A popular street in Regina’s downtown core has reopened now that the city has concluded its construction on 11th Avenue for the year.

Construction on 11th Avenue between Broad Street and Albert Street has finished and is open to the public as of Monday, Nov. 10.

“It’s been a long time waiting, especially for the businesses that have lived through the construction, which obviously can be very frustrating and is impactful to them,” said Mayor Chad Bachynski.

“It looks amazing. I’ve had commentary that it truly looks like a downtown space. I’m extremely excited to see it wrapping up and open it up so people can actually get out and enjoy it.”

The City of Regina’s four-year revitalization project focuses on upgrading the underground infrastructure, along with rebuilding the roads and sidewalks all across 11th Avenue.

Work on the major downtown artery has been done in phases, roughly two to four blocks at a time.

Although construction has ended, the city said it will continue to keep its bus stops at Victoria Avenue, Lorne Street, 12th Avenue and Albert Street for public transit users.

“In the future, and pending budget approvals, we wouldn’t have a time point where all the busses just sit down and wait together. It’d be a simple flow through the downtown,” explained Nathan Luhning, the City’s director of transit.

Luhning said the city’s long-term plans are to improve the frequency of Regina Transit buses. Until then, buses will not be driving down 11th Avenue.

“If you come down here at night, you know all the busses come down, meet together and transfers occur. If we’re moving away from that model, we need increased frequency to make sure if people do want to have transfers, that if they miss a bus, they’re not waiting an hour for the next one.” he said.

“That budget request is asking for increased frequencies to make sure that we have the correct service for customers if they want to do transfers in the downtown.”

The City’s director of roadways and transportation, Chris Warren, said the project contributes to beautifying Regina’s downtown core.

“As part of this project we want to revitalize the downtown as well as renew all of the infrastructure and prepare us for growth into the future,” shared Warren.

“There will be a lot of amenities, new wider sidewalks, we’ll definitely have trees installed. It’s part of our regular tree planting process.”

Construction for the remaining and final phase of the project are expected to resume in spring 2026.

“We want to make sure that any of the work that remains going into the 2026 construction season is repaired in an accessible way, that our residents can enjoy the sidewalks,” explained Warren.

“There’s a few locations on the north side of 11th Avenue, just past the Cornwall that we didn’t complete that construction. We put some temporary asphalt in there, and then we’ll resume at that location in 2026.”

11th Avenue from Hamilton St. to Rose St. are currently closed to vehicle traffic. However, sidewalks in the area remain open.

Those who travelling to between Regina and Saskatoon on Sunday may have been witness to a flaming spectacle, as a tractor trailer was lost to a fire.

On Nov. 9, at around 3 p.m., Lumsden RCMP and local firefighters received a report of a semi on fire on Highway 11 around two kilometres east of Lumsden.

Traffic on the highway was stopped temporarily until the fire was contained. It was reopened shortly after.

No injuries were reported to police. An initial investigation determined that the fire was not the result of criminal activity.

It’s been six years since the Regina Bypass was completed, but controversy continues over whether the $2 billion highway was necessary. Now, a Regina author has completed a review of the project which included walking the entire bypass.

Walking on the shoulder of a freeway usually isn’t the best idea, but author Ken Wilson did it as research for his new book, “Walking the Bypass: Notes on Place from the Side of the Road.”

“And I remember standing on an overpass looking down at the highway and I said to myself, ‘You know what, you’re going to have to walk on this thing if you really, really want to do this project.’ And my heart sank because I didn’t want to walk on this highway,” Wilson recounted.

The University of Regina English professor had heard a lot about the 44-kilometre highway and it’s controversial $2 billion cost.

“I was just curious about the bypass because I didn’t understand it. I didn’t know why it was there. I didn’t know what its purpose was,” Wilson said.

The Regina Public Library recently hosted a book launch event for “Walking the Bypass.”

“It’s partly natural history. It’s partly broad political history. I don’t shy away from some of the accusations that were made around land purchases but that’s not the focus of the book,” Wilson explained.

Some who have read the book say it’s not just about the bypass but about things passed by in the province’s history.

“And fitting that into our history as settler people who came to this land in a colonial way and we still live in kind of a colonial culture here,” Saskatchewan naturalist Trevor Herriot told CTV News.

It took Wilson two and a half days to walk the bypass.

“When I walked it in 2020, it’s a little different now,” he explained. “It was empty of traffic and that told me, and people who like it, people who drive it all the time, that’s what they tell me. They say ‘But I like the bypass. There’s never any traffic on it.’ I say ‘Yeah, exactly.’”

The author says the bypass is a place that’s very difficult to connect to as a pedestrian, because it’s a place where pedestrians really don’t belong.

