Senate passes legal weed legislation, pot to be legalized after 8-12 week grace period

Peter Lozinski
-
0
Senate passes legal weed legislation, pot to be legalized after 8-12 week grace period

Canada will have legal marijuana later this year.

The Senate passed Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act, 52-29 Tuesday by a 52-29 vote. Two senators abstained. Provinces will get two to three months after the bill is passed to implement the new legal cannabis regime.

The delay means legalization won’t come into effect by mid-September at the latest. It also means the federal government will miss its July 1 target for legal cannabis.

The Bill had been previously passed by the House of Commons, but the Senate sent it back with amendments. Of the 46 amendments passed by the Senate, the House accepted many, mostly technical ones, according to the Canadian Press. But the House rejected 13 other amendments, including one that would have allowed provinces to ban people from growing up to four plants at home. The federal government had said that growing plants at home was a key piece in the legislation aimed at disrupting the black market.

Other amendments rejected included one that would have created a public registry of investors in cannabis companies, and another that would have banned the distribution of branded products, such as T-shirts, hats or phone cases, that would depict a logo of a cannabis company.

“I’m feeling just great,” Sen. Tony Dean, who sponsored the bill in the Senate, told CBC.

“We’ve just witnessed a historic vote for Canada. The end of 90 years of prohibition. Transformative social policy, I think. A brave move on the part of the government. Now we can start to tackle some of the harms of cannabis. We can start to be proactive in public education. We’ll see the end of criminalization and we can start addressing Canada’s $7-billion illegal market. These are good things for Canada.”

Conservative senators were displeased with the passage of the Bill.

“We have a bill that has an overarching goal to reduce the marijuana use among young people in this country and what it does right off the get go is normalizes it,” Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos, former Speaker of the Senate told CBC.

“There’s nothing in this bill that indicates to me that we’re tackling the problem, which is increased marijuana use among young people.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted his approval following the Bill’s passage in the upper house.

“It’s been too easy for our kids to get marijuana – and for criminals to reap the profits. Today, we change that,” he wrote.

“Our plan to legalize & regulate marijuana just passed the Senate.”

Moe talks tough on carbon tax

Peter Lozinski
-
0
Moe talks tough on carbon tax

Scott Moe is confidant Saskatchewan will win its impending court case against the federal government questioning the constitutionality of the carbon tax.

The federally-imposed carbon tax was one of the main topics of the premier’s speech at a breakfast event hosted by the Chamber of Commerce Monday morning.

Moe criticized the carbon tax as ineffective, bad policy that would hurt the province’s economy. He also touted the province’s climate change plan, announced late last year, that his government says will reduce emissions and make Saskatchewan more resilient without resorting to carbon pricing.

Moe started off by talking about the province’s export-based economy, which sends potash, agriculture, lumber, steel and energy products to about 150 countries worldwide.

“Each and every day there are container ships crossing our oceans carrying our products,” he said.

“These industries are operating more efficiently and sustainably than their competitors around the world. But these industries also happen to be emitters of greenhouse gases. Each of these sectors, with a federally-imposed carbon tax, overnight would bear a disproportionate burden. They would become less competitive than their competitors around the world.”

Moe described carbon pricing as “seductive” to environmental activists, some economists and some think tanks. But, he said, in Tisdale, Estevan, Shellbrook and Prince Albert, people see it as “nothing more than a government-sponsored shell game … that has real-life consequences for businesses, families and people working in the industries in our province.”

Moe asserted that in no jurisdiction has the carbon tax shown to reduce greenhouse gases.

Even if it did, he said, “not to say we shouldn’t do better” but the impact would be to reduce Canada’s 1.6 per cent of worldwide emissions.

“We’ve said all along that we’re having the wrong conversation and well do everything in our power to ensure the federal government does not impost this flawed policy on our province,” he said.

“Our federal government is attempting to impose this policy on some provinces and not others based on how our province has chosen to exercise its own legislative jurisdiction. Provinces are not, have not and will never be subsidiaries of the federal government. That is not how our Canadian constitution operates. (The federal government) does not have the right to impose or not impose a tax based on their assessment of some provinces’ policies.”

