UPDATED: This story has been update to add comments from the City of Prince Albert.
The provincial government has appointed a mediator to help end a labour dispute between CUPE 882 and the City of Prince Albert.
According to a news release from the union, the minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety has appointed Kristin Anderson, who’s the executive director of Labour Relations and Mediation.
A meeting with Anderson is set to take place on Wednesday.
“We are hopeful that with Ms. Anderson’s support, we can have a productive bargaining meeting with the employer and resolve this dispute in a timely matter,” said CUPE 882 national representative, Mira Lewis.
The union wrote a letter requesting a mediator late last week and received a response on Friday.
“We have made it very clear to the conciliator that our position remains the same. We have our entire mandate on the table,” said the City’s HR Manager Kevin Yates.
“We have no ability to enhance the mandate in any way, but we are prepared, as we always have been, to meet with the union if they are prepared to discuss a settlement within the 11.5 per cent to reach an agreement.”
In a news release last week, the City said the union’s latest offer prioritized vacation and premium pay, while sticking to the 12 per cent proposed wage increase over four years.
The City says it can’t put a higher offer on the table because of its responsibility to taxpayers.
“I don’t see how this meeting will change anything, but we are always hopeful,” said Yates.
“We would like to have the employees return to work. We respect our employees, but we also respect their right to strike to try to change the mandate.”
CUPE 882’s strike resulted in a withdrawal of services at City Hall, the EA Rawlinson Centre for the Arts, Frank Dunn Pool, Alfred Jenkins Field House and the Arts Centre. Members have been picketing at the various facilities since Sept. 11.
Megan Gallagher’s remains found near St. Louis in Sept. 2022, pre-trials set to start next week
Editors note: This story contains details related to murder that some readers may find disturbing.
Brian Gallagher never held back on educating his daughters about the harsh realities of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
Yet one is suspected to have been brutally killed and dumped.
“This is ground zero for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG),” he said.
“Growing up as an Indigenous person in the city, we know that there are different realities for Indigenous people. We face different challenges. I try to educate my daughters the best that I could – but it still happened to one of them.”
Megan Gallagher was 30 years old when she was last seen on Sept. 20, 2020 in Saskatoon. Just over two years later, her remains were located along the South Saskatchewan River by St. Louis.
Family members, police and safety personnel assembled near St. Louis, SK to search for Megan Gallagher on Sept. 29, 2022. – Matt Smith/Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Nine people are charged in her death, four with first-degree murder. Other charges include indignity to human remains, aggravated assault and unlawful confinement.
Megan’s family has become well-known advocates of MMIWG across Saskatchewan, attending the Prince Albert Grand Council Women’s Commission awareness walk in June. Every year in September, they host a memorial walk in Saskatoon to continue the conversation.
“Breaking the silence works,” said Brian.
“One of the things that perpetrators do, is silence is one of the tools that they use and they use fear to keep people quiet. If we can break that silence in any way, I think we can reduce the numbers of the incidences of things like this.”
He said police have told the family that for every awareness walk, they receive between 60 and 100 new tips.
“There’s something magical that happens when people walk in a group…Conversations start relationships and relationships build community and community creates healing.”
‘A special kind of hell’
Brian described his daughter as giving. She would always offer others a ride, a cigarette; whatever others needed, she was willing to help out.
She was also social and remained in touch with her family – the main indicator that something was wrong when she first went missing.
It was hard to function for the first few days, explained Brian.
“You don’t have an appetite and you have to force yourself to eat. You don’t sleep, or you don’t sleep the same. You don’t sleep right. You grab a minute or two when you can because when you close your eyes, you have these pictures of what might have happened,” he said.
“Those days, they were, I don’t know how to describe them, a special kind of hell.”
He said this anniversary, in many ways, has been the hardest because he doesn’t “know what the future holds.”
Pre-trials for the more severe charges in Megan’s death start on Monday.
