The Alberta Medical Association says Premier Danielle Smith needs to do her own research, after she told critics of a law restricting health care for transgender youth that they need to ``look up what puberty is.'' Smith has defended the law that prohibits doctors from prescribing puberty blockers for those under 16, saying the drugs permanently sterilize children. Dr. Sam Wong, president of the association's pediatrics section, says it isn't true that puberty blockers render a person infertile or sterile, adding that Smith should get her facts straight and be less condescending.

Alberta's government says it has yet to receive an interim report on the investigation into allegations of corruption over health contracts but it should be finished in the coming days. The government says former Manitoba judge Raymond Wyant had until today to submit it but still has interviews to finish. It also says the interim report won't be made public. The report was initially expected in May, but the province extended the deadline because of the number of documents involved and interviews Wyant wanted to do. The deadline for the final report was set for Oct. 15. The al

The Alberta government is calling a federal gun buyback program an ``attack on law-abiding firearms owners.'' A pilot project in Nova Scotia will be open to eligible gun owners in parts of Cape Breton before being rolled out nationwide. Participants can either deactivate their firearm using a licensed gunsmith or return it to police. Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery and Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis say the province will not be enforcing the ``gun grab,'' and they expect law enforcement to focus on violent criminals, not hunters and sport shooters.

The search for a five-year-old boy in southwestern Alberta is entering its third day. RCMP say two nights of searches have yielded no results in finding Darius Macdougall. Macdougall went missing Sunday after he didn't return from a walk with six family members to their campsite near Island Lake Campground, south of Crowsnest Pass. Mounties have said people should avoid the area and leave the search to the professionals. Darius is described as four feet tall with short brown hair, and he was last seen wearing a blue-grey hoodie and sweatpants. Police said the boy has autism, w

Dozens of students played hooky from school to rally for teachers at Alberta's legislature today as a provincewide teachers strike deadline nears. They shouted, "Hey, hey, ho, ho, where did the budget go?' and waved signs in solidarity with the province's 51,000 teachers who are fighting for higher wages and reduced classroom sizes. The Alberta government and the Alberta Teachers' Association say both parties remain at the table trying to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement ahead of the Oct. 6 strike deadline teachers have set. Nyla Ahmadzai, one of the rally's organ

Searchers from Alberta and British Columbia have joined the effort to find a five-year-old boy who police say disappeared near a campground. RCMP say in a news release that Darius Macdougall was reported missing around 11:30 a.m., and was last seen walking with his family about four kilometres south of Crowsnest Pass near Island lake Campground in southern Alberta. Police say the boy has a medical issue which may prevent him from responding to others. They say RCMP and conservation officers are on the scene, joined by searchers from multiple agencies. Police say the searchers ar

A woman and an 18-month-old girl are dead after a highway crash northeast of Calgary. RCMP say the crash took place Wednesday night near the hamlet of Kathyrn. They say a northbound pickup hit a semi truck heading south. Police say the driver of the pickup, a 36-year-old woman from Hanna, Alta., died along with the toddler. They say two other children were taken to hospital but did not say in what condition. Police are continuing to investigate the cause of the crash.

Premier Danielle Smith's Alberta Next panel is in Grande Prairie tonight to brainstorm potential referendum questions aimed at wrenching more political control from Ottawa. The panel has been greeted by supportive crowds throughout its summer town hall tour around the province. It has often been cheered on in its proposals, including withdrawing from the Canada Pension Plan and withholding social services from some immigrants. But some have called the tour cynical wedge politics, saying it employs questionable survey methods to craft a predetermined anti-Ottawa outcome. And the pa

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her government is adding proof of citizenship markers to driver's licences and other forms of identification to streamline services and prevent election fraud. She says this will make it easier for students and the disabled to get funding given they have to prove their citizenship to do so. She says the goal is also to protect democracy to make sure that only citizens vote. Smith says non-citizens like permanent residents who can get a driver's licences will not have any notation on their IDs. Alberta Health Care numbers will also be added to driver'