Tag: Alberta

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Mobile Syrup

Telus expands 5G service in nine Alberta locations

In a hefty single-day press release drop, Telus announced that its 5G internet services are now available to more Albertans in nine different parts of the province.

The cities and towns in question are Bonnyville, Fort McMurray, High Prairie, Hinton, Jasper, Okotoks, Vegreville, Vulcan, and Wetaskiwin.

This chunky expansion is funded by a $14.5 billion investment from Telus aimed at improving its 5G infrastructure and services in Alberta specifically between 2021 and 2024.

According to all nine press releases, Telus has invested “$51 billion in technology and operations” in Alberta since 2000.

Prior to today, Telus’ last network expansion update for Alberta was a 5G announcement on September 8th for the regions of Lethbridge and Rocky Mountain House.

Telus says it has spent “nearly $240 billion nationally in network infrastructure, operations and spectrum” across the country.

The Vancouver-based telecom carrier continues to claim that over 70 percent of Canadians will have access to its 5G network — which can reach speeds up to 1.7 Gbps — by the end of 2021.

Source: Telus, (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9)

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Mobile Syrup

Apple Health app now supports vaccination QR codes from several provinces

With the release of iOS 15.0.1, Albertans can reportedly add their COVID-19 vaccination QR codes to the Apple Health app on their iPhones.

According iPhone in Canada, Alberta’s vaccination QR codes support the ‘SMART Health Card’ spec, which is why they work with the Health app. Unfortunately, they don’t work with the Apple Wallet app yet.

Further, Twitter users noted that both Saskatchewan and B.C. QR codes also work, while commenters on the iPhone in Canada article note Quebec’s QR code doesn’t.

For those in Ontario, the government’s vaccine verification app won’t arrive until October 22nd. However, other online services allow Ontario residents to turn their digital vaccination receipt into a QR code that can be saved to Apple Wallet. Alternatively, some people have created shortcuts to the digital vaccination receipt on their phone’s home screen for easy access.

Apple previously said that the feature would be available in an “upcoming software update,” which was presumed to be iOS 15.1. That’s still partially the case — support for the SMART Health Card spec in Apple Wallet will probably arrive with that update.

To add a vaccine QR code to the Apple Health app, iPhone users just need to point their camera at the official QR code provided by the government. A yellow ‘Health’ button should appear in the Camera app — tapping it will walk users through the steps to add the code to Health.

Image credit: Apple

Source: iPhone in Canada

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Nouvelles quotidiennes

Roaring engines and high excitement in Edmonton

The Capital EX Monster Truck Show roars into Edmonton, Alberta this weekend offering a great show and fun rides for the kids, reports Canoe Travel.

Kicking off yesterday, the event continues today (July 29) with two final shows at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. local time. The Capital EX features 13 monster trucks, making it the largest show of its type in Western Canada.

Eight of the 13 vehicles to take part in the arena event are full-sized racing trucks. Measuring 12-feet in both height and width with 66-inch wheels, and weighing over 10,000 pounds, these massive machines reach speeds of 160 km/h.

The remaining five trucks are a little smaller and are used to give rides in the parking lot outside the arena. Kids are sure to delight in experiencing the power of a monster truck first hand.

Stunt-bike riders Shaun Ogilvie and Shawn Westgate also join in the festivities: "We should be able to do some tricks that wow the crowd out there," explained Westgate. "Wheelies sitting on the gas tank with our feet over the handlebars, circle wheelies, drifting, burn-outs, all kinds of stuff."

Tickets start at $19.50 per person with front row seats going for $55 each.

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Nouvelles quotidiennes

Alberta’s badlands host major theatrical production

Alberta launches the 18th year of its Canadian Badlands Passion Play this July, with a commemorative coffee table to book to mark the occasion of its 100th performance, reports Canoe Travel.

The massive play details the life story of Jesus Christ. Staged in a 12-hectare amphitheater, the cast includes over 200 actors, many from the local community of Drumheller, Alberta.

"Unlike some other Passion Plays, we change our script every season," said General Manager Vance Neudorf. ""It’s part of what keeps people coming back year after year – to see what we’ve done with the script, the music, the actors and staging."

This year’s play frames the story through the eyes of John the Apostle, with an original script by playwright Royal Sproule.

