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Treaty rights, ID hurdles top concerns for First Nations voters

Written on . Posted in Civic & Government.

For some Piikani and Kainai members, the Oct. 19 referendum raises a question that isn’t on the ballot: what a provincial vote can mean for treaties signed with Canada.

For others, the harder question is whether they can prove who they are at the polls.

Both concerns came up Aug. 29, when about 30 members of the two First Nations gathered at the Fort Macleod community centre for a referendum information session billed as a chance to “be informed, be heard.”

Organizer Nicole Crowshoe Johnston’s main goal was getting First Nations voters registered and encouraging attendees to request mail-in ballots. The last day to do so is Friday, Sept. 25.

Johnston and guest speaker Stephen Carter urged a No vote on the referendum’s nine policy questions.

“Our treaty is with Canada”

One attendee asked how Alberta could enact anything affecting First Nations, “given our treaty is with Canada.”

Carter agreed, saying there “was zero discussion about what First Nations rights would look like in an independent Alberta.”

He said the referendum itself could not count as consulting First Nations.

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The premier’s office disagrees that consultation is required.

“Seven hundred thousand Albertans signed petitions asking for a referendum on this issue. The referendum question does not trigger any duty to consult,” Sam Blackett, press secretary to the premier, said in a statement to Shootin’ the Breeze.

First Nations have already taken the argument to court. Johnston said they could not rely on a few chiefs to push back against the independence movement.

“We need to stand behind the chiefs,” she said, referring to court action by the Chiefs of the Blackfoot Confederacy over treaty rights and the Crown’s duty to consult.

On May 13, the Court of King’s Bench sided with Piikani, Siksika, the Blood Tribe and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, quashing the chief electoral officer’s decision on Mitch Sylvestre’s separation petition on treaty rights and duty-to-consult grounds.

The province and Sylvestre appealed. The Alberta Court of Appeal granted a partial stay allowing signature verification to continue. On July 24, Elections Alberta declared the petition successful, with 222,597 verified signatures, more than the 177,732 required.

Normally, a successful petition on a constitutional question goes to the justice minister, who must refer it to cabinet for a referendum before the next provincial election. Elections Alberta says those steps are on hold pending direction from the Court of Appeal.

Sylvestre’s petition asked: “Do you agree that the Province of Alberta should cease to be a part of Canada to become an independent state?”

Poster for Pincher Creek Chamber’s 31st Annual Awards of Excellence on October 23, 2026. Ticket prices and event details are listed, with a link for tickets at PincherChamber.ca/tickets.

That question is not on the Oct. 19 ballot.

Question 10, which is on the ballot, is not a vote to separate.

It asks whether Alberta should remain a province, or whether the provincial government should begin the constitutional process required to hold a later, binding referendum on separation.

Johnston said that even if the separation question were overturned, the Oct. 19 vote and its other questions will go ahead.

Proving who you are

Several attendees described difficulties with recent changes to Alberta’s ID and driver’s licence rules. One man said his federally issued Indian Status card was not recognized when he sought a provincial ID card.

Others cited new costs including a $100 fee to replace an expired licence, plus the expense of obtaining birth certificates and marriage licences, especially for those who had lived in other provinces or the United States.

Attendees also shared practical help. One pointed to the ID program at Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge. According to Alberta Health Services, it runs Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to noon, helping homeless, at-risk and recently housed people, as well as others served by AHS programs, get Alberta ID and health cards.

Another said people living on reserves can get help proving their identity at home. Elections Alberta’s voter brochure confirms that voters on a reserve or settlement can have an attestation filled out by “a person in a position of authority,” such as a chief or chair, office administrator or elder, who can confirm their identity and where they live.

Johnston urged attendees to request mail-in ballots to avoid long lines, and volunteers with laptops helped people register on the spot.

“Who might be next”

Other worries went beyond the ballot box.

One senior who shares a Calgary rental with two grandchildren in post-secondary studies said the family pays $3,500 a month for rent and utilities.

“On my pension, it’s a real struggle to cover food and other basic expenses,” she said. “Even getting food from the food bank is tough as it is often old and mouldy.”

Another attendee raised Question 4, which asks: Assuming that all Canadian citizens and permanent residents continue to qualify for public health care and education as they do now, do you support the Government of Alberta charging a reasonable fee or premium to individuals with a non-permanent immigration status living in Alberta for their and their family’s use of the health care and education systems?

She said that if Albertans vote to charge immigrants for health care, Indigenous people could be next, citing relatives in the United States who became homeless after being unable to pay for care.

“When we start excluding people from services based on race, we have to be careful of who might be next,” Carter said.

Who ran the session

Johnston is a Calgary resident who describes herself as a community advocate with roots in Piikani Nation.

Ace of spades card on ad for Chase the Ace at the Pincher Creek Legion

She is inspired by Tania Cameron, an Anishinaabe woman from Ontario who launched First Nations Rock the Vote in 2015. Cameron announced on Facebook Sept. 2 that Treaty 8 had hired her to educate members and mobilize communities for the Alberta referendum.

Carter has managed campaigns across the political spectrum, including for former Wildrose leader Danielle Smith, former premier Alison Redford and Calgary mayors Naheed Nenshi and Jyoti Gondek. He recently launched Alberta’s Voice. The registered third-party advertiser has raised more money than any other referendum campaign to stay in Canada.

Carter’s slogan sums up his position: Stay in Canada. Vote No to the Nine.

Though the session was promoted as a chance to receive information, Carter urged a No vote on all nine yes-or-no questions rather than explaining each one.

“If any option takes three lines to express, vote against it,” he told the audience, a line he returned to several times.

“I don’t trust Danielle Smith to do it right,” Carter said. “The nine questions remove us from Canada. They are separation questions under the guise of other topics.”

Blackett said the questions grew from the government’s Alberta Next town halls, and that “Albertans’ frustrations have been fuelled by the last 10 years of disastrous policies from Ottawa under Justin Trudeau that hurt Alberta’s economy and broke the immigration system.”

“During the Alberta Next town halls, Albertans made it clear that the status quo cannot continue. Albertans have demanded real change, and these nine questions are how we deliver it,” he said.

“Our government has been clear: we support a strong and sovereign Alberta within a united Canada. This means Alberta remaining a province of Canada while advancing provincial autonomy and fighting to undo Ottawa policies that harm Albertans and intrude on our constitutional rights.”

How to vote

The referendum is Oct. 19. Voters can cast ballots in person on voting day, at an advance poll, or by mail-in special ballot.

Special ballots must be requested by Sept. 25 and received by Elections Alberta by Oct. 16.

All 10 questions, and information on requesting a special ballot, are on Elections Alberta’s website at elections.ab.ca.

Related stories

‘Historic victory’ for Piikani as court quashes separatist petition

Piikani Nation welcomes court’s pause of separation referendum process

Treaty chiefs protest separatism at legislature rally

Alberta Separation | Independence | Bill 54, Citizen Initiative Act, Duty To Consult, First Nations, Referendums, Treaty Rights, Voter Identification, Voter Registration

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Opinion: Rules for thee, but not for me, on citizen petitions

Written on . Posted in Opinions.

Submission from Allan Garbutt, Cowley

 

Let me get this straight.

Our premier and her government claim to believe in direct democracy. That is, they will do what the people ask them to do. The citizen petitions and subsequent referendums seem to be an example of this.

For those items that do not generate petitions, I presume the government will use their opinion polls to determine where the voters stand on various issues. Then, they can take those positions to referendums as well. Or, at least they can pass laws that reflect the sentiment uncovered in the various surveys.

Reality looks a bit different.

Few Albertans appear to want an Alberta Pension Plan. At least that’s what I take from the numbers various journalists ultimately pried out of the mislabelled black box called Freedom of Information — not!

But, we are going to have a chance to vote on both issues in October. After, I might add, the government has had several months to put out their views on the issues. Anyone opposed to the government view will, of course, have to fund their own campaign.

I do not know anyone who understands how the government can run ads in Ontario and elsewhere asking people to move to Alberta, and then get upset when lots of people come to Alberta. Nor do I understand how those arrivals can be blamed for the fact that our infrastructure and services, from schools to roads to hospitals, can not keep up with the influx.

It takes about 10 years to build a full-service hospital, and several years to recruit the staff for the new facility. Our UCP government has not built a new hospital in over a decade. Indeed, a couple of years ago they cancelled the only one in planning. They have also created all kinds of uncertainty about working conditions for any health-care professionals who might want to come to Alberta.

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Our shortages are not due to people moving to Alberta, but to a government that is allergic to planning for the easily foreseeable results of their policies.

And when there is a petition that opposes government ideas (see the Water Not Coal project), petitioners find an ever-expanding list of barriers erected. When the initial manoeuvres fail, the government suddenly finds “procedural” reasons to avoid putting the very clear position to a referendum.

If, on the other hand, you are pushing a position the government likes (see the separatists), all kinds of adjustments can be made to ensure the petition goes forward. And when progress is stalled by the inconvenient truth that the whole idea is unconstitutional, the blame is placed on the judge who read the law and said no. There is no blame for the petitioners or the government who failed at the most basic task of reading and following the legally defined route.

But none of that should be a surprise when the separatists’ lawyer has been in trouble with the Law Society several times. The same can be said of a government that seems to make a habit of appointing ministers of justice who run afoul of legal and ethical boundaries.

Overall, the impression one gets is of “rules for thee, but not for me.” Perhaps we should go for real change and elect representatives who actually represent the majority of voters, not the small group who are currently in power.

At least that is how I see it.

 

 

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Alberta Separation | Independence | Bill 54, Citizen Initiative Petitions, opinion, Referendums, Water Not Coal Petition

Graphic with the text "Municipal News from the Town of Pincher Creek" on the left, featuring an image of a large statue of blue pincers in a flower bed.

Town considers funding women’s shelter as province cuts $60,000

Written on . Posted in Civic & Government, Health & Wellness.

Pincher Creek town council is considering ways to support the Pincher Creek Women’s Emergency Shelter Association after the organization warned a provincial funding reduction could force service cuts and leave more women and children without access to safe shelter.

During a June 8 presentation to town council, a delegation from the shelter asked municipal leaders to advocate to the provincial government for the restoration of funding removed under Alberta’s new Emergency Family Violence Services program.

Council has not yet made a decision, but Mayor Wayne Oliver said the matter is expected to return to council for discussion on how the municipality should proceed.

