St. Albert news

• Fort McMurray group planning one of Canada's first Indigenous cannabis operations

  02-03-2018 23:44 via edmontonjournal.com
  A northern Alberta First Nation is poised to be one of Canada’s first Indigenous communities to establish a legal marijuana production facility.
  Fort McMurray #468 First Nation hopes to start construction of a plant in May on its land near Gregoire Lake, about 50 km southeast of Fort McMurray, says a spokesman for a Vancouver company consulting on the scheme.
  The operation is designed to produce 2,600 kilograms of pot annually — possibly for medical or recreational users — afte
  
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• By the numbers: Alberta's opioid crisis hit Edmonton hard in 2017

  02-03-2018 23:12 via edmontonjournal.com
  By the numbers: The impact of opioids in Edmonton.
  • 168: Fentanyl-related deaths in the Edmonton zone in 2017.
  • 115: Fentanyl-related deaths in the Edmonton zone in 2016.
  • 47: Fentanyl-related deaths in the Edmonton zone in the last three months of 2017, the highest of any quarter. 
  • 38: Deaths related to highly toxic carfentanil, known to date, in the Edmonton zone in 2017
  • 15: Deaths related to highly toxic carfentanil in the Edmonton zone in 2016.
  
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• Edmonton Oilers need to make radical moves with Andrej Sekera and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

  02-03-2018 23:11 via edmontonjournal.com
  The Edmonton Oilers are playing out the string in 2017-18 but it’s not too late for the team to try a series of radical moves, namely shelving veteran d-man Andrej Sekera for the rest of the season and playing Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on left wing with Connor McDavid.
  Why do these things?Sekera was the Oil’s best regular defenceman by a long shot last year, but this year he’s the worst by a long shot. It’s not that he’s suddenly lost his talent, it’s that he’
  
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• Fitness assessment ordered for Edmonton senior accused of murder

  02-03-2018 23:10 via edmontonjournal.com
  A man charged with second-degree murder in the death of his son-in-law will undergo an assessment to determine his fitness to stand trial.
  Crown prosecutor Mark Huyser-Wierenga made the application Friday after the issue was raised by legal counsel for Roberto Robles, 75.
  A fitness assessment determines an accused’s present ability to defend themselves or properly instruct their lawyer during trial. It differs from an argument that a person is not criminally responsible as a result of expe
  
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• Cost of residence food, living and international student tuition on the rise at University of Alberta

  02-03-2018 22:29 via edmontonjournal.com
  Students at the University of Alberta may be paying extra to live on campus next academic year and international students could again be paying more to study at Alberta’s oldest and largest university.
  The university’s finance committee voted 6-2 Tuesday for an across-the-board four per cent increase to residence rates effective Sept. 8. 
  It also approved a 3.14 per cent hike to international tuition by the same voting margin. A board of governors meeting will vote on both motio
  
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• Paula Simons: No getting around the absurdity of Flat Earth conference

  02-03-2018 21:58 via edmontonjournal.com
  It’s an event guaranteed to rock your world.
  Canada’s first Flat Earth International Conference is scheduled to take place in Edmonton on Aug. 9-10.
  It will take place, fittingly enough, at the Fantasyland Hotel.
  Tickets for the event went on sale Thursday. You can get the ball rolling by snapping up an early bird two-day pass for a flat fee of $129. For a more well-rounded experience, you can snaffle a $299 VIP pass, which gives you front-row seating and a chance to attend a dinner
  
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• Video shows Edmonton fuel thief drilling holes in vehicle gas tanks

  02-03-2018 21:39 via edmontonjournal.com
  Video was released Friday of a man stealing fuel from a vehicle in Edmonton’s industrial area in a theft police believe may be connected to a series of similar thefts in February. Police said more than a dozen vehicles have been damaged since December by thieves who are removing fuel by drilling holes in the vehicles’ gas tanks.The reports came from all across Edmonton with a concentration of thefts in southwest, west and northwest neighbourhoods. Investigators release
  
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• Woman who killed sister asks family for forgiveness

  02-03-2018 21:09 via edmontonjournal.com
  A woman who admitted to fatally stabbing her sister asked her family to forgive her at a sentencing hearing Thursday. 
  Ashlee Dawn Bruce cried as she read a letter apologizing to her family for the 2015 fatal stabbing of her sister Crystal Corrine Bruce, 36.
  “I lost my best friend the day I lost my sister,” said Ashlee Bruce, 31, reading a letter to the court before she was handed a 65-month sentence for manslaughter. With credit for time in pre-trial custody, she has two y
  
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• Woman dies in hospital after Tuesday house fire

