EDMONTON – Some Edmonton-area restaurants are feeling the effects the COVID-19 pandemic is having on the global supply chain.

As food prices rise, some restaurateurs are forced to pass those increases onto consumers.

“It affects us the same way it affects people at the grocery store,” Chartier sous-chef Travis Golbeck told CTV News Edmonton. “We are seeing an increase in prices and we are seeing a decline in the availability of products.”

The sous-chef for the Beaumont, Alta., French restaurant said over the last three years, the cost of flour has jumped 40 per cent and butter 12 per cent. The price of buckwheat has quadrupled in price this week alone.

“We use canola oil in our fryers, that’s a wonderful, beautiful Alberta product,” he said. “Six months ago we were paying $33 for 20 litres and now we’re paying $55 for 20 litres in six months.”

Over at Simply Supper, a frozen meal business in Edmonton, you’ll find a similar story.

“Sometimes they send the price increases to me and I think they’re joking,” owner Monita Chapman said. “It’s so unprecedented and so extreme that you just honestly don’t even believe it but it is true.”

Chapman told CTV News Edmonton prices are the highest she’s seen in 15 years.

“The supply chain just seems so disrupted that we can’t get our hands on the product that we need,” she said. “It’s going up in some cases by $10 or $15 dollars for a case of something.”

One expert says transportation costs, weather events and global staffing shortages are to blame.

“We are going to see some of that cost being carried on to us as consumers,” said Heather Thomson from the Alberta School of Business.

Raising prices was something Chapman said she didn’t want to do, but felt she had no choice.

“For a family of four you’re going to see about $1 to $1.50 increase on our meals.”

Meanwhile, Chartier has taken a slightly different approach by developing a new menu.

“Be really creative in the ingredients that we’re using and to use simple ingredients but to change them in beautiful wonderful ways to make the food elevated to make it something you couldn’t get at home,” said Golbeck.

Thomson said consumers can expect the trend of high commodity prices to continue for some time.

“I think this is something we’re going to be looking for well into the holiday season and into 2022.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Amanda Anderson 

Edmonton – Alberta reported 12 new deaths due to COVID-19 on Friday as well as 656 new cases, according to the province’s latest data update. 

The deaths are spread across several days and range in age from in their 50s to those over 80 years old. They bring the number of Albertans to have died due to COVID-19 up to 3,026.

Alberta is averaging about 10 deaths from COVID-19 a day over the past week.

As of Wednesday, there are 889 people in hospital with COVID-19, including 191 patients in intensive care units. 

The province now has 10,037 active cases and a seven-day daily average of 709 infections, as both figures continue their declines over the past week. 

Unvaccinated Albertans remain signficantly more likely to suffer a severe outcome after contracting COVID-19, including hospitalization or death.

Among all Albertans, 73.5 per cent have had a first dose and a full two-thirds, 66.6 per cent, have had two shots.

The next data update is scheduled for Monday afternoon and will cover data from Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 

EDMONTON – “Several people” were taken into police custody Thursday after reports of gunshots near 93 Street and 111 Avenue, according to the Edmonton Police Service.

Police say citizens reported hearing the shots around 1:30 p.m.

Traffic was blocked off from the area by police to ensure public safety, an EPS spokesperson told CTV News Edmonton.

No injuries were reported.

Police did not clarify how many people were in custody but said the incident is still under investigation.

EDMONTON – An autopsy has concluded a man from Northern Alberta was shot to death in northeast Edmonton Monday morning.

Daniel James Gladue, 49, was found dead by police who were called to a home near 128 Avenue and 65 Street around 5 a.m.

His death has been ruled a homicide.

Gladue was from the Métis Gift Lake Settlement.

Anyone with information is asked to call Edmonton police at 780-423-4567 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. 

EDMONTON –

With Halloween planning underway, Alberta’s top doctor is reminding the public there’s still a need to celebrate responsibly. 

During a provincial COVID-19 update on Thursday, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw did not mince words: “I’m asking Albertans as clearly and strongly as possible to please be wise and safe while celebrating this year.”

Anyone who is sick or experiencing even mild symptoms should stay at home and not hand out candy, she said. 

She also reminded the public of the province’s current public health measures, which limit private indoor social gatherings for fully immunized Albertans to 10 people between two households. No private indoor gatherings are allowed by unvaccinated people. 

“This is not the year for large Halloween parties. If you’re planning a Halloween gathering, try to have it outdoors and make sure the limit of no more than 20 people is observed, with two metres of distancing between members of different households,” Hinshaw told the public. 

“The fun of finding the right costume and going out tick-or-treating is part of the joy of childhood, and we can keep this joy while at the same time protecting our communities.” 

The province has published a list of tips for safe Halloweening. 

Among the tips, it recommends anyone participating in trick-or-treating to be masked, sanitize frequently, to keep distanced from others, and stick with fellow household members. 

“Last, year, we saw many generous Albertans get innovative when finding ways to safely deliver candy, and I heard from many Alberans who enjoyed the day. We can have fun with it this year with creative ways to celebrate the occasion.”

During Halloween 2020, Alberta had about 5,600 active COVID-19 cases and some 140 patients in hospital sick with the disease. Currently, the province’s active case count is nearly double that, with more than 900 COVID-19 hospital patients. 

About 78 per cent of eligible Albertans have been fully vaccinated, equalling about 66 per cent of the province’s entire population.