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Take A Photo Tour Of Red Deer’s Newest Fire Station!

Published

8 years ago

4 minute read

Written by Sheldon Spackman

Photos by Lindsay Wiebe

Numerous dignitaries were on hand for the official ribbon-cutting ceremony to open Red Deer’s newest fire hall on Monday. Mayor Tara Veer, City Manager Craig Curtis and members of City Council among others were on hand to get an inside tour of Fire Station # 4 in the Timberlands neighbourhood.

The facility which cost over $7 Million dollars and largely funded by the province, was completed on time and under budget. City officials say significant cost-savings were achieved by using a design made to suit two new stations, #3 and #4, with only slight variations between the two. The difference being a training tower at the Timberlands station that isn’t at the new Fire Station # 3 by the Collicut Centre.

Officials say Fire Station # 4’s multi-use areas incorporate training areas in the stairwell, apparatus bay and in multiple places on the roof. These training areas will allow firefighters to practice high angle rescues, repel drills, standpipe operations and firefighter survival evolutions. Fire Chief Brian Makey says the facility was largely designed with input from their staff, utilizing the best concepts and ideas that came from those consultations. He says “There’s training components for high-angle rescue and confined spaces that are built right into the structure.” Makey adds that it’s a pre-fab building made of pre-cast concrete, which allowed for the building to go up quickly and get done sooner. He points out this resulted in the project coming in under budget, saving the City money for future Capital projects. Makey says the location of the building will also ensure they can meet provincial regulations for response times of ten minutes or less. He says “This hall allows for the development in this area to go and as you can see just around the building, all the schools, the commercial buildings, the residential, that was because this hall’s here.”

Mayor Tara Veer says “This facility is absolutely essential for the safety of Red Deerians, not only for existing population in the northeast of the community but for future population as well. It is imperative that we meet our service level standards, so that when people in the northeast call 911, there is a fire truck or an ambulance available to respond to that call.” Veer adds, “Red Deer Emergency Servicse continues to be a model that other communities across the country aspire to, because we integrate our fire and ambulance service. Not only is it efficient from an operations perspective and a financial perspective but ultimately, it fulfills the objective of providing advanced life support and timely response to Red Deerians when they have to make that 911 call.”

Fire Station # 4 in the Timberlands has been in operation since January 17th, 2017 and currently requires an average of six staff at a time. However, it can accommodate up to 10 in preparation for long-term growth. An Open House is anticipated later this year.

 

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Media

CBC journalist quits, accuses outlet of anti-Conservative bias and censorship

Published on July 10, 2025

By

From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

Travis Dhanraj accused CBC of pushing a ‘radical political agenda,’ and his lawyer said that the network opposed him hosting ‘Conservative voices’ on his show.

CBC journalist Travis Dhanraj has resigned from his position, while accusing the outlet of anti-Conservative bias and ”performative diversity.”

In a July 7 letter sent to colleagues and obtained by various media outlets, Travis Dhanraj announced his departure from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) due to concerns over censorship.

“I am stepping down not by choice, but because the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has made it impossible for me to continue my work with integrity,” he wrote.

“After years of service — most recently as the host of Canada Tonight: With Travis Dhanraj — I have been systematically sidelined, retaliated against, and denied the editorial access and institutional support necessary to fulfill my public service role,” he declared.

Dhanraj, who worked as a CBC host and reporter for nearly a decade, revealed that the outlet perpetuated a toxic work environment, where speaking out against the approved narrative led to severe consequences.

Dhanraj accused CBC of having a “radical political agenda” that stifled fair reporting. Additionally, his lawyer, Kathryn Marshall, revealed that CBC disapproved of him booking “Conservative voices” on his show.

While CBC hails itself as a leader in “diversity” and supporting minority groups, according to Dhanraj, it’s all a facade.

“What happens behind the scenes at CBC too often contradicts what’s shown to the public,” he revealed.

In April 2024, Dhanraj, then host of CBC’s Canada Tonight, posted on X that his show had requested an interview with then-CBC President Catherine Tait to discuss new federal budget funding for the public broadcaster, but she declined.

