Update on 94 Street construction

Construction on the widening of 94 Street is coming along nicely. 

The project will widen the road from two lanes to four to help ease the high volume of traffic near the community hospital.  

The city expects construction crews to complete work in the next couple of weeks depending on the weather. 

Grant Schaffer, director of fleet, facilities, and engineering for the city, says drivers can expect delays in the area. 

Alberta commits $20.8 million over the next four years to fight human trafficking

The Alberta government is providing $20.8 million over the next four years to implement recommendations from a star-led task force on human trafficking.

Country singer Paul Brandt, chair of the Alberta Human Trafficking Task Force, personally thanked Premier Jason Kenney during the funding announcement Sunday at Edmonton International Airport for his willingness to prioritize the issue, and for putting faith in Brandt to lead the group.

Harvest progress varies across the prairies

Manitoba has about 47 per cent of the crop in the bin, Saskatchewan's harvest is now 81 per cent complete, while Alberta's major crop harvest is now 76 to 88 per cent complete.

In Manitoba killing frosts arrived in much of the western side of the province on the morning of September 22nd and much of the rest province saw frost on September 27th. Some crop injury is expected in green canola and soybeans, but damage is expected to be relatively light.

Hurricane Fiona highlights the need to enhance business risk management programs

Recovery continues in Atlantic Canada as people continue to work on picking up debris following the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona. 

The storm wreaked havoc across the Maritimes from power outages to infrastructure loss, loss of homes and fishing boats, damage to dairy farms, farms and crops.

Posting on Twitter Mary Robinson, President of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture lives in P E. I and like many in Atlantic Canada has spent the week picking up after the storm. 

The gig is up: Alberta Premier Jason Kenney set to step down from top job

Don’t cry for me, Alberta, I was leaving anyway.  

It's Premier Jason Kenney’s swan song message as he prepares to depart the province's top job, forced out by the very United Conservative Party he willed into existence.

"I was never intending to be in this gig for a long time,” Kenney told an audience earlier this month. He had planned for one more provincial election, he said.

Global bike index recovers over $20 million in stolen bicycles

Stolen bicycles are nothing new in Fort Saskatchewan. 

Fort Saskatchewan Protective Services and the Fort Sask Runners have partnered with Bike Index, a global non-profit bike registry. Their goal is to cut back on bike thefts around the world.

Users can create a free account and register their bikes within minutes. In the case that their bike is stolen, they can alert the community who can use the registered data on Bike Index to identify their bicycle.

Bike Index has over 900,000 bicycles registered, 100,000 were stolen at one point or another. 

Canada has now ended its COVID-19 travel restrictions, mask mandates

As of this morning, travellers to Canada do not need to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 — and wearing a mask on planes and trains is now optional, though it is still recommended. 

People entering the country are no longer subject to random mandatory tests for the virus, and those who are unvaccinated will not need to isolate upon arrival.

Anyone who entered Canada in the last two weeks and was subject to quarantine or testing is off the hook as of today.

Canadians reflect about residential schools on Truth and Reconciliation Day

With drumming and singing, at powwows and public ceremonies, communities across the country marked the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation on Friday.

The federal statutory holiday, also known as Orange Shirt Day, was established last year to remember children who died while being forced to attend residential schools, as well as those who survived, and the families and communities still affected by lasting trauma.

Provinces, territories face calls to make Day for Truth and Reconciliation a holiday

As Canada marks the second National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, provinces and territories face a push to recognize it as a statutory holiday.

New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut have declared Sept. 30 a statutory holiday along with the federal government.

Murray Sinclair, the former head of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, pointed out at a national event in Ottawa that many governments quickly moved to recognize the death of the queen, and he urged the same courtesy for residential school survivors.