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Alberta

Alberta Sports Hall of Fame OPEN AGAIN!

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THE HALFTIME REPORT
News from the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame

Your Hall is back!

We’re excited to announce that we have reopened our doors as part of Step 2 of the Government of Alberta’s Open for Summer Plan.

We are open to the public Monday to Friday from 9 am – 5 pm, and on weekends and holiday Mondays from 10 am – 5 pm.

Since closing our doors in mid-December, we have worked behind the scenes to enhance the overall museum experience for our visitors.

Among these enhancements are four new interactives, among them the Lyndon Rush Bobsleigh Experience, which briefly opened to the public last fall; an Obie interactive projector, which projects a series of games onto the floor; a Hoops FX arcade basketball game; and a Super Chexx bubble hockey game.

Many of our displays have also been updated since the last time the hall was open, including our new featured exhibit, “When Sports Stopped.” This new exhibit, which was installed in mid-November, examines multiple times where global events brought sports to a halt, from the Spanish Flu to the World Wars, up to the effects Covid-19 continues to have presently. The exhibit will be on display until the end of the year.

Other new displays examine the history of Alberta athletics and the former freestyle skiing discipline known as ski ballet.

Come check out everything we have on display.

This newsletter is sponsored by City of Red Deer.

Honoured Member in Focus: Kevin Sirois

Kevin Sirois was on his way to becoming one of the few Canadians to compete in both the Winter and Summer Olympics in the same year.

He competed at the 1971 Pan American Cycling Competition and toured Italy with the Canadian Cycling Team.

At the 1972 Winter Olympics, he placed 14th in the 10,000 m speed skating event and set a Canadian record that would not be broken until 1982.

He set over 20 Canadian speed skating records at both junior and senior levels, in races from 500m to five miles. He was the first recipient of the Canadian Amateur Speed Skating Association’s Skater of the Year Award in 1968.

Provincial Sport Organization: Alberta Bicycle Association

The Alberta Bicycle Association (ABA) is the affiliated Provincial Sport Organization (PSO) of Cycling Canada. It operates under the authority of the world governing body of all cycling’s many sports, the Union Cycliste International (International Cycling Union) in Geneva.

The mission of the ABA is to advocate, develop, and facilitate bicycling for Albertans.

The vision of the ABA is to be the recognized authority and leader for bicycling in Alberta.

The Board of Directors and committees of the ABA are elected by the general membership at the Annual General Meeting every November. All members and clubs have the opportunity to run and vote for members of the Board. The Board reflects the input of the three Committees (BMX, Racing, and Rec. & Trans.) which meet throughout the year to plan and coordinate the programs and services offered by the Association to our membership.

The ABA relies on volunteers whose passion and contribution are essential, including:

  • coaches
  • commissaires
  • race organizers
  • board
  • and committee members.

The ABA also employs several full-time staff to administer the day-to-day operations of the ABA and to provide services to thousands of members across Alberta.

You spin me right round 

The sport of cycling steadily gained popularity into the 1890s with improved roads and the introduction of races that are still held to this day.

The famous Tour de France was first contested in 1903 and has continued every year since, except during World Wars I and II.

Apart from road racing, like what is contested during the Tour de France, there are a number of other cycling sports that have been developed alongside the evolution of the bicycle such as Track Cycling, Mountain Biking, and BMX.

Alberta Sports Hall of Fame Annual General Meeting is scheduled for June 29

The Annual General Meeting of the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors will be held on Tuesday, June 29.

Special Olympics recognizes Heather Roberts for her contributions as a volunteer

One of our long-time volunteers and supporters, Heather Roberts, recently received the Lifetime Sports Achievement Award 2021 for her contributions to Special Olympics locally.

Congratulations, Heather!

Please check the link below.
https://www.reddeeradvocate.com/sports/red-deers-heather-roberts-receives-lifetime-sport-achievement-award/

Photo Credit: Bryon Hackett, Red Deer Advocate

Golfers wanted!

We’re looking for sponsors and golfers for the Annual Alberta Sports Hall of Fame Golf Tournament, which tees off on Tuesday, September 14 at the Innisfail Golf Course. We are excited to announce that we will be partnering with the Innisfail Eagles Hockey Team for this year’s tournament.

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to support the preservation of Alberta sports by playing at one of the province’s crown jewels.

Call (403) 341-8614 or email programmer@albertasportshall.ca for more information.

