Good morning. It’s James Keller in Calgary.
Every year, the southern Alberta community of Taber comes together to celebrate the crop that put the town on the map: corn. Taber bills itself as the corn capital of Canada, and roadside stands selling ears are commonplace throughout the region. Cornfest is chance to celebrate that, with a parade and events such as corn-eating contests.
But this year’s event, which runs this weekend, has been overshadowed by a devastating hail storm earlier this month that for some producers wiped out most of their crop. The festival is still happening but the mood is gloomier than usual (and there are, of course, fewer cobs to eat).
Carrie Tait visited Taber this week as the community prepared for the corn producers and residents made the best of the situation.
Tayna Meahan, who drove the float for the Devil’s Coulee Dinosaur and Heritage Museum in Thursday’s Cornfest parade, says it’s just not the same: "It doesn’t feel like the typical end of summer.”
James Molnar, who lost almost his entire crop, recalls crying the night of the storm. The next morning, he went to his roadside stand the day after the storm to sell the few pieces of corn he was able to salvage.
"It was like a funeral procession. Nobody talked. It was just silent.”
But farmers such as Mr. Molnar aren’t strangers to the vagaries of southern Alberta’s sometimes-violent weather. And he and his wife are already turning their attention to next season.
“We’ll be back next year,” he said.
This is the weekly Western Canada newsletter written by B.C. Editor Wendy Cox and Alberta Bureau Chief James Keller. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for it and all Globe newsletters here. This is a new project and we’ll be experimenting as we go, so let us know what you think.
Around the West
SURREY POLICE: The City of Surrey, B.C., is preparing to do something no other large Canadian city has done: switch its local policing from the RCMP to a brand new local force. The current mayor, Doug McCallum, won an election last year on a promise to ditch the RCMP over growing concerns about crime and violence. But the actual plan has turned out to be incredibly complex as the city must grapple with recruiting, finding a headquarters, and working with police in neighbouring communities. And it will almost certainly cost more. Frances Bula looked at the daunting task ahead.
TRANS MOUNTAIN: The Crown corporation that owns the Trans Mountain pipeline has instructed contractors to get ready to resume construction on the expansion of the pipeline within the next 30 days. The resumption of construction comes a year after a Federal Court of Appeal ruling overturned Ottawa’s approval of the project over Indigenous and environmental concerns.
HORSETRACK RAID: A raid by border officials on Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse was prompted by allegations that an employee with B.C.'s gambling industry investigator falsified work documents of dozens of foreign workers. The Globe and Mail has obtained documents that outline the allegations, which are linked to a recent raid that resulted in the arrest of about two dozen Mexican workers.
HUAWEI: Meng Wanzhou, the Huawei executive whose arrest in Vancouver has fuelled a dispute between Canada and China, is alleging that Canadian authorities were doing the bidding of the FBI. A trove of documents related to Ms. Meng’s extradition case were released this week. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in Ottawa, where he said Ms. Meng’s case should not be a bargaining chip in the case of two detained Canadians.
CONVERSION THERAPY: The Alberta government says it’s open to the federal government’s proposal to ban conversion therapy while insisting it’s already illegal in the province. In a letter to the federal government, Doug Schweitzer, Alberta’s Minister of Justice and Solicitor General, condemned the practice as harmful to LGBTQ people. Mr. Schweitzer, whose government has resisted calls to pass provincial legislation, argues that it’s effectively banned in Alberta because all professional licensing bodies forbid it.
HOUSING: Vancouver has seen a significant increase in rezoning applications with almost all of them receiving approval. The number of applications has doubled in the past decade. Experts say the city needs to change its approach.
KEYSTONE XL: The long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline has cleared a major hurdle after Nebraska’s Supreme Court upheld the state’s route approval over the objections of landowners and Indigenous tribes. Keystone XL – which was first proposed more than 10 years ago – would deliver some 830,000 barrels a day of crude from Alberta to Nebraska, and then on to the U.S. Gulf Coast. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney celebrated the ruling but warned that more obstacles remain.
OIL PRODUCTION: The Alberta government has extended oil-production limits by a year, citing delays in the completion of new pipelines.
SASKATCHEWAN AIRPORT: A chief of a remote Saskatchewan First Nation is accusing the province of racism for not helping improve an airport runway in his community. Louie Mercredi of the Fond du Lac Denesuline First Nation says the province is abandoning its commitment to develop the runway near his isolated northern reserve while at the same time putting money into a runway in Moose Jaw.
FOOD: In this week’s food column, Alexandra Gill checks out Do Chay, a vegetarian Vietnamese shop along Kingsway in Vancouver. It’s part of a trend toward plant-based protein that has something for everyone: “The Do family has created something very special in this restaurant. It’s innovative, ambitious, diverse and welcoming.”
Opinion
Manjit Virk on the death of Carson Crimeni: “For me, the fact that a young person, no matter how old, could have participated in this gleefully, or recorded it to share, is a sign of a deeper rot in our society. It is a sign that parents, whose primary responsibility is to teach their children values and set a good example, need to do better.”
The Globe and Mail Editorial Board on Jason Kenney’s panels: “The Alberta government announced two panels in the past week, one to study minimum wage, and the other to examine supervised drug-consumption sites. In both cases, the panels appear to have been designed to drive toward a preordained outcome.
Adrienne Tanner on bears safety: “Bears who move into our turf and develop a taste for our food – such as the bear that barged into a North Van kitchen and snarfed a tray of croissants this summer – usually end up dead.”
David Mitchell on Alberta’s civil society: “Alberta’s history offers prime expressions of a civil society, including the collective action of barn raisings, when neighbours voluntarily banded together for the good of the community to help a family build or rebuild their property. In today’s complex world, that same spirit and community ethos is needed more than ever.”
Saul Klein on ride-hailing in B.C.: “The consequences of restricting entry are what we see in the airline industry, where a lack of competition on all but the major routes in Canada has left travellers with few choices and allowed airlines to get away with a “take-it-or-leave-it” approach to customer service. It is no wonder that airlines are among the least trusted brands in Canada.”
Gary Mason on Carson Crimeni, bullying and social media: “There seems to be a gradual loss of humanity taking hold of too many of our kids, one that should be considered a harbinger. This is a story about the dangers of social media being played out in real time.”
James Keller