Gone with the wind Provincial government selling air fleet
RED DEER TO HOST ESSO CUP IN APRIL 2015
A3
PAGE B4
Red Deer Advocate WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 17, 2014
www.reddeeradvocate.com
Your trusted local news authority COURT OF QUEEN’S BENCH
Fire destroys home
Alberta to get more judges ‘in due course’
NEIGHBOURING HOMES DAMAGED » SEE MORE ONLINE AT WWW.REDDEERADVOCATE.COM
BY MURRAY CRAWFORD ADVOCATE STAFF The federal government says more appointments will be made to the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench “in due course.” The response to an Advocate query, an email from Justice Canada, comes a day after charges were stayed in a home invasion case when a Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench justice ruled that the accused had been denied due process because it took 27 months for the case to get to trial. On Tuesday morning, Clarissa Lamb, spokesperson for Justice Minister Peter McKay, said the government has made more than 600 judicial appointments since 2006. “In Economic Action Plan 2014, our government committed to the creation of two federally appointed judicial positions in Alberta,” she wrote in an email. “Appointments will be made in due course,” Lamb said in another email later Tuesday. “These additional positions will reduce delays to ensure that cases are heard in a timely matter and that serious charges are not dropped because of hearing delays.” Alberta Justice said on Monday the province needs 12 more Queen’s Bench justices to have the same number per capita as B.C. Justice Canada has appointed six Alberta Queen’s Bench justices in 2014, according to its website. Two of those appointments were replacements for justices who had been appointed to the Alberta Court of Appeal and one was for a justice who had died. The other three appointments were replacements for justices who had chosen to become supernumerary or part-time judges. While three justices went part time, three new justices were appointed to full-time positions. Justice John Little replaced Justice Colleen Kelly, who chose to become a supernumerary judge in May. That Queen’s Bench position was based in Calgary, but was transferred to Red Deer on May 12, 2014, giving the Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench its third justice. According to Alberta Justice, the province has the fewest Queen’s Bench justices per capita in the country with about one justice per 61,925 people. “In order for Alberta to be on par with the next lowest jurisdiction — B.C. — the federal government would have to appoint an additional 12 judges,” read a statement from Josh Stewart, press secretary for Alberta Justice Minster Jonathan Denis.
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
When City of Red Deer firefighters arrived at 127 Inglewood Drive, the fire was fully involved and flames could be seen erupting from the roof, said deputy fire chief Greg Adair. The fire crews were able to keep the fire from spreading to adjacent homes; however, the home to the east sustained substantial damage to the exterior. BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF Fire destroyed one home on Inglewood Drive and damaged another two homes located on either side on Tuesday afternoon. Greg Adair, deputy fire chief with Red Deer Emergency Services, said the house at 127 Inglewood Drive was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived after the 911 came in at 4:32 p.m. “The residents were in the house when the fire started. There were five people in the house. They safely all evacuated,” Adair said on Tuesday at the scene. He said flames were coming out of the roof and it took fire crews time to get them under control. Crews were almost done shooting water onto the house to knock out hot spots at 5:30 p.m. “Fortunately the fire did not progress into the house to the east. The potential to spread into that house was pretty good.” If there had been a strong wind during the fire, more homes could have been affected, he said.
Please see FIRE on Page A2
Please see JUDGES on Page A2
Province working on response plan to Ebola outbreak BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF The Ebola outbreak in West Africa has the province working on a response to protect Albertans. The last time Alberta put its pandemic plan into action was for the 2009 influenza pandemic after the international outbreak of swine flu or H1N1. “There are elements of that plan that we’ve reinforced with both Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services over the last couple of weeks,”
WEATHER Sunny. High 27. Low 10.
FORECAST ON A2
NEARLY $1 BILLION NEEDED TO STOP EBOLA: UN D5 Dr. James Talbot, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, said on Tuesday, the day after the federal government announced a $2.5-million donation in protective equipment, such as gloves, respiratory masks, face shields and gowns in response to the Ebola outbreak. “Until the outbreak in Africa is brought under control, we’re not going to be completely safe.” So far there has never been a case
INDEX Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . B1-B3 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C2 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D4 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4 Entertainment . . . . . . . . C5,C6 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4-B6
of Ebola in Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada says the risk to Canadians is low. Ebola causes hemorrhagic fever in humans and animals and can lead to internal bleeding and organ failure. It is often fatal. Talbot said Canada and Alberta have excellent medical systems. “Alberta Health Services runs a first-rate operation and we have great public health so we’re reasonably well protected.” He said the province is constantly reviewing and renewing its approach to all sorts of hazards. Its pandem-
ic plan looks at who does what, and makes sure occupational health and safety, infection control and prevention, public health, acute care hospitals, and emergency management services all work as an integrated, coordinated team. “Ebola is slightly different from influenza because, thankfully, it isn’t transmitted by respiratory route, with what we call aerosol. It’s mainly by personal contact and infected material.”
Please see EBOLA on Page A2
Kids & Company opens in Red Deer The CEO of Kids & Company was in Red Deer Tuesday to mark the opening of her new day care in Clearview Market Square. Story on PAGE B1
PLEASE
RECYCLE