Your Hall is hiring.

Are you a student itching to work in a fun, rewarding environment?

Of course, you are. Consider this your lucky day. The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame is looking for a Collections and Research Assistant, and a Marketing and Communications Assistant to work behind the scenes.

The positions are 35 hours a week and work from Thursday to Monday.

Visit our website, www.albertasportshall.ca, for more information.

Leave a legacy

The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame needs your support to continue the ongoing preservation of Alberta’s sports history and the development of museum exhibits. We are grateful and appreciative of the generosity of our supporters and friends. We would be happy to assist you in choosing how your personal legacy will be fulfilled and the many options available. Here is some information on donating shares to ASHFM and the benefits to you as a donor.

Donate

The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame provides a family-friendly, interactive experience. You will be surprised by what you discover inside! Have fun, laugh, play and discover Alberta sports heroes together. The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame is an interactive, hands-on celebration of Alberta's sporting history. Our over 7,000 square feet of exhibit space includes a multisport area with virtual baseball, basketball, football, hockey, and soccer; an adaptive sports area, including a 200 meter wheelchair challenge; a Treadwall climbing wall; the Orest Korbutt Theatre; the Hall of Fame Gallery; an art gallery displaying works by provincial artists, and much more. Our venue boasts a collection of over 17,000 artefacts of Alberta sports history and showcases many of these items in a number of displays. The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame also offers an education program, group activities, and a unique environment to rent for your birthday party, special event, corporate reception or meetings.

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Alberta

CBC watchdog accuses outlet of biased coverage of Catholic school trustee opposing LGBT agenda

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Former Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools trustee Monique LaGrange

From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

The rebuke of the CBC comes in response to a September 2023 story the outlet published about Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools trustee Monique LaGrange, whose job was threatened for opposing gender ideology on social media.

The watchdog for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has ruled that the state-funded outlet expressed a “blatant lack of balance” in its covering of a Catholic school trustee who opposed the LGBT agenda being foisted on children.

“The article violated the principle of balance outlined in CBC’s Journalistic Standards And Practices,” CBC Ombudswoman Maxime Bertrand wrote, according to a January 29 article by Blacklock’s Reporter.

 

Bertrand added that the CBC’s coverage of the story provided “a perspective that can only be described as one-sided.”  

Bertrand’s rebuke of the CBC comes in response to a September 2023 story the outlet published about Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools trustee Monique LaGrange. LaGrange faced dismissal from her post for sharing to social media an image showing kids in Nazi Germany waving swastika flags during a parade alongside a photo depicting modern-day children waving pro-LGBT “Pride” flags. Under the images read the text, “Brainwashing is brainwashing.”  

After her post went viral, calls for her to step down grew from leftist Alberta politicians and others. This culminated in her removal as director of the Alberta Catholic School Trustees’ Association (ACSTA). It is worth noting that the Catholic Church infallibly condemns the precepts of gender ideology and the pro-LGBT agenda, including homosexual acts and transgenderism. 

In their coverage, the CBC interviewed the school board chair, the provincial minister of education, the Central Alberta Pride Society and president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, all of whom viewed her post as “repugnant.”  

However, Bertrand pointed out that the CBC failed to interview anyone in support of LaGrange, saying, “Sources offered only criticism of LaGrange with no one from the opposing side to defend her.” 

At the time, Campaign Life Coalition had written extensive articles praising LaGrange’s brave statement and calling on Canadians to support her.  

The CBC’s lack of fairness was not lost on its readers, as ratepayers submitted 31 pages’ worth of emails in support of the trustee, Blacklock’s reported.

Stephanie Coombs, director of journalism at CBC Edmonton, admitted that the network failed in their coverage of the incident, saying, “We could and should have dug deeper to determine what submissions had been made.” 

“I absolutely agree there is valuable key context worth discussing about the challenges many faith-based educational institutions face when reconciling religious doctrine with LGBTQ inclusive policies,” said Coombs. “Ms. LaGrange’s case is not an isolated incident.” 

While the CBC was called out in this case, there have been multiple instances of the outlet pushing what appears to be ideological content, including the creation of pro-LGBT material for kids, tacitly endorsing the gender mutilation of children, promoting euthanasia, and even seeming to justify the burning of mostly Catholic churches throughout the country. 

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Alberta

With $15 a day flat rate, Alberta transitions to publicly funded child care

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Introducing $15 a day child care for families

Alberta is introducing a flat monthly parent fee of $326.25 for full-time licensed child care, or roughly $15 a day.

