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Air Quality Is Just Fine But Mayor Says Cleaner Air Still A High Priority

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(Photo: Air Quality Monitoring Station along Riverside Drive in Red Deer)

Written by Sheldon Spackman / Photo and Video by Lindsay Wiebe

According to an Associate Professor in the U of A’s School of Public Health Red Deer’s reputation for poor air quality is undeserved.

In 2015 the Province of Alberta announced to media that Red Deer had the worst air quality in the province. Dr. Warren Kindzierski says that didn’t make any sense to him and his colleague, Aynul Bari. The two spent the summer of 2016 looking into the claims and found something much different.

In a special report he penned for The Financial Post, Kindzierski says he and Bari “Studied data from an air-monitoring station in Red Deer using state-of-the-art scientific methods and had the results peer reviewed and published in the February edition of the international journal Environmental Pollution. They “Looked at methods for identifying sources within and outside of Red Deer. These included using the U.S. Environment Protection Agency Positive Matrix Factorization model, and a U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meteorological model for air parcel backward trajectory analysis.”

Looking at air quality trends in Alberta, Kindzierski says fine-particulate-matter air pollution in Edmonton, Calgary, Fort McMurray and Fort McKay, hasn’t changed in the last 17 years.” His results also show “Red Deer has better air quality than Calgary.” He excluded days where fine-particulate matter levels were high due to smoke from forest fires, so as not to skew the results.

The following chart created by the University of Alberta researchers shows the three-year average fine-particulate-matter levels from 2010 to 2015 in Calgary, Edmonton and at Red Deer’s Riverside air monitoring station.

Air Quality Comparison

Nancy Hackett is Environmental Initiatives Supervisor at the City of Red Deer and outlines the City’s role and perspective on the issue:

 

Mayor Tara Veer speaks with Todayville’s Sheldon Spackman to share her take on the City’s Air Quality issue:

 

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Justice

Trudeau claims under oath that Jordan Peterson, Tucker Carlson are funded by Russia

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From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

“Hey Russians! Where the hell is my money?!”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed U.S media personality Tucker Carlson and popular Canadian psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson are being funded by a Russian-state-funded news site, blaming the foreign nation for “amplifying the chaos” surrounding the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests. 

Trudeau made the claim Wednesday during under oath testimony at the Foreign Interference Commission, after he was asked about Russia’s alleged role in the Freedom Convoy.  

Trudeau said, while speaking in French, that he “certainly agrees that Russia amplified the chaos, disagreements and divisions in Canada surrounding the convoy.”  

Trudeau added that “Russian activities related to propaganda, disinformation and misinformation are quite constant in our social media and within Canadian democracy.” He then claimed that it was “Russian propaganda” that “greatly amplified” opposition to the COVID shots which was spread by “right-wing media.” 

He then claimed that Russian state-funded broadcaster Russia Today (RT) was funding Carlson and Peterson, saying, “We saw many of these channels shift to pro-Putin propaganda.” 

“We recently saw that RT is funding right-wing bloggers and YouTube personalities in North America,” said Trudeau, adding, “including well-known names like Jordan Peterson or Tucker Carlson to amplify messages that destabilize democracies.” 

Trudeau’s comments were immediately blasted by Peterson. 

“Hey Russians! Where the hell is my money?!” he wrote on X Wednesday about Trudeau’s accusatory comments.  

Peterson’s daughter also took to social media, suggesting that Trudeau’s comments might warrant a lawsuit from her father.

“This might be worth suing about,” wrote Mikhaila Peterson on X.

 

“As much fun as lawsuits are, this seems like an easy one,” she added. 

As of press time, Carlson, who has been an open critic of the prime minister, has yet to issue a statement in response to Trudeau’s allegations.  

Currently, the Commission on Foreign Interference, which is largely focused on Chinese meddling in Canadian politics, is taking place in Ottawa, headed by Justice Marie-Josée Hogue. She had earlier said she and her lawyers will remain “impartial” and will not be influenced by politics. In January, Hogue said that she would “uncover the truth whatever it may be.” 

The commission was struck after Trudeau’s special rapporteur, former Governor General David Johnston, failed in an investigation into CCP allegations last year after much delay. That inquiry was not done in public and was headed by Johnston, who is a “family friend” of Trudeau. 

Johnston quit as “special rapporteur” after a public outcry following his conclusion that there should not be a public inquiry into the matter. Conservative MPs demanded Johnston be replaced over his ties to both China and the Trudeau family. 

