Business, not as usual

Lloyd Lewis

Published

5 years ago

5 minute read

Business, not as usual. Employer support of reservists in time of pandemic.

Submitted by: Canadian Forces Liaison Council/Alberta Chapter

In this challenging time of pandemic, it’s probably safe to say that business will not carry on as usual. Employers have much to be concerned about – employees’ health and welfare, revenue, and simply put – survival.

In many cases employers have reservist-employees who balance double duty with both the Reserve Force and their workplace. Reservists are prepared willing and able to answer the call to support pandemic response or other emergencies, either nationally or locally.

Preparations for pandemic support across Canada are underway, and this includes many reservists, army, navy, air force alike, who have been asked to mobilize. It is with thanks to many employers who support their reservist-employee as they volunteer for Operation LASER 20-01 – the Canadian Armed Forces’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic within Canada.

The Government of Canada has authorized reservists, who volunteer, to be placed on full-time Class C service to support the Operation. The Canadian Armed Forces is currently mobilizing 24,000 service members, both regular and reserve, to support provincial and municipal governments and agencies in their efforts to suppress the disease, to support vulnerable populations, and to provide logistical and general support to communities. In Alberta, there will be hundreds of reservists who will choose to deploy and serve to support our communities.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Canadians has been unprecedented, as is the scale of the Canadian Armed Forces mobilization under the Operation LASER response. Reservists’ dedication to duty in volunteering for Operation LASER is essential to support both provincial and municipal authorities during this crisis. Canada cannot meet its defence needs at home and abroad without the dedicated, motivated and highly skilled people who work tirelessly to defend Canada and promote Canadian values and interests. Op LASER is the immediate need, but reservists have been and will continue to be needed to support other domestic crisis, such as floods and fires, which are occurring on a more frequent basis.

In Alberta, Employment Standards Code, outlines a reservist-employee who has completed at least 26 consecutive weeks of employment with an employer is entitled to reservist leave without pay to take part in deployment to a Canadian Forces operation inside Canada. It also outlines that all leave provided to Reservists is leave without pay – as the Canadian Armed Forces will provide the Reservist with income for the duration of their contract. It’s good business sense to keep good employees and the employment code notes that employers cannot terminate, or lay off, an employee who has started reservist leave. Although these are the legislated minimums, organizations are encouraged to develop and implement military leave policies that support a reservist-employee even further.

There is great pride for reservists as they deploy domestically and equally for the employers who support them. Undoubtedly, business will not be as usual and if you have a reservist-employee there is support available for your organization. Employer support during this time of crisis is greatly appreciated by the Canadian Armed Forces and the Government of Canada. Indeed, when you employ a reservist, you in turn, are serving your country.

How can I find out more information for my business?
• Federal Compensation for Employers of Reservists Program (CERP) – Employers can apply and eligible applicants will receive a lump sum payment, in the form of a grant, following the deployment period of the reservist employee.

Military Leave Policy information – if your organization does not already have a formal military leave policy, this may be a good opportunity to implement one that provides additional detail beyond what is in the job protection legislation.
Canadian Forces Liaison Council – Employers Supporting Reservists

Info for military leave policies and federal support (CERP): https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/benefits-military/supporting-reservists-employers.html

With Glowing Hearts – Reservist Support Program – a turnkey employer support program for reservists. The program provides information and tools for employers of reservists and is an asset for a business to attract and retain experienced and valued reservist/employees.

Info and/or to Register: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WithGlowingHearts

originally published April 9, 2020.

Lloyd Lewis

www.todayville.com

President Todayville Inc., Honorary Colonel 41 Signal Regiment, Board Member Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Award Foundation, Director Canadian Forces Liaison Council (Alberta) musician, photographer, former VP/GM CTV Edmonton.

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Alberta government should rely on dividends—not ‘political will’—to grow Heritage Fund

Published on February 1, 2025

Duane Rolheiser

From the Fraser Institute

By Tegan Hill

The Smith government on Wednesday released its plan to grow Alberta’s Heritage Fund to at least $250 billion over the next 25 years, mainly by reinvesting all investment returns back into the fund. But even Smith recognizes her plan will “take political will over a long period of time.” Of course, political will is subjective and can change from government to government. If Smith wants to establish a sustainable plan to grow the Heritage Fund, it should pay dividends to Albertans.

First, some quick history. When the Alberta government created the Heritage Fund in 1976, it established a rule that the government must deposit 30 per cent of resource revenue (including oil and gas royalties) into the fund annually. That quickly fell to 15 per cent by 1982/83, and after an oil price collapse the government eliminated the requirement in 1986/87. Since then, governments have routinely failed to make deposits into the fund, the fund’s value (after accounting for inflation) has eroded over time, and governments have spent nearly all of the fund’s earnings. Consequently, this fiscal year the fund will be worth less than $26 billion.

