Latest news with #Albertans'
Global News
a day ago
- Politics
- Global News
Alberta Next panel hearings on public concerns with Ottawa begin this week
Premier Danielle Smith's hand-picked panel hearing how to fix relations with the federal government is set to get down to work this week with back-to-back town halls. On Tuesday, Smith and the 15 other members of the Alberta Next panel will be in Red Deer in the first stop on their tour to hear from residents on concerns with the federal government. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy On Wednesday, they will hear feedback in from the Edmonton region at a town hall in Sherwood Park. Tickets for both events sold out fast. Smith has said she believes in a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada, and that the Alberta Next panel is simply a vehicle to get Ottawa to address Albertans' grievances. But Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi has dismissed the panel as a way for Smith to curry favour with extreme elements of her United Conservative Party to keep them from splintering off. Story continues below advertisement Nenshi says his caucus members will be knocking on doors and hosting town halls in a tour he calls Better Together to explore ways Albertans can help build a strong future for all Canadians within a united country. — More to come…
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Alberta Next panel set to begin hearings on public concerns with federal government
EDMONTON – Premier Danielle Smith's hand-picked panel hearing how to fix relations with the federal government is set to get down to work this week with back-to-back town halls. On Tuesday, Smith and the 15 other members of the Alberta Next panel will be in Red Deer in the first stop on their tour to hear from residents on concerns with the federal government. On Wednesday, they will hear feedback in Edmonton. Smith has said she believes in a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada, and that the Alberta Next panel is simply a vehicle to get Ottawa to address Albertans' grievances. But Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi has dismissed the panel as a way for Smith to curry favour with extreme elements of her United Conservative Party to keep them from splintering off. Nenshi says his caucus members will be knocking on doors and hosting town halls in a tour he calls Better Together to explore ways Albertans can help build a strong future for all Canadians within a united country. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 14, 2025.
Hamilton Spectator
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Alberta panel members say idea to cut aid to some newcomers comes from government
EDMONTON - Two members of Alberta's new $2-million panel fighting federal overreach say they aren't responsible for the messaging and ideas on the panel's website, including a suggestion to end social supports for some newcomers. 'I can't comment on what the province has put up in the website,' Adam Legge, president of the Business Council of Alberta, said in an interview Wednesday. Legge and University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe are two of 15 people introduced by Premier Danielle Smith this week for the Alberta Next panel. The panel, led by Smith, is set to tour the province this summer to hear concerns from citizens surrounding ways to stop unwarranted meddling in Alberta's affairs from Prime Minister Mark Carney's government. The panel is to recommend a series of questions to be put to a referendum next year. Legge, who stood beside Smith the day before at a press conference announcing the panel, said he agreed with messaging on the panel's website that blames housing costs and unemployment on 'disastrous' immigration rates. In the interview, he said immigration levels, especially for temporary foreign workers and international students, are out of control. 'The numbers have gotten so high that Canada simply cannot keep up from a social service standpoint, housing standpoint, access to doctors and physicians standpoint,' he said. But he declined to comment on the panel polling Albertans on cutting social services like health care and education to immigrants not sanctioned by Alberta. Tombe, in an interivew, also said the panel's website ideas originate with the government. 'I can't speak to the government's marketing decisions,' Tombe said. 'Politicians of all parties, of all governments, are in the business of persuading.' When asked if he agreed cutting service access was a solution, Tombe said he didn't agree with the immigration problems as they were illustrated on the panel's website. He said it's not clear if the government is more concerned about population pressures, international students, or housing shortages but said in each instance reality is more complicated than what is laid out by the government. 'If we can clearly define what the actual concern is, then we can get into a more productive policy conversation about how to address it,' he said. The panel's website says immigration over the past decade has been 'disastrous' and done 'without any sort of proper vetting.' 'Housing prices have skyrocketed. Unemployment keeps increasing as immigration outpaces job growth. And sadly, many of the divisions and disputes that plague other countries have begun making their way into ours,' the website reads. To counteract this, the website says Alberta could issue its own immigration permits and cut off those who don't have them from accessing provincially funded services. Smith has spoken about the panel for months, characterizing it as part of a two-track process, to listen to Albertans' concerns while also negotiating with Carney's government on ways to reduce federal rules and policies Smith says are undermining energy development and Alberta's overall prosperity. Smith's government has also loosened referendum rules, making it easier for citizens to gather signatures for public votes on hot topics including separating from Canada. The immigration proposal and messaging on other ideas for consideration drew criticism from provincial and federal counterparts. In Calgary, Federal Industry Minister Melanie Joly, asked by reporters about the panel, said she was 'not necessarily' keeping up with it, but added, 'I'm personally a very important proponent of national unity.' Alberta Independent Senator Paula Simons posted on social media that Smith's government was embarking on a 'vile hate campaign' when it comes to its proposed immigration measures. 'This bitter xenophobia is as un-Albertan as it's possible to be.' Opposition Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said the panel's ideas are 'worrisome' and 'full of extremist language that has no place in our province.' Smith's press secretary, Sam Blackett, responded to emailed questions on the immigration issue by sending quotes from the panel's website. He also said that a potential Alberta-approved immigration permit would be granted to those who move to the province under the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program, which fast-tracks the permanent residency process for workers in sought after sectors like health care, technology and law enforcement. Blackett said permanent residents also wouldn't be blocked from accessing services. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2025. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Calgary Herald
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
What's next as Alberta moves to crack down on explicit books in school libraries?
