The owner of a Yukon a mining company received a $5,000 penalty Tuesday after failing to report that he killed four bears at his mining camp in central Yukon last summer.

Johannes Botes pleaded guilty to one charge under the Wildlife Act for failing to report the unauthorized killing of wildlife.

Justice of the peace Sharman Morrison accepted the joint submission from the Crown and defence, which included the $5,000 fine and a 10-month probation order.

Botes is the owner of JOPEBO Mining Inc., and operates a placer mine — a small scale mine that extracts minerals from stream beds — 60 kilometres west of Carmacks.

Botes appeared in court by video call from Namibia, where he resides with his family, and provided a statement expressing his regret for what happened last summer.

The court heard an agreed statement of facts, outlining the events that led to Botes shooting the bears and the subsequent investigation by conservation officers.

Last summer, Botes had been having issues with bears coming to his camp and accessing garbage, the statement of facts said.

On July 24, conservation officers received a report about one such incident, but Botes informed them that he scared the bear away with rubber bullets, it said.

The officers told him to contact their tip line if any other bear-human conflicts arose, it added.

A day later, while Botes was at the camp, the cook “came running to him” and told him that there was a bear in the camp, the document said.

Botes took his shotgun and found a black bear female, sow, with three cubs.

The statement of facts said that Botes “froze” and not knowing what to do next, he first shot the sow and then the three cubs.

After shooting the female, the cubs were not coming toward Botes but were crawling over the female’s body, it added.

After shooting the bears, Botes buried them on-site and did not report it to conservation officers, the document said.

Conservation officers received a report about the incident three days later and began an investigation, it said.

When they visited Botes at his camp, it said he denied knowing anything about the incident, but eventually told officers what happened and cooperated during the investigation.

According to the Wildlife Act, a person can kill an animal without a hunting license in the Yukon in an emergency situation — where there is a threat to human life or property — but they must report it. Reporting these incidents allows conservation officers to potentially salvage the meat and hides of the animals.

The Crown acknowledged that although shooting the sow could be considered an emergency situation, the three cubs did not pose a risk to people at the camp. The cubs could have been moved to a different location or given a chance to bond with another bear, Crown counsel said.

However, the Crown did not charge Botes with the illegal killing of wildlife. It told the court there were mitigating factors, including Botes’ guilty plea and the fact that he appeared in court to express regret for his actions.

Botes told the court that being from Namibia he was unfamiliar with how to handle situations like the one that occurred last summer. He said at the time he felt his decision to shoot the bears was justified, but he now regrets that decision and is already taking steps to make sure it does not happen again, although he did not give any details.

“Immediately after [the shooting], we’ve started taking some measures to try and avoid any occurrence of this,” he told the court. “And we have received a lot of advice … and just being again familiarized with how we can we can change behavior in the camp.”

Botes must pay the $5,000 penalty to the Yukon Conservation Fund by Dec. 4, 2026.

Under the probation order he is required to provide all staff for the 2026 season with bear awareness training.

He also has to implement an attractant management plan and provide it to Yukon Conservation Officer Services by April 1. The plan must ensure organic waste is either stored inside an electric fence or in a bear-safe container and is regularly disposed of at a waste management facility.

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The condition of the wharf has been a concern in the community for years. Now, armed with funding to conduct engineering studies and other work, officials with the harbour port association hope they’re setting course for a replacement. The CBC’s Michael Gorman has the story.

A 51-year-old Charlottetown man has pleaded guilty to charges related to a lockdown at three eastern P.E.I. health-care facilities last month. 

Eric Frank Campbell pleaded guilty Thursday to two charges related to making death threats over the phone against a health-care professional working in Kings County, as well as breaching the terms of his probation. 

The incident on Jan. 15 triggered a Code Silver at Kings County Memorial Hospital, Montague Health Centre and Bailey Drive Health Clinic, resulting in the three facilities being briefly locked down.

P.E.I. RCMP said at the time that officers went to the hospital to ensure public safety, then learned a short time later that Charlottetown Police Services had arrested a suspect in the capital city.

Campbell is barred from having any contact with the health-care professional. He is expected to be sentenced Monday.