“Internal booking and editorial protocols were weaponized to create structural barriers for some while empowering others—particularly a small circle of senior Ottawa-based journalists,” he explained.

According to Marshall, CBC launched an investigation into the X post, viewing it as critical of Tait’s decision to defend executive bonuses while the broadcaster was cutting frontline jobs. Dhanraj was also taken off air for a time.

Dhanraj revealed that in July 2024 he was “presented with (a non-disclosure agreement) tied to an investigation about a tweet about then CBC President Catherine Tait. It was designed not to protect privacy, but to sign away my voice. When I refused, I was further marginalized.”

Following the release of his letter, Dhanraj published a link on X to a Google form to gather support from Canadians.

“When the time is right, I’ll pull the curtain back,” he wrote on the form. “I’ll share everything…. I’ll tell you what is really happening inside the walls of your CBC.”

CBC has issued a statement denying Dhanraj’s claims, with CBC spokesperson Kerry Kelly stating that the Crown corporation “categorically rejects” his statement.

This is hardly the first time that CBC has been accused of editorial bias. Notably, the outlet receives the vast majority of its funding from the Liberal government.

This January, the watchdog for the CBC ruled that the state-funded outlet expressed a “blatant lack of balance” in its covering of a Catholic school trustee who opposed the LGBT agenda being foisted on children.

There have also been multiple instances of the outlet pushing what appears to be ideological content, including the creation of pro-LGBT material for kids, tacitly endorsing the gender mutilation of children, promoting euthanasia, and even seeming to justify the burning of mostly Catholic churches throughout the country.

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International

CBS settles with Trump over doctored 60 Minutes Harris interview

Published on July 6, 2025

By

MXM logo MxM News

CBS will pay Donald Trump more than $30 million to settle a lawsuit over a 2024 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. The deal also includes a new rule requiring unedited transcripts of future candidate interviews.

Key Details:

  • Trump will receive $16 million immediately to cover legal costs, with remaining funds earmarked for pro-conservative messaging and future causes, including his presidential library.
  • CBS agreed to release full, unedited transcripts of all future presidential candidate interviews—a policy insiders are calling the “Trump Rule.”
  • Trump’s lawsuit accused CBS of deceptively editing a 60 Minutes interview with Harris in 2024 to protect her ahead of the election; the FCC later obtained the full transcript after a complaint was filed.

Diving Deeper:

CBS and Paramount Global have agreed to pay President Donald Trump more than $30 million to settle a lawsuit over a 2024 60 Minutes interview with then–Vice President Kamala Harris, Fox News Digital reported Tuesday. Trump accused the network of election interference, saying CBS selectively edited Harris to shield her from backlash in the final stretch of the campaign.

The settlement includes a $16 million upfront payment to cover legal expenses and other discretionary uses, including funding for Trump’s future presidential library. Additional funds—expected to push the total package well above $30 million—will support conservative-aligned messaging such as advertisements and public service announcements.

As part of the deal, CBS also agreed to a new editorial policy mandating the public release of full, unedited transcripts of any future interviews with presidential candidates. The internal nickname for the new rule is reportedly the “Trump Rule.”

Trump initially sought $20 billion in damages, citing a Face the Nation preview that aired Harris’s rambling response to a question about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That portion of the interview was widely mocked. A more polished answer was aired separately during a primetime 60 Minutes special, prompting allegations that CBS intentionally split Harris’s answer to minimize political fallout.

The FCC later ordered CBS to release the full transcript and raw footage after a complaint was filed. The materials confirmed that both versions came from the same response—cut in half across different broadcasts.

CBS denied wrongdoing but the fallout rocked the network. 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens resigned in April after losing control over editorial decisions. CBS News President Wendy McMahon also stepped down in May, saying the company’s direction no longer aligned with her own.

Several CBS veterans strongly opposed any settlement. “The unanimous view at 60 Minutes is that there should be no settlement, and no money paid, because the lawsuit is complete bulls***,” one producer told Fox News Digital. Correspondent Scott Pelley had warned that settling would be “very damaging” to the network’s reputation.

The final agreement includes no admission of guilt and no direct personal payment to Trump—but it locks in a substantial cash payout and forces a new standard for transparency in how networks handle presidential interviews.

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