Alberta
Province shares plan for school relaunch
From the Province of Alberta
Students returning to school for 2020-21 school yearStudents will return to learning in classrooms across Alberta at the beginning of the new school year. Schools will be ready to welcome students under scenario 1, which is near-normal daily operations with health measures. Alberta’s government has developed a re-entry tool kit to prepare parents and students for what to expect in the new school year. The tool kit includes videos for students explaining some of the health measures, a guide for parents, frequently asked questions, school posters, a self-screening questionnaire in multiple languages, and links to health guidelines.
Under scenario 1, schools will implement a number of public health measures, which include frequent cleaning of surfaces, placing hand sanitizers at school entrances and classrooms, grouping students in cohorts, and planning the school day to allow for physical distancing, which could include staggering start times for classes, recesses and lunches. Additional public health measures may be established prior to September on the advice of the chief medical officer of health in consultation with the education system. In addition, students, staff, parents and school visitors will be expected to use a self-screening questionnaire daily to determine whether they can enter the school.
Successful transition to summer school and child careAlberta’s school re-entry plan works, and already has mitigated risks to students and teachers. Throughout the summer, the Calgary Catholic Separate School Division ran in-person summer school programming in accordance to the guidelines developed and issued by the province. These comprehensive guidelines have mitigated risk, resulting in no COVID-19 outbreaks among teachers or students participating in summer school. Additionally, Alberta has seen a successful reopening of child care centres across the province. Children and staff have safely returned to these centres with no outbreaks occurring. School authority fundingSchool authorities have returned to full funding levels as of July 1, and every school authority in Alberta is receiving a funding increase for the 2020-21 school year – roughly $120 million across the province. A list of funding for every school authority is available here. In addition, the Minister of Education has approved the use of school board reserves, if needed, to help cover local COVID-19-related costs. The total amount of money sitting in school board reserves is $363 million. Accelerated capital school fundingThe province has also provided school boards an additional $250 million to support accelerated capital maintenance and renewal projects, as part of the more than $10 billion infrastructure spending announced in the Alberta Recovery Plan. This funding supports infrastructure enhancements that will help in a COVID-19 learning environment. Seventy-nine school projects totalling $15 million are moving forward with this primary purpose, including upgrades for enhanced hygiene such as hands-free sinks, automatic flush toilets, touchless soap and paper towel dispensers, automatic doors and water bottle filling stations to replace water fountains. New online Student Learning HubA new Student Learning Hub on new.learnalberta.ca is available for parents, students, and teachers to more easily access educational materials to support development of student literacy and numeracy, and provide health and wellness information. The online hub is another resource to support Alberta’s school re-entry plan, with recognition that more online learning resources may be needed during the upcoming school year. Additional resources will also be added throughout the school year. Expanding diploma examsDiploma exams will be offered in every subject in the November and April exam sessions. Expanding the offerings of the diploma exams will support school authorities who are shifting high school programming to a four-semester system as part of their COVID-19 re-entry plan. This shift allows for better cohorting by limiting the number of classes a student is in during a term without affecting total learning time over the course of a year. Personal protective equipmentStudents and staff may wear a mask if they choose to. However, practices such as physical distancing, cohorting, frequent handwashing, staying home when sick and increased cleaning of surfaces will continue to be the priority public health measures. COVID-19 cases at schoolIf a student or staff tests positive for COVID-19, a public health team will investigate to determine when symptoms developed and support the school to minimize transmission. While each case will be addressed based on its unique circumstances, it is anticipated that in most cases only the group of students and staff who came in close contact will likely be required to stay home for 14 days, and not the entire school population. Parents will be notified if a case of COVID-19 is confirmed at school and public health officials will contact those who were in close contact with that person. Transitioning to scenario 2 or scenario 3If there is an outbreak of COVID-19 in a community or school, health officials will work with Alberta Education and impacted school authorities to make any decision to potentially transition to partial in-class learning or at-home learning. Decisions will be based on multiple factors including the number of cases in a community or school and the risk of ongoing transmission. The health guidance for scenario 2 has been updated to allow for a maximum of 20 students per class. |
From the Canadian Energy Centre
By Deborah JaremkoDave McKay sees the opportunity to ‘lead on both sides’ with conventional energy and cleantech innovation
Despite the rise of “Buy American” policy, the CEO of Canada’s biggest company says there are many opportunities to improve Canada’s sluggish economy by supporting the United States.
Near the top of the list for RBC boss Dave McKay is energy – and not just the multi-billion-dollar trade between Canada and the U.S. The value of Canada’s resources to the U.S. stretches far beyond North America’s borders.
“Canada has to get in sync and create value for our largest trading partner,” McKay told a Canadian Club of Toronto gathering on Sept. 10.
Security, he said, is one of America’s biggest concerns.
“Energy security is a big part of overall security…As we think about these power structures changing, the U.S. needs us to supply Asia with energy. That allows the United States to feed energy to Europe.”
He said that for Canada, that includes oil exports through the new Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and natural gas on LNG carriers.
“Particularly Asia wants our LNG. They need it. It’s cleaner than what they’re using today, the amount of coal being burned…We can’t keep second-guessing ourselves,” McKay said.