“They’ll present the evidence that they have and we’ll hear statements about various things that I think are going to hurt,” he said.
Earlier this year, John Wayne Sanderson and Jessice Faye Badger were sentenced after pleading guilty to charges of indignity to human remains.
Sanderson was sentenced to three years for loading Megan’s body into a truck, driving her to the St. Louis area and throwing her body into the river. Badger received a conditional sentence of two years less a day, followed by an 18-month probation, for giving Sanderson gas money so that he could dump her body.
Ernest Vernon Whitehead was also sentenced to two years and seven days for helping Sanderson dispose of her body.
According to the Native Women’s Association of Canada, about 10 per cent of MMIWG cases in Canada are from Saskatchewan.
– with files from Bre McAdam, Saskatoon StarPhoenix
In its first game of the season, a Prince Albert hockey team will be playing as Team Bruce.
The Mann-Northway Northern Bears are honouring former manager Bruce Vance with a third jersey as part of a cancer fundraiser.
“It’s going to be a very exciting night to see the team skating around as Team Bruce. I can hardly wait,” said Vance.
“It’s an unbelievable honour.”
The jerseys incorporate a blue ribbon, representing colon cancer, with ‘Team Bruce’ written on the front and back. The U18AAA girls team will wear the jerseys for its opening game at the Art Hauser Centre on Sept. 30.
The jerseys, along with others that adorn ‘Vance #1,’ will be auctioned off with the proceeds going towards the Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan and the Victoria Hospital Foundation. There will also be a raffle draw.
Vance will always remember the date of his initial diagnosis – he had emergency surgery the Wednesday after the Saskatchewan Roughriders triumphed over the Hamilton Tiger Cats in the 101st Grey Cup.
“They removed a tumour the size of a golf ball from my colon, and also 27 cm of my colon at that time. I was diagnosed as Stage 3,” he explained.
“I underwent chemotherapy and radiation and by July of 2014, I was determined to (have) no evidence of cancer.”
The cancer returned in 2020. This time, it had spread to his lungs and liver, and was considered Stage 4 and terminal. An oncologist gave him an estimated survival time of 24 to 28 months, which he’s already outlived by over a year.
In June – after 53 rounds of chemotherapy and about 20 of radiation – he chose to stop chemo.
“My body has reacted not very well to the chemotherapy. It’s cumulative, and from my last chemotherapy I was very, very sick for the last 10 days,” said Vance.
“We’re taking it day to day.”
He said he chose the charities because he received half of his treatments in Prince Albert and half in Saskatoon.
The Cancer Foundation of Saskatchewan supports clinics in Saskatoon and Regina, while the Victoria Hospital is set to have an expanded cancer centre as part of future upgrades.
“To see some tangible results, things that I could touch and feel and see was very, very important to me for the charities, so I’m very pleased that the people who have treated me and extended my life are going to benefit from this jersey auction.”
The Cancer Foundation fundraises to provide the Saskatoon and Regina clinics with necessities such as equipment and chairs.
“It is heartwarming to see the outpouring of generosity from people in our communities, stepping up to show their support for family, friends, and neighbours. Cancer is a difficult journey, and no one travels it alone,” said Nora Yeates, CEO of the foundation.
Vance’s giving spirit was also echoed by the CEO of the Victoria Hospital Foundation, Cody Barnett.
“It’s truly fitting that even as we gather to honour Bruce, he continues to push for meaningful change through these fundraising efforts. His character is precisely why this acknowledgment is so well-deserved,” said Barnett.
“The impact of the funds raised through these efforts will ensure that we can all get the care we need, close to home.”
Vance said the jerseys are a “full circle moment” to a similar T-shirt fundraiser back when he was first diagnosed, spearheaded by two of the players.
“For teenage girls to do something like that, it’s very heartwarming and that was a great moment. Certainly, when I was told about this, it brought back a lot of memories,” he said.