  02-03-2018 20:21 via edmontonjournal.com
  A woman rescued from a Tuesday morning house fire perished in hospital later that day, say police.
  Fire crews pulled the woman from the burning home near 58 Avenue and 109 Street about 7:30 a.m. before she was transported to hospital in life-threatening condition.
  The 30-year-old woman died in hospital hours after being rescued, city police spokesman Scott Pattison said Friday.
  Two men who were also in the home escaped. A large dog from the home died at the scene. 
  While the probe into the
  
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• Women perishes in hospital after Tuesday house fire

  02-03-2018 19:45 via edmontonjournal.com
  A woman rescued from a Tuesday morning house fire perished in hospital later that day, say police.
  Fire crews pulled the woman from the burning home near 58 Avenue and 109 Street about 7:30 a.m. before she was transported to hospital in life-threatening condition.
  The 30-year-old woman died in hospital hours after being rescued, city police spokesman Scott Pattison said Friday.
  Two men who were also in the home escaped. A large dog from the home died at the scene. 
  While the probe into the
  
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• Dispute leads to closure of World Health's Sherwood Park location

  02-03-2018 18:47 via edmontonjournal.com
  The World Health fitness company said Friday its Sherwood Park facility has been closed due to a lease dispute with the landlord.
  A post on the company website says it has been locked out and apologizes for any inconvenience.
  A separate news release says the impact of a new building at the Broadview Drive shopping centre where the gym is located has led to litigation and negotiations to resolve the matter have stalled.
  The company wants to reopen the outlet if circumstances change. The name of t
  
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• Flat Earthers from around the globe coming to Edmonton

  02-03-2018 18:44 via edmontonjournal.com
  People from all around the (flat) world are expected to come to Edmonton in August for the Flat Earth International Conference Canada at West Edmonton Mall.
  “History will be made in Canada this year and Edmonton will be put on the flat map!” reads an excerpt from the event’s Facebook page.
  The conference is slated to be held August 9-10, 2018.
  Early bird tickets for the event are going at $149 per person or $129 for a group of four. VIP tickets, which include front row sea
  
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• Quit bubble-wrapping privileged students, professor tells teachers

  02-03-2018 18:07 via edmontonjournal.com
  Adults are failing healthy, middle class kids by preventing them from taking risks, a social work researcher and author told Edmonton teachers Thursday.
  Educators can help combat parental and administrative overprotectiveness by setting different expectations for students who can handle more challenges, said Michael Ungar, a Canada Research Chair in child, family, and community resilience and professor of social work at Dalhousie University in Halifax.
  No-fail policies are a reasonable response
  
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• No threat to St. Albert schools: RCMP

  02-03-2018 18:06 via globalnews.ca
  After an investigation, RCMP say a possible school threat in St. Albert was just a misunderstanding.
  
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• Technological change proves a barrier to some Alberta businesses, survey says

  02-03-2018 17:32 via edmontonjournal.com
  Seven out of 10 Alberta businesses are this year planning to tap into the power of data analytic technology, a new Ipsos survey released Friday shows.
  But business leaders are pointing to budgets, time and staff and expertise as potential challenges they will face in order to keep up with the pace of technological change.
  Just over 90 per cent of respondents report that they face some form of barrier that inhibits their ability to transform as needed.
  “Being able to adapt in a world where
  
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• Edmonton weather: Snowstorm on the way

  02-03-2018 15:39 via edmontonjournal.com
  A winter storm warning remains in effect this morning, as snow and wind are expected to wreak havoc on Edmonton and area.
  At 6:30 a.m. it was -8 C and windy.
  Environment Canada issues winter storm warnings when multiple types of severe winter weather are expected to occur together.
  People are advised to postpone non-essential travel, as the wind and snow will combine to reduce visibility on roads and highways.
  Today: Cloudy, with a 30 per cent chance of snow early this morning. Snow is then expe
  
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• Edmonton headphone enthusiasts gather to try out each other’s gear

  02-03-2018 15:20 via edmontonjournal.com
  Listen up: Thanks to smartphones, music is more accessible than ever, but are you hearing everything the musician wanted you to?
  Audiophiles — people passionate for high-fidelity sound — are quick to tell you the earbud headphones packaged with your smartphone are offering your ears an inferior listening experience. Quality headphones, they argue, offer superior, crystalline sound, with each brand providing unique sound signatures.
  A group of local headphone enthusiasts recently got
  
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• Pot dispensary owner says he plans to fight charges after police raid

  02-03-2018 15:15 via edmontonjournal.com
  Police are “picking and choosing” when it comes to marijuana enforcement, says a Whyte Avenue medical cannabis dispensary owner charged after a bust last month.
  The Edmonton Drug and Gang Enforcement Section (EDGE) executed search warrants Feb. 2 at two commercial addresses and a residence, turning up cannabis products with a combined street value estimated by police at $150,000. 
  Paul Olson, owner of Whyte Cross dispensary, one of the businesses raided Feb. 2, said it was
  
