| Friday, Nov. 22 Edmonton police Chief Dale McFee is keeping mum about what his plans are after announcing he will be stepping down a year before his contract ends...
Two Edmonton conservative-leaning groups are merging into one political party for the 2025 municipal election... The Alberta government plans to increase the auto insurance premium cap for good drivers to 7.5 per cent in January...
Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland spoke at the inaugural Alberta First Responders’ Mental Health Conference, recounting this summer's wildfire: "The embers rained down everywhere... It was more like burning missiles. They were hurtling through the air, driven by these incredibly strong winds, and the air itself was thick with toxic smoke from, at that point, burning structures, burning gas stations, burning vehicles, and mixed, of course, with all the smoke from a now vanished forest. Imagine seeing that coming. I imagine it, and I imagine I wouldn’t have stuck around, but that is the role of first responders and firefighters."
Thoughts on today's edition? Email ksmall@postmedia.com. — Kaylen Small |
|
|
Two conservative-leaning Edmonton municipal parties merge under PACE banner
Two conservative-leaning groups in Edmonton are merging into one local political party for the 2025 municipal election. The Principled Accountable Coalition for Edmonton (PACE) and TAPYeg, two groups that announced early intentions to form municipal political parties, are merging under the PACE banner. Leaders from both groups told Postmedia Thursday the goal is to unite for a better chance at winning votes next October. Neither are officially registered as local political parties and no candidates have been announced. The two groups share values of keeping taxes lower, safety and security, business-friendly policies, sticking to the city’s core responsibilities, and accountability, said Doug Main, currently a vice-president for PACE.
|
Edmonton police Chief Dale McFee tight-lipped about post-policing plans
Dale McFee says there are at least “five” rumours circulating about his plans for the future. But the outgoing Edmonton Police Service chief declined to put any to bed at a news conference Thursday — including ruling out a potential mayoral run. “What I’ll tell you today, and I’ll be upfront when things progress, as of today I am retiring from policing,” McFee told reporters after laughing off the rumours. “I have no desire to go to another police service — I think I have the best police service in the country.”
|
Jasper mayor speaks at Alberta's inaugural first responder mental health conference
Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland delivered the opening keynote speech at the inaugural Alberta First Responders’ Mental Health Conference, offering insights gained during the Jasper wildfire about the need for improved mental health support for first responders. “I agreed to accept this invitation to speak to you this morning primarily to have an opportunity to stand before Alberta’s first responders and on behalf of our entire community to express our most profound gratitude for your exceptional service,” he said. More than 400 people packed into an Edmonton Convention Centre hall on Thursday morning for the conference.
|
Keith Gerein: Cartmell's candidacy signals the start to a fractious year on Edmonton civic finances
Welcome to the 2025 Edmonton civic election. We’re still more than 10 months away from the actual vote of course. But campaigning, which started to emerge in subtle ways in recent months, is about to get a lot more overt — just in time for city budget deliberations and a search for a new police chief. With apologies to the 18 other Edmontonians who have so far registered to run for city council or school board, the first big shoe to drop in the race came Thursday when Coun. Tim Cartmell made official what has been expected for years.
|
Around the province and beyond
|
Alberta to hike auto insurance premium cap on 'good drivers' to 7.5% in January 2025
The Alberta government plans to increase the auto insurance premium cap on good drivers from the current 3.7 per cent to 7.5 per cent in the new year and plans to create a new privately delivered auto insurance system that aims to limit legal action in certain instances. The reforms are said to help with affordability by providing services faster to Albertans while still penalizing bad drivers. Once fully implemented, the province estimates drivers will save up to $400 per year. Premier Danielle Smith said the process for compensation is “long and unwieldy” for Albertans who are in collisions and said the reforms will move Alberta away from a “court-focused system” to a “care-first model.”
