News

zmason@medicinehatnews.com The province has announced a substantial increase to money allocated for physician compensation ahead of the tabling of Budget 2026 later this week. Premier Danielle Smith and Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services Adriana LaGrange announced the investment at a Monday press conference. If the budget is passed, the investment in physician compensation [...] Read More »

The Medicine Hat Public Library has announced the next in an ongoing Home Routes Concert Series, Scottish singer Iona Lane. Lane will visit MHPL on Mar. 6,at 7 p.m., bringing with her some of her new album, “Swilkie.” Lane boasts poetic lyrics and deeply atmospheric melodies, all tied in with a a strong sense of [...] Read More »

newsdesk@medicinehatnews.com During the month of January the Medicine Hat Police Service deployed its drone unit to 21 calls for service, providing aerial support to responding police officers, police commission members heard. These deployments included high-risk overwatch, compound and large area searches, missing and suicidal person investigations, perimeter containment, collision documentation and assistance with fleeing suspects, [...] Read More »

asmith@medicinehatnews.com After sheltering in place through events in Puerto Vallarta this weekend, Hatter Darla Anderson Christianson says she hopes the region’s tourism will eventually heal. She explains she was visiting family that lives in the region, and arrived Feb. 19, a few days before Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes was killed [...] Read More »

zmason@medicinehatnews.com At a constituency town hall event Saturday morning, Medicine Hat’s two MLAs expressed their views on separation after the premier told reporters last week the referendum question on Alberta independence could be added to the ballot this October. In response to a question asking the two MLAs to clearly state their stance, both Smith [...] Read More »

VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s human rights commissioner says a lack of collaboration between the Vancouver Police Board and First Nations is hampering progress to end anti-Indigenous racism in policing, years after the handcuffing of a man and his granddaughter put a spotlight on the issue. Maxwell Johnson of the Heiltsuk Nation and his then-12-year-old granddaughter [...] Read More »

CALGARY — RCMP say the older brother of Tumbler Ridge shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar has been arrested in Alberta in an attempted murder investigation. They say in a statement that Jacob Jan Van Rootselaar was arrested on an outstanding warrant last Thursday in Sylvan Lake, Alta., stemming from a 2024 case in Fort McMurray. Jan [...] Read More »

TORONTO — A woman accusing Frank Stronach of raping her in a hotel suite decades ago has a “tendency to lie” and continues to add new details to her account of the encounter, the businessman’s lawyer suggested Tuesday. Leora Shemesh pressed the woman, who is the fifth complainant to testify at Stronach’s sexual assault trial, [...] Read More »

OTTAWA — The federal government will spend $3.7 billion to build 6,000 more housing units for Canada’s military, Defence Minister David McGuinty said on Tuesday. McGuinty made the announcement at CFB Uplands in Ottawa, but could not provide a timeline for when the new units would be built other than saying it will span “several [...] Read More »

VANCOUVER — A public hearing into the police-involved death of Myles Gray resumed in Vancouver, after a four-week adjournment triggered by an obscene remark and the subsequent resignation of counsel for the proceeding. The delay allowed replacement counsel, Brock Martland, to get up to speed on the case by the Office of the Police Complaint [...] Read More »

Over 200 Blood Tribe members took part in The Blood Tribe Resource Fair Thursday in Standoff. The event was the first of its kind, says Levi Little Moustache, Director of Blood Tribe Employment and Skills Training (BTEST). “The event today was a collaboration of all the HR departments (including) all the departments under Blood Tribe, [...] Read More »

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com Misconduct allegations from more than five years ago finally culminated in a disciplinary hearing for Lethbridge Police Service Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh this week. The Lethbridge Police Commission held the hearing Thursday at City Hall to address misconduct allegations against Mehdizadeh regarding an incident that took place in March 2021. The allegations were made [...] Read More »

LETHBRIDGE HERALDjmanio@lethbridgeherald.com A perpetual challenge for not-for-profit organizations is funding for their charitable work. In support of its continuing mission, Lethbridge Family Services (LFS) is hosting an inaugural gala called “Spring to Light” on April 25 at the Agri-Food Hub and Trade Center, featuring Canadian comedian, television personality, political satirist, and author Rick Mercer. “This [...] Read More »

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com The Alberta NDP and Friends of Medicare advocacy organization have raised alarms about the provincial government’s proposed legislation that will allow people suffering from addictions and mental illness who are deemed a threat to themselves or others to be treated against their will. On Tuesday, the government introduced Bill 53, the Compassionate Intervention [...] Read More »

Some Lethbridge homeowners might be surprised to see an almost 14 per cent increase in their education taxes when they get their property tax bill this spring. According to the Government of Alberta website, education property taxes are increasing for 2025-2026 after being frozen in 2024-2025. For Lethbridge residents, this will amount to a 13.8 [...] Read More »