Alberta's minister of Advanced Education says he can't help Athabasca University if the online-oriented school won't come to the table. Demetrios Nicolaides (duh-MEE'-tree-ohs nick-oh-LIE'-dezz) says he is willing to help with whatever the university wants -- including money -- to relocate up to 500 employees to the small town that's the school's namesake. Nicolaides says he asked earlier this year for a plan from the university to move staff, but says they failed to step up. The minister says he has little choice but to give the university until the end of this month to agree to the plan, and

Alberta's police watchdog is investigating the arrest of a man at the Calgary Municipal Building earlier this week. Officers were called to the building early Tuesday morning for reports of a man brandishing a long-edged weapon and setting fires. Police have said the man likely got in by smashing the glass at the front of the building, which has been closed to the public since Tuesday. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team says in a news release that police tried to talk to the man, but were unsuccessful. It says several officers fired non-lethal weapons and the man was arrested with the

The Alberta government is tightening the rules around employee bonuses in light of the six-figure payout to the chief medical officer of health. Finance Minister Jason Nixon says the civil service has been directed to review and make changes to the rules to ensure future bonus payments during emergencies go through cabinet for approval. Nixon says the public service should not have the ability to sign off on such big-ticket bonuses. Earlier this week, the government's salary list revealed Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the chief medical officer of health, received a bonus of almost 228-thousand dollars fo

The United Conservative government has cancelled an emergency directive that called for some patients in Edmonton hospitals to be treated in hallways. The order was enacted to reduce pressure on emergency departments while Alberta Health Services worked to place some patients in other hospitals. The province says it was dealing with high demand, staffing shortages and higher numbers of patients due to COVID-19. The Opposition NDP says the government contributed to the staffing shortages by tearing up the master contract with doctors and fighting at one point to cut nurses' salaries.

Defence lawyers working with Legal Aid Alberta have voted to stop taking any cases for two weeks. They say it is their response to what they call the provincial government underfunding the system. The Criminal Defence Lawyers Association, the Criminal Trial Lawyers Association, and the Southern Alberta Defence Lawyers' Association have been pushing the province to increase Legal Aid's budget in line with other Canadian jurisdictions. Alberta Justice says it has reached out to all three organizations for a meeting.

Emergency crews were called to Range Road 24 on Township Road 524 in Parkland County at about 4:20 a-m for a report of a two-vehicle crash. Mounties say a collision analyst is on scene, and traffic will be delayed until the investigation is complete. No information about other injuries or people involved in the crash has been released. RCMP is currently on scene investigating and traffic in the area will be affected.

Alberta's Opposition N-D-P leader says the United Conservatives must bear the responsibility -- and the fallout -- for the record-setting six-figure bonus payment to the chief medical officer of health during COVID-19. Rachel Notley says she isn't passing judgment on whether the payout to Dr. Deena Hinshaw is merited. But she says the payout has to be set against a government that, at the same time, was trying to cut the pay of front-line health workers in collective bargaining. The government's sunshine salary list shows that Hinshaw received a bonus of almost 228-thousand dollars for COVID-1

Environment and Climate Change Canada says hail ranging from the size of a pea to a softball fell in central Alberta on Monday. Sara Hoffman, who is a meteorologist with the agency, says although the storm that passed through the Rocky Mountain House and Red Deer areas wasn't record breaking, the size of the hail was bigger than expected. Environment Canada issued a tornado watch in the afternoon that warned large hail might fall from the sky later in the evening. Videos on social media were posted after the storm of drivers on Queen Elizabeth II Highway pulled over and covering their heads as

Woman charged with manslaughter after man found in stairwell, Edmonton police say Police say they have charged a woman in the death of a man in central Edmonton over the weekend. Edmonton police say officers responded Sunday to a call of a man in a stairwell. They say the man was found unresponsive and pronounced dead on scene. Police say a 41-year-old woman was arrested and charged with manslaughter. They have identified the victim as 38-year-old Christopher McMullen. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.