Grants up to $1,500 are still up for grabs for musicians and other live music professionals.  Launched on May 14, the Alberta government provided $2-million to Alberta Music to manage the Stabilize Live Music Grant. Two streams in the grant program are supporting the live music industry adapt and relaunch following the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Individual Micro-grant stream suppo ...

Dear Mister Mayor and Town Council: My very gorgeous (and may I also add rather stunning) bride Mrs. Myrna Izzard and I were married in October 2019 in Jasper National Park and enjoy staying at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and other accommodations there, as well as visiting various tourist attractions in and around the townsite. I write to you because we heard that Time Magazine named both Jasper and the ...

West Yellowhead MLA Martin Long Alberta’s United Conservative government just wrapped up another busy session of the Legislature, during which we passed many bills and motions important to Albertans. I wanted to take this opportunity to share some of those accomplishments with you. To ensure we are enhancing public safety across the province, we passed Bill 61: the Vital Statistics Amendment Act. This bill ...

It would appear that in Quebec a high-carbon-emitting cement plant does not need an environmental review while in Alberta the expansion plans for a coal mine do. Also, if you’re in Alberta, the federal minister of Environment and Climate Change, the guy that makes the final decisions, doesn’t mind telling you prior to your federal review that your plans don’t fit his commitments. Whereas in Quebec, the impl ...

Recently, media reports have covered staffing challenges in Fairview, Boyle, St. Paul, Elk Point, Rocky Mountain House and Westlock. Staffing challenges are not new to rural Albertans, who are familiar with the longstanding challenge of recruiting doctors to their communities. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has hit us hard. Doctors are not immune to the virus and have become sick themselves or have had to quaranti ...

Peter Shokeir | editor@fitzhugh.ca There are few other places in the world that have such an abundance of lakes and rivers beautiful enough to illustrate postcards. But along with the fun and health benefits of recreation activities on water bodies, one must also consider the risk of injury, accidents and drownings. Since 2016, a total of 89 people have drowned in Alberta, with 80 per cent of the drowning f ...

Peter Shokeir | editor@fitzhugh.ca As we bear the brunt of a third wave of COVID-19, much like castaways clinging onto a raft as yet another wave crashes into them, we can take solace in the fact that an end to this pandemic is now within sight. The province also recently released a reopening plan that is dependent upon immunization rates. For all restrictions to be lifted, 70 per cent of Albertans age 12-p ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on all Albertans. We are finally seeing hopeful results from the many sacrifices we have made since March of last year. We have given up seeing friends and family, taking holidays and many have lost jobs and loved ones. Recently, Premier Jason Kenney announced Alberta’s re-opening plan: “Open for Summer”. We’re calling it that because it lays out a clear one-way road ...

General Manager Pattie Pavlov (left) and Operations Manager Ashley Chorley with the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce welcome folks following their annual general meeting on Sept. 15, 2020. | File photo Pattie Pavlov | Special to the Fitzhugh Welcome, readers! Welcome to Chamber Matters! Don’t let the name fool you though; it’s not just about Chamber “matters.” It’s about why the Chamber matters to our busine ...

My name is Ali Howat and I recently moved to Jasper and became a reporter at the Jasper Fitzhugh. I am 23-years old and a single mom to a beautiful two-year old daughter. I was born and raised in Edmonton, Alta. I come from a very big family. I have an older sister and brother along with two younger sisters and brothers. Growing up, my first love was photography and the arts. Ever since I can remember, I wa ...