Opinion
In 2021 Collicutt Centre, Red Deer’s 4th and last recreational centre will be 20 years old.
2021 will be a pivotal year in Red Deer.
Collicutt Centre will be celebrating it’s 20 anniversary just as the shovels hit the dirt on a new Multi-plex Aquatic Centre.
2001 the Collicutt opened it’s doors for the first time. Red Deer’s population was a hefty 68,308 residents.
1991 Mayor McGhee and council decided it was prudent for Red Deer to have a fourth recreational complex. The population was 58,252 residents and a recreational centre for every 15,000 was the established goal.
2001 Red Deer’s fourth recreational centre opened to a population ratio of a recreational centre for every 17,077 residents. Already behind the target.
There was as recently as last year that the ratio of 1 indoor ice rink per 15,000 was established as determined for recreational complexes. With that in mind we should have built one in 2004 when the population was at 75,923. Giving us 5 recreation centres or 1 for every 15,000 residents as was deemed appropriate. Then again in 2010 when our population was 90,084 we should have built the 6th recreational complex.
If we followed this reasoning we should be planning on opening our 7th recreational complex because our population is 99,832 according to our last municipal census and if we were to grow at 1,2% annually we should hit 105,000 in 2021.
That did not and will not happen. The best we can hope for is a new Aquatic Centre to open in 2022.
The ideal goal is one for every 15,000 residents but if we build a 5th recreational complex with an indoor pool then we would have to settle for 1 for every 21,000 residents.
A fifth recreational complex north of hwy 11a would service the residents, expand tourism and kick start development north of 11a.
The current thinking is the city will tear down the downtown recreation centre and build the aquatic centre there. Leaving us with only 4 or 1 recreational complex for every 26,125 residents.
Instead of 7 we would be left with 4 for another 20 years.
What do we do? Councillor Tanya Handley has declared that she cannot support building the aquatic centre downtown with poor parking but would support building it as Councillor Frank Wong has been advocating, north of 11a near Hazlett Lake to kick start development. Newcomer Councillor Michael Dawe would consider moving the aquatic centre as would another.
That gives us 4 councillors but with 8 councillors and the mayor voting on the issue in a year, we need the commitment of 5 to ensure a new pool and not just a replacement.
I am asking all councillors and the mayor to commit to building a new aquatic centre north of 11a. Why now?
The city is a bureaucracy that tends to move slowly and in precise steps. It is always too early then it’s too late. We need commitment now so the city can make the necessary adjustments when necessary. Please commit.
Internet
Gov’t memo admits Canadians are shifting to independent news due to distrust of media, not Russian ‘bots’
From LifeSiteNews
A memo from Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs admits that the rise of ‘alternative’ news sources is not due to Russian interference, as some members of the Trudeau Cabinet have claimed, but likely reflects ‘decrease in trust among traditional outlets.’
The explosive growth of Canadians shifting to alternative non-legacy media to obtain their news is not due to Russian “bots,” as some in the government and left-wing media claim, but reflects people’s distrust of entrenched media outlets, at least one government agency admitted.
A memo titled Foreign Interference And Right Wing Politics: The Canadian Context from Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs said that the growth of so-called “alternative and far right ‘news sources’” is not due to Russian bots but is likely due to Canadians’ suspicion of “traditional outlets.”
Analysts put to rest claims made by some far-left media outlets that bots are somehow to blame for the rise of independent news media sites in Canada popular today, which include the Post Millennial, Rebel News, True North, LifeSiteNews, as well as a host of others.
According to foreign interference monitors at the Rapid Response Mechanism office, or RRM Canada, run by the department, “they tried and failed to corroborate allegations that conservative media in Canada were stoked by offshore agents,” according to Blacklock’s Reporter.
“RRM Canada observed no indication of false amplification and assesses the increased popularity of these sources is very likely both organic and domestic in nature,” read the memo.
The memo stated that the while the nature of the content is “domestic, the move away from traditional news sources may indicate a decrease in trust among traditional outlets among right leaning Canadians.”
“No such increased popularity has been observed among alternative or far left media outlets,” noted the memo.
The memo noted that sites such as the Rebel News Network had a larger social media footprint than established outlets such as the National Post or the Globe & Mail.
When looking to find claims that foreign agents were behind the rise of alternative media, the RRM analysts found no evidence that this is the case.
