News
Around Red Deer June 6th…..
3:12 pm – Finished your spring cleaning now? Well you can find those unwanted items a new home with “Kick it to the Curb” in Red Deer this weekend. Read More.
3:07 pm – Red Deer’s Ross Street Patio is set to open for another season on Friday! Read More.
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2:55 pm – Effective Wednesday, June 7th, Red Deer County has removed all enacted road bans. Read More.
2:22 pm – Prairie Bus Lines has released a statement regarding Impaired Driving charges laid against one of it’s drivers, following a collision where one of it’s busses with kids on board, crashed into a tree and sign, then kept going for a short distance.
“As a result of the investigation and subsequent charges against the driver by the RCMP, we have taken the appropriate action to ensure our Safely Home commitment is upheld. Prairie Bus Lines has a zero tolerance drug and alcohol policy in place. This includes a process for testing when there is reasonable suspicion that an employee is under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In this case, there were no visible signs of impairment prior to the driver’s afternoon departure. Student safety is paramount to our organization. We are grateful nobody was injured and that a rescue driver was able to take the children home safely in a timely manner.”
2:14 pm – Red Deer RCMP are asking for public assistance to locate 45 year old Sherry Lynn Wahobin. Read More.
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2:00 pm – The Red Deer Public School District is shocked and angry after RCMP confirmed impaired driving charges have been be laid against a bus driver following an accident while students were being transported home from school. Read More.
1:51 pm – A Red Deer woman faces charges of impaired and dangerous driving after the school bus she was operating struck a tree Monday afternoon in the Vanier Woods neighbourhood. Read More.
11:57 am – Red Deer RCMP are asking for public assistance to locate 14 year old Trisha Blackwell. Read More.
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11:49 am – Driver fleeing Police injured after rolling vehicle on O’Chiese First Nation. Read More.
11:41 am – A Red Deer teen reported missing last month has now been found. 13 year old Jayden Lafferty has been located and RCMP thank the public for their assistance.
10:38 am – Heads up Sylvan Lake drivers, there’s some road closures to be aware of over the next couple of days. Read More.
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10:00 am – To celebrate Canada 150, the Town of Sylvan Lake has planted 5,200 Canada 150 tulips. Read More.
9:54 am – Municipal property tax notices were recently mailed out to Lacombe County ratepayers and should be appearing in mailboxes in the coming week. Read More.
9:33 am – You can ride Bolt Transit for free tomorrow. It’s Clean Air Day. Read More.
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9:22 am – The public is invited to a skatepark meeting in the Penhold Multi-Plex starting at 6:30 pm tonight. Read More.
8:02 am – Red Deer RCMP responded to a single vehicle collision involving a school bus around 4:00 pm in the Vanier neighbourhood on Monday. The collision resulted in the school bus striking a tree and sign. There were eighteen students on board the bus at the time of the collision; no injures were reported. The school bus was transporting students from the Red Deer Public School system. Police continue to investigate the cause of this collision and an update will be provided when available.
7:51 am – Landscaping work will result in some road closures in south Red Deer today. Read More.
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7:43 am – Students at Red Deer’s Maryview School will take part in Smudging Ceremonies led by First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Support Team members from the Red Deer Catholic Regional School District today. Elsewhere, all are welcome to attend an Open House event at St. Gregory the Great Catholic School in Blackfalds on June 6, 7, and 8 from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. There will be staff on hand to answer questions and give tours.
7:35 am – Grade 7 students in Red Deer will participate in a Track & Field Day at École Secondaire Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School today!
7:22 am – It’s a fun day planned throughout the Red Deer Public School District today. Students at Annie L. Gaetz Elementary School will get a visit from Around The World Entertainment at 8:45 am to see some impressive Yo-Yo skills. Students at Ecole Barrie Wilson Elementary School will also get that presentation at 2:00 pm. Elsewhere, Central Middle School Band students will perform their year-end concert at the Red Deer College Arts Centre tonight at 7:00 pm. While Lindsay Thurber music students will perform Concert Bands, Jazz Bands, Ensembles and a Massed Band finale in the school gym starting at 7:00 pm. Tickets will not be sold to this event, but there will be a silver collection at the door.
International
Here’s what Canada is pledging in multi-year support for Ukraine, updated trade deal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy receives a standing ovation from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and parliamentarians as he arrives to deliver a speech in the House of Commons in Ottawa on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. Canada is making a multi-year commitment to provide steady support to Ukraine, including hundreds of millions of dollars for new armoured vehicles. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
By Nojoud Al Mallees in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Friday that Canada is making a multi-year commitment to provide steady support to Ukraine, including hundreds of millions of dollars for new armoured vehicles.
The two countries also signed a modernized trade deal, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the country for the first time since Russia’s full-scale assault of Ukraine began last year.
A spokeswoman for Trade Minister Mary Ng said the new deal does not include substantial changes on market access, but adds services and investment clauses to the agreement, along with progressive language around labour standards and gender equality.
Meanwhile, the multi-year commitment includes $650 million over three years for 50 armoured vehicles that are to be built in London, Ont.
Friday’s announcement brings Canada’s total committed support to Ukraine to more than $9.5 billion since the beginning of 2022, according to a news release.
The new commitment comes as Ukraine seeks longer-term support from allies and worries emerge that some countries’ support may begin to waver as the war drags on.
Earlier this week, Poland’s prime minister said his country is no longer sending arms to Ukraine as a trade dispute between the neighbouring states escalates and his populist party faces pressure from the far right in the upcoming national election.
G7 countries promised in July to reach individual agreements with Ukraine to provide long-term military help.
