Alberta
Alberta relaunch moves into Stage Two on Friday
From the Province of Alberta
Alberta moves to stage two of relaunch
Strong testing data shows active COVID-19 cases in Alberta are lower than expected, meaning stage two of the relaunch strategy can safely begin on June 12, a week sooner than expected.
Albertans can enjoy additional activities in their daily lives while the province continues to open up the economy.
“Albertans have demonstrated the care and common sense needed to move forward with our relaunch earlier than initially planned. Our data tells us our active cases are low, hospitalizations are trending downward and people are taking action to protect those most vulnerable and prevent the spread of the virus. We will continue to move forward together to overcome any tough times ahead, but responsible Albertans should be proud of the vigilance they have shown to date.”
Current data from June 8 show only 355 active cases and 44 people in hospital across Alberta. This is a decrease of almost 70 per cent in active cases since May 14 – when the province began stage one of the Alberta Relaunch Strategy. With its robust approach to testing, Alberta has performed more COVID-19 tests per capita than most other jurisdictions in the world.
As the province enters stage two of relaunch, safety remains the top priority. More businesses, sport and recreation services can open if they are ready. Some larger gatherings for seated audience events will be permitted. In all cases, public health guidance must be followed.
A new interactive map will help Albertans understand the level of risk in their community and learn about any enhanced health measures at the local level, giving additional information on what they need to do to keep themselves and their loved ones safe and protected. Currently, no communities in Alberta need locally targeted enhanced measures.
“More Albertans can now return to work and to the activities so many of us enjoy. However, I encourage you to do it safely. Think of the people in your life who may be at high risk from COVID-19 and protect all those around you as you would want your loved ones protected. Stay home if you are sick. Stay two metres apart and wear a non-medical mask if you can’t. Consider downloading the ABTraceTogether app, and wash your hands often.”
What can open with restrictions
- K-12 schools, for requested diploma exams and summer school, following guidance
- Libraries
- More surgeries
- Wellness services such as massage, acupuncture and reflexology
- Personal services (esthetics, cosmetic skin and body treatments, manicures, pedicures, waxing, facial treatment, artificial tanning)
- Indoor recreation, fitness, and sports, including gyms and arenas
- Movie theatres and theatres
- Community halls
- Team sports
- Pools for leisure swimming
- VLTs in restaurants and bars
- Casinos and bingo halls (but not table games)
- Instrumental concerts
The 50 per cent capacity limit for provincial campgrounds is also being lifted. Over the coming days, the online reservation system will be updated and sites will come online in phases. By July 1, all camping sites will be open for reservations. First-come, first-served sites may open sooner. Information on additional sites will be added to alberta.parks.ca when they become available.
Events and gatherings can be larger in stage two
Maximum 50 people:
- Indoor social gatherings – including wedding and funeral receptions, and birthday parties
Maximum 100 people:
- Outdoor events and indoor seated/audience events – including wedding and funeral ceremonies
No cap on the number of people (with public health measures and physical distancing in place):
- Worship gatherings
- Restaurants, cafés, lounges and bars
- Casinos
- Bingo halls
There is more flexibility for ‘cohort’ groups – small groups of people whose members do not always keep two metres apart:
- A household can increase its close interactions with other households to a maximum of 15 people
- Performers can have a cohort of up to 50 people (cast members or performers)
- Sports teams can play in region-only cohorts of up to 50 players (mini leagues)
- People could be part of a sports/performing and household cohort
Everyone is encouraged to follow public health guidelines and notify others in the cohort(s) if they have symptoms or test positive for COVID-19. If they do test positive or have symptoms, mandatory isolation is required.
Still not approved in stage two
- Social gatherings that exceed above listed maximums
- Regular in-school classes for kindergarten to Grade 12. Classes will resume September 2020
- Vocal concerts (as singing carries a higher risk of transmission)
- Major festivals and concerts, large conferences, trade shows and events (as these are non-seated social events and/or vocal concerts)
- Nightclubs
- Amusement parks
- Hookah lounges (permitted for food and drink only)
- Major sporting events and tournaments
- Non-essential travel outside the province is not recommended. This recommendation will not be lifted until stage three of the relaunch strategy.
The success of stage two will determine when Alberta progresses to stage three. Factors are active cases, health-care system capacity, hospitalization and intensive care unit (ICU) cases, and infection rates. For more information, visit alberta.ca/RelaunchStrategy.
Quick facts
- Relaunch stages include an evaluation and monitoring period to determine if restrictions should be adjusted. Triggers that will inform decisions include active cases, hospitalizations and intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy.
- Active cases, the percentage of positive results and the rate of infection will be monitored to inform proactive responses in localized areas of the province.
- Decisions will be applied at both provincial and local levels, where necessary. While restrictions are gradually eased across the province, an outbreak may mean that they need to be strengthened temporarily in a local area.
- Physical distancing and good hygiene are the most important measures to prevent respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19.
- Clean your hands regularly for at least 20 seconds, avoid touching your face, cough or sneeze into your elbow or sleeve, and dispose of tissues appropriately.
In 2021, the Alberta Law Society expressly delegated disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Carpay to the Manitoba Law Society regarding a matter involving surveillance of government officials, including a Manitoba judge. The surveillance was performed in June 2021, for no other reason than to illuminate a legitimate public policy question: were politicians and judges complying with the stringent Covid restrictions that they themselves had imposed on the public?
