St. Albert news

• Legal Aid funding boost provides needed stability: President

  11-10-2018 23:28 via edmontonjournal.com
  A $70-million boost for Legal Aid over the next four years has provided the first long-term, stable funding the organization has ever seen, its president says.
  Legal Aid president John Panusa said his organization has been chronically underfunded for years, despite increased demand for services, while flanked by law colleagues as Premier Rachel Notley and Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley made the announcement of the cash injection Thursday.
  “For the first time in our near-50-year hist
  
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• Mikisew Cree leaders disappointed in consultation court ruling

  11-10-2018 23:05 via edmontonjournal.com
  The federal government does not have a duty to consult with Indigenous groups prior to introducing legislation, Canada’s top court ruled Thursday.
  The ruling caps the Mikisew’s legal challenge from 2013 to the Harper government’s cuts to the environmental protection laws of Canada.
  Under then-prime minister Stephen Harper, the government changed the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, the Fisheries Act, the Species at Risk Act and the Navigable Waters Protection Act.
  The Mik
  
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• 'We're going to rally': Mikisew Cree leaders vow to be heard after Supreme Court rules against duty to consult

  11-10-2018 22:42 via edmontonjournal.com
  The federal government does not have a duty to consult with Indigenous groups prior to introducing legislation, Canada’s top court ruled Thursday.
  But the 7-2 Supreme Court decision, ending a court challenge launched in 2012 by the Mikisew Cree First Nation against two pieces of legislation they argued infringed on treaty rights, only strengthens the resolve of Indigenous groups to be consulted prior to new laws being introduced.
  “This is not the end, this is only the beginning becau
  
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• 'A polite racist is still a racist': UCP disqualifies candidate who defended photo with Soldiers of Odin

  11-10-2018 21:41 via edmontonjournal.com
  The United Conservative Party has disqualified a candidate seeking its Edmonton-West Henday nomination after he defended appearing in photos with members of the Soldiers of Odin.
  UCP executive director Janice Harrington told candidate Lance Coulter in a letter Thursday he’s out of the race, after the party’s nominations committee disqualified him upon reviewing transcripts of his comments about the photos.
  “We strongly disagree with your seemingly sympathetic assessment of
  
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• Council approves a near doubling of density for two downtown towers

  11-10-2018 21:26 via edmontonjournal.com
  Council unanimously approved a request to nearly double the density on downtown sites late Wednesday despite the impact that might have on surrounding properties.
  Community leagues in the area worry that market demand is finite; that approving several extra-tall towers will mean other projects stall and vacant lots remain eyesores for decades.
  But Langham Developments owner Reza Mostashari successfully defended his pitch and won all 13 council votes. He says he’ll start offering units for
  
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• 13 signatures mark a major milestone for regional transit in Metro Edmonton

  11-10-2018 20:12 via edmontonjournal.com
  An effort to create a regional transit authority took a big step forward Thursday as all 13 mayors in Edmonton Metropolitan Region signed on.
  The effort started years ago as an Edmonton-St. Albert project, but on Thursday every municipality in the region got involved in the second stage. The working group is now finalizing the governance structure, funding, picking routes and setting up a legal framework for co-operation.
  “It’s past the exploratory stage,” said Mayor Don Iveson
  
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• 'A polite racist is still a racist': UCP disqualify candidate who defended photo with Soldiers of Odin

  11-10-2018 19:55 via edmontonjournal.com
  The United Conservative Party has disqualified a candidate seeking its Edmonton-West Henday nomination after he defended appearing in photos with members of the Soldiers of Odin.
  UCP executive director Janice Harrington told candidate Lance Coulter in a letter Thursday he’s out of the race, after the party’s nominations committee disqualified him after reviewing transcripts of his comments about the photos.
  “We strongly disagree with your seemingly sympathetic assessment o
  
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• Edmonton Oilers finally return to the ice in Boston with plenty to answer for

  11-10-2018 19:34 via edmontonjournal.com
  Game Day 2: Oilers at Bruins
  It only seems like an eternity since Edmonton Oilers opened their 2018-19 season in discouraging fashion. It was in fact “just” five days ago that the Oilers were thumped in every aspect of the game by a middle-of-the-pack New Jersey Devils squad. The final was 5-2, but the reality was “never in doubt” as the Devils outworked, outskated, and out-systemed Todd McLellan’s squad on the neutral ice of Gothenberg, Sweden.
  It was a wholly unsa
  
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• Keith Gerein: Soldiers of Odin fiasco shows how depressing Alberta politics has become

  11-10-2018 18:21 via edmontonjournal.com
  This is not what I wanted my first column to be.
  I would have much rather eased into this new gig by writing about a government policy, or previewing the upcoming fall sitting of the legislature.
  Instead I find myself compelled to weigh in on a disturbing moment that could escalate into a full-fledged leitmotif in Alberta politics for the next several months.
  As many Albertans now know, a trio of United Conservative Party nomination candidates in Edmonton attended a pub night hosted by the
  
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• Edmonton weather: Some sun today but tomorrow will ruin your mood

