EDMONTON – Four years before a mother and her 16-month-old son were killed in western Alberta, police had warned the public that a registered sex offender would be released and there was a chance he could harm “a female, including children.”

Robert Major, 53, faces two counts of second-degree murder in last week’s deaths of Mchale Busch, 24, and her son, Noah McConnell. Major has also been charged with causing an indignity to human remains.

RCMP have said the woman and her son died Sept. 16 – the day before they were reported missing – and their bodies discovered Sept. 17 in Major’s apartment in Hinton, about 290 kilometres west of Edmonton.

In July 2017, Edmonton police issued a public warning that Major would be living in the community. It is unclear when he moved to Hinton.

“The Edmonton Police Service has reasonable grounds to believe he will commit another sexual offence against a female, including children, while in the community,” a news release read.

This week, RCMP said in a statement that Major had not been subject to any recognizance conditions since July 2020. It’s unclear whether Hinton residents were warned when he came to town.

Mchale Busch, 24, and her son Noah McConnell were confirmed dead by Alberta Mounties on Friday, Sept. 17, 2021. The next day, Robert Keith Major, 53, was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of indignity to human remains. (Source: GoFundMe)

Cody McConnell, Busch’s fiance and Noah’s father, said they recently moved into the apartment building and had no idea they were living near a sex offender.

“The system failed Mchale and Noah by not letting us know we moved in next to a convicted sexual offender whom the police had reasonable grounds to believe (would) commit another offence,” McConnell told media outside court in Edson, Alta., earlier this week.

Cody McConnell arrives at court on Sept. 21, 2021, for the first appearance of Robert Major, accused of second-degree murder in the deaths of Mchale Busch and Noah.The National Sex Offender Registry Database, which allows police to do searches based on information that has been collected, is not available to landlords or any other member of the public.

McConnell and his family said they want that changed, especially for those who are considered likely to reoffend.

“I feel like this should never happen to any other family ever again,” McConnell said.

Cody McConnell, 27, hugs a sobbing woman outside Edson provincial court on Sept. 21, 2021, the day Robert Major was scheduled to make his first appearance. Major was charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of McConnell’s partner, 24-year-old Mchale Busch, and their toddler, Noah.

Three Parole Board of Canada documents from 2016 and 2017 show there were serious concerns about Major.

The board cited a 2013 psychological report that said he posed a high risk for impulsive behaviour and a high risk of sexually harming someone he deemed weaker than himself.

“The (psychological) report cites your repeated rationalization as a defence against insight, which suggests you have a limited awareness of the impact of your actions on others,” the parole board documents said.

The board also noted that Major was sentenced to three years, 10 months and 30 days for an offence in 2012, in which he took a toddler from a babysitter’s care for an unsupervised walk and sexually assaulted the child.

Cody McConnell arrives at court on Sept. 21, 2021, for the first appearance of Robert Major, accused of second-degree murder in the deaths of Mchale Busch and Noah.

“File information indicates that you admitted to being sexually aroused by this assault and that you stated that you committed the offence for ‘the thrill of it,”’ the documents said

The documents indicated that Major was charged with sexual assault in 2006 and sexual interference in 2013. The first charge was stayed and the other withdrawn.

In 2015, while serving a sentence for the sexual assault on the toddler, Major was accused of inappropriately touching another inmate.

“Reports note that you have been diagnosed with substance abuse disorders, cognitive disorders, personality disorders, anti-social personality disorders, query epilepsy and low intelligence functioning,” the documents said.

They also said Major completed a national moderate intensity sex offender program in 2015. He worked closely with mental health nurses, attended church and connected with pastors.

“It was noted that the pastors were aware of your criminal history and welcomed you into the parish, offering you support.”

The documents said he was granted statutory release in February 2016, and some of his leave privileges were revoked in 2017.

The board said this week that it could not disclose Major’s warrant expiry date, which is the conclusion of an inmate’s sentence when he is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Correctional Service of Canada.

Major’s next court appearance is Oct. 20.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2021.

– With files from CTV

EDMONTON – An Edmonton woman who believes she’s discovered a piece of local history is hoping to reunite some new-found artifacts with their rightful owners.

Rayanne Boychuk has been running her furniture refinishing business for five years.

Over that time, she’s found discarded items before, but until this week nothing that seemed likely to hold any value.

“I have never found anything cool,” Boychuk told CTV News Edmonton.

“Everybody always thinks that I’m going to find money or something that will retire me from doing this, but I’ve found nothing other than literally, probably about 50 pairs of underwear.”

When Boychuk was going through an old dresser she planned to restore, after purchasing it from Goodwill in west Edmonton, something caught her eye.

“I was working late at night,” she said, “and I opened the drawers, and right behind one of the drawers was all of these treasures.”

Those “treasures” included a Bible from a soldier, along with his Australian combat records. Boychuk also found photographs, and love letters that appeared to be written for the soldier by his wife.

