EDMONTON — A Royal Canadian Legion branch in Edmonton is pleading for the return of stolen plaques from its cenotaph and 10,000 poppies from its building.

Wes Hyshka, past president of the Norwood Legion Branch 178, told CTV News Edmonton that the cenotaph memorializing the sacrifices of those who died while serving Canada in wars was vandalized

Two bronze plaques were removed and taken from the monument. One plaque thanked community members who donated to help support building the cenotaph over 60 years ago. The other plaque honoured the sacrifices of soldiers from the First World War.

“It breaks our hearts,” Hyshka said. “I’m a veteran myself.

“For someone to desecrate something that means so much to me and the community,” Hyshka added, “is devastating.”

Additionally, graffiti was sprayed over parts of the monument.

Hyshka said the legion branch estimates the cost of replacement plaques and cenotaph repairs to be more than $7,000.

For Hyshka, the vandalism was saddening to see, especially after the legion branch had two break-ins to their building this week, resulting in the theft of 10,000 poppies.

“That means we are going to have to reorder and take the hit on ourselves,” he said. “Money earned from poppies goes to the poppy fund which is to help veterans, past and the ones that are serving and their spouses, as well as the community.

“That is a big hit,” Hyshka added. “What are they gonna go do with it? Are they going to go ahead and sit and set up their own poppy boxes and collect the money that should be going to the veterans?

“We are so tired of this. We are being hit, vandalized. The money that we would normally give out to the community we are having to replace stuff just to operate now.”

EDMONTON — The Conservative electoral district association for Fort McMurray – Cold Lake is “appalled” that the federal party appointed a candidate to run in the riding for the federal election without input from residents in the area.

The board said in a statement released Friday, constituents in the area “were cheated” the opportunity to select a candidate to represent the region in the election after the Conservative Party of Canada appointed Laila Goodridge to run for the party in that riding.

“Conservatives support grass roots democracy,” the association said. “We have an elected Board and a paid membership that demands the right to choose their representative and expects our conservative policies and principles be upheld at all times.”

Goodridge replaced former MP David Yurdiga who decided not to seek re-election because of “private medical issues.”

Yurdiga announced his intention not to run for re-election on Monday. Goodridge resigned as United Conservative Party MLA for Fort McMurray – Lac La Biche to make a bid for his seat.

The board said there was no need for national officials to appoint a candidate as they received local requests for nomination packages from several candidates within hours of Yurdiga’s announcement and that they were ready to run a short nomination contest.

“We were completely blindsided,” the electoral district association said. “There was no discussion or consultation from the Party with our Board on any level.

“The Federal Party has failed to not only consult its conservative membership and the Board, but has also grossly failed its conservative values and principles.”

According to the Conservative Party of Canada’s protocols for candidate nominations, national officials can suspend or alter rules should a general election be called. Those decisions are considered to be final.

“Let it be known, our local grassroots Electoral District Association Board of Fort McMurray Cold Lake, stood for our membership, our constitution, and democracy till the end, and will always stand for what is right and ethical.”

Yurdiga won the riding in 2019 with 79.9 per cent of the vote.

EDMONTON — The number of Albertans hospitalized due to COVID-19 hit a two-month high on Friday, according to the province’s latest data release 

There are 221 patients in hospital, the highest since June 18, and an increase of 140 per cent since the start of August. 

Among the 221 are 48 patients receiving care in intensive care units. 

The seven-day rolling average of hospitalized patients rose for a 23rd straight day, up to 185. 

One new death due to COVID-19 was reported Friday, bringing the province’s total to 2,343. There have been 16 COVID-19 deaths so far this month, but 10 of them have occurred in the past week. 

The province reported 749 new cases Friday, bringing the active case count up to 6,709, about where it was at the start of June.

Among eligible Albertans, 77.2 per cent have received a first dose of vaccine and 68.5 per cent have had a second shot.

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

EDMONTON — After promising to release pandemic modelling and data Thursday evening, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health apologized for it not being available and said her team remains committed to ensuring it is publicly available.

In a town hall with doctors in Alberta Thursday evening, Dr. Deena Hinshaw said the modelling data to show what is driving the province’s pandemic response is not ready.

According to Hinshaw, the delay in releasing the modelling is due to Alberta’s shift in pandemic response plans.