That’s why Moe said he believes Saskatchewan will win its legal battle. Responding to media questions after his speech, Moe denied that the move is purely delay tactics in the hope the Conservatives come to power in the next federal election.

“We like our chances,” the premier said. ‘The case that we have put forward is a strong case, even the recommendation that came from the Province of Manitoba supports the question that we put forward at the Court of Appeal.”

Moe said it’s possible Ontario could also support Saskatchewan, as newly-elected Premier Doug Ford has indicated he will end that province’s cap and trade program and fight the federal government in court. Moe said he has spoken to many of his fellow premiers over the past few weeks, and will continue to do so. When asked what would happen if the court were to rule in the federal government’s favour, Moe simply said he’s “looking for a favourable outcome.”

The NDP has criticized the Saskatchewan Party’s approach, arguing that if the Sask. Party is unsuccessful, Saskatchewan will have a carbon tax designed by the feds, instead of one designed at home that could have mitigated the response.

As for experts in constitutional law, according to two interviewed by Arthur White-Crummey of the Leader-Post, the case is either “an unlikely crusade with political overtones or a real legal conundrum that could go either way.”

White-Crummey spoke to a pair of constitutional scholars. John Whyte, a former NDP deputy minister, portrayed it as the province having both an unintelligible and a plausible argument, but the federal government having one that’s stronger. Former Sask. Party candidate Bob Hawkins, said it’s impossible to predict which way it will go, but that both sides have a leg to stand on. He said the court would likely want to find a solution that avoids giving either side “too big of a win.”

Meanwhile, the province is continuing to develop its climate change plan, called Prairie Resilience. When the plan was released, it was critiqued as being light on details. It referenced specific emissions targets for specific industries, but did not outline what those targets will be.

Moe said that information is coming sooner rather than later.

“We’ll see targets start to come out on an industry-specific basis over the course of the next number of months, over the course of the summer,” he said.

“We continue to work with industries to ensure that we are realizing what is possible and how we can stretch what is possible here in the Province of Saskatchewan, but ensure that we have actual emissions reductions in our industries (and) continue to have our industries operating here.”

Moe also touted Saskatchewan’s use of carbon capture coal generation as well as low-emissions farming techniques as “opportunities” the province can sell to producers elsewhere in the world to help them reduce emissions.

He was made sure to point out the carbon sequestration that occurs in the province’s grasslands, farmlands and forests.

 

 

Street fair a hit with newcomers and regulars alike

Peter Lozinski
-
0
Street fair a hit with newcomers and regulars alike

The 2018 Prince Albert Street Fair is something to build off of and continue creating momentum for the city’s downtown, the new PADBID executive director says.

Carolyn Carleton praised the latest edition of the annual festivities, which, this year, packed in over 100 vendors in the seven blocks between River Street and 15th Street down Central Avenue.

“From everything I’ve been (hearing) I think it was awesome,” Carleton said.

“it was a huge success. We had, I think, a record turnout … thanks to the beautiful weather.”

Carleton is still working on figuring out approximately how many people spent some time on Central Avenue, but she did share some of the feedback she has received since Saturday.

“Many people came for the first time and they’re excited to come back again,” she said. “I think that is a positive direction for us to go in and follow-up with because we have a few more events we’re running throughout the summer; Hopefully, we can get some more people to come down and attend those events.”

On of the big differences this year, Carleton said, was PADBID (Prince Albert Downtown Business Improvement District) tried to spread out the vendors more so people had space to walk around. The plan seemed to work.

“I talked to one family and they got here at about 11 a.m. and stayed until 7 p.m., she said, “Because there were so many things to do. Last year, they said they came and spent only two hours.”

She thanked the sponsors, the volunteers and everyone else who stepped up to help out. Without them, she said, the event wouldn’t have gone as well as it did.

Carleton will use what has been learned this year, as well as her experience helping run events for the Chamber of Commerce, to continue to grow the street fair. While the event was well-supported by the city, downtown businesses and a few other local agencies, she’s trying to get more sponsors to come on board.

