Police said Sunday that Brian Malley, 55, of Innisfail, has been charged with one count of first degree murder, along with one count of causing an explosion of an explosive substance likely to cause serious bodily harm, death or serious damage to property, and one count of sending or delivering to a person an explosive device.

Victoria Shachtay, a “vulnerable young mother,” said RCMP, was killed Nov. 25, 2011 when a parcel delivered to her home exploded.

She was in a wheelchair as a result of injures sustained in a car crash in 2004, and was living with her seven-year-old daughter and a live-in care worker at the time of her murder, said police.

RCMP said the charges came about due to a search warrant executed on Friday at the accused residence in Innisfail.

The six-month investigation involved the RCMP K Division Serious Crimes Branch, the local RCMP detachment and others, including the RCMP’s Post-Blast National Response Team, Explosive Disposal and Technology Section, Tech Crimes, Special Tactical Operations, Criminal Analysis Section, Special “I” Surveillance Units, and Forensics Labs in both Edmonton and Ottawa.

At its peak, there were more than 70 investigators working on the case, said RCMP.

“Investigations like this one are challenging, largely because of the complexity and the co-ordinated effort which is so critical,” said Insp. Garrett Woolsey, operations officer with the Serious Crimes Branch. “In this case, assistance from support and specialized units was significant. These arrests come as a result of that help and the relentless determination of our investigators to find those responsible for Victoria Shachtay’s death.”

Malley is in custody and will appear in Red Deer court on Monday at 9:30 a.m.

The investigation into the murder continues, and RCMP encourage anyone with information to come forward to their local RCMP detachment or Crime Stoppers.

Executive director of 4th Street Business Revitalization Zone (BRZ) Jennifer Rempel said she’s encouraged to see the forecast for this weekend’s event doesn’t appear to rain on their parade.

“The weather forecast was not so great a couple days ago but it’s actually changed for the better,” she said.

The event begins at 10 a.m. with a parade led by Mayor Naheed Nenshi from 25th Avenue S.W. down 4th Street to 13th Avenue.

In addition to the more than 500 vendor booths, the festival will have seven entertainment stages, including one focused on Calgary performers under 18.

Several food trucks will be stationed at 14th Avenue and Village Brewery will host a beer garden at 17th Avenue.

Every year, thousands of Calgarians flock to the famed festival and Rempel said she expects this year will be no different.

“Lilac Festival is the first festival of the season,” she said. “It kind of kicks off summer in Calgary and people get excited about that.”

For more information, visit lilacfestival.net.   

Calgary company Dogma Training and Pet Services is hoping to showcase the beauty of mixed breed dogs next month during the first annual Mutt Show.

Owner of Dogma Megan Armstrong said they wanted to give mutt owners the chance to win best in show while at the same, promoting pet adoption groups in Calgary.

“We deal with and support a lot of the local rescue groups and there are such a large number of them in Calgary that we were trying to brainstorm a different event that hey could get out and have some fun and showcase the dogs,” she said.

“We’re hoping it can showcase (mutts) in a different light.”

The Mutt Show will take place on June 16 between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Dogma’s new location at 2835 37th Street S.W.

Participants can register their dogs in as many categories as they’d like from best personality to best trick.

Rescue groups such as ARF and AARCS will be at the event showcasing some of the animals they have up for adoption.

Registration is open until June 4 at dogmatraining.com.

It was announced Friday that the 10-day festival will include visits from dignitaries such as former Prime Minister Paul Martin who will be headlining the festival’s Human Rights Forum Breakfast, to speak about is aboriginal education initiative.

Patrick Brault, GlobalFest’s new fireworks director, was the man behind designing the pyrotechnics for the 2012 Vancouver Winter Olympic opening and closing ceremonies.

Festival organizers are also promising the finale celebration will be the the most extravagant in the 10-year history of the event.