As part of the $3.8-billion Canada-Alberta Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, Alberta is supporting families to access affordable child care across the province with their choice in provider.

Starting Apr. 1, parents with children zero to kindergarten age attending full-time licensed daycare facilities and family day home programs across the province will be eligible for a flat parent fee of $326.25 per month, or roughly $15 a day. Parents requiring part-time care will pay $230 per month.

To support these changes and high-quality child care, about 85 per cent of licensed daycare providers will receive a funding increase once the new fee structure is in place on Apr. 1.

Every day, parents and families across Alberta rely on licensed child-care providers to support their children’s growth and development while going to work or school. Licensed child-care providers and early childhood educators play a crucial role in helping children build the skills they need to support their growth and overall health. As Alberta’s population grows, the need for high-quality, affordable and accessible licensed and regulated child care is increasing.

While Alberta already reduced parent fees to an average of $15 a day in January 2024, many families are still paying much more depending on where they live, the age of their child and the child-care provider they choose, which has led to inconsistency and confusion. Many families find it difficult to estimate their child-care fees if they move or switch providers, and providers have expressed concerns about the fairness and complexity of the current funding framework.

A flat monthly fee will provide transparency and predictability for families in every part of the province while also improving fairness to providers and increasing overall system efficiency. On behalf of families, Alberta’s government will cover about 80 per cent of child-care fees through grants to daycare facilities and family day homes.

This means a family using full-time daycare could save, on average, $11,000 per child per year. A flat monthly parent fee will ensure child care is affordable for everyone and that providers are compensated for the important services they offer.

As opposed to a flat monthly parent fee, Alberta’s government will reimburse preschools up to $100 per month per child on parents’ behalf, up from $75.

“Albertans deserve affordable child-care options, no matter where they are or which type of care works best for them. We are bringing in flat parent fees for families so they can all access high-quality child care for the same affordable, predictable fee.”

Matt Jones, Minister of Jobs, Economy and Trade

“Reducing child care fees makes life more affordable for families and gives them the freedom to make choices that work for them—whether that’s working, studying or growing their family. We’ll keep working to bring costs down, create more spots, and reduce waitlists for families in Alberta and across the country, while ensuring every child gets the best start in life.”

Jenna Sudds, federal minister of Families, Children, and Social Development

To make Alberta’s child-care system affordable for all families, the flat monthly parent fee is replacing the Child Care Subsidy Program for children zero to kindergarten age attending child care during regular school hours. The subsidy for children attending out-of-school care is not changing.

As the province transitions to the new flat parent fee, child-care providers will have flexibility to offer optional services for an additional supplemental parent fee. These optional services must be over and above the services that are provided to all children in individual child-care programs. Clear requirements will be in place for providers to prevent preferential child-care access for families choosing to pay for optional services.

Cutting red tape and supporting child-care providers

By moving to a flat monthly parent fee, Alberta’s government is continuing the transition to a primarily publicly funded child care system. To support high-quality child care, approximately 85 per cent of licensed daycare providers will receive a funding increase once the new structure is in place on Apr. 1.

The province is enhancing the system to streamline the child-care claims process used to reimburse licensed child-care providers on behalf of Alberta parents. Alberta’s government is also putting technological solutions in place to reduce administrative burden and red tape.

Looking ahead

Over the final year of the federal agreement, Alberta’s government is working to support the child-care system while preparing to negotiate the next term of the agreement, reflective of the needs of Albertans and providers. Alberta joins its provincial and territorial partners across the country in calling for a sustainable, adequately funded system that works for parents and providers long term.

Quick facts

  • In line with requirements under the Canada-Alberta Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement, the flat monthly parent fee only applies to children zero to kindergarten age requiring care during regular school hours.
  • Children attending 100 or more hours in a month are considered full-time and parents will pay $326.25 a month. Children attending between 50 and 99 hours are considered part-time and parents will pay $230 a month.
  • Families with children attending preschool for up to four hours a day are eligible for up to $100 per month.
  • There are no changes to the out-of-school care Child Care Subsidy Program for children requiring care outside of school hours in grades 1 to 6 and attending full-time kindergarten.
  • Programs may choose to provide optional services for a supplemental fee. Examples may include transportation, field trips and food. Child-care programs are not required to charge parents additional supplemental fees.

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