Record drug bust

WINNIPEG — Police say they have made the largest drug bust in Manitoba history, arresting 33 people and seizing 525 kilograms of cocaine, fentanyl and other substances.

It was a two-year interprovincial operation that also involved police forces in Ontario and Alberta, and with suspects alleged to have ties to the Hells Angels and Mexican drug cartels.

Police say the drugs were transported from the United States in commercial transport trucks stored primarily in Ontario and Alberta, then brought to Manitoba. The operation included more than 200 warrants and production orders, and targeted major drug networks.

Police have laid 174 charges against people in Manitoba, Edmonton and Brantford, Ont., and have warrants out for two other men from Brantford.

Ontario Provincial Police in the Fort Frances and Dryden areas arrested another four people and seized 26 kilograms of cocaine.

Seven suspects have already pleaded guilty and have been sentenced to between three and 16 years in prison, Winnipeg police said.

CHILD INJURED IN FALL

MAPLE RIDGE, B.C. — A four-year-old is in hospital after falling from a second-storey window in Maple Ridge, B.C.

Police said the boy was transported via air ambulance on Monday and is currently in stable condition with serious injuries.

Investigators spoke with multiple people at the scene, including the boy’s distraught parents, and say the early investigation suggests the fall was “an unfortunate accident.”

Police are reminding the public to ensure their windows and doors are properly secured and consider installing safety devices to prevent accidental falls.

BC Children’s Hospital emergency department earlier this month reported a 35 per cent increase in visits for window or balcony fall-related injuries in 2025 compared with the previous year.

The number of cases increased from 15 to 23.

MAN TRAPPED FOR 2 DAYS

CHASE, B.C. — A man has been rescued after being trapped for two days in his vehicle that crashed on a remote forest service road northeast of Kamloops, B.C.

RCMP say the man was reported missing Tuesday and found later that day trapped inside the vehicle that had rolled several times down a steep embankment near Chase.

Police say he had been trapped since Sunday.

Emergency responders extricated the man and he was taken to hospital in serious condition.

Police say the circumstances surrounding the crash are under investigation.

FOOD sAFETY a CONCERN

OTTAWA — New Democrats and several unions warn federal job cuts and research facility closures will put food safety and security at risk.

The federal government’s website says it’s planning to cut more than 650 jobs at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, while the Agriculture Union says the government will cut about 600 more jobs at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada also said earlier this year it planned to close three research and development centres and four satellite research farms to trim costs.

Milton Dyck, national president of the Agriculture Union, says Canada’s food safety twin pillars, inspection and agricultural research, are both at risk.

Sean O’Reilly, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada said government savings can’t come at the expense of protecting food safety.

NDP agriculture critic Gord Johns says the cuts are “risky,” especially as Canadians see skyrocketing food prices, instability from climate change and an increase in pressure on farmers and food systems.

ALBERTA SWITCHES SIGNS

EDMONTON — Alberta is ditching another reference to its provincial flower in favour of its official motto.

The government says new highway “Welcome to Alberta” signs going up across the province this fall will say “Strong and Free,” rather than the long-standing “Wild Rose Country.” It follows the government’s decision last year that made the same slogan swap on Alberta licence plates.

» The Canadian Press

Premier Danielle Smith has been criticized for the move, with the Opposition NDP questioning Smith’s motive since her United Conservative Party has also used “Strong and Free” in promotional and campaign material.

Smith has defended the change, saying it’s simply the province’s official motto and a lyric in the Canadian anthem.

The government says it will start replacing the nearly two dozen highway welcome signs this fall.

It says many of the existing wooden signs are close to 40 years old, and years of weather exposure means its time for new ones.

The province says replacing the 22 signs is to cost about $3.5 million.

» The Canadian Press