Jun 29 2021 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — Alberta’s chief medical officer of health says COVID-19 numbers continue to fall but the plan is to remain vigilant as the province prepares to fully reopen Thursday. “Across the board, our numbers are moving in the right direction,” Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Tuesday in her final scheduled news conference, the last of about […]
Jun 23 2021 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — The Alberta government is contributing $8 million in grants to assist First Nations and Métis communities locate the remains and honour the memories of residential schoolchildren. Premier Jason Kenney says the horror of the schools remains difficult to comprehend. "The discovery of 215 remains of students at the former Kamloops residential school has […]
Jun 22 2021 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — Alberta's general COVID-19 mask rules are going, but they won’t be completely gone by July 1. Dr. Deena Hinshaw, chief medical officer of health, says some mask rules will remain in place after the mask mandate in indoor public places lifts on Canada Day. She says masks will continue to be required in […]
Jun 21 2021 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — Alberta's COVID-19 vaccine lottery offering million-dollar cash awards and trips to Cancun is adding the Calgary Stampede to its stable of prizes. More than 70 per cent of Albertans have received at least one vaccine dose, but Premier Jason Kenney says the government is still hoping to entice more. "We've still got a […]
Jun 18 2021 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — Alberta will become the first province or territory to remove all COVID-19 restrictions when it lifts its remaining public health measures on July 1. Premier Jason Kenney announced Friday that the province had reached the vaccination threshold for the third and final phase of reopening, because 70.2 per cent of Albertans 12 and […]
Jun 17 2021 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — A health spokesman says two patients at Calgary’s Foothills hospital have died from the Delta variant of COVID-19 — and one had been fully immunized. Kerry Williamson with Alberta Health Services says the two patients, a man and a woman, were in their 80s, had significant co-morbidities and probably acquired the virus in […]
Jun 15 2021 — Dean Bennett — Canada’s western leaders say they plan to push Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week on a detailed plan and timeline to reopen international borders. “There’s absolute consensus that we want to get back as quickly as possible to whatever normal will be, but we also expect the federal government to be leading on that question,” […]
Jun 14 2021 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — Premier Jason Kenney says 48,000 more Albertans must step up for a first dose of COVID vaccine to fully lift health restrictions, and hopes his new lottery plan will be that incentive. "The more people we can get vaccinated more quickly, the safer we all are," Kenney said Monday while announcing details of […]
Jun 7 2021 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, facing mounting criticism in cabinet and caucus, says he is sorry for breaking COVID-19 rules at a dinner party caught on camera. Kenney says he thought he and other cabinet ministers were keeping the required two-metre distance, but they have since measured between chairs and realized they were not […]
Jun 6 2021 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — Alberta Opposition Leader Rachel Notley says if elected in 2023, her NDP will work to make the province a powerhouse in renewable energy. Notley says that includes moving Alberta’s electricity grid to net-zero emissions by the year 2035. She says an NDP government will also develop geothermal energy, hydrogen fuel and manufacturing of […]
Jun 6 2021 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — Two members of Alberta Premier Jason Kenney's cabinet are openly criticizing him for actions surrounding COVID-19. Rajan Sawhney and Leela Aheer are taking Kenney to task for refusing to take responsibility for photos that appear to show Kenney and others ignoring COVID rules while enjoying drinks and dinner on the penthouse patio of […]
Jun 3 2021 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says he and his ministers made every reasonable effort to comply with health rules during a surreptitiously photographed whiskey-drinks dinner on the patio of the infamous "Sky Palace." Kenney says they paid for the meal themselves, and he dismissed accusations of elitist imbibing, calling Jameson Irish whiskey a budget […]
Jun 2 2021 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — A western Canadian Indigenous leader is condemning cancel culture remarks made by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, and says it reinforces a recent decision to scrap a formal working agreement with the province. Kenney spoke Tuesday about cancel culture when asked about Calgary Board of Education trustees voting this week to immediately rename the […]
Jun 1 2021 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — Alberta is expanding its rollout of second-dose COVID-19 vaccines, allowing everyone over age 12 who has had a first shot to book a booster before the end of the month. “This is yet another big milestone in our fight against COVID-19, and it takes us even closer to a post-pandemic world,” Premier Jason […]
May 31 2021 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — A review of Alberta's continuing-care system says demand for it will grow by two-thirds by the end of the decade.The report, released by Health Minister Tyler Shandro, makes 42 recommendations to deal with the expected surge, including expanding care for people in their homes.The report says 61 per cent of care is currently […]