The world has been collectively anticipating the launch of Artemis II but five university students in New Brunswick are keeping an especially close eye on the mission to the moon.

The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is the only academic institution in Canada tracking the astronaut’s spacecraft, Orion, alongside NASA.

The 10-day mission will carry NASA astronauts, including Canadian Jeremy Hansen, on a free-return trajectory around the moon — making it the first crewed mission to the moon since 1972.

In Fredericton, UNB electrical and computer engineering professor Brent Petersen says he and his students will soon learn whether their months of preparations have been successful.

“It will be encouraging to have the students involved and participate in this. Didn’t expect I’d be here one year ago,” he said.

4:31
Artemis II prepares for launch around the moon

The New Brunswick group is part of 34 companies, space agencies, individuals, and universities around the world that are officially tracking the mission.

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The volunteer program allows them to complement the data NASA is gathering to help the space agency better understand the broader aerospace community’s tracking capabilities.

Petersen and his students will be using their satellite dish at the UNB Earth Station atop Gillin Hall to track the spacecraft, saving data on computers so that it can be analyzed later and seeing from where signals are received.

“In fact, NASA would like the data to be uploaded as soon as possible. At least every day because that might give them information they’re looking for,” he said.

“I can’t speculate to what they’re doing, but they’re interested in date, time, and the frequency that we receive.”

Petersen says the UNB Earth Station was never designed for deep space, however it was able to pick up signals from the James Webb Space Telescope, which is located about 1.5 million km from earth.

“The moon is only 300,000 km from Earth’s surface so it bodes well for our Earth Station being able to pick up signals from Artemis II,” he said.

He says the students selected from the university to work on this project have amateur radio licences and have been working for eight months on the technical aspects of tracking Orion.

“I’m in my last year, so I’m taking every opportunity, getting my foot in the door, in the space industry (and) actually being part of a real space mission,” said Olivia Ferry Rice, a sixth-year software engineering student.

Chris Carson, a fourth-year electrical engineering student, shares that dream of having a career in space.

“I would love to go into a career in space, and mix that with what I’ve been learning in school,” said Carson.

“It’s nice to be able to help out with NASA and to be able to contribute to a real moon mission.”

For Petersen, the experience is both new and exhilarating, too. He says he realizes what an important role they have to play in this mission and the importance of their contribution.

“I feel like I’m a student again because I’m working hard to try and put everything in place and help everybody, and it’s like NASA will be grading me,” he said.

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Saskatchewan has the lowest per capita participation in Ottawa’s Assault-Style Firearms Compensation Program. Some experts predict that it will be even lower.

The most recent data from the government of Canada shows 793 guns declared in Saskatchewan as of March 19 — the fewest per capita in Canada.

“It’ll be interesting to see how many people withdraw their applications in the next day or so because we’re starting to see that across the country already, ” new firearms commissioner Blaine Beaven says.

The provincial government has also pushed back on the program by amending legislation to allow for exemptions for gun owners in Saskatchewan.

Beaven says the alternative compensation program from the province is only part of the reason gun owners are withdrawing applications.

“Anyone else who has applied, who’s not a province with an agreement or where a police agency lives with an agreement, as far as I can tell from the terms from the federal program, is not going to be compensated,” Beaven says.

Quebec is currently the only province to sign on to the program.

The Saskatchewan government is also pushing back on the federal government’s plan to use local law enforcement to remove the now-banned firearms in the coming months.

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“There’s no interest on the part of municipal police forces to engage in this type of work. They’re focused on actual crime fighting, actual work that will enhance public safety, not this type of work,” Beaven says.

Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation recreational firearm community chairperson Gilbert White feels the program is broken beyond repair after spending days trying to help a friend apply.

“This gentleman, who wanted to turn in a JR-15, has no idea if he’s registered for a compensation program or not, because you’re just not responding to him at all,” White says.

Of the 136,000 assault-style firearms the federal government expected, 47,000 have been declared across Canada.

