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Northern Alberta man acquitted of charges after shooting involving stolen quad

A northern Alberta man who shot an intruder who was trying to steal his ATV was acquitted of all charges Friday.
 
Eugene Dalton, 62, was found not guilty of aggravated assault, discharging a firearm with intent to harm, careless use of a firearm and unlawful use of a firearm.
 
The charges stem from a July 6, 2014, incident where Dalton was asleep at his home in Chard when he was awakened by loud noises about 4 a.m. He went outside with a loaded shotgun and found Philip Janvier driving towards him on his quad.
 
Dalton testified he fired in the air; however, Janvier was wounded in the upper left arm.
 
Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Dawn Pentelechuk said while Dalton’s decision to fire had “tragic consequences,” his actions were unintended. “Recklessness cannot substitute for intention,” she said. “I cannot establish intent beyond a reasonable doubt.”
 
Pentelechuk accepted Dalton’s testimony that he was in fear for his safety and ruled he had acted in self-defence. She also found that the quad was a weapon.
 
However, Dalton — a truck driver and father of two sons — was earlier given a six-month conditional discharge and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service after pleading guilty to possessing a shotgun without a licence.
 
“I’m sorry for what happened,” said Dalton. “I didn’t mean for anything to happen to Philip Janvier.”
 
At trial, Dalton testified he fired in the air “just to scare him away so he would take off and leave” and said he was scared that Janvier was going to run him over. He denied intending to shoot him and said he didn’t believe he was hit.
 
According to an agreed statement of facts, Janvier had gone to Dalton’s acreage with his girlfriend and her cousin with the intention of stealing the quad.
 
After being shot, Janvier was airlifted to University Hospital in Edmonton where he underwent surgery.
 
Chard is about 110 km south of Fort McMurray.
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Police warn armed, dangerous man could be headed to Edmonton

An armed and dangerous man on the loose after a woman was carjacked at gunpoint may be headed to Edmonton, police say.

According to Provost RCMP, a woman was forced at gunpoint to drive a man from Consort to Wainwright at around 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

The woman managed to flee when they stopped at a gas station in Czar.

The man ran from the gas station and RCMP officers have been unable to locate him. A search of the vehicle did not turn up the handgun allegedly used in the carjacking, leading investigators to believe the suspect may still be carrying the gun.

The RCMP were asking for the public’s assistance in locating 31-year-old Jason Masse, described as a white man about five-foot-nine, weighing about 190 pounds.

Masse was said to have black hair and a close-shaven head, brown eyes and was last seen wearing blue jeans and a black hoodie with an orange Under Armour logo. Masse has a tattoo on the back of his neck.

Anyone with information as to his whereabouts was urged to contact police. Officers were warning the public not to approach him, as he may be armed and could be violent.

twitter.com/ClaireTheobald

ctheobald@postmedia.com

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Edmonton man dies as plane crashes in B.C.

A passenger who died in a plane crash near Green Lake, northwest of Kamloops, has been identified as an Edmonton man.

The B.C. Coroners officer confirmed Jonathan Lindsay Blair, 42, of Edmonton, died after the private plane he and a pilot were flying crashed while trying to land on an airstrip around noon Thursday.

According to reports, the plane crashed into trees near the runway.

The cause of the crash was still under investigation Friday.

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Gary Lamphier: ATB's Compass funds score with investors

It’s a jittery, angst-ridden world out there — and no, I’m not referring to the latest terrorist attacks or Sunday’s murderous rampage at a gay bar in Orlando.

I’m talking about the perpetually fragile state of the global economy, which has lurched from one crisis to another since the Great Recession. The hand-wringing over Thursday’s Brexit vote in Britain is merely the latest in a series of nerve-jangling events.

From the sovereign debt crisis to the oil-price crash to persistent fears that China’s economy may implode, investors have seemingly been on a knife’s edge for years now. Rich stock market valuations and poor earnings growth have stirred fears that we could see a repeat of 2008-09.

It’s enough to turn a guy’s hair grey, as Gene Hochachka laughingly admits. Now in his mid 40s, Hochachka’s silvery mop looks like it belongs on my aging 60-plus head, not his.

As chief investment officer of ATB Investor Services, it’s Hochachka’s job to oversee nearly $14 billion of other people’s money. With markets gyrating wildly over the past year, including ugly meltdowns in August and again in January, the quiet spells have been few and far between.

But Hochachka says ATB’s keep-it-simple, steady-as-she-goes approach has paid off.

“Portfolio management comes down to three basic things: the asset mix, the security selection and the cost,” he says. By hiring the best private money managers he can find, by sticking to time-tested asset mix formulas and keeping fund fees low, Hochachka figures ATB has found the secret sauce to success.

“The equities in the Compass funds are roughly a third Canada, a third U.S. and a third overseas, and that’s pretty well what we’ve been doing since we were founded 14 years ago. It doesn’t have to be overly complex. It’s just plain Jane, but it works,” he says.

“It’s actually been a lot easier in the last 18 months to explain to people why we don’t have half or more of our equities in Canada. In Alberta, they’d be getting hammered by that (the downturn in resource stocks) at the same time their house or their job or their business is at risk,” he points out.

ATB Investor Services’ assets are now dominated by its Compass series of mutual funds, which have nearly tripled in value over the past four years and now comprise nearly $11 billion, or 70 per cent, of the firm’s total assets under management.

About two-thirds of that growth has come from fund inflows, either from existing or new clients, and the rest from market returns.

“We’ve done better than the rest of the industry in terms of asset growth, but up until 18 months ago Alberta was an economic hot bed, so it’s not really a fair comparison if you look at the rest of the country,” Hochachka admits.

“But we’ve started gathering Alberta-only numbers, and from the December quarter to the March quarter, the mutual fund industry in Alberta had asset growth of about 0.5 per cent, the bank-owned funds had asset growth of about one per cent, and we grew by six per cent. The year-over-year numbers show the same thing.”

Although 2015 was a decidedly sub-par year for returns, mainly due to currency fluctuations, the Compass funds have generally outperformed their peers since they were formed.

