Two Edmonton men have been charged with human trafficking after police say several foreign workers were forced to clock up to 90 hours a week without proper pay. R-C-M-P say they started investigating last summer after receiving a complaint about exploitative working conditions at a gas station and motel owned by the men. The motel is in the northwestern town of Fox Creek, while the gas station is in Calmar, southwest of Edmonton. A 55-year-old man and his 26-year-old son face a total of five charges, and police say they're also looking into allegations of money laundering.

Statistics Canada said Friday that the unemployment rate dropped a tenth of a percentage point to 6.9 per cent in June as the economy added some 83,000 jobs. The vast majority of those jobs were part-time, the agency said, with 47,000 positions added in the private sector. A Reuters poll of economists heading into Friday’s release had expected the jobless rate would rise to 7.1 per cent in June as employment levels held flat. The June figures buck the recent slowdown in the labour market. Last month was the first significant job gain since January and snapped a streak of three consecutive m

Prime Minister Mark Carney says the Canadian government will "steadfastly" defend workers and businesses following the latest trade threats by U.S. President Donald Trump. In a post on social media, Carney says Canada will continue to work to secure a trade deal with the U.S. by a revised deadline of Aug. 1. In a letter to Carney on Thursday, Trump threatened to impose 35 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods by that date, evidently setting a new deadline for the trade talks that had been looking to wrap by July 21. Trump wrote if Canada works to stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States h

Shots were been fired at the Kap's Cafe in Surrey, which opened just a few days ago. The incident took place early morning at around 1:50 am. Located near 84th Avenue and 120th Street, this cafe belongs to Kapil Sharma, a famous personality in the Hindi film industry and the world of stand-up comedy, and his wife Ginni. The cafe had a soft launch this weekend and no date had been announced yet for a major launch event. When the Connect Newsroom team assessed the scene, they found at least 10 bullet holes on one side of the cafe. Police markings could also be seen on them. In addition, the gla

Alberta's education minister says school libraries must pull explicit, sexual content from their shelves starting Oct. 1. Demetrios Nicolaides says the province's new standards aren't about banning books but ensuring kids aren't exposed to the wrong material for their age. The government has issued a list of specific sex acts that cannot be explicitly described in library books. It considers mentions of kissing, hugging or handholding as not sexual in nature and not part of the ban. Religious texts, such as the Bible, are also exempt. School boards must review library materials

The Punjab Cabinet today approved a scheme to provide cashless treatment of up to Rs 10 lakh in hospitals to all families in the state. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said after the cabinet meeting that Punjab is becoming the first state to provide such a facility. Health cards will be issued to families in the state from the service centers, along with the facility of online registration. The official said that this scheme will benefit three crore residents of Punjab. The spokesperson said that so far more than 550 private hospitals have been associated with this scheme and this number will

Canadian Industry Minister Melanie Joly said on Thursday that Canada will respond to US President Donald Trump's 50 percent tariff on copper imports. Trump's tariff will take effect from August 1. Joly said that we will fight against it, but she did not give any details about what steps Canada might take. It is worth noting that President Trump, describing copper as the second most used material in defense, had called it a matter of national security and said that he was imposing tariffs to prevent copper from coming from abroad. According to Natural Resources Canada, in 2023, the United S

Two youths have been charged with manslaughter and arson after a man died in a house fire in central Alberta. RCMP say they responded to the fire in Wetaskiwin, a city south of Edmonton, in December. The body of 67-year-old Donald Robert was found inside the home and officers deemed his death suspicious. They say a witness reported seeing someone running away from the home with their clothing on fire. RCMP say a girl and a boy were arrested Wednesday. They can't be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

US will impose a 50% tariff on copper from August 1. President Donald Trump called it a matter of national security, he said in a post on Truth Social that copper is used in everything from semiconductors to aircraft ships, ammunition, lithium-ion batteries, radar and missile systems to hypersonic weapons, many of which we are making. Trump said that copper is the second most used material in defense. According to reports, about 90% of the refined copper imported by the US last year was from Chile, Canada and Peru. According to one estimate, Canada has only 1% of the world's copper reserv