Ahead of the program opening, federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree was caught on an audio recording casting doubt on the program, suggesting it could gain Liberal votes in Quebec.

“I guess we’re an easy target, if you want to put it that way. And the government is willing to, you know, do that for political gain,” White says.

Some national firearms advocates agree with White.

“The government never actually had the intention of collecting firearms from people. The bans were largely political, and the minister admitted as much,” Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights (CCFR) spokesperson Tracey Wilson says.

The CCFR says it will be moving forward with a Supreme Court of Canada appeal challenging the federal government’s use of an order-in-council to prohibit the more than 2,500 recently banned firearms.

“I think a lot of people, myself included, would like to see the program scrapped,” Saskatoon gun owner Kendrick Walker says.

Walker, like many gun owners, is frustrated with what he says is a lack of information from different levels of government throughout the program’s launch.

“There is a little bit of a grey area there. We’re still waiting to see precisely what that means in terms of compensation. The federal government is saying one thing, the province is saying another,” Walker says.

Global News reached out to the Ministry of Public Safety for comment on the program closing but did not hear back in time for publication.

In a press conference, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree addressed the pushback from provinces.

“Those who are eligible and those enrolled in the program, will be able to seek compensation for their prohibited firearms that they will be willing to turn over to police. Having said that, it’s regrettable that both the government of Saskatchewan (and) Alberta have chosen this path,” said Anandasangaree.

In a separate press conference, Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed the gap in the federal government’s expectations and declared firearms.

“We’ll evaluate the full program and next steps. There’s time between now and when the law fully takes effect later in the fall,” says Carney.

There is still a grace period for gun owners to surrender their guns. The fallout for those who don’t comply after the Oct. 31 deadline remains to be seen on a province-to-province basis.

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One province and one territory are taking steps to lower the screening age for colorectal cancer, with more probing a similar change.

Earlier this week, Prince Edward Island announced it’s lowering the age to 45, with Nunavut confirming to Global News on Tuesday its plans to make the same change.

BC Cancer said in an email to Global News it is also investigating such an adjustment.

“While younger adults have a lower risk of colorectal cancer compared to older adults, emerging evidence has prompted BC to investigate lowering the starting age for screening,” said Dr. Fabio Feldman with BC Cancer. “Data collection and modelling work is now ongoing.”

Those actions has cancer survivor Barry Stein, who serves as CEO of Colorectal Cancer Canada, pleased because it could prevent more families from a “costly and traumatic” experience his family went through.

“So this program (screening) wouldn’t have helped me at that time, but it would have sensitized a lot more people about the disease,” he said.

Stein was diagnosed at the age of 41 in 1995. He said he ignored the symptoms he had and, by the time he was diagnosed, the cancer had metastasized to other parts of his body.

He ended up having to get four liver surgeries in New York. He also participated in chemotherapy treatments in Canada and an experimental vaccine trial in California.

That experience led Stein to become not only an advocate for himself, but for others and resulted in the founding of what was originally called the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada. It later became Colorectal Cancer Canada.

The organization has since launched a ‘screen at 45 campaign,’ urging provinces and territories to lower their screening age.

5:01
What Albertans need to know about colorectal cancer and the screenings available

“We really want to save lives and that is the purpose of doing it,” Stein said. “We don’t want people to have to go through what I went through, which was a very traumatic, costly and traumatic experience to myself and my family.”

Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Alberta and Saskatchewan told Global News they are each reviewing recommendations, with Saskatchewan’s ColonCheck assessing evidence and the timeline to decrease the eligibility age.

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Manitoba, Quebec, the Northwest Territories and Newfoundland and Labrador said they are continuing to review evidence, though no changes are coming at this time.

A spokesperson for the Ontario government said on background it’s reviewing ways to strengthen care, but “at this time, it would be too early to confirm any changes.”

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, people under 50 are now two- to two-and-a-half times more likely to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer than they were in previous generations.

Dr. Enrique Sanz Garcia, a clinical investigator at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, said those numbers are in line with what he’s seeing.

