Alberta
Alberta Preparing a New Regulatory Framework for iGaming
With the success of the iGaming market in Ontario, Alberta is looking to it as a blueprint for its own plans in that arena. Despite this, there will likely be differences in the way the two provinces regulate this industry. These potential differences will likely be based on the strategies laid out by Dale Nally, Alberta’s Minister of Service and Red Tape Reduction.
The manner in which Alberta eventually decides to handle its iGaming regulations will be crucial to maintaining a healthy balance for the industry there. Many other regions have begun seeing the drawbacks of over-regulation in this field. As a result, many new-age casinos operating offshore have been gaining popularity over traditional ones that are often stifled by restrictions.
This is because restrictions place more onerous burdens on operators and cause lengthy delays with everything from sign-up procedures to payout times. However, offshore casinos have become a revelation for players tied down by these restrictions. For example, crypto casinos and the perks found at sites like an instant payout casino have seen the number of players from regions like the US, UK, Asia, Europe, and even Canada soaring in recent years.
Instant payout casinos in particular have grown very popular in recent years as they offer players same-day access to their winnings. This phenomenon has been playing out amid ever-tightening regulations on iGaming sites being deployed in many prominent markets.
While reasonable regulations have their benefits, many players feel that most jurisdictions are over-regulating the industry now and players have begun to respond by flocking to offshore sites. Instant payout casinos offer a perfect refuge since platforms like these feature fewer restrictions, more expansive gaming libraries, more privacy, and more generous bonuses.
While Alberta is drawing heavily from Ontario’s regulatory guidelines, it also wants to retain some aspects that will distinguish it too. Minister Nally has indicated that Alberta will seek a less onerous regulatory regime than Ontario. However, as it is with Ontario, there won’t be a limit imposed on the number of iGaming operators permitted. These would also not require any partnerships with land-based casinos.
This approach is expected to foster a competitive online betting environment. As such, huge operators are expected to set up shop there and operate freely alongside the government-run Play Alberta—which currently holds a monopoly.
Nally’s ministry has already been busy working on these new regulations and is set to keep being so as it will also be directly responsible for overseeing iGaming regulations and their enforcement. This ensures a separate regulatory body need not be created. It also addresses concerns raised by operators that Alberta’s Gaming, Liquor, and Cannabis Commission (AGLC) would have a conflict of interest if it managed the new regime as the AGLC is a market operator since it runs the Play Alberta platform.
All in all, Alberta’s approach currently does look good and at least considers the need for making it as simple as possible for new entrants to gain access to the market. Alberta’s method to “conduct and manage” gambling activities is in direct contrast with Ontario’s, where iGaming Ontario (iGO) is simply a subsidiary of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO).
The revenue-sharing model will also be looked at. Currently, Ontario operators are taxed 20% with the province making $790 million of them last year—with more expansion on the horizon. On that note, Alberta has hinted that it may seek a higher percentage. With other things like consults with indigenous communities and other stakeholders, and setting up transition periods for “grey” market operators, there is more work to be done. However, for now, the future of the iGaming industry in Alberta looks good indeed.
Alberta
The Government of Alberta’s Report on Their COVID-19 Pandemic Response: Bryam Bridle
From COVID Chronicles
It confirms big problems with public health and provides a roadmap for how to do it right the next time around; let justice and healing begin.
The Government of Alberta has released a report following an investigation into the province’s response to the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The announcement can be found in this X post from, Eric Bouchard, a member of Alberta’s legislative assembly.
The report itself can be found here.
This is a report that is well-worth reading from beginning to end. The government identified numerous major problems with the handling of the pandemic response by Alberta Health Services. It is important to note that the current government in Alberta is not responsible for how the province responded to COVID-19. That responsibility falls upon the shoulders of the previous government. Thankfully, the current government is interested in knowing the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. They also believe in being transparent with the public that they serve.
One of my biggest concerns from the report is identified in the opening letter where it states, “Our quest for answers was impeded by barriers, including reluctance from key stakeholders to engage with the Task Force’s mandate“. Shame on those involved with developing and implementing COVID-19 policies that failed to cooperate with officials from a sitting government that launched this investigation for the wellbeing of the public. The lack of transparency from whomever these key stakeholders are is unacceptable.
