MEDICINE HAT, AB - Alberta as a whole has shed nearly 40,000 jobs last month compared to March 2019 but the Lethbridge-Medicine Hat region is bucking the trend with job growth over the same period, according to Statistics Canada's latest Labour Force Survey.The Lethbridge-Medicine Hat region's unemployment rate for Mar...

MEDICINE HAT, AB - Alberta's agriculture sector is widely celebrated symbolically through rodeos and agricultural fairs. But that recognition is becoming more tangible as the global COVID-19 pandemic has put into focus southeastern Alberta's position on the front-end of the food supply chain."The pandemic is a ver...

There's a plea for financial help from the oil and gas sector, which is asking the federal government to introduce a payroll relief plan.An opinion piece published Monday in the Financial Post says it's an open letter to Canadians from oil and gas workers. The letter says, "We're also asking the federal government...

MEDICINE HAT, AB - Grocery shopping can be a stressful outing during the COVID-19 global pandemic, with empty shelves and busy aisles sometimes causing headaches for shoppers.A national restaurant chain is offering an alternative for customers however, as a way to keep their lights on and locals fed.This week Earls Res...

MEDICINE HAT, AB - With a dizzying array of COVID-19 relief programs for businesses out there, it's hard to keep track of just who is available for what and when."It's been challenging to navigate because there are different benefits from different levels of government and trying to navigate which ones people are ...

The latest COVID-19 news from across the prairies.Manitoba schoolsPrimary and secondary schools in Manitoba will be closed until further notice due to COVID-19 concerns.Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen says they won't reopen this school year unless health officials say they can be reopened.Goertzen says assignments a...

MEDICINE HAT, AB - From coast to coast, small businesses of all stripes are doing what they can to keep the lights on and their doors open.COVID-19 has been disastrous for many of these locally owned stores, with temporary layoffs of staff being a common outcome in recent weeks.Businesses like Station Coffee Co. in Med...

CALGARY - The union representing federal meat inspectors says its members will be back at work tomorrow at a meatpacking plant just north of Calgary if the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is reassured that it's safe.Production at family-owned Harmony Beef was halted last Friday, after one of its employees tested positi...

MEDICINE HAT, AB - The Bank of Canada's drop in its key interest rate should grease the wheels of the national economy seized by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Medicine Hat investment advisor.On Friday, the Bank of Canada cut its interest rate to a quarter of a percent, the lowest it's been in more than a decade...

Save-On-Foods is sending boxes of Girl Guides of Canada's famous chocolate and vanilla sandwich cookies to all 175 of its Save-On-Foods and Urban Fare locations to sell the cookies on behalf of Girl Guides amid the COVID-19 pandemic.Girl Guides sell cookies as a major fundraiser to support their programs which offer gi...