According to PCWESA, it is one of 13 rural Alberta shelters that received a five per cent cut to their operating funding under the new provincial program, announced May 19. The reduction translates to roughly $60,000 — money already allocated in the shelter’s budget before the cut was announced.

“This funding cut means job losses, people being turned away, not having access to safe supports,” executive director Lori Van Ee told Shootin’ the Breeze in a previous interview. “We are already underfunded and to receive a five per cent cut from our budget is huge.”

The cuts are set to take effect July 1, midway through the fiscal year for most shelters, after operating budgets were already approved and staffing commitments made.

Tanya Matthews, treasurer of PCWESA, told council the timing made the situation especially difficult, because the government controls exactly how shelter funds are allocated — meaning the shelter cannot simply shift money between categories to absorb the shortfall.

“The government dictates where the money goes within the shelter, so we can’t just move money around to pay bills and pay staff,” Matthews said.

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The shelter serves a wide geographic area, providing emergency accommodation for up to 21 days for women and children fleeing domestic and gender-based violence. Its catchment area stretches from Claresholm and Fort Macleod through Brocket, Standoff, Cardston, Pincher Creek and Crowsnest Pass.

Between April 2025 and March 2026, PCWESA received 422 calls for assistance and provided shelter services to 118 women and children, the delegation told council. During the same period, 120 women were turned away due to complex needs the shelter was unable to accommodate.

Adding to the funding concerns is a new mandate from the province directing shelters to prioritize admission for individuals considered to be in “imminent danger.”

Matthews said the government has not provided a clear definition of the term, creating confusion for shelter staff trying to determine who qualifies for services.

The consequence of that ambiguity was demonstrated June 4, just days before the council presentation, when PCWESA was forced to turn away a local woman and her three children.

The family was facing homelessness but did not meet the government’s threshold for imminent danger, because they were not under immediate threat of physical harm from another person, council was told.

“If somebody’s now just facing homelessness, that’s simply not enough,” Matthews said. “The new mandate is aimed at domestic violence. It [applies to] people who are in the threat of actual physical violence, like they could be killed by an intimate partner.”

The federal government, she noted, defines homelessness itself as a severe risk to life and therefore a form of imminent danger — a standard that differs markedly from how the province is now applying the term.

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The shelter’s outreach program, staffed by two employees, currently supports 25 women and 33 children, and served 38 women and 51 children over the past year.

Matthews said this program is critical for preventing crises before they escalate to the point where emergency shelter is required, and warned that cutting it would place additional pressure on policing, health care and social services.

The province’s cuts come one year after the government announced a 10-year strategy to address gender-based violence and provided PCWESA with a one-time funding enhancement of $35,000.

“We actually considered broadening our scope to take vulnerable men, and now this year that plan is completely off the list,” she said.

Province, advocacy group at odds

The Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters has taken the issue to the highest level of the provincial government.

In a May 27 letter to Premier Danielle Smith, ACWS executive director Catherine Champagne and board president Sandy Vander Ziel asked the government to delay implementing the $970,000 in total funding cuts provincewide until the 2027-28 fiscal year. The letter was co-signed by Van Ee and representatives of eight other affected shelters.

The letter warned that without sufficient time to identify alternative revenue sources, the result would be immediate job losses and reductions to core services for women and children seeking safety.

As of June 22, the shelter had not received a response from the premier’s office.

Event flyer for International Credit Union Day at Vision Credit Union on October 15, inviting community members to bring food bank donations in exchange for a wall calendar.

At the local level, Matthews said the impact could be visible on Pincher Creek’s streets. An encampment already exists along Christie Mines Road and women and children turned away from the shelter could end up there.

“We will see more homelessness, more deaths, more crime, more people slipping into addiction,” she said. “It will impact local residents — they might not think it’s their problem now, but it will impact them somewhere.”

Council weighs its options

While the shelter’s primary request was for political advocacy rather than direct financial assistance, the question of whether the town should also contribute money emerged during council discussion.

Mayor Oliver acknowledged the importance of the shelter’s outreach work, describing early intervention as a practical investment in preventing far larger problems down the road.

He suggested one possible path forward would be for each of the six municipalities served by the shelter — Claresholm, Fort Macleod, Cardston, the MD of Pincher Creek, Pincher Creek and Crowsnest Pass — to consider contributing $10,000.

“If each community contributed $10,000, that would take care of the deficit,” Oliver said.

Under the town’s process, any financial contribution would require a formal motion brought before council and passed by a majority vote.

“The town could possibly donate $10,000 if it’s put on the agenda and moved by motion,” he said. “I’m only one person speaking, and seven people have to vote on it.”

Oliver also clarified that a town contribution would not be conditional on other municipalities agreeing to chip in. Whether or not other communities choose to contribute, Pincher Creek council could still decide independently to offer support.

The matter is expected back before council as a request for a decision in the future. Oliver acknowledged timing matters, given the shelter is already mid fiscal year and the $60,000 gap is immediate.

PCWESA plans to make similar presentations to other affected municipalities in the coming weeks.

Beyond financial support, the shelter’s central ask is political: that councils across the region lobby their MLA to reverse the funding cuts, and that they carry the issue forward at the fall municipal convention, where it could be raised more formally with the province.

Matthews said the shelter hopes the town’s backing — whatever form it takes — will signal to other communities that Pincher Creek takes the issue seriously.

“We just wanted council to be aware of what’s happening,” she said. “We would appreciate any funding, of course, but our biggest thing is just making sure that the shelter stays afloat.”

Emergency Family Violence Services Program, Family Violence, Family Violence Prevention, Gender-Based Violence, Homelessness, Municipal Funding, Operational Funding, Rural Shelters, Shelter Funding, Women’s Shelters

Jim Green, a Pincher Creek supporter of Water Not Coal, stands with Corb Lund.

Coal petition delivered, premier says no October ballot

Written on . Posted in Civic & Government, Environment.

Corb Lund’s campaign to halt new coal mining along Alberta’s Eastern Slopes has cleared its threshold, but Premier Danielle Smith says the question won’t appear on the Oct. 19 referendum ballot, despite earlier indications it would.

On June 10, Lund and a group of Water Not Coal supporters unloaded 18 bins of signature sheets from a horse trailer outside the Elections Alberta office in Edmonton. Lund says organizers used the trailer to make a point about who this fight belongs to.

“We got over 205,000,” Lund told Shootin’ the Breeze. “There’ll be a few bad addresses, but we only needed 178,000. That’s a really big buffer. So we’re quite confident.”

Organizers say the four-month signature drive drew support from across the province — from urban centres to rural communities, First Nations and remote areas near the Eastern Slopes.

“It shows that Albertans are very strongly against these coal mines at the headwaters of our rivers,” Lund says. “We got signatures from 84 out of 87 ridings in the province. It was a very wide group of Albertans voicing their opinion.”

For Water Not Coal spokesperson Laura Laing, a rancher and longtime advocate for protecting the Eastern Slopes, the delivery was a milestone.

“It was very heartwarming,” she says. “We kind of wrapped all those months of blood, sweat and tears. It was quite the moment in history, really. One of the biggest moments that I think our province has seen on a grassroots initiative.”

Smith says deadline had already passed

On her June 13 Your Province, Your Premier radio show, Smith said the proposal is a legislative initiative that must be reviewed by a committee before recommendations are made to government.

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During an unrelated press conference four days later, Smith told reporters the coal question will not appear on the Oct. 19 ballot. She said Elections Alberta set a June 1 deadline for the final list of referendum questions and the Water Not Coal verification process could not be completed in time.

Elections Alberta later confirmed to media that the deadline was set to ensure technological readiness, staffing and materials in advance of the referendum, saying each additional question requires 4.9 million ballot sheets.

Smith said the petition will instead be referred to a legislative committee, which will not be assembled until the legislature reconvenes Oct. 27.

“They’ll decide what direction to take with it,” she said. “It could result in a recommendation for a provincewide vote, which would take place in October of 2027.”

Smith also pointed to complications the committee would need to consider: provincial legislation requiring compensation when private property rights are restricted and the 2024 Crowsnest Pass plebiscite.

The premier’s announcement marks a shift from her earlier public position. As recently as April, she told reporters she expected the deadline for adding referendum questions to align with the close of the Water Not Coal signature-collection period.

Justice Minister Mickey Amery‘s office said the government plans “to see this process play out” and wait for the final verified signature count.

Lund disputes the deadline

Lund criticized the decision, saying organizers were not informed of the deadline despite discussions with the premier while the petition campaign was underway.

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“To be told that the petition won’t make the ballot because it allegedly missed a June 1 deadline is unacceptable,” Lund said in a statement following the premier’s comments.

“I personally met with the premier in her office on May 11. We were literally discussing the wording of my question as it should appear on the ballot, face-to-face. And at no point was any June 1 deadline mentioned.”

Smith repeatedly said publicly that if Water Not Coal collected enough signatures, the question would appear on the fall ballot, Lund said.

“My team, all the canvassers and Albertans in general deserve consistency, honesty and fair treatment around these petition and direct-democracy issues that the premier has professed to believe in so strongly, so many times.”

He also argued the government has the authority to add questions to the ballot if it chooses.

“If the premier wants to put something on the ballot, she easily can,” he said. “She has done so multiple times — first with her original nine referendum questions, and then with the current question on separatism. The authority and the choice are available to her. And Albertans deserve to know why that authority was not used in this case, despite more than 200,000 people calling for it.”

Lund also pointed to evidence beyond the petition itself.

“Independent findings from the coal policy review initiated by the former UCP government in 2021 showed more than 80 per cent of Albertans oppose new coal mining on the Eastern Slopes,” he said.

“Those facts, and the overwhelming public support reflected in more than 200,000 signatures, cannot be dismissed by a procedural excuse or an arbitrary deadline that was never communicated.”

On the Crowsnest Pass plebiscite Smith cited, Lund said the comparison was misleading.

“A turnout of roughly 1,700 people in a heavily lobbied local referendum in the Crowsnest Pass that voted in favour of the Grassy Mountain mining project (which is not even in the Crowsnest Pass municipality) does not represent the will of Albertans,” he said.

“More people canvassed for this petition than were even permitted to vote in the Crowsnest Pass plebiscite that the coal companies like to refer to so frequently. The scale of public concern is provincewide, and it cannot be minimized.”

