Alberta
‘Let’s Find Out’ digs deep into history – onion cakes and the Edmonton Fringe Festival
A curious mind can lead you in all sorts of unexpected directions, as Chris Chang-Yen Phillips has discovered with his podcast, Let’s Find Out.
Chris Chang-Yen Phillips
He created the show in 2016 as part of his work as Edmonton’s historian laureate. He invites questions about local history and finds out the answers together with his curious correspondents.
“I’m not an expert about all things ‘local history,’ but I am curious and not afraid to ask questions,” he says. “With Let’s Find Out, I’m trying to turn that into a public good in giving people the tools to get to know their city better.”
When his term as historian laureate ended in 2018, he kept the show going, and it continues to earn accolades. The show received a silver medal at the Canadian Online Publishing Awards earlier this year, and it has been nominated for a Canadian Podcast Award in the Documentary category.
He also does live shows from time to time. The next one — Let’s Find Out: How Nature Shapes Us — will take place in Edmonton on Feb. 9, and will form the basis of the next season of the podcast.
Let’s find out a little more about the host of Let’s Find Out:
What will people get out of listening to your podcast?
A. We feature stories and characters you’ve probably never heard before. Whether you’re in the mood for a surprising look at the history of green onion cakes or a deep dive into Alberta’s past eugenics programs, we’ve got a big range of stories.
Listeners tell me all the time that because of our podcast, they now know how to offer protocol to elders, or which libraries and archives might be able to help them out down the road. And in the long run, my mission is to give people a stronger sense of ownership and belonging in this city.
What podcasts do you listen to?
A. I love listening to shows like Radiolab and HowSound because they teach me so much about the craft of good audio storytelling. I also love Terra Informa, an environmental news show based here in Edmonton, because they cover stories nobody else does. I used to help make the show, and I adore the team producing it now.
What is the most interesting comment you’ve received from a listener?
A group of archaeologists told me once that they listened to our episode A Lesson in Protocol in the car on the way to meet an Indigenous elder. The episode is about an illustrator from a settler background who makes a lot of history resources, who wanted to learn more about which food plants have been important to Indigenous peoples in this area. It was a really challenging episode to create and I ended up making one big mistake in real life: I offered tobacco at the end of our conversation with an elder, instead of at the beginning. I included my mistake in the episode, hoping it would be helpful to listeners. These archaeologists said that actually made it memorable, so they were able to pull it off correctly in their own meeting with an elder after listening! That was gratifying.
Do you have any unusual hobbies or talents that would surprise your listeners?
A. I row! And I’m also an illustrator. I’ve recently started sharing comics with the world.
If you could have any guest on your podcast, who would you choose?
A. Someone who lived in this region a few thousand years ago, because people have lived here for so long and I’m just starting to understand how humans and this land have shaped each other over the millennia. Who did they love, what stories did they tell, what were they afraid of, what were their hopes and dreams?
What has been your favourite episode so far?
A. About Green Onion Cakes, because it was such a good excuse to talk about a snack we all love and the messy and complicated history of Chinese immigration and food culture in Canada. Also because it got so many people talking about this humble food and the chef who popularized it here, Siu To.
Be sure to connect with Let’s Find Out on Facebook and Instagram.
Todayville introduces you to members of the Alberta Podcast Network each week. Click here to learn about more Alberta podcasts.
The Alberta Podcast Network, powered by ATB, is on a mission to:
- Help Alberta-based podcasters create podcasts of high quality and reach larger audiences;
- Foster connections among Alberta-based podcasters;
- Provide a powerful marketing opportunity for local businesses and organizations.
Alberta Podcast Network Ltd. is pursuing this mission with funding from ATB Financial and support from other sponsors.
Alberta maintains a balanced budget while ensuring pressures from population growth are being addressed.
Alberta faces rising risks, including ongoing resource volatility, geopolitical instability and rising pressures at home. With more than 450,000 people moving to Alberta in the last three years, the province has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to address these pressures and ensure Albertans continue to be supported. Alberta’s government is determined to make every dollar go further with targeted and responsible spending on the priorities of Albertans.
The province is forecasting a $4.6 billion surplus at the end of 2024-25, up from the $2.9 billion first quarter forecast and $355 million from budget, due mainly to higher revenue from personal income taxes and non-renewable resources.
Given the current significant uncertainty in global geopolitics and energy markets, Alberta’s government must continue to make prudent choices to meet its responsibilities, including ongoing bargaining for thousands of public sector workers, fast-tracking school construction, cutting personal income taxes and ensuring Alberta’s surging population has access to high-quality health care, education and other public services.
“These are challenging times, but I believe Alberta is up to the challenge. By being intentional with every dollar, we can boost our prosperity and quality of life now and in the future.”
Midway through 2024-25, the province has stepped up to boost support to Albertans this fiscal year through key investments, including:
- $716 million to Health for physician compensation incentives and to help Alberta Health Services provide services to a growing and aging population.
- $125 million to address enrollment growth pressures in Alberta schools.
- $847 million for disaster and emergency assistance, including:
- $647 million to fight the Jasper wildfires
- $163 million for the Wildfire Disaster Recovery Program
- $5 million to support the municipality of Jasper (half to help with tourism recovery)
- $12 million to match donations to the Canadian Red Cross
- $20 million for emergency evacuation payments to evacuees in communities impacted by wildfires
- $240 million more for Seniors, Community and Social Services to support social support programs.