The two most aggressive funds — namely, the Compass Maximum Growth Portfolio and the Compass Growth Portfolio — have posted average annual returns of 7.2 per cent and 7.3 per cent since their inception in 2002.

The more conservatively managed funds, including the Compass Conservative Portfolio and the Compass Conservative Balanced Portfolio, generated average annual gains of 5.0 per cent and 6.1 per cent, respectively, over the same 14-year period.

Meanwhile, the Compass Balanced Portfolio and Compass Balanced Growth Portfolio, which offer a slightly higher mix of equities along with corporate and government bonds, have chimed in with average annual gains of 6.8 per cent and 7.1 per cent, respectively.

Since those average yearly returns were achieved despite the global stock market carnage of 2008-09, the commodity bust of the past 18 months and the skinny yields now provided by government bonds, that’s no small achievement.

“Now that we have 14 years of history behind us, we’re no longer novices at this and we can tell the rest of the world that this is an approach that works,” says Hochachka, who joined ATB’s investment arm in 2004 after eight years as a financial analyst at Vancouver-based Phillips, Hager & North, which was acquired by RBC in 2008.

“It’s simple and straightforward. You offer an asset mix that’s appropriate, you get some quality asset managers underneath who choose the securities, you keep your fees low, and then you let time and these profit-generating companies work for you.”

So what does Hochachka see ahead for the stock markets?

“I’m sort of perturbed that excluding energy, corporate earnings have been so modest over the last few quarters. Some of that is probably due to currency translation (i.e., the strong U.S. dollar), but it looks like second-quarter earnings will turn up again,” he says.

“Although we’re not going to have the kind of recovery we had from 2008 and 2009, there is a lot of evidence that U.S. companies can grow their earnings per share at four to six per cent a year. And if you tack on a two-per-cent dividend on that, now you’re talking six- to eight-per-cent nominal returns.”

glamphier@postmedia.com

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Edmonton Storm face provincial rival Lethbridge Steel in WWCFL conference final

When it comes to provincial rivalries in Alberta, the first one that always comes to mind is Edmonton versus Calgary, but for the Edmonton Storm, their biggest rival is the Lethbridge Steel.

Just how tense is this rivalry in the Western Women’s Canadian Football League? None of the Storm players or coaching staff are allowed to wear purple (Steel team colours) this week, or anytime they play Lethbridge.

That’s not always easy when you go through a woman’s wardrobe.

On Saturday at the Jasper Place Bowl (3:15 p.m.) the Storm and Steel will clash once again for the right to play in the WWCFL championship game on June 25 in Lethbridge.

Since the inception of the WWCFL in 2011, Edmonton and Lethbridge have met every year in the playoffs.

“Everybody talks about Edmonton and Calgary as provincial rivals in every sport, but Lethbridge has been the spoilers to our party more often than not over the years,” said Storm head coach Karin Simmons.

“Nothing would be sweeter for us to come away with a win on Saturday, because they’re hosting the league championship this year, and we want to go win that championship in their backyard.

“We need to defend our turf. We need to make sure they feel unwanted, and we want to beat them up on the field and rub the salt in their wounds.”

The Storm made it to the league championship last season, and the team is hell-bent on getting back there again, but this time finishing the job.

It’s been a special season for the Storm, who have been one of the top teams in the eight-member WWCFL over the past six years, but they are still chasing that championship title.

This year, they cruised through the regular season with a perfect 4-0 record, outscoring their opponents by a 234-52 margin.

The coaching staff led by Simmons, offensive co-ordinator Eric Theroux, defensive co-ordinator Joe Williams and offensive line coach Shawn Walters has reached a different level with the players.

The sacrifices and the commitment level from the players has been instrumental in the team’s success.

“This year … it just feels different. We’ve been 4-0 before. We’ve gone against Lethbridge in the West Final before, but it’s different,” said Simmons.

Defensively, the Storm are led by veteran linebackers Tanya Henderson and Jessica Anderson, who are the heart of the defence.

Offensively, running back Brenna Bouchard opened up a lot of eyes around the league with an incredible nine-touchdown game in the season-opener, but since then, the Storm’s offence has become well-rounded.

Receivers Micky Duda and Emma Goldsney have enjoyed breakout seasons, and quarterback Aria McGowan has been the veteran leader on offence.

Lethbridge finished the regular season with a 1-3 record but are coming off an upset win over the Calgary Rage last weekend. After a slow start, the Steel are peaking at the right time and will pose a challenge for the Storm.

“They have speed, they have depth, they’re a team that worries us because of our history against them,” said Simmons.

“We know we’re a better team than them, but we can’t be overconfident. They can’t be taken lightly.”

The Storm are looking to become the first team outside of Saskatchewan to win the WWCFL crown. Since 2011, the Saskatoon Valkyries have won four straight titles, while the Regina Riot won last year.

The winner of Saturday’s Western Conference final will meet either Saskatoon or Regina, who will battle each other in the Prairie Conference final.

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New Alberta judges will help ease burden in the court system, justice minister says

The federal government has made a few long-awaited judicial appointments in Alberta, a move Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley called a step to ease pressure on the province’s overburdened court system.

“I think it will certainly help, anything helps, but certainly they continue to be under significant pressures,” Ganley said. “Even without vacancies, Alberta has the lowest number of Queen’s Bench justices per capita in the country, so we still are under significant pressure.”

Federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould announced two appointments to the Alberta Court of Appeal and four appointments to the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench.

 Sheila Greckol, formerly a Court of Queen’s Bench justice in Edmonton, will now serve as a justice on the Alberta Court of Appeal in the provincial capital.

Greckol has also been appointed as a justice of the Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories and the Court of Appeal in Nunuvut.

Her appointment will fill a vacancy left after Justice Russell Brown was appointed last August to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Greckol’s position will be filled by the appointment of John Henderson to the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench. Henderson had previously been a provincial court judge in Edmonton.