“I’m hoping to expand on that so we can bring in more activities, ore things to see and do for different age categories,” she said.

“We have the children’s section, but I know there are other things you can do that would be good for teens or adults. I’d like to get that sponsored rather than having to charge fees for everything.”

For now, though, the immediate focus is on the July 5 art walk, which Carleton said will be like a mini version of the street fair held on the downtown’s sidewalks. While that event takes place on the first Thursday of every month, with the world junior men’s softball championship starting on July 6, downtown vendors want to take advantage.

“We want to give everyone visiting our community something to do,” she said.

“That one is going to be a huge one. I’ve already planned a bunch of stuff for it. If you enjoyed the street fair, come back down on July 5.”

 

Moe rails against protectionism, promotes free trade at Chamber breakfast

Peter Lozinski
-
0
Moe rails against protectionism, promotes free trade at Chamber breakfast

Premier Scott Moe is telling everyone he can about Saskatchewan’s trade prowess while touting the benefits of free trade as US President Donald Trump mulls more tariffs on Canadian exports.

Moe touched on trade as a topic of discussion during a breakfast hosted by the Prince Albert and District Chamber of Commerce Monday.

As a producing economy, Moe said, Saskatchewan exports dozens of products to the United States and other nations, products that rely on free trade agreements to make their way to markets. Just under two weeks ago, Moe made the trip to Washington to meet with senators, house representatives and four members of Trump’s administration.

“I had the opportunity o make the case that both the united States and Canada have benefited mightily from the North American Free Trade Agreement, and protectionism in any way, steel, milk, or any other way, is self-defeating for both of our countries,” he said.

“It’s a true honour to represent you and deliver that Saskatchewan pitch wherever I go.”

Moe said the province’s exports have risen by 46 per cent over the past decade, and agriculture exports have doubled over that same period of time.

“This is truly an incredible story,” he said.

The premier talked of Saskatchewan’s exports of peas, lentils, chickpeas, wheat, barley and oats. He spoke of canola, a Saskatchewan invention, which is now the province’s top export with over $3 billion in exports last year. He mentioned farm machinery, food and forestry products and energy exports. Overall, Moe said, “Saskatchewan is a mighty exporter, not just in Canada, but on a per capita basis, we are one of the largest … exporters in the world.

“We’re not only traders by inclination, we’re traders by necessity.”

When it comes to oil, according to the premier, Saskatchewan sends more to the US than Kuwait, Nigeria or the United Arab Emirates.

“This is what we do in Saskatchewan, he said.

“This is the source of our wealth. As we continue to add value to these exports, we continue to increase that wealth. We benefit, Canada benefits and the world benefits.”

Trump has ceased exempting Canada from steel tariffs, and has mulled other tariffs after apparently becoming angered by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s assertion that Canada “will not be pushed around.”

Those steel tariffs, Moe said, are actually working against the president, delaying approved pipelines because the Canadian steel, including that produced by Evraz in Regina, has suddenly been hit with a 25 per cent tariff.

The decision has led to widespread condemnation in Canada and in the US. The House of Commons recently passed a unanimous motion condemning Trump’s tariffs and his insults aimed at Canada’s PM.

Other unexpected allies, such as newly-elected Ontario premier Doug Ford, have also said they stand in solidarity with the federal government. The federal Liberals have also announced a package of retaliatory tariffs that would go ahead July 1 if no agreement can be reached in the interim.

Responding to local media Monday, Moe said he also stands with the federal government in the trade dispute.

“The North American Free Trade Agreement is very important not just for Saskatchewan but the Nation of Canada. Eighty-five per cent of the product we import into our product comes from the United States. Fifty-five percent of the product that we export out of Saskatchewan goes to the United States,” he said.

‘All of our trade agreements are important, but in particular (NAFTA) is important. We encourage our Prime Minister to ensure that he’s representing Canadians and people from this province, but to also ensure that he is engaging with all hands on deck.”