What the petition asks

The petition calls on the provincial government to prohibit new coal mining and exploration anywhere along Alberta’s Eastern Slopes, exempting only mines already in active production as of Jan. 1, 2026.

It specifically names Northback Holdings‘ Grassy Mountain project near the headwaters of the Oldman River in the Crowsnest Pass area and Valory Resources’ Blackstone project in Clearwater County, near the headwaters of the North Saskatchewan River.

The Grassy Mountain proposal was rejected in 2021 by a joint federal-provincial review panel. Held at the time by Benga Mining, the project re-entered the approval process under Northback Holdings, and in May 2025 the Alberta Energy Regulator approved deep-drilling exploration permits.

Industry responds

Northback Holdings and Valory Resources both responded to the petition delivery with statements to CBC News on June 10. The Coal Association of Canada has also been a vocal industry voice during the campaign.

Northback’s strategic communications manager, James Robson, said there is strong support for the Grassy Mountain project “as demonstrated by provincewide external polling which determined that up to 74 per cent of Albertans support it.”

“Further, the 2024 referendum in Crowsnest Pass saw 72 per cent support for the Grassy Mountain project,” Robson wrote.

“If approved, the Grassy Mountain project will produce high-quality steelmaking coal for global markets, provide hundreds of millions of dollars in economic benefits and hundreds of direct jobs, while adhering to the highest environmental standards.”

Ian Black, CEO of Valory Resources, said in a written statement that his company is committed to developing its underground metallurgical coal mine responsibly.

“It is disappointing to see misinformation about this industry, especially in Alberta,” Black said.

Rina Blacklaws, vice-president of industry development for the Coal Association of Canada, told the Western Standard in early June that the petition would put project decisions in “the court of public opinion as opposed to the technical expert review panel at the Alberta Energy Regulator.”

“That can put our province at a disadvantage in attracting private sector investment and realizing the economic and community benefits that come with critical mineral development,” Blacklaws said.

Where things stand

Elections Alberta has until July 2 to complete signature verification.

Lund closed his statement with thanks to the campaign’s supporters:

“I want to thank every Albertan who signed, every volunteer who canvassed, and every community group that stood up to protect our water, mountains and ranchland. Your work matters. We will continue to organize, to demand accountability, transparency and to insist that promises made to the public are kept.”

Citizen-Led Petitions, Coal Mining, Coal Policy, Direct Democracy, Environmental Protection, Public Accountability, Referendums, Water Security

Corb Lund, man with dark hair wearing a cowboy hat with crowd behind him

Water Not Coal petition clears signature threshold

Written on . Posted in Civic & Government, Environment.

Corb Lund’s campaign to halt new coal mining along Alberta’s Eastern Slopes has cleared its threshold. Organizers delivered more than 205,000 signatures to Elections Alberta on June 10, about 27,000 more than the 177,732 signatures required under the Citizen Initiative Act.

Lund and a group of Water Not Coal supporters arrived at the Elections Alberta office in Edmonton with a horse trailer in tow. Eighteen bins of signature sheets were unloaded, marking what they describe as a defining moment in a six-year fight over coal policy in the province.

While Lund says there is a significant buffer between signatures required and collected, Elections Alberta must verify the signatures before the initiative can proceed further.

“We got over 205,000,” Lund says. “There’ll be a few bad addresses, but we only needed 178,000. That’s a really big buffer. So we’re quite confident.”

Organizers say the four-month signature drive drew support from across the province — from urban centres to rural communities, First Nations and remote areas near the Eastern Slopes.

“It shows that Albertans are very strongly against these coal mines at the headwaters of our rivers,” Lund says. “We got signatures from 84 out of 87 ridings in the province. It was a very wide group of Albertans voicing their opinion.”

For Water Not Coal organizers, the delivery marked both a logistical endpoint and an emotional milestone. Spokesperson Laura Laing, a rancher and longtime advocate for protecting the Eastern Slopes, calls the delivery a surreal and emotional moment.

“It was very heartwarming,” she says. “We kind of wrapped all those months of blood, sweat and tears. It was quite the moment in history, really. One of the biggest moments that I think our province has seen on a grassroots initiative.”

The horse trailer was a deliberate transportation choice. Lund says organizers brought it to make a point about who this fight belongs to.

“It was just to show people that rural people care about this,” he says.

Elections Alberta officials accepted the 18 bins, issued an affidavit of receipt and began verification the next morning. The agency, which operates independently of any political party, has 21 days to count and validate the signatures.

Clearing the threshold does not automatically put a coal question on a referendum ballot.

Under the Citizen Initiative Act, a verified legislative proposal goes to the Speaker of the legislative assembly and the government must refer it to a committee that can recommend either legislation or a provincewide vote.

Alberta already has a referendum with 10 separate questions set for Oct. 19; organizers hope a coal question can join it.

However, Premier Danielle Smith has indicated the coal proposal must first proceed through the process outlined in the Citizen Initiative Act before any decision is made on whether it will appear on a ballot.

Speaking on a radio show, Smith said the petition is a legislative proposal that must be reviewed by a committee, which will consult with government officials and make recommendations on how to proceed.

“I looked at the petition and it calls for a legislative proposal, so I have to figure out what that means,” Smith said. “There is a process that’s outlined in the act, and we will follow that process on this one too.”

What the petition asks

The petition calls on the provincial government to prohibit new coal mining and exploration anywhere along Alberta’s Eastern Slopes, exempting only mines already in active production as of Jan. 1, 2026.

It specifically names two proposed developments — Northback Holdings’ Grassy Mountain project near the headwaters of the Oldman River in the Crowsnest Pass area and Valory Resources’ Blackstone project in Clearwater County, near the headwaters of the North Saskatchewan River.

Lund has said both projects are at similar stages in the regulatory process and represent the most immediate potential coal developments on the Eastern Slopes, but has emphasized the petition is deliberately broader.

“We specifically included Grassy Mountain and Blackstone within the wording of the question, because we wanted to be very clear that it includes those two,” Lund has said.

Six years in the making

The campaign’s roots stretch back to 2020, when Alberta’s move to lift long-standing protections on Rocky Mountain coal mining sparked widespread opposition.

The Grassy Mountain proposal was rejected in 2021 by a joint federal-provincial review panel, when the project was held by Benga Mining.

It re-entered the approval process with a modified approach under Northback Holdings rebranding and, in May 2025, the Alberta Energy Regulator approved deep-drilling exploration permits for the site.

Lund’s personal involvement includes meetings with coal lobbyists and company executives, correspondence with government ministers, participation in protests and presentations at regulatory hearings.

The idea for a citizen initiative took shape following a June 2025 town hall in Fort Macleod where Premier Smith encouraged those concerned about coal mining to consider that route. Lund and Water Not Coal organizers filed a notice of intent and received approval, but not without a significant setback.

Legislative interruption

In December 2025, the campaign was thrown into uncertainty when Elections Alberta informed organizers their previously approved petition had been retroactively cancelled following the implementation of Bill 14, provincial legislation that amended Alberta’s citizen initiative framework.

The bill transferred certain decision-making powers from the chief electoral officer to the justice minister and nullified petitions that had not been formally issued before the legislation took effect.

In a Dec. 12 statement, Lund said the cancellation was a serious blow but that organizers used the interruption to sharpen their operations. A new notice of intent was filed Dec. 19 and Elections Alberta confirmed on Jan. 27 that the revised application met legislative requirements.

The formal petition was issued Feb. 10, with the signature collection window running from Feb. 11 to June 10.

Four months on the road

Over the four-month collection period, Water Not Coal mobilized more than 3,000 registered canvassers across the province, staging thousands of signing events at community centres, markets, breweries, ranches, doorsteps and sidewalks.

In the final stretch, Lund conducted what organizers called a last-chance tour running from Lethbridge to Edmonton.

“There were people lined up to sign and say thanks,” Laing says, adding that even people from Crowsnest Pass and the MD of Ranchland supported the petition.

She says the broader human experience of the campaign left its own lasting impression.

“The friendships made along the way are incredible, and just connections to people we wouldn’t have met before,” Laing says. “I think the human experience of this whole thing has been the biggest adventure experience and return on our efforts for sure.”

Support for the campaign was also visible in the Pincher Creek area, which sits close to the proposed Grassy Mountain project. Lund says he received a “very positive” response during a visit to the community earlier in the campaign, noting it was his first time engaging directly with residents there on the coal issue.

A dispute over water

In the final weeks of the campaign, organizers seized on a Northback move they say validates their concerns — a water licence application Northback Holdings filed with the Alberta Energy Regulator. Organizers argue it contradicts the company’s years of assurances that Grassy Mountain would not need additional water from the already stressed Oldman River system.

“They promised for a number of years that they wouldn’t need any of our water, and they’ve just turned around and made an application for a large amount of water,” Lund says. “To me, that’s basically lying.”

Laing, whose ranch operations in southern Alberta have already been affected by drought and tightening water allocations, was equally pointed.

“They say one thing and do another once they’re in,” she says. “As a rancher in the south, I don’t know where this water is going to come from. On our ranch, we’ve had to divest our herd size to accommodate the lack of water. That water needs to be preserved. It’s our No. 1 resource in the province and we can’t be just giving that away.”

At a May 26 presentation to the MD of Pincher Creek council, Northback CEO Mike Young said the company revised its water approach to remove any direct withdrawal from creeks or streams. Instead, operational needs will be met with precipitation captured on-site and water recovered through mine dewatering, stored in dams during rain and seasonal freshet flows.

Young likened the model to storage systems used in Alberta’s irrigation networks and said a water allocation licence is required because the water would be stored and used.

Next steps and objectives

With the petition now in the hands of Elections Alberta, organizers say the next critical step will be determining wording for a potential referendum question. Lund is emphatic that the exact petition wording approved by Elections Alberta be used verbatim.

“We put a lot of time into the wording of our question with lawyers and a lot of thought,” he says. “We insist that the government use our exact wording, because we made it very specific to include the Blackstone project and the Grassy Mountain project.”

Looking beyond a vote, Lund describes a two-part vision of success — strong legislation banning new coal mining on the Eastern Slopes and a level of public awareness durable enough to outlast any future government.

“You could change legislation — even if they make good legislation, some other government can change it down the road,” he says.

“Our goal, in part, with the petition and referendum, is to get enough public discussion on this issue that most Albertans understand how bad an idea this is. If another politician comes along who’s fine with coal at the headwaters of our rivers, they’ll be run out of office.”

