EDMONTON — Canada Day celebrations were cancelled in Morinville Thursday, but the town came together in a show of solidarity a day after the town’s historic church was destroyed by fire. 

The Morinville Community Cultural Centre opened its doors to residents with Mayor Barry Turner saying it was place for residents to come together for support. 

“When you have the heart and soul of your community ripped out its very difficult to have talks of celebration,” Turner said. 

“We wanted to create a space for people to come, to grieve, to share to get things off their chest.” 

Firefighters were called shortly after 3 a.m. on June 30 and three hours later, were still extinguishing hot spots at St. Jean Baptiste Parish. 

Despite help from neighbouring community fire departments, the Roman Catholic church on Morinville’s main thoroughfare had been badly damaged. 

Police are investigating and have said they consider the fire to be suspicious.

At a meeting Wednesday, the town council opted to cancel a community gathering planned for Canada Day. 

Turner said the decision followed discussion with Chief George Arcand of Alexander First Nation on how best to honour the day.

“We just needed time as a community to get over the shock and really start to hold each other up and move forward.” 

Aside from some smoke and water damage sustained by a neighbouring building – which was once a convent and now hosts 38 apartment units as well as a museum – no other property was damage.

According to town officials, about 50 people were displaced by the apartment evacuations. Those who needed it were being sheltered at the community legion. Bushell said they could be out of their homes for 48 hours. 

Morinville is about 30 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

EDMONTON — Edmonton’s Sikh community is calling for action after they say a local place of worship has been harassed for months with racist and hateful taunts. 

In a Facebook post Wednesday, local Sikh organization Sangat Youth said members of the Singh Sabha Gurdwara in Mill Woods had been subject to daily threatening phone calls. 

“The content of these calls includes racial slurs, harassment and anti-Sikh sentiments,” a statement from the group reads. 

It says the harassment started in March and has also involved multiple deliveries of meat products to building, the consumption of which is forbidden by the Sikh faith while inside a gurdwara.

“These events are alarming and of the utmost concern for the community,” Sangat Youth’s statement reads.

“We fear that having our community gather in more significant numbers may also put us at risk for further harassment or actions.” 

The group says it’s working alongside the Edmonton Police hate crimes unit and is asking anyone with information to come forward. 

In recent months, Edmonton has seen a rash of apparent hate-motivated attacks on visible minorities, mainly Muslim women.

EDMONTON — Alberta lifted almost all its remaining COVID-19 restrictions Thursday, but many businesses said they are taking a more cautious approach as things start to return to normal.

There are no more limits on indoor and outdoor social gatherings, no more capacity limits on restaurants, stores and places of worship. Weddings and other celebrations are back on.

Alberta is also lifting its mask mandate. The exception is in Calgary, where the city has decided to revisit its mandatory mask bylaw on Monday.

Shoppers in grocery stores and diners at restaurants are free to go maskless, although it is up to individual businesses to decide how comfortable they are reverting to pre-pandemic norms.

“The board is even a little bit split on the issue,” said Jeff Jamieson, president of the Alberta Hospitality Association and the owner of Donna Mac and Proof restaurants in Calgary.

“Everybody was pretty excited to no longer have a mask on, but I do know some businesses where they’re asking their servers to continue to wear masks.”

Jamieson said his restaurants will allow servers to ditch face coverings once it’s allowed in Calgary. He expects most others across the province will do the same.

“I think most businesses and people in those businesses are going to make the choice to be free of the mask.”

A public affairs spokeswoman with Sobeys said all its stores have followed public health orders during the pandemic, but Alberta employees will now have final say on masks.

“Masks are now recommended instead of mandatory,” said Sarah Dawson. “All other safety measures remain in place to keep our stores a safe environment to work and shop.”

Sobeys Inc. operates more than 1,500 stores in all provinces under a variety of banners, including Safeway, IGA, FreshCo and No Frills.

All COVID-19 safety measures will remain in effect in at least two of Alberta’s hardest-hit sectors during the pandemic.

The JBS meat-packing plant in Brooks, Alta., and Cargill’s facility in High River, Alta., will keep safety protocols in place. Cargill had one of the largest outbreaks during the pandemic.

