-
Online harms to be added to definition of sexual exploitation: Alberta legislation
Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
Date: 2026-10-29 18:05:37.0
Tags: [Alberta, Justice, Public Safety, Social Services]Alberta Children and Family Services Minister Searle Turton introduced Bill 36, the Supporting Alberta Families Statutes Amendment Act 2026, to modernize the province's Protection of Sexually Exploited Children Act. The legislation updates the definition of 'sexual exploitation' to encompass online grooming, cyber luring, coercion, trading sexual acts, child sexual abuse material (CSAM), human trafficking, and electronic abuse regardless of whether a child appears to consent. Additionally, the bill amends the definition of 'child harm' to include exposure to violence online or via electronic means, moving past older language focused strictly on prostitution and physical or emotional injury.
Read Original -
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.
Read Original -
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.
Read Original -
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.
Read Original -
Résidence Jao inc. de Chambly voit son autorisation de contracter révoquée et est inscrite au RENA
Source: Quebec - Fil de presse gouvernemental
Date: 2026-10-20 13:30:00.0
Tags: [Quebec, Public Safety, Social Services, Governance]The Autorité des marchés publics (AMP) has revoked the contracting authorization of Résidence Jao inc., a Chambly-based residential facility offering services to autonomous and semi-autonomous individuals with intellectual disabilities. Consequently, the company has been officially registered in the Registre des entreprises non admissibles aux contrats publics (RENA), barring it from participating in public contracts.
Read Original -
Résidence PDG inc. perd son autorisation de contracter et est inscrite au RENA
Source: Quebec - Fil de presse gouvernemental
Date: 2026-10-19 14:30:00.0
Tags: [Quebec, Social Services, Public Safety, Governance]The Autorité des marchés publics (AMP) has revoked the contracting authorization of Résidence PDG inc., located in Chambly, Montérégie, and officially registered the company in the Registre des entreprises non admissibles aux contrats publics (RENA). Résidence PDG inc. provides housing services to autonomous or semi-autonomous clients with intellectual disabilities. This regulatory enforcement action bars the company from entering into public contracts in the province of Quebec.
Read Original -
Saskatchewan Expands Ewikīwiyāhn Program to Improve Community Safety
Source: Saskatchewan - Government News
Date: 2026-10-15 23:00:00.0
Tags: [Saskatchewan, Justice, Public Safety, Indigenous, Social Services]The Government of Saskatchewan is investing nearly $50,000 in the 2026-27 fiscal year to fund Phase Two of the Ewikīwiyāhn Indigenous Teachings and Healing Program across provincial adult correctional facilities. Created with guidance from Elders and Knowledge Keepers, the 15-session Indigenous-led curriculum combines traditional teachings like the Medicine Wheel and Seven Grandfather Teachings with practical life skills to support rehabilitation and reintegration. Phase Two focuses on training cultural coordinators to establish consistent, sustainable delivery across the adult correctional system following a successful pilot phase launched in March 2026 at the Whitespruce Provincial Training Centre and the Prince Albert Correctional Centre.
Read Original -
With snow fast approaching, Council directs bylaw to ensure warm hand-off for unhoused when transit stations close
Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
Date: 2026-10-09 18:38:56.0
Tags: [Municipal, Transit, Social Services, Public Safety]Edmonton City Council voted 10-3 to rescind a previous motion that would have suspended Section 37 of Bylaw 20700 (Public Spaces Bylaw) allowing unhoused people to shelter in Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) stations during extreme cold. Instead, council passed a motion ensuring a "warm hand-off" procedure where bylaw officers and staff must coordinate warm transportation to shelters before removing individuals from closing transit spaces. The policy shift follows data showing severe frostbite impacts, including 113 lost limbs in 2025, 120 in 2024, and 81 permanent disabilities in 2023. Additionally, council unanimously approved reporting on trauma-informed care training for front-line staff and tracking refusal rates for shelter buses.
Read Original -
Ontario Opens Kingston HART Hub, Replacing Last Remaining Provincial Drug Injection Site
Source: Ontario - Ministry of Health
Date: 2026-10-02 14:00:00.0
Tags: [Ontario, Healthcare, Social Services, Public Safety]The Government of Ontario has opened the Kingston Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub at 661 Montreal Street, marking the final deployment of all 29 provincially funded HART Hubs supported by an overall investment of more than $560 million. Lead agency Addiction and Mental Health Services — Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington (AMHS-KFLA), alongside partners including Kingston Health Sciences Centre and Peer Support South East Ontario, will operate the facility to provide integrated care, primary health services, and over 50 transitional and supportive housing units. This opening officially replaces Ontario's last remaining provincially funded drug injection site, fulfilling a provincial policy shift prohibiting safer supply, supervised consumption, or needle distribution at HART Hubs while complying with 2024 legislative restrictions banning drug injection sites within 200 metres of schools and child-care centres.
Read Original -
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.
Read Original -
Edmonton River Valley Coalition calls for dedicated spaces for encampments
Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
Date: 2026-09-30 20:11:26.0
Tags: [Municipal, Alberta, Housing, Social Services, Public Safety]During the one-year review of Edmonton's public spaces bylaw, city officials reported that bylaw officers issued 7,904 trespassing tickets and approximately 1,900 bans in 2026 to date, carrying $600 fines and mandatory court appearances. Activists and advocacy groups, including the Can Man Dan Foundation and the Edmonton River Valley Conservation Coalition, criticized the bylaw for criminalizing poverty and called on the City of Edmonton to fund sanctioned outdoor encampments and expand winter shelter access. In response, Edmonton City Council voted 4-1 to develop operating procedures to suspend the ban on loitering in transit stations during extreme winter weather activations.
Read Original -
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.