A Saskatchewan Court has ordered Brandt Industries Canada Ltd. to pay $55,000 in relation to the worker being seriously injured in 2021.

Brandt Industries was sentenced in provincial court on Oct. 27 after being found guilty of one violation of occupational safety regulations.

The violation stemmed from the employer failing to “ensure that only trained operators are required or permitted to operate mobile equipment, resulting in the serious injury of a worker.”

The court imposed a fine of $39,286.71, along with a surcharge of $15,713.29, for a total of $55,000.

The charges stemmed from an incident on Sept. 2, 2021, in Regina. A worker was seriously injured while operating a forklift.

Some Saskatchewan farms changed hands over the decades, leaving mineral rights behind. Many families may be entitled to subsurface revenue without knowing it, creating challenges for potash companies trying to identify the owners.

“We are running into those situations, which are then causing us to have to mine in ways that are very inefficient and we leave those minerals behind stranded forever. We can’t go back and mine at a later date,” said Marnel Jones, director of government and public affairs at the Mosaic Company.

The provincial government is proposing the Mineral Resources Amendment Act, which would allow potash companies to mine underground ore when mineral rights holders cannot be located. Revenue from these resources would go into the province’s General Revenue Fund, with royalties held in trust only for those who can be identified later.

“There’s a five-year period where they must do an intense search to try to find the land owners and if after that point in time that I’ll be able to provide a ministerial order for them to proceed,” energy and resources minister Colleen Young explained.

Families or individuals who believe they may be eligible for resource royalties can contact the Ministry of Energy and Resources. Once a minister’s order is published, it will include the location of affected mineral parcels so potential owners can identify any interest.

If a court confirms a mineral title, or if an individual can prove they are the legal beneficiary, the ministry will issue payment to the mineral owner.

The legislation has support from the New Democrats.

“It looks like a common-sense approach that will help the industry do what it needs to do, keep building the economy and create good jobs,” said NDP MLA Sally Housser.

Jones estimates that about half a billion dollars of mineral rights could be accessed under the new legislation.

Nova Scotia actor Mike Smith, who is best known for playing the character Bubbles on “Trailer Park Boys,” has had his first court appearance as he faces a sexual assault charge.

Defence lawyer Stan MacDonald appeared on Smith’s behalf at Halifax provincial court Monday morning.

“This is an allegation at this point. It hasn’t been proven,” MacDonald told reporters outside the courtroom.

“It will be tried in the court, it won’t be tried in the media, and in the meantime, we ask that the privacy of everyone involved be respected. So that’s all I’m going to say today.”

According to court documents, Halifax Regional Police charged Smith with sexual assault on Oct. 2 for an alleged incident on Dec. 30, 2017.

Nicole Ford, senior Crown attorney, pointed out there is no statute of limitations for prosecuting sexual assault in Canada.

“It is actually quite common for charges of sexual violence to come out later on and to years following the alleged incident, that’s not uncommon,” said Ford. “We do see that regularly, and that’s why there’s no limitation for sexual violence.”

A publication ban is in place to protect the identity of the female complainant and any information that could identify her.

Smith has not yet entered a plea.

“Today is the very early stages in the proceedings. It was the arraignment stage, so all that was expected was his counsel to appear, identify that they’ve been retained, and then sometimes we’ll hear a plea on today’s date,” explained Ford. “In today’s proceedings, we did not have a plea entered.”

While the case was in Halifax court Monday, Ford said it will be moving to court in Dartmouth, N.S., where the alleged incident took place.

Ford said Smith could enter a plea at his next court date on Dec. 3.

“I can’t say for certain what will happen at the next date, that will depend on if disclosure’s been complete and what him and his counsel has discussed, but it is set for election and plea at that time, so there is a possibility that an election could be made on that day as well as a plea entered,” she explained.

Smith won’t get special treatment: Crown

Ford also commented on the fact that the accused is a high-profile TV personality, insisting that won’t impact the outcome of the case.

“Every person, no matter of their public status or their public personality or anything to do with their public nature or profile, doesn’t get treated any differently that any other individual,” she said.

“We at the PPS (Public Prosecution Service) take every file very seriously. We evaluate every file the same way for each individual person, and we maintain our integrity of the investigation separate and we do not provide any type of special treatment to anyone based on their public profile.”

‘Trailer Park Boys’ issue statement

Trailer Park Boys Incorporated released a statement on Sunday, saying they’re aware of the allegation against Smith, and confirming he has stepped away from his role as managing director.

“We recognize how difficult an allegation of this nature is for all involved,” said Trailer Park Boys Incorporated in the statement. “Out of respect for the legal process, we will not comment further on this case.”