Moe, though, urged calm from all sides as the dispute gets more tense.

“I think it would do us all good stead to take a step back and remember 25 years ago at the inception of a free trade agreement, he said.

“Those were very sensitive and challenging discussions as well. It’s no different today as we modernize that agreement.”

Faces of Prince Albert – Street Fair 2018

Peter Lozinski
-
0
Faces of Prince Albert – Street Fair 2018

We took our camera out for Street Fair 2018 to capture your faces. Thank you to everyone who agreed to have their picture taken!

Classified page correction

Peter Lozinski
-
0
Classified page correction

Unfortunately the incorrect classified page ran in the June 16, 2018 edition of the Prince Albert Daily Herald. We aplogize for any inconvenience.

The correct page is attached below.

Troy Cooper honoured for work building relationships

Peter Lozinski
-
0
Troy Cooper honoured for work building relationships

Troy Cooper may have moved on to lead the Saskatoon Police, but his work with the Prince Albert Police Service has not been forgotten.

He returned to P.A. Thursday to participate in the Prince Albert Grand Council’s (PAGC) annual walk for missing and murdered Indigenous men and women. But the organizers surprised Cooper with a gesture of their own.

Prior to the walk, he was presented with a plaque with a photo of him participating in a previous event, thanking him for his years of service to the PAGC Women’s Commission. He was also draped in a star blanket.

Prior to the presentation, Cooper thanked the PAGC for helping him grow as an officer.

“I’ve participated in this walk many times, and it’s been an important part of my growth, as someone who is sworn to protect people,” he said.

“It was important to me because of who I walked with.”

He mentioned his time walking alongside representatives from the FSIN, the PAGC, the municipal and provincial governments.

“Most importantly, I have been able to walk with community members and members of families who have been impacted by loss I think that is what has made the biggest difference in my life,” he said.

“Being allowed to participate in their grief, bonding with that tragedy. When we stop and talk about people that are missing, and we hear their stories, they don’t remain in my mind as a statistic. At my desk most of the day I read about percentages and numbers. But when you listen to the family members and you hear their stories, and they’re hard stories to hear, you’re reminded that these are not numbers. They’re families, they’re people, they’re our neighbours., they’re our relatives, they’re our own family members. It becomes very real.”

As the walk journeyed from stop to stop, families got an opportunity to share their experiences. Outside the Court of Queen’s Bench, the family of Happy Charles spoke. They talked about their struggles, how police didn’t believe them at first, but also about how one of the first to take them seriously was Cooper.

In his speech, Cooper spoke about what needs to be done from the justice system, and from his police force, to make a difference.

“I’ve seen firsthand the flaws in (the justice system). I know the police are not the whole justice system, but we have a role to play there,” he said.

“I think it’s our challenge as police officers, our challenge and commitment to remove social status, to remove race and to remove gender from how we perform our duty. Those things aren’t risk factors; they shouldn’t determine a police response. Our biggest fault has not been how we’ve responded. It’s been the lack of our response — it’s been apathy.”

Cooper concluded his remarks by, again, thanking the community where he policed for several years.

“We know all people are valuable,” he said, “and we have to be sure that we care as police officers and we notice what’s happening. Thank you as a community for what I’ve been taught, for making me a better leader, and making me a better person.”

Retiring teachers reflect on decades in the classroom

Peter Lozinski
-
0
Retiring teachers reflect on decades in the classroom

The Prince Albert Teachers’ Association said goodbye to some of its longest-serving members Wednesday night.

The annual superannuation dinner was a chance to look back on the careers of several retiring teachers, including four who made the journey to the Coronet for the evening’s activities. The retiring educators combine for decades spent in the classrooms, and each of them had fond memories of the professions they were about to leave behind.

Joanne Sander has been teaching for just short of 25 years. She has spent time at Rivier and, most recently, at St. John’s school. It was her time at Rivier that Sander recounted when asked what her favourite memory was.

“When I was at Rivier, I was part of the travel club. The Grade 11s went to Europe every spring, and I got to go on that trip as a chaperone for 15 years,” she said.

