Alberta
Court orders Whistle Stop Cafe to shut down

Thousands of business owners across Alberta are following the very public tilt between a Central Alberta restaurant and Alberta Health Services. Wednesday afternoon the owner of the Whistle Stop Cafe at Mirror was notified a judge has granted AHS’s emergency closure application. Although the Whistle Stop Cafe has been ordered to close, owner Chris Scott has shared on facebook page “We are open and awaiting police response.”
Like restaurants across Alberta, the Whistle Stop Cafe closed in mid December as ordered by the Provincial Government. The Cafe remained closed for 4 weeks but when the province announced an indefinite extension to the closure orders, Scott decided he could not afford to remain closed any longer. On January 21st the Cafe reopened with limited seating for social distancing, asking customers and staff to wear masks while moving about. Since defying the closure order the Whistle Stop has been visited by the RCMP and then by AHS.
Despite significant community support, Scott is now facing the very difficult choice to close or to fight for his right to make a living for himself and his staff members. This recent Facebook post offers a glimpse into the heart wrenching decisions being faced by many Albertans.
From the Facebook page of Whistle Stop Cafe, owner Chris Scott
As many of you know, AHS served me with court documents Monday to appear before the court. AHS has asked the Court of Queen’s Bench to order my dining room closed until an officer of Alberta health services rescinds the order. Now I have a serious decision to make. If I lose tomorrow, and an order is granted which it likely will be, do I accept the courts ruling, (legal or not,) and give the government complete control over my cafe, or do I stand on principle and openly defy that ruling and get arrested for contempt of court? I’m not a criminal. I have a family that needs me, a community that I wish to support, I like to travel. All of these would be impacted because I want to allow people to enjoy a meal sitting in a cozy cafe. I thought being a Canadian citizen meant something. I’m not a COVID denier and I haven’t once failed to ensure my staff and customers are safe. Alberta Health Services wants to force me to close tomorrow, using our justice system even though they are “allowing,” dine in service in 6 days!! (Maybe.)
What do I do?
Who’s with me?
What about all the other restaurants that are opening against the irresponsible rules? Will those owners be encouraged and remain open, with more following suit? Or will they be scared and discouraged over the infinite power of a government that doesn’t seem to listen to us?
As I sit here talking with lawyers and reporters I can hear the trucker salutes as they drive by on hwy 21. There are thousands of people who support what we’re doing here! Thousands of Albertans have spoken out against what AHS is doing to us and they’re not listening. This is a problem. I even reached out to Health Minister Tyler Shandro today with the hopes of speaking man to man about this with no response. The UCP wants us to think that they’re throwing us a bone by “allowing,” us to open on the 8th. The oppressors have some people convinced that giving them back some of their freedoms is some kind of a favor. Isn’t that ridiculous?
Premier Kenney may have slowed this thing down by announcing possible reopening on the 8th, but the problem still exists that we’re only ALLOWED to be open by our government. This fight is far from over.
-Chris”
Alberta
‘Flared back up’: Alberta town of 8,400 evacuated for second time due to fire