“We remain focused on delivering the long-awaited 13th season for our fans,” it continued.

Ten new “Trailer Park Boys” episodes are set to premiere in April 2026, coinciding with the show’s 25th anniversary.

2016 allegation

This isn’t the first time Smith has had legal troubles.

He faced a battery charge in Los Angeles in April 2016 for an alleged incident involving a woman at a Hollywood hotel. The misdemeanour domestic battery charge was dropped a month later.

The Los Angeles City Attorney’s office said at the time it decided not to pursue the charge “due to lack of sufficient evidence.”

Smith denied any wrongdoing in a written statement issued shortly after his arrest, saying the woman was a friend of his with whom he had a “loud and heated dispute.”

“At no time did I assault her. I am not guilty of the misdemeanour charged against me,” he said at the time.

A Barrie childcare centre has confirmed it is reviewing allegations of inappropriate conduct by an educator following complaints from parents who reported their children were assaulted in July and August.

BrightPath Early Learning and Child Care said an internal review is underway after it received a complaint on Aug. 7 that a four-year-old girl was flicked in the nose and mouth by her educator and sprayed with a bottle containing cleaning products.

“I think that was the part that really got to me, was that someone was there and saw this happen and didn’t say anything,” said the little girl’s mother, Cristina Pedano.

It was back in August when Cristina and her husband, Jeff Pedano, said their four-year-old daughter told them an unusual story about what happened to her at daycare.

“She approached me and said, ‘You know, he sprayed me in the face with a water bottle,’” said Jeff Pedano. “So, I said, ‘Well, why did he spray you in the face? Was in an accident? Was he cleaning something?’ She said, ‘No, he sprayed me because I was misbehaving during nap time, and he also flicked me in the face.’”

After their child demonstrated how she had been flicked in the face, the Pedanos reported the incident to BrightPath and the authorities, prompting an investigation by Simcoe Muskoka Family Connexions, whom the Pedanos said found the spray bottle used on their daughter contained either soap and water or water and bleach.

Barrie Police also were called to investigate but declined to answer questions about the investigation.

“When we got the call from CAS, to be quite honest, I was shocked, I was angry, I was upset,” said the child’s mother.

The Pedanos said the director at BrightPath Barrie told them the employee was sent home and suspended with pay.

They learned the educator returned to work at the childcare centre weeks later.

“The response back was like, ‘He is a tenured employee. We did training, and we think that that’s enough,’ and we said, ‘No, that’s not enough. We want you to acknowledge what you did, we want you to take accountability, and we don’t understand. Like, why are you continuing to employ this employee? You know that he’s done things in the past.’”

It turns out, this was not the first time a child had been flicked in the face by the longtime educator.

“There was this educator who flicked him on the nose and on his mouth, and then he said that it was because he was not sleepy, and he didn’t want to take a nap,” said Amanda Filippini.

Filippini and her husband, Guilherme, said their four-year-old son was left traumatized following a similar flicking incident in July.

“He was completely desperate and crying and clinging to me and jumping and saying, ‘Thank you, thank you for picking me up. Take me home. I don’t want to be here anymore,” said Filippini of her son’s reaction the day it happened.

“When I saw him crying, shivering, for me it was something that was beyond the physical thing,” said the boy’s father.

Following a complaint to the Ministry of Education, the Filipinos said investigators mistakenly interviewed BrightPath staff members who were not working the day of the alleged assault.

“They interviewed the educators that were supposed to be at the classroom but were on vacation,” said Amanda Filippini, who revealed the ministry declined to reopen the investigation into the assault of their son, who, for the final month of his time at BrightPath, was separated from his friends and moved to a different classroom.

The couple said BrightPath has not reached out to follow up since their son left the daycare when he started school in September, and the Pedanos came forward with their complaint a month later.

“This employee was under another investigation already that he was supposed to be on a safe work plan where he wasn’t supposed to be alone with other children and is supposed to have another educator with him at all times,” said Jeff Pedano.

In a statement to CTV News, BrightPath said its leadership is “committed to maintaining a safe and nurturing environment for our children, families, and staff members,” adding, “We continue to strengthen our professional development practices and reaffirm our strict safeguarding measures and policies to ensure the utmost safety of our children.”

This response is not enough for the Pedanos.

“I want them to let him go. Like, I don’t understand how you could have this individual represent your brand, your organization, who’s done this to children. Your job is to take care of children; that is your job.”

The Ministry of Education confirmed it is reviewing the allegations.

“Any matter involving the safety and well-being of children is taken very seriously,” said Emma Testani, press secretary with the Ministry of Education. “The inspector assigned to the file has referred the matter to the Ministry’s Investigations and Enforcement Unit, and the investigation is ongoing.”

