Alberta
“The Child Soldier” to be screened Saturday at Edmonton Short Film Festival

“The Child Soldier” is a short film which follows the story of Samuel, a boy living in a small village, plagued by famine, war, and economic devastation. The film’s setting mirrors the economic situation in northern Uganda. But this tale will not be told against the backdrop of the African plain. Our main character in fact, is a twelve year old Caucasian. He lives with his mother and little sister in a run-down, ramshackle, western North American community.
The setting is a fictional, war-torn world, isolated at the frontier of a developing nation. It’s set against the stark contrast and beauty of endless miles of forested mountains and wilderness. Samuel attends a communal school each and every day, boarding a military protected bus and studying under the watchful gaze of government troops. When his bus is ambushed by a group of rebels on horseback one day, his world is turned upside down.
Samuel’s story plays out in a fictional world. But his experiences, hopes, dreams, fears and conflicts are an amalgamation of a vast number of factual, documented accounts from real Ugandan children who have experienced similar fates. Samuel’s story is their story. It’s spoken in a new and desperately needed voice. His story stands as a symbol to all children who are forced to fight in wars worldwide.
Director Statement
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
Let me introduce myself, I’m Eppo Eerkes… I also have another name, ‘Yinagha K’izzaa’, translated it means ‘Half Moon’. Elder and Medicine Man ‘Spotted Eagle’ from the Tsuut’ina Nation gave me the First Nations’ name ‘Half Moon’ due to my keen eye for directing films as well as searching for ‘The Light’ in others. I represent the seekers, the risk-takers, the creative, free-spirited adventurers out there; the ones who want more forests and freeways; outback and oceans in their lives; those who push their own, personal boundaries. I want to pursue films and story that represents this perspective and philosophy.
Biography:
Eppo is an Internationally award-winning Director, frontiersman and explorer of cultures, His relentless curiosity has found him filming from the high arctic to east Africa. It’s taken him from the Ecuadorian Andes to the Congalese mountains; from the Alberta badlands to the Costa Rican jungle. If it’s the magic and ruggedness of an experience you want to capture, then Eppo is the name you need to remember. Eppo has created, written and directed over 100 hours of network broadcast film and television. You can see his work on Discovery, History Channel USA, Animal Planet USA and National Geographic. Eppo is also an independent film director who has several upcoming and finished scripted shorts and features.
A passionate story-teller, much of Eppo’s content has focused on the fragile relationships between man and animal/man and the environment. Eppo has a respect for the spirit that resides in all living things, the thrill of the new, the delight of the unexpected. Eppo continues to hone and develop his craft by working on projects which inspire and explore the human spirit. You can follow him here:
“The Child Soldier” will be screened at the Edmonton Short Film Festival this Saturday.
Alberta
Energy sector will fuel Alberta economy and Canada’s exports for many years to come