Sheilah Martin will move from her position as a Court of Queen’s Bench justice in Calgary to the Alberta Court of Appeal in Calgary, replacing Cliff O’Brien, who retired in November 2014.

Martin was also appointed as a justice of the Court of Appeal for the Northwest Territories and the Court of Appeal in Nunuvut.

Gillian Marriot, a lawyer with Widdowson Kachur Ostwald Menzies LLP in Calgary, will take Martin’s place on the Court of Queen’s Bench.

Douglas Mah, who previously served as secretary and general counsel with the Workers’ Compensation Board of Alberta in Edmonton, has been appointed to the Court of Queen’s Bench in Edmonton.

Mah is taking the place of Justice Dennis Thomas, who went into semi-retirement last June.

Avril Inglis, formerly a prosecutor with Alberta Justice in Edmonton, has also been appointed a Court of Queen’s Bench judge in Edmonton, filling a vacancy left after judge Frederica Schultz was elevated to the Court of Appeal in August 2015.

“We have filled the urgent judicial vacancies by drawing on a list of recommended candidates who are of the highest calibre and who are as diverse as Canada. I have every confidence in the judgment of these appointees and in their commitment and ability to deliver just outcomes for Canadians,” Wilson-Raybould said.

Even with these recent appointments, Alberta’s Court of Queen’s Bench has four open vacancies and Alberta’s Court of Appeal still needs two more judges.

Alberta has the lowest number of Court of Queen’s Bench judges per capita in Canada even without these vacancies and would need 11 more to match the ratio of judges to population in B.C.

“It is certainly getting quite difficult for them,” Ganley said.

“Our Court of Queen’s Bench has done a lot of work with scheduling to ensure that they are able to serve the maximum number of people and to ensure timely access to justice. But, really, they’ve gone as far as they can go without additional appointments.

“It is becoming a significant concern here in Alberta and it has been a concern for quite a while.”

This announcement comes ahead of a promised overhaul of the federal process of judicial appointments.

twitter.com/ClaireTheobald

ctheobald@postmedia.com

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Saturday's letters: Edmonton's narrow attitude toward cycling shows up on High Level bridge

I’m not surprised that the city is narrowing the bike/pedestrian paths on both sides of the High Level bridge below their own standards and below the national standards. 

The statement that they are doing it to “save money” is hard to accept. This from a council that spent hundreds of thousands of dollars ripping out new pavement (something that is hard to find in Edmonton) just to make sure that newly installed bike lanes could not be detected after they were removed? 

Despite council’s actions, bicycle riding is not going away. An education program for cyclists, pedestrians and motorists is sorely needed in our city. The real estate has to be shared. It’s done everywhere else in the world. 

Ken Kouri, Edmonton

National anthem not etched in stone

Re. “Thy sons know not what they say,” Andrew Coyne, June 16 

I am appalled and angered by Andrew Coyne’s recent column regarding the proposed wording changes to our national anthem.

The world has changed. For example, in our western provinces, women have had the right to vote for a century. Many clubs previously open to men have now admitted women, including two well-known golf clubs — Augusta National and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club at St. Andrew’s. Rotary International, the world’s oldest service club, admitted women to full membership in 1988. Women now occupy major leadership positions.

Wording does matter. The term “in all thy sons” is not inclusive. It needs to be. The wording of our national anthem is not sacred nor etched in stone. It has been changed before and will be again. 

Julius Buski, Sturgeon County

Ready for a word change

Re. “Thy sons know not what they say,” Andrew Coyne, June 16

This column does — finally, toward the middle — mention the salient point in the debate about changing the lyrics of our national anthem. Andrew Coyne writes: “But son does not mean daughter.” Exactly. He hides this point in the middle of digressions on how language is evolving, how slang sometimes blurs gender, how people react toward the word Christmas. All of that is irrelevant.

The word “children” refers to both sexes, but “son” is male and “daughter” is female. So, how would the columnist feel about singing, “True patriot love in all thy daughters command?” When the anthem was written the use of “sons” didn’t matter because women didn’t matter. They weren’t even persons in the legal framework of the time.

Brenda Wegmann, Edmonton

Daylight time year-round would work

Re. “For safety sake, end daylight time,” Letters, June 15

Pamela Brink is correct about the long summer nights not needing the extra one hour of sunlight. It’s the short winter daylight hours that are the problem.

As a retired school teacher I see the children go home from school close to dark and know there is no outside play time. If we stayed on daylight time year-round we get the light later each day. It would be safer for commuters driving home. No need to change the clocks twice a year. As one moves closer to the equator it becomes less of a problem as light and darkness becomes more equal summer to winter. My preference is to remain on daylight time year-round.

Richard Asp, Wetaskiwin

Plenty of choices for greener living

Re. Changing your lifestyle won’t spare you from Alberta’s carbon tax, Paige MacPherson, June 10

Some driving is a frivolous luxury. If you drive less, you will save money. I happily pay my taxes and I am a senior on a very modest fixed income. Fourteen dollars on a $40 tank of gas? Peanuts.

Suggesting that the SUV be traded in for a Smart car is silly hyperbole. There are many other choices more fuel-efficient that will easily accommodate three children. I have been wearing my thick sweater for years. The thermostat is set to 18 C year-round.

Changing one’s lifestyle is not only realistic, it is essential. Failure to do so may well result in our fate equalling that of the Neanderthal.

Fred Lewis, Medicine Hat 

Letters welcome

We invite you to write letters to the editor. A maximum of 150 words is preferred. Letters must carry a first and last name, or two initials and a last name, and include an address and daytime telephone number. All letters are subject to editing. We don’t publish letters addressed to others or sent to other publications. Email: letters@edmontonjournal.com .

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Two Edmonton men charged with attempted murder in connection to shooting in Chipman

Two Edmonton men have been charged with attempted murder in connection to a shooting in the Village of Chipman last month. 

At about 3:20 p.m. on May 27, a man was shot outside a home in the village on 48 Avenue, RCMP said in a news release. Chipman is located about 75 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.

The man suffered serious injuries at the time. Police say he remains in hospital receiving care for non-life threatening injuries. 