For now, organizers say they plan a brief rest before what they expect will be an intense lead-up to a possible fall vote and acknowledge the opposition won’t be quiet.

“The coal industry has become more and more aggressive in their attacks on us,” Lund says. “But they say if you’re getting flak, you’re over the target. They’re feeling the public pressure, definitely.”

 

Alberta Referendum, Citizen Initiative Act, Coal Mining, Eastern Slopes, Resource Development, Water Security

Graphic of a keyboard with a large green button that says "online petition"

Alberta strike fuels national petition on notwithstanding clause

Written on . Posted in Civic & Government, Education.

Teacher leaders across Canada are urging Ottawa to curb the use of the notwithstanding clause in labour disputes after Alberta became the first province to invoke the constitutional provision to end a provincewide teachers’ strike and impose a contract.

The Canadian Teachers’ Federation board of directors has launched a national petition to that end, asking the federal government to repeal or annul future provincial law that uses the clause to strip workers of the right to strike and bargain collectively.

The petition was announced June 2 alongside a joint statement signed by 21 teacher organization leaders representing more than 420,000 teachers and education workers across the country.

The leaders met June 1 in Banff to discuss what they describe as a growing pattern of constitutional overreach and released their joint statement the following day.

The petition, which calls on the federal government to affirm its responsibility to uphold Charter rights across Canada, is open until July 24 and can be found online at ctf-fce.ca.

Speaking at the event, leaders called the governmental overreach a “dangerous practice” that cannot be allowed to continue or become normalized.

“Without the balancing power that court scrutiny provides to individuals and groups of citizens, it is far too easy for governments to abuse their legislative authority and to the detriment of Canadians,” said Clint Johnston, president of the Canadian Teachers’ Federation.

The move follows the Alberta government’s use of the notwithstanding clause last October, when it invoked Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to pass Bill 2, the Back to School Act. This ended a legal provincewide strike by more than 51,000 Alberta teachers and imposed a four-year collective agreement.

Madison Stocker, president of Alberta Teachers’ Association Local No. 14, supports the campaign and the organizations behind it.

“I agree with what was said by the ATA and CTF and I am glad they are continuing to fight to support teachers,” Stocker says.

The strike began Oct. 6, following months of failed negotiations between the Alberta Teachers’ Association and the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association over wages, funding and overcrowded, complex classrooms.

The government introduced Bill 2 during a special legislative session on Oct. 27, 2025, passing it through all three readings in a single day with limited debate.

Teachers were ordered back to work by Oct. 29 and the legislation carried penalties up to $500 per day for individual teachers and $500,000 daily for the union if members participated in future job action.

By invoking the notwithstanding clause alongside the back-to-work legislation, the Alberta government took the rare step of shielding the law from Charter challenges before they could be launched, a move teacher leaders say has set a dangerous precedent.

Jason Schilling, president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, says effects of that decision are still being felt.

“The wounds it leaves behind are real, they’re lasting, but they do not have to be inevitable,” he says. “The message sent to workers is that their rights are somehow conditional, temporary and negotiable when politically convenient.”

Schilling described watching the fallout play out in classrooms and staffrooms across the province, as teachers who had dedicated themselves to their students and communities feeling their commitment was met with disregard.

“Once that trust is broken, rebuilding will take years,” he says. “Morale suffers, relationships fracture, young people begin to question whether public service that supports our communities is worth the sacrifice. Experienced professionals begin to leave.”

The joint statement frames the Alberta situation not as an isolated incident but as part of a broader national trend.

According to the statement, the notwithstanding clause has been invoked more frequently in the past five years to deny human and democratic rights than at any other point in recent memory, including Alberta’s Bill 2 and Bill 9.

Bill 9, the Protecting Alberta’s Children Statutes Amendment Act, was introduced in November 2025 by Premier Danielle Smith and Justice Minister Mickey Amery. The legislation proposed amendments to the Health Statutes Amendment Act, the Education Amendment Act and the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act.

Besides the two Alberta bills, the statement points to two separate uses of the notwithstanding clause in Ontario in 2021 and 2022, Saskatchewan’s Bill 137 in 2023 and Quebec’s use of the clause in 2022.

“When governments invoke the notwithstanding clause to end labour disputes, they are not simply legislating,” the statement reads. “They are telling workers that their rights are conditional and that the Charter protections all Canadians depend upon can be switched off when it is politically convenient to do so.”

Johnston said the petition was prompted specifically by the events in Alberta but stressed the implications reach well beyond one province or one profession.

“If any government is allowed to bulldoze worker rights and tip the bargaining tables in their favour in this way, it will happen again, and it could be any worker in Canada who suffers the consequences of that misuse in the future,” he said.

The federation and its provincial and territorial counterparts are calling on all levels of government to commit to good-faith collective bargaining, pledge not to invoke the notwithstanding clause in the context of labour relations and ensure courts have the opportunity to examine the constitutionality of legislation before the clause is considered.

They are also asking the federal government to take action to review and restrict provincial and territorial use of Section 33 when it is applied to deny citizens’ fundamental democratic and human rights.

The joint statement is explicit that the notwithstanding clause was designed as a safeguard to be invoked only in exceptional and demonstrably justified circumstances, not as a routine tool for governments to bypass the courts during legitimate labour disputes.

“The notwithstanding clause was intended to be used in the most extreme of cases,” Johnston said. “Unfortunately, it is becoming far too common for governments to use Section 33 simply to make legislation stick that they know would not stand up to judicial scrutiny, and that is unacceptable.”

Schilling echoes that warning, saying the consequences of silence on the issue are too great to ignore.

“Rights that can be suspended when they become inconvenient are not rights at all,” he said. “Silence makes this move by governments easier. Our solidarity today makes it harder.”

The presidents of all provincial and territorial teachers’ organizations encourage Canadians who share their concerns to sign the petition before it closes on July 24.

Back To School Act, Charter Rights, Collective Bargaining, Labour Disputes, National Petitions, Notwithstanding Clause, Section 33, Teacher Strike

Silhouette of a woman and girl looking at each other in front of a sunset. Text above says "funding cuts to impact Pincher Creek's Women's Emergency Shelter."

Funding cut raises concerns for Pincher Creek women’s shelter

Written on . Posted in Civic & Government, Health & Wellness.

Alberta’s overhaul of its family violence funding system is prompting concern from the Pincher Creek Women’s Emergency Shelter Association, which says it will see a five per cent reduction in operating funding under the new Emergency Family Violence Services program.

The province says the $62-million program is intended to improve access to services and align funding with demand, while shelters and the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters warn the changes could destabilize already under-resourced organizations in rural areas.

The Pincher Creek Women’s Emergency Shelter Association says the reduction comes as demand for services is rising and operating pressures have not eased after more than a decade without significant funding increases.

Executive director Lori Van Ee says the cut, while appearing small on paper, will have immediate consequences for both staffing and service delivery.

“This funding cut means job losses, people being turned away, not having access to safe supports,” she says. “We are already underfunded and to receive a five per cent cut from our budget is huge.”

Announced May 19, the program is described by the province as a “needs-based” funding model intended to better align resources with geography, community needs and operating costs.

Children and Family Services Minister Searle Turton said the shift is designed to make supports more flexible and accessible.

“Through the Emergency Family Violence Services program, we are making it easier for Albertans to access help in ways that work best for them and their families, while continuing to strengthen existing programs,” Turton said in the province’s announcement.

The program also introduces a provincewide data collection framework to track service demand, capacity and outcomes. It includes a $4-million capital grant pilot over three years to help shelters fund urgent building repairs and safety upgrades.

Province defends shelter funding cuts

According to the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters, more than a dozen shelters across the province have received reductions in their operating funding under the new program, including the Pincher Creek shelter.

Van Ee says the cases the shelter handles are becoming more severe and complex, even as wages have stayed flat for more than a decade. She also points to what she calls a lack of transparency in how the decisions were made.

“Clients not being able to access safe supports, job losses, families being turned away from the shelter,” she says, describing the potential consequences of the funding change.

She says the Pincher Creek shelter was given only six weeks’ notice of the reduction. The province, however, says the new funding model was developed following extensive engagement with shelters and community partners over two years.

In a statement, senior press secretary Chinenye Anokwuru says the updated approach is intended to better match funding with service demand and operating realities across the province.

Anokwuru says any reductions under the new formula were capped at five per cent.

“In fact, 23 women’s shelters, including many rural shelters, received an increase or saw no changes to their funding,” she says.

Acknowledging that some organizations have concerns about the new allocation approach, Anokwuru points to additional funding opportunities available under the program.

“Twelve million dollars is available to support implementation this year. Existing shelter programs and other community and family violence prevention agencies will be able to access funding for new programs and regional collaboration and innovation,” she says.

The ministry also notes that $8 million was provided between 2023 and 2026 to address operational pressures and rising costs, and says the new capital grant is designed to free up operational dollars that shelters have historically spent on building maintenance and repairs.

Sector sounds alarm, urges delay

The ACWS has raised concerns about both the scale and the timing of the changes. In a letter to Premier Danielle Smith dated May 27, the organization asks the government to delay implementing the funding cuts until the 2027-28 fiscal year, giving affected shelters time to adjust their operations and identify alternative sources of revenue.

The letter, signed by ACWS executive director Catherine Champagne, board president Sandy Vander Ziel and Van Ee, along with members of eight other shelters, warns the cuts are set to take effect July 1 — midway through the fiscal year for most shelters — after budgets have already been approved and staffing commitments made.

“After more than a decade without stable increases to operational funding, shelters have little remaining capacity to absorb cuts of this magnitude,” the letter says. “Without sufficient time to secure alternative funding, the result will be immediate job losses and reductions to core services for women and children seeking safety.”

The letter says the impacts will fall disproportionately on rural communities, which already experience higher rates and greater severity of gender-based violence, and that cutting rural shelter capacity would shift the burden onto emergency rooms, RCMP detachments and child intervention services.

“Distance, transportation barriers and lack of local support networks mean that urban services simply cannot fill the gap left by cuts to rural women’s shelters,” the letter reads.

The ACWS says it and affected shelters have been raising concerns with the ministry through established channels since the changes were announced, but have not seen movement toward a solution that will prevent disruption to services.

In total, the letter asks the province to defer $970,000 in cuts across more than a dozen shelters to the 2027-28 fiscal year.

