Alberta criminal defence lawyers are taking another step in their dispute with the provincial government over the amount of compensation paid by Legal Aid Alberta. Four organizations representing lawyers in Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer and southern Alberta began job action August 8th by refusing to accept certain bail and duty counsel files from legal aid. Beginning Monday, the lawyers will refuse to take any new legal aid certificates. Kelsey Sitar, vice-president of the Criminal Defence Lawyers Association in Calgary says she realizes the move is drastic but it's important to get the Alberta

The seven candidates running to be the next United Conservative Party leader and premier are split on whether Alberta should bring in its own provincial police force. Four of them told a debate in Calgary that it's not a plan they would pursue now. Rebecca Schulz says she is not hearing about it on doorsteps, and notes the vast majority of municipalities don't want it. Rajan Sawhney (RAW'-jun SAW'-nee) says it's a solution in search of a problem and a larger discussion is needed on how to best reduce crime and keep people safer. Leela Aheer (LEE'-luh uh-HEER') says the province has not made it

De Havilland Aircraft of Canada says its plan to build a new aircraft manufacturing plant east of Calgary could eventually employ up to 1,500 people. The company says the facility is to be located in Wheatland County between the communities of Chestermere and Strathmore. Company co-owner Sherry Brydson says construction will start next year but it will take a long time to complete and will depend on the growth of the business. She says the full buildout of the plant that will assemble Firefighter aircraft, Twin Otters and Dash 8-400s will take somewhere between 10 and 15 years.

Edmonton Public Schools says more than 6,800 students are home sick with a respiratory illness. The board sent a letter home to parents Monday but it is not clear if the illness is COVID-19. Board chair Trisha Estabrooks says Alberta Health Services has told them to use the term ``respiratory illness.'' Estabrooks is encouraging parents to let schools know about positive cases and to keep kids home when they're sick.

An Alberta man sentenced to 10 years in prison for manslaughter in the deaths of two Metis hunters has launched an appeal. Bilodeau was convicted in May for the deaths of Jacob Sansom and Maurice Cardinal, who were shot and killed on a rural Alberta road after a brief vehicle pursuit in March 2020. Bilodeau's son Joseph, who was tried at the same time as his father, was convicted of second-degree murder in Cardinal's death and found guilty of manslaughter in Sansom's death.

Police in Edmonton say they've found a motorcycle they allege hit an officer who was trying to pull it over last week. The officer was conducting traffic enforcement at a construction zone on Wednesday, and police say the bike fled the scene after hitting the officer. Police say the red 2005-2006 Honda CBR 600RR was recovered Friday when officers executed a search warrant at a home in the Windermere neighbourhood. The officer struck by the motorcycle continues to recover in hospital. Police say the collision investigation is ongoing.

The man who was serving as the head of the Alberta Human Rights Commission is out of a job. The United Conservative Party government has rescinded Collin May's appointment in a dispute stemming from a passage in a book review that has been criticized as Islamophobic. Neither Justice Minister Tyler Shandro nor May has commented on the government's decision. Earlier this week, Shandro publicly urged May to resign after a Muslim advocacy group said May had failed to keep a promise to meet with them over comments in a book review he had written in 2009 that they deemed Islamophobic. May refused to

Parks Canada is welcoming visitors back to Jasper National Park after power was restored to the townsite that was knocked out by a wildfire north of the community earlier this month. The agency says it has been a difficult period for many and it appreciates the adaptability and flexibility of community residents, visitors to Jasper and the tourism industry. ATCO Electricity says it worked relentlessly to restore power to the area as quickly as possible. Parks Canada says the Chetamon Mountain fire, which is about 20 kilometres north of the townsite, remains active and is now about 60 square ki

The new bivalent COVID-19 vaccine will be available in Alberta next week. The province says adult Albertans can make appointments for the Moderna Spikevax booster starting on Wednesday. The bivalent vaccine protects against the Omicron B-A-1 variant and the original COVID-19 strain. People who received a series of shots and are at least five months from their last dose, booster, or most recent infection are eligible. The new vaccine is expected to be available for Albertans aged 12 to 17 later this month or in early October