“This is something that we are seeing more often in our clinic at this point,” Sanz Garcia said.

5:25
Lowering the screening age for colorectal cancer

He went on to tell Global News that while there aren’t confirmed causes explaining why colorectal cancer is presenting earlier in people, there are still factors linked to the disease itself.

Among them is a diet filled with high amounts of ultra-processed fats and a sedentary lifestyle.

“But the truth is that we are seeing many people who don’t have any of these risk factors and they still have cancer and colorectal cancer,” he said.

Guidelines in Canada currently recommend asymptomatic people with average risk between 50 and 75 to be screened using a fecal occult blood test. One of the most common is known as the fecal immunochemical test (FIT), an at-home screening tool that can detect blood in the stool, which may indicate colorectal cancer.

Sanz Garcia stresses if the FIT test does detect blood, it does not immediately mean you have cancer but people should then get a colonoscopy.

If you’re concerned about colorectal cancer even without family history or higher risk, he said people can look for some common symptoms, including bleeding, an alternation between constipation and diarrhea, abdominal pain and unexplained weight loss.

Yet he noted another reason for early screening is because many people can be asymptomatic.

“The reality is that most of the people that we are seeing in the clinic, they are caught by a screening,” Sanz Garcia said. “They are caught asymptomatic, they are caught because they go for the screening for colorectal cancer.”

— With files from The Canadian Press

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Provincial police say a fifth person has been arrested in connection with a 2021 homicide in Bolton, Ont., as investigators continue to search for two outstanding suspects.

In an update Wednesday morning, OPP said Damion Ryan, 45, of Ottawa, was arrested on March 12., and charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

He is expected to attend court on April 13.

The charges stem from a series of shootings in 2020 and 2021, including the killing of 65-year-old Giovanni Costa in Bolton and another victim who was first shot at in Vaughan.

Police say York Regional Police first responded to a shooting at a business on Steeles Avenue West in Vaughan on Nov. 12, 2020, where one person was injured and taken to hospital.

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Just over two months later, on Jan. 18, 2021, OPP officers were called to a shooting at a home on Harvest Moon Drive in Bolton.

Two people were found with gunshot wounds inside the residence, including the victim of the Vaughan shooting.

Costa, a resident of the home, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police had previously announced other arrests in the case, including Christopher Brown, 28, of Barrie and Neheniah Tirfe, 25, of Toronto, who were both arrested and charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and other charges.

Investigators have also issued an Ontario-wide warrant for Filmon Fesshaghirgis, 27, of London, who is wanted on charges, including first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

A Canada-wide warrant remains in effect for Waheed Barakziye, 48, also of London, on the same charges.

Both men are known to frequent London and the GTA.

Police are urging the public not to approach either suspect and to contact authorities immediately if they are seen.

The province is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for Costa’s death.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the authorities.

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A public inquiry into the deaths of several homeless people in Montreal has been ordered by Quebec’s chief coroner.

In a news release issued Wednesday, chief coroner Reno Bernier says the inquiry will look to determine the causes and circumstances surrounding five deaths.

But the probe may also consider other deaths that occurred under similar circumstances if the coroner deems it necessary.

“Because every life counts, it is essential to shed full light on the causes and circumstances of these deaths in order to prevent others,” Bernier said in a statement.

Bernier says the inquiry will allow for an in-depth analysis of the causes and circumstances, including highlighting potential contributing factors.

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According to the statement, coroner Stéphanie Gamache will lead the inquest, supported by Crown prosecutor Émilie Fay-Carlos.

Bernier went on to note the inquiry could help support co-ordination among various stakeholders and give guidance on better protecting those most vulnerable.

Bernier’s announcement comes barely a week after three homeless people died in the city, two of whom died within 24 hours.

That news brought Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferada to tears during a routine city announcement last Thursday.

Asked how she was feeling, she replied: “A day like today, a bit powerless.”

