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Alberta

Alberta gov’t initiates bill to make sex-ed optional, stop schools from hiding pronoun changes

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From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

The Education Amendment Act requires parents to opt in rather than opt out of sex education and mandates that schools seek parental permission to use a different pronoun for their child.

Alberta’s United Conservative Party (UCP) government officially introduced a bill that will change the law so that parents must “opt in rather than opt out” their children into sexual education lessons and also mandate that parental permission is obtained before a student uses a different pronoun.

Late last week, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced Bill 27, or the Education Amendment Act, that focuses on teaching and instructional material “that deal primarily and explicitly with gender identity, sexual orientation or human sexuality.”

The new bill means sexual education classes will not be included in a child’s education, and teachers or school staff will no longer be allowed to conceal whether a student begins to use different pronouns or names.

Once Bill 27 becomes law, schools must notify parents of what is being taught at least “30 days in advance and be given the opportunity to opt in rather than opt out of this instruction,” the government said regarding the bill in a press release.

“This new model would ensure parents are notified in advance and have the information needed to make an informed decision on whether specific topics are appropriate and fit the needs of their child and family,” the government said.

Smith’s government said the change aims to create “transparency in what is being taught in the classroom to ensure parents have the opportunity to identify if there is a particular subject matter they wish to supplement in conversations with their child outside of the classroom.”

Alberta Minister of Education Demetrios Nicolaides had earlier stated that such a bill would be forthcoming, noting the changes the government is proposing will “keep families informed while navigating complex conversations as well as public health and states of emergency.”

Bill 27 also will empower the education minister to in effect stop the spread of extreme forms of pro-LGBT ideology or anything else to be allowed to be taught in schools via third parties.

The government says the new law will allow the minister to “approve learning and teaching resources and external presenters for topics dealing primarily and explicitly with gender identity, sexual orientation or human sexuality.”

“This would create greater transparency on what resources are being used to teach sensitive topics, which third-parties are presenting to students, and provide greater assurance that learning and teaching resources are appropriate and relevant to the curriculum,” the government says.

The new law will also mandate that schools notify parents and seek “their consent for a student 15 years old and under if they request that school staff refer to them by a new gender-related preferred name or pronouns at school.”

It would also mandate that schools notify parents of a “16 or 17-year-old student’s request for school staff to refer to them by a new gender-related preferred name or pronouns at school.”

Smith’s announcement regarding pronouns and sex-ed classes comes at the same time she brought forth a law that will ban biological men from competing in women’s sports. It also comes after she introduced a much-anticipated bill banning so-called “top and bottom” surgeries for minors as well as other extreme forms of transgender ideology.

Last weekend, thousands of UCP members gathered for the party’s annual general meeting, where Smith won a 91.5 percent approval rating, indicating there is strong support for her pro-family policies.

Alberta

Low oil prices could have big consequences for Alberta’s finances

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From the Fraser Institute

By Tegan Hill

Amid the tariff war, the price of West Texas Intermediate oil—a common benchmark—recently dropped below US$60 per barrel. Given every $1 drop in oil prices is an estimated $750 million hit to provincial revenues, if oil prices remain low for long, there could be big implications for Alberta’s budget.

The Smith government already projects a $5.2 billion budget deficit in 2025/26 with continued deficits over the following two years. This year’s deficit is based on oil prices averaging US$68.00 per barrel. While the budget does include a $4 billion “contingency” for unforeseen events, given the economic and fiscal impact of Trump’s tariffs, it could quickly be eaten up.

Budget deficits come with costs for Albertans, who will already pay a projected $600 each in provincial government debt interest in 2025/26. That’s money that could have gone towards health care and education, or even tax relief.

Unfortunately, this is all part of the resource revenue rollercoaster that’s are all too familiar to Albertans.

Resource revenue (including oil and gas royalties) is inherently volatile. In the last 10 years alone, it has been as high as $25.2 billion in 2022/23 and as low as $2.8 billion in 2015/16. The provincial government typically enjoys budget surpluses—and increases government spending—when oil prices and resource revenue is relatively high, but is thrown into deficits when resource revenues inevitably fall.

