FortSask

The Conservative Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Agri-Food says he's concerned by what he heard in the federal budget.

John Barlow says this is a government that promised to get their their spending under control, get deficits under control and start to work towards a balanced budget - but that obviously did not happen.

Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau says they tried to balance the budget the best they could in terms of so many priorities.

"We wanted to support Canadians because we know that times are hard, and everything is very expensive. So we brought what we call the grocery rebate to be able to give some money to those who need it most, while not putting fuel on the fire and provoking an increase in interest rates."

An Alberta deputy premier says it was appropriate for his boss to phone up a pastor and discuss his upcoming criminal trial on charges stemming from protests over pandemic restrictions. 

Kaycee Madu says Premier Danielle Smith has a broad mandate to reduce divisions over the COVID-19 pandemic while helping the province grow. 

Madu says in pursuing that mission, Smith is free to contact whomever she wants.

Drivers were given another option instead of paying for their tickets this week.

Fort Saskatchewan RCMP and municipal enforcement handed out 60 tickets for a variety of violations including cracked windshields, window tint, and loud exhausts on Wednesday (Mar. 29).

Typically, drivers are given three options when issued a ticket: pay the fine, plead not guilty in writing, or appear in court. This time, there was an 'Option 4'.

The cavalry is coming to Ardrossan this summer to celebrate the 150th RCMP Musical Ride.

On June 17, 24 Mounties will perform cavalry drills at the Ardrossan football practice field on horseback, choreographed to Canadian-themed music.

This event coincides with the Ardrossan Recreation and Agriculture Society's annual Picnic and Parade. The officers are expected to participate in the parade in the morning before performing their drills in the afternoon.

The music that plays alongside their drills is dependent on the area of the Musical Ride itself.

Yesterday was a key day for farmers as Bill C-234 received its third and final reading in the House of Commons.

Bill C-234 an Act to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act would exempt on-farm grain drying from the Carbon Tax.

Conservative Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Agri-Food John Barlow says this is a massive win for Canadian farmers.

"This will reduce or remove the carbon tax from natural gas and propane on farms once it gets through the Senate. So we're hopeful before we rise in June, that will happen."

This weekend is a big one for the Fort Saskatchewan Food Bank. 

The first annual Servus Credit Union Spring Food Drive will get going on Saturday (April 1) and Sunday, collecting donations at just about every major grocery store in the city. 

The drive is pivotal for the food bank, as they are going through one of the toughest times of the year. 

"We are really excited about this," said Kassandra Gartner, the executive director of the food bank. "It has just been an awesome experience with planning and getting everything put together for a city-wide food drive." 

Some Fort Saskatchewan mailboxes were broken into overnight. 

Residents on Westwood Green woke up to find multiple mailboxes pried open on two different units.

The boxes are right around the corner from each other. One mailbox had six slots broken into while another had two. The only thing that remained in the affected slots were flyers. 

Police have been made aware of the situation and have been patrolling the area.

As of now, a suspect has not been identified.  

Gas in Fort Saskatchewan has shot up in the last day, but why?

According to industry analysts, several factors come into play for the rise in gas prices.

One of these reasons is the change in the type of gas supplied by refineries, changing from winter fuel to summer fuel, which costs on average five cents more per litre.

Other factors include the weakening of the Canadian dollar, the U.S. banking crisis, and the Canadian government increasing their carbon tax on April 1.

Get your Elk Island National Park reservations ready. 

The park will be opening up its summer reservations on Thursday (Mar. 30) morning.

At about 8 a.m., interested campers will be able to book reservations from May 19 to October 9. on the park's website. 

The implementation of staggered reservation dates for parks across the country is new for this year and is meant to ease the pressure on the park systems.