-After running into some serious backlash over the Bill that would have granted them sweeping power over municipalities, the province now says it wants to work WITH local governments on it.
Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver says not only do they want to hear about possible amendments to Bill 20, but he wants to clarify that the power to overrule municipal bylaws would only be used if they fall under areas of shared responsibility, including public safety, healthcare and education.
Wetaskiwin Mayor Tyler Gandam says this could have been avoided, had the province consulted with them in the first place.
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-Alberta’s government is putting 26-million dollars into advancing women’s health research and expanding the newborn screening program.
Premier Danielle Smith says it’s going to happen over two years, with 10-million going towards the creation of the Alberta Women’s Health Foundation Legacy Grant, to support research on common women’s health conditions.
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-The feds announced this morning that they’re putting 5-million dollars into the Community Economic Development and Diversification Fund, to help build a hemp processing plant in Elk Point.
Officials with the Askiy Hemp Limited Partnership say it will be a state-of-the art plant that will process about 40-thousand tons of hemp stalk each year, so it can be used in a wide variety of products, including textiles, building materials, fertilizer and paper.
And they say it will provide a new revenue stream for farmers, thereby diversifying the ag sector.
Askiy is a partnership between the Frog Lake First Nations and Logistik Unicorp.
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-Despite some high-profile incidents, Edmonton’s overall crime rate dropped by more than 7-percent last year.
Police say the drop is due to a decrease in property crimes and targeted policing programs .
But there’s still an ongoing issue with violent crime, as it jumped by more than 7-percent.
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-Speaking of violent incidents, someone took an axe to the glass panes at the Edmonton Law Courts Wednesday night.
Police say they got a call about a man with an axe, around 102nd Avenue and 97th Street.
A 45 year old man was apprehended, under the Mental Health Act.
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-A 52-year old Edmonton man was killed in a crash near the hamlet of Chisholm last night.
Slave Lake RCMP say two trucks had collided on Highway 44, between Township Road 680 and 682.
The highway was re-opened early this morning.
Mounties are still looking into the cause of the crash.
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-A 31-year old woman from the Alexander First Nation died last night, after being hit by a vehicle on Highway 642.
Morinville RCMP say it happened between Range Road 271 and 272.
The people in truck remained at the scene, and while RCMP are still investigating, they say alcohol was not a factor.
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-RCMP have charged a 38-year old man, following an incident at Bower Place in Red Deer on April 27th.
They got a call about a man acting strangely, and that he was spraying himself in the eye with perfume.
When they tried to get him to leave, police say he became combative, and they wound up tasering him.
He’s now facing charges of assault on a police officer.
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-It may be some time yet before London Drugs re-opens its stores following a cyber-security incident last weekend.
They’re working with cyber experts to bring things back online in a secure manner, but there’s a ton of data and code to go through.
They do say there’s no evidence of any customer information being compromised.
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-The Chief of Protective Services with the County of Vermillion River says rain and snow earlier this week helped a bit, but there’s still a wildfire threat in the region.
And Kirk Hughes has some advice on how farmers can stave off possible fires as they’re seeding this spring.
He says one farmer told him he has small tools and water totes on hand to deal with any spot fires that may crop up.
Hughes also says if you did any burning over the winter, go back to the site and check it again, because fires can burn underground and then flare up when it warms up.
And he says if a fire does break out, don’t be shy about calling 911 for help, because it’s much easier to fight a fire that’s in the beginning stages.
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-No shortage of crushed ice around Lac La Biche these days, as the ice from the lake has been on the move, as a result of the rain and wind this week.
Mounds of ice have blown onto the shoreline along Churchill Drive.
It happens every year, but residents say it’s always an awesome feat of nature to behold.
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-The Oilers won’t know til after tonight who they’re going to face in Round 2 of the playoffs, as it’s going to be either the Canucks or Predators. Those two meet at 5 this afternoon.
-The Leafs aren’t going down without a fight, as they beat the Bruins 2-1 last night to force a Game 7 in that series.
William Nylander scored twice and Joseph Woll made 22 saves. The last time Toronto came back from a 3-1 deficit to win a series, was in 1942!
Their next game is tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Dallas takes on the Golden Knights at 8 tonight.
-Jays take on the Nationals at 4:45 this afternoon, but unless you’ve got the Apple TV streaming service, you probably won’t see it.
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