Calgary Daily Digest — March 13, 2026

Life-saving team gets international praise — The Stollery Children’s Hospital ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) program has been named a platinum-level Centre of Excellence by the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO). Doctors like Dr. Laurance Lequier and parents Dianne Fang and Matthew Lui recall how ECMO saved their son James ("JJ") three years ago when he went into cardiac arrest from Group A strep; the machine gave him a 50% chance of survival and he’s now healthy.

Privacy, AI and a shooting spark urgent debate — At the Victoria International Privacy and Security Summit regulators and experts, including Canada’s privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne, discussed AI, children’s safety and the Tumbler Ridge shooting that injured 12-year-old Maya Gebala. The story includes a civil suit against OpenAI, questions about age verification and possible changes to laws such as the Online Harms Act and federal bill C-22.

Child hit, vehicle abandoned in Airdrie — RCMP say a six-year-old was struck just before 6 p.m. Thursday on Cobblestone Blvd while a mom and two kids shoveled snow; police believe a gold Acura SUV lost control, hit a tree and fled south. Two suspects are described (female driver 16–20 and a teenage boy 16–18); the SUV was later found and seized, and anyone with tips should call Airdrie RCMP at 403-945-7267.

Alberta roots shine as Canada faces USA in WBC — Team Canada, coming off a 7-2 win over Cuba, meets the U.S. in a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal with Calgary native pitcher Michael Soroka likely to start. Canada’s pitching staff has a tournament ERA of 2.38, and local connections like reliever Matt Wilkinson (formerly of the Okotoks Dawgs) give Southern Alberta fans plenty to cheer for.

Women’s World Curling arrives in Calgary — The BKT Women’s World Curling Championship opens Saturday at WinSport and runs through the gold-medal game on March 22, with Team Canada skipped by Kerri Einarson (joined by Val Sweeting, Shannon Birchard and Karlee Burgess). Organizers expect about $11 million for Calgary’s tourism sector and hope the home-ice boost will inspire local curlers.

Appeal fails on Canmore ‘livability tax’ — The Alberta Court of Appeal rejected a challenge to Canmore’s tax on homes empty more than half the year, a levy that will hit part-time owners with about $6,300 a year compared with roughly $2,100 for full-time residents. To avoid the charge homes must be occupied at least six months (with two continuous months); the median single-family home value in 2024 was over $1 million and about 25% of homes are part-time.

Leave denied for killer tied to ‘Dexter’ copycat case — The Parole Board refused temporary leave for Mark Twitchell, who is serving a life sentence at Bowden Institution for the 2008 murder of Johnny Altinger. The board said Twitchell shows behavioural progress but visiting Edmonton could harm victims; he was convicted in 2011 after evidence showed his crimes mirrored ideas he had written about.

Fines for dangerous driving rise March 13 — Alberta raised fines on March 13 by up to 50% for extreme speeding (40+ km/h over), careless driving, racing/stunting (from $567 to $852) and by 30% for distracted driving (from $300 to $390). Demerit points didn’t change, but officials warn convictions can raise insurance premiums for up to three years; Calgary issued 2,294 distracted-driving tickets in 2025 and Edmonton about 3,100.

Province inspects Calgary over Bearspaw water main failures — Alberta launched a municipal inspection led by David Goldie into Calgary’s handling of the Bearspaw feeder main after a second major failure (the latest on Dec. 30) and requested thousands of city documents by Jan. 27. Mayor Jeromy Farkas welcomes the review as crews work under stage four water restrictions and the city seeks an extra $600 million over two years for water projects.

Judge refuses to pause back-to-work law in teachers’ fight — Justice Douglas Mah denied an injunction sought by Alberta teachers against the law that ended their provincewide strike last fall and used the notwithstanding clause, saying pausing the law would create chaos for students and families. The full legal challenge will proceed at a hearing in September, and the ruling doesn’t settle broader constitutional questions raised by the union.

Shelter fights superstition with black-cat adoption event — Tails to Tell Animal Rescue in Crossfield will host an adoption event Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Pet Valu in Airdrie to spotlight about a dozen black cats (names include Lavender, Knight Rider, Timi, Spooky and Bowie). The shelter cares for roughly 75 cats (nearly half mostly black) and is offering a $50 adoption discount to help these long-stayers find homes.

Landowners block oil company over unpaid lease — Southwest Edmonton landowners Mark Dorin and Dale Braun erected a blockade after MAGA Energy allegedly missed lease payments for three years (about $12,000 a year), forcing them to terminate the lease and bar the company from the property. They say regulators haven’t enforced rules despite a 2023 policy to block transfers for companies $20,000+ in arrears; Energy Minister Brian Jean and opposition voices are now involved.