Cochrane

Ah, May Long Weekend. The unofficial kickoff to Canadian summer, the season of hope, campfires, and… hypothermia?

Here in Alberta, May Long Weekend camping is less about connecting with nature and more about testing the structural integrity of your Costco tent in gale-force winds and sideways rain. Because if there’s one thing you can count on in this province, it’s that the weather will betray you. Every. Single. Time.

While the emotional scars remain for the victims, the garage door spray-painted with a swastika has been professionally repainted.

Akini Peters says professional painter Keith Gagnon and his partner, April, of On a Roll Painting, volunteered to repaint the garage at no cost other than the paint, and the work was completed over two days. He says the paint job was even better than before.

The sexual assault case of five hockey players faced another major upheaval Friday, abruptly converting from a jury to a judge alone in order to avoid a mistrial that would have rebooted the proceedings for a second time in less than a month.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia ruled to discharge the jury Friday over concerns about possible jury bias. The move came after a juror sent a note to the Carroccia indicating some members of the panel felt two of the defence lawyers were laughing at them as they came into court each day.

The chiefs of the Stoney Nakoda First Nations have reaffirmed their opposition to Bill 54, which would lower the threshold for a separation vote and is seen as a threat to their treaty rights.

The statement was issued in response to misinformation circulating about the bill and their relationship with Premier Danielle Smith.

"The Stoney Nakoda Nations have not collaborated with Premier Smith or her office on Bill 54," the release states. "Any suggestion to the contrary is false, misleading, and deeply disrespectful to our Nations and the Treaties we are bound to uphold."

Cochranites are packing up their gear and heading west as the May long weekend kicks off the unofficial start to camping season.

If you're camping on Alberta’s public land this May long weekend, you’ll need a Public Lands Camping Pass.

The pass is required year-round for anyone 18 or older camping along the Eastern Slopes of the Rockies, from Grande Prairie to Waterton Lakes.

It doesn’t apply to private land, national parks, municipalities or the Kananaskis Conservation Pass area.

If your long weekend plans include camping and sitting around a fire, you’re in luck, but it depends on where you are.

As of May 15, the Town of Cochrane has lifted its fire restrictions. Campfires are allowed again, as long as you follow safe burning practices: keep fires small, never leave them unattended and fully extinguish them before walking away.

But nearby areas have different rules. Here’s what you need to know:

Alberta’s government has made 11th-hour changes to controversial proposed legislation, declaring that no separation referendum question could threaten First Nations' existing treaty rights.

Premier Danielle Smith’s government is working to considerably lower the threshold to allow for citizen-initiated referendums, including whether the province should separate from Canada.

Her government's proposed bill has yet to become law, but it's faced backlash from Indigenous leaders since its introduction in the house more than two weeks ago.

When a church in Toronto's west end was converted into affordable housing nearly 15 years ago, the group behind the project was already thinking ahead. 

Andrea Adams, the executive director of the non-profit developer St. Clare's, said she was "daydreaming" about what could be built on the yard next to the 20-unit building on Ossington Avenue. 

She was eventually introduced to Assembly Corp., a company that builds mass timber modular housing, around the same time that the city was looking for proposals for "shovel ready" affordable housing projects. 

Some outdoorsy Canadians are planning to build their tents with elbows up this summer as the season unofficially kicks off this long weekend.

Sally Turner says she and her husband plan to do their camping, canoeing and biking this year in Canadian national parks, including at Jasper National Park this weekend, because of the U.S. trade war and U.S. President Donald Trump's calls to make Canada a 51st state.

"I have, in the past, camped in the United States, but that's not going to happen in the near future," Turner said while shopping for camping gear in Edmonton.