FortSask

Transport Minister Omar Alghabra has announced that the government will pause all mandatory random COVID-19 tests at Canada's airports for vaccinated travellers from Saturday until the end of the month.

For now, unvaccinated travellers will still be tested at airports, but the government plans to move that testing off-site next month.

The government previously said current public health measures would remain in place until the end of June, but has been facing mounting pressure from industry and opposition to improve the chaotic situation playing out in Canada's airports.

The price of gasoline has been on the rise for the past few weeks and is projected to keep going up. 

According to the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), the current provincial average for regular fuel is $1.89 a litre in the capital region. 

Alberta has the lowest price for regular gasoline among any province in the country right now, yet the price is still having a significant impact. 

Charity Tober is an 18-year resident of Redwater and owner of Queen of Clean. 

A special visit to Southfort Bend Gardens was organized by SouthPointe School students during Seniors’ Week (Jun 5-11). 

On Monday (Jun. 6), Carole Bossert’s Grade 5 class took a field trip to the retirement home to deliver kind messages and show local seniors a little love. 

Eight years ago, Bossert co-founded Seniors and Youth Networking Committees (SYNC) and is passionate about connecting her students with seniors in the community. Her students regularly contact seniors through letter-writing, decorations and artwork.  

A random sample of grazing leaseholders were selected earlier this year to take part in a grazing lease cost survey.

The survey was mailed out to that group, but AGLA hasn't seen a very strong response.

Grazing operators are being encouraged to fill out the form and return it as soon as possible.

All of the information included in the survey is being kept strictly confidential.

The cost survey is an industry priority to accurately track the costs of managing a grazing lease in Alberta. 

The economy added 40,000 jobs in May, driven by a gain in full-time jobs as the labour market continued to tighten and wages pushed higher, Statistics Canada said Friday.

The increase came as the unemployment rate fell to 5.1 per cent, the lowest rate since at least 1976 which is as far back as comparable data goes. The unemployment rate was 5.2 per cent in April.

TD Bank senior economist James Orlando said as Canadians headed out to patios and hit the road for overdue vacations, employers continued to search for workers to meet heightened demand.

The United Nations committee on the rights of the child has released a report expressing serious concerns about the welfare of children in Canada — particularly those who are Indigenous. 

"The committee is deeply concerned about the discrimination against children in marginalized and disadvantaged situations," said the report, made public Thursday.

The committee cited structural discrimination against Indigenous and Black children, "especially with regard to their access to education, health and adequate standards of living," 

More windows have gone missing in Redwater.

Around Jun. 2, RCMP was made aware that some sliding glass windows were removed from the CN caboose at Devonian Park.

The CN caboose has significant cultural and historical value in the town. In the 1980s, CN donated it to the town to signify Redwater's role in rail transport of grain and equipment, especially for the oilfield.

The theft comes after two men were recently caught removing windows from an abandoned building in Redwater on May 5. No evidence currently links the two incidents in any way. 

Fort Saskatchewan is experiencing a pickleball boom.

The Fort Saskatchewan Pickleball Club was founded amid COVID-19. When they began, club members would play on the street with an old volleyball net, but as they grew, they moved to the Sportsplex area, where they used the old hockey rink.  

According to the club’s president, Roberta Dorner, the club took its passion to city council, where they pitched refurbishing the Carscadden Park dry pad area behind the Sportsplex into pickleball courts. 

A man in possession of a stolen truck almost hit an RCMP officer. 

On May 19, Redwater RCMP got word from a neighbouring detachment that a stolen truck was spotted driving down Highway 28 near Radway. 

Once the truck was located, officers pulled the suspect over and attempted to make an arrest. During this time, the driver sped off, nearly hitting the officer on scene. 

A short distance later, the suspect abandoned the truck and fled on foot into a wooded area.

Water levels in the North Saskatchewan River have returned to normal after low levels prompted a warning. 

On Jun. 2, Edmonton Fire Rescue Service, Edmonton Police, city park rangers and the RCMP issued a warning asking boaters to stay off the North Saskatchewan River. At the time, the river flow was about half of what it should be, hovering around 50 m³/s.