During their investigation, Fort Saskatchewan RCMP identified two suspects and arrested them without incident at a home in Edmonton on Thursday. 

Trent Montgomery Fielder, 45, and Alex Lajos Nagy, 37, are both facing one count of attempted murder, one count of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and one count of discharge a firearm with intent. 

Fielder was also wanted on outstanding warrants from Edmonton and Grande Prairie, police said. 

Both men have been remanded in custody and are scheduled to appear in Fort Saskatchewan Provincial Court on Thursday. 

oellwand@postmedia.com

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Update: Homicide detectives on scene where domestic dispute turned deadly

Four police cars remained parked outside a large red brick corner-lot home in southwest Edmonton Saturday morning where a man was found dead the night before.

Police were called to the two-storey home with white-framed windows on Whitemud Road at 53A Avenue at about 7:45 p.m. Friday to respond to a domestic dispute. The man’s body was found inside. Neither his age nor his name have been released.

Police say they are interviewing witnesses that were inside the residence at the time.

Forensic investigators and staff from the medical examiner’s office were seen entering through the maroon-coloured front door Saturday morning. A silver Honda with a baby seat in the back sat in the side driveway.

Located on a quiet street near the North Saskatchewan River, the yellow crime scene tape caught the eye of cyclists training on Whitemud Road, one of whom said the house had been up for sale on and off over the last few years.

There have been 23 homicides in Edmonton so far this year.

With files from Claire Theobald

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RCMP pull Edmonton-area man from burning trailer — then arrest him

Two police officers rescued a man from a burning Spruce Grove trailer early Saturday morning, RCMP say.

Their heroics didn’t stop them from arresting the man once he was out safely for offences related to an assault investigation against his intimate partner.

At about 1 a.m. Saturday, RCMP were dispatched to a trailer on Calahoo Road after receiving a report of an assault. They arrived to find smoke billowing from the trailer.

“After countless and unrelenting efforts, two RCMP members gained entry to the trailer, which was at this time fully engulfed in flames,” said an RCMP news release.

The officers found a 40-year-old man inside and pulled him out.

Once paramedics treated the man, he was arrested. 

Kenneth Craven, 40, is facing two counts of aggravated assault, uttering threats and forcible confinement, assault and failing to comply with a probation order.

A fire inspector is investigating the blaze’s cause.

No one was injured in the fire, but four pets died. 

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Widow of man killed in Edmonton Mac's store robberies launches awareness project on Father's Day weekend

Karanpal Singh Bhangu had only been in Edmonton for a few months when he found a job at a downtown Mac’s convenience store.

The owner needed a clerk for the overnight shift and asked if he had any experience dealing with stabbings and robberies, his wife Kiran Bhangu said. 

Kiran did not like the sound of this and discouraged her husband from taking the job.

“I just don’t want to live with this feeling that you went to work and I’m not sure if you’re going to come back tomorrow morning,” she said she told him.

On Nov. 16, 2015, he took a job as an overnight clerk at a different Mac’s, this one located in a strip mall in a residential neighbourhood in south Edmonton at 82 Street and 34 Avenue. They both thought it would be safer.

Karanpal had only been in the position for a month and two days when he was shot in the stomach during an armed robbery at 3:30 a.m. He sounded the panic alarm and was found grievously injured by a police officer.

He died about four months after arriving in Canada from India, having just reunited with his wife and son after 5-1/2 years of long-distance. 

Karanpal was one of two Mac’s clerks shot and killed that night. The other victim was 41-year-old Ricky Massin Cenabre, 41, who worked at a store near 108 Street and 61 Avenue. 

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EDMONTON, ALBERTA: JUNE 18, 2016 - A poster on the window of the Progressive Academy in Edmonton. Karanpal Bhangu was one of two Mac's convenience store employees killed in the early hours of Dec. 18, 2015, when two men and a youth stormed the store during an armed robbery. Bhangu had arrived in Edmonton just a few months before to join his wife and son after a long-distance relationship of five years. On Father's Day weekend, his widow, Kiran Bhangu, hosted an event at the Progressive Academy in Edmonton to raise awareness to help prevent future fatal armed robberies. Story by Otiena Ellwand. (PHOTO BY LARRY WONG/POSTMEDIA NETWORK)

Karanpal Bhangu’s widow Kiran (right), hosted an event at the Progressive Academy in Edmonton to raise awareness to help prevent future fatal armed robberies.

Colton Steinhauer, 27, Laylin Delorme, 24, and a 13-year-old boy who cannot be identified under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act are each charged with two counts of first-degree murder, along with gun and robbery-related charges in connection with the killings.

On Jan. 14, six years after immigrating to Canada to set up a new life for her and her family, Kiran was at her husband’s funeral.

“He was my strength,” she said. During all those years apart, he was the one who encouraged her to keep going, to get her early childhood education diploma, then a job in Edmonton as a teacher, and to carve out a “better future” in Canada.

“It was Karan’s dream, he wanted to come to Canada,” she said. “Now him not being here, it just doesn’t make sense to me.”

Karanpal had been a computer teacher back in Amritsar, India. He had a bachelor’s degree in information technology and a master’s degree in public administration. He was known for his upbeat and positive attitude, his love and knowledge of literature and music, especially guitar and piano, his new-found “fuel for his soul,” his widow said. 

Kiran spoke publicly about her husband and the tragedy that befell her family in those early morning hours of Dec. 18, 2015, for the first time this Father’s Day weekend.

She held an event on Saturday at the Progressive Academy, the school where she works, to launch the Karan Project, a forum she hopes will raise awareness about the dangers night workers face on the job.

Everything is taken away. I have no words. It’s unimaginable, it’s devastating. — Kiran Bhangu

Kiran wants the government and retail companies to look at ways of making overnight shifts for convenience and gas station workers safer, such as having clerks work behind bulletproof glass and improving the emergency response to panic alarms.