Airtankers work on a wildfire near Edson, Alta., in a Friday, June 9, 2023, handout photo. The town was evacuated Friday night due to an out-of-control wildfire. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Government of Alberta Fire Service
Edson
A town in western Alberta was under an evacuation order late Friday due to an out-of-control wildfire — its second such order this spring.
Local officials issued the evacuation for Edson and parts of Yellowhead County.
“We’re still evacuating the community and evacuating the hospital,” said Edson mayor Kevin Zahara.
“All things considered, so far so good — but the next 72 hours are going to be critical for us. We have a lot of warm temperatures in the forecast and it’s windy here right now.
“It’s going to be dependent on those winds and the weather on how this fire behaves.”
Alberta government officials said the fire burning near the community of about 8,400 jumped fire guards and moved closer to populated areas, including the town. They warned that there could be impacts to roads and highways if the fire crossed the guards and blocks evacuation routes.
“Because that fire is so out of control, some of the forestry crews have had to back off,” said Luc Mercier, chief administrative officer for Yellowhead County, in a video statement on one of the town’s Facebook pages. “They can’t fight that fire.”
Mercier said the fire could threaten Highway 16, the main east-west route in the area.
“We have significant concerns with egress along Highway 16 in the coming days,” he said. “The next 36 hours will be paramount with the winds coming forward.”
An update issued at 11 p.m. said live embers and flames were seen in Willmore Park, meaning the fire had crossed the river. The notice said if people had not left the area yet, “now is the time.” Officials said emergency crews were busy with fire operations and would not be able to respond if people needed help.
The Edson area, about 190 kilometres west of Edmonton, saw four new fire starts on Friday, said Mercier.
An unprecedented start to the wildfire season led Alberta to bring in a provincewide state of emergency on May 6. At one point, about 29,000 people were out of their homes in various communities.
The state of emergency was lifted last week.
On Friday afternoon, before the evacuation order was issued for Edson and the surrounding area, about 3,500 Albertans remained out of their homes.
Evacuation buses were leaving from three points in Yellowhead County and five in Edson. An evacuation centre was being set up in Edmonton’s Expo Centre.
Zahara said there had been little threat in the area as recently as four days ago. Hot weather and high winds put a stop to that.
“This fire has flared back up,” Zahara said.
“It’s really important people adhere to the evacuation order.”
He said no services, including fire and medical, would be available in Edson until further notice.
Edson was evacuated for three days in early May by another wildfire.
Zahara said at the time that he thought there was a good chance the town would be lost to the flames.
That evacuation took a heavy financial toll on townspeople through loss of income and unexpected expenses such as hotel rooms, he said.
— By Bob Weber in Edmonton
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2023.
Alberta
A look at Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s new cabinet

Premier Danielle Smith introduced her cabinet Friday, the second one since taking over as United Conservative Party leader in October. Here are the changes at a glance:
Second in command: Mike Ellis retains his Public Safety and Emergency Services portfolio but is also now deputy premier.
Big promotions: Mickey Amery moves from Children’s Services to Justice; Nate Horner moves from Agriculture and Irrigation to Finance; Adriana LaGrange already had a heavyweight title in Education but now takes on enormous responsibilities in Health.
New faces: RJ Sigurdson joins cabinet for the first time in Agriculture and Irrigation; Searle Turton is new in Children and Family Services; Dan Williams gets his first cabinet seat in Mental Health and Addiction.
Returning vets: Jason Nixon, the environment minister and government house leader under former premier Jason Kenney, is back in cabinet handling the Seniors, Community and Social Services post. Ric McIver, dropped from Smith’s first cabinet, returns in his old job of Municipal Affairs. Muhammad Yaseen, a former associate minister of immigration, now has full cabinet rank as minister of Immigration and Multiculturalism; Tanya Fir, former economic development minster under Kenney, is back in Arts, Culture and Status of Women portfolio.
Same faces, new jobs: Rebecca Schulz (Environment and Protected Areas), Brian Jean (Energy and Minerals), Nathan Neudorf (Affordability and Utilities), Joseph Schow (Tourism and Sport), Demetrios Nicolaides (Education), Rajan Sawhney (Advanced Education), Matt Jones (Jobs, Economy and Trade), Peter Guthrie (Infrastructure).
Same faces, same jobs: Nate Glubish (Technology and Innovation), Dale Nally (Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction), Devin Dreeshen (Transportation and Economic Corridors), Todd Loewen (Forestry and Parks).
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2023.
-
Community12 hours ago
Tour the 2023 Red Deer Hospital Home Lottery grand prize dream home
-
Community1 day ago
ParticipACTION Community Challenge 2023
-
Community18 hours ago
Celebrate Canadian Environment Week by Volunteering at the Green Deer River Valley Cleanup, June 10!
-
Canadian Energy Centre1 day ago
Mexico leapfrogging Canada on LNG and six other global oil and gas megaprojects
-
Health22 hours ago
WHO’s Global Digital Health Certification Network
-
COVID-192 days ago
Supreme Court of Canada won’t hear unvaccinated woman’s case for organ donation
-
National2 days ago
‘Unmitigated gall’: Senator rejects minister’s call to pass Liberal guns bill quickly
-
International2 days ago
Trudeau Foundation board chair says donation from Chinese company has been returned