Alberta's education minister says school libraries must pull explicit, sexual content from their shelves starting Oct. 1. Demetrios Nicolaides says the province's new standards aren't about banning books but ensuring kids aren't exposed to the wrong material for their age. The government has issued a list of specific sex acts that cannot be explicitly described in library books. It considers mentions of kissing, hugging or handholding as not sexual in nature and not part of the ban. Religious texts, such as the Bible, are also exempt. School boards must review library materials

Two youths have been charged with manslaughter and arson after a man died in a house fire in central Alberta. RCMP say they responded to the fire in Wetaskiwin, a city south of Edmonton, in December. The body of 67-year-old Donald Robert was found inside the home and officers deemed his death suspicious. They say a witness reported seeing someone running away from the home with their clothing on fire. RCMP say a girl and a boy were arrested Wednesday. They can't be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The Alberta government says a longtime lawyer and recent provincial policy advisor has been tapped to head its new involuntary drug treatment system. Earlier this year, Premier Danielle Smith's government passed legislation to create the new system, which allows people to be forced into addiction treatment facilities without their consent. The legislation allows family members, health-care professionals, police or peace officers to apply for a treatment order from a provincial commission led by Jonathan Carlzon. The province says Carlzon has more than 20 years of experience as a lawy

Alberta's education minister is set to provide an update today on the development of new provincial rules for school library books. Demetrios Nicolaides announced in May that Alberta would be setting new standards for the books. He said the review came after his ministry became aware of four coming-of-age graphic novels in school libraries in Edmonton and Calgary. Nicolaides said each of the books contained inappropriate content, including graphic sexual material as well as depictions of molestation, drug and alcohol use. A government survey on the topic launched after Nicolaides' anno

Alberta has the most measles cases in North America on a per-capita basis, worrying experts who say summer events could push case counts even higher. The province's former chief medical officer of health Dr.Mark Joffe says that's twice the rate of confirmed cases in Ontario. Ontario has been deemed Canada's epicentre of the outbreak in absolute case numbers, reporting 1,910 confirmed infections since its outbreak began in October, but with a population three times the size as Alberta. Alberta reported yesterday that 1,230 people have been infected with the highly contagious disea

Mounties in Alberta have charged a 23-year-old man with first-degree murder after he allegedly gave another man cough syrup laced with a fatal dose of fentanyl. Cpl. Gina Slaney says an 18-year-old resident of Chestermere, a city east of Calgary, died in hospital on April 3, 2020, about three days after consuming the substance. Court documents say the accused is also facing an attempted murder charge after he allegedly gave the laced cough syrup to a 25-year-old Calgary resident who didn't end up drinking it. Investigators allege the medicine was intended for both victims. Inve

Mounties say a man has been charged with causing over $1 million in damages in a vandalism spree in a rural Alberta town. Vermilion RCMP say officers received a complaint Sunday that a provincial government building and six sheriffs vehicles were damaged. They say officers arrived to find windows shattered in the building and in the vehicles. Windows in the town's courthouse were also broken and drive-thru display screens at a nearby McDonald's were damaged. The 23-year-old accused faces charges of mischief and break-and-enter and has been remanded into custody. Vermillion is

The head of emergency medicine for Alberta's doctors association is challenging Premier Danielle Smith -- shadow him on a shift and come see the frustration of patients who are jammed for hours in hallways. Dr. Warren Thirsk says Smith should come to see the moral injury that doctors face, looking into the eyes of those who need help but have to wait a long time to get it. Thirsk's comments come in wake of a new survey measuring patients' experiences in the health-care system released late last week by the Alberta Medical Association. Thirsk says he's seeing a trend of increasing

Police say an Alberta man who was rushed to hospital Saturday after a crane collapse in Saskatoon has died. Officers had been dispatched to a construction site on Webster Street in the city's northeast for an industrial accident. A crane collapsed at the site and two workers were injured and had to be taken to hospital. In an update, police say a 30-year-old man from Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., northeast of Edmonton, was pronounced dead and that family has been notified. There was no update about the 37-year-old man. Police have said provincial occupational health and safety offi