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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

Before Post

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

Alberta mother accuses health agency of trying to vaccinate son against her wishes

Published on

From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

 

Alberta Health Services has been accused of attempting to vaccinate a child in school against his parent’s wishes.  

On November 6, Alberta Health Services staffers visited Edmonton Hardisty School where they reportedly attempted to vaccinate a grade 6 student despite his parents signing a form stating that they did not wish for him to receive the vaccines.  

 

“It is clear they do not prioritize parental rights, and in not doing so, they traumatize students,” the boy’s mother Kerri Findling told the Counter Signal. 

During the school visit, AHS planned to vaccinate sixth graders with the HPV and hepatitis B vaccines. Notably, both HPV and hepatitis B are vaccines given to prevent diseases normally transmitted sexually.  

Among the chief concerns about the HPV vaccine has been the high number of adverse reactions reported after taking it, including a case where a 16 year-old Australian girl was made infertile due to the vaccine.  

Additionally, in 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration received reports of 28 deaths associated with the HPV vaccine. Among the 6,723 adverse reactions reported that year, 142 were deemed life-threatening and 1,061 were considered serious.   

Children whose parents had written “refused” on their forms were supposed to return to the classroom when the rest of the class was called into the vaccination area.  

However, in this case, Findling alleged that AHS staffers told her son to proceed to the vaccination area, despite seeing that she had written “refused” on his form. 

When the boy asked if he could return to the classroom, as he was certain his parents did not intend for him to receive the shots, the staff reportedly said “no.” However, he chose to return to the classroom anyway.    

Following his parents’ arrival at the school, AHS claimed the incident was a misunderstanding due to a “new hire,” attesting that the mistake would have been caught before their son was vaccinated.   

“If a student leaves the vaccination center without receiving the vaccine, it should be up to the parents to get the vaccine at a different time, if they so desire, not the school to enforce vaccination on behalf of AHS,” Findling declared.  

Findling’s story comes just a few months after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith promised a new Bill of Rights affirming “God-given” parental authority over children. 

A draft version of a forthcoming Alberta Bill of Rights provided to LifeSiteNews includes a provision beefing up parental rights, declaring the “freedom of parents to make informed decisions concerning the health, education, welfare and upbringing of their children.” 

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Alberta

Alberta’s fiscal update projects budget surplus, but fiscal fortunes could quickly turn

Published on

From the Fraser Institute

By Tegan Hill

According to the recent mid-year update tabled Thursday, the Smith government projects a $4.6 billion surplus in 2024/25, up from the $2.9 billion surplus projected just a few months ago. Despite the good news, Premier Smith must reduce spending to avoid budget deficits.

The fiscal update projects resource revenue of $20.3 billion in 2024/25. Today’s relatively high—but very volatile—resource revenue (including oil and gas royalties) is helping finance today’s spending and maintain a balanced budget. But it will not last forever.

For perspective, in just the last decade the Alberta government’s annual resource revenue has been as low as $2.8 billion (2015/16) and as high as $25.2 billion (2022/23).

And while the resource revenue rollercoaster is currently in Alberta’s favor, Finance Minister Nate Horner acknowledges that “risks are on the rise” as oil prices have dropped considerably and forecasters are projecting downward pressure on prices—all of which impacts resource revenue.

In fact, the government’s own estimates show a $1 change in oil prices results in an estimated $630 million revenue swing. So while the Smith government plans to maintain a surplus in 2024/25, a small change in oil prices could quickly plunge Alberta back into deficit. Premier Smith has warned that her government may fall into a budget deficit this fiscal year.

This should come as no surprise. Alberta’s been on the resource revenue rollercoaster for decades. Successive governments have increased spending during the good times of high resource revenue, but failed to rein in spending when resource revenues fell.

Previous research has shown that, in Alberta, a $1 increase in resource revenue is associated with an estimated 56-cent increase in program spending the following fiscal year (on a per-person, inflation-adjusted basis). However, a decline in resource revenue is not similarly associated with a reduction in program spending. This pattern has led to historically high levels of government spending—and budget deficits—even in more recent years.

Consider this: If this fiscal year the Smith government received an average level of resource revenue (based on levels over the last 10 years), it would receive approximately $13,000 per Albertan. Yet the government plans to spend nearly $15,000 per Albertan this fiscal year (after adjusting for inflation). That’s a huge gap of roughly $2,000—and it means the government is continuing to take big risks with the provincial budget.

Of course, if the government falls back into deficit there are implications for everyday Albertans.

When the government runs a deficit, it accumulates debt, which Albertans must pay to service. In 2024/25, the government’s debt interest payments will cost each Albertan nearly $650. That’s largely because, despite running surpluses over the last few years, Albertans are still paying for debt accumulated during the most recent string of deficits from 2008/09 to 2020/21 (excluding 2014/15), which only ended when the government enjoyed an unexpected windfall in resource revenue in 2021/22.

According to Thursday’s mid-year fiscal update, Alberta’s finances continue to be at risk. To avoid deficits, the Smith government should meaningfully reduce spending so that it’s aligned with more reliable, stable levels of revenue.

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