Fortunately, the Smith government can mitigate this volatility.

The key is limiting the level of resource revenue included in the budget to a set stable amount. Any resource revenue above that stable amount is automatically saved in a rainy-day fund to be withdrawn to maintain that stable amount in the budget during years of relatively low resource revenue. The logic is simple: save during the good times so you can weather the storm during bad times.

Indeed, if the Smith government had created a rainy-day account in 2023, for example, it could have already built up a sizeable fund to help stabilize the budget when resource revenue declines. While the Smith government has deposited some money in the Heritage Fund in recent years, it has not created a dedicated rainy-day account or introduced a similar mechanism to help stabilize provincial finances.

Limiting the amount of resource revenue in the budget, particularly during times of relatively high resource revenue, also tempers demand for higher spending, which is only fiscally sustainable with permanently high resource revenues. In other words, if the government creates a rainy-day account, spending would become more closely align with stable ongoing levels of revenue.

And it’s not too late. To end the boom-bust cycle and finally help stabilize provincial finances, the Smith government should create a rainy-day account.

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Alberta

Governments in Alberta should spur homebuilding amid population explosion

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From the Fraser Institute

By Tegan Hill and Austin Thompson

In 2024, construction started on 47,827 housing units—the most since 48,336 units in 2007 when population growth was less than half of what it was in 2024.

Alberta has long been viewed as an oasis in Canada’s overheated housing market—a refuge for Canadians priced out of high-cost centres such as Vancouver and Toronto. But the oasis is starting to dry up. House prices and rents in the province have spiked by about one-third since the start of the pandemic. According to a recent Maru poll, more than 70 per cent of Calgarians and Edmontonians doubt they will ever be able to afford a home in their city. Which raises the question: how much longer can this go on?

Alberta’s housing affordability problem reflects a simple reality—not enough homes have been built to accommodate the province’s growing population. The result? More Albertans competing for the same homes and rental units, pushing prices higher.

Population growth has always been volatile in Alberta, but the recent surge, fuelled by record levels of immigration, is unprecedented. Alberta has set new population growth records every year since 2022, culminating in the largest-ever increase of 186,704 new residents in 2024—nearly 70 per cent more than the largest pre-pandemic increase in 2013.

Homebuilding has increased, but not enough to keep pace with the rise in population. In 2024, construction started on 47,827 housing units—the most since 48,336 units in 2007 when population growth was less than half of what it was in 2024.

Moreover, from 1972 to 2019, Alberta added 2.1 new residents (on average) for every housing unit started compared to 3.9 new residents for every housing unit started in 2024. Put differently, today nearly twice as many new residents are potentially competing for each new home compared to historical norms.

While Alberta attracts more Canadians from other provinces than any other province, federal immigration and residency policies drive Alberta’s population growth. So while the provincial government has little control over its population growth, provincial and municipal governments can affect the pace of homebuilding.

For example, recent provincial amendments to the city charters in Calgary and Edmonton have helped standardize building codes, which should minimize cost and complexity for builders who operate across different jurisdictions. Municipal zoning reforms in CalgaryEdmonton and Red Deer have made it easier to build higher-density housing, and Lethbridge and Medicine Hat may soon follow suit. These changes should make it easier and faster to build homes, helping Alberta maintain some of the least restrictive building rules and quickest approval timelines in Canada.

There is, however, room for improvement. Policymakers at both the provincial and municipal level should streamline rules for building, reduce regulatory uncertainty and development costs, and shorten timelines for permit approvals. Calgary, for instance, imposes fees on developers to fund a wide array of public infrastructure—including roads, sewers, libraries, even buses—while Edmonton currently only imposes fees to fund the construction of new firehalls.

It’s difficult to say how long Alberta’s housing affordability woes will endure, but the situation is unlikely to improve unless homebuilding increases, spurred by government policies that facilitate more development.

Tegan Hill

Director, Alberta Policy, Fraser Institute

Austin Thompson

Senior Policy Analyst, Fraser Institute
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