She made the revelation during a funding announcement with the city providing $412,000 to l’Anonyme to help the unhoused population living in the Notre-Dame Street encampments get off the streets.

The inquiry launched by Bernier will focus on five recent deaths:

• Jennifer De Nobile, 30, who died Sept. 23, 2025
• Marie Soleil Nantais, 46, who died Oct. 24, 2025
• Valmont Brosseau, 71, who died March 24, 2026
• Alain Paris, 55, who died March 24, 2026
• Serge Martin, 57, who died March 25, 2026

More details on the inquest, including hearing dates, will be released at a later time.

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Police have put up a billboard outside an Ontario town in a bid to crack a now two-year-old homicide investigation.

Ontario Provincial Police said Monday that it installed the billboard on County Road 9 facing southwest at County Road 11, just west of Orangeville, as the anniversary of David Robson’s death arrives.

Robson, 65, was found dead on April 1, 2024, around Chinguacousy Road and King Street in the Town of Caledon. A post-mortem examination conducted a day later determined his cause of death was homicide.

Robson, a resident of Melancthon, Ont., had been reported missing on March 21 that year.

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His vehicle, a 2017 black Kia Sportage with Ontario licence plate DAMZ 252, has never been found.

“Investigators are urging anyone with information about the whereabouts of the vehicle to contact police to support the ongoing investigation,” police said in the release.

The billboard police have installed features a stock picture of the vehicle and Robson’s photo.

“We hope the billboard prompts anyone passing through the area to recall some information about David Robson or the location of his vehicle,” Det.-Insp. Mark Allison said.

“We want to understand what happened to David and provide the answers his loved ones have been waiting for over the past two years.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police.

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Foreign governments are continuing to harass and intimidate Canadians but proving it in court is a challenge, the RCMP said in a statement clarifying controversial remarks by the commissioner.

“What we can say is that the RCMP is aware of complaints of intimidation and harassment against certain communities across Canada,” the RCMP told Global News in the statement.

“The RCMP, and the broader government of Canada, is also aware that foreign states are engaging in such activities in Canada,” the police force added in response to questions.

The statement was released after Global News asked the RCMP to explain Commissioner Mike Duheme’s comments two weeks ago about Indian transnational repression.

In a May 19 broadcast, Duheme told CTV “We have people that are intimidating people, harassing people, but connecting the dots to a foreign entity, regardless of the country, we don’t have that.”

The remarks, the latest in a series of seemingly contradictory comments from the government about India’s activities in Canada, were condemned by critics.

A Canadian Sikh organization said the commissioner had left the impression the RCMP was walking back its accusations about India’s illicit targeting of Canada’s South Asian community.

But in its follow-up statement, the RCMP said the difficulty has been linking specific incidents against Canadians to a foreign state, with evidence that can be revealed in the criminal courts.

“Investigations are ongoing,” the RCMP said. “However, based on criminal intelligence currently held by the RCMP related to transnational repression, establishing a direct link to a foreign entity with information that can be disclosed in a criminal proceeding is a complex process.”

A former Canadian Security Intelligence Service official said the statement was revealing and pointed to the longstanding difficulties in using intelligence information in criminal prosecutions.

“The commissioner is acknowledging a lack of criminally admissible evidence linking foreign states to transnational repression in Canada. That is not the same as an absence of information,” Dan Stanton said.

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“CSIS may hold relevant intelligence on current activity, but it is not under any statutory obligation to disclose that intelligence to the RCMP,” added Stanton, author of a forthcoming book on foreign interference.

“The Service would share some intelligence if their investigative target crossed the threshold of criminal activity and the RCMP believes it would further their evidence collection.”

2:08
Canada and India reset relationship despite claims of continued interference

An especially challenging aspect of foreign interference, transnational repression occurs when overseas governments, or those acting for them, use harassment, threats and violence to silence critics abroad.

The RCMP statement did not name specific countries, but CSIS has identified China, India, Russia and Iran as the main states conducting espionage and foreign interference in Canada.