“Night shift employees are at high-risk of violence and crime, there has to be safer measures followed,” Kiran said. “I wanted to do something about this so nobody else would miss their father on Father’s Day because of these avoidable events.”

Labour Minister Christina Gray met with Kiran and her group on Saturday to hear their ideas about improving worker safety. 

“These are tragic situations that should be preventable. Families need to know that when their loved ones go to work, they will come home safe at the end of the day,” Gray said in a statement. “Our government takes the protection of these workers seriously, understanding they often work long hours alone in the middle of the night.” 

Gray said her ministry is going through the information gathered by occupational health and safety inspectors during visits to roughly 200 convenience stores and gas stations across the province. The inspectors were examining issues such as paycheque deductions, employing young workers, working alone and workplace violence, and were prompted by the Mac’s murders. 

This past Friday marked the sixth month anniversary since Karanpal’s death. Last Monday, he would have turned 36.

Karin is not sure what she and her 6-1/2-year-old son Royce will do now: If they’ll live out Karanpal’s “dream” in Canada or go back to India. But what she does know is she feels compelled to help protect and prevent this from happening to others. 

“Life was so fun with Karan,” she said. “Everything is taken away. I have no words. It’s unimaginable, it’s devastating. I feel like these words are not explaining it enough.”

oellwand@postmedia.com

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Taste of Edmonton adds fresh ingredients to festival menu

Unique culinary adventures, new menu items and a fresh bounty of restaurants and food trucks will have stomachs rumbling at this year’s Taste of Edmonton. Here’s the skinny on what’s cooking: 

When: July 21-30 from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Where: Winston Churchill Square, Edmonton

New ingredients: In an exclusive event-first, and for one day only, foodies will get the chance to taste an additional menu item from food vendors on July 30. If you are looking for a sneak peek into the city’s food scene, Taste of New! is for you.

It’s a party in your mouth: Culminating in decadent desserts, this year’s event features a new Sip ‘n’ Savour pop-up food experience every night that covers all manner of culinary craftwork from Bacon & Brews to an all-vegan adventure. 

Yes Chef!: If you want more of a hands-on experience, the workshops are where it’s at. Learn to cook with beer, refine your cake pop, or master the art of seafood. All workshops are $30 + GST

How much: Up until 6 p.m. on July 20, a sheet of 40 pre-sale tickets is available for $52.50 (incl. GST). After that time, the price will increase to $63 per sheet.  


Tasty numbers from a tasty festival

79 new menu items

16 new restaurants and food trucks

10 Sip ‘n Savour evening pop ups

8 culinary adventures

7 culinary workshops

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Thunderstorm watch issued for Edmonton

Summer storms rolled into town Tuesday, prompting government climate experts to take watch.

Environment Canada issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Edmonton, St. Albert and Sherwood Park Tuesday just before 3 p.m.

The change in weather owes itself to “an unstable air mass” which was moving across central Alberta and residents were being warned that storms could include large hail and flooding rains.

The agency also reminded people that lightning kills and injures people every year.

dlazzarino@postmedia.com

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Opinion: It's time to address Alberta's middle-income housing squeeze

Runaway house price increases have become the rule across Canada. Since 2000, home prices across the country rose more than incomes in all of 35 larger markets, while prices rose more than four times incomes in Toronto and Vancouver.

This is in stark contrast to the three decades after 1970, when Canadian home prices rose at about the same rate as household incomes, hovering at approximately three times household incomes. Moreover, mortgage interest rates are likely to increase in the next few years, which would make it even more expensive to purchase a home.

Housing affordability is important not only to people, but also to the economy. Housing is typically the largest expenditure item in the household budget. When costs rise substantially, households have less discretionary income, a lower standard of living and purchase less in other goods and services. This can hobble job creation and economic growth. The overall house price increase in the 35 markets was five times the general inflation rate, four times the increase in gasoline prices and higher than any other major expenditure item in the Consumer Price Index.

In response to all of this, concerns have been raised by the Bank of Canada, as well as international organizations such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the International Monetary Fund.

Until recently, it could be assumed that middle-income households could afford to buy their own homes and that housing subsidies were needed only for lower income households. Runaway house price increases are changing this. According to the Royal Bank affordability report, the median income household needs 61 per cent of its income in Toronto and 81 per cent in Vancouver to pay the mortgage on the average-priced house or condominium.

Alberta’s two large metropolitan areas have also experienced runaway housing prices. 

Between 2000 and 2015 the average house price rose approximately 162 per cent in the Calgary metropolitan area. By comparison, the average household income increased a healthy, but much smaller 73 per cent. Thus, house prices increased at a rate of 2.2 times that of household incomes.

Home prices rose even more sharply relative to incomes in Edmonton. The average household income increased strongly in Edmonton, up 75 per cent between 2000 and 2015. However, the average house increased much more, at 202 per cent, or 2.7 times household incomes.

Why have middle-income house prices increased so much? Demand has been driven higher by lower interest rates. But this also happened in other nations, and where builders were able to respond to demand by building a sufficient number of houses, price increases were modest. Then, strong inter-provincial migration drove prices up as builders struggled to meet demand in the mid-2000s, a result of Alberta’s strong economic growth. This drove prices higher, but once building activity met the demand, prices should have fallen back to historic norms. They did not.

In the meantime, the effect of stronger land use regulation became evident, with barriers to building on inexpensive greenfield land, while high development fees and levies had become higher. In response, prices continued to rise.

Meanwhile, economic conditions over the past year in Alberta have brought a respite in house price increases. But, when a more normal economy returns, the rapid house price increases seem likely to resume, driven by the stronger land use regulations and further intensified by higher interest rates. This will further burden Alberta households, some who will have to pay more to buy houses, and others who would be denied the opportunity for ownership by the higher prices.

Governments should take action to keep house prices under control. A critical part of this is addressing the fundamental economic relationship between overzealous land use regulation and higher house prices. New Zealand, with an Auckland housing crisis similar to Vancouver’s, is considering a program to establish annual house price to income goals, and automatically ease development rules if they are not met. This could be a model for Calgary and Edmonton to follow.