The Northern Bears hockey team put on a similar fundraiser with T-shirts for manager Bruce Vance after he was first diagnosed with cancer in late 2013. – Mann-Northway/Submitted
Broda Group and Signature Developments will be matching pledges up to $10,000.
At the end of August, the hockey team announced its new name, thanks to a partnership with its title sponsor Mann Northway GM.
“We are so honoured and excited to be a part of such an amazing gesture. Bruce Vance is an example of true grit and integrity,” said dealer principal Mark Ripley.
“Thank you Bruce, for being such an amazing human.”
A Prince Albert organization helping children with developmental delays has reached a major milestone.
The city’s Early Childhood Intervention Program (ECIP) welcomed families on Wednesday to celebrate its 40th birthday – which actually was in 2020.
“We were looking at doing our 40th anniversary the September of 2020, but we couldn’t because of all the restrictions, so we postponed it,” explained executive director Lauren Helstrip.
“We thought, you know what, 40, plus three.”
Prince Albert’s ECIP was one of the first in the province, she said. With funding from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education, staff travel to homes of children from birth to age six with a developmental delay diagnosis or who are at risk of delays.
An example is helping to develop fine motor skills, with the goal of using utensils to eat.
“We give them ideas to sought implementing that during their daily routines, things like even just playing with a plastic set of knives and forks at bath time,” she said.
“It can be as challenging as working with a child who’s on the autism spectrum, who is non-verbal, and helping the parents to figure out which type of communication works better for their child.”
Helstrip said ECIP’s goal is accessibility.
“We can go out to families, which helps to ease that barrier to get to services,” she said.
Staff can travel as far north as Montreal Lake, stretching to the Kinistino area and south to Rosthern.
However, thanks to their newly-renovated family room, parents can also bring their children into the building on First Avenue West for help.
While doctors, teachers or daycares can refer children to their services, a formal referral isn’t required. ECIP also helps families with wider resources like speech therapy, physiotherapy, and autism services.
“It’s all about community here. We need to help these families out as much as we can and get them connected to help for their children. They are with us because they want to have a better life for their kids,” said Helstrip.
“It’s amazing to work with an organization that’s been around that long, and has got such a good standing within the community.”
Helstrip said ECIP tries to host monthly events where families they serve can come together. They’re looking at providing more weekend gatherings to accommodate work schedules.
Local Canadian Royal Purple lodges are collecting donations for the Prince Albert Safe Shelter for Women.
The Royal Purple is dedicated to volunteerism and fundraising for awareness and prevention of brain injuries. According to the association, about 80 per cent of domestic violence victims have a brain injury.
Elaine Perkins is secretary of the Prince Albert lodge and president of the Shellbrook lodge.
“We weren’t aware of it either, that there was that big of a percentage. That’s a lot, and I mean let’s face it, that’s the ones that have been reported – There’s many that have not been reported,” she said.
“It’s not been something that’s been in the forefront.”
Perkins said donation boxes are set up at Shoppers Drug Mart, Safeway and Gray’s Funeral Chapel, but she’s hoping to get other businesses involved.
You can drop off personal hygiene items at these locations, or contact Perkins at (306) 961-7144 to arrange for pickup. The donation drive runs until Oct. 19, or ‘Purple Thursday.’
Donations such as shampoo, conditioner, hair brushes, toothpaste, deodorant and feminine products will be used to make bags for women and children coming into the shelter. The shelter says journals are also in high demand.
“When they first leave home, of course, they don’t have anything with them,” said Perkins.
Between Prince Albert and Shellbrook, they’re hoping to donate 60 bags.
Last year, the Canadian Royal Purple supplied around a thousand bags to shelters across the country. This year, the goal is 1,500.
Perkins is encouraging individuals, businesses and other groups in Prince Albert to “paint the town purple” on Oct. 19.
“There is no cure, so we have to prevent it and bring awareness to the public of how important it is to protect your brain,” she said.