The chair of Surrey’s police board says the province’s plan to shake up the board and possibly replace it entirely is poorly timed given the state of policing and safety in the city. 

On Tuesday, B.C. Premier David Eby said the province is “making changes” to the Surrey Police Board.

The police board is made up of community volunteers to provide independent oversight of the Surrey Police Service.

“What we’ve been doing is leaving vacancies in the police board as people come to the end of their terms,” Eby said. “Eventually, potentially the whole board will be replaced. But right now we’re filling those vacancies on the board in co-operation with the mayor to ensure that Surrey Police is connected and fully supported by municipal and provincial governments in the broader community.”

In an interview with CBC News, Surrey Police Board chair Harley Chappell said there’s a lot going on in Surrey right now — what with an extortion crisis and an ongoing police transition — and getting new members caught up on everything would be a challenge. 

“There’s lots of work to do,” Chappell said. “Hopefully the reappointments don’t lag too long. And then obviously orientation and getting those directors caught up to speed is gonna take a period of time.”

In an email to CBC News, the police board confirmed four board members whose terms expired and won’t be renewed: Sonia Parmar, Christine Mohr, Nerissa Allen and Sarbjit Bains.

They will be replaced by new members, appointed by the province and the City of Surrey, said Chappell, who is also elected Chief of the Semiahmoo First Nation. 

The news comes as Surrey, B.C.’s second largest city by population, is still in the midst of transitioning from the RCMP to a municipal police force, and as the region grapples with a spate of extortion attempts and related violence. 

As of Feb. 2, the Surrey Police Service says there have been 46 extortion attempts and 11 extortion-related shootings in the city since the beginning of the year. There’s also been one arson related to extortion, and 29 victims have been identified, the police service adds.

In 2025, there were 132 extortion attempts in Surrey, 49 of them involving shootings, according to police.

“The thing that upset me is really bad timing,” Chappell said about the police board changes. 

“You don’t change riders in the middle of a stream, right? You don’t hop off and kind of move on. We’re neck deep right now.”

У пʼятницю, 6 лютого, в усіх регіонах України протягом всієї доби будуть застосовуватись графіки погодинних відключень електроенергії та графіки обмеження потужності для промислових споживачів. 

Як повідомили в “Укренерго”, причиною запровадження заходів обмеження є наслідки російських ракетно-дронових атак на енергооб’єкти. 

“Ситуація в енергосистемі може змінитись. Час та обсяг застосування відключень за вашою адресою – дізнавайтесь на офіційних сторінках обленерго у вашому регіоні”, – йдеться в повідомленні. 

В компанії також вчергове закликали громадян ощадливо споживати електроенергію, коли вона з’являється за графіком. 

Графіки відключень для Києва

У столиці продовжують діяти індивідуальні графіки відключень світла для кожного будинку. Через складну ситуацію в енергетиці поки що стандартні графіки застосувати неможливо.

Графіки відключень у Дніпропетровській області

ДТЕК оприлюднив графіки відключень для Дніпропетровщини. У всіх чергах завтра, у пʼятницю, вимикатимуть електроенергію три рази за добу. Таким чином відключення будуть тривалими, а світло у деяких споживачів буде сумарно лише 5,5 години на день.

Графіки відключень для Одеської області 

ДТЕК також опублікував графіки вимкнень електроенергії для Одещини. Так, у регіоні у всіх чергах завтра вимикатимуть електроенергію три рази за добу. Відключення будуть тривалими, світло у деяких споживачів буде сумарно близько пʼяти годин на день. 

Графіки відключень для Львівської області 

На Львівщині електроенергію завтра, 6 лютого, вимикатимуть не у всіх чергах споживачів. Так, у групах 1.1, 3.1, 4.1, 5.2, та 6.1 світло буде весь день. У решті черг буде одне відключення на добу довжиною 3,5 години.

Ситуація в енергосистемі – останні новини 

Як писав УНІАН, в ніч на 3 лютого Російська Федерація атакувала столицю балістикою і дронами. Внаслідок ворожої атаки два райони Києва залишилися без опалення.  

