Alberta
Line 3 replacement helps Native American community curb poverty, says Indigenous business owner
‘We wanted to let other people know that all the Native Americans don’t oppose the pipeline’
Article from the Canadian Energy Centre
Written by Deborah Jaremko
On the White Earth Reservation in northwest Minnesota, Matt Gordon takes great pride that his family’s Native American-owned construction company is able to help workers support their families in a region where 21 per cent of the population lives in poverty.
Gordon Construction is working on Enbridge’s Line 3 Replacement Project, and that ongoing work is helping provide vital jobs and income for a region that has seen its share of struggles.
The company has over 150 employees, 60 of whom are recognized federally as Native Americans, Gordon says. Of the other 90 employees, many are married to a Native American member, supporting a Native American family, or living on the reservation.
“All that money stays on the reservation. One guy that works or one lady that works, they take care of not only their children or their significant other or spouse, they take care of their aunt or their grandma. It’s a big web is what they take care of,” he says.
“These are union jobs for a lot of these people. You get hours built up and good health insurance. You don’t have to go to Indian Health anymore. You have a retirement after you’re vested and you have a sustainable income.”
Activist hypocrisy
After anti-pipeline activists wreaked havoc on a worksite earlier this month, Gordon and five fellow Native American business leaders working on Line 3 released a joint letter calling out activists in part for “intentionally creating a false narrative that there is no Native American support for this project and the economic impacts and opportunities it brings to our people.”
The work of Native Americans employed by Gordon Construction and other companies were disrespected and put on hold when protestors descended on the work site, claiming to be defending the environment and Indigenous rights.
“They ended up not only damaging our equipment, they put gravel in our fuel tanks, in our hydraulic tanks, flattened all the tires. They essentially took that place over for almost 24 hours. They just left garbage everywhere,” Gordon says.
“It’s a touch of irony how these people are coming in to say they’re there for the environment, but then it’s just total chaos and anarchy and then they leave a mess. It took three days for that place to be cleaned up before we could go back to work.”
Gordon says the letter was also a reminder that there’s not universal opposition to Line 3 from Native Americans.
“We wanted to let other people know that all the Native Americans don’t oppose the pipeline,” Gordon says.
“It’s a good thing all the way around up in the northwest Minnesota corridor.”
Early advocate for Line 3
From his office window in the small town of Mahnomen, where his family has been for generations, Gordon often sees oil trains rolling by. It’s an ongoing reminder of both the power of U.S. oil demand and the risks of transportation without pipelines.
“We see oil coming up and down every day. It’s not going to stop just because one pipeline shuts down,” he says. “Pipelines are indisputably safer.”
Gordon was an early advocate of the Line 3 project, having previously worked with owner Enbridge including doing pipeline integrity digs for safety inspection on the existing pipeline.
“Essentially they have a structure set up on safety and environmental similar to that of working for the government, but I would say it’s even more stringent,” he says.
“My big thing of it is that they are a fair company. They work with you and they’re not trying to bankrupt you or make you lose money. They want you to succeed because if you’re a success, they’re a success.”
Benefits in Mahnomen
Mahnomen County, inside the White Earth Reservation, has the lowest per capita income in Minnesota. It’s about $21,000 per year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Gordon says that working pipelines, community members are able to make much more.
“You’re looking at guys that are working 60 hours a week, anything after eight hours a day is overtime, and all these guys are bringing home $2,500, $3,000 a week, which is huge to a lot of people in the community. Pretty proud of that fact.”
In addition to its contracts on the new Line 3, Gordon Construction is looking forward to supporting decommissioning and reclamation of the existing pipeline.
“Not only are we working now, but we’ll be working in the future when they’re doing the decommissioning of the line and shutting the old line down with final restoration. That’ll be a two to three year project,” Gordon says.
“We’ll have 40 to 60 guys dedicated to the final restoration portion after the line is done. And then you have the decommissioning aspect, and we’re trying to help support that process also.”
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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