Asia’s demand for oil and gas is projected to rise substantially over the coming decades, according to the latest outlook from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The EIA projects that the region’s natural gas use will increase by 55 per cent between 2022 and 2050, while oil demand will increase by 44 per cent.
With completion of the Trans Mountain expansion in May, Canada’s first major oil exports to Asia are now underway. Customers for the 590,000 barrels per day of new export capacity have already come from China, India, Japan and South Korea.
Canada’s long-awaited first LNG exports are also on the horizon, with first shipments from the LNG Canada terminal that could come earlier than expected, before year-end.
According to the Canada Energy Regulator, LNG exports from the coast of British Columbia could rise from virtually nothing today to about six billion cubic feet per day by 2029. That’s nearly as much as natural gas as B.C. currently produces, CER data shows.
But the federal government’s proposed oil and gas emissions cap could threaten this future by reducing production.
Analysis by Deloitte found that meeting the cap obligation in 2030 would result in the loss of about 625,000 barrels of oil per day and 2.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.
This could wipe out significant sales to customers in the United States and Asia, without reducing demand or consumption.
McKay said the “massive complexity” around climate rules around the world and the lack of a cohesive path forward is slowing progress to reduce emissions.
Canada has opportunities to advance, from conventional energy to critical minerals and cleantech innovation, he said.
“We have to continue to leverage our resources…We can lead in clean tech, but in the meantime, there is an opportunity to get more carbon out of the economy sooner,” he said.
“We are in a race. Our planet is heating, and therefore we have to accept there can be transitionary energy sources.”
From LifeSiteNews
J.K. Rowling stated, ‘It never seems to occur to them that there’s no bigger indicator of not being a woman than trying to bully people into agreeing you’re a woman.’
Famed U.K.-based author J.K. Rowling recently got involved in local Canadian politics, defending a conservative politician in Alberta for refusing to bend to the demands of an LGBT activist.
The incident concerns Alberta Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Jennifer Johnson. In the lead-up to the 2023 election, she was a member of the ruling United Conservative Party (UCP) but was kicked out of the party by Premier Danielle Smith after audio surfaced of her comparing transgender ideology in schools to adding feces to baked goods.
Despite being kicked out of the UCP, Johnson won her seat by a wide margin running as an independent.
Lacombe-Ponoka MLA Jennifer Johnson
On Tuesday, a video began to circulate on X showing an exchange between Johnson and biological male “Victoria Bucholtz,” who goes by the stage name “Karla Marx.”
Because of her past comments, Johnson recently agreed to meet with LGBT groups from her local community, via video conference, who wanted to speak with her about their “concerns.”
In the video, Bucholtz asked Johnson directly, “Will you state on the record right now ‘trans women are women?’”
In reply, Johnson said, “No, I want to have some time to think on that.”
The incident drew the attention of Rowling, who posted a link of the video observing, “You don’t even need to turn up the sound.”
Honestly, you don't even need to turn up the sound. https://t.co/IwgYPfnZ8o
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 17, 2024
“It never seems to occur to them that there’s no bigger indicator of not being a woman than trying to bully people into agreeing you’re a woman,” she wrote in another post.
Rowling observed that what Bucholtz, in speaking with Johnson, is doing, is the “equivalent of beginning a conversation on climate change with ‘unless you agree the earth is flat, I’m leaving.’”
Danielle Smith not behind meeting with Johnson and activist 
LifeSiteNews was given information from a well-connected member of the UCP, who asked to not be named, that many MLAs in the party support Johnson and want her back in the party.
While Premier Danielle Smith has not yet let Johnson back into the UCP, she is reportedly warming up to the idea.
Johnson made it clear that contrary to rumors, it was not Smith who ordered her to attend the meeting with Bucholtz.
In a statement on Facebook Wednesday, Johnson said she needed to set things straight regarding her meeting with the pro-LGBT groups.
“This statement addresses the meeting between me, Jennifer Johnson, the Independent MLA for Lacombe-Ponoka, and the Lacombe Pride Society, Ponoka Pride Society, Central Alberta Pride Society, and multiple others. These societies requested a meeting with me, and I was happy to meet with them and hear their concerns as my constituents. I looked forward to a respectful and informative meeting with them,” she wrote.
Johnson said that the meeting was at the request and arranged by a “constituent of the Lacombe-Ponoka riding, and I was happy to accept their invitation to meet.”
“Danielle Smith, her office, and the UCP caucus and party were in no way involved in or aware of this meeting and, contrary to speculation, this meeting has nothing to do with my future as an Independent Member of the Legislature.”
Johnson said that she “supports” the work of Smith and her UCP government and looks “forward to working with all Members of the Legislature in the fall session on the Parental Rights legislation and other important bills.”
Rowling in recent years had to be on the defensive for saying gender-confused men who claim to be a woman are in fact men.
Earlier this year, Smith announced strong pro-family legislation that strengthens parental rights, protects kids from life-altering so-called “top and bottom” surgeries, as well as other extreme forms of transgender ideology.
Despite these steps, Smith still holds views at odds with social conservatives, telling Jordan Peterson that conservatives must embrace homosexual “couples” as “nuclear families.”
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