Originally, the United Conservative Party-led government was planning on lifting testing, isolation, and mandatory masking rules for transit, taxis, and ride shares in August.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province’s top doctor, previously said the decision to drop the pandemic response measures was made after data on age-specific outcomes related to COVID-19, vaccine effectiveness and modelling on the transmissibility of the Delta variant and related health outcomes were reviewed by her team.

Last Friday, Hinshaw announced that the government was delaying the decision to eliminate testing, isolating, and masking measures until Sept. 27 due to rising hospitalizations that she said exceeded projections by more than 60 per cent.

Additionally, Hinshaw cited growing evidence about the Delta variant’s effect on children led the province to back down from relaxing COVID-19 public health measures until at least the end of September.

On Thursday evening, Hinshaw said she understood the keen interest in the modelling but offered no timeline for when the public report would be ready.

“The team worked incredibly hard to try to pull those pieces together and I think that the challenge is that it’s not just about kind of releasing a list of references,” Hinshaw told her colleagues Thursday evening at the town hall.

“What the team’s been trying to do is to put together a narrative that articulates the considerations and that evidence that can be put out publicly.”

The chief medical officer of health apologized and said she “own(s)” responsibility for not having the data prepared in time.

“I promised a timeline that ended up not being realistic based on the other work that was necessary for the team to do,” Hinshaw said. “I can assure you my team is working flat out and has been for a very long time and they’re doing their best to get these things packaged together.”

In addition to the medical community, the official opposition in Alberta, Edmonton’s Mayor Don Iveson and several city councillors have called on the province to release the pandemic modelling.

“In the interests of being able to release the package without releasing things in piecemeal, we want to be able to kind of put together in a comprehensive overview. So, I’m sorry it’s not available,” she said. “Unfortunately, this is not something I can do by myself and it’s also not something we can do without moving through all of the processes that are necessary in government.”

Hinshaw said she was committed to ensuring the data is released publically and that the medical community and Albertans get to look at it.

“The information is not secretive information,” she said. “The work that’s required isn’t just that list of articles. It’s trying to put it together into a narrative mode that helps explain not just to you as my peers, but to all Albertans, that list of considerations that was taken into account.”

Indigenous people won’t be able to vote on reserve in the upcoming plebiscites and senate elections happening the same day as municipal elections on Oct. 18, Alberta Municipal Affairs has confirmed.

Plebiscite questions include whether Alberta should adopt Daylight Savings Time for the entire year, and whether Albertans support removing Constitutionally-enshrined equalization payments that send funds collected from federal income taxes to less wealthy provinces.

Adam North Peigan, a member of the Piikani First Nation and president of the Sixties Scoop Indigenous Society of Alberta, says not making arrangements for Indigenous peoples to vote on reserve is a brazen form of disenfranchisement.

“I was completely appalled,” said Peigan. “These issues should have input from all Albertans, whether you’re pink, blue or black.”

Since reserves aren’t technically municipalities, their elections occur on a different timeline.

“However, when you’re going to tie important questions through a referendum to those municipal elections that are going to affect all Albertans, including ones who live on First Nations reserves, we should be entitled to have our say in that,” Peigan said.

A spokesperson for Minister Ric McIver told Alberta Native News that people who live on reserve, as well as those in summer villages, special areas, improvement areas and the Alberta side of Lloydminster, will have to either travel to the nearest municipality or vote by mail.

“Every Albertan will have the opportunity to vote in the upcoming senate election and referenda,” says McIver spokesperson Mark Jacka.

Work is underway on partnering First Nations reserves with the closest municipality that is having a civic election, who will then provide voting information to residents, Jacka said.

But Peigan says this is insufficient in upholding First Nations’ voting rights. He says the province must set up polling stations on reserve to ensure First Nations have the same ability to vote as anyone living in a municipality.

The government’s approach is “totally negligent” and “a slap in the face” to the First Peoples living in Alberta, he added.

Left-wing senate candidate Duncan Kinney, who says he’s running to highlight the absurdity of elections for a position appointed by the prime minister, shares Peigan’s concerns.

“These `senate elections’ put on by Premier Jason Kenney have always been a sham, but he is taking them seriously,” says Kinney.

That Indigenous peoples who live on reserve will have to make extra effort to vote moves these elections from the realm of political theatre into “just another instance of white supremacy in action,” he said.