Wendell Cox is a senior fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.

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Dan Barnes: Calgary-Edmonton bid for 2026 Olympics worth exploring

Calgary and Edmonton can race one another toward a major sports happening in 2026 in Alberta, but one of them will surely lose.

The Calgary Sport Tourism Authority has been working on a Winter Olympics bid for over two years, and on Monday, Cowtown city council voted 13-2 to support their work on a potential 2026 bid with $5 million. Edmonton, meanwhile, has the right of first refusal on a Canadian bid for the Commonwealth Games that year, having abandoned a 2022 bid at the behest of the provincial government. Extensive legwork on that has been done here, too.

Since it is highly unlikely the province and Ottawa would support two Alberta bids of that financial magnitude in the same year, the more reasonable option is a regional bid, and it really ought to be the Olympics. (Unless the Canadian Soccer Association gains federal backing for a run at the 2026 World Cup, which would likely scuttle any Alberta plans.)

At any rate, there is lasting cachet in hosting the five-ring circus, even if you have to share it with a provincial rival. What’s more, the International Olympic Committee has embraced the concept of regional bids and the utilization of existing infrastructure; factors that reduce the cost and spread the benefits of hosting. And perhaps more importantly, there is a real willingness in Calgary to work with Edmonton on an Olympic bid.

“The thought has crossed my mind,” said Doug Mitchell, chair of the Calgary Sport Tourism Authority. “But let me just say this, one step at a time.”

Edmonton mayor Don Iveson took a step forward on Monday, shortly after Calgary’s Olympic intentions were made public, by reaching out to Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi. On Tuesday, Iveson went a step further, discussing the potential for a regional bid.

“I think we’d really need to know from the provincial and the federal governments whether there was an appetite and a fiscal capacity to run two major international events in the same year. I would suggest that’s probably tough.

“But the other interesting possibility is, that under the new bid rules for both Commonwealth Games and Olympics, you can bid as a region, as opposed to just as a city. So I think that opens up some intriguing possibilities to talk about maybe an Alberta games as opposed to it being just one city. I think that will be an interesting question to explore in the next little while, if there is appetite provincially to go ahead with this.

“And remember, the last time we talked to the provincial government about a major international sporting event, with oil prices more or less what they are today, we had to gracefully withdraw our bid for the Commonwealth Games in 2022. So I think the province will have an awful lot to say about what the fiscal appetite is for these kinds of events and I’d say there is still some uncertainty around that, from where I’m sitting.”

He’s not wrong.

“Should the cities of Calgary and Edmonton decide to move forward with their bids, the province will consider the proposals as we would any proposal,” said government spokesperson Cheryl Oates. “That would include weighing them against other government priorities.”

Schools. Hospitals. Roads. Disaster mitigation. All real concerns.

Talk of major expenditures on sporting events is even less palatable to the taxpaying masses at a time of depressed oil prices and a slumping economy. But these events are 10 years out, and oil will have entered an entirely new supply-and-demand cycle by then. And Mitchell said there are tangible benefits to Alberta — $3.7 billion in added GDP and 40,000 new jobs — according to a study commissioned by the authority.

“This is the kind of injection into our economy that we need,” said Mitchell, adding that Alberta was in a similar state of economic decline in 1981, when Calgary won the right to host the 1988 Olympics.

If the New Democrats can look 10 years into the future and manage to see both re-election and a single, massive international sporting event in Alberta, then let it be the Olympics. They showcase the world’s best athletes. Or, at least those who haven’t been suspended for ingesting performance-enhancing drugs or eluding the testers.

Imagine the opening ceremonies at a refurbished McMahon Stadium, closing ceremonies at an upgraded Commonwealth Stadium. Hockey at Calgary’s brand new rink, the construction of which will be tied politically to any bid. Figure skating and short track speed skating at Rogers Place. Maybe curling, too.

Long track speed skating in Calgary. Canmore gets the skinny ski events, cross-country and biathlon, as it did in 1988. Canada Olympic Park in Calgary hosts bobsled, luge, skeleton and ski jumping. Downhill skiing and snowboard goes to the mountains.

Two weeks later, the Paralympics are shared by the cities as well.

And if you wonder how all those athletes, coaches and spectators will shuttle between the cities in reasonable time, how about high-speed rail? Iveson agreed that a link between the cities would likely be part of the conversation, if a regional bid gains momentum.

But it’s early days, and neither train nor athlete will be on track until the political games play out in Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa.

dbarnes@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/jrnlbarnes

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Man lights himself on fire at Workers' Compensation Board building in Edmonton

A man set himself ablaze Friday morning outside the Workers’ Compensation Board in downtown Edmonton.

“The only person who was in danger today is the one individual who set himself on fire,” Edmonton police Sgt. Rick Abbott said later in the day.

The man set his clothing on fire just before 10 a.m. outside 9912 107 St. before trying to get inside.

“We’re just happy that nobody gained access to the building and there were no other people endangered,” said Abbott, who added the flames were doused within seconds with the help of emergency responders, WCB security guards and passersby.

“I’m deeply saddened by this morning’s events,” WCB president and CEO Guy Kerr said. “I know our staff are always willing to help anyone in distress, whether or not we have an existing relationship with them. We will always provide help to anyone who asks for it.”

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A man suffered non life threatening burns after he set himself on fire in front of the WCB building in Edmonton on July 15, 2016. Photo by Shaughn Butts / Postmedia Claire Theobald Story

A man suffered non-life threatening burns after he set himself on fire in front of the WCB building in Edmonton on July 15, 2016. 

Burned and smouldering clothing, including what looked like a pair of blue jeans, were strewn on the sidewalk where paramedics had loaded the man into an ambulance and taken him to hospital.

He was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Police believe the act was “self-inflicted” and therefore non-criminal, but were investigating the man’s motive.

Fire investigators were testing to determine if a clear liquid found inside a Crown Royal whisky bottle left at the scene could be the accelerant the man used.