The 2011 season debuts July 15, which also marks the play’s 100th performance. Further shows will be staged on July 16 and 17, and July 21 to 24. See the play’s official website for ticketing and schedule details.

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Nouvelles quotidiennes

Plenty to discover in Alberta

Alberta offers unique outdoor and historical attractions that make it an ideal Canadian destination.

"Alberta is a world-class destination that millions of people from around the world come each year to visit," explains Frommer’s editor Gene Simmons.

Banff National Park, located in the Rocky Mountains, is one of the most popular outdoor destinations. The famous park offers hiking and skiing with trails that range from an hour to full-day outings.

Visitors can then take a scenic drive north-east towards Jasper National Park – at 10,878 square km, it’s the largest national park in the Rockies and "has the biggest dark sky reserve to see the night sky unencumbered by the light. That kind of beauty shouldn’t be ignored," adds Simmons.

Along the route, be sure to stop in at the Columbia Icefields Glacier Adventure, located about halfway between Banff and Jasper. The attraction allows guests to travel right up onto the ice of an actual glacier.

For those who prefer to leave the car at home, Royal Canadian Pacific Luxury Rail Tours offer a six-day journey through the Rockies. Visitors can travel in comfort aboard a luxury heritage rail car while they watch the astounding scenery roll by.

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Nouvelles quotidiennes

Rare photos of Marilyn Monroe 1953 visit to Banff

Just a few months before the historic first issue of Playboy magazine would introduce the charms of Marilyn Monroe to the world in December 1953, she escaped to the charming town of Banff, Alberta.

Travelling with her fiancé Joe DiMaggio, one of the greatest baseball players of all time and recently retired for two years, the couple took a getaway trip in August into the wilds of this Canadian paradise.

A new book, Marilyn: August 1953, showcases more than 100 previously-unpublished photos of the screen goddess’ and baseball legend’s visit to Banff, Alberta in 1953.

Accompanied by photographer John Vachon, the couple is depicted in front of majestic mountainous backdrops, a wilderness that has since developed into a booming tourist attraction.

This was a very different assignment for the photographer, Vachon, whose reputation had been built on photos of poverty in rural America, which may explain the documentary feel of the photos.

Unfortunately, Marilyn Monroe does block some of the most beautiful scenery in the world–we apologize in advance.

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Nouvelles quotidiennes

Alberta can boast to have the only windmill museum in Canada

American historian Walter P. Webb said it wasn’t the gun which won the West, it was the windmill. A sign of this quote also welcomes visitors to Canada’s only museum that exhibits these structures which were crucial to the development of our great country.

The museum is located in the village of Etzicom Alberta, population 29, and has 20 windmills. This unique museum in Canada owes its existence to Leonard Mitzel’s love of history. He sold his farm in 1988 and moved into the village. He bought the only school in the area which had closed down and proceeded to turn it into a museum dedicated to windmills.

He quietly went about locating windmills which had become obsolete around the country. He brought them back to Etzikom and rebuilt them according to the original model.  He even managed to convince the Alberta premier to write to late Senator Ted Kennedy for permission to cross the U.S. border and retrieve a mill he found at Martha’s Vineyard.

We should mention that Leonard Mitzel is also the provincial parliament member for Cypress/Medicine Hat.

Besides its collection of antique windmills, the Windpower Centre also has "reproductions of a general store, hotel/rooming house, schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, barber shop and bath, post office, and an early 1900s home complete with parlour, bedroom, and kitchen."

The Canadian National Historic Windpower Centre is open from mid-May to early September. These are more than 5,000 visitors who visit each year.

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Uncategorized

More underweight babies in Alberta

Alberta may be the richest province but it is also where the most underweight (less than 5.5 pounds) babies were born between 2008 and 2009.

According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the rate of underweight babies in Alberta was 6.7%. The Canadian average is 6%.

Babies who are born underweight can have developmental delays and physical problems. They can also develop serious health problems later on, probably because they did not completely develop in the womb. Moreover, they often spend much more time in hospital.

The rate of underweight baby births varies from one province to another. This represents 4.9% of births on Prince Edward Island, 5.1% in Manitoba and 6.4% in Ontario.

The new study also shows that there are more and more births taking place in hospital, an increase of 4.8% from 2006-2007.