Red Deer Advocate, November 05, 2014

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REBELS VISIT T-BIRDS

BIG HERO 6 Disney hopes to charm fans with huggable robot

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SPORTS — PAGE B6

Red Deer Advocate WEDNESDAY, NOV. 5, 2014

www.reddeeradvocate.com

Your trusted local news authority MURDER TRIAL

Court hears police tapes Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff

BY BRENDA KOSSOWAN ADVOCATE STAFF

Canyon Ski Resort general manager David Martel takes the wrapping off a sign for a new lift at the ski hill Tuesday. Canyon Ski Resort continue to make changes to the ski and snowboarding area including this new magic carpet lift on the beginner hill.

The defence opens its case on Monday in the trial of a Red Deer man charged with murdering his father. Former Red Deer city councillor Timothy Bruce Guilbault, 58, died in the family’s cabin west of Bowden on the morning of Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. His body was discovered two days later by his daughter, Caroline Guilbault, who had gone to the cabin in search of him after being unable to reach him during the weekend. Aaron Guilbault, now 33, was arrested on Nov. 5, 2012, in Stettler. RCMP apprehended him at the edge of the town as he was making his way to his mother’s home there. In custody since his arrest, Guilbault is now on trial for second-degree murder before Justice Monica Bast in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench. Proceedings were delayed somewhat in order to assess if Guilbault was mentally fit to stand trial. Defence counsel Patty MacNaughton said during a break in proceedings that the question is not whether Guilbault killed his father, but whether his mental state was such that he cannot be held criminally responsible.

Please see COURT on Page A2

Ski resort making upgrades with 2019 Canada Winter Games in mind BY HARLEY RICHARDS ADVOCATE BUSINESS EDITOR David Martel could be described as a weather contrarian. While most people are relishing Central Alberta’s unseasonably warm temperatures, Martel is hoping for subzero conditions. But such is the bias of a ski resort owner. With the mercury expected to hit 11C tomorrow, Martel and his partners are pondering a postponement of Canyon Ski Resort’s Nov. 15 opening date for the 2014-15 season. “I think every hill that was supposed to be open by now has pushed their opening days back a week or two.” Normally by this point, Canyon’s snow-making guns would be spewing crystallized water across its runs. But

resort officials are still waiting for temperatures to come down a bit. “It looks like near the end of the week we’re going to fire everything up,” said Martel. That doesn’t mean staff at Canyon have been sitting idle watching the weather reports. They’re just putting the finishing touches on a new Magic Carpet conveyor lift, which will carry skiers and snowboarders up the beginner hill. The 107-metre-long system, which cost about $150,000, should be much easier for novices to use than the old handle tow that it replaced, said Martel. Other changes for 2014-15 include a new handle lift at the tube park, which Martel said will be faster, smoother and more reliable than the 1978-model that was there before.

The facades on some of the outbuildings have also been replaced, he said, and new fencing installed. There’s now also a steel staircase between the lower parking area and the lodge. “What we’re really striving to do is have the first-time skiers or snowboarders coming out and really enjoying their experience and wanting to come back.” Next year, said Martel, a renovation of the lodge is planned. But the year that he’s really looking at is 2019 — when Red Deer plays host to the Canada Winter Games. “Everything that we do out here is done sort of with the games in the back of our minds,” he said.

Please see RESORT on Page A2

Province has most workers who rely on food banks BY SUSAN ZIELINSKI ADVOCATE STAFF

Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff

Red Deer Food Bank employee Shannon Montgomery fills a food hamper Tuesday.

Sun and cloud. High 4. Low -2.

FORECAST ON A2

INDEX Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . B1-B3 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5,A6 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D4 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C4 Entertainment . . . . . . . . C5,C6 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B6-B8

mine how many Canadians depend on food banks. Alice Kolisnyk, Red Deer Food Bank deputy director, said in March the local food bank saw a two per cent increase in users, or a total of 781 people, and the typical adult client worked a low-income service job. “Quite often our clients are twoincome households, both parents are working. If it’s a single parent household quite often they have more than one job,” Kolisnyk said on Tuesday. “It’s one job to pay for the necessities and the second job for child care.”

Please see HUNGER on Page A2

Oil prices hit multi-year low Oil prices slumped on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia cut the price of oil sold to the U.S., a move that is shaking a volatile market.

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WEATHER

Alberta has a higher ratio of workers using food banks than any other province says a new national report. A total of 21.9 per cent of Albertans who rely on food banks have a job according to HungerCount 2014 released by Food Banks Canada on Tuesday. That compares to 19.9 per cent of food bank users in Prince Edward Island, 16.4 in Manitoba, 14.8 in Saskatchewan, 13.5 in Nova Scotia, 11.5 in British Columbia, 10.8 in Quebec, 9.6 in New Brunswick, 9.3 in Ontario and 9.2 per cent in Newfoundland and Labrador. The annual HungerCount uses food bank statistics from March to deter-

FOOD BANKS URGE OTTAWA TO SPEND MORE MONEY ON CHILD CARE A6


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