“Such a deferral would give our member organizations time to identify alternative funding sources, adjust their operations responsibly and minimize disruption to critical safety infrastructure for rural Albertans,” the letter adds.

Shelter calls for stable, sustained funding

Van Ee says what rural shelters need is straightforward: stable, predictable funding they can count on year over year, and wages that allow them to recruit and retain qualified staff.

“Regular sustained funding. Increases in funding that we can count on,” she says. “Women and children matter too.”

The ministry says it remains committed to the sector and to ensuring Albertans impacted by family violence can access the safety and support they need.

Emergency Family Violence Services Program, Family Violence, Family Violence Prevention, Gender-Based Violence, Operational Funding, Rural Shelters, Shelter Funding, Women’s Shelters

A piece of blue paper is torn open to reveal the word "APPLICATION" typed in black, all-capital letters on a white background.

Northback water bid contradicts public statements, LLG says

Written on . Posted in Environment.

A water licence application filed by Northback Holdings is drawing sharp criticism from the Livingstone Landowners Group. The group says the application contradicts the coal company’s public statements and raises questions about transparency.

Calling the application filed with the Alberta Energy Regulator to divert water from the Blairmore Creek watershed “premature,” the LLG is urging municipal and provincial leaders to demand full disclosure before any permit is approved. The concerns are tied to the Grassy Mountain coal project, along the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains.

In a letter sent to both the Town and MD of Pincher Creek on April 22, the LLG said Northback’s March 13 application to divert 185,022 cubic metres of water annually from the Blairmore Creek watershed for 25 years is inconsistent with the company’s previous public assurances.

The group pointed to statements on Northback’s website and a Dec. 9, 2025 presentation to council committees, where the company said the project would require no water drawn from rivers and creeks.

In the letter, the LLG also argues the application is being made ahead of a full mine proposal and therefore does not provide sufficient context for regulators or the public to assess the broader environmental implications.

Bobbi Lambright, LLG board member, says the water issue is central to the group’s concerns about how Northback presents information.

“It just doesn’t feel like Northback is being upfront about what their requirements are,” she says. “How do you trust somebody who’s saying one thing to your face and then is going behind your back essentially to ask the regulator for a permit?”

Lambright raises concerns about the scale of the proposed diversion, saying the application seeks to take water from a tributary of Blairmore Creek in an area she describes as already water-constrained.

“If you have a city of between 120,000 to 150,000 people, that’s how much water they would use, and that’s a lot of water from an area that is very water constrained,” she says.

The LLG also takes issue with the timing, saying the application predates any broader environmental assessment or public disclosure of total water requirements.

The group says this prevents regulators and the public from understanding the full project scope, including total water demand, treatment needs and environmental risks.

“There’s no way that this application should even be considered in advance of a formal application for the mine itself,” Lambright says. “You don’t have enough information for people to fairly evaluate what the implications are going to be.”

The LLG also flags that the Oldman River Basin is already fully allocated and has been closed to new licences since 2007.

However, the group says Northback is seeking to access water under a clause in an earlier allocation order that allows for industrial use.

The group argues the company is attempting to secure a significant portion of that allocation without disclosing its full water requirements for the mine or potential cumulative impacts on the watershed.

Lambright questions the data being used in Northback’s submission, saying the application relies on older hydrological information rather than current conditions.

The LLG has raised its concerns with local and provincial leaders with letters sent to the MD of Pincher Creek, the Town of Pincher Creek, Premier Danielle Smith, the minister of energy, the minister of environment and protected areas, and Livingstone-Macleod MLA Chelsae Petrovic.

Lambright said no responses had been received at the time of the interview.

Northback, in a written response, defended the application as part of its broader water management plan. The company says the water application is part of its revised mine design and water management approach, and is required under Alberta’s water allocation system.

“Northback is advancing a revised mine design which will provide significant benefits to Alberta, while operating with the highest environmental standards,” says James Robson, the company’s manager of strategic communications.

He says water contacting the mine site will be captured for use and treated if necessary, and that full details of water management will be included in its integrated environmental assessment application.

“As such, this application is part of Northback’s water use plan and the full details will be available as part of the integrated environmental assessment application.”

The Grassy Mountain coal project has been the subject of long-standing debate in the region, particularly over its potential impacts on water resources in the Eastern Slopes.

The LLG says its position is not only about the current application, but about ensuring complete disclosure of all water requirements before any approvals are considered.

Lambright says the group’s immediate concern is that the Alberta Energy Regulator does not approve the water permit until a full mine application is submitted and reviewed.

Coal Mining, Resource Development, Water allocation, Water Licences

Wooden gavel resting on legal books beside brass scales of justice

‘Historic victory’ for Piikani as court quashes separatist petition

Written on . Posted in Civic & Government.

Piikani Nation is calling a recent Alberta Court of King’s Bench decision a “historic victory” for treaty rights. A May 13 ruling by Justice Shaina Leonard struck down the approval of a citizen-led petition that would have triggered a referendum on Alberta separating from Canada.

Chief Troy Knowlton says the decision affirms that Treaty 7 is a “living, constitutionally protected agreement” that cannot be overridden by a citizen-led initiative or provincial referendum.

Leonard’s decision quashed chief electoral officer Gordon McClure’s approval of the Referendum Relating to Alberta Independence petition, finding he made an error in law that rendered the approval unreasonable.

The court also found the province failed in its duty to consult First Nations, including the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Blood Tribe, Piikani Nation and Siksika Nation, before allowing the process to advance.

In her ruling, Leonard says approval of the petition triggered a legally binding chain of events under Alberta’s Citizen Initiative Act, including a mandatory referendum if enough signatures were verified.

The court found Elections Alberta failed to properly consider earlier judicial findings that a secession proposal would violate treaty rights protected under the Constitution.

The legal backdrop

Leonard’s ruling builds on a Dec. 6, 2025 decision by Justice Colin Feasby, who found a referendum proposal seeking Alberta’s separation would violate treaty rights.

Days later, on Dec. 11, the provincial government amended the Citizen Initiative Act to remove a requirement that referendum proposals be compatible with Charter and treaty rights. A transitional provision applied the change to the existing petition, allowing it to move forward.

Leonard’s ruling casts doubt over the future of the petition.

Stay Free Alberta, the campaign led by Mitch Sylvestre, CEO of the Alberta Prosperity Project, says it had gathered more than 300,000 signatures — well above the roughly 178,000 required to trigger referendum consideration under Alberta’s citizen initiative rules.

The signatures have not been counted. Stay Free Alberta delivered the petition to Elections Alberta on May 4, but the agency was barred from verifying signatures by an interim court injunction issued in April. The boxes remain locked in a secure Elections Alberta facility.

Piikani Nation: Treaty not ‘historical footnote’

For Knowlton, who also serves as president of the Blackfoot Confederacy, Leonard’s ruling validates a position First Nations have maintained from the beginning.

“Treaty 7 is not a historical footnote — it is a living, constitutionally protected agreement that established a nation-to-nation relationship and guaranteed our rights to our lands, our way of life, and our self-determination,” Knowlton says.

“The court has confirmed that those rights cannot be ignored, overridden, or placed at risk by a citizen initiative or provincial referendum.”

He says the ruling makes clear that any attempt to sever Alberta from Canada without proper consultation and accommodation of First Nations rights is “unlawful and unconstitutional.”

He says Piikani Nation “remains committed to protecting our treaty rights through every lawful means available.”

Smith calls ruling ‘anti-democratic,’ vows appeal

The Alberta government says it will appeal the decision.

Premier Danielle Smith, responding to questions at an unrelated press conference on May 13, called the ruling “incorrect in law and anti-democratic,” saying it would deny “well over 300,000 Albertans” the opportunity to have their petition verified.

She says cabinet and caucus will meet to review next steps.

Smith also suggests the ruling raises broader questions about independence movements in Canada and said Alberta would likely seek to continue the legal argument at a higher court.

She maintains the citizen initiative process was designed to be permissive and says the government remains committed to hearing from Albertans.

May 16 appeal

Stay Free Alberta filed its own appeal on May 16. Sylvestre’s lawyer, Jeffrey Rath, says the group will request that the appeal be fast-tracked.

The court filing lists more than a dozen grounds for appeal, including arguments that Leonard erred in finding McClure’s approval unreasonable and in finding that the Crown had a duty to consult in this case.

Opposition tells Smith to accept court decision

Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi welcomes the decision. Calling out Smith directly, he says the ruling exposed her government’s failure to uphold its legal obligations and urges the premier to “accept the court’s decision.”

Nenshi praises the First Nations who led the legal fight, calling them fearless and saying they acted not just for their own communities but for all Albertans and all Canadians.

He says the referendum proposal is “dead” and calls on the premier to abandon any further effort to revive it, warning that pursuing it would be costly and divisive.

“Albertans are proud Canadians and want nothing more than to move on from this and focus on the things that really matter,” Nenshi says.

The petition at the centre of the case asked Albertans: “Do you agree that the Province of Alberta should cease to be a part of Canada to become an independent state?”

It was approved in January, before being challenged in court by First Nations groups over constitutional and treaty concerns.

Alberta Separation | Independence | Bill 54, Citizen Initiative Act, Citizen-Led Petitions, Constitutional Law, Duty To Consult, First Nations, Treaty 7, Treaty Rights

Group of people at grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony

New Blood Tribe recovery centre brings care closer to home

Written on . Posted in Civic & Government, Health & Wellness.

For anyone struggling with addiction, a new recovery community on Blood Tribe land may offer a treatment option closer to home and closer to culture.

The Blood Tribe Iitakamotsiipiohsopi Recovery Community began accepting clients April 20, offering no-cost treatment that combines clinical support with Indigenous traditions, ceremony and community-based healing.

The 75-bed facility is the first of five Indigenous-led recovery communities funded by the province to open this year.

The program creates what the Blood Tribe department of health describes as a circle of care grounded in respect, dignity and connection. This includes Blackfoot teachings and land-based healing along with evidence-based treatment.

“The facility offers a full continuum of care, including prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery,” says Blaire Russell, communications specialist with the department.

The facility is open to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous residents of southern Alberta, and accepts both men and women. At capacity, it is expected to help up to 300 people per year pursue recovery — all at no cost to clients or their families.

Kash Shade (Saakooyinaa), CEO of the Blood Tribe department of health, says the opening marks a turning point for how care is delivered without leaving the first nation.

