The news and events of Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo.
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Happy Thanksgiving, Fort McMurray!
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- Fort McMurray Oil Barons: Upcoming MOB home games include the Lloydminster Bobcats on Oct. 11 and 12, Canmore Eagles on Oct. 19 and 20, Lloydminster Bobcats on Nov. 2, and Whitecourt Wolverines on Nov. 22 and 23. Tickets and schedule.
- The Play That Goes Wrong!: There’s been a murder at a country manor and an inspector is trying to find the culprit. This 1920s whodunit has everything you never wanted in a show with the accident-prone thespians at The Cornley Drama Society. So, everything that can go wrong… does! Witness as the actors and crew battle against the odds to make it to their final curtain call. Will you ever find out who murdered Charles Haversham? Find out at Keyano Theatre on Oct.10-12. Tickets.
- Royal Tusk live at Il.ove Tattoo Music Hall: 7 p.m. on Oct. 12. Tickets.
- Council’s Excellence Awards: Nominations for outstanding people, community champions, young achievers and real-life heroes are open until Oct. 14.
- Boo’s and Brews Scavenger Hunt and Beer Tasting: Oct. 18 at the Fort McMurray Golf Club at 6 p.m. Tickets.
- Buffys 2024: Arts Council Wood Buffalo’s annual awards celebrating local arts returns to Keyano Theatre. Oct. 19 at 6 p.m. Tickets.
- The Haunting of Fort McMurray: The Wood Buffalo Food Bank promises a fright like no other with their haunted house. Rave in the Grave dance party is Oct. 26. Haunted house runs Oct 18-20, 25-27, 30. Times and tickets.
- Kenny vs. Spenny Live: In a rare instance of Fort McMurray importing a crude product, the “best friends” who became famous for torturing each other on national television bring their 20th anniversary tour to Fort McMurray. Oct. 19 at Quality Hotel Ballroom from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tickets.
- The Trews live at Syncrude Sport and Wellness Centre: For anyone “tired of waiting,” The Trews return to Fort McMurray after concerns about lightning cancelled their outdoor show last year at Snye Point Park. Oct. 24 at 8 p.m. Tickets.
- Halloween Thriller: Fort McMurray’s biggest Halloween dance party returns to the Syncrude Sport and Wellness Centre on Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. Tickets.
- April Wine headlines Back to the 80s: April Wine featuring Queen tribute band Queen Flash and Guns & Roses tribute band Nightrain. Oct. 26 at 8 p.m. at Syncrude Sport and Wellness Centre. Tickets.
- Fort McMurray Aurora Handbell Ringers: Fort McMurray’s only handbell choir is recruiting adults. The choir meets once a week starting in October. Whether you are a beginner or have played before, there is a spot for everyone in a club promising a great atmosphere to meet people and work together to create beautiful music. Contact the music director at 780-715-8570 for more information.
- Brett Kissel live at Rivers Casino and Entertainment Centre: Alberta country music star Brett Kissel returns to Fort McMurray for two nights. Shows are Nov. 15 and 16. Tickets.
- Wood Buffalo Regional Library hosts all-ages weekly events.
- MacDonald Island Park updates its website with upcoming events and programs.
- Wood Buffalo Volunteers has volunteer opportunities for different causes and non-profits across Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo.
- Obituaries: Obituaries, memorial notices and sympathy announcements can be uploaded and read online.
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Ward 4 byelection candidates talk goals for council
Three people have come forward as candidates in the upcoming byelection for Ward 4 of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB). The seat was previously held by the late councillor Jane Stroud.
Nina Caines is a former senior manager with the RMWB’s public works department. Her portfolio included all rural communities, parks and roads. She is also a former board member of the Northland School Division.
Stella Lavallee has been president of the Willow Lake Métis Nation since 2019. She was just reelected to her second term.
Chad Shkopich is the business development manager for the Fort McMurray First Nation Group of Companies. He is a former member of the Anzac Volunteer Fire Department and a frequent volunteer in the community and at Bill Woodward School.
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All three candidates have experience working with rural and Indigenous communities, and a desire to continue Stroud’s work in the hamlets south of Fort McMurray.