“I thought it was amazing and I wanted to try and find his family to return these truly one of a kind items,” she said.

A man’s old driver’s licence was also found with the items.

The ID shows it belonged to Peter Maurice Moore who was born in 1920 and once lived in Sherwood Park.

Boychuk did some investigating and believes Moore is deceased.  

“His wife was named Vera and then he had a daughter named Valerie, and a granddaughter named Amelia.”

The Edmonton furniture refinisher said her favourite item from her discovery is a letter from Moore’s wife.

“And it says, ‘I pray that God will take care of you for me and bring you safely home back to me. And then we will be together for always,'” said Boychuk.

That letter was the only one no longer sealed. The rest, Boyshuk said, will remain sealed, at least until she can track down Moore’s family. 

“I think this is truly someone’s entire legacy and it’s too important to be left with me. It needs to be in the right hands.” 

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Amanda Anderson

Rural Alberta is getting battered by the fourth wave as COVID-19 numbers surge partly due to low vaccination rates in many regions across the province.

In the county of Slave Lake, only 50.5 per cent of the eligible population is immunized, with just one dose, and 43.1 per cent of the population has both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Reeve of Lesser Slave Lake River Murray Kerik said in rural areas there is a battle against complacency.

“Some of the guys, it’s not that they have anything against it, but they’ve just never had a real reason to go do it. And they’re all working in the oil field or logging industry or they’re busy. And they’ve never really had enough incentive to go,” Kerik said.

The reeve said in his region access is not a problem. The vaccine is readily available in many areas in the community.

In the Slave Lake region, Kerik said they weren’t as impacted by the previous three waves

“This is the first time we’ve had one that was big enough to cause concern,” Kerik said.

Along with battling complacency, Kerik said many residents believe in vaccine myths or misinformation and don’t want to get a shot because of it.

In the Town of Slave Lake, Mayor Tyler Warman said the community is experiencing the toughest COVID-19 numbers since the pandemic began.

“I think it’s the most difficult time that we’ve experienced, so we’ve been quite fortunate throughout that our COVID numbers remain quite low,” Warman said.

The community was isolated during the first three waves, as its about one hour from other communities, which helped them keep numbers low early in the pandemic.

When the province opened for summer, community members, like everyone else in Alberta, travelled across the province to visit friends and family. Many left the country and others went to town to shop. The town also hosted events where there were public gatherings.

“We went from being really stuck in place during COVID-19 with the previous waves to a lot more relaxation and people taking advantage of it,” Warman said.

With the movement and loosened restrictions combined with the Delta variant, Warman said numbers have risen as a result.

“We’re dealing with something that’s way more aggressive that spreads faster that is way more contagious and now our numbers have just spiked,” Warman said.

But rural residents may be getting tired of all the restrictions.

“I think COVID-19 fatigue is very high in rural Alberta, not saying it’s not in urban, but I definitely think there are different mentalities in urban and rural right now on how to deal with COVID,” Warman said.

The community is divided, Warman said, between residents who are very COVID-19 conscious and those who don’t have a lot of trust or faith in what the government is doing right now.

Many residents no longer buy into the restrictions and younger Albertans feel like they have less risk and may not immediately want to get vaccinated.

“We only recently experienced our second death in Slave Lake last week. We haven’t had a bunch of severe cases,” Warman said.

But as the fourth wave comes, more people are seeing COVID-19 as a reality in the community, as their friends and neighbours are getting sick with the virus. Hospitals across the province are filling up, including those in rural communities, and Warman said he is worried that Albertans are going to lose their ability to access care if they get sick or in an accident.

Warman said he doesn’t believe the situation in his community is unique, and many rural communities are facing similar battles to fight the virus.

Four hours south of Slave Lake, the mayor of Rimbey, Rick Pankiw, is fighting the same battle against the fourth wave of the virus.

In Rimbey, for all ages, 50.3 per cent have had one dose, and for everyone who is eligible, 58.1 per cent have had their first dose. In the community there are 52.2 per cent of eligible residents who have received two doses, and 45.2 per cent of the total residents in the community have received the second shot.

Pankiw said there is a lot of vaccine hesitancy in the region, and he respects the decision they have made to not get vaccinated, but said the science is clear that vaccines are safe and effective.

“I believe vaccinations are the only way out of this. I am not I’m not afraid to say it,” Pankiw said

The mayor said it is important for residents to get vaccinated to keep numbers down.

In neighbouring Ponoka County, Reeve Paul McLauchlin, who is also the president of the Rural Municipalities of Alberta, said he is seeing a lot of vaccine misinformation being passed through social media that is driving the hesitancy in the region.

In Ponoka County, 54.9 per cent of residents have their first dose, while 48.9 per cent of all ages have two doses.

McLauchlin said he is giving grace and compassion to those who are unvaccinated because they are making choices based off their entrenched belief systems, but he is concerned about misinformation.

