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CENTRAL ALBERTA’S DAILY NEWSPAPER
BREAKING NEWS ONLINE AT WWW.REDDEERADVOCATE.COM
FRIDAY, DEC. 7, 2012
Power line approved WESTERN ALBERTA TRANSMISSION LINE TO CUT THROUGH LARGE SECTION OF CENTRAL ALBERTA BY MURRAY CRAWFORD AND PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF After two years of public hearings, consultations, negotiations and scrutiny, the Western Alberta Transmission Line has been approved. The Alberta Utilities Commission approved route and tower options for the $1.5-billion project Thursday. The line will traverse a large section of Central Alberta. The 500-kilovolt line stretches more than 350 km from Genesee, west of Edmonton, to the Langdon area east of Calgary will be built and operated by AltaLink.
‘THIS IS THE CRITICAL BACKBONE IN OUR ELECTRICAL SYSTEM . . . . REINFORCING IT IS NOT ONLY GOOD TO ENSURE RELIABILITY FOR THE PROVINCE, BUT ALSO IT IS A KEY BACKBONE IN ENSURING WE GET COMPETITION OUT OF THE GENERATION SECTOR.’
— SCOT THON ALTALINK PRESIDENT AND CEO
“This is the critical backbone in our electrical system,” said Scott Thon, AltaLink president and CEO. “We have not reinforced it for 30 years and reinforcing it is not only good to ensure reliability for the province, but also it is a key backbone in ensuring we get competition out of the
generation sector.” Thon said a line like this will help power generators get their product to market, making every generator competitive in marketplace. “It’s about choice,” said Thon. “If Alberta customers have a robust transmission system, then they can get ac-
cess to the lowest cost producer.” Jim Law, Alberta Utilities Commission external relations director, said more than 60 per cent of the approved route parallels existing lines. According to a press release the hope is that will minimize the project’s visual and environmental effects and the disturbance of land. “On portions of the line, which were preferred, many instances there were alternatives developed from landowner suggestions prior to the hearing and throughout the hearing that were then incorporated and then approved,” said Law.
Please see LINE on Page A2
City eyes banning smoking in parks
WESTERN CHRISTMAS
BY LAURA TESTER ADVOCATE STAFF
there in an official capacity promoting the province. She said she took her family along because her daughter had a birthday during that time. Having family members around was not a distraction to her official government business, the minister said. “This job is all about balance (between family and work),” said the rookie legislature member for CalgaryCurrie. Among the other costs she repaid was $850 for “materials” bought at the Calgary Stampede. She declined to say what those materials were.
Protecting children at outdoor spaces and facilities from the harms of smoking will be up for discussion during Monday’s Red Deer city council meeting. City council will consider giving first reading to amending the Smoke Free Bylaw. Earlier this year, the city received three requests from members of the public regarding expanding the bylaw to further protect children. Concerns centred on places where food is offered and at events children are likely to be at, such as farmers’ markets, street festivals and sporting events. As well, there’s a call for smoking to be banned at outdoor places like playgrounds, sports fields and outdoor facilities. Coun. Tara Veer also asked administration to include cannabis, hashish, crack cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and herbal products into the mix. Should council move forward with amending the bylaw, administration suggests three potential impacts that must be looked at as well. Cost of signs could be significant. If signs were put up in every playground and sports field, the estimated cost is about $90,000 for 1,200 signs at $75 a sign, plus ongoing maintenance. The current Parks Department practice is that signs are only installed on a needed basis, which could drop that number to considerably less. Administration could also change the sign design to cut costs.
Please see EXPENSES on Page A2
Please see BYLAW on Page A2
CANADA
ADVOCATE VIEW
VAN LOAN SORRY FOR FOUL LANGUAGE
COOL TOYS FOR BIG KIDS
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
Members of the Grandview Elementary School choir perform at the Golden Circle on Thursday afternoon. The choir performing their concert with a western theme entertained the seniors during the Golden Circle Senior Resource Centre annual Cookie Walk fundraiser.
Tourism minister regrets expense misunderstanding EDMONTON — Alberta’s tourism minister admits she has not handled her personal expenses well, starting with billing taxpayers to fly her, her mother and daughter to the London Olympics. “I take my job very seriously. I came here to do good work. I didn’t come here to get a free meal. I didn’t come here to be able to misuse taxpayer dollars,” Christine Cusanelli said Thursday. Documents show she was ordered in August to pay back $10,600 for improper personal expenses racked up since
PLEASE RECYCLE
joining the legislature and cabinet following the April 23 election. Cusanelli said the problem was a misunderstanding on what can be charged and how. Those questions have now been cleared up, she said. “There is not a dime of taxpayers’ money that has been used for my personal use.” Expenses for all Premier Alison Redford’s cabinet members were released Wednesday to meet her promise to be more open and accountable about how public money is spent. Cusanelli’s expenses included 31 separate items that needed to be repaid. The largest cost was $4,078 for two airline tickets to London during the Olympics. Cusanelli was working
WEATHER
INDEX
Flurries. High -12. Low -19.
Five sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C3,C4 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A5, A6 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E1-D5 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D4 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D3 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1-B9
FORECAST ON A2
Government House Leader Peter Van Loan has apologized for using off-colour language during a verbal dust-up on the floor of the House of Commons with NDP Leader Tom Mulcair. A5
Dan Riskin and Ziya Tong host ‘Daily Planet’ weeknights on Discovery Canada.
Christmas Hours
Starting Thurs Dec. 6: Mon-Fri 9:30-9:00, Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 16 & 23 only 12:00-5:00
www.MitchellJewell.com 403-346-2514 (by Safeway Downtown)
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BY DEAN BENNETT THE CANADIAN PRESS