In other words, political will hasn’t been a successful strategy in growing the Heritage Fund.

Which brings us back to dividends. Here’s where Alberta can learn from Alaska. Alaska’s resource revenue savings fund (the Permanent Fund) was also created in 1976, but is now worth about US$80 billion (roughly CA$115 billion). What does the Alaska government do differently?

While various rules contribute to the fund’s success, the dividend rule is arguably the most critical. The Alaskan government pays a share of the fund’s earnings to Alaskan citizens via a dividend each year. Crucially, this gives citizens an ownership share in the fund. And therein lies the political will for governments to responsibly grow and maintain the fund. Any government that tried to use the fund for irresponsible purposes (e.g. raid the fund to spend money elsewhere) would likely face the wrath of Alaskan voters, given their understandable attachment to the dividend cheques.

Indeed, while the Alaskan government can reduce or eliminate the annual dividend, it has consistently allocated funds to the dividend for more than 40 years, even though this reduces the amount of money available for government spending. Overall, the fund has paid out more than US$30 billion to Alaskan citizens via dividends. Last year, each Alaskan received US$1,702.

According to its plan released on Wednesday, the Smith government will rely on “political will” to grow the Heritage Fund. But that’s not a recipe for success. Instead, the Smith government should learn from Alaska’s success and start paying dividends to Albertans who will provide the political pressure necessary to grow the fund over the long term.

Tegan Hill

Director, Alberta Policy, Fraser Institute

Alberta

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to consider halting COVID vaccines for healthy children

Published on February 1, 2025

Todayville

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she will consider the findings of a report she commissioned that called for halting COVID shots for healthy children and teenagers, admitting there are questions about the “efficacy” of the jab in kids.

“I was pleased to see that we had a broad cross-section of doctors able to look at our previous COVID response, identify processes that were in place, identify things that may have gone wrong,” Smith said [24:50 min mark] while speaking to reporters on January 29.

Smith was responding to a question in response to the Alberta COVID-19 Pandemic Data Review Task Force’s “COVID Pandemic Response” 269-page final report released last week.

She said she is looking to “identify things that are now under question, like the efficacy of masks and the efficacy of this vaccine in children.”

Smith added that her government is “going to take a look at” the report’s findings and “obviously we’ll, we’ll make some decisions about whether to move forward on any of the recommendations.”

The report was commissioned by Smtih last year, giving the task force a sweeping mandate to investigate her predecessor’s COVID-era mandates and policies.

The task force’s final report was released last week. It recommended halting “the use of COVID-19 vaccines without full disclosure of their potential risks” as well as outright ending their use “for healthy children and teenagers as other jurisdictions have done,” mentioning countries like “Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and the U.K.”

Among the recommendations of the task force was the call to “(f)urther research to establish the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines is necessary before widespread use in adults and children,” the establishment of “a website and/or call-in center for the vaccine injured in Alberta” as well as establishing a “mechanism for opting out of federal health policy until provincial due process has been satisfied.”

The report also noted that “(c)hildren and teenagers have a very low risk of serious illness from COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccines were not designed to halt transmission and there is a lack of reliable data showing that the vaccines protect children from severe COVID-19.”

Smith: Doctors’ right to ‘speak their mind’ must be protected

While answering reporters’ questions on January 29, Smith also said the doctors in the province need to be able to “speak their minds without punishment from their colleges.”

“I think that’s going to be important too, otherwise, politicians only bad decisions,” she noted.

The report touched on how many doctors in Alberta who gave opposing views to the mainstream narrative regarding COVID jabs, masks, and the use of alternatives to treat the virus were wrongly vilified.

Smith mentioned that the point of the report was to find out what went wrong during COVID and to not repeat the same mistakes should there be another pandemic.

LifeSiteNews has published an extensive amount of research on the dangers of the experimental COVID mRNA jabs that include heart damage and blood clots.

The mRNA shots have also been linked to a multitude of negative and often severe side effects in children and all have connections to cell lines derived from aborted babies.

After becoming premier in late 2022, Smith promptly fired the province’s top doctor, Deena Hinshaw, and the entire AHS board of directors, all of whom oversaw the implementation of COVID mandates.

Under predecessor Jason Kenney, thousands of nurses, doctors, and other healthcare and government workers lost their jobs for choosing to not get the jabs, leading Smith to say – only minutes after being sworn in – that over the past year the “unvaccinated” were the “most discriminated against” group of people in her lifetime.