Asked about the commissioner’s comments, CSIS said that “transnational repression and foreign interference remain persistent threats in Canada.”

“CSIS assessment of the main perpetrators of foreign interference and espionage against Canada remains unchanged.”

National security agencies believe the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been engaged in election meddling, disinformation and foreign interference in Canada.

India has mostly targeted the Khalistan movement that seeks independence for the country’s Sikh-majority Punjab, labelling activists as terrorists and demanding their prosecution or extradition.

In 2023, India allegedly escalated its tactics when it contracted the Lawrence Bishnoi gang to assassinate key members of the Khalistan movement, starting with B.C. Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

In October 2024, the RCMP went further, accusing the Indian government of orchestrating an array of violence in Canada. Six Indian diplomats were expelled for their suspected involvement.

“As shared on October 14, 2024, the RCMP observed organized crime elements being used in acts of transnational repression,” the RCMP said in its recent statement.

“A number of investigations related to these findings remain ongoing. For reasons of operational integrity and security, no further details can be provided until charges are laid and the matters become public,” it said.

“The RCMP is committed to combating foreign interference in all its forms and will not tolerate intimidation, harassment, or the targeting of diaspora communities or individuals in Canada.”

2:03
Police warn Canadian Sikh activist of threat to life ahead of Carney’s India visit

India denies the allegations, despite evidence that it also tried to kill one of Nijjar’s associates. The FBI disrupted the plot, which the U.S. says was carried out by India’s Research and Analysis Wing intelligence branch.

Critics have accused Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government of overlooking India’s activities as it seeks a trade deal with the Modi government to offset the impact of a U.S. trade war.

On the eve of Carney’s official visit to India, one of his officials told reporters that India was no longer targeting Canadians, prompting a backlash from within the Liberal ranks.

Following the RCMP commissioner’s remarks to CTV, World Sikh Organization president Danish Singh accused the government of “playing word games to shield the government of India.”

“Sikh Canadians continue to face intimidation, surveillance, and threats linked to Indian state actors and their proxies,” he said.

“We are aware of multiple recent incidents, including cases where Sikh activists have received ‘duty to warn’ notifications from Canadian law enforcement. We are aware of individuals being surveilled and intimidated.”

Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca

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Calgarians will once again pay more on their property tax bills this year, however, the increase is mostly due to another provincial request for an increased share of property taxes from Calgary homeowners.

Calgary city council finalized the property tax increase Tuesday, which included an 8.1 per cent overall residential property tax increase, a combination of both the municipal and provincial portions.

The jump comes after city council whittled down the proposed property tax increase to 1.2 per cent for both residential and non-residential properties during budget deliberations last year.

However, the provincial portion of property taxes is increasing by 19.8 per cent for residential properties this year, and 8.8 per cent for non-residential properties.

“Our city council team did the hard work, we lived within our means, we spent responsibly,” Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas told reporters Tuesday.

“To see that massive increase in property taxes due to provincial government decisions is extremely jarring.”

For the typical single-family homeowner with a median assessment of $706,000, the changes result in a nine per cent property tax increase, or an additional $32.25 per month.

The changes will also mean an increase of four per cent for condo owners, which is an extra $7.41 per month for the typical residential condo assessed at $347,000.

The typical multi-residential property is set to see a 16.2 per cent hike this year, while the median assessed non-residential property will pay an extra 2.5 per cent in property taxes this year.

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In total, Calgary will remit over $1.2 billion in property taxes to the province after a $200 million increase to the education property tax requisition from the city in this year’s provincial budget.

According to the city, it’s the highest amount of any Alberta municipality classified as a city on a per capita basis.

“There was a loud cry for more teachers, more schools, more supports, which comes at a cost,” Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean said. “I can’t support that but I know a lot of my residents wanted those things.”

The move means 42 cents of every dollar in property taxes collected in Calgary is sent to the provincial government, city officials said.

Farkas said he is looking for flexibility from the provincial government to allow Calgary to issue two property tax bills to reflect “which portion of the taxes are going where,” but the city must legally send just one bill to property owners.