“What really worries me is ultimately this misinformation is going to lead to people getting sick and possibly people passing away,” McLauchlin said.

McLauchlin said during the first three waves he didn’t know too many people who were personally impacted by COVID-19 infections, but this wave has made the virus personal for many living in rural Alberta.

But for Kerik, he said he feels powerless in changing the minds of those in his community.

“There’s really nothing you can do. I just hope that people will smarten up and take the right steps to protect their neighbours and families. That’s about all we can do,” Kerik said.

Edmonton – Eleven more Albertans have died due to COVID-19 as the province reported a record high number of intensive care unit patients on Friday. 

The province reported 1,651 new cases, with 1,061 in hospital, including 243 in ICU. 

The 14 highest ICU patient counts have all come in September.

The deaths ranged in age from indvidiuals in their 50s to those more than 80 years old and bring the province’s death toll to 2,622.

Unvaccinated Albertans continue to be the large majority of the province’s active cases and severe outcomes, including deaths. 

Friday’s update brings the number of active cases down to 20,040. 

Among eligible Albertans, 82.3 per cent have received a first dose of vaccine and 73.4 per cent have had two doses.

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

EDMONTON – Edmonton’s re-named and re-designed wards are set to be contested for the first time next month and could lead to some familiar faces representing different areas of the city.

Last September, councillors approved changes to the names and boundaries of the city’s 12 electoral wards.

The redrawn boundaries attempt to better balance the population of each ward and shed the traditional numbering system for Indigenous ward names.

Some wards are virtually unchanged by the updated boundaries, while others are broken up into entirely new divisions.

The map above displays an overlay of the current (numbered) wards and the new names and boundaries that will come into effect with the upcoming election.

Click the layers option on the left to compare boundaries over time, including as far back as 2007 when there were six wards with two councillors per ward.

Here’s more details on Edmonton’s newly designed and named electoral boundaries that take effect on election night.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR VOTERS?

Voters should check with the city website, or search the map above, to determine their ward.

Names may look unfamiliar, as the shifting boundaries mean most incumbent councillors will appear on ballots in parts of the city they haven’t sought election in before.

That means come election night you might have a different city councillor as your representative even if your prior councillor was also re-elected.

WHICH COUNCILLORS ARE MOST AFFECTED?

The changes mean most councillors are generally representing the same part of the city as they were before, but only generally.

There are two major exceptions.

East Edmonton’s Ward 7, represented by Coun. Tony Caterina, is divided almost in two, with Métis taking up its southern half and tastawiyiniwak covering its northern half.

Caterina is now seeking re-election outside of those areas in O-day’min: a downtown-area ward that covers large parts of the former Ward 6.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, northeast Edmonton’s Ward 4, represented by Coun. Aaron Paquette, converted virtually seamlessly into Dene.

HOW CLOSELY DO THE NEW BOUNDARIES MIRROR THE OLD ONES?

As alluded to above, it varies dramatically by ward.

Most of the new-named wards roughly align with the general geographic area of at least one of the current numbered wards.

The west Edmonton boundaries of Ward 1 and Ward 5 translate closely, but not perfectly, to the new wards of Nakota Isga and sipiwiyiniwak.

And, Ward 4 is renamed as Dene with no changes to the existing boundaries.

The biggest changes are in east and central Edmonton.

The new ward of O-day’min covers much of the downtown area of the old Ward 6 but now stretches north to the Yellowhead between 97 Street and 121 Street.

The area covered in Ward 7 will be split between Métis and tastawiyiniwak. Ward 8 is similarly broken up into parts of the new wards of Métis and papastew.

In north Edmonton, Ward 2 and Ward 3 roughly cover the same area as the new wards of Anirniq and tastawiyiniwak.

Most of the area divided diagonally between Ward 11 and Ward 12 in southeast Edmonton has been converted into the north-south running strip wards of Karhiio and Sspomitapi.

And, in southwest Edmonton, Ward 9 grows slightly smaller on its eastern border to become pihesiwin.

Ward 10’s northern boundary is shifted south from the Parkallen area to 34 Avenue and its western boundary moved west to take in the Heritage Valley area as the new ward of Ipiihkoohkanipiaohtsi.

WHY WERE THE BOUNDARIES REDRAWN?

The city’s ward boundary design policy states that “clear, distinct and easily identifiable ward boundaries are essential to the municipal election process.”

Wards are designed based on population, not the number of electors. The city’s policy defines optimum population as dividing Edmonton’s population by the number of wards. Boundaries should be designed within a range of +/- 25 per cent of that figure.

The returning officer develops proposals for ward boundary changes based on six other criteria:

• Future population growth
• Community league boundaries (can’t be split between wards)
• Common community interests
• Easily identifiable boundaries
• Least number of changes
• Block-shaped wards preferred