Anti-mandate protests set up near Sask. border crossings
CBC
Saskatchewan's only 24-hour border crossing with the U.S. is a site of anti-mandate protests this weekend.
RCMP notified the public and media Thursday about planned demonstrations at the North Portal and Northgate points of entry.
According to the name and logo of a private Facebook group called Southbound and Down, a convoy of vehicles will head to the border crossings starting Friday with a message to "mandate freedom" — a counter to government mandates around COVID-19.
CBC News has reached out to organizers to learn more about their plans and message. They have not yet responded.
The North Portal crossing is located 40 kilometres southeast of Estevan, Sask., along the Canada-North Dakota border.
Earlier this week, the Village of North Portal notified residents by mail and in a Facebook post about the protest and council's policy to remain neutral.
"According to information available, the protest will involve 60-80 semi-trucks and up to 120 passenger vehicles," the post read.
"The village will not be providing any public services to the event, such as water, lagoon use, garbage removal, public building rental or other regular village services."
While parking along Highway 39 is not allowed, and will be enforced by RCMP, land owners have given event organizers permission to use their private land for camping and gathering.
Police said anyone without access to a private staging area will be turned away.
"We are making extensive efforts to engage with all stakeholders before and during the demonstrations to ensure everyone involved is aware of the current legal boundaries of a peaceful and lawful protest," RCMP said in a news release Thursday.
Police and village council made it known before the weekend there would be an increased police presence in the community, with police on site 24 hours a day during the protest.
"The RCMP will be monitoring traffic flow into the village from Highway 39 and the grid roads east of town. Travellers can expect to be asked the purpose of their trip to North Portal during the duration of the event," the village post read.
Premier Scott Moe spoke directly to people attending anti-mandate protests following a provincial COVID-19 briefing Friday.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
A suspended Moncton structural engineer faces more lawsuits alleging design flaws in buildings that require repair.
Sajjade Tugano has come a long way since he first set foot in Chibougamau, six hours north of Quebec City, in the depths of winter in November 2021.
A national mentor-based hockey organization that helps marginalized youth through the sport is paying tribute to one of its members and youngest coaches.
After months of asking the City of Saskatoon to do more to solve its homelessness crisis, advocate David Fineday took to the stand at city council Tuesday.
A community organization wants to breathe new life into a historic building in Regina.
Some Prince County residents are walking away with more answers after attending Tuesday night's public information session in Albany, P.E.I., on the Wejipek Wind Project.
After just a few months of using vape detectors in a couple of bathrooms, a B.C. high school principal says it's reduced vape use in those areas to basically zero.
Burlington MP Karina Gould gets boost from local young people after entering Liberal leadership race
A day after entering the Liberal leadership race, Burlington, Ont., MP and government House leader Karina Gould was cheered at a campaign launch party by local residents — including young people expressing hope the 37-year-old politician will represent their voices.
Anold Mulaisho was born intersex and wonders where they fit in, in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order for the United States to recognize only two sexes, male and female.
WARNING: This story contains references to suicide.
Subway service is down on Line 1 between Sheppard West and Lawrence West due to a broken power rail, the TTC said Wednesday morning.
A long-term care home in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood has cleared one more hurdle to add desperately needed beds to its property, a move that's been praised by housing advocates but opposed by locals concerned about the impact on the neighbourhood.
A Charlottetown resident is calling on the P.E.I. government to do more to protect homeowners after reading about a recent oil spill very similar to one on his Montague property 20 years ago, which he says ruined him financially.
WARNING: This story includes details of abuse.
Two years after Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly declared she was taking the unprecedented step of moving to confiscate millions of dollars from a sanctioned Russian oligarch with assets in Canada, the government has not actually begun the court process to forfeit the money, let alone to hand it over to Ukrainian reconstruction — and it may never happen.
Alberta business and oilpatch leaders are returning home from Washington this week after the U.S. presidential inauguration festivities — and gritting their teeth after a roller-coaster of emotions.
Youth workers in Toronto's Jane and Finch area are flipping the script on negative stereotypes about their communities with a new fundraising campaign that offers anti-bias training in exchange for donations to bolster their programming.
In a sudden move that came late Tuesday evening, city officials rolled out cots and temporarily opened a warm building in east London as frigid temperatures continued.