FortSask

A winter storm is causing issues on the highways. 

RCMP are advising of poor winter driving conditions on the QEII Highway between Nisku and Red Deer. 

The roads are reportedly icy with very low visibility due to high winds and blowing snow.

Police say travel in the area is not recommended.

As of 12:30 p.m., roads in the Fort Saskatchewan, Sherwood Park and Edmonton area are in fair to poor condition. Snow is accumulating on the local highways with icy sections. 

A spokesman for Teamsters Canada Rail Conference says the union is expecting to be back at the bargaining table with a mediator today after a labour dispute with CP Rail led to a work stoppage late Saturday.

More than 3,000 conductors and engineers at CP rail are on the picket line after the company and union failed to reach a deal by a midnight deadline.

Both CP Rail and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference say the other side is at fault for the stoppage which is parking trains when supply chain disruptions are already severe.

Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning for the region.

The weather agency says 10-20 cm of heavy snow is expected on Sunday (Mar. 20).

Snowfall will begin Sunday morning in west-central Alberta, moving eastward through the day. The snow is expected to be wet, heavy and will briefly be mixed with rain or freezing rain in the morning.

According to Environment Canada, the snow will end late Sunday afternoon in central Alberta, and late Sunday evening in eastern Alberta.

A wide load will be traveling through the area. 

The 103 metre-long and 5.73-metre-high load will leave the Scotford refinery and petrochemical area near Fort Saskatchewan on Saturday (Mar. 19) at 8 a.m. and travel for five days to its destination near Edson.

The load is an electrical generator which is almost as long as a CFL football field and as tall as a traffic light pole.

Route

The load will leave Scotford refinery area using the following route:

Sherwood Park's Lisa DeJong is the first Canadian to accomplish a significant feat.

DeJong won a silver medal in the woman's snowboard cross in Beijing. She is the first Canadian to win a medal in Para snowboarding at the Paralympic Winter Games.

"It was just shocking and unbelievable. The girls that I was up against are veterans and very strong riders," she said. "I had been competing against them this whole season and had yet to be able to get past them in snowboard cross. So to finally be able to beat them felt absolutely amazing."

Western Canadian Wheat Growers (WCWG) is disappointed that CP Rail and Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) have not been able to reach an agreement.

In a news release, the group says with CP serving lockout notice, an interruption in rail service will be devastating.

CP issued a lockout notice for early Sunday morning, with the Teamsters Canada Railway Conference issuing its own strike notice on Friday.

Ian Boxall,  President of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, says a rail strike should be a key concern for everyone, including all aspects of the ag sector.

Two key witnesses of the ongoing Fort Saskatchewan murder trial testified this week.

A 33-year old man is being charged with second-degree murder in the death of his one-year-old son as well as assaulting his daughter. Names are being withheld due to a publication ban protecting the identities of the children involved.

The mother of the victims took the stand on Wednesday (Mar. 16). She spoke of an argument she and the accused had the night before when she learned he had taken out $200 on her debit card for small purchases, including cigarettes. 

Jason Boutilier is off the hook from charges stemming from an incident last year.

In February of 2021, the Morinville RCMP was called to a hit and run on Highway 2 and Township Road 552 in Sturgeon County. A witness said a Ford truck rammed the victim's vehicle off the highway before driving off.

MarketsFarm held a webinar Thursday to discuss the war in Ukraine.

Bruce Burnett is Director of Markets and Weather.