  11-10-2018 15:29 via edmontonjournal.com
  A look at today’s Edmonton weather by Environment Canada.
  Thursday morning temperatures at the Edmonton Blatchford station measure -1 C with 5 km/h winds out of the south-west.
  Looks like we may be seeing some sun today with a mix of cloud this afternoon. We have a high of a whopping 6 C, yay? Then tonight it gets back to cloudy with a low of 3 C.
  Weather forecast
  Today: Cloudy with 30 percent chance of flurries early this morning then a mix of sun and cloud. High 6. UV index 4 or mod
  
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• Thursday's letters: Kenney may regret the company he keeps

  11-10-2018 14:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  I am surprised to see Jason Kenney lower himself to be seen with Doug Ford at the anti-carbon tax rally.
  A loose cannon like Ford can often inflict damage on everyone around him. You would think Kenney would have learned from the humiliating scene of Stephen Harper with the Ford brothers when he was trying to salvage his election campaign at the last minute.
  Is Kenney already worried about Rachel Notley and the NDP winning the next provincial election?
  Gerhard Henkemans, Edmonton
  Oilers played l
  
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• Keith Gerein: Political discourse in Alberta heading down a depressing path

  11-10-2018 11:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  This is not what I wanted my first column to be.
  I would have much rather eased into this new gig by writing about a government policy, or previewing the upcoming fall sitting of the legislature.
  Instead I find myself compelled to weigh in on a disturbing moment that could escalate into a full-fledged leitmotif in Alberta politics for the next several months.
  As many Albertans now know, a trio of United Conservative Party nomination candidates in Edmonton attended a pub night hosted by the
  
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• 'I thought I’d give them the benefit of the doubt': UCP candidate says of Soldiers of Odin chat

  11-10-2018 05:01 via edmontonjournal.com
  A candidate vying for the UCP nomination in Edmonton-West Henday knew who Soldiers of Odin were when he spoke with members of the group at a party pub night, but he’s not considering dropping out of the race.
  “(The Soldiers of Odin) weren’t inciting violence, they weren’t inciting hate. They were acting friendly, they were people just having a beer who wanted to have a conversation, so I talked to them,” Lance Coulter told media Wednesday night before a candidate fo
  
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• Morinville pulls back on cannabis laws - St. Albert Gazette

  11-10-2018 04:55 via stalbertgazette.com
  St. Albert Gazette
  Morinville pulls back on cannabis laws
  St. Albert Gazette
  Morinville residents will stick to the provincial rules when it comes to where they can smoke a joint in public, town council has decided – for now. Town council voted 4-3 to accept a report on a proposed cannabis control bylaw for information Oct. 9 ...
  
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• Girl, 8, with terminal brain cancer gets bucket list wish to graduate high school

  11-10-2018 04:30 via edmontonjournal.com
  Janaya Chekowski-McKenzie’s first day of high school at M.E. LaZerte began like many students’ — with her picture and name imprinted on an ID card.
  Unlike most students’, her day ended on stage wearing a pink graduation dress with beaded flowers, where she received a diploma and tossed her tasselled cap into the clapping crowd.
  On Wednesday, the eight-year-old girl from Beaumont crossed another entry off her bucket list — one her family is racing through.
  Janaya has
  
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• M.E. LaZerte high school helps eight-year-old with inoperable brain tumour check off bucket list item

  11-10-2018 04:12 via edmontonjournal.com
  Janaya Chekowski-McKenzie’s first day of high school at M.E. LaZerte began like many students’ — with her picture and name imprinted on an ID card.
  Unlike most students, her day ended on stage wearing a pink graduation dress with beaded flowers, where she received a diploma and tossed her tasselled cap into the clapping crowd.
  On Wednesday, the eight-year-old girl from Beaumont crossed another entry off her bucket list — one her family is racing through.
  Janaya has an agg
  
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• Province releases draft of new kindergarten to Grade 4 curriculum

  11-10-2018 03:58 via edmontonjournal.com
  A wide-ranging draft kindergarten to Grade 4 curriculum released by Alberta Education Wednesday morning includes explicit consent education, along with updated math, science and social studies programs.
  The K-4 review of all subjects began in June 2016, and Education Minister David Eggen wants to approve the final curriculum by the end of the year.
  Grade 2 students work on projects in their classroom at Copperhaven School in Spruce Grove on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018.
  For the first time, the curri
  
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• New RCMP crime mapping tool provides info on 40 Alberta communities

  11-10-2018 01:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  Alberta RCMP have launched an online crime mapping tool, hoping it will help direct property-crime fighting efforts and curb misinformation about local crime on social media.
  Regional mayors and police leaders announced the new, publicly available online map during a news conference at St. Albert RCMP headquarters Wednesday.
  The map is now available on the municipal websites of about 40 Alberta communities. It launched as a pilot project in St. Albert in February and is funded by rural crime red
  
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• Notes from the Dome: Affordable housing, new agriculture lending programs and a Freedom Conservative

  11-10-2018 00:07 via edmontonjournal.com
  The provincial government, Capital Region Housing Corporation and the City of Edmonton broke ground on a new affordable housing site in Londonderry Wednesday.
  The province is contributing $49.5 million to the project, which will replace an aging 80-unit complex in northeast Edmonton. The 240-unit redevelopment will feature one- to five-bedroom homes and facilities for community organizations.
  It is also going to use a mixed-income model that bases rent on household income. The flexible
  
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