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

The Canadian government has decided to reimburse car dealers for electric vehicle subsidies. In fact, car dealers had given customers rebates according to the subsidy before the federal government abruptly ended the subsidy program in January. Nearly six months after the program was shut down, Transport Canada is reopening its claims system so that dealerships can refund the rebates given to customers. Ottawa shut down the program after American electric car company Tesla filed millions of dollars in subsidy claims in a short period of time. The government said the funding allocated for th

The Alberta government says a longtime lawyer and recent provincial policy advisor has been tapped to head its new involuntary drug treatment system. Earlier this year, Premier Danielle Smith's government passed legislation to create the new system, which allows people to be forced into addiction treatment facilities without their consent. The legislation allows family members, health-care professionals, police or peace officers to apply for a treatment order from a provincial commission led by Jonathan Carlzon. The province says Carlzon has more than 20 years of experience as a lawy

The wildfire threat is worsening in northern Manitoba, prompting alerts and evacuations for at least two more communities. Garden Hill First Nation, with a population of about 3,000, is being threatened by fire. Eleanor Olszewski, the federal minister for emergency management, says Ottawa has approved Manitoba's request for armed forces support and evacuations in the Garden Hill area are underway. The Town of Snow Lake has also issued a mandatory evacuation order and is telling its 1,000 residents to stay with friends or family or at a shelter 600 kilometres south in Winnipeg. Mayor Ron Scott

Alberta's education minister is set to provide an update today on the development of new provincial rules for school library books. Demetrios Nicolaides announced in May that Alberta would be setting new standards for the books. He said the review came after his ministry became aware of four coming-of-age graphic novels in school libraries in Edmonton and Calgary. Nicolaides said each of the books contained inappropriate content, including graphic sexual material as well as depictions of molestation, drug and alcohol use. A government survey on the topic launched after Nicolaides' anno