What I appreciate most about the report is that it is constructively critical, providing a path forward, that includes refocusing the mandate of public health services back onto the public as the primary clientele, as opposed to acting in the service of pharmaceutical companies. It serves as a blueprint to guide future responses. The path forward is based largely on traditional best practices that were established by truly following the science and forged in the successful management of historical outbreaks. It is highly reminiscent of the national pandemic response plans that existed in 2020; the ones that were supposed to be implemented for COVID-19 but that were thrown out within days of the pandemic being declared.
I can’t help but wonder how many lives could have been saved, how many hospitalizations could have been prevented, and how much healthier our population and current economies would be if this far more appropriate, science-based plan would have been implemented back in 2020.
This report from the Government of Alberta provides a precedent for the world as overwhelming numbers of people wake up and realize the need for massive reforms within public health.
Further, the report validates many of the concerns that a lot of people had about the response to COVID-19. The totality of evidence highlights how egregious it was to have vilified critical thinkers who simply wanted to engage in robust discussions out of genuine concerns for others and not fall victim to propaganda. Firing people who didn’t want to be coerced into having experimental medical interventions and debatable policies thrust upon them, de-licensing and disciplining independent-thinking health care professionals, and censoring experts under the nefarious disguise of ‘combating misinformation’ and ‘fact checking’; THEY WERE ALL EGREGIOUS WRONGS.
There should be fallout from a damning report like this. The gross mismanagement of COVID-19 has created a huge hot mess. The path forward starts with acknowledging this. Then we need to plot a course to navigate through this mess and thoroughly clean it up. These are essential if there is ever to be healing for all those that were victimized by power brokers that blindly followed propaganda and bought into the hatred and divisive tactics that were passionately modelled by the prime minister on down.
Building on this report, I am honoured to have been invited to speak at an upcoming event in Alberta. It is An Injection of Truth: Healing Humanity.
My talk will dovetail with this report from the Government of Alberta. The event is going to focus on the four pillars of healing. My presentation will start with ripping off the scab and exposing lies from public health agencies that contributed to a myriad of problems within the pandemic response. It will transition into providing some practical recommendations with respect to where we go from here.
Please consider posting your thoughts about this report in the comments section. Do you agree with aspects? Disagree with others? Were criticisms too light or too harsh? Were key issues missed? What do you think about the ideas for moving forward? This is opportunity to provide feedback. You have a sitting government that is showing a willingness to listen to all parties and perspectives. I will share feedback with the Members of the Legislative Assembly that I will be meeting in Alberta on March 3rd.
Alberta
The Davidson Report critiquing the Government of Alberta’s COVID-19 pandemic response finally released: Dr David Speicher
Nearly six months after Dr. Gary Davidson’s report was submitted to Premier Danielle Smith, it was publicly released quietly by the Government of Alberta on their website.
The only public statement about the report was on Eric Bouchard’s X account: “Dr. Gary Davidson’s report brings Alberta one step closer to the truth. https://open.alberta.ca/publications/albertas-covid-19-pandemic-response”. Eric followed up by saying “Alberta now has a tremendous opportunity to right many of the wrongs that took place over the last few years. We must work together to heal humanity and to earn back the trust of all Albertans.” and “I am committed to working with Albertans to ensure that the historical pain caused by the response to COVID-19 does not repeat. Thank you, Dr. Davidson, for your incredible work to get this report out. I look forward to hearing Dr. Davidson live on March 3, 2025.”
Purpose:
On November 14, 2022, the Premier of Alberta established a Task Force under the Health Quality Council of Alberta to examine the quality, use, interpretation, and flow of information and data that informed Alberta’s pandemic response to COVID-19 and provide recommendations on how to better manage a future pandemic.
This report critiques the Government of Alberta’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic between 2020 and 2022. The report addresses 9 areas: governance and flow of information, regulatory bodies (e.g. the role of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta), modelling, non-pharmaceutical interventions, masking, testing, infection-acquired immunity, vaccines, and therapeutics. The task force attempted to remain neutral and examine information on both sides of the narrative. However, there was a “fundamental lack of transparency and willingness to reveal information and discuss decisions and actions taken by AHS during the pandemic.” and the task force found that there was “a lack of willingness on the part of AHS officials to cooperate with the Task Force in our requests for data and information.” [Pg 40-41]
Chapter 6: Testing
As a molecular virologist with expertise in the detection and surveillance of infectious diseases, the task force asked me to provide information and guidance on PCR, rapid antigen testing (RAT), and serological testing for SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 during the pandemic. The report provides excellent background and the methods used to test people for SARS-CoV-2.
