EDMONTON — An Edmonton market featuring local Black-owned businesses is closing in on its first anniversary.

The Black-Owned Market Edmonton (BOM YEG) is an event and collective that supports Black entrepreneurs in the city by offering resources and events to help reduce inequality gaps faced due to systemic racism.

The group will celebrate its one-year anniversary market on July 24 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Victoria School of the Arts parking lot.

More than 25 local vendors will be featured at the pop-up market, alongside live music.

“It’s really hard for businesses to survive their first year,” said Rochelle Ignacio, co-founder of BOM YEG and operations business officer. “When everyone was pausing their events we decided to start a brand new organization.

“So even that we’re here after one year and celebrating, we’re really just stoked and amazed that we have so much support.”

Ivan Touko, co-founder of BOM YEG and technology business officer, told CTV News Edmonton the pandemic forced the group to get innovative to continue to uplift Black businesses by creating an online store and curating “Sweetheart Boxes” for Valentine’s Day.

“We want to keep building better,” he shared. “Things are still moving, but we are not going to stop innovating.”

Ignacio said the collective has been able to re-invest $26,000 into Edmonton’s Black community in the past year.

Tickets are free for the event but interested visitors are asked to RSVP at BOM YEG’s website. 

EDMONTON — A Roman Catholic church near Bonnyville, Alta. has been destroyed after a fire was “deliberately set” Friday evening, police say. 

RCMP say they responded alongside Bonnyville fire services to Our Lady of Mercy on Kehewin Cree Nation around 9:45 p.m. Friday which was already in flames.

According to Mounties, the church was slated to be demolished as it had remained vacant for several years.

“Through investigation police learned the fire was deliberately set,” RCMP said in a media release.

Bonnyville RCMP charged a youth with arson in relation to the incident. The youth was released from custody and is scheduled to appear in Bonnyville provincial court on Sept. 21.

No one was injured.

The name of the youth will not be released due to the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Fr. Jhack Diaz, with the Catholic Diocese of St. Paul, told CTV News Edmonton that he received text messages from his parishioners Friday evening informing him about the fire.

“I was really shocked and really, really sad,” he said.

Diaz serves the community and used to celebrate masses in the building prior to it being condemned. Masses are celebrated at the community recreation centre.

“Kehewin is a beautiful community. People are welcoming and very friendly and religiously motivated,” he added. “I really don’t understand why people are doing this.”

Several churches in Alberta and British Columbia have been vandalized and damaged or destroyed by fire in the wake of discoveries of unmarked graves near former residential school sites in Saskatchewan and in Kamloops, B.C.

Kehewin Cree Nation is approximately 235 kilometres northeast of Edmonton and 20 kilometres south of Bonnyville, Alta.

EDMONTON — The provincial government unveiled a new initiative to help support local farmers and food producers.

Devin Dreeshen, agriculture and forestry minister, showcased new product labels developed by the government that farmers, food producers and processors can place on their products to help consumers quickly notice and choose items made in Alberta at farmers markets and grocery stores.

“Alberta is known as a place that produces safe, high-quality food,” Dreeshen said in statement. “These days, people want to know where their food comes from, and this will make it a lot easier for them to choose food from Alberta.

“When you buy Alberta food, you are supporting another Alberta family,” he added. “It keeps money in your community and in our province.”

The new “Made in Alberta, by Albertans” labels were announced at the Millarville Farmers’ Market on Saturday by Dreeshen.

According to the province, local food sales in direct-to-consumer channels, like farmers’ markets or farm retail, have more than doubled since 2008 and exceeded $1.2 billion last year.

Food and beverage processing is a growing sector in Alberta, with approximately 28,000 workers.

Last year food manufacturing sales set a record of $15.5 billion, the province said in a statement.

Mikayla Janssen, acting press secretary for agriculture and forestry, told CTV News Edmonton that the province is currently consulting with local industry leaders and farmers’ markets to develop guidelines on how best to distribute the labels.

The province hopes to have consultations finalized by the end of summer. Janssen added that there is no concrete cost estimate for the program at this time.

EDMONTON — The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) is investigating a shooting in the Jasper Park neighbourhood that has sent two people to hospital in non-life threatening condition.

Police told CTV News Edmonton that they responded to a 911 call reporting a shooting at approximately 5:20 p.m. Friday in the area of 89 Avenue and 149 Street.

Two people were taken to hospital by EMS. It is not known if they are related or how old they are, at this time, police said.

Witnesses told police a suspect was seen running away from the scene on foot after the incident. A suspect was in police custody after 8 p.m., EPS said.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call EPS at 780-423-4567 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

EDMONTON — A picture-perfect moment nearly took a tragic turn for a tourist enjoying Jasper National Park.

Katelyn Jones, a 21-year-old nursing student, was hiking with a friend in Maligne Canyon on July 3 when she slipped into a river while posing for a photo.

“It just happened so fast,” Jones recalled in an interview with CTV News Edmonton.

“Mentally I was thinking, ‘Oh my god, this is it. This is how I’m going to die, right?’” she added. “I saw the rock wall right ahead and the river’s flowing fast. I’m going like full speed.”

Jones was lucky.

“We were there,” said Phil James, a Good Samaritan who helped pull her from the river. “It’s just pure luck.”

James and his family were a couple hundred metres downstream from where Jones went in. He recalled hearing a single shout for help.

“She came right by where I could literally just lean off a rock and grab her hand,” he added. “When you think about it, it’s so surreal.

“We were just at the right place at the right time, and I’m just glad we could help her.”

Jones said she saw Phil out of the corner of her eye for a brief moment.

“He was still pretty high up,” she said. “I don’t even understand how he got there as fast as he did.”

Phil James and his wife happened to be in the area where Katelyn Jones fell into a river near Maligne Canyon (Supplied)

RESCUE OFFICIALS ASK PARK VISTORS TO REMEMBER WATER SAFETY

Rupert Wedgewood, Jasper National Park Rescue specialist, said there have been similar incidents to Jones’ that didn’t end with such a positive note.

“I hope (Jones) went and bought a lottery ticket after that because she was very fortunate,” the rescue expert said.

“People are at great danger when they’re within five metres of the shoreline,” he said. “The water levels are high right now. That is a direct result of glacial runoff and of alpine snow melting, so snow on the glaciers and high in the mountains.”

“The rivers were moving fast, some were starting to flood,” Wedgewood added. “While they have gone down slightly, they continue to be high.”

Wedgewood noted that there were three other rescues over the same weekend – excluding Jones.

One included a cliff jumper at Horseshoe Lake where a woman seriously injured her back.

“A lot of accidents happen close to the shore,” Wedgewood said. “We’ve had quite a few fatalities.”

The rescue expert who has been involved in search and rescues for over 31 years recommends visitors never go over barriers and always abide by park signs.

“Anticipate rocks to be slippery,” Wedgewood said. “The rivers can undermine the banks and so the banks can be unstable (themselves).”

Jones appreciates just how close she came to tragedy.

“It definitely changes your view on life and what you find important,” Jones shared. “I was so lucky.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Carlyle Fiset and David Ewasuk