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It’s Open!

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The Gaetz Avenue interchange is now open to traffic.

From the Province of Alberta

Gaetz Avenue interchange open in Red Deer

As the 2018 construction season comes to a close, the Highway 2/Gaetz Avenue interchange in Red Deer is fully open to traffic.

The new interchange will improve traffic flow and safety for highway travellers, local residents and commuters and businesses in the Red Deer area.

ā€œThis section of the QEII has always been a pinch-point for motorists. Alberta Transportation, the City and County of Red Deer, along with the contractor, worked diligently to make sure we could safely open the interchange in time for the Canada Winter Games this February. This new interchange improves the flow of traffic and increases safety on a heavily travelled stretch of highway.ā€

Brian Mason, Minister of Transportation

ā€œOur community appreciates the modernized QEII interchange with Gaetz Avenue that is now open to traffic. The new interchange will greatly enhance safety and improve access for citizens in Red Deer and region, as well as for the thousands of our fellow Canadians who will be joining us from across our country for the Canada Winter Games.ā€

Tara Veer, mayor of Red Deer

ā€œRed Deer County is thrilled to see the Gaetz Avenue interchange project come to a conclusion. This was a massive project, and, in only two years, we have completely changed the way that motorists access Gasoline Alley and the City of Red Deer. This project has improved vehicle safety and efficiency – which creates even greater demand for local businesses. We are also excited to see the beginning of a new business area adjacent to the highway, at the Junction of Highways 2 and 42.ā€

Jim Wood, mayor, Red Deer County

Construction of the $80 million Highway 2/Gaetz Avenue interchange began in 2016. The project includes five new bridges, new on and off ramps for northbound and southbound traffic, the widening and realignment of Highway 2 and the integration of the Taylor Drive and Gaetz Avenue interchanges. Minor finishing work, such as final paving, signage, guardrail installation and landscaping, will be completed in 2019.

The project was one of more than 195 projects included in the 2018 Construction Program. Of those projects, 139 will be completed by the end of the fiscal year and 56, which are multi-year projects, will continue in the 2019 construction season.

2018 construction season highlights:

  • Five year budget for highways and bridges – $5.6 billion
  • 2018-19 fiscal year – $1.1 billion
  • 2018-19 fiscal year to the end of September, 2018 – $719 million
  • 1,100 kilometres of roads were maintained with pavement rehabilitation work in 2018, which is equivalent to the driving distance between Edmonton and Brandon, Man.

Southwest Calgary Ring Road

  • Construction of the Southwest Ring Road is now more than 40 per cent complete with full completion scheduled for October 2021.
  • River channel alignment works are complete at all three locations.
  • More than 90 per cent of utility realignment is complete.

Highway 43X bypass (Grande Prairie)

  • The roundabout at Highway 43X and Range Road 63 opened in mid-September.

Peace River Bridge

  • Work continues on the west side at the Shaftesbury Interchange and the CN Rail overpass.
  • All project components (except the main bridge) are expected to open during fall 2019.
  • Completion of the 98 Street overpass is expected during summer 2019.
  • The main bridge is on schedule to open during fall 2020.

Highway 19

  • Work on the east section of the project is expected to be complete in 2019.
  • During the winter of 2018-19, two lanes per direction are expected to open to traffic.
  • Construction of a roundabout at Highway 39 and 60 is expected begin in 2019.

Highway 15 twinning and related work

  • Design is underway for the overall Highway 15 twinning project.
  • Construction is anticipated to begin in 2019, and is estimated to take about three years.
  • Repaving of four kilometres of highway between Edmonton and Fort Saskatchewan was completed in 2017.
  • Upgrades to the existing bridge substructures, concrete piers, guardrails and drainage system was completed in 2017.

After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

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Alberta

Sylvan Lake high school football coach fired for criticizing gender ideology sends legal letter to school board

Published on

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

The letter on behalf of Alberta high school volunteer football coach Taylor ‘Teej’ Johannesson mentions ‘workplace harassment’ while demanding his job back.

A Sylvan Lake high school football coach who was fired for sharing his views opposing transgender ideology on social media in a video discussing his Christian faith sent a legal demand to his former school board demanding he get his job back.

H.J. Cody High School volunteer coach Taylor ā€œTeejā€ Johannesson, asĀ reported by LifeSiteNews, earlier this month was fired by his school’s principal because he spoke out against gender-confused youth who ā€œtake their hatred of Christiansā€ to another level by committing violent acts against them.

School principal Alex Lambert fired Teej, as he is known, as a result of aĀ TikTokĀ video in which he speaks out against radical gender ideology and the dangers it brings.

