Education
Emily Liu honoured as 2021 Hunting Hills High School Valedictorian
Hunting Hills Valedictorian looks to pursue career in the medical field
This year has been like no other for the Graduating Class of 2021, but the valedictorian at Hunting Hills High School is not letting the pandemic stop her from achieving her goals.
Grade 12 student Emily Liu has been named this year’s Valedictorian at Hunting Hills High School.
“It’s an incredible honour to be named valedictorian. I was very proud of myself when I learned that I was going to be this year’s valedictorian,” she said. “In Grade 9 when I first received the honour of being the top academic student in my class, that really came as a huge shock to me because I always knew I performed well in school, but I never imagined I could be the top academic student. After that, it was something that I was really inspired to work towards, and it’s kept me motivated ever since.”
Emily added when she reflects on her high school experience, she could never have predicted we would be in the midst of a global pandemic.
“I don’t know if it necessarily took away from my high school experience, but it’s definitely hindered me in my day-to-day life whether it’s trying to pay attention during online school, or being able to hang out with my friends,” she said.
Graduation ceremonies for Hunting Hills High School will take place on June 25 at the Centrium. The day will include staggered ceremonies with three groups of graduates at a time in compliance with Alberta Health Services guidelines.
Emily said her message to fellow graduates is one they can carry into the future.
“If there’s one thing that this pandemic has taught me it’s that the relationships we have in our lives are so incredibly precious. When your only way of communicating with your friends or your family is through a screen or a phone call, there’s aspects of simple physical interaction that you really can’t get through in an online medium,” she said. “We need to treasure the relationships we have in our lives, maybe a little more. It may be a little clichè, but you really don’t appreciate what you have in your life until they are gone.”
Looking to the future, Emily said she hopes to soon be able to explore the world once restrictions allow. She has also been accepted to the University of Alberta.
“I’m going to study biochemistry. It’s one of my hopes to pursue a career in the medical field in the future,” she said, adding her volunteer work has given her an interest in that field. “I have been volunteering at the Red Deer Hospital for the past four years, and I’ve also been volunteering as a piano player at the Red Deer Hospice. I think my time at the hospital and hospice has been really enriching in the way that I am able to interact with people and learn more about people’s lives and maybe provide them some kind of comfort or support when they are in a really vulnerable moment.”
Christine Chappell, Vice Principal at Hunting Hills High School, said she is proud of Emily’s achievements.
“An accomplished pianist, community volunteer, and HHHS Leadership student, Emily possesses an incredible work ethic. In every endeavour, whether it be academics or extracurricular activities, she embodies kindness, determination, and tenacity,” she said. “Along with excelling in academics, Emily has completed her Grade 10 Piano with First Class Honours (Royal Conservatory). As a Leadership student, she has dedicated countless hours to our Bikeathon, Enviro Club and school activities. HHHS is honoured to recognize Emily as our 2021 Valedictorian and Governor General’s Medal recipient.”
Crime
Canadian teacher showed Charlie Kirk assassination video to young students, said he deserved to die
From LifeSiteNews
A Toronto teacher was suspended after reportedly forcing students to watch the assassination video while lecturing them about ‘anti-fascism, anti-trans, and how Charlie Kirk deserved this to occur.’
A Canadian teacher from the Toronto area has been suspended after showing the assassination video of Charlie Kirk to children aged 10 to 11 in his class, allegedly telling students Kirk deserved to die.
The teacher, from the Corvette Junior Public School in Toronto, Ontario, has been suspended and is under investigation by officials at the Toronto District School Board.
According to a Toronto Sun report, a source close to the situation said that several students from the teacher’s class “went home and complained to their parents, traumatized at witnessing the on-camera death, which they were forced to witness numerous times over.”
The source added that “parents subsequently reached out to school administrators, who will be putting him on leave at the start of the school day, September 12th, 2025.”
According to the source, while the teacher was playing Kirk’s assassination video, “repeatedly, he gave a speech to his students regarding anti-fascism, anti-trans, and how Charlie Kirk deserved this to occur.”
This past Friday, school officials sent parents a letter about the incident, calling the teacher’s alleged actions “extremely troubling and completely disturbing.”
“During class, students were said to have been shown a portion of a violent video in response to questions being asked about a recent tragic event in the United States,” reads the letter, which was signed by Corvette Junior Public School Principal Jennifer Koptie.
The letter confirmed that the video was allegedly shown to kids in grades 5 and 6 by a staff member at the school, who was supervising a French immersion class, but was not the student’s regular teacher.
“While an investigation must still be conducted to learn all of the details, the report of this incident is extremely troubling and completely unacceptable,” the letter continued.
Koptie wrote that the teacher has been “relieved of all teaching responsibilities pending the outcome of the investigation and will not be at the school.”
As reported by LifeSiteNews, Kirk, who was the CEO of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), was shot in the neck during an event on the campus of Utah Valley University last Wednesday and later died.
Law enforcement has Kirk’s alleged shooter in custody, as reported by LifeSiteNews.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, the roommate and alleged “partner” of Charlie Kirk’s assassin suspect has been confirmed to be a man who identifies as transgender.
Canada’s Conservative Party leader, Pierre Poilievre, last week, gave a touching tribute to Kirk, saying he was “mercilessly assassinated” for simply expressing his “contrary views.”
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, after a long delay last Thursday, broke his silence on the assassination of Kirk, saying he was “appalled” by his murder while calling for “prayers” for his family.
Censorship Industrial Complex
Decision expected soon in case that challenges Alberta’s “safe spaces” law
The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces that the Alberta Court of Appeal will soon release its decision in a case challenging whether speaking events can be censored on the basis of potential “psychological harm” to an audience, infringing Charter-protected freedoms of expression (section 2(b) and peaceful assembly (section 2(c).
This case stems from the University of Lethbridge’s January 30, 2023, decision to cancel a speaking event featuring Dr. Frances Widdowson, who has frequently challenged established narratives on Indigenous matters.
In written argument filed in 2024 the University claimed it cancelled the event, in part, because it had obligations under Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act to ensure a workplace free of “harassment” and free of hazards to “psychological and social wellbeing.”
Lawyers argue that these provisions (which might be described as a “safe spaces” law) compel employers to censor lawful expression under threat of fines or imprisonment.
Constitutional lawyer Glenn Blackett said, “Safe spaces provisions are a serious threat to Charter freedoms. Employers who don’t censor ‘unsafe’ speech are liable to be fined or even jailed. This isn’t just the government censoring speech, it is the government requiring citizens to censor one another.”
Given the University’s defence, lawyers asked the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta to allow an amendment to the lawsuit to challenge the constitutionality of the “safe spaces” laws. However, the Court denied the request. According to the Court’s apparent reasoning because the safe spaces law is worded vaguely and generally, it is immune from constitutional challenge.
Mr. Blackett says, “I think the Court got things backwards. If legislation infringes Charter rights in a vague or general way, infringements become impossible to justify – they don’t become Constitution-proof.”
Widdowson and co-litigant Jonah Pickle appealed the ruling to the Alberta Court of Appeal, which heard argument on Monday. A decision from the Court of Appeal is expected soon.
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