News

By Joe Manio Lethbridge Herald At noon Thursday, another large and highly engaged crowd gathered for the weekly Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA) meeting to confront a question that has divided courts, legislatures, and kitchen tables: should Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) be available to people whose only underlying condition is mental illness?  [...] Read More »

By Joe Manio Lethbridge Herald It looked like convocation — but instead of graduates in caps and gowns hundreds of Alberta teachers filled the bleachers and floor seats inside the Triple Gymnasium & Indoor Track at the University of Lethbridge (U of L) Thursday, clutching coffee cups and conference programs as they gathered for the [...] Read More »

By Zoe Mason Southern Alberta Newspapers  zmason@medicinehatnews.com   Premier Danielle Smith announced a packed referendum slate coming Oct. 19 during her televised address to the province Thursday evening. The referendum questions will cover a number of topics, including non-constitutional questions that ask whether Albertans support numerous proposals limiting immigration and the availability of social services [...] Read More »

By Alexandra Noad Local Journalism Initiative Reporter-Lethbridge Herald Lethbridge Polytechnic and local businessman, Bruce McKillop will welcome Ryan Straschnitzki, former Humboldt Bronco and Paralympic wheelchair basketball hopeful to headline the 2026 speaker series. Since being paralyzed from the chest down in 2018 in the tragic Humboldt bus crash, Straschnitzki has become a powerful advocate for [...] Read More »

By Joe Manio Lethbridge Herald Free “Journeying Home” seminar in Lethbridge encourages open, honest conversation about planning, faith, and family care. No one wants to think about death — especially when life feels full and healthy. Yet avoiding the conversation can leave loved ones unprepared and stressed when the inevitable arrives. The upcoming “Journeying Home” [...] Read More »

EDMONTON — Alberta’s Opposition NDP says Premier Danielle Smith is stoking hatred by blaming her government’s financial “mismanagement” on newcomers. Smith announced in a TV address Thursday night that her government is putting nine questions to a provincewide referendum on Oct. 19. They include proposals to restrict social services from some immigrants and to open [...] Read More »

TORONTO — An Ontario man accused of laundering hundreds of millions of dollars in assets for an international drug smuggling ring allegedly led by former Olympian Ryan Wedding has been denied bail. Rolan Sokolovski sought to be released ahead of a hearing that will determine whether he’ll be extradited to the United States, where he [...] Read More »

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down President Donald Trump’s use of a legal tool to deploy tariffs, reining in the president’s sweeping use of the national security statute to realign global trade. Trump used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, better known as IEEPA, for his “Liberation Day” tariffs and fentanyl-related duties [...] Read More »

QUÉBEC — Quebec’s justice minister has reversed course in the face of strong criticism of his plan to enshrine abortion rights in his constitution bill. Simon Jolin-Barrette says on social media that after hearing from legal experts and women’s rights groups he made the difficult decision to withdraw the abortion section from the legislation. The [...] Read More »

OTTAWA — Dr. Joss Reimer, a physician from Manitoba, has been named Canada’s new chief public health officer. Health Minister Marjorie Michel welcomed Reimer to the role in a social media post today. She replaces Dr. Theresa Tam, who retired in June after becoming a household name during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reimer was chief medical [...] Read More »