Alberta is forging ahead with its plans to implement and develop province-wide standards across all school boards for selecting and managing graphic and sexually explicit materials in school libraries. Article content Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said in an interview with Postmedia that a ministerial order is expected to come mid-July at the latest. He said while the order has yet to be drafted, he's confident it will provide direction about the 'appropriateness of sexual material in schools.' Article content Article content Article content 'Our primary concern from the very beginning has been around material that's really graphic and around sexual content, and making sure that it's age appropriate,' Nicolaides said. Article content Article content On Friday the province released survey results that heard from more than 77,000 Albertans from May 26 to June 6 about whether or not they are supportive of set province-wide guidelines and standards for managing materials in school libraries. Article content According to the results, a majority of respondents indicated they were not supportive of the government implementing province-wide guidelines. Teachers, librarians and 'interested Albertans' were firmly against the move, but parents and school administrators were divided. Article content Article content When asked why Nicolaides is going forward with the guidelines despite a majority of school staff saying they're not supportive of the move, he said the survey shows that parents want to be involved. Article content Article content 'There are different perspectives, and that's understandable, but I think what the survey has shown is that parents do want to have a voice, and do want to have more involvement in understanding what kind of material is available in school libraries,' Nicolaides said. Article content Article content 'With that basis of an understanding, I think it's appropriate that we continue to move forward.' Article content According to the survey, 52 per cent of respondents do not believe parental consent is needed for children to access sexually explicit content regardless of age, but 44 per cent said it is needed. Article content While many respondents were against the government's implementation of province-wide guidelines, 41 per cent of respondents are supportive of restricting access based on age or grade level and 30 per cent believe graphic materials should be entirely removed.
Hamilton Spectator
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Government alerted to no sexually graphic material so far in rural school libraries
No examples of potentially age-inappropriate content from Alberta's rural school libraries had landed on the education minister's desk by Tuesday morning. During a roundtable with about 20 reporters and other rural media representatives, Demetrios Nicolaides confirmed that the examples of graphic content the government was alerted to originated from four books in Edmonton and Calgary school libraries. But their existence nonetheless suggests that there's a standards gap when it comes to explicit material that could end up in the hands of children, he maintained. 'It's almost an impossibility to be able to know the full extent of the content of the vast majority of books that are published in any environment,' said Nicolaides, the member for Calgary-Bow. 'So these are ones that we do know of, of course, that were brought to our attention.' Regardless, don't expect the government to go through each library's collection, said Nicolaides, whose portfolio expanded May 16 to include childcare. 'How school boards have their libraries vet or sort content will probably be left up to them.' The UCP set up the roundtable to answer questions about the move towards provincial standards for school libraries in the selection and management of materials with sexual content. Explicit depictions of sexual and other acts in four graphic novels or graphic memoirs — books in comic-strip format — prompted the province to announce that it's investigating the idea of developing standards. The books were found in school libraries open to children in kindergarten and up. Feedback suggests that many school boards are comfortable with an overall standard being set, Nicolaides said, providing they retain control of acting on the province's direction through their own policies. 'That's probably the direction we'll go because there are a lot of nuances. We'll establish the 'what' — what we're trying to do, what we intend to do.' But the 'how' will stay with boards, allowing them to apply their 'unique circumstances, unique schools and unique dynamics' to the provincial direction. Nicolaides announced consideration of the new standards May 26, which the government backed up with an online survey of Albertans' thoughts on the issue. The survey closed June 6 and by Tuesday results were still being 'collected and collated,' Nicolaides said. Sexual depictions in the four books include masturbation, oral sex, pornography use and petting. Mentions of self-harm, sexual abuse and suicide are also present. The books were in libraries visited by students in kindergarten and higher grades, the government said. All four are coming-of-age books written by Americans and based upon their authors' life experiences. Three of them directly reflect experiences in the LGBTQ2S+ community. After hearing about the roundtable, the NDP maintained that the UCP is diverting attention from its own performance. 'This government continues to fund education at the lowest level in the country, leaving schools overcrowded and understaffed,' said Amanda Chapman, the opposition's shadow minister of education. 'Instead of addressing the urgent issues in our classrooms — like overcrowding, staffing shortages and Alberta's position as the lowest funder of education per student in the country — the Minister of Education is focused on staging political distractions,' Chapman said in an emailed statement. 'What's more troubling is the pattern we're seeing from this government: decisions made behind closed doors, performative consultations that offer no real clarity, and a consistent refusal to be upfront with Albertans about what they've heard and how policies will be rolled out.' Decisions on school library content should lie not with politicians but with teachers and library professionals. 'In many cases, there aren't even librarians available to make these decisions, let alone enough teachers or educational assistants to support our kids,' said Chapman, the member representing Calgary-Beddington. 'Albertans deserve a government that is transparent, ethical and competent — one that trusts experts to do their jobs and gives them the resources to do them well.' Nicolaides doesn't foresee a need for new legislation. Any standards the government creates will come into being through ministerial order. How or whether the standards apply to every age or grade range hasn't been determined. Nicolaides stopped well short of endorsing the four books, but he did say that sexually graphic content can be important for some ages and groups in some situations. 'Our major concern is around age appropriateness,' he said. Explicit books 'can be helpful resources to individuals who have a particular experience or have particular questions. And I don't have any concern with any kind of topic or subject being made available in school libraries.' Many school boards already have policies around content. Potential new requirements would be consistent across the province and would apply to public, separate, francophone, public charter and independent schools. A new standard would not affect materials in Alberta's municipal public libraries, including 55 of them located in schools. 'Those could be uniquely challenging scenarios,' Nicolaides said. He said he's talked the issue over with Dan Williams, the new minister of municipal affairs, but not in any depth. The Peace River representative was appointed May 26, after the last minster. Ric McIver, accepted the position of speaker of the legislative assembly. 'We have had some conversations, because he is interested in understanding a little bit more about what we're doing,' said Nicolaides. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
