St. Albert news

• Kosovan foreign workers win court case against boss who overworked, underpaid them

  29-06-2018 23:11 via edmontonjournal.com
  Azem Segashi was promised a better life in Canada.
  His boss recruited him from Kosovo, promising 40 hours of work a week laying tile for $30 per hour. It was enough for Segashi to leave his family behind and move half a world away, with hopes of eventually reuniting with them in Canada.
  But instead of a better life, he endured a miserable year and a half in which his boss threatened him, worked him more than 50 hours a week without overtime and paid him about half of what was promised.
  That boss
  
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• Downtown Business Association offers prizes for best downtown patios

  29-06-2018 23:02 via edmontonjournal.com
  Starting Monday, July 16, the Downtown Business Association launches a contest to encourage folks to come downtown to enjoy patio dining, to vote on their favourite au plein eateries, and to win a gift card. The restaurant winners of the DBA contest receive cash and bragging rights.
  Patio fans will be able to vote in the following categories: Best Overall Patio ($500), Best Patio with a View ($250), Best Happy Hour Patio ($250), Best Patio for People Watching ($250), Most Family Friendly Patio (
  
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• City's latest homicide victim was facing assault, forcible confinement charges

  29-06-2018 21:18 via edmontonjournal.com
  Edmonton’s latest homicide victim had a September court date in Ponoka for assault and forcible confinement charges against a woman, court documents show.
  Darren Saile, 45, was charged with assault with a weapon, uttering threats, and forcible confinement against a woman in the Ponoka area in March, according to the documents. He was also facing a charge of failing to comply with a court order not to communicate with the woman.
  A trial date had been set for Sept. 18 in Ponoka provincial co
  
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• 2018 FIFA World Cup Roundtable: Knockout stages begin with a number of intriguing contests

  29-06-2018 20:51 via edmontonjournal.com
  There are 16 teams remaining in the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the knockout stage are set to begin.There are a number intriguing match-ups as the road to the World Cup title is now set.Edmonton Journal and Edmonton Sun sports reporter Derek Van Diest brought together a panel of local soccer enthusiast to discuss the group stage.Joining Van Diest is Kassim Khimji, Lauren Farnell and Keith Gerein, who make their predictions for the remainder of the tournament.
  
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• Historic Banff National Park lodge fined $27,000 for destroying swallow nests

  29-06-2018 19:59 via edmontonjournal.com
  An historic Banff National Park lodge built by one of the country’s most famous mountain outfitters has been fined $27,000 after staff illegally destroyed bird nests.
  Officials investigating a report in August 2016 that barn swallow nests had been removed at Num-Ti-Jah Lodge discovered one egg and four nests had been destroyed by maintenance staff, an Environment Canada news release said Friday.
  The lodge, 40 kilometres north of Lake Louise on Highway 93, was built in stages by legendary m
  
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• Sylvan Lake doctor of 30 years facing child pornography charges

  29-06-2018 19:39 via edmontonjournal.com
  A 62-year-old Sylvan Lake family doctor has been charged with making and distributing child pornography says the province’s police team.
  A man was engaged in sexually explicit conversations, dating back to October 2017, with a person he met online and those talks led to the accused eventually trying to arrange sex with a five-year-old girl, said Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) investigators, part of the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT).
  The accused thought he was trying to a
  
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• Good chance that Kyle Brodziak signs with Edmonton Oilers, Spector says

  29-06-2018 19:17 via edmontonjournal.com
  This in from Mark Spector of Sporsnet: “UFA Centre Kyle Brodziak will take his list down to 3 teams today. Very good chance he signs with hometown Oilers, who drafted him back in ‘03. The 7th rd pick has played 847 NHL games.”My takeI was a Brodziak fan in his first stint with the Oilers and not happy to see him go. He’s 34 now and coming off a rebound year that saw him put up 33 points, his most since 2011-12. The two years before that he was at 15 and 11 points, which i
  
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• City of St. Albert and Sturgeon County Hold Meeting of Joint Intermunicipal Affairs Committee (IAC)

  29-06-2018 18:05
  Meeting held June 27, 2018 The City of St. Albert and Sturgeon County’s joint Intermunicipal Affairs Committee (IAC), consisting of... Read Post
  
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• 'We need to start putting those families back together': High hopes for NDP child welfare plan

  29-06-2018 17:30 via edmontonjournal.com
  Indigenous rights activists say they’re hopeful the province’s new child welfare strategy leads to fewer children being taken from their families in the first place.
  The NDP government released its four-year plan to fix the provincial child intervention system on Thursday. The strategy details 39 “actions,” including increased funding for kinship providers, an improved process for assessing potential caregivers and pushing the federal government to meet its funding obliga
  
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• Supreme Court rules man who killed toddler will not go back to jail

  29-06-2018 16:49 via edmontonjournal.com
  An Edmonton man who killed a toddler when he crashed his vehicle into a patio will not go back to jail, Canada’s highest court ruled Friday.
  The Supreme Court of Canada partially upheld Richard Suter’s sentence imposed by Alberta’s appeal court in the 2013 death of two-year-old Geo Mounsef.
  The 26-month jail sentence will be set aside in favour of a penalty of time served. His 30-month driving suspension was upheld.
  Suter has already served 10-and-a-half months of his sentence.
  