Mr. Carpay acknowledged that including a judge in the surveillance was a mistake. He publicly apologized for his error in judgment in July 2021.
In August 2021, the Alberta Law Society explained in unequivocal language that it was delegating disciplinary proceedings to the Manitoba Law Society, and that the Alberta Law Society was closing its file and taking no further steps.
The Manitoba Law Society proceedings against Mr. Carpay concluded in August 2023. Mr. Carpay was ordered to pay $5,000 and to respect a lifetime ban on practicing law in Manitoba.
In October 2023, Manitoba Crown Prosecutors stayed all criminal charges against Mr. Carpay, who was innocent of any criminal wrongdoing.
In December 2023, Mr. Carpay submitted his letter of resignation to the Alberta Law Society.
However, the Alberta Law Society then refused to accept Mr. Carpay’s resignation, and commenced new disciplinary proceedings against him, regarding the same conduct for which Mr. Carpay had already been disciplined and punished by the Manitoba Law Society.
A hearing before the Alberta Law Society finally took place on May 28, 2025 – nearly four years after the incident had occurred.
The Alberta Law Society’s decision to refuse Mr. Carpay’s resignation, and to commence brand new disciplinary proceedings over the same issues after delegating the matter to the Manitoba Law Society, is a vindictive and petty abuse of process.
Mr. Carpay has not practiced law for years. He last appeared in court on behalf of a client in 2015. The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms has no staff lawyers, and all legal work is done by outside counsel.
All legal costs related to this matter have been and continue to be covered entirely by Mr. Carpay.
Tuesday’s decision does not impact the vital work of John Carpay or the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms. We continue to defend the constitutional rights and freedoms of all Canadians.
From the Fraser Institute
In Manitoba, teachers voluntarily gave up the right to strike in the 1950s in exchange for binding arbitration. There’s no evidence this decision harmed Manitoba’s education system. In fact, salaries for Manitoba teachers are currently among the highest in the country.
Alberta students are back in school. But for how long?
That’s an open question, because Alberta teachers are currently in a legal strike position. In June, almost 95 per cent of public school teachers voted to authorize strike action. With talks breaking off recently between the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (which represents school boards in the province) and the Alberta Teachers’ Association (which represents teachers in all Alberta public, separate and francophone schools), prospects for a negotiated settlement don’t look good.
The dispute between the two sides is mainly about money. According to the union, the Alberta government is woefully underfunding public education, teacher salaries are too low, classes are too big, and schools lack basic education supplies. The government, of course, disputes these claims and argues that school boards receive more than enough money to educate all students.
Which side is right?
It depends on how you interpret the numbers. While per-student spending in Alberta is lower than the Canadian average, student academic achievement in math, science and reading is well above the Canadian average. There’s no reason to assume that spending more money will automatically lead to better academic results.
Even so, neither side is likely to budge. That’s unfortunate because the people most impacted by a potential strike (students and parents) are without a voice in this dispute. Regardless of which side has the better case, students and their parents will suffer the most during a strike.
This is why Alberta public school teachers shouldn’t have the right to strike. Instead, unresolved labour disputes should automatically go to binding arbitration, where a neutral third party listens to both sides make their respective cases, and then draws up a new collective agreement. Throughout this process students would remain in class and their learning would continue.
Binding arbitration is already a widely accepted way to settle labour disputes. For example, essential workers such as police officers and firefighters regularly use binding arbitration to settle their labour disputes. Given the essential nature of educating students, it’s reasonable to add teachers to this list.
Significantly, there’s precedent for moving in this direction. In Manitoba, teachers voluntarily gave up the right to strike in the 1950s in exchange for binding arbitration. There’s no evidence this decision harmed Manitoba’s education system. In fact, salaries for Manitoba teachers are currently among the highest in the country. Instead of walking a picket line trying to pressure the provincial government to give in to their demands, Manitoba teachers—and students—remain in the classroom until binding arbitration produces a settlement.
In addition, binding arbitration can be used to address more than salary disputes. For example, after a bitter year-long series of intermittent teacher strikes and work-to-rule action, the Saskatchewan government and the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) agreed earlier this year to use binding arbitration to resolve the thorny issue of “classroom complexity”—essentially, how to support students with complex needs. The STF was happy when the Arbitration Board’s final decision placed specific requirements on the province to address the classroom complexity issue.
Imagine how much better it would have been if Saskatchewan students and parents hadn’t suffered a year of labour uncertainty prior to this decision. And of course, teachers lost pay because of the intermittent strikes. Had their labour dispute gone to binding arbitration right away, Saskatchewan teachers would have received reasonable salary increases and a framework for addressing classroom complexity, all without threatening to strike.
Back in Alberta, parents are scrambling to make contingency plans for how they will look after their children if public schools close because of a teacher strike. Alberta has an opportunity to learn from what has happened elsewhere. Students and parents deserve the certainty of knowing that schools will remain open. Teacher strikes should never happen in Alberta. The Smith government should classify teachers as an essential service, and unresolved labour issues should be sent to binding arbitration.
Michael Zwaagstra is a senior fellow with the Fraser Institute.
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