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• Opinion: Focus for Jason Kenney should be on Alberta, not Jerusalem

  02-03-2018 14:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  We often find it a reflective exercise to ponder the words of the great American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr’s Serenity Prayer: that is, we pray for the ability to know the things we can change, the things we cannot, and for the ability to know the difference. This is a critical lesson for Albertans that care deeply about politics, civil liberties, and our world.
  That’s why we think Jason Kenney should focus on Albertan issues – the economy, jobs, the environment, education, an
  
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• Friday's letters: Fix Mental Health Act to prevent more tears

  02-03-2018 14:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  Re. ” ‘Community care’ wasn’t what this mom needed,” Paula Simons, March 1
  The tears shed by all in the courtroom at the tragic death of Rachael Longridge could have been preventable by the very profession from which the Justice lays claim to.
  Alberta’s Mental Health Act needs immediate change to reflect the treatment protocols in place and the legal framework that has been constructed in support of the act. Having been forced to deal personally for over 40 ye
  
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• Player grades: Edmonton Oilers come from ahead, fall to Predators yet again

  02-03-2018 11:12 via edmontonjournal.com
  Predators 4, Oilers 2
  All season long the Edmonton Oilers have struggled in the early going, fallen behind and struggled to catch up. Just wait, some observers thought, just wait until they start to survive those rough starts and find a way to score first. This is a team built to be a front-runner, we thought.
  Fuggeddaboutit. This is a team that doesn’t know how to win hockey games. 
  For the sixth game in a row the Oilers scored first, and for the fourth time in those six games they s
  
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• Why is Edmonton behind on its climate-change targets?

  02-03-2018 11:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  The third time Edmonton got hit with freezing rain this winter, Ward 8 Coun. Ben Henderson felt uneasy. 
  Wild swings in temperature are expected as the world’s weather patterns shift and this much ice on winter sidewalks isn’t what he is used to.
  Nearly 10 years ago, Edmonton pledged to do its small part to slow climate change, adopting a target scientists predicted would help hold the global average temperature increase to 2 C.
  But the city’s population boomed and council
  
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• New opioid treatment clinic coming; core communities likely location

  02-03-2018 11:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  A new clinic giving access to a drug similar to prescription heroin is likely heading to Edmonton’s inner city. 
  Alberta Health is planning two clinics as a pilot project, one each in Edmonton and Calgary. Treatment would require opioid addicts to visit the clinic several times each day to inject drugs supplied by the clinic.
  It means users no longer need to buy drugs on the black market, and studies at Vancouver’s Crosstown Clinic found patients in the program cut back their us
  
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• Dispensary owner says he plans to fight charges after police raid

  02-03-2018 11:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  Police are “picking and choosing” when it comes to marijuana enforcement, says a Whyte Avenue medical cannabis dispensary owner charged after a bust last month.
  The Edmonton Drug and Gang Enforcement Section (EDGE) executed search warrants Feb. 2 at two commercial addresses and a residence, turning up cannabis products with a combined street value estimated by police at $150,000. 
  Paul Olson, owner of Whyte Cross dispensary, one of the businesses raided Feb. 2, said it was
  
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• City council to explore implications of climate change leadership

  02-03-2018 11:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  A special city council meeting will be held Friday afternoon for a panel discussion on climate change impact for cities.
  This meeting is being held ahead of an International Climate Change Science Conference, which is being hosted by the city March 5-7.
  “This conference is an internationally important scientific event and will be a pivotal milestone in developing global understanding of how climate change will impact cities and the role of cities in tackling climate change,” said the
  
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• Loblaws cooked shrimp recalled over raw product

  02-03-2018 05:13 via edmontonjournal.com
  Loblaws issued a nation-wide recall on its cooked Pacific white shrimp over fears some of the shrimp may still be raw.
  In the West, the 300 gram packaged shrimp was sold at Extra Foods, No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore, Wholesale Club, Independent and independent affiliated stores, stated the recall notice issued on Thursday.
  No illnesses have been reported and the recall was triggered by Loblaws.
  The code on the product is 2018 OC 20: PM AP and the UPC is 0 60249 00927 1.
  Anyone who bec
  
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• Justice rules charter rights were violated but racial profiling not at play

  02-03-2018 03:55 via edmontonjournal.com
  An Edmonton police constable breached a man’s charter rights after pulling him over and the conviction should be quashed, but the traffic stop was not race related, ruled a Court of Queen’s Bench Justice.
  Police failed to tell William Kenowesequape he was under investigation for a stolen bicycle and the bike was confiscated and held for one year, but the proper paperwork wasn’t filed, said Justice Rita Khullar in a ruling dated Feb. 23.
  Kenowesequape’s appeal of his convi
  