Participating countries include:

• Phillipines (Platinum Fireworks Inc.) – Aug 16
• Mexico (Lux Pirotecnia) – Aug 18
• China (Vulcan Display Fireworks Ltd.) – Aug 20
• Brazil (Vision Show Group) – Aug 22
• USA (Pyrotecnico) – Aug 24
• Finale (Patrick Brault – GlobalFest & Sirius Pyrotechnics)  – Aug 26

For more information on the festival, visit globalfest.ca

Hockey Canada says the tournament made a profit of at least $22 million, which will go into hockey programs and facilities.

The Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance assessed the economic impact of the tournament at $86.2 million when factoring in visitor expenditures and tax revenue generated from it.

Calgary and Edmonton were host cities of the world under-20 men’s championship from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5. The tournament drew over 440,000 spectators.

The organizing committees had guaranteed an $18-million profit in their bid for the tournament.

By comparison, the 2010 world junior tournament in Saskatoon and Regina generated a $15-million surplus, according to Hockey Canada records.

Hockey Canada says exact financial figures have yet to be finalized. The governing body of hockey in Canada said in a statement released Friday that it plans to divert $9 million of the expected $22 million into its own programs.

The Canadian Hockey League, who supplies the majority of players to the Canadian team and dozens to other countries, gets a $6-million piece of the pie.

Another $3 million will be set aside for future international tournaments in Canada, which hosts the world junior championship again in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021.

The International Ice Hockey Federation gets $1.5 million and another $450,000 goes to the countries who participated in the tournament. That arrangement with the IIHF is new as of this year and part of the deal Hockey Canada made to host the tournament four times over a seven-year period.

The host committees, minor hockey associations in Calgary and Edmonton, as well as Hockey Alberta will receive more than $950,000 for projects including upgrades to arena dressing rooms and Hockey Alberta’s programs and provincial training centre.

Another $165,000 goes to Hockey Canada’s dozen member branches.

“In seeing the legacy of this event and the economic impact that it has had on the two host communities, the host province and grassroots hockey in Canada, we will continue to work together with our partners to bring major international events to Canada on a regular basis,” Hockey Canada chief operating officer Scott Smith said in the release.

The Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance estimates the tournament brought over 30,000 visitors to Alberta.

Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation Board says the spill happened May 19 at a Pace Oil and Gas injection well, about 900 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

Darin Barter, a board spokesman, says ERCB investigators aren’t sure how much of the mixture leaked from the site, located about 20 kilometres southeast of the tiny community of Rainbow Lake.

The emulsion is injected down the well to help bring oil to the surface.

Barter says the spill has not been totally contained, but there are no nearby streams or creeks that would allow for the oil to escape from the area.

He says Calgary-based Pace is bringing in special equipment to deal with the situation, but there is no indication of how long the cleanup will take.

Cooler temperatures and moisture have reduced the threat of wildfires in Alberta and as a result, the province will sending 41 firefighters to join two airtankers that were also sent on May 22.

Even with resources being sent across the country, the province is assuring Albertans that a sufficient number of firefighters are available to respond should any wildfires be detected.

According to a release, Alberta has a resource-sharing agreement with agencies across North America.

Duty inspector Paul Malchow said police were called to the 1900 block of 43 Street. S.E. shortly after 1 a.m. when a woman reported a man in medical distress.

Upon arrival, officers found the man was dead.

“For reasons that I can’t explain, we’ve deemed it suspicious,” said Malchow.

The homicide unit, crime scene unit and general investigators have been called in.

Early Friday morning, the body of the man remained covered in the vehicle as investigators swept the scene.

“We’re doing neighbourhood inquires to find out what happened.”

Malchow said an autopsy is expected to be complete on Monday, and until then, police won’t be able to release further details.

“PTSD’s devastating effects on individuals and their families are well understood, and it’s time legislation reflected that fact,” said Lt.-Gov. Don Ethell in the speech from the throne that began an abbreviated session of the legislature.

“First responders rush to our aid in times of trouble, and this government will be the first in Canada to do the same for them.”

Bill 1, the signature and only piece of legislation for the week-long session, will amend the Workers Compensation Act.

