A potential referendum question on separating from Canada has been referred to a judge to confirm it doesn't violate the Constitution. The proposed question seeks a yes or no answer to whether people agree with Alberta becoming its own country. Alberta's chief electoral officer says provincial laws require potential referendum questions to respect more than 30 sections of the Constitution, including the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The question was submitted earlier this month by Mitch Sylvestre with the Alberta Prosperity Project, which has been touring the province to promote inde

Alberta and the union representing thousands of provincial government employees say they have agreed to a new round of mediated bargaining. Alberta Union of Provincial Employees president Guy Smith says the renewed talks are considered the final opportunity for getting a new deal for some 23,000 government workers after 18 months of bargaining. Smith credits Finance Minister Nate Horner for stepping in to restart talks and recognizing the importance of continuing negotiations. The union and the government have agreed not to disclose their bargaining positions publicly but Smith says

Alberta's governing United Conservative Party has now brought in the lawyers in a fight over a legacy name. The U-C-P was created eight years ago in a merging of the old Progressive Conservatives and the Wildrose Party. But now two former members of Premier Danielle Smith's U-C-P caucus want to resurrect the P-C name and use it for a party to run against Smith. The U-C-P says it has sent a cease-and-desist letter to the two members, saying the P-C name still belongs to them and can't be legally appropriated. The two former members _ Peter Guthrie and Scott Sinclair _ were booted out o

Alberta is paying out more than $140 million to end one of five lawsuits launched against it over its coal mining policies. A notice published online by Atrum Coal says the company has agreed to end its lawsuit and surrender its land back to the province in exchange for the payment. The company says it received just under $137 million last week and will receive another $6 million after it completes some reclamation work. Atrum was one of two companies suing the province that announced last month that settlements were reached, but the other,Evolve Power, has yet to share details.

Two Canadian soldiers posted to a base in eastern Alberta are expected to recover after a stabbing. RCMP say officers were called Friday to a disturbance at a home in Wainwright, west of the Alberta-Saskatchewan boundary. They say a 23-year-old man has been charged with two counts of assault with a weapon, as well as possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. Armed Forces spokeswoman Lt.-Col. Lena Angell says three junior military members were involved in a brawl. She says the two injured were treated in hospital in Wainwright and one of them was later sent to Edmonton for mor

Today marks one year since roughly 25,000 tourists and residents of Jasper, Alta., were forced to flee on a single highway, after several runaway fires were discovered in Jasper National Park. There's expected to be solemn reflection in the beloved mountain town, as events are held to remember the evacuation and the flames that incinerated neighbourhoods two days later. A third of the town's structures were destroyed despite firefighters' best efforts. It's estimated about 2,000 people were displaced by the fire. A ceremony is scheduled with Mayor Richard Ireland and federal Emergency Manageme

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says she is disheartened by a report into last summer's Jasper wildfire that she says unfairly criticizes and minimizes the contributions of her government. Smith, in a statement on social media, says the report and media coverage of it are “politically motivated,” but doesn’t elaborate. The report, based on surveys of firefighters and others, says Smith’s government complicated the response to the fire, which destroyed a third of the Jasper townsite. It says the province regularly requested information and attempted to make decisions despite not being j

An Independent candidate running in a rural Alberta byelection says she has stopped door-knocking because of death threats. Sarah Spanier says she has told Mounties about the online threats, which she attributes to her advocacy for transgender people. She says she has received some messages stating she will be met with a shotgun if she knocks on doors. Spanier is one of almost 80 candidates running in Battle River-Crowfoot, with voters going to the polls Aug. 18. The riding was won handily by Conservative Damien Kurek in the April general election, but Kurek stepped down to all

A report commissioned by the town of Jasper says crews did their best to fight last year's devastating wildfire but the Alberta government complicated the response. The report was based on surveyed participants and firefighters who battled the blaze that destroyed much of the mountain town. It says the Alberta government wasn't jurisdictionally responsible to lead the crisis but made things more difficult with regular information requests and by seeking to exercise decision-making authority. The report says incident commanders had their focus disrupted and were forced to spend precio