Okotoks

Environment Canada issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for parts of Foothills County today (Aug. 4) at 2:27 p.m.  

Meteorologists are tracking a cluster of severe thunderstorms capable of producing nickel to ping pong ball-sized hail and heavy rain.  

The Warning has been issued for the following areas: 

A local petition has been launched calling for Bill C-332 to increase protection against coercive control and intimate partner violence.  

The petition is in response to the loss of 23-year-old Okotokian Madisson Cobb, who was fatally shot on July 19 in the Calgary community of Haysboro by ex-boyfriend Devon Bradley Malik. 

A section of Highway 40 South of Mount Lipsett is closed in Kananaskis Country following a mudslide. 

The affected areas include Elbow-Sheep WPP, Mist Creek Trail, Mist Creek Day Use, and Mist Ridge Trail. 

Some premiers say they want to have more local control over the immigration system — but experts say what the system really needs is a national conversation on immigration reform that shores up public support.

"Most of the existing policies have been formulated on the fly without any evidence or serious impact evaluations of what the various classes of immigrants are, how they're performing economically and otherwise," said Michael Trebilcock, a retired academic and co-author of two books on immigration policy.

"So it's basically research-free."

Dominic LeBlanc said Sunday that he expects Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump will speak "over the next number of days" as the United States ratchets up pressure in trade talks.

The Canada-U.S. trade minister appeared on CBS's "Face the Nation" and spoke about where talks stand between the two countries.

LeBlanc told host Margaret Brennan that while Canada is "disappointed" with Trump's new 35-per-cent tariffs, he is continuing to work toward a deal that would hopefully strike down trade restrictions between the nations.

Ottawa's new trade minister says he's looking to sign deals in South America, Southeast Asia, Africa and beyond — and to convince businesses to actually use the trade agreements Canada has already signed.

"My primary role as Canada's top salesman is to be out there hustling, opening doors for businesses and accessing new markets," Maninder Sidhu told The Canadian Press.

"My phone has been ringing with opportunities because people want to deal with reliable, stable trading partners."