“Articles in The National Observer and Press Progress have made claims that conservative political discussions on social media are driven by inauthentic automated accounts, i.e. bots,” read the memo.
“While these stories are not necessarily inaccurate, Rapid Response Mechanism Canada notes foreign interference and covert influence campaigns exploit narratives from across the political spectrum.”
The memo of note was filed with counsel for Canada’s ongoing Commission on Foreign Interference.
Overall, the memo contradicted claims made by the cabinet of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that Russian agents were the ones increasing messaging critical of the government.
In 2020, Canada’s then-Public Safety Minister and now-Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc quipped to reporters that “Trolls and bots are dispatched to stoke anxiety and in some cases inflame debate around sensitive issues,” saying, “Their main goal is chaos.”
“We have seen how hostile state and non-state actors use information technologies to manufacture reality,” he claimed, adding, “Fake news not only masquerades as the truth, it masquerades as legitimate political debate.”
Canadian figures who are critical of the Trudeau government have been accused of being bankrolled by Russia. As reported by LifeSiteNews, Dr. Jordan Peterson recently demanded an apology from Trudeau after the Canadian prime minister accused him of being funded by Russian state media.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, Trudeau claimed U.S. media personality Tucker Carlson and Peterson are being funded by the state media outlet Russia Today. He also blamed Russia for “amplifying the chaos” surrounding the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests.
Trudeau made the claim last Wednesday under oath during testimony at the Foreign Interference Commission after he was asked about Russia’s alleged role in the Freedom Convoy.
The Foreign Interference Commission was convened to “examine and assess the interference by China, Russia, and other foreign states or non-state actors, including any potential impacts, to confirm the integrity of, and any impacts on, the 43rd and 44th general elections (2019 and 2021 elections) at the national and electoral district levels.”
Business
Canada’s chief actuary fails to estimate Alberta’s share of CPP assets
From the Fraser Institute
By Tegan Hill
Each Albertan would save up to $2,850 in 2027—the first year of the hypothetical Alberta plan—while retaining the same benefits as the CPP. Meanwhile, the basic CPP contribution rate for the rest of Canada would increase to 10.36 per cent.
Despite a new report from Canada’s chief actuary about Alberta’s potential plan to leave the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and start its own separate provincial pension plan, Albertans still don’t have an official estimate from Ottawa about Alberta’s share of CPP assets.
The actuary analyzed how the division of assets might be calculated, but did not provide specific numbers.
Yet according to a report commissioned by the Smith government and released last year, Alberta’s share of CPP assets totalled an estimated $334 billion—more than half the value of total CPP assets. Based on that number, if Alberta left the CPP, Albertans would pay a contribution rate of 5.91 per cent for a new CPP-like provincial program (a significant reduction from the current 9.9 per cent CPP rate deducted from their paycheques). As a result, each Albertan would save up to $2,850 in 2027—the first year of the hypothetical Alberta plan—while retaining the same benefits as the CPP. Meanwhile, the basic CPP contribution rate for the rest of Canada would increase to 10.36 per cent.
Why would Albertans pay less under a provincial plan?
Because Alberta has a comparatively younger population (i.e. more workers vs. retirees), higher average incomes and higher levels of employment (i.e. higher level of premiums paid into the fund). As such, Albertans collectively pay significantly more into the CPP than retirees in Alberta receive in benefits. Simply put, under a provincial plan, Albertans would pay less and receive the same benefits.
Some critics, however, dispute the estimated share of Alberta’s CPP assets (again, $334 billion—more than half the value of total CPP assets) in the Smith government’s report, and claim the estimate understates the report’s contribution rate for a new Alberta pension plan and overestimates the new CPP rate without Alberta.
Which takes us back to the new report from Canada’s chief actuary, which was supposed to provide its own estimate of Alberta’s share of the assets. Unfortunately, it did not.
But there are other rate estimates out there, based on various assumptions. According to a 2019 analysis published by the Fraser Institute, the contribution rate for a new separate CPP-like program in Alberta could be as low as 5.85 per cent, while AIMCo’s 2019 estimate was 7.21 per cent (and possibly as low as 6.85 per cent). And University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe has pegged Alberta’s hypothetical rate at 8.2 per cent.
While the actuary in Ottawa failed to provide any numbers, one thing’s for certain—according to the available estimates, Albertans would pay a lower contribution rate in a separate provincial pension plan while CPP contributions for the rest of Canada (excluding Quebec) would likely increase.
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