Maverick Party to hold founding convention Aug. 7

By MEDICINE HAT NEWS on July 29, 2021.

https://www.medicinehatnews.com@MedicineHatNews

A fledgling federal party promising to create a western voting block after the next election has named candidates for ridings east and west of Medicine Hat.

The Maverick Party of Canada will hold a founding convention on Aug. 7, interim leader Jay Hill announced on social media Thursday.

The party hopes to force changes to equalization, support gun rights and end carbon pricing, among a list of campaign planks on its website.

Orrin Bliss is listed as the party’s candidate in the riding of Bow River, which includes Brooks, the county of Newell and the M.D. of Taber.

Mark Skagen will represent the party in the riding of Cypress Hills-Grasslands in southwest Saskatchewan.

Both men are described as former oil and gas sector managers or executives in profiles posted on the party website.

Fire bans

Saskatchewan rescinded its province-wide fire restriction this week, but 153 rural municipalities and 51 towns and villages still have local bans in place.

That includes every R.M. in southwest Saskatchewan west of Swift Current with the exception of the R.M. of Piapot.

A fire ban will remain in effect in Alberta and a portion of Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park through the long weekend, while Medicine Hat, Redcliff and Cypress County all have placed restrictions on campfires, fireworks and all burning outside of barbecues.

The Reesor Lake campground remains closed for the season, and a blue-green algae advisory for that body of water remains in place.

Cases jump in Mont.

Seven new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the area around Havre, Mont. on Wednesday, bringing the total active cases to 13 in Hill County, according to state health officials.

Statewide, the 231 new cases reported on Tuesday was the highest one-day total since early February.

Hill County, which is directly south of Cypress County, Alberta, is considered to have 45% of the population “fully vaccinated,” or about 5,900 residents older than 12. The state’s “fully vaccinated” rate is 48%.

It’s not easy to determine the state’s “partially vaccinated” statistics – as is commonly used in Canada – from shot totals, as the United States has approved the one-shot Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

County meeting shuffle

The scheduled meeting of the Cypress County council set for Aug. 4 has been cancelled, while the Aug. 17 meeting will be moved to Aug. 24, a notice from county office in Dunmore states.

Swift Current power expands

The municipally-owned light and power company in Swift Current will purchase Sask Power lines in the city that serve about 400 customers left on the provincial grid after an expansion 10 years ago.

The $14.8 million deal comes after formal talks began in 2017 and will bring in customers located in Riverview Estates, areas around Cypress Regional Hospital and some customers in the Munro industrial park. Administrators say the expansion of the franchise area will add two per cent growth this year to the city company’s demand.

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