In addition to new funding, the federal government has also announced the allocation of part of the $500 million of support Canada announced in June.
Those funds will go toward providing 35 drone cameras to Ukraine, as well as sending Canadian trainers to help Ukrainian pilots and maintenance workers use donated fighter jets.
Canada is also providing additional funding toward other initiatives in support of Ukraine, including mental-health care and non-governmental organizations.
Money will go toward strengthening nuclear security measures at the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone and replacing equipment destroyed or stolen by Russia when it occupied the site in 2022.
Friday’s announcement includes a further crackdown on Russia with a new round of sanctions.
Ottawa says it is placing 63 new sanctions on individuals and entities involved in Russia’s nuclear sector, the illegal transfer and custody of Ukrainian children and the generation and dissemination of disinformation and propaganda.
Canada and Ukraine say they will be working with international partners to establish a working group that would provide advice to decision-makers on the seizure of Russian assets, including assets of the country’s central bank.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 22, 2023.
— With files from the Associated Press.
International
White House rejects reports of tension with Canada over India interference allegation

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. The White House is pushing back against reports that Canada-U.S. relations are straining under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s seismic murder allegation against the government of India. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Susan Walsh
By James McCarten in Washington
The White House is pushing back against reports that Canada-U.S. relations are straining under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s seismic allegation that the government of India was involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says the U.S. shares Canada’s “deep concerns” and denies any suggestion of a wedge between the two countries.
Recent U.S. efforts to woo India as an economic and geopolitical ally have fuelled speculation that the White House was hedging its bets with its neighbour and vital trading partner.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, prominent supporter of the Khalistan separatism movement that advocates for a Sikh homeland in India’s Punjab province, was killed in June outside the gurdwara he led in Surrey, B.C.
The Indian government designated him as a terrorist in 2020, accusing him of belonging to a banned militant group.
A Canadian official told The Associated Press that the allegation of India’s involvement is based on surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada, including intelligence provided by a major ally.
The official said the communications involved Indian officials and Indian diplomats in Canada and that some of the intelligence was provided by a member of the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance — Canada, the U.S., Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
The official did not say which ally provided the intelligence or give any details of the communications or how they were obtained. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The Prime Minister’s Office refused Friday to either confirm or deny the details, which were first reported by CBC News.
“We are consulting with (Canada) closely, we support the efforts that they are undertaking in this investigation, and we have also been in touch with the Indian government as well,” Sullivan told the White House press briefing Thursday.
“I firmly reject the idea that there is a wedge between the U.S. and Canada. We have deep concerns about the allegations, and we would like to see this investigation carried forward and the perpetrators held to account.”
On Friday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refused to elaborate on Sullivan’s comments or release any additional details beyond saying the U.S. is in close contact with officials in both countries.
“He was not going to comment about private diplomatic conversations; I’m not going to do that either,” Jean-Pierre said. “But yes, there has been conversations with our partners in the Indian government.”
As he wrapped up two days at the UN General Assembly on Thursday, Trudeau urged India to co-operate with its investigation and work with Canada to ensure accountability and justice.
But he steadfastly refused to elaborate on the evidence that prompted him to tell the House of Commons of “credible allegations” of Indian involvement, except to say it “was not done lightly.”
On Friday, he offered little new information beyond rejecting the claims of Indian officials that Canada has not shared the details of its charges.
“We did that many weeks ago,” Trudeau said during a news conference alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who wrapped up a North American whirlwind visit with a speech in Parliament.
“We are there to work constructively with India and we hope that they engage with us so that we can get to the bottom of this very serious matter.”
Canada and India each expelled one of the other’s diplomatic emissaries in the ensuing fallout.
Foreign ministers from the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a coalition including India, the U.S., Australia and Japan known informally as the “Quad,” met Friday on the margins of the UN assembly in New York City.
“We are committed to countering terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including preventing the international and cross-border movement of terrorists, and countering terror finance networks and safe havens,” the group said in a joint statement.
“We stressed the need for a comprehensive and balanced approach to effectively curb terrorist activities through whole of nation and whole of international community efforts.”
The Quad, originally formed in 2007, was resurrected in 2017 in hopes of building an economic and geopolitical counterweight to China’s growing influence around the world and in the Indo-Pacific region in particular.
Canada was excluded from that alliance, as well as from AUKUS, a trilateral security pact between the U.K., the U.S. and Australia that took shape in 2021 as an undersea military triad separate from the Five Eyes group.
Washington also included India as a founding member of its Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a nascent trading bloc into which Canada was not invited until Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly expressed interest in joining in 2022.
India, which has halted visa services in Canada, called the allegations absurd and an attempt to shift attention from the presence of Nijjar and other wanted suspects on Canadian soil. Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi called them “politically driven.”
“No specific information has been shared by Canada on this case. We are willing to look at any specific information, we have conveyed this to the Canadians,” Bagchi said.
He also accused Canada of being a safe haven for extremists.
“Very specific evidence about criminal activities by individuals based on Canadian soil has been shared with the Canadian authorities on a regular basis, but not been acted upon.”
Nijjar was working to organize an unofficial referendum among the Sikh diaspora on independence from India at the time of his killing. He had denied India’s accusation that he was a terrorist.
The second stage of B.C. voting on whether a Sikh homeland should be established in India’s Punjab province is scheduled to be held on Oct. 29.
“There is not some special exemption you get for actions like this,” Sullivan said.
“Regardless of the country, we will stand up and defend our basic principles. And we will also consult closely with allies like Canada as they pursue their law enforcement and diplomatic process.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 22, 2023.
— With files from The Associated Press.
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