Alberta

Alberta


Alberta premier and education minister had private meeting with groups behind push to ‘conservatize’ Alberta school boards and ban LGBTQ books

Alberta’s premier and education minister held a private meeting in February to discuss school funding and education policy.  Documents released through an access to information request show that attendees included a number of right-wing think tanks and groups involved in a campaign to “conservatize” Alberta school boards, as well as private and religious school associations. […]

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Alberta introduces bill to reduce child access to sex images in public libraries

The Alberta government introduced legislation Thursday to ensure children won’t be able to access sexually graphic images in books at public libraries. Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams stressed at a news conference that the government isn’t banning books. He held up a page of a graphic novel with a sexually explicit example of the images […]

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Cochrane makes changes after audit finds serious issues

COCHRANE – Cochrane is making changes after a third-party audit uncovered serious confidentiality breaches. Investigative Risk Management (IRM) found unauthorized access to closed meeting recordings, the improper sharing of legally privileged information, and major failures in records management among senior staff and some council members. According to a summary of the investigation, concerns about records […]

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RCMP make arrest, urge people to be wary of cold calls offering phone upgrades

RCMP in Alberta are warning people to be careful if they get a call out of the blue asking them if they want to upgrade their phone. Police say fraudsters are cold calling people asking if they want an upgrade. They say it all sounds very legitimate and the fraudsters will try to pry personal […]

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Third recall petition against Alberta politicians comes up short, another withdrawn

A third recall petition against a member of Alberta’s legislature has failed, while another has been withdrawn. Casey Klein says her campaign against United Conservative Party backbencher Nolan Dyck gathered just over 1,000 signatures, roughly 10 per cent of what was needed by Thursday’s deadline. Klein, a resident of Grande Prairie, about 460 kilometres northwest […]

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Search Alberta oil and gas company municipal tax arrears

The IJF has identified nearly 600 Alberta companies responsible for millions of dollars of municipal tax arrears and unpaid leases to landowners. Unpaid oil and gas property taxes have created an increasingly large burden for local governments in Alberta. Rural municipalities reported companies owed $81 million in cumulative tax arrears in 2018. As of the […]

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Calgary schools approve use of heavily vetted AI tools for learning

Though many AI tools have been approved for use in Calgary’s schools, robots won’t be teaching the city’s students. Both the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) and Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD), have approved the use of AI tools for teachers, citing the technology’s ability to rapidly personalize texts and create engaging lessons. In a […]

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Massive Edmonton care home battling mice infestation, droppings

Alberta’s Opposition is calling for action and more transparency in the wake of a prolonged mouse infestation at one of Edmonton’s biggest long-term care homes. Covenant Health, along with Assisted Living Minister Jason Nixon, declined requests from The Canadian Press to provide the most recent health inspection report for the Edmonton General Continuing Care Centre, […]

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Free-to-use Calgary startup Foqos aims to build healthy phone habits

If creating boundaries between you and your smartphone is on the list of New Year’s resolutions, a Calgary software developer might be able to offer support. In late 2024, Ali Waseem felt stuck with the endless options and distractions social media presents. Now, one year later, his idea has helped more than 50,000 people kick […]

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Major procedural changes set in motion for Crowsnest Pass council

Crowsnest Pass municipal council has opened the door to major procedural changes, voting to draft amendments to its meeting bylaw that could affect how the public speaks to council, how meetings are scheduled and how councillors receive correspondence. The discussion took place during the Nov. 25 regular council meeting, where Coun. Doreen Johnson asked council […]

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Adding Alberta health-care numbers to licences increases fraud risk: privacy watchdog

Alberta’s privacy watchdog is raising concerns about the government’s plan to add health-care numbers to driver’s licences and other forms of identification. Information and privacy commissioner Diane McLeod said it would increase the risk of fraud as the numbers could be obtained outside of health-care settings. “Personal health numbers of Canadians are a sought-after commodity […]

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Company lobbying Alberta on AI integration in digital IDs and traffic lights

From cryptocurrency markets to digital ID to AI controlled traffic lights, a little-known company is lobbying the Alberta government on a host of policies. Bryan Burns, CoinCorp Corporation’s director, registered as a lobbyist for the company in Alberta on Nov. 17. The lobbying filing shows CoinCorp plans to communicate with the government about incorporating AI […]

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