For nearby Piikani Nation, the facility’s location — roughly 45 minutes away — reduces barriers that have historically limited access to treatment.

Jenna Biollo, communications officer with Aakom Kiyii Health Services, says distance and transportation remain ongoing challenges for many seeking care.

While Piikani Nation offers its own mental wellness and recovery services, she says limited capacity means additional options are still needed.

Beyond proximity, Biollo says culturally grounded care plays a critical role in whether individuals seek and continue treatment.

“They can be guided through our elders,” she says, “whereas if they were to go somewhere in Calgary or Lethbridge for treatment, they’re not going to have that same sort of guidance or that cultural piece to it.”

Eleanor Maund-Stephens, co-owner and manager of Pincher Creek Medical Clinic, says that while the number of local patients requiring residential addiction care is relatively small, the need does exist and the clinic will refer patients to the facility if appropriate.

Information about the new recovery community has not yet reached the clinic through formal government channels so she welcomes more information about the program and how it can support patients in the region.

Filling a gap in southern Alberta

In Blackfoot, Iitakamotsiipiohsopi means a place to recover, and Marcel Weasel Head (Aapao’tokaan), who chairs the Blood Tribe department of health board, says it reflects a long-held community vision.

Health-care advocates and Indigenous leaders say there has been a critical gap, a lack of culturally appropriate, land-based treatment in the region.

The building itself embodies cultural design elements, including an east-facing entrance — consistent with Blackfoot teepee traditions — and a layout intended to foster connection and community among residents.

The Ministry of Mental Health acknowledges Indigenous communities are disproportionately impacted by substance use and says the investment responds directly to that reality.

The province provided $39 million in capital funding and has committed about $5.6 million annually for operations.The facility operates under provincial licensing and quality standards.

“This recovery community represents a true partnership between Alberta’s government and the Blood Tribe,” the ministry tells Shootin’ the Breeze. “Blood Tribe owns the recovery community and is responsible for its management and operation.”

 

A dorm-style room with a desk and chair, wardrobe and single bed

Residents enjoy personal space including a desk.

Photos courtesy of Blood Tribe Department of Health

A room filled with various types of workout equipment

The recovery community has a fitness centre, barber shop, gymnasium, recreation area and bright communal spaces for residents.

Photos courtesy of Blood Tribe Department of Health

Treatment

What sets Indigenous recovery communities apart from other provincially funded treatment centres, the ministry says, is an explicit incorporation of Indigenous ways of healing, knowing and doing.

Residents can stay in the recovery community for up to one year, with support tailored to each individual.

Programming is guided by the Kainayssini (the Blood Tribe Elders Declaration) and rooted in Nipaitapiiyssinni, the Blackfoot way of life. Individuals also receive employment training and tools for long-term recovery after leaving the facility.

Success will be tracked through occupancy and utilization rates, program completion and successful transitions to stable housing and income supports.

Broader provincial investment

Alberta Budget 2026 allocates $29.6 million to open and operate five Indigenous-led recovery communities this year.

In addition to Blood Tribe, facilities are planned for Siksika Nation, Enoch Cree Nation, Tsuut’ina Nation and in Smoky Lake County near Métis Crossing. Together, the five communities will add 375 beds to the provincial addiction treatment system, capable of helping up to 1,500 individuals annually.

The province has invested about $180 million in capital funding across all five sites.

The Blood Tribe facility joins a growing network of recovery communities in Alberta, which includes sites in Red Deer, Lethbridge, Gunn and Calgary.

The Lethbridge Recovery Community, which opened in September 2023, has been the closest option for southern Alberta residents. It does not offer the Indigenous cultural framework now available in Cardston.

Accessing services

Individuals seeking admission to the Blood Tribe Iitakamotsiipiohsopi Recovery Community are encouraged to contact the Blood Tribe Department of Health directly at 403-737-8509, as the nation oversees the application process.

Those experiencing mental health or addiction challenges can also call 211 Alberta, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Addiction Treatment, Blackfoot Culture, First Nations Métis and Inuit | FNMI, Indigenous Health Care, Land-Based Healing, Mental Health And Addiction, Recovery Communities, Rural Health Care

An image of a bookshelf full of books with the text "Public Libraries Respond to Proposed Restrictions" on top.

Public libraries raise concerns over proposed age-based restrictions

Written on . Posted in Civic & Government, Community Life.

A new Alberta bill proposing expanded provincial oversight of public libraries is facing pushback from library leaders, who say the changes could undermine local control, limit access and raise privacy concerns.

Bill 28, the Municipal Affairs and Housing Statutes Amendment Act, was introduced April 2 in the Alberta legislature by Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams. The legislation proposes amendments to the Libraries Act, the Municipal Government Act and the Housing Act.

If passed, the bill will allow the province to initiate reviews of public libraries or respond to complaints, while also enabling the development of non-binding guidelines intended to support library governance.

Williams says the changes are aimed at strengthening oversight of essential public services and ensuring consistency across the province.

“These are services that people rely on every single day, often without thinking about them — libraries, utilities and wastewater, to name a few,” Williams says. “This section of the bill focuses on strengthening how those systems are governed.”

The legislation would introduce “a clear and consistent process to address concerns across the province,” while respecting local decision-making.

Restricting access for minors

A key component involves future regulations restricting access to materials containing sexually explicit visual content for minors.

In July 2025, the Ministry of Education and Childcare introduced updated standards for school library materials. The order banned materials with explicit sexual content and limited access to non-explicit sexual material for students below Grade 10.

After pushback from some school boards, the original order was revised. In September, the ministry clarified rules would apply only to “visual depictions” of sexual acts.

This time, however, the government is not directing the removal of any books or materials from public libraries.

“We will not be restricting access to materials for anyone 16 or older or anyone that has parental consent,” Williams says. “We are not requiring the removal of these materials. However, we will require that they are put behind a counter in a place that children cannot find them while wandering the libraries.”

The proposed changes will not affect the vast majority of library materials. They will not apply to written works, educational or health-related resources or content without explicit visual imagery.

Under the proposed framework, materials containing explicit visual depictions of sexual acts could be physically separated from other collections, with access controlled by library staff. Individuals 15 and younger would require parental consent, while adults would have full access.

Libraries would also be given time to review collections and implement changes.

Coalition raises concerns

The Coalition of Alberta Public Libraries, which represents 324 public library service points serving 99 per cent of Albertans, has raised concerns about the scope and impact of the proposed legislation.

In a letter sent April 9 to Williams and to Premier Danielle Smith, the coalition says Bill 28 could create new barriers for library users and shift decision-making away from local libraries.

“Albertans trust their public libraries. Bill 28 creates new barriers to access, moves decision-making from local boards and trained professionals, and raises privacy concerns,” says Pilar Martinez, CEO of Edmonton Public Library, in the coalition’s statement.

Among its concerns, CAP Libraries says enforcing age-based restrictions could require proof of age, parental consent verification and staff-mediated access. This raises questions about privacy protections and accessibility for individuals without government-issued identification, including seniors, newcomers and people without fixed addresses.

The coalition also raises concerns about local governance, noting that Alberta’s public libraries are funded primarily by municipalities. The proposed ministerial powers related to inspection, access and compliance would mark a shift toward provincial control.

Cost and practicality are also flagged as major issues. CAP Libraries says the changes could require libraries to redesign service areas, retrain staff, modify digital platforms and implement new administrative processes, with no indication of additional funding from the province.

For smaller and rural library systems, the coalition says these requirements may be difficult to implement.

“Bill 28 would place library workers in gatekeeping roles that don’t reflect how public libraries operate,” says Ron Sheppard, director of Parkland Regional Library System.

The coalition argues the response is disproportionate to a problem that has not been shown to be systemic, noting that formal complaints about inappropriate materials in Alberta’s public libraries have been extremely rare.

CAP Libraries cite polling results by Janet Brown Opinion Research that shows 82 per cent of Albertans trust public libraries to make appropriate decisions about materials, compared to 46 per cent who trust the provincial government.

“Sixty-nine per cent of Albertans prefer those decisions to be made locally by trained staff guided by local boards, and 60 per cent oppose provincial laws or regulations restricting access to library materials,” it says.

The organization is calling on the province to engage directly with library leaders before proceeding with legislative changes, and to ensure any new requirements include proper privacy review, implementation planning and dedicated funding.

Local library responds

Pincher Creek Municipal Library, which is part of the Chinook Arch Regional Library System under CAP Libraries, has not taken a public position for or against the bill.

In a statement, the library says it supports “intellectual freedom rights for all citizens of Pincher Creek.”

Williams says the government plans to work with the library sector as it develops regulations.

“We’ll engage with experts and draw in research for the best practices moving forward,” he says, adding the goal is to ensure families feel confident that appropriate safeguards are in place while maintaining access to materials for those who need them.

“I do [trust parents and librarians],” Williams says. “Any parent that wants kids to have access to any material in a library, they can grant that authority to their children.”

However, he adds that “until that permission is given, those who are under the age of 16 are going to have to get their parents’ permission for things that are truly pornographic in nature.”

Age Restrictions, Bill 28, Intellectual Freedom, Library Access, Privacy Concerns, Provincial Legislation, Public Libraries

A graphic of scrabble letters that spell out the word "budget."

Alberta plans $7.7B physician funding boost in 2026 budget

Written on . Posted in Civic & Government.

The Alberta government has pledged an increase in spending on physicians by more than 20 per cent in its upcoming 2026 budget, marking what it calls the largest investment in doctors in the province’s history.

If passed, Budget 2026 will allocate $7.7 billion toward physician services, recruitment, training and compensation in 2026-27. It will mark a $1.4-billion increase over last year.

Premier Danielle Smith announced the funding commitment Monday, saying the investment is aimed at improving access to care amid continued population growth and pressure on the health system.

“Albertans expect to see a doctor when they need one. Access to care is a priority for families across this province,” she said.

“That is why we are making the largest investment in physicians in Alberta’s history, backing the doctors who care for our families and taking real action to improve care provincewide.”

During the announcement, Smith said that Alberta’s population has surpassed five million residents, growing by nearly 600,000 over the past five years.

The province has added 2,060 doctors since 2019 and now has more than 13,000 physicians registered — a 34 per cent increase over the past decade, she said. That includes 6,362 family physicians, an all-time high and roughly one-third more than a decade ago.

