Canada's first FMD vaccine bank is another step closer

Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly contagious and severe disease that affects cattle, sheep, swine, and other cloven-hoofed animals making it hard for them to eat and walk, leaving them weak and sick.

The FMD vaccine bank builds on existing protections for the livestock industry and equips producers with another tool to control and eliminate the disease should an outbreak occur.

Budget 2023 committed $57.5 million over five years, with $5.6 million ongoing, to the CFIA to establish the FMD vaccine bank and response plans.

Federal union restarting contract talks for more than 120,000 public servants

Two years ago, more than 120,000 federal public servants went on strike after negotiations broke down.

Now, the union representing those workers is going back to the bargaining table with the government with the goal of securing greater job security and remote work options for its members.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada says next week's initial meetings offer its first opportunity to present priorities identified by members, such as better wages, greater job security and stronger provisions for remote work.

The 2025 wildfire season is on track to be Canada's 2nd-worst on record

This year's wildfire season in Canada is shaping up to be the second-worst on record and federal officials are warning of a dangerous summer in parts of British Columbia.

Officials with several government departments held a technical briefing Thursday in Ottawa with an update on the state of multiple wildfires and its forecast for the coming months.

Verse of the day: June 13

Luke 11:13

If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!

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Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

The weight of worry

1 Peter 5:7

How wonderful that God personally cares about those things that worry us and prey upon our thoughts.

He cares about them more than we care about them. Not a single nagging, aching, worrisome,stomach-tensing, blood-pressure-raising thought escapes His notice.

This is how the Phillips translation renders 1 Peter 5:7: "You can throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon him, for you are his personal concern."

Isn't that good? He genuinely cares.

Today's Campground Report, June 12, 2025

The campground report is sponsored by Happy Trails Campground and Cabins.  

 

North of Grande Prairie  

Happy Trails Campground and Cabins (https://htcampground.com)  

June 12– 78 sites 

 
Moonshine Lake Provincial Park (shop.albertaparks.ca)  

June 12 – CLOSED DUE TO WILDFIRE 

 

Dunvegan Provincial Park (shop.albertaparks.ca)  

June 12 – 62 sites 

Family says Canadian dentist was aboard Air India flight that crashed after takeoff

The Canadian citizen believed to be on an Air India flight that crashed shortly after takeoff is a dentist from Mississauga, Ont., her family has confirmed.

The husband of Nirali Sureshkumar Patel said she was on board the London-bound flight that crashed Thursday, killing at least 240 people.

Patel's dental clinic referred The Canadian Press to the husband, who said that he was in the process of booking travel to India for himself and the couple's one-year-old child.

Pulse sector fights anti-green trend

U.S. president Trump has attacked the sustainability movement, but a major pulse player urges investors to stick with the industry

A Canadian food industry executive is telling pulse companies to stick with their sustainability messaging despite attempts by powerful people to undermine the movement.

Murad Al-Katib, president of AGT Food and Ingredients, said U.S. president Donald Trump has been very vocal about his disdain for the green movement.

Protests at G7 summit in Alberta set to be largely peaceful, targeting Trump policies

Protests during the upcoming G7 leaders summit in Kananaskis, Alta., may be starkly different than demonstrations happening this week against immigration crackdowns in the United States.

A University of Toronto research group that has been monitoring the meetings of world leaders since 1998 says its analysis shows Canadian protests are more peaceful and smaller.

But similar to the recent demonstrations in Los Angeles, they're likely to be against the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump.

More surgeries performed but wait times still longer than before pandemic, study says

The Canadian Institute for Health Information says more surgeries are being performed than before the pandemic — but wait times have still grown longer. 

The report released Thursday looked at wait times for hip and knee replacements, cataract procedures, cancer surgeries, MRIs and CT scans in 2019 and in 2024.