This episode, Jim and Jeremy speak with participants in an ongoing 40-day fast for Gaza about the present situation in Palestine, organizing back here in Edmonton, and the difficult task of grappling with power from a disempowered position.

The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) has received an overwhelming strike mandate of 95 per cent from its membership, but it’s unclear if or when teachers will proceed with job action. 

ATA president Jason Schilling announced the results of the vote, which occurred from June 5 to 8 with a turnout of 76 per cent, in an online Tuesday afternoon news conference. 

Schilling said that teachers’ strong strike mandate sends “an unmistakable message.”

For the workers who may soon have to contend with lockouts or a protracted strike, Alberta’s deteriorating labour peace signals a lot of incoming stress. But for the general public frustrated with a UCP government shrugging off all public opposition, it presents an opportunity.

If the UCP government is concerned about the age appropriateness of books in school libraries, then it should ensure school boards have the funding necessary to hire more teacher-librarians, the head of Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) says.

Last week, Minister of Education Demetrios Nicolaides announced that the provincial government will establish stricter guidelines about what books can be in school libraries by September, claiming that a group of concerned parents approached him with a list of “incredibly inappropriate” books they had found in Edmonton and Calgary public schools. 

Belligerence from the provincial government and growing partisanship at the municipal level are set to make Edmonton’s upcoming municipal election messy. But Ward Métis councillor Ashley Salvador, who announced her independent candidacy for reelection last week, points to first-term accomplishments that she believes will convince constituents to keep her on the job.

We’ve been far from labour peace for months now in Alberta, and the conflict is about to escalate again. Eight of the largest locals with the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) have voted to strike.

Locals 001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 009 and 012 represent a significant fraction of Government of Alberta employees, including admin staff, correctional services workers, health-care workers. Their support for the strike was overwhelming. Eighty per cent of their members voted, says AUPE, and the strike measure got over 90% support.

“Going on strike is not a certainty. Our strike vote is valid for the next 120 days, but your bargaining committee’s primary focus is reaching a good deal at the bargaining table,” reads an update AUPE sent to its membership on Monday.

Expect to see AUPE demonstrate in the near future that these members aren’t just willing to strike, but logistically ready, too, by flexing their muscle at demonstrations like this week's rally at the Regional Hospital in Red Deer.

The Law Enforcement Review Board (LERB) has ruled that a Calgary cop who received a reprimand for repeatedly using racial slurs was disciplined appropriately, even as it acknowledged that the allegations against him were “not only watered down,” but entirely shorn of substance. 

In August 2021, Const. Gareth Clarke wrote a letter to then-Calgary police chief Mark Neufeld outlining three occasions in which his colleague Const. Andrew Fuhrman used the n-word.

Another key player on Edmonton city council has announced their plans for the upcoming municipal election: Ward O-Day’min councilor Anne Stevenson will be seeking re-election.

The dominant narrative in Canadian politics right now is one of unity—an appeal to rally around the flag in the face of Trump’s ongoing trade war. But things are a little different in Alberta. Here, it seems like everyone wants to talk about splitting up: corporate media has published a flurry of articles recently on separatism on the right, and in the other direction, the Alberta NDP just voted to divorce from their federal party.

A GoFundMe in support of deposed Alberta Health Services (AHS) CEO Athana Mentzelopoulos is providing a platform for several prominent doctors and politicians to continue their criticism of the UCP’s “CorruptCare” procurement scandal.

Wednesday’s hybrid event at the west Edmonton Days Inn featured remarks from Dr. Joe Vipond of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, former deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk, past Alberta Medical Association president Dr. Paul Parks and former medical lead for the AHS Indigenous Wellness Core Dr. Esther Tailfeathers.