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

The premiers of Alberta and Ontario have agreed to a feasibility study of new pipelines and rail lines between provinces while increasing interprovincial trade of alcohol and vehicles. The agreements are laid out in two memorandums of understanding that the premiers signed in Calgary. The potential pipeline and rail line routes to be studied would connect Alberta's oil and gas resources and critical minerals to James Bay in eastern Ontario with a commitment to use Ontario-made steel. The memorandum for supporting new energy corridors says the study would make it easier for the private sector

A new report from advisory firm Deloitte is forecasting a big jump in Alberta natural gas prices next year, with the country's first West Coast export facility now up and running. The Alberta benchmark AECO price is expected to average $2.20 per mmBTU in the second half of this year and then rise to an average of $3.50 per mmBTU in 2026. It averaged $1.36 per mmBTU last year. By the end of the forecast in 2032, the average AECO price is expected to hit $4 per mmBTU. Alberta producers now have an outlet for their gas to markets beyond the United States with LNG Canada shipping its first cargo o

The premiers of Alberta and Ontario will meet in Calgary today to sign two new memorandums of understanding. Danielle Smith's office says she and Doug Ford will sign agreements on energy priorities, trade and interprovincial co-operation. The pair were together at a roundtable in Calgary on Sunday, with Ford tweeting that they discussed how to build new pipelines, as well as rail lines to export Canadian critical minerals and energy. Smith bumped into Prime Minister Mark Carney at the Calgary Stampede on Saturday. When she told Carney about the documents she and Ford would be signing, she tol

Albertans will now need to register to vote in municipal elections. The deadline to register is August 15. This registration is being done in view of the municipal elections to be held on October 20. The city says that voters will have to verify their information by August 15 to ensure that their name is on the list on voting day. It is worth noting that voters who fail to register by this August 15 can register themselves in person on voting day. Let us tell you that one of the changes made during the 2021 municipal elections was the change to voter registration. Due to the Alberta gov

An Alberta First Nation is asking a judge to review the provincial government's decision earlier this year to end its moratorium on coal mining. In an application for judicial review filed this week, Siksika Nation says Alberta failed in its duty to consult when in January it lifted its moratorium on new coal mining projects on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Siksika Nation, 95 kilometres east of Calgary, says the effects of coal mining in the Rockies threaten Treaty rights and the land that supports its livelihood. It's the second time Siksika Nation has challenged a Un