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Alberta

Future of junior football murky as Covid-19 forces cancellation of season

Published

4 years ago

4 minute read

This simple equation is perhaps the easiest way to enter a description of the Wednesday decision, and Thursday public announcement, that the Canadian Junior Football League has dropped all plans for games this year.

CJFL president Jim Pankovich made it clear that the decision by the Prairie Junior Football Conference and allied leagues in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia supported the decision unanimously.

“Canadian junior football has 18 teams with 18 different ideas — no, make it 18 teams with about 50 ideas — but this was a combined decision and every organization had a chance to provide input,” Pankovich continued. “It has been a long process.”

The Edmonton Huskies, Edmonton Wildcats and Calgary Colts are affected by the decision. All teams were part of the national negotiation.

Coupled with a previous USports decision to wipe out university football across the country in 2020, the junior move leaves only the Canadian Football League as an option for players and fans, with a decision due from the struggling CFL soon, after a bid for $30 million in federal support money is evaluated.

Pankovich, Prairie Football Conference leader Curtis Craig and Edmonton Huskies owner Bob Bula mentioned in separate telephone conversations Thursday afternoon that the COVID-19 regulations made it impossible to consider a 2020 season. All three mentioned the importance of keeping players involved .

“:Small-group sessions and skill-specific training” were mentioned by Pankovich as a necessity for all teams. He and others mentioned that the game is as important for the lessons it provides to young males as it is for the actual on-field competition.

As soon as the announcement became public, there was serious suggestion that high school players hoping to move into junior ranks and current juniors designing their athletic future around possible participation in university programs.may run into traffic jams because eligibility issues are more complicated than before.

Huskies head coach Iain MacLean agreed fully with the decision: “it’s about the safety of our players and all the others who would have to work with us during the virus.”

He lamented that “this will be the first year of my life without a football season since I was 10 years old” and suggested there will be less pressure than anticipated on young players competing against more potential teammates than usual.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if quite a few of the young guys just stop playing,” he added, “and I think a lot of coaches will be considering the same thing.”

Bula insisted that there was no opposition to government regulations that limit the number of persons — 50 in any on-field cohort at one time — able to participate in games. “We might need as many as 100 or more, including other staff.”

Craig, who also is vice-president of the national governing body, said no Prairie team has the potential to develop a “hub” similar to those now employed by the National Hockey League and National Basketball Association.

For CFL fans the last refuge is always hope

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Alberta

Alberta official reveals ‘almost all’ wildfires in province this year have been started by humans

Published on April 25, 2024

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From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

Alberta Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen said his department estimates that most of the province’s wildfires this year are man-made and not caused by ‘climate change.’

Alberta officials have announced that almost all fires in 2024 are believed to have been caused by humans despite ongoing claims that “climate change” is to blame.

On April 24, Alberta Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen revealed that his department estimates that most of the province’s wildfires this year are man-made and not caused by “climate change” as claimed by mainstream media and politicians.

“We expect that almost all of the wildfires we’ve experienced so far this year are human caused, given the point we’re at in the season and the types of weather we’re seeing,” Loewen stated.

 Already, Alberta has put out 172 wildfires this year, and 63 are actively burning. However, Loewen did not seem overly alarmed, instead warning Albertans to watch their local fire bans and restrictions to reduce the high number of man-made wildfires.  

“I urge you to assess your property for wildfire danger and take any preventive action you can to address these risks,” he said.

“This includes breaking up fuel sources that could ignite a structure, removing trees in close proximity to your home, and properly maintaining your gutters and roofs to rid the materials that could easily ignite such as leaves and dry needles,” Loewen added.

Loewen’s announcement comes just weeks after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith promised that arsonists who ignite wildfires in Alberta will be held accountable for their crimes.

“As we approach the wildfire season, it is important to understand that 67% of wildfires in Alberta are started by people,” she explained.

“If you start a wildfire, you can be charged, fined, and held liable for all costs associated with fighting the wildfire,” Smith added.

“All I know is in my province we have 650 fires and 500 of them were human caused,” she said, “so we have to make sure that when people know that when it’s dry out there and we get into forest fire season that they’re being a lot more careful because anytime you end up with an ignition that happens it can have devastating consequences.”

The Alberta government has also created an ad campaign highlighting the fact that most fires are caused by humans and not “climate change,” as many left-leaning politicians claim.

As reported by LifeSiteNews last year, Smith ordered arson investigators to look into why some of the wildfires that raged across the vast expanse of the province had “no known cause” shortly after they spread.

Indeed, despite claims that wildfires have drastically increased due to “climate change,” 2023 research revealed that wildfires have decreased globally while media coverage has spiked 400 percent.

Furthermore, many of the fires last spring and summer were discovered to be caused by arsonists and not “climate change.”

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have arrested arsonists who have been charged with lighting fires across the country, including in the Yukon, British Columbia, and Alberta.

In Quebec, satellite footage also showed the mysterious simultaneous eruption of several blazes across the province, sparking concerns that the fires were a coordinated effort by arsonists.

Despite the overwhelming evidence, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and mainstream media continue to claim that the fires are unprecedentedly dangerous and caused by “climate change” in an attempt to pass further regulations on natural resources.

The reduction and eventual elimination of the use of so-called “fossil fuels” and a transition to unreliable “green” energy has also been pushed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) – the globalist group behind the socialist “Great Reset” agenda – an organization with which Trudeau and some in his cabinet are involved.

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Alberta

Alberta rejects unconstitutional cap on plastic production

Published on April 25, 2024

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Minister of Environment and Protected Areas Rebecca Schulz issued the following statement:

“Every modern convenience and necessity is either made from or contains plastic, from surgical gloves to your iPhone. Despite this, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada Steven Guilbeault has announced that he intends to cap the production of plastics in Canada.

“This unilateral announcement is a slap in the face to Alberta and our province’s petrochemical industry, and the thousands of Albertans who work in it.

“Plastics production is a growing part of Alberta’s economy, and we are positioned to lead the world for decades to come in the production of carbon neutral plastics.

“Minister Guilbeault’s proposal would throw all of that into jeopardy and risk billions of dollars in investments. This includes projects like Dow Chemical’s net-zero petrochemical plant in Fort Saskatchewan, a $9-billion dollar project that will create thousands of jobs.

“His proposal will also fail to reduce plastic production. If the federal government limits plastic production in Canada, other counties like China will just produce more. The only outcome that this federal government will achieve will be fewer jobs in Canada.

“Last year, the Federal Court ruled that Minister Guilbeault’s decision to classify plastics as ‘toxic’ was both ‘unconstitutional and unreasonable’.

“Minister Guilbeault’s decision to cap production is even more egregious and is equally unconstitutional. Under no circumstances will Alberta permit any limit on our ability to produce and export plastic products.

“Instead of wasting everyone’s time, the federal government would be better served by taking a page out of Alberta’s plan, which diverts plastics from landfills and turns used plastics into new products. This is the promise of Alberta’s plan to create a Plastics Circular Economy, a modern miracle in which, through chemistry, we can have all of life’s conveniences and necessities while protecting our environment and reducing plastic waste.

“If the federal government refuses to abide by the constitution, we will take them to court again to defend our jurisdiction and the thousands of Albertans who work in the petrochemical sector.”

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