I love travelling, and it’s really broadened y horizons, and I love to watch the kids learn about different things in other countries.”

Sander teaches English, social studies and religion. While she teaches the curriculum, Sander said it’s more important to give the kids life lessons they can take home with them.

Seeing that growth in the students is one of the things Sander will miss the most about the teaching profession. That, and her coworkers.

“I’ve worked with fabulous staffs,” she said, “and the kids, the students with their quirkiness, some of them are very, very interesting … watching them grow from one year to the next. When I was at Rivier, I was there for about 18 years, watching them grow from Grade 7 to graduation. That is quite awesome to watch.”

Sander picked up that travel bug while teaching, and it’s still with her. She has five major trips booked and paid for taking place, with her husband, over the next 10 months. She’s also looking forward to spending time with her grandkids.

Another retiring teacher is also looking to do some travelling in her retirement.

Lori Belyea has taught for 25 years, of which 23 have been at Queen Mary School. Recently she’s been working with the littlest students, the pre-k classes.

She said the best part has been “creating learning with the kids.

“You just never know where the day is going to go,” she said. “It just starts and then eventually it’s done. You go from one thing to the next.”

Belyea said there was no one moment that stuck out in her mind, but thousands of little memories here and there she’ll carry with her, including choirs and dramas, from her two and a half decades teaching.

The longest-serving teacher honoured was former Rivier math teacher Claude Jalbert. He actually superannuated last year, and has been spending the 2017-2018 school year doing part-time work at Saskatchewan Polytechnic and some substitute teaching. Prior to that, he spent 34 years as a teacher.

For him, the best part was helping students understand that they could do it.

“Just being able to see students get those ‘aha’ moments and say ‘hey, I can get this, I can do this,’” he said.

“Hopefully I’ve had more of those than the opposite, the frustration students sometimes feel. It’s nice when they actually make those connections and say ‘you know what, I can do this.’ It makes me feel good as a teacher.”

He also said he’d miss the day-to-day routines of meeting with staff and students, but was looking forward to the superannuation dinner.

“To soak up that opportunity to be honoured by your peers, I appreciate that,” he said.

Like Jalbert, Tammy Morin will miss the students. Spending time as a teacher and as a teacher-administrator for 28 years, Morin retired ahead of schedule to help care for her two-year-old granddaughter.

“I’m eligible, but (it’s) a little bit earlier than I’d hoped,” she said.

“I have a special needs granddaughter. She’s two now, and has some visual impairment and some mobility issues. I’m going to help my daughter — she’s a teacher — I’m going to be the granny nanny, and work on interventions because I don’t think just a babysitter for the day will quite cut it for my granddaughter. I want to bridge that gap before she heads into school.”

Morin has spent the last nine years as a teaching principal in smaller communities, like Big River.

“The kids are the best part, hands down,” she said.

“Mostly every day is fine with them. Most behaviours are fine, most reading goals are met, it’s mostly good.”

Having taught across the spectrum, Morin said her favourite class was a large class of Grade 3s. She said she always preferred the larger groups, and the Grade 3 students were the perfect balance of young energy and older independence.

“They’re slightly more independent. You’re not peeling oranges and tying shoelaces all day,” she said.

“But they still think you’re really something, that you know stuff. They’re not middle years where nothing you do impresses them and you don’t know sometimes if you’ve taught them anything. (With) the little ones … you still have that prestigious position with them, and they can do things on their own. It’s a fun age. They learn like sponges.”

While Morin is leaving her position behind, she’s not ready to completely let it go.

“I’ll probably be back to sub. I’ll probably be back,” she said.

“I’ve got a little spunk left in me.”

 

 

Husky building new pipeline crossing North Sask. River

Peter Lozinski
-
0
Husky building new pipeline crossing North Sask. River

Lessons learned from the 2016 spill will be used to ensure safety in the new build, the company says

Husky Energy says it has learned its lesson from the 2016 oil spill in the North Saskatchewan River that knocked out Prince Albert’s water supply and caused millions of dollars worth of damage.

