FortSask

Fort High is beyond excited to be welcoming prospective students to an in-person open house. 

The open house will be taking place at the school on Thursday (Feb. 16) night. This will be the first in-person open house at the school since 2020. 

"We've had two years in a row of the online open house, which is very difficult because we can show you pictures and talk about programming and flowcharts, but let's face it, that's a little boring," said Curtis Starko, the principal at Fort High. 

Strathcona County firefighters worked with local vets to save a dog who was pinned during a collision late last week.

On Thursday (Feb. 9), a three-vehicle crash happened on Baseline Road, with an SUV ending up on its side.

Two off-duty firefighters noticed the crash and immediately began to free people from the vehicles.

When emergency services arrived, they noticed a small dog who was pinned by heavy items in the trunk of the SUV. Firefighters used hydraulic spreaders to access the trunk and rescue the dog.

The federal government has announced some key funding to help resolve agriculture's current workforce challenges.

The impact of the pandemic hit the agriculture and agri-food sector hard, with plant closures, market fluctuations and supply chain delays resulting in a significant shortage and loss of skilled labour.

A Labour Force Survey in December of 2022 showed that 260,600 people were working in the agriculture and agri-food sector, down 12.5% compared to pre-pandemic numbers from February 2020.

A popular winter event is making its return to Fort Saskatchewan next week! 

Winterfest is being hosted by the Fort Saskatchewan Historical Society on Monday (Feb. 20) at the Fort Heritage Precinct grounds after a long three-year absence. 

"Winterfest started out, I believe, 14 years ago as a vintage snowmobile show," said Stuart McGowan with the historical society. "Over the years we started adding things like snowman making, we had dog sledding at one point, running around a snow track, and snow golf." 

There's a lot of interest in a private members bill put forward by Bloc Quebecois MP Luc Thériault.

Bill C-282 is a bill to amend the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act - relating to supply management.

The bill would legislate the protection of supply-managed sectors in Canada by ensuring the federal government does not make market access concessions in future trade deals for supply-managed products like dairy, eggs and poultry.

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture has come out in support of the Bill.

Today we celebrate Canada's Agriculture Day.

It's a time to recognize the efforts and accomplishments of farmers and those that work in the agri-food sector.

The Canadian Centre for Food Integrity President and CEO John Jamieson says this is an ideal opportunity for everyone to learn more about where their food comes from while getting to know the people who produce it.

StatCan numbers reveal the percentage of permanent residents who become Canadians has plummeted over the past 20 years. 

The Institute for Canadian Citizenship says Statistics Canada data points to a 40 per cent decline in citizenship uptake since 2001.

The group's CEO, Daniel Bernhard, calls the drop alarming and says it should serve as a “wake up call” to improving the experience newcomers have in Canada.

In 2021, nearly 45.7 per cent of permanent residents who'd been in Canada for less than 10 years became citizens.

The Federal Election Boundaries Commission for Alberta is going back on a plan to put Fort Saskatchewan voters into a larger federal riding.

On Thursday (Feb. 2) The commission announced that they were ditching their original plan.

The plan was to split the riding of Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan in two, which would put Fort in the Lakeland district, while Sherwood Park joined with Beaumont.

Since its formation in 1899, a lot has happened in Fort Saskatchewan. From the hanging of Swift Runner to the 1955 prison riot, there's tons of local lore.

This gallery is to show scenes of old Fort Saskatchewan compared to how these areas look today.

Second Chance! Animal Rescue Society (SCARS) has been pretty busy at their newest location. 

Back in October, SCARS opened its newest rescue facility in Morinville. Since opening, they say that they're already reaching capacity.

"Every single day the demand for intake is something I've never seen before," said Amanda Annetts, intake coordinator with SCARS. "We have over 40 animals in the facility as we speak."

Although the location is at full capacity, Annetts said most rescues are adopted in 15 to 30 days, but there have been some long-term residents.