|
Mediocre Edmonton Oilers don't seem willing to pay the price
It was a perfect measuring stick for a team still trying to find itself a quarter of the way through a season that isn’t going the way anyone expected. Bring in one of the best teams in the NHL, turn them loose in Rogers Place and let’s see where the inexplicably average Edmonton Oilers stand. Turns out they didn’t stand at all. They got rolled over. They weren’t good enough. And they didn’t play hard enough. The Minnesota Wild schooled them on both counts Thursday. Despite the Oilers getting more gifts than a rich kid whose birthday falls on Christmas, the Wild still beat them for fun in a 5-3 victory that everyone in the place knew was more like 6-1.
|
Hockey gods can't save Edmonton Oilers from a Wild beating
The hockey gods did all they could to get the Oilers a win Thursday night, serving up a week’s worth of breaks in about 30 minutes, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the gap between lukewarm Edmonton and one of the NHL’s power teams. Despite scoring two flukes and having two Minnesota goals taken off the board (one that was millimetres offside and the other on a quick whistle), the Oilers still got routed by a Wild team that’s clearly on another level. “We’re a quarter of the way through the season and we continue having this (discussion), that wasn’t good enough tonight,” said Oilers forward Corey Perry, unable to put his finger on why the Oilers are so mediocre this deep into the season.
|
Nurse back skating with Edmonton Oilers following dangerous head hit
No hard feelings? Not a chance. There was no forgiving and forgetting on offer by Darnell Nurse, who took a devastating hit to the head from Toronto Maple Leafs forward Ryan Reaves in a game Saturday. But the important thing is there was no forgetting on the part of the injured Oilers defenceman. Nurse remembers all too well being blindsided by Reaves while attempting to play a puck that rolled in behind the net. Reaves, a known repeat offender, received a match penalty and would go on to get suspended for the fourth time in his career.
|
Book Marks: Short Story Advent Calendar returns for 10th year
For 10 years, Hingston and Olsen have been compiling literature and counting down to Christmas. Michael Hingston will celebrate 10 years of counting the days to Christmas with the release of the incredibly popular Short Story Advent Calendar. With 250 stories helping literary fans celebrate the holiday season, it’s been a decade of short stories for Hingston. He’s one of the two co-owners of Hingston & Olsen Publishing, the Alberta company that produces the advent calendar. “The first year, I was worried it was too weird, that it was pushed too literary at times,” says Hingston. “I underestimated our readers. I didn’t know if they would come with us.”
|
Crews sweep up the dusting of snow that fell on Edmonton at Violet King Henry Plaza on Nov. 21, 2024. Photo by Shaughn Butts/Postmedia |
City crews trim trees along 112 Avenue near 106 Street in Edmonton on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. Photo by David Bloom/Postmedia |
Canada Post strike dashes Christmas hopes for small business. Cartoon by LaMontagne |
Letters To The Editor welcome
We invite you to write letters to the editor. A maximum of 150 words is preferred. Letters must carry a first and last name, or two initials and a last name, and include an address and daytime telephone number. All letters are subject to editing. We don’t publish letters addressed to others or sent to other publications. Email: letters@edmontonjournal.com |
Friday's letters: Trump inauguration bash? Fix health care, instead
I typically don’t express my political views publicly, but Danielle Smith keeps pushing the envelope and I couldn’t resist writing a letter to the editor. I’ll admit that I did not vote for her for a number of reasons, and believe that she is an intelligent person. I just don’t agree with her position on a number of matters.
What really stirred me up recently was the Edmonton Journal article regarding her attending a Trump inauguration party in Washington. What on God’s green earth for? If she really wants to rub shoulders with the likes of MAGA Republicans, she should pursue a position with our federal government that she respects so much. Perhaps she can be Canada’s ambassador to the United States. Canada currently maintains 12 diplomatic representatives throughout several regions of the United States. Odds of getting a job may be pretty good.
Seriously though, enough is enough. Attending Trump’s inauguration “party” on Alberta taxpayers’ dime? I think spending some time with her entourage in the Alberta legislature problem-solving our failing health-care system may be better spent than whooping it up with MAGA Republicans at the Canadian Embassy in Washington. Rick Sawchuk, Sherwood Park |
|
|
|