Abbott, who said he was also one of the first officers on the scene when a man held hostages at gunpoint inside the WCB building in 2009, credited security protocols developed between the WCB and Edmonton police with bringing Friday’s incident quickly under control.

“Our members on the Jasper Avenue beat squad were here within seconds of this call coming in,” Abbott said.

On Oct. 21, 2009, Patrick Clayton walked into the WCB building armed with a rifle, shot at a security guard and held nine people hostage for 10 hours. No one was injured.

Throughout his trial, Clayton blamed a WCB doctor for re-injuring his knee after an accident in the workplace and officials for cutting off his medication, which he said caused him to fall back into a crack cocaine addiction.

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A man suffered non life threatening burns after he set himself on fire in front of the WCB building in Edmonton on July 15, 2016. Fire investigators collect the belongings of the man after he was transported to hospital Photo by Shaughn Butts / Postmedia Claire Theobald Story

A man suffered non-life threatening burns after he set himself on fire in front of the WCB building in Edmonton on July 15, 2016. Fire investigators collect the belongings of the man after he was taken to hospital.

Clayton was sentenced to 11 years behind bars on Nov. 22, 2011, which was reduced to six years and 10 months when credited for pre-trial custody.

Since that incident, Abbott said WCB security personnel have a direct line to police dispatch and a reorganization of downtown beat officers sees police regularly patrolling the area.

twitter.com/ClaireTheobald

ctheobald@postmedia.com

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Alberta Aviation Museum auction takes flight Saturday morning

Organizers of a huge garage sale at the Alberta Aviation Museum hope the merchandise will fly off the shelves.

Dubbed a Fly Market Sale, museum officials hope to get rid of a lot of aviation-related odds and ends — most of it donated over the years, none of it having any historical value.

There are airplane fuselages and rows of old airplane seats. You can pick up a tug that is able to pull a 737, or a baggage handling truck that dates to the 1950s or ’60s, said museum spokesman Steve Finkelman.

Also up for grabs are tools, compressors, and a wide variety of office furniture and display cases.

The auction is being run by Gary Hanna Auctions, and gets underway Saturday at 10 a.m.


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Darryl Kartz checks out items up for sale at the Alberta Aviation Museum's auction, in Edmonton on Friday July 15, 2016. The auction begins Saturday at 10 a.m. at the museum, 11410 Kingsway.

Deryl Kartz checks out items up for sale at the Alberta Aviation Museum’s auction, in Edmonton on Friday July 15, 2016. The auction begins Saturday at 10 a.m. at the museum, 11410 Kingsway.


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Darryl Kartz checks out items up for sale at the Alberta Aviation Museum's auction, in Edmonton on Friday July 15, 2016. The auction begins Saturday at 10 a.m. at the museum, 11410 Kingsway.

Deryl Kartz checks out items up for sale at the Alberta Aviation Museum’s auction, in Edmonton on Friday July 15, 2016. The auction begins Saturday at 10 a.m. at the museum, 11410 Kingsway.


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Richard Smith checks out items up for sale at the Alberta Aviation Museum's auction, on Friday July 15, 2016. The auction begins Saturday at 10 a.m.

Richard Smith checks out items up for sale at the Alberta Aviation Museum’s auction, on Friday July 15, 2016. The auction begins Saturday at 10 a.m.


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A visitor to the Alberta Aviation Museum checks out the items for sale during the museum's auction, in Edmonton on Friday July 15, 2016. The auction begins Saturday at 10 a.m.

A visitor to the Alberta Aviation Museum checks out the items for sale during the museum’s auction, in Edmonton on Friday July 15, 2016. The auction begins Saturday at 10 a.m.

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Conflict 'intractable' on Edmonton Catholic school board, consultant says in scathing report to education minister

Edmonton Catholic school trustees must now regularly report to Alberta’s deputy minister of education following a scathing consultant’s report that calls the school board’s interpersonal conflicts “intractable.”

After working with the school board’s seven trustees for eight months, government-appointed facilitator Don Cummings concluded the board needs a monitor with the teeth to “filter” the board’s effect on school district employees until, “in the opinion of the minister, the board is in a position to govern effectively.”

“This (conflict) has now reached the point where it is certainly affecting the effectiveness and efficiency of the administrative system and eventually, a risk to system performance and outcomes,” Cummings writes.

The board is not meeting the expectations of leaders governing a $480-million budget with 3,300 staff responsible for more than 40,000 children, he concludes.

Education Minister David Eggen’s office provided the report to the school board Wednesday. In an attached letter, the minister said deputy minister Curtis Clarke will now be working with the school board to improve governance and accountability.

It affects every aspect of the current governing style, is culturally embedded in the behaviours of the board and is largely (currently) intractable

Unavailable Friday when his office posted the report online, Eggen issued a short statement, saying he expects all school trustees to act in the best interest of students.

“I will continue to monitor the situation with Edmonton Catholic to ensure they are putting the best interests of students first by working to meet the observer’s recommendations,” he said.

By Sept. 30, Clarke expects the board to submit to him a plan and timeline explaining when they’ll rewrite and monitor their outdated or ineffective policies, practices and protocols, he said in a letter to the board. He wants this done over the next 15 months, with updates filed every other month, the letter said.

Clarke has taken on “more focused role” with the school board, Alberta Education spokeswoman Jill Wheeler-Bryks said in an email. It’s the first time Clarke has asked a school board to provide routine reports, she wrote.

In a written response, Catholic school board chairwoman Marilyn Bergstra said the board has unwillingly become the “poster child” for acrimonious debate in politics.

“We don’t have to look too far to find contentious behaviour between politicians at any level,” she wrote.

The board’s public conflicts came to light last year as trustees debated how to introduce a provincially required policy to protect transgender students and staff. More recently, one trustee left a board meeting in tears, after discussions about the annual budget devolved into shouting.

Cummings said his initial attempts to guide and advise a board “resistant to change” had little effect, and that the board needs more “prescriptive” oversight if its dynamics are to improve.

The biggest problem is animosity between board members, and between trustees and school district administrators, his report said.