“At this time, our employees are still required to wear masks as part of our commitment to safety and effort to slow the communitywide spread of COVID-19,” said Cargill spokesman Daniel Sullivan.

“We continue to review our protocols with medical professionals and will revise in conjunction with local health guidance as appropriate.”

In the Fort McMurray region, there have been 20 outbreaks at oilsands sites or work camps. One company, Cenovus Energy, said safeguards will remain in place at the facilities it operates.

“Our oilsands sites … continue to observe well-established COVID-19 protocols,” said senior media adviser Reg Curren. “For now, masking and physical-distancing protocols remain in place.”

The president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401, the union that represents meat-packing and grocery workers in Alberta, is worried that Premier Jason Kenney has moved ahead with the reopening without an appropriate amount of caution.

“Leave all the protocols in place that currently exist in workplaces from supermarkets to meat-packing plants, and then let’s conduct a review in 30 to 60 days with some medical professionals,” Tom Hesse said.

“His approach is untested. When there’s an unknown, when you’re dealing with worker health and safety, you should err on the side of caution.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 1, 2021.

EDMONTON — After a three year renovation Fort Edmonton Park is ready to welcome back visitors starting Thursday.

The changes include a new front entry plaza, a larger 1920s style midway featuring a new ferris wheel, and a new Indigenous Peoples Experience.

The exhibit was created in partnership with the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations and the Metis Nations of Alberta with the goal of educating Albertans about Indigenous History.

“It’s a transformative experience, it really immerses the guests into then narratives of our First Nations and Metis people who have traversed these lands for centuries. It’s their stories, and we are just facilitating the space for those stories can be told,” said Renee Williams, Senior Vice-President at Fort Edmonton Management Company.

The park is also looking to become an evening destination.

“We are looking to do some burger and midway nights,” said Williams. “We’re aiming to do that Thursdays throughout the rest of the summer.”

The park is hoping to have live music during the summer.

With provincial COVID-19 restrictions changing, there are various venues at the park that will once again be available for rent.

“We’ve had so much interest from the public already,” said Williams. “Birthday parties, retirements, team building opportunities for businesses.”

Visitors won’t have to wear masks on the grounds, but are still required to wear masks if riding the train, street car or carriage.

Tickets for Fort Edmonton Park can be purchased online.

EDMONTON — St. Albert RCMP seized more than $100,000 in drugs, ammunition and money after executing a search warrant in Sturgeon County.

After a six month investigation RCMP executed the warrant at a home on Highway 28A in Sturgeon County.

RCMP seized the following items:

• ​​75.17 grams of Methamphetamine
• ​53 litres of Gamma-Hydroxybutyric Acid (GHB)
• ​27 kilograms of a substance believed to be a buffing agent
• ​23 grams of Fentanyl
• ​$11,915.00 Canadian currency
• ​Ammunition

RCMP say the street value of the GHB seized is equal to $106,000.

GHB is often called a date-rape drug because it is known to make increase libido, suggestibility, passivity and cause amnesia. RCMP say this makes users and victims vulnerable to sexual assault and other crimes.

Stephen Andreas Hesmert, 30, from Edmonton was arrested and charged with:

• ​Trafficking a Controlled Substance X3
• ​Possession of Stolen Property X3
• ​Fail to Comply with Conditions of Release X2

Hesmert was taken into custody and will appear in Edmonton Provincial Court on July 6.

Corbin Matthew Ross, 32, from Edmonton was arrested and charged with:

• ​Possession of a Controlled Substance for the Purpose of Trafficking X 2
• ​Possession of a Controlled Substance
• ​Proceeds of Crime X 2

Ross was released from custody on bail and will appear in Edmonton Provincial Court on July 14.

Kurt Eric Lemke, 42, from Sturgeon County, was arrested and charged with:

• ​Trafficking a Controlled Substance X 2
• ​​Possession of a Controlled Substance for the Purpose of Trafficking

Lemke was released from custody and will appear in St. Albert Provincial Court on July 26.