Alberta
Canada’s Premiers beginning to back Canadian energy
News release from Project Confederation
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was on a mission last week and had three things on her mind: energy, energy, energy.
The interesting thing is, many of the other provinces now seem to be on the same page too.
Energy is a policy area that has always been a flashpoint for trouble for the federal government and we’ve seen an ever-increasing number of disputes developing in recent years, deteriorating interprovincial relations and creating constitutional struggles.
The most recent argument started last Friday when Premier Smith met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Calgary to talk about – you guessed it! – energy policy.
Trudeau has announced several ambitious climate policies that will drive energy costs up.
These include aggressive net-zero emissions electricity targets that are going to make power at least 40% more expensive, cost $52 billion for infrastructure alone, and another $35 billion in economic activity.
They’ve also announced an emissions cap on the oil and gas sector in western Canada – which is effectively a production cap, limiting the ability of producers to up their production in order to meet rising global demand.
Smith isn’t going along with these destructive policies.
Natural resource development is the sole jurisdiction of the provinces, not the federal government, and Smith says that Alberta will not be a doormat for federal climate policies that are going to decimate its economy.
She made it clear she will do whatever is necessary to protect Alberta’s interests.
After this bout with Trudeau, she headed out to Winnipeg for the 2023 Summer Meeting of Canada’s Premiers.
Once again, Smith hammered on Ottawa’s aggressive targets and the impact they will have on the economies of the federation – not just Alberta.
Next, she headed to the LNG2023 Conference in Vancouver, looking to establish new export markets for Alberta’s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) – a major source of tension between the federal government and the provinces.
Smith pointed out that Western Canada wants the ability to export LNG to fulfill rising global demand, a resource that Canada has in abundance:
“With the right infrastructure in place, Western Canada would become a sought-after supplier for both Asia and Europe.”
Notably, federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson didn’t even show up to the conference, instead sending Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault.
Perhaps most importantly though, Alberta no longer stands alone.
The federal government has intruded so much into provincial jurisdiction on so many issues, that more and more provinces are pushing back.
At the start of her trip, Smith predicted that she would have a few allies.
“I can tell you the thing that has surprised me the most is that it doesn’t matter what political stripe the premiers have, every single one of them is frustrated with federal interference into their business,” she said.
She was right.
The Council of Premiers made it clear that they weren’t happy being force-fed aggressive deadlines that were going to decimate the Canadian economy.
Scott Moe, Premier of Saskatchewan, publicly called out the Prime Minister and Steven Guilbeault, federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change, tweeting:
“If it wasn’t clear before, it is now. The Trudeau government doesn’t want to just reduce emissions in our energy sector, they want to completely shut down our energy sector.”
Blaine Higgs, the Premier of New Brunswick added:
“It just seems to be a pile-on of additional costs, Let’s get some recognition for the impact this is having on everyday lives.”
Even David Eby’s NDP government in British Columbia is joining in and are looking at ways to grow LNG exports with the recent establishment of a task force with a mandate to explore export expansion opportunities.
If there is one thing that this past week and a half did demonstrate is that when it comes to energy, the provinces have never been more united against a federal government that continues to overstep its jurisdictional boundaries.
This level of agreement amongst premiers is a major step forward, and it demonstrates that common ground can be found between provinces when it comes to federal overreach.
It is also important because it demonstrates that the rest of the country is getting fed up with the never-ending climate brigade taking shot after shot after shot at the energy industry without addressing the impact energy has on affordability.
Some time ago, we launched a campaign to Stand Up for Alberta Energy.
If you agree with our work in this area, and want to get more involved with the campaign, please join the campaign here:
Alberta
CBC watchdog accuses outlet of biased coverage of Catholic school trustee opposing LGBT agenda
Former Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools trustee Monique LaGrange
From LifeSiteNews
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.
“It may not be fair to call it a smear campaign,” Bertrand determined. “However, the blatant lack of balance could reasonably lead one to perceive some degree of bias.”
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.
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.”
“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.”
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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