Author: Sam Allcock

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Collective Book Studio, a woman-owned independent publisher, says it will release a second children’s title from New York Times bestselling author, pilot and philanthropist Lauren Sánchez Bezos, expanding her Flynn the Fly series with a new ocean-themed adventure. The publisher announced that The Fly Who Flew Under the Sea will be published on March 3, 2026, with editions planned in both English and Spanish. It will be Sánchez Bezos’ second book in the Fly series, following the continuing story of Flynn, a character designed to encourage young readers through themes of self-confidence, learning differences and environmental…

TORONTO — The federal and Ontario governments are investing up to $20 million in a new program aimed at helping local farmers, food processors and agribusinesses expand sales of Ontario-grown products in domestic and international markets, as the sector navigates trade pressures, tariffs and broader economic uncertainty. The funding, announced Tuesday, will be delivered through the Market Diversification and Trade Resiliency Initiative, a new stream under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (SCAP). Governments say the initiative is designed to strengthen competitiveness, improve market access and support businesses looking to diversify their customer base and production capacity. The program is aligned…

TORONTO — The Ontario government is opening a second intake of its $20 million Rural Ontario Development Program, expanding support aimed at strengthening local economies, building infrastructure and sustaining employment in smaller communities across the province. The province announced the new intake Monday at the 2026 annual Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) conference in Toronto. Applications are now open to rural municipalities, businesses, Indigenous groups and not-for-profit organizations, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing said. “In the midst of global economic uncertainty, our government is doubling down on our plan to protect Ontario and its rural communities,” said Premier…

CALGARY — Canada’s Olympic skeleton program will take a key step toward the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games this week, as Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton and the Canadian Olympic Committee prepare to formally announce the athletes nominated to represent the country. The organizations said they will unveil the skeleton athletes nominated to compete for Team Canada at Milano Cortina 2026 during an event in Calgary on Wednesday morning. The announcement is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. MT on Wednesday, Jan. 21, and will include opportunities for media interviews, photography and b-roll. For Canada’s high-performance winter sport system, Olympic nominations are a critical…

OTTAWA — The BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) is intervening at the Supreme Court of Canada this week in a closely watched case that could reshape police authority to conduct random traffic stops across the country, particularly in light of evidence about racial profiling and its impacts on Black Canadians. The civil liberties group will present oral arguments as an intervenor in Attorney General of Quebec v. Luamba, a two-day hearing focused on whether police powers to stop drivers without any specific suspicion of an offence are constitutional when such discretion is linked to discriminatory outcomes — a phenomenon commonly…

Ontario’s struggle to meet key targets under Ottawa’s national $10-a-day child-care program is fuelling new warnings that provinces and territories have become financially dependent on federal funding to sustain their systems — a dynamic one policy analyst describes as a “golden handcuff problem” in Canadian child care. A newly released report from Cardus examining Ontario’s first three years under the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) agreements argues the province has been forced into a difficult bargaining position as governments negotiate the next phase of federal support. “Ontario in particular, finds itself in a difficult bargaining position,” the report’s…

TORONTO — Dr. Ben, a Toronto-based folk-blues recording artist whose music draws on decades of work as a travelling physician in rural Canada, has released a new single, “Cure Your Blues,” marking a sharper turn into blues-rock intensity while keeping the narrative focus that has defined his early independent catalogue. The track, released today on major streaming platforms, blends fingerpicking guitar with heavier blues licks and lyrics built around heartbreak and emotional exhaustion. The song also leans into medical imagery, using the language of treatment and recovery to frame a relationship that, in the narrator’s view, becomes transactional and damaging.…

TORONTO — Irish Millie, a 19-year-old fiddler, singer and multi-instrumentalist, is continuing her rapid rise in Canada’s roots and folk music scene with the release of her new single, “WASTED,” a track that explores independence, distance and the emotional clarity that can come with growing up. The single is positioned as a central release from her EP Between Then and Now, a project that reflects what Millie describes as the quiet transformation that happens between major life chapters. Written during her first year away from home after moving from Peterborough to Toronto for university, “WASTED” draws on everyday details—laundry, packed…

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. — The City of Prince Albert is reporting a sharp increase in snow-related service requests after a week of warm temperatures softened road surfaces and created ruts in high-traffic areas, with crews now working to address hardened conditions as colder weather returns. City officials said the past week brought numerous requests from residents concerned about road safety and winter driving conditions, particularly in neighbourhood entrances and other busy locations where traffic volume and the use of road salt contributed to rutting. “As expected, these conditions softened snow on roads, especially at neighbourhood entrances and busy spots, where…

OTTAWA — Ontario’s Office of the Chief Coroner has scheduled a coroner’s inquest into the death of Taher Hashemi, who died in custody at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre in 2021, with proceedings set to begin Feb. 2, 2026. Dr. Louise McNaughton-Filion, Regional Supervising Coroner for the East Region at the Ottawa Office, announced Friday that the inquest will start at 11 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 2. Dr. Geoffrey Bond will preside over the hearing, and Jai Dhar has been appointed inquest counsel. Hashemi, 49, died on Aug. 24, 2021, while detained at the provincial correctional facility. Under Ontario’s Coroners Act,…