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• Former Warlock biker handed prison time for weapons convictions

  02-03-2018 01:44 via edmontonjournal.com
  A former member of the Drayton Valley chapter of the Warlocks motorcycle club tearfully pleaded with a judge not to incarcerate him before he was handed prison time Thursday. 
  Dean McKnight, 44, was given a total sentence of three years after earlier being convicted on charges related to a 2014 RCMP investigation into rising gang tensions in the western Alberta community.
  During the trial, court heard police found a loaded handgun in McKnight’s jacket when they arrested him, then
  
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• Flu-related death toll hits 75 in Alberta

  02-03-2018 01:35 via edmontonjournal.com
  A total of 75 Albertans have died after becoming infected with influenza over the past four months, making the 2017-18 flu season one of the worst in the province’s recent history.
  New statistics released Thursday by Alberta Health Services show the toll includes 26 deaths in the Calgary region and 18 each in the Edmonton and central zones of the province.
  Alberta recorded 103 flu-related deaths in 2014-15, which is the highest number on record since reliable statistics started being colle
  
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• Don't get tricked: Authorities kick off fraud prevention effort

  02-03-2018 01:29 via edmontonjournal.com
  While it may seem that fraudsters only target the weak or gullible, Edmonton police are warning “it can happen to you.”
  “People are traumatized, they are embarrassed, some have even been the subject of ridicule, so they remain silent and live in shame,” said acting deputy chief Deb Jolly during a fraud prevention month announcement at MacEwan University Thursday, saying most victims of economic fraud never report the crime.
  Det. Linda Herczeg of the Edmonton police e
  
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• City police recruits can now apply digitally

  02-03-2018 01:19 via edmontonjournal.com
  Potential Edmonton police officers can now apply online.
  The new Alberta Police Applicant Tracking System is a standardized application system created with a $260,000 Labour Market Development grant from the government of Alberta. The website allows applicants to submit information to multiple police agencies.
  “(The Edmonton Police Service) has re-engineered our recruitment process on every level to attract, encourage and support qualified applicants from all backgrounds,” Supt. Deni
  
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• David Staples: Fans likely to stick with Oilers despite season of discontent

  02-03-2018 01:08 via edmontonjournal.com
  Do you find yourself grumpy, bitter and sad for long stretches of time?
  Perhaps you are a diehard Edmonton Oilers fan in this most disappointing of hockey seasons, one where several factors have aligned to make it a perfect storm of fan discontent.
  University researchers point to several psychological factors, such as the role of expectations and our capacity to hate loss more than we like gain, in explaining why fans get so negative when a team predicted to compete for the Stanley Cup falls fla
  
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• Art + Design and Red Deer colleges to become universities

  02-03-2018 01:08 via edmontonjournal.com
  In something of a university-declaration spree, the province announced Thursday that Red Deer College and the Alberta College of Art + Design will both join the ranks of universities. 
  The announcement came hot on the heels of Grande Prairie Regional College being granted the same approval. 
  Red Deer College offers degrees in partnership with other universities, but students usually have to move to complete their programs. The change means they’ll be able to stick around.
  Premier
  
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• Edmonton-based Running Room drops CamelBaks over gun company ties

  02-03-2018 00:13 via edmontonjournal.com
  The Edmonton-based Running Room stores have joined a growing list of companies that will no longer buy products from companies linked to gun manufacturers.
  In an open letter posted Thursday, the firm said it will stop all further orders of hydration packs from CamelBak, although it will sell out existing stock.
  The brand is owned by Utah’s Vista Outdoor Inc., which also sells guns and ammunition, including military-style weapons similar to the semi-automatic AR-15 rifle used two weeks ago
  
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• 'This is my tribe': Sixties Scoop survivors share experiences ahead of government apology

  02-03-2018 00:10 via edmontonjournal.com
  Suzanne Wilkinson’s life started with a lie. 
  Her Cree mother believed she was stillborn. Her adoptive parents believed she was willingly surrendered by a 19-year-old who felt unprepared. 
  It took 31 years for Wilkinson to learn the truth and reconnect with her Indigenous family in Edmonton. She discovered her mother was a member of the Papaschase band, which is unrecognized by the government as a First Nation, and that her father was Métis. She also found out she had
  
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• Canada-wide arrest warrants issued for man after violent Edmonton home invasion

  02-03-2018 00:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  Canada-wide warrants, including one for attempted murder, have been issued for a man after a violent Edmonton home invasion.
  A 26-year-old man forced his way into a home near 87 Street and Strathearn Drive just after 10 p.m. on Jan. 29 and assaulted a 50-year-old man, said police in a Thursday news release. The assailant was armed with a knife during the attack, police added.
  The victim was transported to hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injuries and has since been released
  
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