It will not pass in this session but will come back for further debate in the fall.

Sgt. Tony Simioni, who speaks for rank-and file officers with the Edmonton police force, said they have been pushing for the change for a long time.

“You (as a first responder) go to (car) accidents, you see child deaths, shootings, and violent scenes on a regular basis,” said Simioni.

He said emergency personnel who have PTSD face many hurdles, the first of which is to overcome the stigma of mental illness by admitting they have it.

But once they do, he said, the battle is just beginning to get benefits from the Workers Compensation Board.

Not only do claimants have to prove they have PTSD, they have to prove it happened on the job, and then they have to prove it’s so extreme they can’t do their jobs, said Simioni.

He said “very few” claims are accepted, adding that his police association has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars hiring lawyers to fight the cases on appeal to the Workers Compensation Board.

He said diagnosing PTSD can be tricky, but that doesn’t make it any less real.

“In my 33-year career I can talk about hundreds of incidents that could have triggered symptoms of PTSD,” he said. “Our younger members in two or three years can accumulate more than the average adult sees in two or three lifetimes.”

Craig Macdonald, president of the Alberta Firefighters Association, said studies suggest as many as one in three firefighters have a form of PTSD.

Macdonald said Bill 1 may reduce the stigma and allow more of his members to come forward.

“If Bill 1 can take away some of those hurdles, we may possibly see an increase (in applicants),” he said.

Human Services Minister Dave Hancock said that in the last three years Alberta has accepted 22 claims of PTSD, about a quarter of them from emergency responders.

He agreed the changes may see more people come forward.

“That (number) could well go up,” he said.

Opposition NDP Leader Brian Mason said while he applauds the bill, it should have been extended to others who face trauma on the front lines, such as nurses and social workers.

“They (the governing Progressive Conservatives) are picking and choosing,” said Mason.

“It seems to me they have a real fondness for enhancing the rights of people who wear uniforms, but not necessarily for people who are working in the care area.”

The bill was one of a number of issues referred to in the speech from the throne, which outlines government goals and objectives.

Much of the speech reiterated earlier promises to promote transparency, improve environmental monitoring and front-line health care.

The speech also reiterated Premier Alison Redford’s plan to better promote Alberta on the national stage, which will include a new national energy strategy.

To that end, Redford told reporters the province will open an office in Ottawa to foster better communication with federal officials.

Redford dismissed suggestions from reporters that officials in the new office will bump into and overlap the work currently being done by federal Alberta MPs.

“Absolutely not,” she said. “We have a tremendous relationship with the federal government and when we spoke to the prime minister’s office with respect to (this) announcement it was very warmly received.

“We want to work together to advance Alberta’s interests.”

But Danielle Smith of the Opposition Wildrose party said it’s another example of misplaced spending.

“The premier doesn’t understand this is her job to have a relationship with Ottawa. This is her (intergovernmental Relations) minister’s job to have a relationship with Ottawa,” said Smith.

“It seems to me it’s going to be just one more patronage appointment. I will predict right now it’s going to be one of her failed (election) candidates.”

Politicians will sit until next Thursday primarily to clear up legislative housekeeping items such as committee appointments.

On Wednesday, they selected Tory backbencher Gene Zwozdesky to be the new Speaker.

Bruce Raddatz, the school’s assistant principal said there are several festivities planned for Friday’s monumental celebration, including unveiling a mural painted by the students under the direction of artist-in-residence Stan Phelps.

“Each of our roughly 312 students have painted one square foot of the mural,” Raddatz said.

“It’s a picture of the school. Starting on the left side is the historical component and then working across the front of the school to the right side that becomes the modern and looking into the future part of the schools history.”

The mural will be mounted on the east side of the school gym.

Another milestone on the agenda is the opening of a time capsule that was sealed 25 years ago at the schools 75^th anniversary celebration, Raddatz said.

As to what they expect to find in the capsule Raddatz chuckled, “I don’t know what’s in there. We’re not allowed to peek.”