Latest news with #Albertans
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
First Nations say Alberta data centre approach won't attract big tech players
CALGARY - The chiefs of four First Nations in Alberta say they're eager to take part in the province's nascent data centre industry, but argue the province is taking the wrong approach to attract large-scale tech players. The chiefs of the Alexander First Nation, Paul First Nation, Enoch Cree Nation and Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation outlined their concerns this week in an open letter to Premier Danielle Smith and members of her government. 'There are shovel-ready proposals backed by major industry players aligned with government objectives that will be left stranded without a change in proposed policy,' the chiefs wrote. 'Alberta should be a premier destination for hyperscale data centre investment. But strengths only matter if we act on them. Right now, Alberta's ability to execute and deliver on its promise is in question.' Data centres are huge facilities housing the computing firepower needed for artificial intelligence and other applications. It can take an enormous amount of power to run and cool them. The chiefs say the amount of power the Alberta Electric System Operator has allotted to new projects falls short. The Alberta Electric System Operator said earlier this month that it has received requests from 29 proposed data centre projects representing more than 16,000 megawatts — more than 11 times the City of Edmonton's load. It said it will allow the connection of up to 1,200 megawatts of large load projects between now and 2028. 'Alberta has never seen this level and volume of load connection requests,' said AESO CEO Aaron Engen. 'As the system operator, we are responsible for ensuring that new project connections do not compromise grid reliability. Because connecting all large loads seeking access would impair grid reliability, we established a limit that preserves system integrity while enabling timely data centre development in Alberta.' The Alberta government has set a goal of attracting $100 billion in data centre investment over five years. But the chiefs wrote that the limit sends the wrong signal to tech powerhouses like Meta and Amazon. 'The hyperscalers 'don't build small.' They think in gigawatts, because their global operations require that scale,' they wrote. 'Under the current proposal, not even one such flagship project may be fully realized here without years of delay, since 1,200 megawatts total divided among many projects signals that Alberta isn't prepared to accommodate a true hyperscaler's needs. 'This sends an unintended but clear message to investors that Alberta's actions do not match its ambitions.' The Alberta government supports the 'balanced approach' the AESO is taking, said the press secretary for Affordability and Utilities Minister Nathan Neudorf. 'Alberta aims to be the destination of choice for AI data centres in North America,' Ashli Barrett said in a written statement. 'At the same time, our government will always put the well-being of Albertans first and ensure data centre projects will not compromise the affordability or reliability of the electricity that millions of Albertans, First Nations, and our local industries depend on.' Barrett added the 1,200-megawatt limit is short-term and should not be thought of as a cap. 'It will enable data centre projects in advanced stages of planning and development to get started, while government works to develop a long-term framework for data centres, which will provide additional pathways for data centres projects to meet their power needs, including encouraging them to bring their own power.' Chief Tony Alexis of the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation northwest of Edmonton said his community is looking at taking an equity stake in a project, and discussions are in the early stages. He said First Nations want more than to be consulted — they are ready to invest. 'Our nations have been growing. We've got young populations and this industry can bring some real training, some jobs, some long-term prosperity for our community,' Alexis said in an interview. 'Alberta is aiming for a championship-level digital economy. We just need the stadium doors open wide enough so that the star players can participate and everyone wins.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2025.
Calgary Herald
5 hours ago
- Health
- Calgary Herald
Groups secure injunction pausing Alberta government's transgender health-care legislation
Alberta government legislation preventing doctors in the province from providing gender-affirming care to minors has been paused under a court judgment released Friday. Article content The Court of King's Bench of Alberta decision granted an injunction application led by Egale Canada and the Skipping Stone Foundation. Article content Article content Justice Allison Kuntz, in her written decision granting the temporary injunction, said Charter challenges raised by the applicants over Bill 26, the Health Statues Amendment Act, warrant further legal argument. Article content Article content 'The evidence shows that singling out health care for gender diverse youth and making it subject to government control will cause irreparable harm to gender diverse youth by reinforcing the discrimination and prejudice that they are already subjected to,' Kuntz wrote. Article content Article content The bill, introduced last October but not yet in full effect, restricted certain treatments and surgeries for gender dysphoria for individuals under 18, including a ban on puberty blocker and hormone therapies for individuals under the age of 16, and gender reassignment surgeries for people under 18. Article content The applicants included five gender-diverse young Albertans, aged six to 12, and their parents, in addition to the two LGBTQ advocacy groups. Article content They challenged the constitutionality of the amended provisions, arguing the changes violate rights guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Alberta Bill of Rights. Article content 'This is an historic win, affirming that young people in Alberta and across Canada deserve to live authentically in safety and freedom,' Skipping Stone founders Lindsay Peace and Amelia Newbert said in a statement. Article content 'As we have long argued, the government should never interfere in the medical decisions of doctors and patients or prevent parents and youth from deciding what medical care is right for them.' Article content The province had argued preventing access to puberty blocking drugs for trans children and other measures in the bill is based on evidence suggesting such treatments may be harmful. Article content 'Alberta . . . does not doubt the value of providing care to children facing (gender dysphoria or gender incongruence), but that care must be safe and evidence based,' government lawyer David Madsen told Kuntz at a March hearing. Article content 'That is what the legislation is about. Protecting the safety and long-term choice of children and youth from a risky and experimental medical intervention, for which there is little evidence of benefit and evidence of significant harm in some cases.'