From the Fraser Institute
By any measure, Alberta is an energy powerhouse—within Canada, but also on a global scale. In 2023, it produced 85 per cent of Canada’s oil and three-fifths of the country’s natural gas. Most of Canada’s oil reserves are in Alberta, along with a majority of natural gas reserves. Alberta is the beating heart of the Canadian energy economy. And energy, in turn, accounts for one-quarter of Canada’s international exports.
Consider some key facts about the province’s energy landscape, as noted in the Alberta Energy Regulator’s (AER) 2023 annual report. Oil and natural gas production continued to rise (on a volume basis) in 2023, on the heels of steady increases over the preceding half decade. However, the dollar value of Alberta’s oil and gas production fell in 2023, as the surging prices recorded in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine retreated. Capital spending in the province’s energy sector reached $30 billion in 2023, making it the leading driver of private-sector investment. And completion of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project has opened new offshore export avenues for Canada’s oil industry and should boost Alberta’s energy production and exports going forward.
In a world striving to address climate change, Alberta’s hydrocarbon-heavy energy sector faces challenges. At some point, the world may start to consume less oil and, later, less natural gas (in absolute terms). But such “peak” consumption hasn’t arrived yet, nor does it appear imminent. While the demand for certain refined petroleum products is trending down in some advanced economies, particularly in Europe, we should take a broader global perspective when assessing energy demand and supply trends.
Looking at the worldwide picture, Goldman Sachs’ 2024 global energy forecast predicts that “oil usage will increase through 2034” thanks to strong demand in emerging markets and growing production of petrochemicals that depend on oil as the principal feedstock. Global demand for natural gas (including LNG) will also continue to increase, particularly since natural gas is the least carbon-intensive fossil fuel and more of it is being traded in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Against this backdrop, there are reasons to be optimistic about the prospects for Alberta’s energy sector, particularly if the federal government dials back some of the economically destructive energy and climate policies adopted by the last government. According to the AER’s “base case” forecast, overall energy output will expand over the next 10 years. Oilsands output is projected to grow modestly; natural gas production will also rise, in part due to greater demand for Alberta’s upstream gas from LNG operators in British Columbia.
The AER’s forecast also points to a positive trajectory for capital spending across the province’s energy sector. The agency sees annual investment rising from almost $30 billion to $40 billion by 2033. Most of this takes place in the oil and gas industry, but “emerging” energy resources and projects aimed at climate mitigation are expected to represent a bigger slice of energy-related capital spending going forward.
Like many other oil and gas producing jurisdictions, Alberta must navigate the bumpy journey to a lower-carbon future. But the world is set to remain dependent on fossil fuels for decades to come. This suggests the energy sector will continue to underpin not only the Alberta economy but also Canada’s export portfolio for the foreseeable future.
Alberta
The beauty of economic corridors: Inside Alberta’s work to link products with new markets

From the Canadian Energy Centre
Q&A with Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Transport and Economic Corridors
CEC: How have recent developments impacted Alberta’s ability to expand trade routes and access new markets for energy and natural resources?
Dreeshen: With the U.S. trade dispute going on right now, it’s great to see that other provinces and the federal government are taking an interest in our east, west and northern trade routes, something that we in Alberta have been advocating for a long time.
We signed agreements with Saskatchewan and Manitoba to have an economic corridor to stretch across the prairies, as well as a recent agreement with the Northwest Territories to go north. With the leadership of Premier Danielle Smith, she’s been working on a BC, prairie and three northern territories economic corridor agreement with pretty much the entire western and northern block of Canada.
There has been a tremendous amount of work trying to get Alberta products to market and to make sure we can build big projects in Canada again.
CEC: Which infrastructure projects, whether pipeline, rail or port expansions, do you see as the most viable for improving Alberta’s global market access?
Dreeshen: We look at everything. Obviously, pipelines are the safest way to transport oil and gas, but also rail is part of the mix of getting over four million barrels per day to markets around the world.
The beauty of economic corridors is that it’s a swath of land that can have any type of utility in it, whether it be a roadway, railway, pipeline or a utility line. When you have all the environmental permits that are approved in a timely manner, and you have that designated swath of land, it politically de-risks any type of project.
CEC: A key focus of your ministry has been expanding trade corridors, including an agreement with Saskatchewan and Manitoba to explore access to Hudson’s Bay. Is there any interest from industry in developing this corridor further?
Dreeshen: There’s been lots of talk [about] Hudson Bay, a trade corridor with rail and port access. We’ve seen some improvements to go to Churchill, but also an interest in the Nelson River.
We’re starting to see more confidence in the private sector and industry wanting to build these projects. It’s great that governments can get together and work on a common goal to build things here in Canada.
CEC: What is your vision for Alberta’s future as a leader in global trade, and how do economic corridors fit into that strategy?
Dreeshen: Premier Smith has talked about C-69 being repealed by the federal government [and] the reversal of the West Coast tanker ban, which targets Alberta energy going west out of the Pacific.
There’s a lot of work that needs to be done on the federal side. Alberta has been doing a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to economic corridors.
We’ve asked the federal government if they could develop an economic corridor agency. We want to make sure that the federal government can come to the table, work with provinces [and] work with First Nations across this country to make sure that we can see these projects being built again here in Canada.
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