Росіяни також вдарили по енергетиці Харкова. Мер міста Ігор Терехов тоді зазначив, що удари йшли цілеспрямовано по енергетичній інфраструктурі, щоб завдати їй максимальних руйнувань і залишити місто без тепла в сильні морози.  

5 лютого Росія також вчергове вдарила по енергетичній інфраструктурі України. В четвер у результаті атаки частково залишилися без світла чотири області.  

Перший заступник голови енергетичного комітету парламенту Олексій Кучеренко повідомив, що Дарницький та Дніпровський райони Києва на час ремонту Дарницької ТЕЦ залишаться без тепла, але частину будинків потенційно можуть переключити на опалення з інших джерел.

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Amid startling news of the arrests of eight active-duty and retired Toronto police officers as part of a major organized crime and corruption probe, municipal officials are set to meet with Chief Myron Demkiw and are backing calls for an independent probe.

“The residents of Toronto deserve to know that the police officers they deal with every day can be trusted, not corrupt and acting with integrity,” Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said as she read from a prepared statement Thursday morning.

“Any police officer that is found to have committed crimes will be punished. Any officer working with organized crime deserves to be thrown in jail. Public trust in policing is fundamental.”

Chow made the remarks during an event to unveil a plaque recognizing the 1981 Toronto bathhouse raids, a coordinated police operation dubbed ‘Project Soap’ that saw officers force their way into four establishments and charge nearly 300 men. The raids prompted many members and allies of Toronto’s 2SLGBTQ+ community to rally for change.

The event happened minutes after a stunning news conference at the York Regional Police Service’s headquarters in Aurora where Chief Jim MacSween and Deputy Chief Ryan Hogan, alongside Demkiw, announced the results of ‘Project South.’

The broader seven-month investigation involves allegations of conspiracy to commit murder, corruption, breach of trust and disclosure of sensitive information, extortion, drug trafficking and instances where gunshots were fired. Nineteen others who don’t have backgrounds in policing are also facing charges. The allegations against the accused haven’t been proven in court.

Chow noted Demkiw and the Toronto Police Services Board asked Ontario’s inspector general of policing to conduct a probe of multiple aspects of the Toronto Police Service stemming from ‘Project South.’ The inspectorate is responsible for ensuring police services adhere to provincial laws and regulations.

“I support an independent review. We have to get to the bottom of how this can happen,” she said before talking about the importance of having civilian oversight functions.

“The chief of police has to earn that trust back by rooting out officers who have committed crimes and mak[ing] the necessary, systemic changes after the independent review.”

While talking about gradual, ongoing changes being made to the culture of the Toronto Police Service, Coun. Chris Moise said those charged aren’t representative of all officers.

“Yes, seven officers were arrested recently in regards to this corruption case, but again 99 per cent of the police service officers — people who work for the City — are honest officers who actually serve our community well and we should not lose sight of that,” he told reporters.

The Toronto Police Service Board (TPSB), chaired by Coun. Shelley Carroll, released a statement on Thursday in response to the ‘Project South’ investigation.

“The board holds all members of the Toronto Police Service to the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and accountability, and any allegations of criminal conduct are taken extremely seriously,” the statement said in part.

“The board also emphasizes that, every day, thousands of uniformed and civilian members of the Toronto Police Service carry out demanding and often unseen work in service of public safety and the communities they protect.”

It went on to discuss the “comprehensive” request that was made to Ontario’s inspector general of policing.

“The board believes such an inspection is necessary to provide the public with a credible and transparent assessment, and to identify any steps needed to strengthen accountability and public safety,” the statement said.

“In its request, the board has asked that consideration be given to matters including supervision and span of control; recruitment screening and ongoing vetting; access to police databases and information systems; evidence and property management practices; and substance use and fitness for duty.”

Councillors Amber Morley and Lily Cheng, along with four provincial and municipal civilian appointees, are also on the TPSB.

Many Canadian farmers are eager to use drones to spray pesticides — already common in the United States — but industry groups say slow regulatory approvals are leaving the country years behind its competitors.

The Alberta Federation of Agriculture is pushing for a national strategy to fast-track pesticide products for drone spraying. The organization says current rules are putting local farmers at a competitive disadvantage and it believes using drones to spray pesticides could cut farmers’ costs and allow them to be more surgical in how they spray without disturbing nearby crops.

