FortSask

Determined members of the public joined a lineup that stretched for kilometres along the south bank of the Thames River on Wednesday, waiting hours to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II as she began lying in state.

Equipped with sleeping bags, books and backpacks of food, they formed a queue that was nearly four kilometres long as of 6 p.m. local time. With Westminster Palace silhouetted across the river, people waited patiently as the line wound its way past the London Eye and across Lambeth Bridge.

Gibbon’s newest town councillor, Dale Yushchyshyn, is excited to make his mark on the community. 

Yushchyshyn and his family have been in the community for 27 years and the idea of running for council didn’t get onto his radar until recently. 

“It wasn’t front of mind when I heard that there was a by-election coming,” said Yushchyshyn. “Shortly after I had a couple of people approach me and say ‘you should consider it.'” 

Strathcona County welcomed a new fire chief. 

Martin Paulson joins the county after serving with Vancouver Fire Rescue Services for 32 years where he started as a firefighter and eventually worked his way up to become assistant deputy chief of operations. 

Strathcona County mayor Rod Frank is excited about what Paulson can bring. 

Traffic is now being allowed one-way on the new Highway 15 bridge in Fort Saskatchewan. 

Construction has progressed far enough that one-way traffic on one side of the bridge will be allowed while crews work on the structure.

At the moment, vehicles entering Fort Saskatchewan will be using one lane on the new bridge while vehicles exiting the community will use one lane on the old bridge. 

The bridge is part of a provincial project to twin the highway over the North Saskatchewan River.

Queen Elizabeth II will be laid to rest on Monday, Sept. 19, and some people in Canada will have a paid day off while others will not.

On Tuesday Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the day would be a federal holiday to mourn the Queen. "Declaring an opportunity for Canadians to mourn on Monday is going to be important," the Prime Minister said at a caucus retreat in New Brunswick.

Pierre Poilievre's crushing win to become leader of the Conservative Party of Canada raises questions about the status and power of the party's social conservatives. 

That well-mobilized part of the party's base has played an important role in helping previous leaders achieve power, with some calling them "kingmakers." 

Some Indigenous leaders and community members say they're concerned about making progress on reconciliation with King Charles III.

Treaty 8 Grand Chief Arthur Noskey says the Queen's death last week wasn't good timing, as First Nations were making progress in working with the Crown toward upholding treaty agreements. 

"We were building up not only the momentum, but letting (the Queen) know that the Crown and the relationship understood by our people is not what's being delivered by administrators," Noskey said from his office in Edmonton.

Foothills MP John Barlow delivered lots of support to Pierre Poilievre, literally and figuratively (photo: John Barlow facebook)

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Ag News

Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Agri-Food and Food Security John Barlow backed Pierre Poilievre for the leadership of the federal Conservatives from the start.

So, as you'd expect, he was pleased with the results of Saturday's vote.

The Alberta MP doesn't believe Poilievre's win will lead to a split in the party.

A new report released from Fertilizer Canada and the Canola Council of Canada (CCC) shows Canada can continue to increase crop yields while significantly reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fertilizer application using available tools and technology.

Damien Starrett was sentenced to seven years in prison after his trial came to an end on Tuesday (Sept. 13) morning. 

A number of reductions to the sentence that consider state misconduct during Starrett’s stay at the Edmonton Remand Center, the collateral consequences, and restrictive bail conditions were made.

The overall length of time that Starrett will spend in prison from now on is roughly 4.5 years.