify.”

Building new infrastructure has been a key focus for Carney’s government, and several power and transmission projects have been referred to the major projects office for a streamlined review.

“By investing in the critical infrastructure needed to power our future, we are supporting economic growth, creating good-paying jobs and strengthening Canada’s economic security,” Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said in a news release.

Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s minister for economic development, job creation and trade, said in a news release that the Hitachi investment will help position the province as a central hub for advanced manufacturing projects.

“In the face of global economic uncertainty, our government continues to foster the competitive conditions needed for global companies to confidently expand their presence in Ontario and invest in long-term projects.”

Melles said the site for the new factory in London was not chosen “as a coincidence.”

He said it will be a good fit with another operation Hitachi has in the southwestern Ontario city. In June, it announced the acquisition of Canduct, a manufacturer of insulation kits and components.

“To have a location that is very, very close to Canduct will allow a simplification of the supply in the value chain, a dramatic reduction of the risks connected to logistics, and then of course we can count on having access to fresh and clean water that is an integral element for the production of insulation material.”

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Federal Court documents show the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) knew the details of money owed to the federal government months prior to the organization’s recent public disclosure.

Documents show in August that the FSIN applied for a judicial review, alleging procedural unfairness following Indigenous Services Canada (ISC)’s decision in July that the organization owed $12.4 million to the federal government due to ineligible and unsupported expenses between April 2019 and March 2024.

The FSIN publicly announced the revised figure Wednesday in a media release, stating it does not accept ISC’s final decision and sharing that it has commenced legal action.

“ISC may have concluded its process, but this matter is not concluded for the FSIN,” said FSIN Chief Bobby Camerson in the release.

“We remain confident that when this matter is subjected to a fair and independent review, that all expenditures will be proven eligible and the allegations proven false.”

Political analyst Jennifer Laewetz is questioning how much information is being shared with First Nations leaders.

“We’re seeing a lot of communication now from the FSIN in the last year regarding the audit almost strictly on social media and then sent to certain media outlets,” says Laewetz.

“So rather than seeing this proper communication coming frequently from the federation to the chiefs and assembly, you know through email or whatever, it might be they’re finding out about a lot of these things, they’re finding out a lot about the FSIN and its stance on things, through the media.”

Court documents show the FSIN claims loss of “finite reserves” and experienced staff. The organization has listed postings for multiple jobs since July.

FSIN Vice Chief Fabian Head said in a statement he supports the FSIN’s efforts to criticize ISC’s decision.

“Based on the evidence before me, the expenditures that ISC has classified as ineligible are legitimate, reasonable, and consistent with both the funding agreements and the realities of serving First Nations communities,” said Head.

ISC originally found $34.2 million in estimated questionable expenditures and lowered the amount following a line-by-line review. The FSIN said the two sides had substantially narrowed the amount in dispute by June 12.

Laewetz suggests the dispute is part of a broader problem of the federation focusing on defending itself and not representing member nations.

“Money is obviously a big piece. There should be some accountability. But I think on the other side of that, we also need to be asking, is this money getting to where it needs to go when in terms of resources,” Laewetz said.

“This organization has been largely silent and kind of missing on part of the bigger conversations impacting treaty, Bill C-5, 39, Bill S-2, child welfare reform. Where have you been?”

Indigenous Services Canada said the money owed is now considered a debt owed to the Crown.

ISC is seeking repayment in full by Nov. 13 and warns the money could instead be deducted from future federal funding if it isn’t paid.

Laewetz said that shouldn’t become a financial burden for member nations.

“I would hope that First Nations people understand this is not up to our nations to pay. Under no circumstances should our First Nations be transferring money to the federation to make these payments or to pay back this money,” said Laewetz.

Global News has repeatedly sought interviews with Chief Cameron and other vice chiefs. Cameron agreed to a Friday morning virtual interview with Global News, but later cancelled, citing a death on Red Earth Cree Nation.

The court challenge remains ongoing.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

A former law dean at the University of Manitoba wanted on a fraud charge is expected to learn next month if he will be extradited from France.

A court document says Jonathan Black-Branch was in the Investigating Chamber of the Versailles Court of Appeal today opposing his extradition.

The court reserved its decision to Nov. 6.

Black-Branch was arrested in a municipality west of Paris in April, after a Canada-wide arrest warrant was issued for fraud over $5,000.

The disbarred lawyer is accused of misusing more than $600,000 from the university to pay his bills, buy pricey meals at a members-only club and spend on his education at Ivy League schools.

Black-Branch was hired as the Winnipeg university’s law dean in 2016 but suddenly left the post in 2020 and moved to Europe.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

A judge has found a youth guilty of two terrorism-related charges stemming from an alleged 2023 plan to kill Jewish people in Ottawa.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Kerry McVey found the young person guilty of conspiracy to commit murder through involvement with a terrorist group, and of facilitating terrorist activity by seeking to acquire a prohibited firearm.

McVey found him not guilty of facilitating terrorist activity by making instructional material and propaganda available.

The youth, who cannot legally be identified due to his age, had pleaded not guilty to all three charges.

His trial began in April, a day after his co-accused — also a young person who cannot legally be identified — was found guilty on four charges.

McVey concluded the youth found guilty today conspired with his co-accused and another individual who was not charged in a plan to kill innocent people.

In 2023, the RCMP said the youth was charged with “facilitating” a terrorist activity by spreading “instructional material” about building bombs, and “knowingly instructing” someone to carry out a terrorist attack.

Crown attorneys at the time charged the youth facilitating terrorist activity, possession of explosives and making or possessing an explosive substance.

– with files from Global News’  Alex Boutilier and Mackenzie Gray

© 2026 The Canadian Press

The Nova Scotia government has laid charges against two businesses accused of buying illegally caught lobsters in the province.

Two firms in southwestern Nova Scotia, Independent Fisheries in Lockeport, N.S., and a numbered company in Shelburne County are facing charges under the Fisheries and Coastal Resources Act.

The Department of Natural Resources says these charges follow a two-year investigation into the lobster trade.

Both companies face charges for buying, selling or processing fish that were caught without a valid licence.

The numbered company, 3329874 Nova Scotia Ltd., faces the same charges and an additional charge for buying, selling or marketing fish in Nova Scotia without the required licence.

Nova Scotia raised the maximum fine under the act in 2024, to $1 million for a first offence, up from $100,000.

The cases are scheduled for a court date in Yarmouth Provincial Court next month.

Colin Sproul, president of the Unified Fisheries Conservation Alliance, says the organization is pleased charges have been laid.

The group that represents thousands of independent, multi-species commercial fishers and associations across the Maritimes filed a lawsuit against Independent Fisheries Ltd. in November 2024.

A court hearing about the lawsuit was held last month, but there hasn’t been a ruling yet.

Sproul says Nova Scotia’s government has ramped up illegal fishing enforcement over the past couple of years, and he thanked Premier Tim Houston and provincial Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Kent Smith for their efforts.

© 2026 The Canadian Press