In a recent update involving his case,Ā local mediaĀ with knowledge of Johannesson’s issues with the principal at H.J. Cody High School in Sylvan Lake, Alberta, confirmed a legal demand letter was sent to the school.

The letter reads, ā€œFrom his perspective, this opposition is consistent with the Alberta government’s position and legislation prohibiting prescribing prescription hormones to minors and providing care to them that involves transition surgeries.ā€

In the letter, the school board’s ā€œworkplace harassmentā€ procedure is mentioned, stating, ā€œAny act of workplace harassment or workplace violence shall be considered unacceptable conduct whether that conduct occurs at work, on Division grounds, or at division-sponsored activities.ā€

The legal demand letter, which was sent to school officials last week, reads, ā€œGiven that Mr. Johannesson’s expression in the TikTok Video was not connected to his volunteer work, the principal and the division have no authority to regulate his speech and punish him by the Termination decision, which isĀ ultra vires (ā€œbeyond the powers.)ā€

Johannesson has said, in speaking with local media, that his being back at work at the school as a volunteer coach has meaning:Ā ā€œIt’s about trying to create some change within the school system.ā€

He noted how, for ā€œtoo long,ā€ a certain ā€œpolitical view, one ideology, has taken hold in the school system.ā€

Johannesson has contacted Alberta’sĀ Chief of Staff for the Minister of Education about his firing and was told that there is a board meeting taking place over the demand letter.

According to Teej, Lambert used his TikTok video as an excuse to get rid of someone in the school with conservative political views and who is against her goal to place ā€œsafe space stickersā€ all over the school.

Teej has been in trouble before with the school administration. About three years ago, he was called in to see school officials for posting on Twitter a biological fact that ā€œBoys have a penis. Girls have a vagina.ā€

Alberta’s Conservative government under Premier Danielle Smith has in place aĀ new policyĀ protecting female athletes from gender-confused men that has taken effect across the province.

AsĀ LifeSiteNewsĀ previously reported, the Government of Alberta is currently fighting a court order that is blocking the province’s newly passed ban on transgender surgeries and drugs for children.

AlbertaĀ alsoĀ plansĀ to ban books with sexually explicit as well as pornographic material, many of which contain LGBT and even pedophilic content, from all school libraries.

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Alberta

Parents group blasts Alberta government for weakening sexually explicit school book ban

Published on

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

The revised rules no longer place restrictions on written descriptions of sexual content.

Some parental rights advocates have taken issue with the Conservative government of Alberta’s recent updates to a ban on sexually explicit as well as pornographic material from all school libraries, saying the new rules water down the old ones as they now allow for descriptions of extreme and graphic sexual acts in written form.

AsĀ reported by LifeSiteNews last week, Alberta Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides of the ruling United Conservative Party (UCP) released revised rules outlining the province’s ban on sexually explicit content in school libraries.

The original ban included all forms of sexually explicit as well as pornographic material. However, after a large public school board alleged the ban applied to classic books, the government changed the rules, removing a clause for written sexual content that has some parental rights groups up in arms.

Tanya Gaw, founder of the conservative-leaningĀ Action4Canada, noted to media that while she is happy with Premier Danielle Smith for the original book ban, she has deep concerns with the revised rules.

ā€œWe are very concerned about the decision that no longer places restrictions on written descriptions of those acts, which is problematic,ā€ she said in an interview withĀ The Epoch Times.

Gaw noted how kids from kindergarten to grade 12 should ā€œneverā€ be ā€œexposed to graphic written details of sex acts: incest, molestation, masturbation, sexual assaults, and profane vulgar language.ā€

According to John Hilton-O’Brien, who serves as the executive director of Parents for Choice in Education, the new rule changes regarding written depictions ā€œstill shifts the burden onto parents to clean up what should never have been purchased in the first place.ā€

He did say, however, that the new ā€œMinisterial Order finally makes catalogs public, and what we see there is troubling.ā€

Alberta’s revised rules state that all school library books must not contain ā€œexplicit visual depictions of a sexual act.ā€ To make it clear, the standards in detail go over the types of images that are banned due to their explicit pornographic nature.

AsĀ reported byĀ LifeSiteNews in May, Smith’s UCP government went ahead with plans to ban books with sexually explicit as well as pornographic material, many of which contain LGBT and even pedophilic content, from all school libraries.

The ban was to take effect on October 1.

The UCP’s crackdown on sexual content in school libraries comes after several severely sexually explicit graphic novels were found in school libraries in Calgary and Edmonton.

The pro-LGBT books in question at multiple school locations areĀ Gender Queer, a graphic novel by Maia Kobabe;Ā Flamer, a graphic novel by Mike Curato;Ā Blankets, a graphic novel by Craig Thompson; andĀ Fun Home, a graphic novel by Alison Bechdel.

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