Calgary Herald
9 hours ago
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Braid: Focus on separatism is all about keeping UCP in power
Separatism is no threat to Alberta, or the federal government, or Canada itself. Article content But it is an enormous threat to Premier Danielle Smith and her United Conservative Party. Article content Article content A provincewide vote of, say five per cent, would bleed support from the UCP and bring the NDP back to power. Article content That threat drives major elements of UCP policy, from removing books in schools to making nine demands for change from Ottawa. Article content Article content The UCP often governs 4.9 million Albertans for the benefit of a faction within the party. Article content Article content At an event with federal Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland on Thursday, Smith said Prime Minister Mark Carney should take separatism seriously. It's the fed's fault, after all. Article content 'If Ottawa wants to work with me to cause that (separatist) sentiment to subside, then we need to materially address the nine bad laws that have created that negative investment climate,' she said. Article content 'If they make the changes that we're requesting, then I suspect they can take the air out of that movement.' Article content Knocking a few points off a tiny separatist party's support is a weak rationale for moving the feds to action. Article content There isn't much of a market in Ottawa, or anywhere else, for the plaintive cries from Alberta the Oppressed. Article content On Friday, the government closed the books on fiscal 2024-25 with an astonishing surplus of $8.2 billion. Article content Article content Originally, the finance department had forecast a surplus of 'only' $355 million (one that every other province would love to have). Article content Article content That surplus grew madly because of lush revenue in major categories, especially oil and gas. Article content In 2023-24, the Alberta surplus was $4.3 billion; the year before that, it hit $11.6 billion. The only other province to book a surplus in 2024-25 was New Brunswick, with $41 million.
Calgary Herald
12 hours ago
- Health
- Calgary Herald
Everything you need to know about a vaccine-preventable diseases
For months, Alberta's doctors have chimed over and over again: Get vaccinated against the measles. Article content As cases have surpassed 1,000, leading to a higher likelihood of severe symptoms and possible fatalities, the chime has grown louder, accompanied by province-wide campaigns to educate Albertans on the importance of the vaccine. Article content Article content It's an outbreak of infection and dismay, as the disease was once declared eradicated from the province, thanks to a robust vaccination campaign in the 90s that saw 95 per cent of the community immunized against the virus. Article content Article content It's a vaccine-preventable disease — 'the vaccine prevents the individual from contracting the disease,' according to Dr. Craig Jenne, infectious disease specialist, and in turn also protects others who aren't able to get the vaccine. Article content Article content The list of vaccine-preventable diseases is long — The World Health Organization lists 25 diseases for which vaccines are available — but the impact of vaccines can vary, from being able to mitigate symptoms to being able to eradicate a virus from a community. Article content 'COVID or influenza for example, those vaccines may not be able to block infection but they do significantly reduce risk of hospitalization,' Jenne said. It's as obvious as it sounds — with a couple of caveats. Article content A vaccine-preventable disease can be prevented by taking a vaccine, usually before infection, but for some, even after, if the infection was immediate. Article content Article content The effect of a vaccine can range, according to Jenne, from reducing, if not fully preventing, the chance of severe disease to preventing infection altogether. Article content The influenza virus for example can also be found in animals and mutates frequently, rendering a single vaccine ineffective at preventing it entirely. But vaccines can still be effective at mitigating the symptoms of the virus. Article content 'New variants pop up that that are pretty good at dodging the full protection of the vaccine,' Jenne said. Article content 'Yet ongoing clinical studies show that people that are vaccinated and have received updated vaccines remain protected, at least largely, against hospital admission, ICU admission and death. So that says that they're still working.' Article content 'They're preventing the disease but they're maybe not preventing infection altogether.'
Calgary Herald
13 hours ago
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Alberta ends 2024-25 fiscal year with $8.3 billion surplus thanks to oil, taxes
Higher revenues from oil royalties as well as personal and corporate income taxes led Alberta to end the last fiscal year with an $8.3-billion dollar surplus, a swing of nearly $8 billion from what the government accounted for in Budget 2024. Article content The 2024-25 fiscal year ended on March 31, 2025, with the province's bottom line looking much healthier than the initial $367 million projected in the February 2024 budget. Article content Article content Article content 'This surplus shows Alberta's strength. The road ahead may be rough, but Alberta is built to last. We're paying down debt, saving for the future and backing the services Albertans count on,' Finance Minister Nate Horner said in a news release. Article content Article content The surplus represents a significant swing from both Budget 2024's slim surplus and Budget 2025's forecasted deficit of more than $5 billion. Article content Much of that bottom line is a product of continued increases to Alberta's population, which grew by 4.4 per cent in 2024, adding approximately 200,000 new people to the province. Article content That growth is reflected in the government's increased tax revenue but also in its rising expenses as those new residents engage with social programs, infrastructure, and the education and health-care systems. Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content The $8.3 billion surplus is Alberta's fourth consecutive fiscal year-end surplus. Article content The fiscal year ended with $85.2 billion in taxpayer-supported debt, an increase of $3.4 billion from the prior fiscal year. The province's overall debt grew by $2.9 billion, up to $102.5 billion. Article content Revenue Article content Alberta's revenue greatly outperformed projections with the government taking in $82.5 billion, or $8.9 billion more than estimated in Budget 2024. Article content More than half of that, $4.7 billion, comes from non-renewable resource revenue with the province noting record-high production as well as the opening of the Trans Mountain expansion pipeline in May of last year.
