Beyond Local

"We’re already starting to hear some of our members indicate to our clients, who are the oil and gas producers, that we don’t have any rigs available. And it’s largely due to crew shortages," said Mark Scholz, chief executive of the Canadian Association of Energy Contractors.

Justice Adam Germain opted for a $23,000 fine for Artur Pawlowski and $10,000 for Dawid Pawlowski. The brothers will also have to pay $15,733 in costs, and the pastor an additional $4,758.

Alberta Health said it is on track to spend more than $15 million to directly pay vaccine-hesitant residents to get the COVID-19 shot. The province said more than 152,000 Albertans have signed up to receive a preloaded debit card in return for getting the vaccine.

“Since the onset of the school year we have really seen these explosions of cases around the province and its resulting in a mass amount of absence from schools,” said Support Our Students communications director Wing Li.

Alberta Fish and wildlife officials say 22 black bears have been captured and relocated from Canmore and the Bow Valley so far this year, with traps set to catch at least two more.

Morrison said her group has found that Cabin Ridge Project Ltd., one of several companies hoping to develop open-pit coal mines in the Rockies, has purchased 2,000 hectares of coal exploration lease applications from a second company, Peace River Coal. 

But critics say the province's current cleanup requirements are based on the industry's past efforts, which are what led to the problem in the first place. The current price spike for oil, now more than $80 a barrel, represents a profit windfall for an industry that should be spending it on cleaning up the province's 97,000 inactive wells. 

"So these nurses have had exposure to COVID patients over the pandemic, and they're well trained and ready to support Alberta through this time."

Amid reports that some staff are being harassed and abused over the program, the province is also doubling the fine to $4,000 for mistreating workers enforcing public-health orders.

"Voters were turned away, were sent to the wrong polling locations, showed up at locations that opened late or never opened, or walked away from massive lineups,” NDP national director Anne McGrath alleged in a letter.