Ward 4 includes Anzac, Conklin, Gregoire Lake Estates and Janvier. The byelection is scheduled for Nov. 4. The winner will hold the seat until the next municipal election on Oct. 20, 2025.
Council asking province to move experimental oilsands project
The RMWB is asking Energy Minister Brian Jean to relocate a proposed experimental drilling site south of Fort McMurray.
Residents of the hamlet of Saprae Creek, which is closest to the project, worry about the project because the technology is untested and is within 1.2 kilometres of homes.
Residents also argue consultation with the company, Okotoks-based Drift Resource Technologies, has been poor and the company has been insensitive to the needs of the community.
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Fort McMurray 468 First Nation is also filing a separate statement of concern against the project.
Mayor Sandy Bowman agreed with criticisms raised by residents and Councillor Stu Wigle, adding positive feedback claimed by Drift did not match what the RMWB has heard from residents in the area or other stakeholders.
“When we hear from a company that says they’ve engaged, we’re the ones that will fact check and we did get all the stakeholders and have these meetings,” said Bowman.
“The results from engagement were not recorded accurately, whether it was with the residents or with the stakeholders and communities around there. So I definitely support this 100 per cent and we’ll do whatever we can.”
Drift says the method they are testing can reach oilsands deposits with few greenhouse gas emissions, eliminates the needs for tailings ponds and be reclaimed decades faster than current oilsands operations.
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The company hopes to demonstrate this technology during a 100-day test period and reclaim the site afterwards.
A spokesperson for Jean did not return requests for comment. Ryan Cameron, the regulatory and sustainability manager for Drift, argued in a Thursday morning statement the company has followed all rules, regulations and processes to get the necessary approvals and licenses for the project.
Cameron did not address council’s decision or specific criticisms of the project mentioned at council’s meeting.
Council asking Alberta government for cheaper power rates
Mayor Sandy Bowman wants cheaper power rates in the RMWB, arguing that the municipality’s northern location makes it more expensive to use electricity in the dark winter months.
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The municipality joins other Alberta communities, such as Grande Prairie, and Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) in asking the province for a pay rate they feel is fair. Bowman also said the province is starting to listen to municipalities concerned with this issue.
“We just need to add our voices and get this across the finish line. And I think being Fort McMurray and the RMWB holds some cards for the province and our voice goes a long way,” said Bowman at Tuesday’s meeting.
“One of the major costs of living in this community is your utility charges and your bills at home. So it would lower the cost of electricity in homes here.”
Council unanimously backed Bowman’s motion at their Tuesday meeting. Bowman also mentioned the issue was a concern of his last month when he said he is running for a second term as mayor in the upcoming October 2025 municipal election.
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Councillor Shafiq Dogar asked if the RMWB paid higher prices because of its location. Bowman said he is anticipating this argument from the province, but argued the RMWB is “a unique municipality.”
Council approves Indigenous land transfer policy
A group of Indigenous people in the RMWB are now able to take ownership of land historically owed to them by the municipality.
The policy passed unanimously by the RMWB’s council at their Tuesday meeting. Councillors were told 11 Indigenous families are living on municipal land without legal ownership of their homes or properties. Some land disputes pre-date the 1995 amalgamation of Fort McMurray and surrounding rural hamlets into the RMWB.
Some impacted families are victims of Indian Act policies that stripped them of their status. The families were no longer allowed to live on First Nation reserves once they became non-status. Métis people also settled outside the reserve boundaries on Crown land now known as the RMWB’s rural hamlets.
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Some of the impacted families were aware of their status. Brynn Armstrong, the RMWB’s manager of the land administration department, said this may have been caused by language barriers, a lack of communication, the amalgamation process itself, tax forfeitures and past leasing processes.
Others learned they did not actually own their land when they applied to the RMWB for connection to the rural water and sewage system.
“This matter is not easily understood, has been long overlooked and has unfortunately played a role in Conklin’s homelessness and housing crisis today,” wrote Scott Duguid, CEO of the Conklin Resource Development Advisory Committee (CRDAC), in a letter to council urging them to support the motion.