Brain injuries range from traumatic brain injuries (TBI), caused from trauma to the head, to concussions, strokes, aneurysms and tumours.
According to Brain Injury Canada, TBIs are expected to be among the most common neurological conditions by 2031, along with Alzheimer’s disease and epilepsy.
But they’re not always that severe, explained Perkins.
“One of the big things with children is falls. It happens so easily, and years ago we just got up and shook it off, but it’s not that way anymore. We have to understand that our brain is the most important part of our body, really.”
The Canadian Royal Purple and the Saskatchewan Brain Injury Association are also hosting a conference on the intersection between brain injuries and interpersonal violence in Saskatoon on Oct. 19.
The keynote speaker is award-winning journalist Anna Maria Tremonti, who will share her experience with interpersonal violence.
UPDATED: This story has been updated to add a statement from the City of Prince Albert.
Striking CUPE 882 members are asking the provincial government to appoint a mediator to help resolve its labour dispute with the City of Prince Albert. The City, however, says a mediator is unnecessary.
According to a news release, the union has written a letter to the Minister of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety.
“The union is of the belief that an impartial third party experienced in labour relations, negotiations, and mediation will be able to bring the parties to a resolve,” said CUPE national representative Mira Lewis.
“Keeping workers on the picket line and the community without resources and programming that City of Prince Albert inside workers provide is unreasonable, given that the parties to the dispute are not very far apart.”
CUPE 882 is asking for a 12 per cent wage increase over four years, while the City has offered 11 per cent, with an additional .5 per cent for the lowest paid employees.
According to the union, this one per cent difference would cost the employer $50,000 a year. The City provided the cost breakdown to CUPE 882 at a meeting last week, and said it would consider a new offer.
“While the costing provided was incomplete, the union nonetheless provided the employer a new offer to settle. However, the employer did not consider the union’s offer,” reads the release.
According to the City’s director of corporate services, Kiley Bear, the union’s offer still included a 12 per cent wage increase, but also prioritized vacation and premium pay.
“These items do not assist with cost of living, recruitment or retention, which are our priorities,” she said.
“We considered it carefully, but we are further apart than they are willing to admit.”
CUPE 882’s latest offer included increases to vacation and additional duty pay, benefit adjustments for eyeglass coverage and adjustments for casual employees. According to the City, the total costing is around 14 per cent.
“We’ve already been through the mediation/conciliation process,” added Bear.
“We cannot consider a proposal that comes at more cost to the taxpayer, but we can discuss priorities within the 11.5 per cent. We not require a mediator to have that discussion.”
Workers on the picket line are from City Hall, the EA Rawlinson Centre, Frank Dunn Pool, Alfred Jenkins Fieldhouse and the Art Hauser Centre.
The City has vowed that operations will remain “business as usual.” It says it has contingency plans in place for the next six months.
Prince Albert’s firefighters union is showing support for municipal workers who began picketing this week outside of City Hall.
“Striking is an unfortunate reality in the bargaining world, so it’s a necessary step in securing equal wages,” said Ben Hunter, president for International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 510.
“It will also show how important the workers are to this community and the jobs that they do.”
Hunter brought coffee and donuts to CUPE 882 members on Tuesday, which began full strike action on Monday. CUPE 882 represents inside workers at City Hall and recreation facilities.
The union began legal strike action on Aug. 10 by refusing to train others and ignoring dress codes.
“We’ve been without contract for almost two years now, December 21 of 2021, is when our current contract expired,” explained Hunter.
“We’re still working for those wages as well. That hasn’t changed.”
CUPE 882 vice-president Cara Stelmaschuk said it’s reassuring to have the support of other unions.
“It does remind you that we’re being told that the city’s taxpayers don’t want to foot the bill for this kind of thing – well, these union members are city taxpayers,” she said.
Stelmaschuk also encouraged people to continue honking as they drive by City Hall.