Read Original -
Supporting our Veterans Saskatchewan Veterans Service Club Support Program Benefits River Valley Resilience Retreat
Source: Saskatchewan - Government News
Date: 2026-09-29 01:00:00.0
Tags: [Saskatchewan, Social Services, Infrastructure, Public Safety]The Government of Saskatchewan announced that 64 Royal Canadian Legion branches, Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans units, and other registered non-profit veterans organizations received a total of $1.45 million through the fully subscribed Saskatchewan Veterans Service Club Support Program. Among the beneficiaries is the River Valley Resilience Retreat, which has received a cumulative $145,000 since the 2021-22 fiscal year to fund accessibility renovations, building construction, and facility improvements at its permanent facility near St. Louis, Saskatchewan. The volunteer-run facility provides peer-based support, seasonal retreats, and weekly sessions for veterans, first responders, safety personnel, and their families.
Read Original -
Councillors question city footing bill for integrated call evaluation dispatch
Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
Date: 2026-09-28 20:40:57.0
Tags: [Municipal, Alberta, Public Safety, Emergency, Social Services]The City of Edmonton's Community and Public Services Committee reviewed the Integrated Call Evaluation Dispatch (ICED) system, a virtual service carrying an annual budget of $1.5 million that triages non-emergency calls to police, ambulance, mental health, or 311. City councillors, including Ward Anirniq Councillor Erin Rutherford and Ward Sspomitapi Councillor Jo-Anne Wright, questioned why the city is funding the system instead of the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) or the provincial government through standard operating procedures or social service allocations. The project currently employs 14 full-time workers against an initial target of 16 staff, and faces operational hurdles including database privacy restrictions, divergent call capacities, and fixed budgets vulnerable to inflation.
Read Original -
New EPS integrated stabilization centre already saving lives
Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
Date: 2026-09-28 11:15:28.0
Tags: [Alberta, Healthcare, Public Safety, Social Services, Justice]The Edmonton Police Service opened a new 18-bed integrated stabilization centre inside its downtown headquarters, recording 98 admissions over its first three and a half weeks, with 12 individuals transferred directly to the Addiction Recovery Centre at Alberta Hospital Edmonton. The initiative forms part of the Alberta provincial government's broader Mental Health and Addiction portfolio, which has expanded its budget from approximately $80 million in direct funding in 2019 to $2.3 billion. Operating in partnership with Recovery Alberta, the facility aims to provide frontline police and health workers an immediate destination for individuals experiencing substance use crises and connect them with voluntary opioid agonist therapy programs.
Read Original -
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.
Read Original -
Nova Scotia government is cutting off funding to a homeless shelter in New Glasgow
Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
Date: 2026-09-25 14:21:05.0
Tags: [Nova Scotia, Housing, Social Services, Public Safety]The Nova Scotia provincial government announced it is cutting off funding to the emergency homeless shelter operated by Northstar in New Glasgow within a 90-day period. The decision threatens housing and support for hundreds of unhoused individuals, raising community concerns regarding winter survival and access to opioid overdose reversal supports like Naloxone. In response, the province stated it is seeking expressions of interest for alternative supportive housing projects in the area and will work directly with current residents to find alternative housing options.
Read Original -
Expanding Violence Prevention Through Education: More School Staff to Receive Commit to Kids Training
Source: Newfoundland & Labrador - Government Releases
Date: 2026-09-23 18:45:02.0
Tags: [Newfoundland and Labrador, Education, Social Services, Public Safety]The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced $200,000 in joint funding through the National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence to expand the Commit to Kids online training program. Administered by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection and supported by the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association, the initiative aims to train an additional 1,000 school staff members—including teachers, administrators, student assistants, and bus drivers across the kindergarten to Grade 12 system—to recognize and respond to signs of child abuse. This expansion builds on previous training delivered since 2024 to 1,140 personnel supporting grades 7 through 12, and complements updates to the provincial health education curriculum focused on trauma-informed learning regarding healthy relationships, consent, and online safety.
Read Original -
Three Nova Scotia communities to launch crime prevention projects
Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
Date: 2026-09-17 18:29:37.0
Tags: [Nova Scotia, Municipal, Public Safety, Justice, Social Services]The Nova Scotia government announced it will allocate $550,000 in federal funding from Public Safety Canada to three municipalities to establish tailored crime prevention projects. Provincial Justice Minister Scott Armstrong confirmed the initiative will help communities address complex local challenges such as mental health, addiction, housing instability, and poverty. In New Glasgow, Mayor Nancy Dicks noted the funding arrives as the town addresses escalating public safety issues and debates the future of a local 20-bed emergency homeless shelter.
Read Original -
City calls for 'provincial reintegration co-ordination framework' after video surfaces showing inmates dropped off in Chinatown late Friday
Source: Alberta - Edmonton Journal (Legislature & Capital)
Date: 2026-09-14 22:02:14.0
Tags: [Alberta, Municipal, Justice, Public Safety, Social Services]Following a viral video showing correctional officers dropping off five men and three women from a shuttle in Edmonton's Chinatown area at approximately 8:45 p.m. on Friday, September 11, 2026, the City of Edmonton is calling for a provincial reintegration co-ordination framework. Mayor Andrew Knack noted that Edmonton houses 3,405 inmates across its eight prisons—representing 72 per cent of the provincial inmate population and 306 per cent more than Calgary—and urged the provincial and federal governments to implement a proper "warm handoff" to social services. O-day'min Councillor Anne Stevenson emphasized that leaving vulnerable individuals in parking lots without services immediately prior to the weekend sets them up to re-offend, while Ministry of Public Safety Director of Communications Sheena Campbell stated that corrections works with community shelters and individuals upon release, though approximately 80 per cent are on remand status with unpredictable release dates.
Read Original
