News

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant After waiting years for construction to begin on the Keystone XL expansion, local officials along the route in southeast Alberta and southwest Saskatchewan are wondering this week about its potential shutdown. U.S. president-elect Joe Biden is expected to follow through on a campaign promise and cancel a presidential permit for the cross-national oil pipeline [...] Read More »

Alberta Health Services is hosting a free online session to help parents set limits on screen time for children. AHS says the information session is for parents, caregivers and influencers of children and youth to learn how to help youth safely navigate the online world. Who’s In the Driver’s Seat? Finding Balance in our Family’s [...] Read More »

Mounties in Brooks are tracking down taggers who have gone on a graffiti spree this month. The detachment announced Monday it is looking for those responsible for spray painting a number of businesses in the city with crude references to feminine hygiene products, animals as well as “U.S.A.,” and “C.I.A.” Officials say the vandalism, which [...] Read More »

mccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken A man has been taken into custody and is awaiting formal criminal charges following a brief standoff with police in an isolated area south of Smelter Avenue and Factory Street on Monday afternoon. At approximately 9:30 a.m., Medicine Hat Police Service received a report of a male in distress who was a possible danger [...] Read More »

cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant The seemingly age-old question about what to do to improve the City Centre Development Agency will have to wait another two weeks for an answer. But, the parties involved in an hour-long public hearing and council debate on Monday aren’t sure about what will come forward at that time. The annual issue of passing [...] Read More »

MONTREAL – Quebec Premier Francois Legault says he won’t grant a curfew exemption for Montreal’s homeless population, telling reporters Tuesday he has confidence that police will use their good judgment in dealing with cases. Legault told reporters during a COVID-19 briefing in Montreal that altering the government’s decree to exclude the homeless from the provincial [...] Read More »

OTTAWA – Conservatives were torn Tuesday over a decision by party leader Erin O’Toole to try to expel an MP from their ranks over a donation from a known white nationalist. The party’s 121 MPs are set to vote via secret ballot Wednesday morning on whether Derek Sloan ought to be removed, with a simple [...] Read More »

TORONTO – A defamation lawsuit by the world’s largest fast-food operator against Canada’s public broadcaster over a report on the chain’s chicken sandwiches can proceed, Ontario’s top court has ruled. In setting aside a ruling that dismissed Subway’s $210-million suit without a hearing on its merits, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled the untested claim [...] Read More »

TORONTO – A Canadian neonatal intensive care nurse who spoke at an anti-lockdown rally in Washington, D.C., has been fired, her employer said on Tuesday. The London Health Sciences Centre in London, Ont., confirmed its termination of Kristen Nagle, who had been suspended since November after attending a similar rally in the city. Nagle was [...] Read More »

VICTORIA – British Columbia’s representative for children and youth says she has heard harrowing stories from those who were involuntarily hospitalized for a mental illness without access to legal advice. Jennifer Charlesworth has released a report with input from youth who say they were restrained, medicated and secluded against their will. Charlesworth is calling on [...] Read More »

EDMONTON – Alberta’s chief medical officer of health says residents in long-term care and supportive living facilities will remain the priority as the province grapples with a looming slowdown in COVID-19 vaccine supply. Dr. Deena Hinshaw says health officials may also have to rebook vaccination appointments for those getting the required second dose. Hinshaw made [...] Read More »

CALGARY – A lawyer for a rancher trying to get a judge to force the Alberta government to reconsider its decision to throw out a policy that protected the Rocky Mountains from coal mines says his client wants to be treated fairly. “What my clients are seeking is not to be left out in the [...] Read More »

RED DEER, Alta. – A central Alberta man has been sentenced to 18 years in prison following what is being called one of the largest child pornography busts in the province. The man can’t be named due to a publication ban to protect the identity of his victims, some of whom were sexually assaulted by [...] Read More »

CALGARY – Decisions on government policy should be made by elected officials, not courts, a lawyer argued Tuesday. “This case is not about an unlawful exercise of government power,” Melissa Burkett said at a hearing to decide whether a request for a judicial review can proceed into Alberta’s decision to revoke a policy protecting the [...] Read More »

CALGARY – A Crown prosecutor says he will be seeking an adult sentence for an accused teen if he is convicted in a Calgary police officer’s death. Doug Taylor made the comment at the start of a bail hearing Tuesday for the 18-year-old. The accused was 17 when he was charged earlier this month with [...] Read More »

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com A hearing to set a trial date for a woman accused of arranging a brutal attack on a younger boy has been delayed, and won’t be scheduled until next month. Calgary lawyer Andre Ouellette was expected to confirm a trial date Monday in Lethbridge provincial court for Trinity Savard, who faces one count [...] Read More »

With the Government of Alberta easing some public health restrictions on Monday, the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce is applauding their resolve in implementing expanded supports and a measured reopening. The province is allowing businesses offering personal and wellness services to reopen by appointment only. In addition, up to 10 people will be allowed to gather [...] Read More »

LETHBRIDGE HERALDgbobinec@lethbridgeherald.com The Blood Reserve is under new public health measures, following an announcement from Chief Roy Fox and Director of Emergency Management Rick Soup on Friday, in response to the rise in COVID-19 cases. As of Jan. 4 there were only three active cases, with the most recent reported numbers as of Monday now [...] Read More »

icture Butte family is facing significant bills after experiencing an unexpected medical emergency. Pierre and Sylvia Nieuwoudt and their three children have lived in Picture Butte since October, 2017, when they moved to the area from South Africa thanks to work permits. The family applied to renew their work permits in October, 2019 before they [...] Read More »

The Act One fundraising campaign by Crowsnest Cando to purchase the Roxy Theatre in the historic downtown of Coleman is in its final stretch as they work to raise $50,000 to purchase the multi-use community facility. Crowsnest Cando has a goal of raising $50,000 by Jan. 26, to close on purchasing the building. To date, [...] Read More »

WASHINGTON – Hours from inauguration, President-elect Joe Biden paused on what might have been his triumphal entrance to Washington Tuesday evening to mark instead the national tragedy of the coronavirus pandemic with a moment of collective grief for Americans lost. His arrival coincided with the awful news that the U.S. death toll had surpassed 400,000 [...] Read More »

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department has closed an insider trading investigation into Republican Sen. Richard Burr without criminal charges, his lawyer and another person familiar with the investigation said Tuesday. “Senator Burr is pleased that the Department of Justice has completed a thorough review of this matter and closed it without further action,” his lawyer, [...] Read More »

HOUSTON – Rapper Bow Wow apologized after Houston’s mayor called him out for attending a crowded gathering at a city nightclub during a weekend packed with concerts as Texas continues to grapple with the coronavirus. Mayor Sylvester Turner took to Twitter on Sunday to let the Ohio rapper, whose real name is Shad Gregory Moss, [...] Read More »

CINCINNATI – Federal authorities presented new details on Tuesday about three self-described members of a paramilitary group who are the first to be charged with plotting the attack on the U.S. Capitol. The FBI said a Virginia man, Thomas Edward Caldwell, appeared to be a leader of the effort. Caldwell and a man and woman [...] Read More »

WASHINGTON – Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will take their oaths of office on Wednesday using Bibles that are laden with personal meaning, writing new chapters in a long-running American tradition – and one that appears nowhere in the law. The Constitution does not require the use of a specific text for swearing-in ceremonies and [...] Read More »