“It’s a boost, for sure. It’s just nice to hear that they’re on our side,” she said.
On Monday, the City said it will do what it has to, including using out-of-scope workers, to ensure operations continue like normal at city facilities. Contingency plans are set for the next six months, it said.
Stelmaschuk said CUPE 882 members are prepared to picket until the City returns to the table.
“We want to live on our wages more than we’re worried about winter,” she said.
“We’re just ready to go back with something that our members want and accept this time around, because we’ve rejected this offer twice now.”
CUPE 882 is seeking a 12 per cent increase over four years, while the City says its offer of an 11 per cent increase is final.
Prince Albert police are seeing a skyrocketing number of stolen vehicles and people fleeing from police – an issue that’s trickling into accountability for other types of crimes.
So far this year, police have recorded 358 stolen vehicles and 359 calls where people have fled from officers. This equates to 9.7 per week, or 1.4 per day.
“When you start pulling over vehicles and they do not follow that direction, you now have a problem on your hand,” said interim Chief Patrick Nogier.
“That is alarming.”
However, Nogier said, sometimes it’s not safe for the public, police, or the offender to pursue a chase.
Those fleeing are often driving at high speeds, with a lack of recognition for residential areas or public spaces, and usually intoxicated by drugs or alcohol.
“We’re not just saying ‘Whatever it takes, do what it takes. Stop the individual,’ because we know that there’s inherent risk,” said Nogier.
But it’s also important to hold people accountable, since many who flee are wanted for “causing chaos in your community,” ranging from vandalism to drive-by shootings.
“The criminal element will start saying ‘Well, all we’ve got to do is run,’” said Nogier, “and that’s a dangerous message.”
“That makes us re-think, how are we going to solve the problem?”
Nogier said the police service is looking into technology, such as drones, to track and stop fleeing suspects. This also includes systems that allow police to shut a vehicle down.
“Those things, they take time. They cost money, they require training and expertise to make sure you’re doing it properly. You’re not going to solve that solution really quickly,” he said.
Nogier said aerial support units, which police use in Saskatoon and Regina, cost $500,000 to get up and running.
There’s currently 650 people wanted for criminal code warrants by the Prince Albert Police Service.
Of those, 424, or 65 per cent, are believed to live in the city and 226, or 35 per cent, are from outside of Prince Albert.
2023 stats trending up from last year
Nogier spoke at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon event on Tuesday about the city’s most recent Crime Severity Index (CSI) rankings for 2022, and how this year compares so far.
“Everything that was trending in 2022 is, unfortunately, trending up in 2023,” he said.
The CSI showed 2022 was the worst for violent crime in the last 12 years. Although Prince Albert’s overall ranking went down from fourth to fifth in Canada, the city remained in third for violent crime and went up to eighth for non-violent crime.
Prince Albert was also the only municipal agency in the top 25 in Canada. The rest were RCMP jurisdictions.
So far this year, violent crime is increasing overall by 14.02 per cent. Criminal harrassment is up by 61.11 per cent, assaults by 16.82 per cent and robberies by 8.26 per cent.
Attempted murders are also up by 250 per cent. However, Nogier said this increase has to do with a difference in reporting, where aggravated assaults are now considered attempted murders.
Prince Albert’s homicide rate is trending down, though, with two homicides so far in 2023 compared to nine in total in 2022.
Nogier said the police service is implementing an alternative call response. With this method, calls are prioritized and triaged through another mechanism if needed.
Previously, officers on a 12-hour shift would typically receive 65 to 75 calls. Minimum staffing is eight officers, but only five or six are on the streets responding to calls.
With the alternative call response, Nogier said, police are down to a more sustainable 45 to 55 calls per shift.
The Saskatchewan Prevention Institute is encouraging communities to facilitate supportive environments to help women navigate through alcohol consumption and pregnancy.
That’s its main message for International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Awareness Day on Saturday.
