MAKE NO APOLOGIES Some greens are at their best for winter salads
D5
HEIDT, PAETZ WIN CLASSIC/B1
Red Deer Advocate TUESDAY, NOV. 18, 2014
www.reddeeradvocate.com
Your trusted local news authority
Growth, ethics on agenda BY THE CANADIAN PRESS
THRONE SPEECH
EDMONTON — Premier Jim Prentice’s government promised Monday to move Alberta to a more prosperous, responsible economy and back to the basics on ethics and education. “Nine weeks ago we put Alberta under new management,” Lt.-Gov. Don Ethell read in the throne speech to open a new session of the legislature. “The decisions we make in the next five years must lay the foundation for our (long-term) prosperity and success.” The speech outlines the priorities and goals for
the government and its new leader. Prentice was elected to head the Progressive Conservative party and become premier in September and was one of four successful PC members who won seats in the Oct. 27 byelections. Earlier Monday, Prentice, Education Minister Gordon Dirks, Health Minister Stephen Mandel and backbencher Mike Ellis were sworn in as members of the legislature. Prentice has promised to build Alberta’s economy
while addressing an acute shortage of schools and care beds that has strained resources in a rapidly growing province. The throne speech reiterated and advanced specific goals the government has to fix those ills, starting with a sound budget that takes into account the vagaries of oil. “A budget tied to volatile energy prices imperils our fiscal resilience over the long term,” read Ethell. “We must align spending with a realistic assessment of the financial capacity we can sustain responsibly.”
Please see LEGISLATURE on Page A2
Father wins custody of son after two year battle
ICE MASTER
BY MURRAY CRAWFORD ADVOCATE STAFF
Once detailed reviews of the area’s topography, water flows and historical flooding data was pulled together for the draft study, the floodway (areas most at risk of flooding) were more clearly defined. “The moratorium is now based on numbers that we’ve got in an additional draft document to support,” he said. “We can substantiate our position better, I guess is the way to look at it.” The changes mean an area that has seen significant residential development in the McDougal Flats area is no longer included in the floodway. Coyote Creek Golf and RV Resort, a small subdivision to the south and parts of Molmac subdivision remain in the floodway.
A man who has been fighting for custody of his son for nearly two years, after the child was taken away from him in the hospital shortly after his birth, will get to take his son home. The child, who cannot be named under the Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act, had been in the custody of Child and Family Services since his birth in January 2013. The father, who is aboriginal, has been allowed weekly supervised visits. On Monday, Judge John Holmes ordered the son to be returned to his father immediately. The father, whose name is also protected by the same provisions, was in Red Deer provincial court on Monday seeking to gain custody. The child had been under a temporary guardianship order. The hearing was held after an application was made seeking a permanent guardianship order, putting the child in the care of Child and Family Services. The father said he signed the temporary guardianship order but has since regretted doing so. The father’s counsel, Andrew Phypers, said his client has no history with child welfare and has no criminal record, but had been denied custody since the day his son was born. Listed as the father on the birth documents at the hospital, the man was not deemed a parent after the child was taken from his mother. The mother has been deemed unfit to be a guardian for the child. However, the father named the child, Phypers said. The lawyer also said the mother has had no contact with the child and is an addict. Phypers argued there should have been a presumption of parentage for the father before that child was taken into custody. The man had to undergo a DNA test to prove he was the child’s father. He then had to undergo a parenting capacity assessment. It was the outcome of that assessment that led Child and Family Services to seek the permanent guardianship order. The order would have put the child into foster care. The report indicated that the father, whose first language is not English, has a low IQ and had difficulties with hearing and seeing, which could lead to difficulties with raising and caring for the child. Shari Lewis, counsel for Child and Family Services, also said the assessment indicated that the father would have difficulty responding to unexpected circumstances.
Please see MORATORIUM on Page A2
Please see CUSTODY on Page A2
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
With hoar frost clinging to the trees and the steam rising off the snowbank rink in Clearview, Richard Kogut lays down a fresh coat of water Monday morning. City of Red Deer Parks and Recreation staff are now working hard to build up the ice thickness on dozens of outdoor ice surfaces through the city and will continue to flood, clean and resurface the rinks through the winter months.
Mountain View County approves moratorium on development in floodways BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF A contentious temporary moratorium on development in floodways along a stretch of the Red Deer River has been approved by Mountain View County council. Before being passed, council reduced the size of the area affected by new development rules based on the recently completed McDougal Flats Flood Hazard Study prepared for Alberta Environmental Sustainable Resource Development by Calgarybased Golder Associates. County Coun. Al Kemmere said the initial moratorium area was based on the study area to be examined by consultants.
30% flurries. High -5. Low -10.
FORECAST ON A2
INDEX Four sections Alberta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A3 Business. . . . . . . . . . . . . B5,B6 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A5 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . D1-D3 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . C5 Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1-B3
Tories win pair of byelections The Conservatives have held onto the late Jim Flaherty’s seat while coasting to an easy victory in Yellowhead. Story on PAGE A3
THERE LATE. HOPE CAR STARTS SOON.
PLEASE
RECYCLE
JOIN TODAY. 1·800·222·6400 ama.ab.ca/JoinAMA
51764K4,18
WEATHER