Airdrie

Alberta drivers will soon see significant changes to their auto insurance system, starting January 1, 2027, with the introduction of the 'Care-First' system. However, leading to these changes, rate caps for good drivers will increase starting January 2025.

Airdrie residents who have weekend travel plans may want to monitor the weather closely. The area is under a snowfall warning, and the largest dump of snow is expected Saturday.

While snow is expected to begin falling across Alberta today, with five to 10 centimetres likely by Saturday morning, by tomorrow, snowfall will intensify, potentially accumulating 10 to 15 centimetres.

Rocky View County (RVC) is looking into possible changes to its Animal Control Bylaw.

According to RVC, the primary focus of this bylaw is to ensure animals are kept under control and do not engage in nuisance behaviour towards neighbouring properties.

Lorraine Wesley, manager of enforcement services, talked about the changes they are thinking about implementing.

"Administration is looking at including a leashing provision and looking at cat licensing."

According to the RVC website, the exact possible changes include:

The much-anticipated annual Sirens Charity Hockey game is less than 10 days away, with city fire department members lacing up their skates to face off against local police and municipal enforcement at the Ron Ebbesen Twin Arena.

The federal government has introduced measures to help ease household expenses and provide financial relief to Canadians dealing with inflation and rising living costs. Starting December 14, a temporary Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) exemption will apply to various essential goods.

But what does this mean for Airdrie families? Here’s a look at which items they can purchase locally that will be covered by the exemption. The following goods will qualify for the temporary GST/HST exemption:

Airdrie and the surrounding areas are under a snowfall warning as southern Alberta prepares for a significant winter storm.

According to Environment Canada, snow will begin early Friday morning and spread northward, bringing a long period of heavy snowfall.

The area could see 5 to 10 cm of snow by Saturday morning, with heavier snow arriving early Saturday. Another 10 to 15 centimetres is expected by Saturday evening, totalling 15 to 25 centimetres by the time the storm eases overnight into Sunday.

With the colder temperatures moving into Airdrie and ice starting to develop on bodies of water, the Airdrie Fire Department is reminding residents about ice safety.

Airdrie Fire Chief Mike Pirie explained AFD has one main message they share every year.

"Ice is very unpredictable. It's not just something you can look at and know if it is safe or not. Airdrie has a lot of water features, we have ponds, we have Nose Creek Park, we have canals, and none of those are safe to be out on during the winter time."

A senior official says the Canadian government is not aware of any evidence linking Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to alleged criminal activity perpetrated by Indian agents on Canadian soil.

Meta is refusing to publicly disclose information that could determine whether it is subject to the Online News Act despite blocking news from its platforms.

2024 will go down as the year of canola disease.

That is according to Curtis Rempel, Vice President of Crop Production and Innovation with the Canola Council of Canada. Rempel says diseases were primarily root and lower stem. He notes this was partially due to the wet and cool conditions felt in large parts of the Prairies.

"For a lot of stubble-borne fungi, which are primarily disease-causing organisms, they are all fungal-related," explains Rempel. "The cool, damp conditions really allow the fungus to take off."