“We want to maintain Alberta’s reputation as a fantastic place for doctors to practise,” Smith said. “And second, we want to attract, recruit and retain physicians across the province with an appropriate mix between urban, rural and remote communities.”

According to the government, the $7.7-billion investment includes $7.3 billion for physician services, covering treatments, appointments and training; $450 million for recruitment and education; and $15 million for other supports.

Government spending on physicians has increased by nearly $1.2 billion since 2022-23.

Adriana LaGrange, minister of primary and preventative health services, said the funding builds on a new primary-care physician compensation model introduced in 2025 in collaboration with the Alberta Medical Association.

The province provided $200 million over two years to help physicians transition to the new model and an additional $57 million over three years to support family doctors and nurse practitioners managing growing patient loads.

LaGrange said 1,190 physicians are currently enrolled in the new compensation model.

She also pointed to efforts to streamline licensing processes for internationally trained doctors and expand medical training capacity. The province plans to increase registered nurse graduates by more than 48 per cent and licensed practical nurse graduates by 44 per cent by 2030.

“We’re expanding our faculties of medicine to train 100 more doctors, including those in Grand Prairie and Lethbridge, so that they are trained in different communities,” Smith said.

When asked about ongoing shortages in certain specialties, including anesthesia, general surgery, obstetrics and oncology, LaGrange said recruitment efforts have improved in several areas.

She said recent changes now allow international medical graduates to be sponsored through clinics and other programs, rather than only through Alberta Health Services, which she described as a previous bottleneck.

She added that roughly half of the 3,300 physicians added over the past decade are specialists.

The announcement comes as the government faces questions about emergency room capacity and staffing.

In January, Alberta said it would implement triage liaison physician roles by February in six of the province’s largest hospitals to help manage mounting pressures in emergency departments. More than a month later, those roles have not yet been filled.

Asked why the promised positions were not in place, Smith said discussions with the Alberta Medical Association are ongoing ahead of formal bargaining set to begin in early March.

“We share a common aspiration of improving the conditions in ERs,” she said, adding that if physicians are not interested in filling the triage roles, the province could consider nurse practitioners or physician assistants for the positions.

Opposition members questioned whether the funding increase will translate into measurable improvements in access to care.

In a statement, Sharif Haji, the NDP’s shadow minister for primary and preventative health services, said the announcement lacked clarity and raised questions about how the funding would directly improve patient access.

“The announcement today by the premier is unclear as to whether this new money will just cover a new contract with existing doctors or will see a real gain in doctor-to-patient numbers,” he said.

Haji also referenced the January promise to implement triage liaison physician roles in major hospitals, noting that those positions remain unfilled more than a month later.

“Just like the unfulfilled commitment from over a month ago to immediately put triage doctors in emergency rooms, there is no clarity on how many doctors will be hired or how far this announcement will go to ensuring there are enough physicians in Alberta to reduce wait times and increase accessibility to a doctor,” he said.

The province is expected to table Budget 2026 later this week.

 

Strong local journalism matters to Canadian communities

This article was reported and written by Shootin’ the Breeze’s Local Journalism Initiative reporter. 

The Local Journalism Initiative is a federally funded program that supports original public-interest journalism in smaller or underserved communities across Canada. Content produced through the initiative is editorially independent and may be shared by other Canadian media outlets.

Stories like this are reported to keep readers informed and connected — and to reflect real Canadian life.

Alberta | AB, Health Care, Health Care Professionals

An image of a teacher standing behind a table of five teenage students.

Livingstone Range schools get classroom support under $143M initiative

Written on . Posted in Civic & Government.

Schools within Livingstone Range School Division will receive additional classroom staffing this year after the Alberta government announced a provincewide initiative to address rising classroom complexity in elementary grades.

As part of a $143-million investment unveiled Feb. 12, the province will deploy 476 complexity teams to schools across Alberta, providing in-class support for students with academic, behavioural and social needs.

Each team will consist of one certified teacher and two educational assistants working directly in kindergarten through Grade 6 classrooms.

Rather than operating separately from the classroom, the teams are designed to provide immediate, on-the-spot support, assisting teachers with instruction, classroom management and individualized student needs.

For Livingstone Range, which serves Pincher Creek and several other rural communities in southwestern Alberta, two of those teams have been allocated. The added staffing will support a division educating about 3,800 students across community schools, a virtual program and Hutterite colony schools.

The announcement by Premier Danielle Smith and Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides follows a provincewide review of classroom data. Officials analyzed information from roughly 89,000 classrooms to better understand both class size and the range of student needs teachers are managing.

The figures show Alberta’s overall average class size sits at 25 students, with younger grades tending to be smaller. Kindergarten to Grade 3 classrooms average 22 students, while grades 4 to 6 average 25. In junior and senior high, the provincial average rises slightly to 26 students per class.

The data also highlights regional differences and varying levels of classroom pressure. Rural classrooms average 23 students, compared with 26 in urban and metropolitan areas.

Based on the province’s complexity assessment, about five per cent of classrooms have been identified as high priority for additional support, while 36 per cent fall into a medium-priority category — figures officials say helped guide where the new complexity teams are being assigned.

“We said we would use better data to make better decisions, and that is exactly what we are doing,” Smith said.

Every child deserves a safe, supportive classroom where they can learn, and every teacher deserves the backing they need to do their job well. We will keep taking practical, evidence-based action to make that a reality across Alberta.”

While the data indicates average class sizes remain largely within expected provincial ranges, officials say the composition of classrooms is changing.

Teachers are increasingly supporting students with behavioural challenges, language learning needs, emotional regulation issues and varied academic abilities, factors the province collectively describes as classroom complexity.

The complexity teams are intended to function as embedded supports that allow teachers to maintain instructional flow while addressing individual student challenges.

Depending on classroom needs, team members may assist students learning English, help manage disruptive behaviour, or provide additional enrichment for students requiring more advanced material.

“Establishing complexity teams will help teachers manage increasingly diverse classrooms and most importantly, make sure that more students are able to receive individual attention,” Nicolaides said.

According to the minister, addressing these needs early is key to preventing learning gaps that can intensify in later grades.

“By focusing on grades K-6, we can make sure student needs are addressed early, before they become larger issues,” he added.

Of the total funding envelope, $129 million is directed toward schools identified through provincial data as having the highest complexity pressures, while the remaining $14 million is reserved for divisions facing unique or specialized challenges.

A provincial cabinet committee focused on class size and complexity is expected to continue monitoring classroom data and recommending longer-term measures in consultation with school boards.

The distribution of teams reflects a mix of urban and regional priorities. Alberta’s largest metro divisions received the highest allocations, with Calgary’s public board assigned 118 teams and Edmonton’s public board 101. Calgary’s Catholic division received 53 teams and Edmonton’s Catholic division 42.

Mid-sized urban and rural school boards such as Rocky View School Division will receive 12 teams, Red Deer Public Schools 11, and Lethbridge School Division 10. Several Catholic and regional divisions, including Red Deer Catholic, Black Gold and Medicine Hat, are also receiving multiple teams.

Beyond those centres, teams are being distributed across a wide range of regional divisions to address localized classroom pressures. Elk Island and Fort McMurray divisions are each receiving six teams, while Holy Spirit, Horizon and Palliser divisions are assigned five apiece.

A range of other school authorities, including Grande Prairie, Grasslands, Northern Lights, Canadian Rockies, Chinook’s Edge, Golden Hills and LRSD, along with several francophone and Catholic divisions, are receiving smaller allocations intended to match local classroom conditions.

ATA supports initiative, says more work needed

The provincial announcement drew a cautiously positive response from the Alberta Teachers’ Association, which said the addition of classroom staff reflects years of advocacy by educators and the public.

Jason Schilling, president of the association, said placing more teachers and educational assistants in K–6 classrooms will begin to improve learning conditions for students with the most complex needs.

At the same time, the association emphasized that the initiative represents an early step rather than a comprehensive solution.

Schilling said a “single initiative” cannot fully resolve long-standing pressures in classrooms or reverse years of reduced supports and staffing. He added that teachers will be looking to the province to follow through on broader commitments to address systemic challenges.

The association also highlighted the province’s use of class size and complexity data as a significant development.

Gathering and analyzing provincewide classroom information, Schilling said, is an approach the ATA has advocated for and provides a clearer picture of the realities educators face.

Schilling said that formally measuring classroom complexity helps validate teacher experience while creating a foundation for evidence-based policy decisions moving forward.

“Teachers will expect the government to fulfill the promises made to counter our systemic challenges,” he said.

 

Strong local journalism matters to Canadian communities

This article was reported and written by Shootin’ the Breeze’s Local Journalism Initiative reporter. 

The Local Journalism Initiative is a federally funded program that supports original public-interest journalism in smaller or underserved communities across Canada. Content produced through the initiative is editorially independent and may be shared by other Canadian media outlets.

Stories like this are reported to keep readers informed and connected — and to reflect real Canadian life.

Alberta | AB, Education

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No new coal mining: Corb Lund drives provincewide petition

Written on . Posted in Alberta.

Country music artist Corb Lund is preparing to launch a provincewide signature campaign aimed at halting new coal mining along Alberta’s eastern Rocky Mountain slopes.

Following months of regulatory setbacks that temporarily cancelled Lund’s citizen initiative petition, Elections Alberta issued the petition this week.

He says organizers are now preparing canvassers and public signing events as the signature collection period can start from Feb. 11.

Petition targets new coal mining on Eastern Slopes

Lund’s citizen initiative calls on the provincial government to prohibit new coal mining activity anywhere along the Eastern Slopes of the Rockies, excluding mines already in production as of Jan. 1.

Lund says the campaign centres on protecting Alberta’s water systems.

“It’s important to me because I think the coal mines that they’re proposing are going to have a really bad effect on our water sources,” he tells Shootin’ the Breeze.

“There’s other issues too, like the mountains themselves will be affected, as well as the air quality. But the biggest issue is the quantity and quality of water.”

The approved proposal specifically names Northback Holdings’ Grassy Mountain project near the headwaters of the Oldman River and Valory Resources’ Blackstone project in Clearwater County.

Explaining why the two proposed coal mines are referenced, Lund says, “The Grassy Mountain mine they want to put at the headwaters of the Oldman River near Crowsnest Pass is going to have a very serious effect on that river. It’s a terrible place to put a coal mine.”