“It’s very stigmatized and complex,” said Soumya Mishra, FASD prevention program coordinator.
“We want to ask people to create a supportive environment where they can look beyond it as a personal choice.”
FASD is a neuro-developmental disorder caused from prenatal alcohol exposure. Alcohol interferes with the development of a baby’s brain and other organs, causing challenges related to memory, learning, communication, motor skills and physical health, such as vision.
Around half of Canadian pregnancies are unintended, said Mishra – and many don’t even know they’re pregnant until after they’ve consumed alcohol.
Still, Mishra said there are several reasons someone might drink while pregnant.
“It can happen to anyone who is consuming alcohol,” she emphasized.
“There’s peer pressure…there could be mental health challenges. There could be houselessness, poverty, so many reasons and environmental factors.”
Mishra said it’s also difficult for some to cut out alcohol overnight.
When mothers aren’t blamed, but rather feel supported, they’re more likely to be able to reduce or cut out alcohol, explained Mishra.
The Saskatchewan Prevention Institute is encouraging communities to participate in spreading awareness about FASD. This could include education, sharing stories of people with FASD, organizing alcohol-free events and hosting walks, webinars or workshops for people to learn.
Mishra said there’s also mixed messaging about alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
“Some say it is okay to consume so and so amount of alcohol, this amount of alcohol won’t hurt, but there is no proven research that says there is a certain type of alcohol and a certain amount of alcohol can not (have an) impact,” she said.
It’s recommended for women to refrain from alcohol entirely while pregnant; however, “we do not live in an ideal world,” reads the Saskatchewan Prevention Institute’s website.
Saying FASD is 100 per cent preventable can lead to judgement and guilt, it says.
FASD is a life-long disability affecting about four per cent of Canadians.
Stigma and lack of understanding intensifies the struggles of those with FASD, and not just the mother, said Mishra.
The Prince Albert Literacy Network has received a national award for its work with newcomers and Indigenous peoples.
Northcote MLA Alana Ross presented the Council of the Federation Literacy Award to the organization on Friday.
Canada’s premiers created the award in 2004. It’s presented annually in each of the provinces and territories.
“I think that we all could agree that the ability to read, the ability to communicate, the ability to write, the ability to be comfortable in mathematics is an important part of our lives,” said Sandra Williams, vice-chair of the literacy network.
“Because that is our mandate and our mission, it just feels very exciting to be recognized for something that we do every day.”
This year’s award was focused on the use of home and heritage languages.
Williams said the literacy network has prioritized four calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
These calls include developing cultural parenting and early childhood education programs, eliminating education and employment gaps, and drafting new Indigenous education legislation that protects traditional languages and Treaty relationships.
“(We want to) do our part to support the learning and the growth in that area,” said Williams.
The non-profit provides free literacy programming for children and adults. This includes family literacy kits and story sacks, free little libraries, story walks, financial literacy workshops and tutoring.
The literacy network is also partnered with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which gives free books to children up to five years old.
“As we like to say here, it’s never too early to start and it’s never too late to start,” said Williams.
Ross said it’s crucial to celebrate and recognize organizations that go the extra mile to help people with their communication skills.
“I have a son who has ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder). We found out as an adult, and extra opportunities like this weren’t available to him when he was growing up,” she said.
“It’s such a benefit to have a resource like this in our community.”
According to a news release, over 200 families participated in the literacy network’s programming and special activities during the 2022-23 school year. During that time period, it also hosted 42 workshops and welcomed 335 participants.
Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill also congratulated the literacy network on receiving a national award.
“The Prince Albert Literacy Network strives to create awareness about the positive impact of literacy for children and adults in a unique, inclusive and culturally responsible way,” he said.
The literacy network will be set up at the farmer’s market on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. with treats, balloons and books. It’s also hosting a story walk from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Gateway Mall.
These events celebrate International Literacy Day on Friday.