The potential meddling in Canada’s elections by agents of the CCP has many Canadians worried as well. 

As for Trudeau, he has praised China for its “basic dictatorship” and has labeled the authoritarian nation as his favorite country other than his own.  

Peterson for his part has been critical of Trudeau and his Liberal government for years.  

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illegal immigration

In endorsing Trump, Border Patrol union pushes back against Biden, Harris claims

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From The Center Square

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The National Border Patrol Council, the union representing roughly 16,000 Border Patrol agents nationwide, endorsed former President Donald Trump for president while criticizing President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

On Monday, the union issued a statement, saying, “On behalf of the 16,000 men and women represented by the National Border Patrol Council, we strongly support and endorse Donald J. Trump for President of the United States.”

They did so after endorsing Trump at a Prescott, Ariz., rally on Sunday where Trump was joined by many Border Patrol leaders.

“If we allow border czar Harris to win this election, every city, every community in this great country is going to go to hell. The untold millions of people unvetted, who she has allowed into this country that are committing murders, rapes, robberies, burglaries and every other crime will continue to put our country in peril,” NBPC’s new president, Paul Perez, said.

“Only one man can fix that. That is Donald J. Trump. He has always stood with the men and women who protect this border, who put their lives on the line for the country.”

The union also said border experts want Trump to be president “so that the border can be secured without compromise. Only the drug cartels and Democrats want an open border – that’s what Border Czar Harris has given them and will continue to do in the future.”

The union’s leaders for the last nearly four years have joined Trump at border events in Texas and Arizona. After Trump announced he was running for reelection, the NBPC’s former president, Brandon Judd, endorsed him and joined him at campaign events.

The NBPC has repeatedly criticized the border policies of Biden and Harris, arguing they created the border crisis. The union has also repeatedly fact checked claims they’ve made, including refuting that it had ever endorsed Biden for president.

Prior to dropping out of the presidential race, during the June presidential debate, Biden claimed, “the Border Patrol union endorsed me, endorsed my position.”

In response, the union posted a statement on X, saying, “To be clear, we never have and never will endorse Biden.”

During the Sept. 10 presidential debate between Harris and Trump, Harris made comments related to “the importance of sovereignty and territorial integrity,” which the union criticized. “She apparently only cares about other countries’ sovereignty b/c when it comes to America, she and President Biden opened up the border, erasing any semblance of sovereignty,” it said.

After Harris made claims about her border policies at a campaign event in Douglas, Ariz., the union said, “VP Harris claimed that she played a role in increasing Border Patrol Agent overtime pay. This couldn’t be further from the truth. As with all things border related she was no where to be found when we needed her.”

In response to Harris claiming that Border Patrol agents needed more resources, the union said, “We have apprehended over 8 million illegal immigrants over the last 4 years and now you realize we need more help 38 days before the election.

“Vice president Harris has ignored the border problem she created for over three years. She goes down there for 20 minutes for a photo op and decides to repeat some of the things the NPBC has said before. But again, where has she been the last 3 1/2 years?”

During the debate and at campaign rallies, Harris has repeatedly claimed she would sign a Senate border bill into law, which she says allocated funding to hire 1,500 Border Patrol agents. She and others claim Trump killed the bill.

On Sunday, Trump vowed to immediately ask Congress for funds to hire an additional 10,000 Border Patrol employees, give existing agents a 10% raise, and create a $10,000 retention and signing bonus, if elected president.

“I will always stand with the incredible men and women of Border Patrol,” he said. “They have a tremendous shortage because they haven’t been treated right. They want to do their jobs. You know, they consider it bad treatment when you’re not allowed to do your jobs.”

The Senate border bill does the opposite of what Harris and other proponents claim, according to the bill language, including allowing an unlimited number of illegal foreign nationals into the country due to numerous exceptions. The bill would codify existing policies created by DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for which he was impeached in February, which Republicans argue is facilitating the ongoing crisis.

Texas officials also argued the bill would codify mass migration and nullify state sovereignty.

U.S. Senate Democrats and Independents ultimately didn’t support it; Senate Democratic leadership never brought it to a vote.

U.S. Senate Democrats have also sought to distance themselves from Biden-Harris border policies as local communities grapple with increased crime and social services costs associated with illegal border crossers. Senate leadership also refused to consider a border bill passed by the U.S. House.

Despite Harris’ recent campaign claims, while a U.S. senator, she sought to reduce funding and staff of federal border agencies, including seeking to eliminate U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement, the agency responsible for removing some of the most dangerous criminals.

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