Okotoks

A major fundraiser for a local animal rescue organization was held on Monday, Sept. 9.

It was the 6th annual Heaven Can Wait Golf Classic at the Sirocco Golf Club.

The event is one of the animal rescue's biggest of the year, and Heaven Can Wait often relies on funds from the golf classic to carry it through to the holiday season.

A photo gallery from the event can be seen below.

Elk rutting season has arrived, and as a result, a portion of Waterton Lakes National Park is closed for the safety of the animals and park visitors.   

The Blakiston Fan is closed for the elk mating season. During the closure, foot and horseback travel through the area isn’t permitted.  

The Hay Barn day-use area and the Alpine Stables are still open to motor vehicles and foot traffic.  

High River and Foothills County Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) have launched a local loop transportation pilot project.   

The Better Together Transportation Hop-On-Hop-Off Friday Bus Route stops at eight locations around High River between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Fridays.   

The stops include Hi-wood Meadows Housing Co-Op, Sunvale Crescent, No Frills, Rec Centre, Charles Clark Medical Centre, Medicine Tree Manor, A-1 Convenience Store, and Tim Hortons NW. 

A major Okotoks roadway has reopened after being closed for months.

Big Rock Trail, between Westland Road and Westland Street, was shut down in May for construction.

Crews were completing deep and shallow utility work as well as widening the road.

The closure was originally expected to wrap up by the end of May, but the timeline was extended to the end of August.

The road reopened over the weekend, though work in the area is not yet complete.

According to the Town of Okotoks, crews will be finishing up in the coming weeks.

The first phase of the Aldersyde Water Treatment Plant Project is set to begin today (Sept. 9).  

The work will be completed in two separate phases of temporary road closures in the area.  

During Phase 1, from Sept. 9 to Sept. 11, traffic detours will be in place to route vehicles around construction.   

Local access could be limited at times, and short delays are expected.   

Canada’s canola industry is expressing deep frustration over the federal government’s newly announced support package, saying it fails to meet the urgent needs of farmers and the broader value chain affected by the ongoing closure of the Chinese market.

While industry leaders welcomed the government’s attention to agriculture, they say the measures announced on Friday do not reflect the scale of the crisis.

While the Alberta government is urging teachers to get back to the bargaining table to get out of an ongoing stalemate, their union says the province needs to move beyond reiterating a deal that teachers have already rejected.

Finance Minister Nate Horner is encouraging teachers to take a closer look at the latest offer, which he says shows respect for teachers.

"We've never left the table," Horner said in an interview Monday.

"We think this is a fair deal. We think this is a good deal."

The federal government says it plans to launch a public registry to keep Canadians in the loop on its growing use of artificial intelligence.

"We are seeing a lot more activity across departments and agencies," Stephen Burt, the government’s chief data officer, told The Canadian Press.

The federal government says it has found almost 500 ways to streamline regulations and cut costs following a 60-day red tape review exercise.

Departments and agencies have published reports identifying measures to make them more efficient and eliminate complicated or redundant regulations or processes.

Examples include a Canada Border Services Agency proposal to end the rule requiring that travellers arriving in Canada only on their way to another country, be examined by the agency before making their way to their departing flight.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's United Conservative government says it will fight hard to defend a court challenge to its school pronoun law.

“Alberta’s government will vigorously defend our position in court,” Heather Jenkins, press secretary to Justice Minister Mickey Amery, said in a statement after two LGBTQ+ advocacy groups officially filed the court challenge last week.

Jenkins stressed the legislation was introduced to strengthen ties between parents and their child’s education.