Airdrie

Canada Post customers may face delays as tens of thousands of workers swear off overtime shifts, though a much bigger disruption was averted after the union backed down from a strike threat.

Nonetheless, the possibility of escalating job action could continue to scare off customers who pulled their shipments over the past couple of weeks, draining more business from the cash-strapped organization.

“I’m scared for the future,” said Edmonton mail carrier Dustin Ellis, who recently went on leave to study for a new career in social work.

Top officials at the Canada Revenue Agency say mounting job cuts will impact how the agency is able to deliver services.

Commissioner Bob Hamilton and deputy commissioner Jean-François Fortin said in a message to staff Thursday that up to 280 employees will lose their jobs at the agency.

The agency has been examining its operating budget for more than two years to meet a demand from the government to find savings. 

A 42-year-old hiker reported missing in the Mt. Baldy area has been found dead, Kananaskis RCMP confirmed Friday.

Police said they received a report of the missing person on Friday, May 23. Kananaskis Mountain Rescue later located the hiker deceased.

The body has been transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Calgary. RCMP said the death does not appear suspicious.

"RCMP express our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the deceased," police said in a statement.

If you're heading into Kananaskis Country this weekend, be aware: a grizzly bear with cubs that bluff-charged and is frequenting the area has prompted another area closure in the region.

The May 17 closure affects Grizzly Peak, Grizzly Peak Trail and areas within Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. This latest closure is in effect until further notice. 

Another bear-related closure in Kananaskis took effect May 14, when Alberta Parks closed the Rockwall Trail and the Peter Lougheed Discovery Centre and Meadow Area due to "multiple bears frequenting the area."

Crop would be eligible for biofuel tax credit under recent budget proposals in Congress

U.S. President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” could contain some beautiful news for Canada’s canola growers.

The U.S. House of Representatives’ ways and means committee has released its draft proposals for the U.S. budget reconciliation bill.

The proposals include provisions to amend the controversial 45Z clean fuel production tax credit so that canola oil-based biodiesel and renewable diesel would be eligible for the credit.

Construction is underway at the University of Saskatchewan that will see critical facility improvements within the College of Agriculture and Bioresources.

Two new facilities are being built - the Harrington Plant Growth Facility and the Soil Science Field Facility - while a portion of the Crop Science Field Lab is being renovated to provide additional workspace for the Crop Development Centre. 

Strathmore RCMP say a complaint of a firearm at Strathmore High School led officers to advise the school and nearby buildings to enter lockdown on Friday. The suspect was later found to be carrying a water pistol as part of the high school game "Senior Assassin."

An Olds RCMP officer who completed 29 impaired driving investigations in 2024 has received MADD Canada’s Cpl. Cumming’s Watch Gold Challenge Coin — one of the province’s highest honours for impaired driving enforcement. This marks Cst. Tim Dulmage’s third such award in six years.

Dulmage joined the Olds detachment in 2017. The award is given to Alberta officers who lay 25 or more impaired driving charges in a year. It is part of a tiered program named for RCMP Cpl. Graeme Cumming, who was killed by an impaired driver near Lethbridge in 1998.

Airdrie Fire Department says a vehicle fire that slowed traffic on Highway 2 earlier this month was most likely caused by the inappropriate discarding of smoking materials, following an investigation by its Fire Prevention Bureau.

The May 13 fire, which backed up evening traffic near Yankee Valley Boulevard, was one of several recent incidents that prompted public questions about an apparent rise in vehicle fires across the region.

Discover Airdrie reached out to several local fire departments for comment on the cause and origin of each reported incident.

More than 70 commercial vehicles were inspected near Lake Louise during a three-day roadside enforcement blitz last week, with 20 ordered out of service and 12 identified as requiring immediate attention, RCMP say.

The inspection operation ran from May 15 to 17 and involved Lake Louise RCMP, Banff RCMP, Alberta RCMP Traffic Services, Alberta Sheriffs, Alberta Transportation, and Parks Canada.

According to an RCMP news release, the joint effort aimed to ensure commercial vehicles were operating safely and complied with both provincial and federal legislation.