Alberta
- Alberta School Boards are Cutting Hundreds of Teaching Positions Next Year, Teachers’ Association Sayspressprogress.ca Alberta School Boards are Cutting Hundreds of Teaching Positions Next Year, Teachers’ Association Says
Alberta is cutting teachers while class sizes are in the high 30s and student enrolments are set to grow by 26,000 next year
> Over one-third of Alberta’s school divisions are cutting teachers next year even though classes are already overcrowded and enrolments are continuing to rise.
> Student enrollment and class sizes will meanwhile continue to increase, with the ATA’s data indicating 26,000 additional students are expected to enroll next year compared to last year.
> According to the ATA and public education advocates, the cuts are a result of a funding model introduced by the United Conservative government in September 2022 called the “Weighted Moving Average.” The “Weighted Moving Average” calculates student funding over three years using numbers from the previous year, current year and proceeding year. According to Schilling, this system fails to account for enrollment growth and complex challenges in the classroom. “It’s starting to create a crisis,” Schilling told PressProgress. “Talking to my colleagues across the province, staff rooms are being converted into classrooms, library commons are being converted into classrooms, gymnasiums, wherever they can find space.”
> Bradley LaFortune, Executive Director with Public Interest Alberta, notes the Alberta Government has launched major advertising campaigns to draw newcomers into the province. LaFortune notes that Calgary has only built one new school even though the Calgary Board of Education is expecting 9,000 new students in the next year.
> "What we’re seeing is a cut as a result of a funding formula that’s inaccurate. It doesn’t address new challenges, it doesn’t address population growth. It’s a recipe for disaster. It’s pretty appalling that that’s the state of public education today,” LaFortune said. “We need to stop investing in inaccessible private schools, fund public education, defund private education, and get back to the basics.”
- Remote Overlanding Trail to Kakwa falls, the highest waterfall in Alberta
YouTube Video
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- Interesting podcast episode about water rights, drought, and Mormons in Alberta.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/how-did-a-mormon-town-grab-first-dibs-on-alberta-water-1.7216361
- Thousands ordered to evacuate Fort McMurray as wildfire threatens
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- Alberta government releases no-go zone map for renewable power projects
From the article:
> Within the restricted zones are hundreds of oil and gas facilities. One open-pit coal mine in the Rockies is before the provincial regulator and the expansion of another has already been approved. Much of the area has been extensively logged.
- Supreme Court will not hear appeal of Calgary man who killed five peoplecalgary.ctvnews.ca Supreme Court will not hear appeal of Calgary man who killed five people
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Thursday it will not hear an appeal from Matthew de Grood to acquire more freedoms while under psychiatric care.
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Thursday it will not hear an appeal from Matthew de Grood to acquire more freedoms while under psychiatric care.
De Grood(opens in a new tab) fatally stabbed five people at a Calgary house party in 2014 during a schizophrenic episode.
He was found not criminally responsible (NCR) for the deaths in 2016.
De Grood’s lawyer, Jacqueline Petrie, has been fighting to get him more freedoms while under psychiatric care.
- New study links hospital privatisation to worse patient carewww.ox.ac.uk New study links hospital privatisation to worse patient care | University of Oxford
A new review has concluded that hospitals that are privatised typically deliver worse quality care after converting from public ownership. The study, led by University of Oxford researchers, has been published in The Lancet Public Health.
- Did Reddit year-end recaps expose Russian interference in Alberta?www.stalbertgazette.com Did Reddit year-end recaps expose Russian interference in Alberta?
Read the full story and comment on stalbertgazette.com
- Where can I get access to old Alberta newspapers?
Hi all,
I was wondering if anybody knew where I could access to some old newspapers based in Alberta. I've been working on expanding information about the Calgary music scene in MusicBrainz, and I've been getting to a point where finding information on some bands online has been a pain with some having next to no information online.
Thanks for any help in advance!
- Former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi considering bid for Alberta NDP leadershipcalgaryherald.com Former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi considering bid for Alberta NDP leadership
Three-term Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi is mulling over a run for the NDP leadership, a contest that begins Monday.
>He hadn't been contemplating seeking the Alberta NDP leadership but added "I have been listening to a lot of pitches from party members and other Albertans."
- Smith unveils sweeping changes that will negatively impact trans youth
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/danielle-smith-unveils-sweeping-changes-to-alberta-s-student-gender-identity-sports-and-surgery-policies-1.7101053
"This is interfering ideologically in the provision of medically necessary healthcare for trans and gender diverse young people," Johnstone said in an interview with CBC News.
"And flies in the face of establishing medical best practice, while also putting in parameters around school inclusion that are actually more likely to force trans kids back into the closet or extreme cases will lead to trans kids being kicked out of their homes."
- Air pollution from Canada’s tar sands is much worse than we thoughtarstechnica.com Air pollution from Canada’s tar sands is much worse than we thought
Oil operations release vast quantities of damaging particles and noxious compounds.
Not "a little worse than we thought." Has Premier Smith commented on this yet?
- Critics call for review of Alberta Energy Regulator over withheld liability studyedmonton.ctvnews.ca Critics call for review of Alberta Energy Regulator over withheld liability study
Critics are calling for a public inquiry into the actions of the Alberta Energy Regulator, after documents surfaced suggesting the agency downplayed the industry's environmental liabilities and withheld information on those costs.
Well this ain't good. Who is going to want to invest in a province that knowingly deceives investors? (nevermind the electorate, we don't matter)
- Alberta issues emergency alert due to extreme cold, high risk of power outages | CBC News
When is this province going to get real with electricity capacity? How are we suppose to use EV's and Heat Pumps when the electrical grid is so under capacity?
Anyone affected by the power outages?
- How are people with heat pumps faring?
With the cold weather I was hoping to hear of some experiences people have had with their heat pumps.