Aaron Stein, executive director of the Alberta Federation of Agriculture, which represents 35,000 producers, said the competitive gap is not about drone technology itself but the approval process surrounding pesticides.

“The core difference between Canada and the U.S. is, in Canada, the pesticides or herbicides, fungicides, larvicides, they’re all approved by the PMRA (Pest Management Regulatory Agency),” he said, which operates under Health Canada.

Stein said approvals come about too slowly, and pesticide labels are required to specify if they can be sprayed by a drone — most can’t.

“It’s quite an arduous process to go through Health Canada and the PMRA to get something approved,” he said. 

While Transport Canada oversees certification and flight rules for drone pilots, Stein said he believes both Transport Canada and the PMRA “have not been working the best they can together and improving things.”

When it comes to using drones to spray pesticides, he said the rules are more flexible in the U.S. where drones are treated much in the same way as traditional crop dusters.

“They basically said, by extension, a drone is just a remote airplane, so it should be the same.”

Because of that, Stein said American farmers have access to hundreds of chemicals that can be sprayed by drones, while in Canada, only a handful of those chemicals are approved to be sprayed that way. 

“None of those are widely applicable to mainstream crops,” he said, adding they are limited to niche crops rather than industrial-scale crops like canola.

Stein said the AFA has also heard similar concerns from the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, and both groups are working on a national strategy to put before the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.

“We have a national strategy and framework bringing together the Ministry of Transport, the PMRA,” calling for a clearer pathway to approve pesticides, he said. The proposal is expected to be voted on at the Canadian Federation of Agriculture’s annual general meeting, which is taking place in Ottawa later this month.

Ongoing scientific review

In an emailed statement to CBC News, Health Canada said the department “takes the concerns seriously and recognizes that they are aligned with a recommendation from the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food in December 2025,” which called for allowing drone use when a product is already approved for aerial spraying.

Health Canada said the drone-specific restriction was originally introduced due to limited RPAS (remotely piloted aircraft system) data and a lack of information about potential risks. 

“There are currently seven pesticides registered in Canada,” the department said.  

Health Canada acknowledged drones may give growers more flexibility and advantages over conventional spraying methods, adding it is working with Transport Canada, provinces and territories to develop training and certification for safe and effective pesticide application by drone. 

The department said it has obtained new scientific data on food residue levels and environmental risks linked to RPAS use, which is being considered as part of its review. 

“We expect to be in a position to issue a decision regarding drone application (where aerial use is already authorized) in the coming months, following the completion of our scientific review,” Health Canada said.

CBC News reached out to Transport Canada for comment on the concerns raised. In a response, the department said it published regulatory amendments last year to make it easier to use drones in the agricultural sector.

Sooner than later

Nichole Neubauer, a farmer and rancher in southeastern Alberta, said she would welcome policy changes that would allow for more efficient spot treatments on her farm.

“I would like to see it happen soon,” she said.

“Obviously there’s a lot of enhancement to both environmental and producer safety because we wouldn’t be needing to use as much chemical.”

Justin Schwab, a central Alberta farmer, said he believes drone technology has potential but also still has some way to go.

“I kind of have mixed feelings about this,” he said. “I think it would be an advantage, … [but] I don’t think it’s gonna be night-and-day advantage.” 

Schwab said while he believes drones could help target small problem areas, they wouldn’t completely replace conventional ground sprayers.

Not there yet

Russell Milk, a remote sensing specialist at Olds College Centre of Innovation, called for a balanced approach when it comes to allowing drones to be used to spray pesticides.

“It does put producers at a sort of global disadvantage compared to those who regularly use that technology, ” he said.

“But at the same time, I also really respect the idea that the PMRA has a lot of environmental considerations, which are important when you’re talking about chemical spraying.”

Milk said he agrees with the PMRA’s process of considering approvals on a case-by-case basis, but believes the process could move faster by using data from other trusted countries and partners.

“Certainly there is a middle ground that exists, but I think we’re just not really at that point just yet,” Milk said.