However, Farkas noted he is hoping for more provincial funding given higher than budgeted oil prices, which is expected to generate additional revenue for the province this year.

“The provincial government indicated that the lack of support for municipalities and infrastructure time around was based on the lack of resource royalties,” Farkas said.

“We’re hoping now, based on what’s happening, that we’ll see a significant increase in infrastructure.”

According to a spokesperson for Alberta’s finance minister, higher oil prices can strengthen the province’s fiscal position and “hypothetically” help offset deficits.

However, the province said nothing in this year’s budget has been impacted by the current high oil prices.

“The higher oil prices, up until April 1, go toward offsetting the 2025-2026 deficit, not the current projected $9.4 billion deficit for Budget 2026,” read a statement from a provincial spokesperson.

“Even with the high price of oil over the last few weeks, fiscal year 2025-26 is still projecting a deficit due to sustained low oil prices over an entire fiscal. A few weeks of strong oil prices is not enough to offset an entire year.”

The statement added provincial officials look forward to seeing Farkas’ submission during the 2027 budget consultation period.

Other city councillors said they plan to keep an eye on the response from residents and businesses to the latest property tax increase.

“A lot of our established communities need paving on our roads, recreation centres, new playgrounds, those things all cost money,” Ward 4 Coun. DJ Kelly told reporters.

“Certainly if we don’t see Calgarians getting upset about the province increasing their property taxes, that maybe gives us a little bit of licence to do things a little bit faster than what we originally thought.”

According to the city, property tax bills will be mailed out in May and payments are due by June 30 for those who pay a lump sum once a year.

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Thousands of people access emergency medical care at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) every year, but now the emergency room (ER) will get some much-needed care of its own.

“Hopefully that translates into patients having a more seamless care journey in the emergency, getting kind of more efficiently brought into the department,” said Dr. Jared Baylis, an ER physician and the department’s medical director.

The KGH Foundation is about to launch a $2.5 million fundraising campaign to enhance emergency care in the Interior’s largest hospital.

“We’re all feeling kind of energized and excited about this,” Baylis said.

Called Give Where It Matters Most, the campaign is the last piece of the broader $40 million Closer To Home campaign.

It involves targeted improvements identified by medical teams and Interior Health (IH).

“This is a very big need for us and has been identified as a site priority for a while,” said Lindsay Taberner, KGH executive director of clinical operations.

The improvements will include redesigning patient registration and expanding triage capacity to help reduce wait times.

“If we have more ability and more space to triage patients, that will improve the triage time,” Taberner said. “So improved time to assessment and then time to result and time to treatment.”

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The redesigned space will also improve sightlines, allowing for better monitoring of vulnerable patients.

“I think triage is known to (be) a bit of a danger zone, because that’s the point where somebody’s come in seeking care but they haven’t yet been assessed or treated for what they’re coming in for,” Baylis said.

“And if wait times are starting to balloon, then people are in the waiting room for longer and longer and things can happen while they’re waiting.”

2:05
KGH Foundation launches new cancer care campaign

The funds will also support new diagnostic equipment including two mobile ultrasounds and a dedicated ER ECG and lab area, which Baylis said will help streamline the treatment process.

“Right now there can be some confusion about what happens next for patients. So they come in, they get triaged. Are they going to see the doctor next? Are they going for lab tests next? Are they going for an X-ray?” he said.

“It’s a little bit of a confusing journey, so we’re hoping to streamline that and just have it all happen in a more sequential way.”

According to IH, there were more than 101,000 patient visits to the KGH ER last year alone, making it second-busiest emergency room in the province.

As the region continues to grow, those patient numbers will continue increasing and put more strain on an already challenging staffing situation.

“We are continually recruiting, we are continually addressing need and demand,” Taberner said.

Work on the upgrades is expected to begin later this year and be completed by fall 2027.

For more information on the campaign or to donate, click on the KGH Foundation website.

2:21
New community-based mental health response team in Kelowna

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