• Anxiety grows as Yukon Health Minister moves to crack down on tents outside shelter

  Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
  Date: 2026-10-29 17:02:35.0
  Tags: [National, Housing, Social Services, Public Safety]

  Yukon Health and Social Services Minister Brad Cathers has announced steps to crack down on tents set up outside the Whitehorse Emergency Shelter, citing concerns over illicit drug dealing. The territory is coordinating actions with shelter management, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Fire Marshal’s Office, and bylaw services. The crackdown unfolds amid soaring living costs in Whitehorse, where the latest inflation rate stands at 6.1 per cent and the living wage has risen to $32.43 per hour for a single-person household, while the shelter operates at 64 per cent capacity.

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• Yukon minister directing ‘crackdown’ of tents outside Whitehorse shelter, but won’t say how

  Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
  Date: 2026-10-27 15:44:59.0
  Tags: [National, Housing, Social Services, Public Safety, Governance]

  Yukon Health and Social Services Minister Brad Cathers stated in the Yukon Legislative Assembly that he has directed his department to crack down on tents outside the Whitehorse Emergency Shelter at 405 Alexander St. The minister stated he instructed his department to collaborate with the Department of Justice, the Department of Highways and Public Works, the RCMP, and the City of Whitehorse bylaw services to remove the encampments. Liberal Party Leader and Vuntut Gwitchin MLA Debra-Leigh Reti criticized the lack of operational clarity regarding the plan and called for a dedicated task force to assess the needs of individuals outside the shelter. The announcement coincides with ongoing legislative debate surrounding proposed amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act and the elimination of rent control in the Yukon.

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• MPs moving to restrict gambling ads in Canada amid mounting harms

  Source: CBC Politics
  Date: 2026-10-22 08:00:00.0
  Tags: [National, Ontario, Alberta, Public Safety, Governance, Social Services]

  Federal MPs and Senators are advancing Bill S-211, a national legislative framework sponsored by MP Bardish Chagger and Senator Marty Deacon to restrict widespread sports betting advertisements and gambling promotions across Canada. The legislation follows findings from an analysis conducted by the University of Bristol during the 2026 NHL playoffs that revealed up to three gambling messages per minute on televised broadcasts featuring Canadian teams. The push to curb online gambling marketing comes amid rising rates of gambling addiction and a tripling of gambling-related suicides in Ontario following the province's 2022 expansion of private online casinos and sports betting. The provinces of Ontario and Alberta, along with the Canadian Gaming Association representing 80 industry operators, have opposed the federal bill, arguing it infringes on provincial regulatory authority over gaming frameworks.

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• Proposed N.W.T. liquor rules aim to replace territory-wide restrictions

  Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
  Date: 2026-10-01 11:00:00.0
  Tags: [National, Governance, Public Safety, Social Services]

  The Government of the Northwest Territories Department of Finance is proposing new draft regulations under the territory's 2023 Liquor Act, open for public feedback until October 16. The proposed rules replace territory-wide blanket restrictions with expanded municipal bylaw powers, allowing local councils to manage operating hours, minors' access, and holiday closures. Additionally, the changes unify special occasion permits, streamline tourism operator rules, replace the single Liquor Licensing Board with a registrar and chief inspector inside the N.W.T. Liquor and Cannabis Commission, and grant inspectors the authority to issue immediate monetary penalties.

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• Halifax gets nearly $2M in federal funding to prevent gun, gang violence

  Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
  Date: 2026-09-29 19:46:50.0
  Tags: [National, Nova Scotia, Municipal, Public Safety, Social Services]

  Federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree announced up to $1.9 million in federal funding for the Halifax Regional Municipality through the Build Safer Communities Fund to prevent gun and gang violence. The initiative is part of a broader $157.5-million national commitment over three years, intended to support community projects addressing the underlying social conditions leading youth to crime. Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore and municipal public safety advisor Amy Siciliano noted that the funding will expand crisis de-escalation supports, improve spaces for youth mentorship, and provide educational, mental health, and anti-trafficking resources. The funding allocation is based on community crime severity data, which showed nine homicides and 30 shootings in the municipality in 2025.

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• Communities share feedback on Yukon’s MMIWG2S+ strategy

  Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
  Date: 2026-09-27 13:00:00.0
  Tags: [National, Indigenous, Social Services, Justice, Public Safety]

  The Whitehorse Aboriginal Women’s Circle visited 14 communities across the Yukon and northern British Columbia earlier this year to gather feedback on the territory's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit strategy, which was released in 2020 with an implementation plan following in 2023. The findings will be compiled into a 'What We Heard' report to guide the implementation phase of the broader strategy led by partners including the Yukon's Women and Gender Equity Directorate. Key issues identified include a disconnect between colonial infrastructure and Indigenous oral traditions, resource disparities across northern British Columbia and Yukon communities, and a widespread public misconception regarding reporting a missing person to the RCMP.

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• Ottawa invests $2.2 million to give Edmonton youths a literal fighting chance

  Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
  Date: 2026-09-09 23:22:54.0
  Tags: [National, Alberta, Municipal, Justice, Public Safety, Social Services]

  The federal government, through Justice Minister Sean Fraser, announced a $2.2 million investment from the Crime Prevention Action Fund to support the Empire Fighting Chance program in Edmonton. Administered locally through REACH Edmonton and operated out of Brave MMA and Fitness, the program adapts a model from Bristol, England, utilizing non-contact boxing, martial arts discipline, and psychologically informed mentoring to redirect at-risk youth away from crime and gang activity. Local municipal leaders, including Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack, alongside organizations like Native Counselling Services of Alberta, collaborated on the initiative to provide barrier-free early intervention and mental health resources.

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• Strengthening supports for survivors of intimate-partner violence

  Source: British Columbia - Government News
  Date: 2026-09-03 18:00:00.0
  Tags: [British Columbia, National, Justice, Social Services, Indigenous, Public Safety]

  The British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General is receiving more than $3 million in funding for the 2026-27 fiscal year under the federal National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence to advance recommendations from the 2025 Stanton Report. The funding will expand the Safe Supports Project in rural and northern communities, add up to three family court support workers, develop public-awareness strategies, review behaviour-change programs for men and boys, and advance the B.C. First Nations Justice Strategy by funding the Indigenous Justice Centres' Aunties Program. These investments complement B.C.'s broader Safe and Supported Gender-Based Violence Action Plan, which includes over $60 million annually provided by the Province to support approximately 475 victim-service and violence-against-women programs.

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