FortSask

The beef industry is looking forward to seeing the results of Alberta's Beef Competitiveness Study.

The study was initiated last year when the Alberta Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development approached Alberta Beef Producers, Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association, and the Canadian Cattle Association.

The focus of the study is to look at the apparent lack of packing capacity to build resiliency through the beef supply chain. 

Since COVID 19 and the challenges in the supply chain a number of key risk factors have been brought to the forefront.

The Canadian Federation of Agriculture issued the following joint statement on Thursday, ahead of the FPT Agriculture Ministers meeting next week taking place in Saskatoon:

Federal/Provincial/Territorial (FPT) Agriculture Ministers will be meeting to make important decisions regarding the direction of the Next Policy Framework (NPF), the primary funding envelope for Canadian agricultural policies and programs for the next five years.

On Friday night (July 15), Fort Saskatchewan RCMP responded to a two-vehicle collision on Highway 21 near 84 Street.

One person was taken to hospital by ambulance after a black Dodge Ram and a black BMW SUV collided at 7:40 p.m. The severity of the injury has yet to be released.

Both cars were traveling southbound and crossed the Highway 15 bridge from Sturgeon County minutes before the collision. 

A collision reconstructionist has been to the scene but no details on the cause of the crash have emerged at this point. 

Sherwood Park's Kody Lamb competed in bareback riding at the Calgary Stampede earlier this month.

On July 8, Lamb drew Agent Lynx and was able to finish in 5th place with a score of 85.50. He walked away with $1,500 in day money. 

On July 9, he rode Bomb Cherry to get a score of 84.0. This ride gave Lamb an aggregate amount of $4,000.

“It went okay, I made some money in my pool. Then I advanced to the wildcard round, but unfortunately, I was unable to advance beyond the wildcard round so I was done on Saturday,” said Lamb. 

Police are asking for help finding a robbery suspect. 

The RCMP say they received a call regarding an armed robbery Sunday morning (July 17) at the Shoppers Drug Mart on Westpark Boulevard.

"Upon arrival, Fort Saskatchewan RCMP learned that an unknown male entered the store and threatened staff with a knife," police stated in a release.

The man allegedly stole some perfume and then took off in a white Toyota sedan, which had some damage to the driver’s side bumper. 

Police described the man as:

Emergency services were called for help with two collisions over the weekend. 

On Friday night (July 15), Fort Saskatchewan RCMP said there was a two-vehicle collision on Highway 21 near 84 Street. The area was closed off while police investigated the incident. 

Strathcona County emergency services also responded to a two-vehicle crash on Highway 14 near Range Road 232 on Saturday. A stretch of the highway was blocked off to drivers for some time. 

No word on the severity of the injuries in either incident. 

More to come...

Precipitation over the last couple of weeks has been mixed across the province. 

Less than 10 mm of rain was reported in the Peace and south eastern parts of the province, while 40 to 50 mm was reported in the central parts of the province with many areas receiving more than 100 mm.

Those storms brought light to moderate hail damage in many areas.

Ashan Shooshtarian, a Crop Statistician with Alberta Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development put together the latest report.

When 48 Catholic church entities signed on to fundraise $25 million for survivors under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, it was spelled out they would do so through their "best efforts."

Ken Young puts it another way. 

"It was a weasel clause," the former Manitoba regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations said in a recent interview. 

"And they used it."

Canada must make good on a long-standing promise to implement a centralized mental health crisis line that bypasses police and connects those in need with professionals who can help them, experts argued as a similar system went live in the United States.

The new 988 mental health hotline American authorities launched on Saturday will, once fully operational, offer residents struggling with suicidal thoughts an easy-to-remember number that will connect them with trained mental health counsellors rather than law enforcement personnel.

The Shell Theatre is set to release full details on the 2022-23 series of performances.

According to Josh Gennings, the supervisor for the Shell Theatre, local residents can expect full brochures with information on July 22 depending on their mail distribution cycle. 

“We are excited to announce our season. What you will see right now is we are slowly trickling out some shows that are coming out on all of our social media,” explained Gennings.

The Shell Theatre hosts five different series each year: