St. Albert news

• Two explosions rock Strathcona County Community Centre; 21-year-old man dead

  07-11-2018 23:49 via edmontonjournal.com
  Mounties are investigating the source of two explosions that rocked a Sherwood Park parkade Tuesday night and the death of suspect believed to be connected with the explosions.
  Officers responded to a fire call at the Strathcona County Community Centre at around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and located a 21-year-old male suspect in a vehicle in the parkade.
  The man was transported to hospital where he later died.
  About two hours after the original call at 8:15 p.m. another device exploded in the same parka
  
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• Alberta's billion-dollar rural internet contracts need reboot, says auditor general

  07-11-2018 23:48 via edmontonjournal.com
  The province needs to reboot its contracts to operate the $1-billion SuperNet that provides internet in rural areas, says Alberta’s auditor general.
  SuperNet, which serves 429 communities across the province, costs about $40 million per year to operate and an additional $16 million in annual maintenance.
  Since launching in 2005, the high-speed internet service that connects to schools, hospitals, libraries and government offices hasn’t been monitored effectively, said&
  
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• Edmonton technician prepares for national trade skills competition

  07-11-2018 23:30 via edmontonjournal.com
  Auto body repair technician Muhammad Afzal, 20, will head to Halifax this coming spring to compete in the WorldSkills Team Canada Selection Event.
  The winner will be invited to join Team Canada and will represent the country at WorldSkills Kazan 2019 in Russia.
  To become a Team Canada Prospect, individuals have to compete against their peers both Provincially and Nationally.
  Auto body repair technician Muhammad Afzal, 20, poses for a photo at Modern Auto Body, 11330 154 St., in Edmonton Friday S
  
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• Watch: Dale McFee named Edmonton police chief

  07-11-2018 23:28 via edmontonjournal.com
  Dale McFee, 53, was named Edmonton’s 23rd chief of police, replacing former top cop Rod Knecht on Wednesday.
  McFee has signed a five-year contract with the EPS and will start on Feb. 1. In the meantime, Deputy Chief Kevin Brezinski is serving as interim police chief.
  Edmonton Police Association president Michael Elliott said he is pleased the commission selected a chief who has previous experience dealing with police associations and commissions.
  “We look forward to working with the
  
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• RCMP confirm two explosions at Strathcona County Community Centre; 21-year-old man dead

  07-11-2018 23:20 via edmontonjournal.com
  Mounties confirmed two explosions occurred in the parking lot of the Strathcona County Community Centre in Sherwood Park Tuesday night. A 21-year-old man was found near a vehicle and taken to hospital with critical injuries, where he later died.
  At a press conference Wednesday, RCMP Supt Dave Kalist said emergency crews were on the scene where the second explosion occurred in the parkade. No other injuries were reported. The explosions were about two hours apart. Police did not confirm how the m
  
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• NHL fines Milan Lucic a bit for roughing up Mathieu Joseph a bit

  07-11-2018 23:18 via edmontonjournal.com
  Just a little premeditated? Big bad Lucic picking on a rookie. #Oilers #lightning #EDMvsTBL pic.twitter.com/0NjGohSoZH— Corby Hockey Central (@corbyhkycentral) November 7, 2018
   
  This in from the NHL: “NHL Player Safety @NHLPlayerSafety: Edmonton’s Milan Lucic has been fined $10,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for roughing Tampa Bay’s Mathieu Joseph.”
  My takeJoseph’s hit on Russell was the kind of hit you see many times a game. I don’t see
  
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• Watch: Strathcona County community centre remains closed

  07-11-2018 21:50 via edmontonjournal.com
  RCMP in Strathcona County released few details about a police event at the Community Centre in Sherwood Park at a news conference on Wednesday morning.
  RCMP Supt. Dave Kalist confirmed, however, that at about 6:15 on Tuesday evening emergency services were called to a fire in the building and as a result, residents of the Bedford Seniors Centre were evacuated to nearby St. Theresa school and people attending a concert at Festival Place were also evacuated.
  The incident also prompted Elk Isl
  
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• The Press Gallery interview: Jason Nixon on UCP's handling of extremists and alleged NDP bullying

  07-11-2018 20:49 via edmontonjournal.com
  For the first time on the Press Gallery Interview, we have a member of the United Conservative Party in the house.
  UCP house leader Jason Nixon, the MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre joins host Keith Gerein in the studio to cover a variety of topics.Nixon discusses why he’s been the only party leader (so far) talking to the media during the fall session, and offers his views on how the UCP is handling people with extreme views who seem to be attracted to the party.
  Health care wai
  
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• Lights, sparklers, snow globes: Giant Christmas tree returns to Churchill Square

  07-11-2018 20:05 via edmontonjournal.com
  Edmonton’s giant Christmas tree — a 20-metre white spruce — is being erected again at Churchill Square after being bumped out last season due to construction.
  The 2,800-kilogram tree being hauled in from Whitecourt is to arrive in Edmonton around 11:30 p.m. Thursday, said the Downtown Business Association (DBA) in a Wednesday release.
  When the tree — once again donated by Millar Western Forest Products — is on site, Millar Western forester Max Matthews, trucker
  
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• Review: Drake brings bouncy ambassador act to Rogers Place

  07-11-2018 19:19 via edmontonjournal.com
  As a general rule, ambassadors are roundly adored.
  Drake delivered a raucous rhythmic display Tuesday night during his Rogers Place party, with fireworks blasting above and the stage transforming beneath his feet, the audience grooving together under heart-thumping hits Started From the Bottom, Feel No Ways, Hotline Bling and even a cover of Rihanna’s Work.
  He presents a picture of confidence, an established performer in his prime, relishing the opportunity to deliver the goods in a stunni
  
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• Alberta prisoners made 67 allegations of sexual assault in the last five fiscal years; Only one resulted in a criminal charge

  07-11-2018 18:36 via edmontonjournal.com
  Just before noon on Dec. 3, 2017, RCMP in Red Deer received a call from the local remand centre, a jumbled, brick building that houses inmates just blocks from its city hall.
  Inside, investigators were told, a prisoner had been sexually assaulted.
  A 44-year-old man was eventually charged with sexually assaulting another inmate housed at the central Alberta facility, said RCMP. A publication ban covers any information that can identify the victim. The case continues to wind through the courts.
  Th
  
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• 'No safety risk' to the public after fire forces road, school closures in Sherwood Park

  07-11-2018 18:07 via edmontonjournal.com
  Police closed roads surrounding the Strathcona County Community Centre, county hall and library Tuesday evening as emergency services tackled a fire in the area.
  RCMP said Tuesday night that the roads in the area have been blocked due to the need of “further investigation surrounding this incident.”
  No further information is available at this time but police are asking people to stay away from the area due to safety concerns.
  Strathcona County Mayor Rod Frank issued a statement on so
  
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• One-of-a-kind flag stolen from Montana Cree Nation band office

  07-11-2018 17:28 via edmontonjournal.com
  A one-of-a-kind flag has been stolen after a break-in at the Montana Cree Nation band office south of Edmonton, say Maskwacis RCMP.
  Mounties at Maskwacis called to investigate Tuesday say multiple offices were hit before the concept flag was swiped.
  A photograph of the flag is being shared with the public to help capture the the thieves and recover it.
  Maskwacis is about 90 kilometres south of Edmonton.
  Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Maskwacis RCMP at 780-585-376
  
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• Thirteen men arrested in child luring stings by Alberta crime team

  07-11-2018 17:09 via edmontonjournal.com
  Thirteen men — all but one from the Edmonton area — have been arrested for child luring and related offences as a result of a series of investigations by Alberta’s Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit.
  The arrests follow an eight-month effort by the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams’ (ALERT) ICE unit into capturing people online trying to make arrangements for sex with children.
  A total of 69 charges have been laid, with the first arrests taking place from February
  
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• Police search for suspects after 40 firearms stolen from Kinuso hardware store

  07-11-2018 16:58 via edmontonjournal.com
  Mounties are searching for suspects after 40 firearms were stolen from a hardware store in northern Alberta Tuesday.
  Police said four suspects, two males and two females, pulled up to the Kinuso Mercantile in an unknown truck at around 5 a.m. and smashed through the glass doors.Once they gained entry, the suspects, who were all wearing gloves and masks at the time, stole approximately 40 firearms consisting of various shotguns and rifles, Faust RCMP said in a Wednesday news release.
  Police said
  
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• Meet Chief Dale McFee: former Saskatchewan cop named Edmonton police chief

  07-11-2018 16:37 via edmontonjournal.com
  Edmonton has a new police chief.
  Dale McFee was named Edmonton’s 23rd chief of police Wednesday morning, replacing former police boss Rod Knecht.
  McFee previously served as head of the Prince Albert Police Service in Saskatchewan and is currently deputy minister of corrections and policing in that province. He is also Métis, and served as president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.
  “Incoming Chief Dale McFee really fits the City’s commitment to be ser
  
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• Alberta's new auditor general to table first report

  07-11-2018 15:36 via edmontonjournal.com
  Alberta’s auditor general is planning to table a report Wednesday covering issues such as wildlife management and systems to update the province’s workforce strategies, said a media notice.
  It will mark the first report from Auditor General Doug Wylie, who was appointed to the position in April.
  The report will also include the results of financial statement audits for the 2017-18 year, and a review of contract management processes under Service Alberta.
  There are also several follow
  
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• Sherwood Park fire forces road, school closures as police investigate

  07-11-2018 15:34 via edmontonjournal.com
  Police closed roads surrounding the Strathcona County Community Centre, county hall and library Tuesday evening as emergency services tackled a fire in the area.
  RCMP said Tuesday night that the roads in the area have been blocked due to the need of “further investigation surrounding this incident.”
  No further information is available at this time but police are asking people to stay away from the area due to safety concerns.
  The incident prompted Elk Island Public Schools to close&n
  
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• Three to See on Wednesday, Nov. 7

  07-11-2018 15:16 via edmontonjournal.com
  The Lazys: By the time The Lazys take the Starlite stage tonight we’ll be well past Wednesday’s crest and beginning our gradual descent to the weekend. That might not be much reason to celebrate but we don’t need a reason when the Australian rockers are in town, crossing the pond to bring party bangers from their latest album Tropical Hazards behind Leon Harrison’s sharp-tongued strut — joined by Oshawa, Ontario’s The Standstills, along with local boys Element
  
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• Alberta Fish and Wildlife officer frees deer by shooting its antler

  07-11-2018 14:59 via edmontonjournal.com
  WHITECOURT, Alta. — An Alberta Fish and Wildlife officer has been caught on video using his gun to separate a pair of male deer with locked antlers.
  Greg Gilbertson was driving a side road near Whitecourt, northwest of Edmonton, early on Oct. 10 when he came across the pair.
  He said one deer looked dead, but the other deer was struggling to free itself.
  Gilbertson says he called Fish and Wildlife and an officer came to the scene.
  The officer decided to shoot the antler of one of the animal
  
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• Edmonton weather: Near -20 windchill today, sunshine and 10 C next week. Huh?

  07-11-2018 14:42 via edmontonjournal.com
  A look at today’s Edmonton weather by Environment Canada.
  Wednesday morning temperatures at the Edmonton Blatchford station measure -11 C with 14 km/h winds out of the west, northwest contributing to a -18 windchill.
  More windchill. WE NEED MORE WINDCHILL. For the next two days that’s exactly what we’re going to get as the biting winds will continue straight through until Friday when things start to warm up a bit. And by a bit I mean a lot. By Tuesday, forecasters are calling f
  
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• Wednesday's letters: Public should get to vote on LRT

  07-11-2018 14:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  Re. “Fancy toy or better way forward?,” Elise Stolte, Nov. 2
  Thank you Elise Stolte for cutting through the shirt-ripping bravado of Thursday’s provincial funding announcement. Your incisive article exposes the truth about why the current route was chosen for the $2.6-billion West Valley LRT in one simple sentence: “It’s for development.”
  It is important for taxpayers to know that the Stony Plain/104 Avenue route was chosen because it best “enhanced the
  
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• Editorial: Tuition caps come with a cost

  07-11-2018 14:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  When the Alberta government unveiled draft legislation last week to cap post-secondary tuition, Advanced Education Minister Marlin Schmidt offered a telling acknowledgement:
  “Really, students wrote this bill,” he said.
  The bill seeks to cap average tuition across all programs  — just as student advocates have long demanded. The cap will be tied to the consumer price index, although individual programs will be able to increase tuition up to 10 per cent annually.
  The cap pro
  
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• WATCH: Life after politics for former Edmonton city councillor Kim Krushell

  07-11-2018 11:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  Former Edmonton city councillor Kim Krushell, now president of a startup company named Lending Assist, a software company designed to handle the complexities of commercial lending to make transactions easier and faster between lenders and lawyers, talks about transitioning from politics to the business world.
  “My family mattered and my husband’s (Jay) business mattered more, so that’s why I took the risk. And I turned down job offers that I did get … I decided … N
  
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• 'Violent and Coercive': Sexual assault behind bars is a taboo topic, but statistics tell only part of the story

  07-11-2018 11:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  Just before noon on Dec. 3, 2017, RCMP in Red Deer received a call from the local remand centre, a jumbled, brick building that houses inmates just blocks from its city hall.
  Inside, investigators were told, a prisoner had been sexually assaulted.
  A 44-year-old man was eventually charged with sexually assaulting another inmate housed at the central Alberta facility, said RCMP. A publication ban covers any information that can identify the victim — himself serving a sentence for a sexual of
  
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• Trustee's push for public and Catholic school board voting on hold

  07-11-2018 11:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  A public school trustee who says voters should cast ballots for both public and Catholic school boards has withdrawn her proposal in the face of skepticism from some board colleagues.
  Cheryl Johner, who represents north Edmonton on the school board, had hoped fellow trustees would back her bid to ask provincial school board associations to lobby government to give all voters a say in the two largest publicly funded school systems.
  “It wasn’t a hill I was willing to die on, but I thou
  
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• Elise Stolte: 'Can't keep getting angry.' Riders desert Edmonton Transit, go back to driving

  07-11-2018 11:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  Daniel Huber was such a dedicated transit rider, he let his driver’s licence lapse.
  No more.
  He was standing on a curb on St. Albert Trail this September with a senior when a full-to-capacity bus blew past again. The senior looked ready to cry and Huber could feel his blood boil.
  He realized it’s just not worth it.
  “This is not going to get fixed and I can’t keep getting angry and worked up about it,” said Huber, a chef in Edmonton who had been riding what he s
  
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• David Staples: The rise of Kim Krushell, tech entrepreneur and champion

  07-11-2018 11:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  Five years ago Jay Krushell came to his wife Kim Krushell with a work-related problem that first changed her profession and is now changing the face of the commercial lending industry.
  At the time, Kim Krushell was a successful politician, a longtime city councillor who had an excellent shot of taking over from Stephen Mandel as mayor if she chose to run. Jay Krushell was also a success as a lawyer and partner for the major local firm Witten LLP, but his work had taken a major hit. He had a
  
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• Councillors, school trustees pleased or indifferent on bill to get big money out of civic politics

  07-11-2018 11:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  A provincial government bill to ban corporate and union donations to civic election candidates prompted smiles, shrugs and some questions from Edmonton city councillors and school trustees Tuesday.
  If adopted, Bill 23, An Act to Renew Local Democracy in Alberta, would introduce rules around third-party advertisers in municipal and school board elections, limit campaign donations to $4,000 to civic candidates plus $4,000 to school board candidates, require candidates disclose more detailed expens
  
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• Nally wins UCP nod for Morinville-St. Albert - MorinvilleNews.com

  07-11-2018 09:00 via morinvillenews.com
  Nally wins UCP nod for Morinville-St. Albert  MorinvilleNews.comDale Nally is seen third from the left in this Morinville News file photo from the UCP candidate forum in October. Nally won the preferential vote on the first ballot.
  
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• Sherwood Park fire forces road closures near library, county hall

  07-11-2018 06:33 via edmontonjournal.com
  Roads surrounding the Strathcona County Community Centre, county hall and library are being closed by Mounties as emergency services tackle a fire in the area.
  RCMP said Tuesday night that the roads in the area have been blocked due to the need of “further investigation surrounding this incident.”
  No further information is available at this time but police are asking people to stay away from the area due to safety concerns.
  Residents of the Bedford Seniors Centre were evacuated to ne
  
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• Cult of Hockey Player Grades: A tired Edmonton Oilers club loses 5-2 to a better Tampa Bay Lightning team

  07-11-2018 06:00 via edmontonjournal.com
  The Edmonton Oilers were playing the 2nd of a back-to-back and their 7th match in 11 days against the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.
  I don’t believe in scheduled losses. It’s a good league with good players. They play the games for a reason.
  But this one was about as close to a scheduled loss as you get.
  And don’t get me wrong…lots of the 5-2 result was self-inflicted, as you’ll read below. But there was more than that at work…not the least of which were t
  
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• Commonwealth can set pathway to agricultural sustainability: Secretary general