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• Blake Comeau? Slater Koekkoek? Edmonton Oilers rumoured to be interested in both

  29-06-2018 16:47 via edmontonjournal.com
  This in from Adrian Dater, staff writer with BSN Denver on Twitter: “Heard there could be some interest from Edmonton in signing Blake Comeau on Tuesday.”
  HockeyDataBase
  And from Joe Haggerty of NBC Boston: “Per a source, the Bruins have expressed interest in a trade for young Tampa Bay RFA D-man Slater Koekkoek. I don’t expect those two rivals to actually make a deal, but the Edmonton Oilers are a strong contender if/when he’s dealt.”
  My takeThe Oilers are lo
  
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• Lyra Brown, Celeigh Cardinal, Tommy Banks win big at Edmonton Music Awards

  29-06-2018 16:39 via edmontonjournal.com
  The eighth annual Edmonton Music Awards winners have been revealed and indie-pop artist Lyra Brown leads the wolf pack with three wins: Singer/Songwriter, Adult Alternative Recording and Music Video of the Year for her song A Little Vulture Told Me.
  “I’m so surprised,” Brown said at the Thursday night gala at the Winspear after her third win. “I don’t even know what to say. This community is so thriving and to be part of it is so fulfilling, it’s such an honou
  
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• Edmonton weather: It's Friday so chance of showers yay

  29-06-2018 16:39 via edmontonjournal.com
  A look at today’s Edmonton weather by Environment Canada.
  It’s Friday morning and we’re sitting at 16 C right now. There should be a high today of 22 C and a low of 12 C. However if you’re planning to simply walk into Mordor this afternoon you may want to bring an umbrella because there’s also a chance of thundershowers.
  Today: A mix of sun and cloud with 30 percent chance of showers. Risk of a thunderstorm this afternoon. Wind becoming west 20 km/h near noon. High
  
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• Oilers Development camp recap with Scott Howson

  29-06-2018 15:30 via edmontonjournal.com
  Scott Howson, the Oilers Vice President of Player Development had some glowing words for a few of the players who attended the four day camp at the Downtown Community rink.
  “This an educational get-to-know process for us and where the players get to know themselves. We only had 24 players but the pace stayed up and the cream rose to the top,” said Scott Howson, the Oilers VP of player development.
  “There’s always certain guys who catch your eye and we had some good first
  
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• Friday's letters: Flags for donations founder retiring

  29-06-2018 14:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  Our “Ol’ Flag Boy” Ken Haverland is retiring. Ken has very generously given his time and commitment to Flags for Charity for close to 10 years.
  With Ken’s help, Edmonton communities have proudly displayed the Canadian flag in their front yards, while donating to their favourite charities.
  Ken generously supplied the flags for free and made sure they were always in perfect shape. Enjoy retirement Ken. Endless thanks from us all.
  Linda Stollery, Edmonton
  Gondola a ride to n
  
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• David Staples: City should be cautious about new Ice District deal with Katz Group

  29-06-2018 11:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  When I first heard that city council had met in private to hear about the Katz Group’s new $10-million ask for public investment in the downtown arena’s public plaza, alarms bells went off.
  Why was council talking about this in secret?
  And why would council even consider reopening a deal that had already been negotiated up the wazoo? Had not the sharpest and highest paid minds of Daryl Katz’s business empire already squeezed out everything they could from the city?
  The Journal
  
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• Lyra Brown, Celeigh Cardinal win big at Edmonton Music Awards

  29-06-2018 07:30 via edmontonjournal.com
  The Edmonton Music Awards winners have been revealed and indie-pop artist Lyra Brown leads the wolf pack with three wins: Singer/Songwriter, Adult Alternative Recording and Music Video of the Year for her song A Little Vulture Told Me.
  Given out at a Thursday night Winspear gala featuring performances by Bardic Form, Celeigh Cardinal, Dizzy and Whale and the Wolf, the 27 awards included a Legacy Award paying tribute to the late and beloved Tommy Banks, whose impact on the city over more than a h
  
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• First (and most excellent) impressions of Evan Bouchard & Ryan McLeod at Edmonton Oilers DevCamp