Unfortunately, I continue to see misinformation spread about the reliability of the PCR test, including the number of cycles and “97% false-positives”. Therefore, I will be providing a deep dive into the PCR test over the coming weeks, including presenting insight on one legal case where I served as an expert witness that asked whether or not a PCR test for COVID is a “genetic test” according to the Ontario labour code. I would be happy to answer any questions that people may have.
From The Davidson Report, I would like to highlight two key issues. The first is the classification of a COVID case being determined by a PCR-positive test result driving a “casedemic” rather than a “pandemic” and the second is regarding the millions of dollars wasted on unused PCR reagents and RATs.
It is important to note the following recommendations made regarding testing (P174):
- RT-PCR represents an excellent high-sensitivity test to aid in accurate diagnoses of symptomatic people – if they are used for the intended purpose and at optimal Ct values (vs. Ct values at “high positive” cut-offs).
- Rapid tests with reasonable accuracy should not be used for screening the general population but could be used as an additional diagnostic tool, where clinically indicated.
- We recommend that future pandemic responses prioritize minimizing severe disease and mortality over extensive case detection. Specifically, Alberta should focus on developing a screening tool to help estimate individual risk. This approach will optimize resource use by directing testing capacity, which can be appropriately directed by evidence-based practices, such as testing symptomatic individuals, those whose management may be influenced by test results, and for specific surveillance scenarios.
- We recommend that levels of immunity be gauged using a multi-antibody serological and/or mucosal assay that accounts for both pre-existing immunity as well as the presence of immune cells with the potential for cross-protection.
- All tests should also be professionally administered and sufficiently sensitive to detect low antibody levels while sufficiently specific to distinguish between target and non-target antibodies. This also applies to laboratory tests used to identify specific respiratory viruses. Individual risk estimates can then be used to inform individual needs for protection either through the use of personal protective measures and/or vaccination.
- Without being linked to a set of standardized clinical criteria, we recommend against the use of PCR tests as the sole criteria for a case definition. A confirmed case should include a pre-determined profile of signs and/or symptoms AND a positive test for the infection of concern PLUS any relevant patient history and confirmed epidemiological information.
- Ensure that local surveillance data are used and interpreted when determining strategy and policy.
Final Thoughts
Regarding the report, I think that it is a very well-written critique of the Government of Alberta’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is not a final conclusive report. This is a good start to opening the door for some important deep governmental discussions that need to happen, including diving deeper into the harms caused by the COVID-19 modRNA vaccines, like the DNA contamination and the presence of the SV40 promoter-enhancer nuclear localization sequences, the vast number of vaccine-injured people, and the increased risk of turbo cancer. While I am disappointed that the Government of Alberta, namely Premier Smith, tried to bury this report by sitting on it for six months and quietly releasing the report without a proper press conference on the week of the USA inauguration I am relieved to see that the report was finally made public. The government’s attempt to bury the report shows that this is indeed a damning report and the government’s response could have been much better. However, I hope that this report will bring about government transparency and begin that well-needed conversation so that our society can indeed heal.
Healing Humanity is the theme of the next An Injection of Truth happening on March 3, 2025 in Calgary, Alberta. During the event I will be sharing on the numerous ways the COVID-19 vaccines can potentially cause harm and what can be done to heal from those harms. I will share the stage with several other prominent scientists.
- Dr. Byram Bridle who has also shared his insights on The Davidson Report and will be “exposing lies from public health agencies that contributed to a myriad of problems within the pandemic response.”
- Dr. Gary Davidson will be presenting on the contents the report by the Alberta COVID-19 Pandemic Data Review Task Force.
- Dr. Denis Rancourt will provide a deep dive into the all-cause mortality.
- Dr. David Martin will definitely be a presenter that no one will want to miss.
In closing, I encourage everyone to read through The Davidson Report and post your thoughts on the report in the comments section. What did you like or disagree with? What would you like to see different next time? I would be happy to take your comments to Calgary in March 2025. I also hope that this will be one of many governmental task forces that take a deep dive into the governmental response to the pandemic. We desperately need one for each province and at the federal level.
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