  07-11-2018 01:34 via edmontonjournal.com
  In a world lurching ever-more toward divisions and protectionism, Commonwealth secretary general Patricia Scotland says the 53-member state is more important than ever.
  Scotland was in Edmonton Tuesday for the 28th biennial Commonwealth Agriculture Conference.
  The three-day event focuses on the success of Alberta and Canada’s agriculture industries and provides a forum for discussing triumphs and challenges in agriculture around the world.
  More than 300 international delegates fr
  
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• Justin Timberlake's Edmonton concerts rescheduled for February

  07-11-2018 01:28 via edmontonjournal.com
  Justin Timberlake’s Man of the Woods tour will finally make its way to Edmonton in February after he postponed his November shows due to bruised vocal cords.
  Promoter Live Nation took to Twitter Tuesday afternoon to announce the changes for Rogers Place.
  Tickets purchased for the Nov. 4 spectacular will now be valid on Feb. 6 and tickets for the Nov. 5 show will be valid at the door on Feb. 7.
  The Edmonton Oil Kings game against the Prince Albert Raiders slated for Feb. 6 will be reschedul
  
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• Notes from the Dome: Emergency debate shut down and a service of remembrance

  07-11-2018 01:08 via edmontonjournal.com
  Alberta Liberal Party MLA David Swann had his call for an emergency debate on unfunded oil patch liabilities shot down by the Speaker Tuesday afternoon.
  Swann wanted a debate on an estimated $260 billion in unfunded oil patch liabilities, claiming patch cleanups could become a financial, economic and environmental disaster.
  He juxtaposed two estimated price tags on clean-ups — Alberta Energy Regulator’s $260 billion, and the provincial government’s $58 billion. L
  
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• Princess Anne’s first Edmonton visit features cows, curtsies

  07-11-2018 00:56 via edmontonjournal.com
  Princess Anne mused about cattle and farm succession during a speech at an Edmonton agricultural conference Tuesday.
  The British princess gave the opening address at the biannual conference of the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth (RASC), of which she is president. She is also scheduled to designate a river valley walkway in honour of her mother, Queen Elizabeth II, later Tuesday.
  It was the princess’s first visit to Edmonton.
  “Alberta, as we’ve been hearing, does
  
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• Kenney says UCP to consider database to flag supporters with extremist views

  07-11-2018 00:46 via edmontonjournal.com
  United Conservative Leader Jason Kenney said his party will consider creating a database of Albertans known to have extremist views in an effort to prevent them from gaining membership.
  “What we can maybe do is look into the dark corners of the internet into some of these hate sites,” he told reporters Tuesday, adding it could mean flagging certain party applicants.
  His comments followed questions about a former call centre leader on Kenney’s leadership campaign who was kicked
  
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• RCMP truck rammed following northern Alberta pursuit

  07-11-2018 00:39 via edmontonjournal.com
  Police arrested two people in northern Alberta earlier this month but not before the suspects rammed an RCMP police vehicle with a stolen vehicle, Mounties said Tuesday.
  During one of their “hot spot” patrols on Nov. 1, Eastern Alberta Rural Crime Reduction Unit officers identified a truck believed to be associated with a wanted man.
  After being identified, the driver sped off at a high speed through fields and back trails in the Frog Lake and Fishing Lake areas to avoid capture but
  
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• Suspect throws gasoline at Mountie prior to Leduc arrest

  07-11-2018 00:06 via edmontonjournal.com
  A man who threw gasoline at an RCMP officer prior to his arrest is facing assault and uttering threat charges, Mounties said Tuesday.
  The 20-year-old from Calmar was arrested Monday in Leduc County following reports of a break and enter.
  Police said when they located and approached the man he began uttering threats at an officer “while throwing gasoline at the member and throughout the building structure,” a news release said.
  After a brief altercation the man was arrested. The
  
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• Premier praises caucus after NDP MLA kicked out following allegations of bullying

  07-11-2018 00:03 via edmontonjournal.com
  Premier Rachel Notley praised her caucus for their extraordinary work the day after the NDP kicked out MLA Robyn Luff who slammed the party for a “culture of bullying.”
  “I’m obviously very disappointed with the decision that was taken by the member from Calgary-East, but let me also just say how proud I am of the team that sits with me here on this side of the house,” Notley said during question period Tuesday.
  “As premier, I could not be more fortunate. They
  
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