FortSask

Fort Saskatchewan's organic material diversion program has saved quite a lot of material from going to landfills.

Before the program was implemented five years ago, the city noticed that 82 per cent of the material they would collect from curbs was being sent to the landfill.

The city conducted a waste audit in 2017 and found that 60 per cent of that waste could be diverted away to either a recycling facility or an organics processing facility.

RCMP say 15 people are dead and 10 are injured after a bus carrying seniors to a casino crashed with a semi truck on the Trans-Canada Highway near Carberry, Man., on Thursday morning.

Here are the latest developments (all times CT): 

4:45 p.m.

At a news conference, RCMP say dashcam video shows the bus pulled into the highway lane where the transport truck had the right-of-way.

They say further tests need to be done on the truck and the bus before responsibility can be determined.

Canada's population has reached more than 40 million, Statistics Canada said. 

The milestone comes amid a wave of new immigrants as part of Ottawa's promise to bring in 500,000 people a year by 2025. 

The 40-million mark came faster than expected, Statistics Canada said, as the country added 1.1 million people in 2022, most of them permanent and temporary immigrants. 

That's more than twice the federal government's plan to welcome more than 430,000 new permanent residents last year. 

A Fort Saskatchewan artist had his work featured in Rogers Place in Edmonton. 

Brandon McMurchy had the opportunity to paint a mural displayed in the arena ahead of the Oilers' 2023 playoff run. 

The mural is a beautiful, realistic depiction of some of the members of the Oilers and performers who have played at Rogers Place.

On top of being a fantastic artist, McMurchy also does creative design for the Edmonton Oilers. 

Indigenous communities searching for unmarked graves have encountered a rising number of individuals questioning, or outright denying, that children disappeared or died in residential schools, says a new report from an independent special interlocutor.

Ground-penetrating radar is the technology behind the identification of what are believed to be unmarked burial sites, including for the remains of children, on the grounds of former residential schools.

Lamont County has a new regional fire chief. 

Bo Moore, a veteran firefighter with more than 20 years of experience, will step into the role. 

"I started out in Leduc County in 2000, spent five years as a volunteer paid-on-call firefighter," said Moore. "I then took a career firefighter position in the city of Calgary in 2005." 

"I spent 10 years working in the city of Calgary as a firefighter and then promoted to training officer." 

Strathcona County emergency crews are on the scene of a major traffic disruption. 

The affected area is on Highway 216 northbound at Whitemud/Township Road 522 eastbound. 

The cause of the disruption is reportedly a piece of equipment striking a bridge deck. 

All northbound lanes have been closed on Highway 216 as well as the eastbound lanes on Township Road 522. 

There have been no reported injuries and drivers are being asked to avoid the area. 

More to come...

Protein Industries Canada (PIC) and Innovate UK, the UK’s national innovation agency have announced a new bilateral partnership.

The goal of the partnership is to develop greater connections between the food sectors in both countries by working together to support innovation in plant-based food and ingredients. 

CEO of Protein Industries Canada Bill Greuel says they are excited to work with Innovate UK to create new partnerships and further advance innovation in plant-based food, feed, ingredients, and co-products.

The Canada Grains Council (CGC) is pleased that the Federal Government is taking a strong stand on science-based regulation and rules-based trade.

Ottawa announced last week that it would be participating in the U.S. dispute settlement consultations with Mexico under the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement.

The Canadian cattle industry has seen some strong prices in the first half of 2023.

Brenna Grant, the Executive Director of Canfax, says the tight supplies in North America have been the underlying factor that's really driven the market to where we're at today.

The tighter supplies in the cattle sector have also resulted in higher prices at the grocery store.

During a recession, beef tends to do fairly well as long as prices with competing proteins stay within historical ranges,  if the other proteins go lower it could have an impact.