Looking forward, the province has adjusted its forecast for the price of oil to US$74 per barrel of West Texas Intermediate. It expects to earn more for its crude oil, with a narrowing of the light-heavy differential around US$14 per barrel, higher demand for heavier crude grades and a growing export capacity through the Trans Mountain pipeline. Despite these changes, Alberta still risks running a deficit in the coming fiscal year should oil prices continue to drop below $70 per barrel.
After a 4.4 per cent surge in the 2024 census year, Alberta’s population growth is expected to slow to 2.5 per cent in 2025, lower than the first quarter forecast of 3.2 per cent growth because of reduced immigration and non-permanent residents targets by the federal government.
Revenue
Revenue for 2024-25 is forecast at $77.9 billion, an increase of $4.4 billion from Budget 2024, including:
- $16.6 billion forecast from personal income taxes, up from $15.6 billion at budget.
- $20.3 billion forecast from non-renewable resource revenue, up from $17.3 billion at budget.
Expense
Expense for 2024-25 is forecast at $73.3 billion, an increase of $143 million from Budget 2024.
Surplus cash
After calculations and adjustments, $2.9 billion in surplus cash is forecast.
- $1.4 billion or half will pay debt coming due.
- The other half, or $1.4 billion, will be put into the Alberta Fund, which can be spent on further debt repayment, deposited into the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund and/or spent on one-time initiatives.
Contingency
Of the $2 billion contingency included in Budget 2024, a preliminary allocation of $1.7 billion is forecast.
Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund
The Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund grew in the second quarter to a market value of $24.3 billion as of Sept. 30, 2024, up from $23.4 billion at the end of the first quarter.
- The fund earned a 3.7 per cent return from July to September with a net investment income of $616 million, up from the 2.1 per cent return during the first quarter.
Debt
Taxpayer-supported debt is forecast at $84 billion as of March 31, 2025, $3.8 billion less than estimated in the budget because the higher surplus has lowered borrowing requirements.
- Debt servicing costs are forecast at $3.2 billion, down $216 million from budget.
Related information
From LifeSiteNews
Alberta announced it ‘is reviewing how MAID is regulated to ensure there is a consistent process as well as oversight that protects vulnerable Albertans, specifically those living with disabilities or suffering from mental health challenges.’
The Conservative provincial government of Alberta is pushing back against the Canadian federal government’s continued desire to expand euthanasia in the nation, saying it will launch a review of the legislation and policies surrounding the grim practice, including a period of public engagement.
The United Conservative Party (UCP) government under Premier Danielle Smith in a press release said the province needs to make sure that robust safeguards and procedures are in place to protect vulnerable people from being coerced into getting euthanatized under the MAiD (Medical Assistance in Dying) program.
“Alberta’s government is reviewing how MAID is regulated to ensure there is a consistent process as well as oversight that protects vulnerable Albertans, specifically those living with disabilities or suffering from mental health challenges,” said the government Monday.
The government said a online survey regarding MAiD open to all Albertans who have opinions about the deadly practice will be available until December 20.
“We recognize that medical assistance in dying is a very complex and often personal issue and is an important, sensitive and emotional matter for patients and their families,” said Alberta’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General Mickey Amery.
Amery said it is important to ensure this process has the “necessary supports to protect the most vulnerable.”
The government said that it will also be engaging with academics, medical associations, public bodies, as well as religious organizations and “regulatory bodies, advocacy groups” regarding MAiD
The government said all information gathered through this consultation will “help inform the Alberta government’s planning and policy decision making, including potential legislative changes regarding MAID in Alberta.”
When it comes to MAiD, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government sought to expand it from the chronically and terminally ill to those suffering solely from mental illness.
However, in February, after pushback from pro-life, medical, and mental health groups as well as most of Canada’s provinces, the federal government delayed the mental illness expansion until 2027.
Alberta’s Minister of Mental Health and Addiction Dan Williams said that the UCP government has been “clear” that it does not “support the provision of medically assisted suicide for vulnerable Albertans facing mental illness as their primary purpose for seeking their own death.”
“Instead, our goal is to build a continuum of care where vulnerable Albertans can live in long-term health and fulfilment. We look forward to the feedback of Albertans as we proceed with this important issue,” he noted.
The Alberta government said that as MAiD is “federally legislated and regulated” it is main job will be to try and make sure that it protects “vulnerable individuals” as much as possible.
Alberta’s Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange reaffirmed that the Alberta government “does not support expanding MAID eligibility to include those facing depression or mental illness and continues to call on the federal government to end this policy altogether.”
The number of Canadians killed by lethal injection under the nation’s MAiD program since 2016 stands at close to 65,000, with an estimated 16,000 deaths in 2023 alone. Many fear that because the official statistics are manipulated the number may be even higher.
To combat Canadians being coerced into MAiD, which LifeSiteNews has covered, the combat pro-life Delta Hospice Society (DHS) is offering a free “Do Not Euthanize Defense Kit” to help vulnerable people “protect themselves” from any healthcare workers who might push euthanasia on the defenseless.
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