“It affects every aspect of the current governing style, is culturally embedded in the behaviours of the board and is largely (currently) intractable,” Cummings wrote.

Public and internal discourse is unprofessional, debate is often disrupted by emotion and the board has no effective way to hold itself accountable for trustees’ behaviour, he wrote.

Existing board policies and bylaws “simply do not work” and “exacerbate the interpersonal conflict,” but trustees can’t even agree on how to change these documents, he said.

Cummings’ eight-month project, which cost taxpayers $125,000, involved attending more than 40 public and private board meetings, individually interviewing trustees and employees, reviewing board policies and procedures, and studying other documents and correspondence.

Board trustees are also confused about their role and meddle with school district administrators’ work, Cummings said. The trustees don’t trust administrators, the administrators don’t trust board members and the two groups have a “long and strained” relationship, he said.

Earlier this month, the Canadian Association of School System Administrators named Edmonton Catholic superintendent Joan Carr the Canadian Superintendent of the Year.

When contacted Friday, Cummings said he does not publicly discuss his work with clients and referred questions to the education ministry.

Bergstra, who said she was not available for interviews Friday, acknowledged in her statement board discussions have been heated and that there was “pressure from external sources,” which she does not identify.

“Debate and disagreements are an essential component of democratic governance. Democracy can be messy but it works,” she wrote.

She said the board has met privately several times and is on a “very good path” since the May meeting, with goals to work professionally together and develop a new mission, vision and strategic plan, and complete a review of board policies.

Bergstra said it’s “unfortunate” the board’s governance issues were overshadowing trustees’ good work improving education for First Nations students, making strides to address student mental health and hosting public consultations.

“Much of the good work from our administration stems from trustee passions, ideas and creativity. For the sake of the students we govern, it is important that our voice be strong and respected.” 

jfrench@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/jantafrench

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102 Avenue over Groat Road Bridge has reopened to traffic, pedestrians

Edmonton’s 102 Avenue over Groat Road Bridge reopened Friday, easing west-end traffic congestion.

The City of Edmonton has said the $32-million project will be completed in August.

The old bridge over Groat Road, built in 1910, was demolished in July 2014 with a target completion date set for October 2015. The project was delayed when three girders for the deck buckled in March 2015.

One lane in each direction is open and two lanes will be opened during peak hours on weekdays, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Pedestrians are able to cross the bridge on one side.

Lane closures during non-peak hours will continue into the fall as construction continues.

 

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Crews open the 102 Avenue Bridge in Edmonton, on Friday, July 15, 2016. Bridge girders buckled during construction and was over a year late opening.

Crews open the 102 Avenue Bridge in Edmonton, on Friday, July 15, 2016. Bridge girders buckled during construction and was over a year late opening.


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Colleen Feehan and Matt Anderson cross the 102 Avenue Bridge on their way to work as it opens in Edmonton, on Friday, July 15, 2016.

Colleen Feehan and Matt Anderson cross the 102 Avenue Bridge on their way to work as it opens in Edmonton, on Friday, July 15, 2016.


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A cyclist takes a photo of the 102 Avenue Bridge as it opens in Edmonton, on Friday, July 15, 2016.

A cyclist takes a photo of the 102 Avenue Bridge as it opens in Edmonton, on Friday, July 15, 2016.


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From left, Mike Villaduia, Rita Thompson and Enid Dufresne-Dario hand out free Starbucks coffee to cyclist Randy Duke during a coffee party as the 102 Avenue Bridge opens in Edmonton, on Friday, July 15, 2016.

From left, Mike Villaduia, Rita Thompson and Enid Dufresne-Dario hand out free Starbucks coffee to cyclist Randy Duke during a coffee party as the 102 Avenue Bridge opens in Edmonton, on Friday, July 15, 2016.


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A passenger celebrates the opening of the 102 Avenue Bridge on opening day in Edmonton, on Friday, July 15, 2016.

A passenger celebrates the opening of the 102 Avenue Bridge on opening day in Edmonton, on Friday, July 15, 2016.


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Cyclists cross the 102 Avenue Bridge as it opens in Edmonton, on Friday, July 15, 2016. Bridge girders buckled during construction causing a major delay in its completion.

Cyclists cross the 102 Avenue Bridge as it opens in Edmonton, on Friday, July 15, 2016. Bridge girders buckled during construction causing a major delay in its completion.


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Vehicles cross the 102 Avenue Bridge on opening day in Edmonton, on Friday, July 15, 2016.

Vehicles cross the 102 Avenue Bridge on opening day in Edmonton, on Friday, July 15, 2016.

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Familiar foe for Eddie Edward

Eddie Edward spent three years protecting the FC Edmonton net as a mainstay on their back line.

On Sunday, the defender will be on the other side of the ball with the Ottawa Fury, facing his former teammates for the first time.

“I don’t know what it’s going to be like, to be honest,” Edward said. “It’s going to be a little bit of a mental battle, because we know each other so well. They know me and I know them, so it’s almost going to be easy to predict what the other person is going to do. You want to do something to throw the other person off their game, but if you do too much, you can throw off your own game. It’ll be an interesting mental challenge for all involved. It should be interesting.”

Ottawa is looking for their first victory of the North American Soccer League Fall Season, while Edmonton have started with a win and a draw.

The last time the two teams met, Edmonton defeated Ottawa 2-0, on the road, in the second leg of the Amway Canadian Championship. It wasn’t enough for Edmonton, however, to overturn a 3-0 loss at home to Ottawa.

“Every team comes with a different style of play, I think both teams have very, very talented players,” Edward said. “I think that Edmonton, to no surprise, for the longest time we prided ourselves in our defensive work and that will never change. (Head coach) Colin (Miller) really prides himself in being a defensive specialist. I think that’s one aspect of the game that is different to ours.

“We are kind of the opposite where we like to attack more. That being said, Edmonton can defend, but they have a deadly attack. So when you play against them, it’s nice and dandy to attack, but if you don’t focus on their counter attack, which is something they are very good at, they can hurt you.”

Dvandiest@postmedia.com
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