To prove it, the oil company held an open house in the city Wednesday to talk about their new pipeline project, which will also cross the North Saskatchewan River upstream of Prince Albert. The project is being built to accommodate an expansion of thermal projects north of the river. Two pipes will bring condensate and heavy oil to and from the thermal plants and the company’s processing facility in Lloydminster, while a third pipeline will transport water pulled from the river to the well site.

For this new project, a 20-inch pipe will carry the heavy oil and condensate mixture back from the thermal project to Lloydminster, while an 8-inch pipe will carry the condensate out to the project. The third pipe is also 20 inches, and that will run from a water intake in the river to the thermal projects north of the river. All three pipes will share the same right of way.

Husky officials said the water intake system, which will skim about 0.6 per cent of the river’s average flow. Any fish mistakenly caught in the intake will be returned through what the company says is a fish-friendly pipe back to the river.

That project is ongoing, with approvals from the Federal ministries of Fisheries and Oceans and of Transportation, as well as the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Environment.

“We’ve got four new thermal production facilities that will be producing oil by 2020 north of the river, and after that, a significant growth interest, maybe two thermals a year, going forward,” said Travis Davies, Husky Energy spokesperson.

“We’ve got pretty big production expansion plans and this expanded pipe, this 20-inch pipe, is needed to get that oil to Lloydminster for processing.”

The pipelines will cross the river near Hillmond, Saskatchewan, crossing from the RM of Eldon to the RM of Frenchman Butte. The crossing location is about 250 km west of Prince Albert, and about 37 km northeast of Lloydminster.

Despite the distance, Husky thought it was important to hold an open house to update Prince Albert residents in light of the 2016 spill.

“In 2016, we had an incident that impacted the river and impacted the town. it was the right thing to do to address the concerns of the people there who had been impacted,” Davies said.

We learned a lot from that incident and applied a lot of that knowledge to the new project, whether it is a new design that sees us going hilltop to hilltop, or boring 80m under the river instead of being on the slope.”

The slope was a reason identified in reports as to why the pipeline failed before. The shifting of the slope warped the pipe, leading to a rupture.

That’s not the only change. Davies said the company is using better, higher quality steel, thicker steel and newer technology that used fibre optics to measure the acoustics, thermal conditions and any strain on the pipe.

“It is a much better project, and we wanted to make sure the people of P.A. knew that,” Davies said.

The 2016 oil spill resulted in more than 225,000 litres of diluted heavy oil to leak. About 40 per cent of that ended up in the river near Maidstone. The cleanup cost was estimated at $107 million, and the company paid $5 million to Prince Albert for costs related to the spill, including the rehabilitation of Little Red River Park where the Little Red River was dammed to act as a secondary water source, and improvements to the water treatment plant. The oil cut off Prince Albert’s water supply, and the city put restrictions in place while a temporary pipeline was built to grab water from the South Saskatchewan River.

At Wednesday’s open house, safety and job creation were people’s main two concerns, Davies said.

“We had some folks that want to know what’s different, what we are doing differently, what we learned, and I think that’s a big part of the story, that’s the main objective,” he said.

“We had a lot of people interested in procuring jobs and employment as well. Those are the two main things: ‘what are you doing different now’ and ‘can I work here’.”

Davies said the pipeline projects themselves will cost about $130 million, and lead to 300-600 jobs during construction. The spend on the thermal project will approach $5 billion, create 200-300 jobs per project during construction, and 30-40 to operate each plant going forward. He said the province will also benefit from royalty and tax revenue that comes from the projects.

City manager Jim Toye was pleased with the presentation.

“It’s good to have them here,” he said.

“I think they recognize the last time they had an incident in the river we were drastically affected, and I appreciate their presence to go over their new line and the new technology they are using to ensure what happened last year is not going to happen again.”

Toye said public perception is vital, and he’s confident through the open house and other meetings with company officials that the pipe will be constructed better, and if a leak happens, it will be detected immediately.

“This is going to be much safer,” he said.

