Cundill History Prize finalists include books on early North America, post-WWII Japan

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. – The Saskatchewan Party is promising more help for parents trying to keep their children in sports and the arts.

With a provincial election set for Oct. 28, Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe is pledging to double the Active Families Benefit to $300 per child per year.

The benefit for children with disabilities would also double to $400 a year.

It would apply to sports, arts, cultural and recreational activities.

The program is currently provided through a tax credit to families who make a household income of $60,000 or less.

Moe says he would expand that threshold, allowing families with a household income of up to $120,000 per year to receive the credit.

“We all know how beneficial it is to get our kids involved in sports or artistic activities, like music and dance lessons,” Moe said in a statement Thursday.

“We also know the cost of those activities has gone up just like the cost of most other things.”

The Saskatchewan Party has made affordability a key plank in its election platform. It has also promised more tuition relief for students who stay in Saskatchewan after they graduate.

On Tuesday, the first day of the campaign, Moe promised broad-based tax relief on personal income tax rates, which the party says could save a family of four $3,400 over four years.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

TORONTO – Former fashion mogul Peter Nygard has requested bail as he appeals his sexual assault convictions in Toronto and the prison sentence he received last month.

The Ontario Court of Appeal says a motion to grant bail pending the appeal was heard Wednesday but the judge’s decision has yet to be released.

The notice of appeal Nygard’s lawyers filed in court last month argues that the trial judge made several errors, including admitting the testimony of clinical psychologist Lori Haskell on the effects of trauma.

The court filing also argues that Nygard’s 11-year sentence is excessive considering the 83-year-old’s “severe” frailty.

Nygard was convicted of four counts of sexual assault last year after multiple women came forward with allegations dating from the 1980s until the mid-2000s.

Even though he was sentenced to 11 years, the trial judge said Nygard’s time behind bars would work out to a little less than seven years after accounting for time already spent in custody.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Montreal police say they are investigating whether five people arrested Wednesday in possession of incendiary materials could have been planning something in connection to the war in the Middle East.

Police spokesperson Manuel Couture says investigators are trying to determine whether nearby synagogues were intended targets.

Police intercepted a vehicle containing unspecified incendiary materials shortly before 2 a.m. in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and arrested three minors — one aged 16 and the others 17.

Fifteen minutes later police arrested a 20-year-old and a 22-year-old in Côte-Saint-Luc, who also had incendiary materials in their vehicle.

Couture says the suspects were released under conditions with a promise to appear in court at a later date.

In a news release, Montreal police attribute the arrests to an increased presence and surveillance ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.