The UCP choose the nuclear option versus teachers in strike-breaking legislation

If you don’t get to this newsletter until Tuesday morning, by the time you’re reading this the UCP’s strike-breaking Back To School Act has probably already passed.

That’s because Smith’s people used what are called ‘time allocation’ motions in the Legislature Monday to restrict debate on the law to just one hour.

The Legislature gallery was packed with teachers, parents, and students that afternoon, but the NDP opposition won’t be allowed to tell many of their stories—at least not on the Legislature floor.

The federal NDP leadership race is on, and with the recently-harrowed federal party's strongest remaining power base right here in Alberta this may be a very Alberta-focused campaign. Former Alberta environment minister Shannon Phillips joins us on the pod to talk about the lore you'll need to understand this race—the lingering resentment over candidate Avi Lewis's attempt to introduce the LEAP manifesto at the 2019 Alberta NDP convention.

Lisa Johnson and Jack Farrell writing for the Canadian Press broke a major story last Thursday, and it’s grim news.

The Smith government knows that three anti-trans laws they’re pushing—a law that will restrict access to gender-affirming care, a law that will ban trans girls from girls’ sports, and a law that will restrict when kids can choose to go by different names or pronouns—violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Alberta Bill of Rights. So Smith’s regime is  going to invoke the Notwithstanding Clause.

After a messy launch in late August, the UCP have tightened the official scope of their book ban—according to them, back to the graphic novels they initially said they wanted to keep out of school libraries.

But the goalposts may shift again soon enough, as the ministerial order as written doesn’t even seem to apply to the texts that the UCP have declared as their targets.

The monkey’s paw has curled for Danielle Smith: there’s finally a genuine conflict of interest between Canada’s west and east, and all she has to do to be on Team Alberta is argue that you deserve a cheaper electric car.

Almost one in five children in Alberta live in poverty, according to the latest annual child poverty report from Public Interest Alberta (PIA) and the Edmonton Social Planning Council.

The report uses data from the Centre for Income and Socioeconomic Well-being Statistics, which uses tax filer data to determine the rate of poverty for different family types, rather than the typical market basic measure, which has a more limited sample size that is harder to break down regionally. 

In 2022, the latest year for which data on child poverty is available, 189,940 children in Alberta, or 18.2%, lived in poverty, meaning they face “inequities in accessing the conditions they need in order to thrive mentally, physically, and socially.” For children under six, the poverty rate is even higher at 19.2%.

At the beginning of this year, MacEwan University began implementing sweeping surveillance efforts targeting anti-genocide student demonstrators who were placed under investigation for what appears to be their political speech, according to documents obtained through FOIP.

This heightened surveillance directly involved top MacEwan executives and came immediately after the university fired its security director.

“It’s unsettling because you, as a student, cannot even feel safe on your own campus,” said Nour Salhi, one of the students targeted for surveillance. “You’re walking the halls with a sense of paranoia because you don’t know who’s involved—and that’s exactly what they want. It’s very much a clear attempt to intimidate students, to scare them.”

After reviewing the FOIP documents, Salhi and two other MacEwan students—Eve Aboualy and Abraar Alsilwadi—described MacEwan’s actions as a form of psychological warfare. “It’s like they want us to feel hopeless and powerless,” Alsilwadi said.

For months, Premier Danielle Smith has been teasing the idea of a referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada. Volunteer canvassers are gearing up to collect the thousands of signatures needed to call the question, and a notable conservative is leading the campaign.

But wait—he’s referending in the other direction?

The public spent more than $19,000 for Premier Danielle Smith to travel to Florida in March to speak at a fundraiser for right-wing, fossil fuel-funded non-profit PragerU, according to the government’s travel expense disclosures. 

On March 27, the premier spoke at PragerU’s East Coast Gala, which she subsequently described as a “great time.” With ticket prices starting at $1,500 USD, the event raised well over $1 million for PragerU, according to journalist Geoff Diembicki.

It was Smith’s second trip to Florida in three months after visiting President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in January, which the CBC reported cost taxpayers more than $10,000 CAD—little more than half of what the Premier’s Office spent to fundraise for PragerU.

Media coverage of Christian nationalist activist, preacher and musician Sean Feucht’s Canadian tour, which has seen several scheduled performances cancelled, has described Feucht as a “Christian musician” or “MAGA performer,” often alluding to his “controversial views.” 

Seldom highlighted are Feucht’s associations with far-right extremist groups, including an organization listed as a terrorist entity in Canada, or allegations of abuse and financial impropriety from former followers, including one who alleges Feucht pressured him into smuggling undeclared merchandise through Canadian customs.