What kind of backup heat do you have? Are you using it? Is there some temperature where you just stop using the heat pump, or are you even consciously thinking about it?
Thanks!
- Tucker Carlson is coming to Alberta this month - if we let him.
Just a reminder that #DanielleSmith and the #UCP are welcoming #tuckercarlson for a visit this month. It would be a shame if this man was denied entry into Canada because he is a danger to Canada.
IS he a danger to Canada? Well, he's openly called for the US to invade and depose our democratically elected government.
There's a change.org petition to deny him entry:
CSIS has a non-emergency reporting system, or you can phone them at 613-993-9620.
- First time seeing a "Watch for snakes on road" sign in Alberta
Found this neat sign around Redcliff.
- Alberta government rejects amendments to Canada Pension Plan exit legislationcalgaryherald.com Alberta government rejects amendments to Canada Pension Plan exit legislation
The UCP has rejected a proposal that would have compelled it to respect the results of a referendum on whether Alberta should quit the CPP.
- Red Deer Catholic bars staff from wearing union shirts which highlight ‘shockingly low’ payrdnewsnow.com Educational support staff at Red Deer Catholic barred from wearing union shirts which highlight ‘shockingly low’ pay
Educational support staff at Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools (RDCRS) trying to raise awareness about their ...
- AB school trustee who compared pride flag to swastika removed from boardrabble.ca AB school trustee who compared pride flag to swastika removed from board
There are influential people in Alberta who share the views of the former school trustee and have a militant commitment to advancing them.
"There are influential people in Alberta who share the former school trustee’s views and have a militant commitment to advancing them, and who will see an opportunity to engage in culture warfare."
- Braid: After huge meeting, social conservatives completely control Danielle Smith's partycalgaryherald.com Braid: After huge meeting, social conservatives completely control Danielle Smith's party
Don Braid: A general meeting that focused almost entirely on social-cultural issues shows social conservatives in complete control of UCP.
- Alberta Pension Plan Townhall Megathread
Call just started. Who's listening?
edit: This call was for northern Alberta. Other regions will get their own calls.
- Sweet year for Alberta sugar beet growers - Lethbridge | Globalnews.caglobalnews.ca Sweet year for Alberta sugar beet growers - Lethbridge | Globalnews.ca
"We grow 20,000 acres of sugar beets, we produce 125,000 tons of sugar, and that equates to eight per cent of the Canadian market," said Gary Tokariuk.
- 1 arrested after ‘high-risk’ incident in north Lethbridge - Lethbridge | Globalnews.caglobalnews.ca 1 arrested after ‘high-risk’ incident in north Lethbridge - Lethbridge | Globalnews.ca
Police say the incident is happening at a residence in the 300 block of Lynx Crescent North. They are asking people to stay away from the area until further notice.
- More food regulations not needed in light of Calgary E. coli outbreak: law professors | Globalnews.caglobalnews.ca More food regulations not needed in light of Calgary E. coli outbreak: law professors | Globalnews.ca
A pair of Calgary law professors say the food safety laws already on the books need to be better enforced, without being hamstrung by political desires to cut 'red tape.'
- COVID-19, influenza vaccines available soon at Alberta pharmaciesglobalnews.ca COVID-19, influenza vaccines available soon at Alberta pharmacies | Globalnews.ca
Influenza vaccines will be available in Alberta pharmacies on Oct. 16, with the new Moderna XBB vaccine likely to be accessible around the same time.
Influenza vaccines will be available in Alberta pharmacies on Oct. 16, with the new Moderna XBB vaccine likely to be accessible around the same time.
Health Canada approved the highly anticipated booster shot on Tuesday for all Canadians six months and older. It targets the latest COVID-19 variants to provide optimal immunity.
While pharmacies haven’t received a confirmed distribution plan, it appears availability may line up with the flu shot.
- Slim majority of Albertans support national oil and gas emissions cap, polls suggest
A slim majority of Albertans would support some kind of national cap on carbon emissions from the oil and gas sector, two new polls suggest.
The polls, conducted by different polling firms at the same time with the same questions, come after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith warned Ottawa last month not to test the "resolve" of Albertans to oppose such measures.
"(The results) conflict with the narrative that our current government is telling Albertans and Canadians that Albertans do not support this kind of action," said Joe Vipond of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, which commissioned the polls.
"Our polling suggests that's not correct."
- This 10-km Trail Is Known As One Of The Best ‘Golden Larch Hikes’ In Albertawww.townandcountrytoday.com This 10-km Trail Is Known As One Of The Best ‘Golden Larch Hikes’ In Alberta
Honestly, it’s one of the best hikes you’ll find in the area, though the trail is pretty rugged at parts, so keep those eyes open.
"HOT SUMMER GUIDE: Showcasing everything we love about Alberta. It’s larch season! When fall rolls around, the Rocky Mountains turn golden as the beautiful larch trees change colours. This hike is known for having some of the best larch views around."
- Alberta government introduces new public safety protocols aimed at addressing crime concernsglobalnews.ca Alberta government introduces new public safety protocols aimed at addressing crime concerns | Globalnews.ca
Alberta's provincial government announced new protocols on Monday in an effort to address increasing concerns about violence being committed in the province's major cities.
"Alberta’s provincial government announced new protocols on Monday in an effort to address increasing concerns about violence being committed in the province’s major cities."
- AHS details cockroaches, previous violations at kitchen used by Calgary daycares affected by E. coli outbreak
"22 patients have developed a disease which affects the kidneys after E. coli infection"
- You’ve changed, man: How the Alberta NDP lost its way | Ricochetricochet.media You’ve changed, man: How the Alberta NDP lost its way | Ricochet
Current and former members describe a party that has sacrificed principles and centralized control in pursuit of power