Alberta
Federal Disaster Mitigation funding for Red Deer, Settler, Lacombe, Edmonton…
From the Province of Alberta
Alberta gets federal disaster mitigation funding
More than two dozen Alberta communities are getting new and replacement flood mapping to support emergency response and long-term planning.
The federal government is providing $8.7 million through the National Disaster Mitigation Program for 18 projects. They include new or replacement flood mapping for Drumheller, Medicine Hat, Siksika Nation, Red Deer, and more than 100 kilometres of the North Saskatchewan River, including Edmonton.
The province is contributing more than $5 million to the projects as part of the cost-sharing agreement.
“Our government is committed to investing in flood resilience to better protect Albertans where they live and work. The provincial and federal funding for flood mapping and community risk assessments will help us build safer communities over the long term and ensure Alberta is better prepared for severe weather events in the future.”
“The Government of Canada, in partnership with provinces and territories, is committed to reducing the impacts of flooding on Canadians by investing in projects that allow communities to identify, plan for, and reduce flood risks. Investing in programming like the National Disaster Mitigation Program is an important part of the Government of Canada’s strategy to address the soaring costs of natural disasters. The projects announced today will help the province of Alberta better prepare for and respond to floods.”
Provincial and federal funding will also be used to assess the potential for debris floods near Canmore, stormwater vulnerabilities in Calgary and flood risks in smaller communities such as Manning, Stettler, Lacombe and the Municipal District of Crowsnest Pass.
Projects to improve forecasting and warning systems and improve access and interaction with provincial flood-inundation maps also received funding.
Alberta has launched 13 river hazard studies since 2015, including those that are wholly funded by the province. In total, these studies will produce new and replacement flood mapping for over 1,300 kilometres of river through more than 30 communities. Many of these studies are nearing completion.
Since 2013, the Alberta government has invested more than $700 million in community-level resilience projects, erosion control, upstream storage, flood mapping, flood forecasting and emergency preparedness, and watershed health to improve flood and drought resilience across the province.
From: Public Safety Canada
National Disaster Mitigation Program funding to the Province of Alberta: Projects at a glance
Community Risk Assessment – Central Alberta
Total Project Value: $240,120
Federal funding: $120,060; Provincial Funding: $120,060
Project Start Date: September 5, 2017 (2 year project)
This project is producing a risk assessment, using the Provincial Flood Damage Assessment Tool (PFDAT), which will be used by community members and the province to better understand flood vulnerability for a range of flood events in four communities in Central Alberta: Carbon, Stettler, Millet, and Lacombe. With the improved capacity, these four communities will be able to better plan and implement mitigation strategies that will reduce the impact of flooding.
North Saskatchewan River Hazard Study
Total Project Value: $1,670,000
Federal funding: $835,000.00; Provincial Funding: $835,000.00
Project Start Date: August 22, 2018 (2 year project)
This project is assessing and identifying river and flood hazards along approximately 111 km of the North Saskatchewan River, from the western edge of 32-50-26-W4 to the eastern edge of 35-56-21-W4, including the Town of Devon, City of Edmonton, and the City of Fort Saskatchewan. The study reach extends through the following local authorities: Parkland County, Leduc County, Strathcona County including Sherwood Park, and Sturgeon County.
Red Deer River Hazard Study
Total Project Value: $1,530,000
Federal Funding: $765,000; Provincial Funding: $765,000
Project Start Date: August 1, 2017 (2 year project)
This project is assessing and identifying river and flood hazards within the City of Red Deer, the Town of Penholds, Red Deer County, and Lacombe County. The map will also be used to ensure future developments are not built in areas where flooding has been identified as a concern. In the event of a flood, the map will benefit emergency responders by helping them decide the best route of evacuation, as well as informing the best location for the construction of temporary flood control barriers.
Alberta
Red Deer Doctor critical of Alberta’s COVID response to submit report to Danielle Smith this May
From LifeSiteNews
Leading the task force is Dr. Gary Davidson, who was skeptical of mandates at the time.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith will soon be receiving a little-known report she commissioned which tasked an Alberta doctor who was critical of the previous administration’s handling of COVID to look into how accurate the province’s COVID data collection was, as well as the previous administration’s decision-making process and effectiveness.
As noted in a recent Globe and Mail report, records it obtained show that just less than one month after becoming Premier of Alberta in November of 2022, Smith tasked then-health minister Jason Copping to create the COVID data task force.