The Florida-based company’s CEO spent Friday afternoon in Barrie speaking one-on-one with staff and parents but was not made available for comment to CTV News.

The U.S. Senate passed legislation Monday to reopen the government, bringing the longest shutdown in history closer to an end as a small group of Democrats ratified a deal with Republicans despite searing criticism from within their party.

The 41-day shutdown could last a few more days as members of the House, which has been on recess since mid-September, return to Washington to vote on the legislation. U.S. President Donald Trump has signaled support for the bill, saying Monday that “we’re going to be opening up our country very quickly.”

The final Senate vote, 60-40, broke a grueling stalemate that lasted more than six weeks as Democrats demanded that Republicans negotiate with them to extend health care tax credits that expire Jan. 1. The Republicans never did, and five moderate Democrats eventually switched their votes as federal food aid was delayed, airport delays worsened and hundreds of thousands of federal workers continued to go unpaid.

House Speaker Mike Johnson urged lawmakers to start returning to Washington “right now” given shutdown-related travel delays. “We have to do this as quickly as possible,” said Johnson, who has kept the House out of session since mid-September, when the House passed a bill to continue government funding.

How the stalemate ended

After weeks of negotiations, A group of three former governors -- New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan and Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine -- agreed to vote to advance three bipartisan annual spending bills and extend the rest of government funding until late January. Republicans promised to hold a vote to extend the health care subsidies by mid-December, but there was no guarantee of success.

Shaheen said Monday that “this was the option on the table” after Republicans had refused to budge.

“We had reached a point where I think a number of us believed that the shutdown had been very effective in raising the concern about health care,” she said, and the promise for a future vote “gives us an opportunity to continue to address that going forward.”

The legislation includes a reversal of the mass firings of federal workers by the Trump administration since the shutdown began on Oct. 1. It also protects federal workers against further layoffs through January and guarantees they are paid once the shutdown is over.

In addition to Shaheen, King and Hassan, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, home to tens of thousands of federal workers, also voted Sunday in favor of moving forward on the agreement. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman and Nevada Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen also voted yes. All other Democrats, including Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York, voted against it.

The moderates had expected a larger number of Democrats to vote with them as 10 to 12 Democratic senators had been part of the negotiations. But in the end, only five switched their votes -- the exact number that Republicans needed. King, Cortez Masto and Fetterman had already been voting to open the government since Oct. 1.

Many Democrats call the vote a “mistake”

Schumer, who received blowback from his party in March when he voted to keep the government open, said he could not “in good faith” support it after meeting with his caucus for more than two hours on Sunday.

“We will not give up the fight,” Schumer said, adding that Democrats have now “sounded the alarm” on health care.

Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with the Democrats, said giving up the fight was a “horrific mistake.” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., agreed, saying that voters who overwhelmingly supported Democrats in last week’s elections were urging them to “hold firm.”

House Democrats swiftly criticized the Senate.

Texas Rep. Greg Casar, the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said a deal that doesn’t reduce health care costs is a “betrayal” of millions of Americans who are counting on Democrats to fight.

Others gave Schumer a nod of support. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries had criticized Schumer in March after his vote to keep the government open. But he praised the Senate Democratic leader on Monday and expressed support for his leadership throughout the shutdown.

“The American people know we are on the right side of this fight,” Jeffries said Monday, pointing to Tuesday’s election results.

Health care debate ahead

It’s unclear whether the two parties would be able to find any common ground on the health care subsidies before a promised December vote in the Senate. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said he will not commit to bringing it up in his chamber.

On Monday, Johnson said House Republicans have always been open to voting to reform what he called the “unaffordable care act” but again did not say if they would vote on the subsidies.

Some Republicans have said they are open to extending the COVID-19-era tax credits as premiums could skyrocket for millions of people, but they also want new limits on who can receive the subsidies. Some argue that the tax dollars for the plans should be routed through individuals.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins said Monday that she’s supportive of extending the tax credits with changes, like new income caps. Some Democrats have signaled they could be open to that idea.

“We do need to act by the end of the year, and that is exactly what the majority leader has promised,” Collins said.

Other Republicans, including Trump, have used the debate to renew their yearslong criticism of the law and called for it to be scrapped or overhauled.

In a possible preview, the Senate voted 47-53 along party lines Monday not to extend the subsidies for a year. Majority Republicans allowed the vote as part of a separate deal with Democrats to speed up votes and send the legislation to the House.

🎉 Update Completed Successfully! 🎉

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We’re committed to providing our audience with a listening experience like no other! To maintain this standard, we’re excited to announce a major update to our Broadcast Network.

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