  29-06-2018 06:15 via edmontonjournal.com
  Just back from the Edmonton Oilers intrasquad game at Development Camp, armed with first impressions of a number of players after seeing them live for the first time. So here goes:Evan Bouchard. Big, smart and skilled, he scored a goal that Oilers faithful packed into the Downtown Community Arena will remember for years. Kailer Yamamoto gained the blue line, burst down the wing then slid the puck back to Bouchard, who cracked a lightning strike of a one-time slapper into the top corner, a shot s
  
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• City committee to look at ending smoking in shisha bars

  29-06-2018 05:19 via edmontonjournal.com
  An exemption from city smoking bylaws that allowed people to light up in shisha bars could be on its way out.
  A report to a city council committee says concerns about second-hand smoke outweigh other considerations.
  “We have to look at abolishing shisha in public spaces to align it with the smoking bylaw,” said Coun. Scott McKeen on Thursday. “There are public health concerns or occupational health concerns about second-hand smoke … it creates carcinogens. For some reaso
  
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• Anti-icing pilot project reduced cost to city, used less sand: report

  29-06-2018 04:27 via edmontonjournal.com
  The city’s anti-icing pilot project reduced costs this past winter but challenges still remain, says a report released to a city committee Thursday.
  The report indicated this year’s snow and ice control program cost $4.3 million less than the five-year average and used 68 per cent less sand. A calcium chloride solution was tested in designated areas this winter. The report recommends it be continued in 2018-2019 to collect further data.
  The anti-ice solution is applied before storms
  
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• Seven take-aways from Edmonton's police carding report

  29-06-2018 02:26 via edmontonjournal.com
  The Edmonton Police Commission on Wednesday released the first independent report on how city police carry out street checks — the controversial practice also known as carding.
  The 306-report said there should be tweaks to how police carry out street checks, but steered clear of recommending the practice be banned or restricted as was done in Ontario.
  Here are some take-aways from the report.
  What’s a street check?
  Simon Fraser University criminologist Curt Griffiths, who authored th
  
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• Editorial: Good intentions fall short

  29-06-2018 02:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  The Alberta government’s new child welfare action plan is full of good intentions.
  It’s clear, however, well-meaning initiatives are not enough to pave the way to the “stronger, safer tomorrow,” as promised in the report’s hopeful title, for our most vulnerable citizens — children in care or receiving support from Alberta child services — if those changes don’t address key failures in the system that led to the tragic death of Serenity.
  Lest we for
  
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• Domtar site: No contamination in residential area but unoccupied land fenced off

  29-06-2018 01:43 via edmontonjournal.com
  Testing at a northeast Edmonton neighbourhood located near the site of an old wood treatment plant found no hazardous chemicals in the top level of soil in a residential area.
  But a section of unoccupied land nearby was so contaminated that metal fencing was erected around the parcels Thursday.
  An Alberta Health official said Thursday that soil testing has been completed in the Verte-Homesteader community — located near the former Domtar wood treatment facility.
  “The results show no
  
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• Recovering oil sector helped Alberta reduce its deficit to $8 billion last year

  29-06-2018 00:15 via edmontonjournal.com
  A rebounding energy sector and stronger-than-expected investment income helped the Alberta government trim its deficit to $8 billion last year.
  Final results were unveiled Thursday for the 2017-18 fiscal year, showing a deficit that came in $2.5 billion lower than the $10.1 billion of red ink that was projected at budget time.
  Alberta posted a deficit of $10.8 billion in 2016-17.
  The province’s gross domestic product rose by a sizeable 4.9 per cent during the year, though the government wa
  
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• Katz Group seeks millions of dollars from city for Ice District plaza

  29-06-2018 00:08 via edmontonjournal.com
  Edmonton officials will start talking with the Katz Group about potential city funding for the Ice District plaza after a tense in-private debate Wednesday at city council.
  The debate at the closed-door meeting ended with a public nine-to-four vote in favour of at least talking with the Katz group about its multi-million dollar pitch.
  Multiple sources speaking on background said the Katz Group started with a $10 million ask, but city officials said they could only see $2 million to $3 million th
  
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• Art in Public Places Artwork Revealed for Canada 150 Project

  29-06-2018 00:01
  Migration lands in centre of St. Anne Street roundabout After extensive public consultation, the award-winning, Québec-based Artist Team of Jean-François... Read Post
  
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• Paula Simons: NDP 'action plan' for child welfare a failure of vision and nerve

  29-06-2018 00:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  “A Stronger, Safer Tomorrow.”
  That’s the title of the province’s new child welfare “public action plan” — its response to the recommendations of the ministerial panel on child intervention, the all-party committee, struck after I first reported on the horrific life and death of a four-year-old Cree child named Serenity.
  The vacuous, cloying title would work equally well as a Donald Trump campaign slogan or an ad for a hybrid SUV.
  The report feels superfi
  
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