Documents show that the Alberta government under Smith gave the new task force, led by Dr. Gary Davidson – who used to work as an emergency doctor in Red Deer, Alberta – a sweeping mandate to look at whether the “right data” was obtained during COVID as well as to assess the “integrity, validity, reliability and quality of the data/information used to inform pandemic decisions” by members of Alberta Health Services (AHS).
As reported by LifeSiteNews in 2021, Davidson said during the height of COVID that the hospital capacity crisis in his province was “created,” was not a new phenomenon, and had nothing to do with COVID.
“We have a crisis, and we have a crisis because we have no staff, because our staff quit, because they’re burned out, they’re not burnt out from COVID,” Davidson said at the time.
Davidson also claimed that the previous United Conservative Party government under former Premier Jason Kenney had been manipulating COVID statistics.
In comments sent to the media, Smith said that in her view it was a good idea to have a “contrarian perspective” with Davidson looking at “everything that happened with some fresh eyes.”
“I needed somebody who was going to look at everything that happened with some fresh eyes and maybe with a little bit of a contrarian perspective because we’ve only ever been given one perspective,” she told reporters Tuesday.
“I left it to [Davidson] to assemble the panel with the guidance that I would like to have a broad range of perspectives.”
Smith took over from Kenney as leader of the UCP on October 11, 2022, after winning the leadership of the party. The UCP then won a general election in May 2023. Kenney was ousted due to low approval ratings and for reneging on promises not to lock Alberta down during COVID.
After assuming her role as premier, Smith promptly fired the province’s top doctor, Deena Hinshaw, and the entire AHS board of directors, all of whom oversaw the implementation of COVID mandates.
Under Kenney, thousands of nurses, doctors, and other healthcare and government workers lost their jobs for choosing to not get the jabs, leading Smith to say – only minutes after being sworn in – that over the past year the “unvaccinated” were the “most discriminated against” group of people in her lifetime.
As for AHS, it still is promoting the COVID shots, for babies as young as six months old, as recently reported by LifeSiteNews.
Task force made up of doctors both for and against COVID mandates
In addition to COVID skeptic Dr. Gary Davidson, the rather secretive COVID task force includes other health professionals who were critical of COVID mandates and health restrictions, including vaccine mandates.
The task force was given about $2 million to conduct its review, according to The Globe and Mail, and is completely separate from another task force headed by former Canadian MP Preston Manning, who led the Reform Party for years before it merged with another party to form the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada.
Manning’s task force, known as the Public Health Emergencies Governance Review Panel (PHEGRP), released its findings last year. It recommend that many pro-freedom policies be implemented, such as strengthening personal medical freedoms via legislation so that one does not lose their job for refusing a vaccine, as well as concluding that Albertans’ rights were indeed infringed upon.
The Smith government task force is run through the Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) which is a provincial agency involved in healthcare research.
Last March, Davidson was given a project description and terms of reference and was told to have a final report delivered to Alberta’s Health Minister by December of 2023.
As of now, the task force’s final report won’t be available until May, as per Andrea Smith, press secretary to Health Minister Adriana LaGrange, who noted that the goal of the task force is to look at Alberta’s COVID response compared to other provinces.
According to the Globe and Mail report, another person working on the task force is anesthetist Blaine Achen, who was part of a group of doctors that legally challenged AHS’s now-rescinded mandatory COVID jab policy for workers.
Some doctors on the task force, whom the Globe and Mail noted held “more conventional views regarding the pandemic,” left it only after a few meetings.
In a seeming attempt to prevent another draconian crackdown on civil liberties, the UCP government under Smith has already taken concrete action.
The Smith government late last year passed a new law, Bill 6, or the Public Health Amendment Act, that holds politicians accountable in times of a health crisis by putting sole decision-making on them for health matters instead of unelected medical officers.
Alberta
Alberta’s baby name superstar steals the show again
Olivia and Noah continue to reign as top baby names in 2023.
Olivia and Noah are once again topping the lists in Alberta, highlighting the enduring appeal of the names. Olivia maintains a record setting streak as the most popular girls name in Alberta for the 11th year in a row, while Noah remains top pick for boys’ names for a fifth consecutive year.
“Congratulations to those who welcomed a new addition to their family in 2023. Bringing a child into the world is a truly momentous occasion. Whether the name you chose was in the top 10 or one of a kind, these names are only the beginning of the endless possibilities that lie ahead for each child. I look forward to supporting this generation by ensuring Alberta remains a place where they can thrive.”
