FortSask

WestJet proactively cancelled flights at airports in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec Thursday night as storm systems bore down on the regions, deepening a cascade of disruptions that have sent travellers scrambling.

Diederik Pen, WestJet's chief operations officer, said the decision to stand down 243 more flights was extremely difficult but necessary, in order to fly safely with as little disruption as possible when the weather improves.

A Fort Saskatchewan man has been hit with multiple drug charges. 

On Wednesday (Dec. 21), Fort Saskatchewan RCMP executed a search warrant on a home in the city. 

Police say the search yielded 80 grams of cocaine, four grams of methamphetamines, eight grams of psilocybin, drug paraphernalia as well as some cash and several scales. 

As a result, 52-year-old Kerwin Beier was charged with the following: 

The risk of house fires is a lot higher during the Christmas season. 

The Fort Saskatchewan Fire Department wants to make sure that you and your family have a safe and festive holiday season. 

Assistant fire chief Jay Parsons gave out some tips on how to stay fire-free this weekend. 

"Some of the bigger ones this year is people moving toward artificial candles or electronic candles versus older traditional candles," said Parsons. "If you do use your candles, please try to put them into low-traffic areas or away from any flammable materials." 

With the snow packed tight in Fort Saskatchewan, it's time to bust out the toboggans and head for the hills!

There are five toboggan hills in the city, here's where you can find them.

West River's Edge

Located in Westpark by the boat launch, this hill even features an ice slide.

Residents will have to park at the bottom of the hill and walk themselves up.

Westpark Drive

Just down the street from the spray park is a small hill for residents to ride down.

Strathcona County RCMP arrested an Edmonton man with warrants out for his arrest earlier this month. 

On December 7, police responded to reports of a suspicious man at Millennium Place in Sherwood Park. 

Upon arriving on the scene, RCMP located the man who provided a fake name. Police made the arrest shortly after. 

The House of Common's is on their winter break with MP's back in their riding.

John Barlow, the Conservative Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Agri-Food says it was a busy session from getting the Liberals to back down on front of package labelling to getting Bill C234 through committee.

It hasn't just been cold in the area; it has been historically cold! 

Temperatures around Fort Saskatchewan have hovered around the mid-to-high -30 C range the last few days, with windchill numbers even breaching the -40 C threshold. 

Environment Canada is reporting that Elk Island reached its coldest-ever base temperature on Wednesday (Dec. 21) morning clocking in at a frigid -40.4 C.

The previous record of -37 C was recorded in 1987. 

Environment Canada meteorologist Brian Proctor says this cold-weather system has been quite intense. 

The Canadian Cattle Association and the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef were official observers for the Canadian delegation during the recent COP15 meetings in Montreal.

They point out that in Canada, beef cattle production is an effective way to conserve grasslands, sequester carbon, and enhance biodiversity. 

Much of the focus of COP15 was placed on the adoption of the ‘Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)’- a landmark decision that will shape the future of biodiversity conservation. 

Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has named Justine Hendricks as the next President and Chief Executive Officer for Farm Credit Canada.

Hendricks moves into the role after serving as Chief Corporate Sustainability Officer and Senior Vice-President, Sustainable Business and Enablement with Export Development Canada.

FCC Board Chairperson Jane Halford says Justine has significant experience in the financial industry and in leading teams that serve exporters and investors in a wide range of sectors, including agriculture.

Canada's chief public health officer says COVID-19 is still circulating at a "relatively high level" and other strains of influenza may surge in the new year.

At the same time, governments need to invest in preparing for and preventing future epidemics, Dr. Theresa Tam says.