Alberta
Lac La Biche County to host of the 2021 Distinguished Artist Awards
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 24, 2020
Lac La Biche County to host of the 2021 Distinguished Artist Awards
This may be a perfect reason to plan a trip up through the north country to Lac La Biche in June 2021. The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards Foundation recently announced Lac La Biche County as the 2021 Distinguished Artist Awards host community. The awards are Alberta’s most prestigious recognition of outstanding achievement in the arts. And in the spirit of full disclosure, I serve on the Board of Directors of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards Foundation.
“By hosting the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Awards, we aim to showcase our community’s long history, vibrant multiethnic quilt, tourism opportunities and the legacy of arts in the Lakeland Region. At the same time, we’re raising awareness of the many gifted artists throughout the province,” says Omer Moghrabi, Mayor of Lac La Biche County.
The 2021 celebrations will connect the themes of cultural diversity and the arts, as influenced by the region’s landscapes and watersheds. Lac La Biche County will be the ninth Albertan community to host the awards since their inception in 2003.

Statue commemorating David Thompson’s arrival in Lac La Biche
The 2019 Distinguished Artist Awards were held in Maskwacis this past September and were considered a massive success on many fronts. Communities in the region celebrated their connection to the arts and their history for an entire month leading up to the awards ceremony and attendance of the award’s patron, Alberta’s Lieutenant Governor the Hon. Lois Mitchell. It was inspiring event and one that will in all liklihood be repeated in Lac La Biche in 2021. Here’s an interesting story that came out of the Maskwasis Distinguished Artist Awards this past fall.
Petrified Buffalo Hearts, Indian Maiden Breasts, Stalagmites and 70 Million Year Old Worm Poop
The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards celebrate Alberta’s rich cultural fabric by honouring its most accomplished artists and supporting professional artists in the early stages of their careers.
Alberta
Province hopes new physician training in Lethbridge and Grande Prairie will mean more rural doctors

Addressing rural physician shortages
To help bring more physicians to rural Alberta, Alberta’s government is working to offer physician training in Lethbridge and Grande Prairie.
Alberta has the best front-line health-care workers in the world, and Alberta’s government is working to ensure that Albertans have access to the care they need, when and where they need it. Rural Albertans are disproportionately affected by the nation-wide shortage of healthcare workers and their community members cannot access physician training close to home.
Alberta’s government is investing $1 million to explore ways that regional post-secondary institutions, such as the University of Lethbridge and Northwestern Polytechnic, can help deliver medical education outside of Edmonton and Calgary. Research shows that positive learning experiences in rural health-care settings lead to more physicians choosing to pursue careers in rural areas.
“Over the past year, we’ve made strategic investments to address health care labour shortages, including through the largest expansion of post-secondary seats in Alberta’s history. Partnering with Alberta’s two medical schools and institutions in northern and southern Alberta to train doctors locally is the best path to ensuring we meet rural needs.”
The funds will be used by the University of Alberta, University of Calgary, University of Lethbridge and Northwestern Polytechnic to support collaborative planning. This will include detailed plans to support regional health professions training centres in Lethbridge and Grande Prairie.
“Expanding medical training in rural areas creates new opportunities for students who want to remain in their communities while making other students familiar with regions of the province and types of work they may not have considered before. Expanding training opportunities is just one way we’re addressing the shortage of rural doctors to ensure Albertans get the care they need when and where they need it.”
Plans for rural training opportunities include hands-on learning experiences in rural communities surrounding regional hubs. These opportunities will support the recruitment of physicians to teach and train medical students and residents, while increasing access to physician services.
“An investment in rural medical training is a direct investment in the future of rural and remote health in Alberta. We look forward to building on our existing relationships with partners across Alberta and significantly expanding the opportunities for future health professionals to learn and enter practice outside our largest urban centres, toward the goal that drives everyone involved in the health professions in this province — readily available, easily accessible, world-class health care for all.”
“We at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine are excited about working collaboratively with our colleagues across the province to provide innovative educational solutions for health workforce shortages particularly in the rural areas. There are many factors and initiatives required to help the situation and expanding physician training capacity in Alberta post-secondaries can lead to a healthier population.”
This funding is the latest investment from Alberta’s government to ensure students have access to the education, training and skills students need to succeed in tomorrow’s economy. At the same time giving confidence to industry, businesses and investors that regional workforce needs will be met.
Previously in Budget 2022, Alberta’s government announced the targeted enrolment expansion initiative which invested more than $171 million into Alberta’s post-secondary system to create nearly 10,000 new seats over three years in high-demand programs. More than 2,400 of those new seats were in nursing, health care aide and paramedic programs.
Alberta’s government has also signed a new agreement with the Alberta Medical Association. This includes $15 million annually to support physician recruitment and retention for physicians who practise full-time in underserved areas, an additional $12 million annually for the Rural Remote Northern Program, and a one-time investment of $2 million to increase funding for the existing RESIDE program that provides incentives for family physicians to practise in Alberta’s underserved rural and remote communities.
Quick facts
- There are two medical schools in Alberta, located at the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary.
- The Ministries of Health and Advanced Education are jointly responsible for the education of physicians in Alberta. Advanced Education is responsible for undergraduate medical education. Health is responsible for postgraduate medical education or residency training, including international medical graduates, rural medical programs, resident physician compensation, and the Academic Medicine and Health Services Program.
Alberta
Alberta halts rate hikes on auto insurance for private passenger vehicles for 2023

Edmonton – The Alberta government says it will not approve any more rate hikes for auto insurance on private passenger vehicles until the end of the year.
The government says in a news release that it shares concerns from the public and is imposing the cap while it works to find long-term solutions.
The move comes more than three years after the United Conservative Party government lifted a cap on hikes imposed by its NDP predecessors.
Finance Minister Travis Toews had previously resisted calls to reinstitute the cap, calling it an ineffective stopgap solution while pointing to reforms his government made in 2020 to stabilize rates over the long haul.
The government now says factors like inflation and supply chain issues for auto parts are affecting rates in the short term and must be addressed.
Premier Danielle Smith had called for her government to take action on insurance late last year, after a report commissioned by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia found Albertans are paying among the highest rates in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 26, 2023.
-
Alberta2 days ago
Doctor tells Law Society of Alberta that former health minister visited his home
-
Alberta1 day ago
Cannabis company The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings changing name to BZAM
-
Bruce Dowbiggin2 days ago
NHL’s New Woke Agenda Is A Pucking Mess
-
Alberta2 days ago
Nominate an Alberta artist or arts collective for 2023 Distinguished Artist Award
-
Alberta22 hours ago
Premier Smith asks CBC and opposition NDP to apologize for “defamatory” article
-
Top Story CP1 day ago
Bank of Canada hikes key interest rate by quarter point, says it plans to hold
-
Top Story CP1 day ago
CP NewsAlert: Crown stays sexual assault charges against rural Manitoba doctor
-
Energy1 day ago
Oilsands execs say they can’t invest in decarbonization any faster, despite profits