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Blockbuster $8.8-billion Chevron deal further consolidates Canadian control over oilsands
In a blockbuster deal dwarfing all other transactions in the oilsands this year, Chevron Corp. has agreed to sell its stakes in Western Canada to Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. for US$6.5 billion.
The deal involving the sale of Chevron’s 20 per cent interest in the Athabasca Oil Sands Project and 70 per cent stake in the Duvernay shale — both located in Alberta — is worth more than $8.8 billion, easily doubling the approximately $4 billion in M&A transactions announced in the Canadian oil industry since the start of the year, according to Sayer Energy Advisors, which tracks deal activity in upstream oil and gas.
“Oh, this is big,” Sayer president Tom Pavic said. “More than double what we had in the first nine months of 2024.”
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Chevron’s move also continues a trend of consolidation of ownership in the Canadian oilsands, following the exit of other large international oil producers in recent years, including BP PLC, ConocoPhillips, Devon Energy Corp. and Shell PLC, further cementing control of Canada’s heavy oil deposits in northern Alberta in the hands of a trio of local firms: CNRL, Cenovus and Suncor Energy Inc.
“It’s continuing that trend that we saw a few years ago regarding oilsands interests, for sure, by some of the international players divesting,” Pavic said.
Markets appeared favourable to CNRL’s acquisition, with the company’s share price rising following the announcement.
“The move reflects optimism about the oilsands from one of the companies that knows it best,” said Heather Exner-Pirot, director of energy, natural resources and environment at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, adding that CNRL has added significant production at very low risk to the company.
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“Now, CNRL has an even bigger piece of a very good pie,” she said.
Smoke alarms save two people and their cat from house fire
Two sleeping people and their cat were saved by their smoke alarms when their home caught fire on Tuesday morning.
Regional Emergency Services (RES) says the Timberlea mobile home was almost completely engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. The people and their pet were safely outside, and no injuries were reported.
Firefighters brought the fire under control within a half hour. Crews monitored the scene for several hours afterwards. A cause is being investigated, but RES says the incident demonstrates that maintaining working smoke alarms is a lifesaving task.
“I can’t stress how important working smoke alarms are in preventing injuries and saving lives,” said Fire Marshal Nick Brenner in a statement. “It’s Fire Prevention Week and the theme this year is ‘Smoke alarms: make them work for you!’ So please check yours today.”
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- Martha Hart, the widow of the late Calgary-born wrestler Owen Hart, says Netflix’s documentary on WWE CEO Vince McMahon inaccurately portrays the death of her husband at a 1999 WWE event. Owen Hart died when he fell more than eight storeys as he was lowered into the ring. McMahon insists the death “wasn’t our fault.” Martha, who still lives in Calgary, argues the equipment was poor and staff were not trained for the stunt. She also says the Netflix documentary did not include WWE’s lawsuit against her after she filed a wrongful death lawsuit, and that she was not contacted by the documentary crew.
- UCP MLAs have voted to allow Lacombe-Ponoka MLA Jennifer Johnson into the government caucus. Johnson was removed as the party’s candidate shortly before the May 2023 election after she compared transgender students in schools to feces in cookies. Premier Danielle Smith initially said keeping Johnson out of caucus was final, but softened her stance in recent months. 2SLGBTQ+ groups that met with Johnson say they do not believe her views have changed, but Johnson said in a statement “I have grown both personally and professionally.”
- Mayor Richard Ireland of Jasper worries the political conversations about the devastating wildfire hurts the community’s ability to heal. Ireland told the Jasper Fitzhugh the public and Jasper residents deserve to know the facts behind the wildfire response, but cited a “present atmosphere of finger-pointing, blaming and both partial and misinformation” as a problem that “introduces fresh wounds and fosters division, precisely at a time when we need recovery and unity.” So, you know, be excellent to each other this week.
- Read up on the politics and culture of Alberta with Postmedia’s subscriber-exclusive newsletter, What’s up with Alberta? Curated by the National Post’s Tyler Dawson every Tuesday and Thursday.
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