“I think they learned their lesson, and what they’re trying to do now is have these public consultations so they can prove not just with lip service but with design why this is going to be much safer than the previous pipe.”

Consultations not complete yet

While the last open house was held in North Battleford Thursday, Husky said its consultation process is ongoing, including with Indigenous communities.

Davies said the company has been engaging with communities about this project for some time, and that the process will continue.

 

Street Fair to be biggest yet

Peter Lozinski
-
0
Street Fair to be biggest yet

The Street Fair is back this Saturday, and according to the Prince Albert Downtown Business Improvement District (PADBID), it may just be the biggest ever.

The free event will take place between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m., with an after-party at the Rock Trout Café featuring Whipping Post, a southern rock band from Dania Beach, Florida.

Over 100 vendors are squeezing into the seven blocks between 15th Street and River Street, featuring all sorts of food, goods, arts and entertainment.

“A lot of them are downtown businesses moving their storefronts out into the street, but there are a lot of other businesses that want to be a part of it,” said PADBID executive director Carolyn Carleton.

“Everything is coming down here. From kids to shopping, to whatever people are looking for.”

This year, organizers tried to spread out exhibitors a little bit more so things get less crowded by Memorial Square. That means some businesses will be spilling into the side streets just off of Central Avenue, with the rest of the businesses lining Central on either side.

There will be an abundance of food, including downtown eateries, food trucks and food booths. While downtown restaurants will set up by their storefront, other places to eat will be located by the two main stages. Once again, kids activities, such as bouncy castles, will be in Memorial Square, and pony rides will take over the Historical Museum parking lot.

The farmer’s market will be set up along Central, and jugglers and princesses will be walking around. The front steps of City Hall will be converted into a stage for several dance acts to perform, including an interactive, participatory Cuban Salsa lesson.

Artisans will also be out in force. Guilds from the arts centre will be showing off what they do, while outside Gail Carlson’s gallery artists will be at work while kids will be able to create art with paint and a spinning device for $15. At the On the Avenue Gallery, cookbook author Renee Kohlman will be having an event for her book All the Sweet Things from 1-3 p.m.

As for the stages, the Voices of the North and Jam Street Stages will be back again, with a full lineup of musicians on each stage. SaskExpress is also bringing their show to the street fair, playing at 1:15 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. at the corner of Central and 10th Street West.

Adding SaskExpress is a sign the festival is growing.

“It just adds more variety,” Carleton said.

“We have two established stages, Voices of the north and the Jam Street stage, and they had a great line-up already. We were given this opportunity to have SaskExpress come in, so we can’t say no to something like that. I’ve already seen a lot of chatter on Facebook about how excited people are about it. I think having SaskExpress is a good thing. Musicals are becoming more popular, so having some theatre on the streetscape is going to be good.”

The Street Fair also marks the return of the rubber duck drop. The event, which has been taken on by the Kinsmen Club, is scheduled for 5 p.m. The ducks will be dropped from the Diefenbaker Bridge.

“People are so excited about it,” Carleton said.

“It’s going to be incredible to see all the people lined up along the river bank to see 2,000 rubber ducks thrown into the river. Everything is open until 8. People can come and watch the duck drop then grab something to eat and listen to the bands.”

Previous events have seen thousands come through the downtown. Last year, they estimated 15,000. That was based on counts by the museum, which saw 6,000 people come through the door, and the Gateway Mall.

With so many vendors and activities, this year’s street fair could be even more popular.

“It’s going to be a big one,” Carleton said.

“The city is offering free buses for the day, so people don’t have an excuse. They can get down here. Take the bus, leave your car at home. You won’t have to worry about parking. Downtown has lots of history and walkability. So bringing people down and discovering what’s down here, experiencing downtown, is awesome.

For more information, visit https://www.princealbertdowntown.ca/streetfair.html.
Be sure to visit the Daily Herald booth by the Arts Centre for a photo booth (The Daily Herald front page – starring you!) and to enter a draw for a chance to win some prizes.

1...151152153...214Page 152 of 214