Lacombe

Indian law enforcement agencies say they are investigating alleged links between dozens of colleges in Canada and two "entities" in Mumbai accused of illegally ferrying students across the Canada-United States border.

A news release Tuesday from India's Enforcement Directorate — a multi-disciplinary organization that investigates money laundering and foreign exchange laws — said a multi-city search has revealed "incriminating" evidence of "human trafficking."

A look at national news events in March 2024:

1 - Health Minister Mark Holland tables a bill considered the first step toward a possible pharmacare program. The legislation lays down a road map for how the federal government plans to get there. The first step is to negotiate universal coverage for birth control and diabetes drugs with provinces and territories, something Holland is fairly certain he can accomplish by the next election. 

A look at national news events in February 2024:

01 - The federal government announces spending of an additional $362 million to help provinces and cities temporarily house asylum seekers. Immigration Minister Marc Miller called the interim housing assistance program a stopgap measure, saying the system needs to be rejigged to reflect a large flow of international migration that is not about to stop. 

Alberta patients faced some of the longest waits for medical treatment in 2024, according to a study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent Canadian public policy think tank.

The study, Waiting Your Turn: Wait Times for Health Care in Canada, 2024, reports that the median wait time from referral by a general practitioner to treatment by a specialist in Alberta reached 38.4 weeks this year. Alberta's 2024 wait times outpaced those in Saskatchewan (37.2 weeks) and Manitoba (37.9 weeks), placing the province among the hardest hit by these delays.

Last December, Alberta RCMP officers removed 537 impaired drivers from Alberta roads. Among them, 49 were under the influence of drugs or a mix of drugs and alcohol.

As this year’s holiday season begins, RCMP is reminding Albertans to plan for safe rides home during National Safe Driving Week, which runs till Saturday, December 7.

A look at national news events in January 2024:

1 - Former world cycling champion Rohan Dennis is charged in connection with the death of his wife, 32-year-old Olympic cyclist Melissa Hoskins. She died late Dec. 30 after being struck by a vehicle while riding in suburban Adelaide, Australia. Dennis is charged with causing death by dangerous driving, endangering life and driving without due care.

Due to a temporary gap in physician coverage, the Stettler Hospital and Care Centre Emergency Department (ED) will be closed Dec. 31 from 5 p.m. to Jan. 1 at 8 a.m.  

During temporary closures, nursing staff are on-site in the ED to triage, assess patients and refer patients who may present to the department to alternate care options depending on their condition.  

Throughout the year Chinook’s Edge students and staff worked on projects that made a difference within their schools and in their communities.

Here are a few highlights of activities underway in the schools:

Communities across Alberta showed generosity during this year’s Alberta Health Services (AHS) Toys for Tickets campaign, helping bring joy to families and children this holiday season.  

The campaign allowed people who received an AHS parking ticket to donate a new, unwrapped toy instead of paying their fine.   

This year, more than 1,150 toys were collected province-wide.  

As Christmas Eve arrives in Central Alberta, families eagerly await a special holiday tradition: NORAD’s (North American Aerospace Defense Command) annual mission to track Santa Claus.

While NORAD is known for defending North American airspace year-round, its mission becomes more festive on December 24.

The tradition of tracking Santa started by accident in 1955 when a young child dialled a misprinted phone number from a department store ad in the local newspaper.