Articles by Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press

Sep 23 2020 — Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press — REGINA — Returning officers in Saskatchewan are beginning to recruit what the province's elections agency expects to be thousands more volunteer workers needed to work the polls during October's pandemic vote. Chief Electoral Officer Michael Boda with Elections Saskatchewan said the number of polling locations have been dramatically increased to meet safety requirements for casting […]

Sep 17 2020 — Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press — REGINA — The host of a private gathering at a Saskatoon home that resulted in 21 people contracting COVID-19 has been fined $2,000. Health officials say it is the first ticket they have issued for a private get-together. The Ministry of Health wouldn't provide details of the gathering in order to protect the organizer's privacy but […]

Sep 14 2020 — Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press — REGINA — An experienced defence lawyer says a Saskatchewan judge's attendance at an Indigenous demonstration after he ruled on it could expose the court to potential allegations of bias. Michael Spratt says it's unusual for judges to have contact with one of the parties in a case that either could end up before them, or […]

Sep 14 2020 — Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press — REGINA — An experienced defence lawyer says a Saskatchewan judge's attendance at an Indigenous demonstration after he ruled on it could expose the court to potential allegations of bias. Michael Spratt says it's unusual for judges to have contact with one of the parties in a case that either could end up before them, or […]

Sep 11 2020 — Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press — REGINA — A Saskatchewan judge has ruled a Metis man can stay on the lawn of the provincial legislature to finish his hunger strike against high suicide rates. The government took Tristen Durocher to court after the 24-year-old started camping in a teepee in Regina's Wascana Park. He arrived there at the end of July after walking more than 600 […]

Sep 11 2020 — Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press — REGINA — A Saskatchewan judge has ruled a Metis man can stay on the lawn of the provincial legislature to finish his hunger strike against high suicide rates. The government took Tristen Durocher to court after the 24-year-old started camping in a teepee in Regina's Wascana Park. He arrived there at the end of July after walking more than 600 […]

Sep 10 2020 — Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press — REGINA — An election is in the air in Saskatchewan, as the Saskatchewan Party has put out attack ads and the NDP has made its second pre-election pledge in under a week. The campaign hasn't officially begun for the Oct. 26 provincial vote, but it is expected to be called within weeks. On Thursday, NDP leader Ryan Meili promised […]

Sep 8 2020 — Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press — REGINA — Saskatchewan's education minister said he expects the COVID-19 pandemic will lead to a need for more substitute teachers but funding for those staff isn't an immediate priority. On Tuesday, as thousands of students were back in school for the first time in almost six months, Gord Wyant said officials don't yet know what the impact will be. "We do […]

Sep 4 2020 — Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press — REGINA — The fate of a Metis man's hunger strike to highlight suicide rates will be decided by a Saskatchewan judge after hearing arguments from the government and protesters about what's at stake. Tristen Durocher, a 24-year-old Metis man, erected a teepee on a lawn in front of Saskatchewan's legislature after walking more than 600 […]

Sep 2 2020 — Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press — REGINA — Saskatchewan's NDP leader says his decision to block a former cabinet minister from running in the upcoming provincial election is legitimate. But the candidate says the move isn't justifiable. Sandra Morin won a contested nomination to represent the party in the Regina constituency of Walsh Acres in the October election. She held the seat from 2003 to 2011, […]

Sep 2 2020 — Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press — REGINA — Saskatchewan's health minister says the government will expand access to the life-saving antidote naloxone as a record number of people are dying from drug overdoses. Although pharmacies in the province don't usually distribute free naloxone, some started to when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived to limit the number of people in hospitals and clinics. Jim Reiter says about 12 […]

Aug 27 2020 — Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press — REGINA — Spending restraint is on the horizon in Saskatchewan as the province begins to dig itself out of a deficit Premier Scott Moe's government blames on the COVID-19 pandemic. On Thursday, Finance Minister Donna Harpauer delivered the first-quarter update for 2020-21. It predicts $2.1 billion in red ink, down from the $2.4 billion initially expected in the June budget. The government at […]

Aug 12 2020 — Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press — REGINA — The Opposition NDP is accusing the Saskatchewan Party government of dumping a decision about mask use in schools onto local boards instead of making the call itself. Education critic Carla Beck says she's frustrated by what she calls an off-loading of responsibility. "Right now, what I see is all of the political fallout and all of the […]

Aug 11 2020 — Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press — REGINA — Indigenous leaders from across Saskatchewan are crying out for governments to help their communities deal with what they are calling a suicide pandemic. The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, which represents 74 First Nations in the province, hosted several chiefs at a news conference Tuesday near a teepee erected on the lawn across from the legislature to draw attention […]

Aug 11 2020 — Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press — REGINA — The Saskatchewan government is leaving it up to school divisions to decide whether to make masks mandatory when classes reopen in September. Some teachers, doctors and parents have voiced concerns over the government's back-to-school plan, which doesn't make masks mandatory for students like several other provinces. People have also called for reduced class sizes and better building ventilation. […]