In choosing names for their new arrivals, parents appear to have found inspiration in a variety of places. Some parents may have been inspired by plants like Ivy, Rose, Juniper, Poppy, Azalea or in nature like Wren, River, Meadow and Flora.
Others may have taken a literary approach with names like Bennett, Sawyer, Juliet and Atticus or been inspired by notable names from religious texts like Eve, Noah, Mohammed and Gabriel.
As always, popular culture may have had an influence through famous musicians (Aretha, Lennon, Presley, Hendrix), athletes (Beckham, Crosby, Evander), and even fairytale princesses (Tiana, Jasmine, Aurora, Ariel, Belle).
Quick facts
- A total of 47,263 births were registered in Alberta in 2023
- Notable changes to the early 2020s lists:
- Evelyn rose to seventh place on the girls’ names list after tying for 19th place in 2022.
- Emily returned to the top 10 list for girls after taking a short break in 2021 and 2022 after a 10-year stretch in the top 10 that started in 2010.
- Violet has cracked the top 10 list for the first time in at least four decades, tying with Ava and Emily in ninth place.
- The top 10 boys’ names remain the same as last year but with a slight change in order.
- Historically, girls’ names that held the No. 1 spot for the longest consecutive time period include:
- Olivia: 11 years (2013-2023)
- Jessica: six years (1990-1995)
- Emily: five years (1998-2002)
- Historically, boys’ names that held the No. 1 spot for the longest consecutive time period include:
- Ethan: nine years (2001-2009)
- Liam: seven years (2010-2016)
- Matthew: five years (1995-1999)
- Noah: five years (2019-2023)
- Parents have up to one year to register their child’s birth. As a result, the list of 2023 baby names and birth statistics may change slightly.
Boys’ names and frequency – top 10 names 2018-23
(In brackets is the number of babies with each name)
Place | Boy Names (2023) | Boy Names
(2022) |
Boy Names (2021) | Boy Names (2020) | Boy Names (2019) | Boy Names (2018) |
1 | Noah (276) | Noah (229) | Noah (274) | Noah (239) | Noah (275) | Liam (225) |
2 | Liam (181) | Liam (176) | Jack (220) | Oliver (229) | Liam (234) | Oliver (212) |
3 | Oliver (178) | Theodore (173) | Oliver (208) | Liam (206) | Oliver (225) | Noah (199) |
4 | Theodore (173) | Oliver (172) | Liam (198) | Benjamin (182) | Ethan (213) | Ethan (188) |
5 | Jack (153) | Jack (159) | Theodore (191) | William (178) | Jack (198) | Logan (182)
Lucas (182) |
6 | Henry (146) | William (146) | William (174) | Jack (169) | William (185) | Jacob (181) |
7 | Lucas (140) | Benjamin (138) | Ethan (162) | Lucas (163) | Lucas (174) | William (178) |
Girls’ names and frequency – top 10 names 2018-2023
(In brackets is the number of babies with each name)
Place | Girl Names (2023) | Girl Names
(2022) |
Girl Names (2021) | Girl Names (2020) | Girl Names (2019) | Girl Names (2018) |
1 | Olivia (210) | Olivia (192) | Olivia (210) | Olivia (236) | Olivia (229) | Olivia (235) |
2 | Amelia (145) | Sophia (152) | Charlotte (166) | Emma (184) | Charlotte (188) | Emma (230) |
3 | Sophia
(138) |
Emma (149) | Ava (165) | Charlotte (161) | Sophia (181) | Charlotte (175) |
4 | Charlotte
(135) |
Amelia (133) | Emma (164) | Ava (159) | Emma (178) | Emily (164) |
5 | Emma (133) | Harper (125) | Amelia (161) | Sophia (151) | Ava (161) | Ava (161) |
6 | Isla (120) | Charlotte (117) | Sophia (137) | Amelia (145) | Amelia (159) | Abigail (153) |
7 | Evelyn (114) | Ava (115) | Isla (135) | Isla (133) | Emily (150) | Harper (150) |
8 | Chloe (101)
Violet (101) |
Isla (101) | Abigail (120)
Chloe (120) |
Emily (127) | Abigail (141) | Sophia (146) |
9 | Ava (99) Emily (99) |
Lily (100) | Evelyn (119) | Lily (123) | Hannah (137) | Amelia (145) |
10 | Hannah (98)
Hazel (98) |
Chloe (92) | Aria (112) | Abigail (114) | Elizabeth (124) | Elizabeth (130) |
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