Airdrie

Administrators say federal government needs to build more trust into the Advance Payment Program

Administrators of the Advance Payments Program say Ottawa should stop treating farmers as if they are going to default on repayments.

They said the application process should be streamlined and the program made simpler and more consistent.

Dave Gallant, vice-president of finance and APP operations at the Canadian Canola Growers Association, said the CCGA administers about $2.5 billion in advances each year on behalf of the federal government.

One person was seriously injured after a small plane crashed on a private airstrip in central Alberta.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says the two-seater was flying Tuesday from Wetaskiwin to Linden, a town about 100 kilometres northeast of Calgary.

The agency says the plane was approaching the rural airstrip when its fixed landing gear hit a fence and flipped.

RCMP say two 82-year-old men were on board.

They say one was airlifted to hospital in serious condition and the other was taken by ground ambulance with minor injuries.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service says it's dealing with a growing number of immigration security screening requests — and immigration lawyers say their clients are coping with long delays as a result.

The intelligence agency says in its latest annual report it received over 538,000 screening requests from immigration and border officials in 2024. The agency began to see a significant increase in requests in 2023, when it received over 493,200 requests. Before that, CSIS received roughly 300,000 security screening requests annually over the previous five years.

Chad Stewart, a longtime Airdrie resident and part-time firefighter, is seeking his first seat on city council in the 2025 municipal election.

“I’ve been here since 1996, and I’ve seen the city grow from 18,000 to over 90,000,” Stewart said in an Aug. 5 interview with DiscoverAirdrie.

Stewart has served as a part-time firefighter and registered Primary Care Paramedic with Rocky View County for 16 years. He retired from Eaton in 2024 after 26 years with the company, where he held roles in production coordination, supervision and management.

With harvest approaching, farmers will want to start thinking about pre-harvest intervals (PHI) before applying any pesticides and or fungicides to the crop.

The PHI refers to the minimum number of days between a pesticide application and swathing or straight combining of a crop and reflects the time required for pesticides to break down after being applied.

Research finds agriculture waste could be transformed into biogas and fertilizer using bacteria-based techonology

Canadian farms could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions while generating renewable energy by converting agricultural waste into biogas, a McGill University doctoral student says.

Anjaly Paul said anaerobic digestion could transform livestock manure and crop residues that would otherwise decompose in landfills into valuable resources.

A Saskatoon-based company has begun field trials of a replacement for granular peat inoculant.

Peat has been used for decades to inoculate crops such as peas and lentils and is a biological that provides consistent benefits, said Dave Greenshields, who founded Insight Plant Health in 2020.

However, customers are looking for a replacement, he told people attending a recent Canada-Saskatchewan Irrigation Diversification Centre field day.

Alberta's government is creating fines and rules meant to curb predatory tow truck drivers.

Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen says concerns have been raised about tow truck drivers showing up at car accidents and pressuring those involved to unnecessarily accept their services.

Dreeshen says in some cases tow truck drivers charge excessive fees and don't provide necessary information to those whose vehicles are towed.

The Alberta RCMP stated in a Wanted Wednesday post that Dustin Edward Wood is wanted for various crimes, with listed areas of activity including Airdrie and other Alberta communities.

Airdrie Transit will increase weekday and weekend service on local routes starting Sept. 2, while also raising fares across its network.

Local Routes 1 and 3 will operate every 30 minutes throughout the day from Monday to Friday. Evening and Saturday service will also be added on both routes.

Regional Route 900, which connects Airdrie to Balzac and Calgary, will begin operating at 6:15 a.m. to allow for earlier access to CrossIron Mills and Calgary.

Fares will also rise.