The Blackstone project was included because of its proximity to another major watershed. It is located in the headwaters of the North Saskatchewan River, a key source of Edmonton’s drinking water.

He notes that both projects are at similar stages in the regulatory process and represent the most immediate potential coal developments on the Eastern Slopes.

But he also emphasizes the petition is broader than those two projects.

“The petition question asked the government to prohibit any coal mining anywhere in the Eastern Slopes of the Rockies that isn’t an actively producing mine as of January 1, 2026. We specifically included Grassy Mountain and Blackstone [projects] within the wording of the question, because we wanted to be very clear that it includes those two,” Lund says.

Stepping into the coal debate

Lund decided to pursue a citizen initiative petition following years of advocacy efforts opposing proposed coal developments along the Eastern Slopes, particularly the Grassy Mountain project.

He says organizers and community members have been raising concerns since 2020, when the Grassy Mountain proposal was rejected by federal and provincial regulators before later re-entering the approval process.

“We have tried everything we can think of and we’re still fighting the same coal mine we were fighting six years ago,” he says. “Having this petition and the citizens’ initiative was the next step, and the only thing we can think of left to do.”

According to Lund, ranchers whose land and water sources could be affected by mining were among the first to approach him about raising public awareness.

“They said they had been attempting to get the government’s attention and the public’s attention on the issue, and they weren’t having any success,” he says.

Before publicly advocating, Lund spent weeks researching the issue, meeting with industry representatives, government officials, conservation groups and agricultural producers.

“I educated myself on the issue,” he says. “And I came to the conclusion that ecologically, environmentally and economically, it’s a terrible idea to have coal mines in those areas.”

Lund adds that his involvement has included meetings with coal lobbyists and company executives, correspondence with government ministers, participation in protests and presentations at regulatory hearings.

He says the idea to use a citizen initiative gained momentum after a town hall meeting in June 2025, where Premier Danielle Smith encouraged residents concerned about coal mining to consider that route.

“She said, if you guys are concerned about coal, you should start a citizens initiative petition,” Lund says. “So that’s what we’re doing.”

He emphasizes his involvement is not tied to party politics.

“This has no partisan implications for me. It has nothing to do with one party or the other,” he says. “It’s just about keeping the water clean for everyone.”

Legislative setback and reapplication

The campaign experienced a significant interruption in December when Lund’s previously approved petition was cancelled following the implementation of Bill 14, legislation that amended Alberta’s citizen initiative framework.

In a Dec. 12 statement, Lund said Elections Alberta informed organizers the petition approval had been retroactively cancelled, requiring a new application under updated rules.

Bill 14 transferred certain decision-making powers from the chief electoral officer to the justice minister and nullified petitions not issued before the legislation took effect, while allowing proponents to reapply within a defined window.

Lund describes the process as disruptive but says organizers chose to continue.

“It reflects a chaos that we’ve seen in this government’s handling of the coal issue in general,” he says. “But that’s fine. We’re happy to comply with whatever requirements the government needs us to do in order to stop the coal mines.”

He says organizers used that time to improve their organization and prepare for the campaign.

A new notice of intent was filed on Dec. 19, and Elections Alberta confirmed on Jan. 27 that the revised application met legislative requirements. The formal notice of approval of initiative petition was issued, clearing the way for the next procedural steps.

Alberta’s chief electoral officer formally issued the petition on Feb. 10.

Mixed community response

Lund acknowledges that reaction in communities near proposed projects, including the Crowsnest Pass region, has been divided.

“The response from the people in Crowsnest Pass has been mixed, because some of them are extremely, loudly in favour of the mines,” he says, adding that others have privately expressed opposition.

He argues that the issue extends beyond local economic considerations, pointing to downstream water use and long-term environmental impacts.

“There’s a few hundred jobs involved, but that’s not the full story, because it’s going to affect the agricultural economy and it’s going to affect tourism,” he says.

“The biggest thing of all is that after the mining is finished, I guarantee that there will be a really, really large billion-dollar cleanup bill left for the taxpayer.”

Lund stresses that the opposition to new coal development is not confined to one political perspective. He describes a broad coalition that includes ranchers, irrigators, hunters, fishers and residents from both rural and urban communities, as well as First Nations, arguing the issue cuts across traditional political and regional lines.

Preparing for signature collection

With the application approved, the next steps include confirmation by the chief electoral officer that petition organizers have met the requirements to appoint a chief financial officer during the notice publication period.

That requirement has now been met, and chief electoral officer Gordon McClure has formally issued the citizen initiative petition.

The signature collection period runs from Feb. 11 to June 10, 2026.

Elections Alberta says registered canvassers, who must be eligible electors and follow the agency’s code of conduct, may begin collecting signatures during that 120-day window.

Meanwhile, organizers are recruiting volunteers and co-ordinating signing events across the province. Albertans interested in participating can find information through the campaign’s website waternotcoal.ca, including how to register as canvassers, support fundraising efforts and learn where signing opportunities will be available once collection begins.

Lund says organizers plan to host public signing events, set up stations at participating businesses and conduct door-to-door canvassing to gather signatures across the province.

A total of 177,732 valid signatures, which equals 10 per cent of ballots cast in the 2023 provincial election, are required for the petition to succeed. Elections Alberta will verify submitted signatures after the June 10 deadline.

What happens if the petition succeeds

Under Alberta’s citizen initiative rules, a successful petition would require the government to either introduce legislation reflecting the proposal or submit the question to a provincewide referendum.

“Our intention is for them to ban all future coal mining in the Rocky Mountains,” Lund says.

He emphasizes the campaign is focused specifically on water protection rather than opposition to resource development broadly.

“I’m not anti-resource development,” he says. “I know that we need resources and I know that we need jobs, but that doesn’t mean that every single project is a good idea, and this project is not a good idea.”

 

Strong local journalism matters to Canadian communities

This article was reported and written by Shootin’ the Breeze’s Local Journalism Initiative reporter. 

The Local Journalism Initiative is a federally funded program that supports original public-interest journalism in smaller or underserved communities across Canada. Content produced through the initiative is editorially independent and may be shared by other Canadian media outlets.

Stories like this are reported to keep readers informed and connected — and to reflect real Canadian life.

Alberta | AB, Coal Mining, Environment, Environmental Stewardship, Oldman River, Resource Development, water

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Smith announces cabinet, caucus leadership changes

Written on . Posted in Civic & Government.

Premier Danielle Smith has announced changes to cabinet and United Conservative caucus leadership, including the resignation of Environment and Protected Areas Minister Rebecca Schulz.

Schulz, who has served as minister since 2023 and represents Calgary-Shaw, will step down from cabinet effective Jan. 2, 2026. Smith thanked Schulz for her work in cabinet, noting her previous roles as minister of children services and minister of municipal affairs, and said she will continue to serve as an MLA and caucus member into the spring before pursuing new career opportunities.

Smith also confirmed that Grant Hunter, MLA for Taber-Warner and currently the associate minister for water, will be sworn in as Alberta’s new minister of environment and protected areas on Jan. 2. Hunter previously served as associate minister for red tape reduction and has several years of experience in cabinet and caucus roles.

In addition, Justin Wright, MLA for Cypress-Medicine Hat, has been appointed chief government whip for the United Conservative caucus.

Smith congratulated both Hunter and Wright on their new responsibilities, saying she looks forward to working with them in their expanded roles.

Alberta | AB, Grant Hunter – Government of Alberta, Justin Wright – Government of Alberta, Rebecca Schulz – Government of Alberta

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Alberta Next Panel delivers report with seven recommendations

Written on . Posted in Civic & Government.

The Alberta Next Panel has delivered its final report to the provincial government, outlining seven recommendations aimed at increasing Alberta’s autonomy within a united Canada.

Government caucus will now review the recommendations and determine which, if any, it intends to advance. No final decisions have been made, and the recommendations do not automatically trigger legislative or policy changes.

The full Alberta Next Panel report and recommendations are available to the public at:
https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-next-panel

Premier Danielle Smith said the panel’s work reflects concerns raised by Albertans about federal decision-making and provincial autonomy.

“Through Alberta Next, Albertans were clear that for too long, decisions made outside this province have limited Alberta’s ability to grow our economy and chart our own course,” Smith said. “We’ve received the panel’s recommendations and will review them carefully before responding in the months ahead.”

Key recommendations

In its final submission, the panel made seven recommendations for the government’s consideration, including:

  • Continuing to build institutions that support provincial self-government and reduce reliance on the federal government

  • Providing Albertans with a detailed Alberta Pension Plan proposal before any referendum on leaving the Canada Pension Plan is considered

  • Completing a cost-benefit analysis on Alberta collecting its own personal income taxes, without proceeding to a referendum at this time

  • Taking a leading role in reforming equalization and fiscal federalism in collaboration with other provinces and the federal government

  • Continuing work toward establishing an Alberta Police Service and transitioning rural and small-city policing away from the RCMP

  • Proceeding to a provincial referendum on Alberta exercising greater control over immigration

  • Proceeding to a referendum on constitutional amendments related to provincial jurisdiction, opt-out rights, judicial appointments and the abolition of the federal Senate

The panel was chaired by Premier Smith and included a mix of leaders, experts and community representatives. Feedback from town halls, surveys and professional polling informed the final recommendations.

Survey results and polling data related to the Alberta Next engagement are available at:
https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-next-panel-survey-results

Participation and engagement

Public meetings were held in Edmonton, Red Deer, Sherwood Park, Fort McMurray, Lloydminster, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Airdrie, Grande Prairie and Calgary, along with one online town hall.

More than 5,000 Albertans participated in town halls, while livestreams of the events have received approximately 800,000 views. Each of six online surveys received between 6,000 and 12,000 responses, with about 22,000 written comments submitted through the feedback portal.

Alberta | AB, Alberta Next

Why won’t Smith and Jean answer a simple question about Grassy Mountain?

Written on . Posted in Opinions.

Opinion

David McIntyre, Crowsnest Pass

Why can’t Alberta Premier Danielle Smith or Brian Jean, Alberta’s minister of energy and minerals, answer a simple question?

The question: If a coal mining proposal is approved for Grassy Mountain, would it employ open-pit mining?

The question, presented to Premier Smith and Minister Jean long before, during and after last June’s Fort Macleod Coal Town Hall meeting, has not been answered definitively.

People who wrote to Minister Jean requesting an answer to the question, after waiting more than five months, recently received letters from the minister. While laden with superfluous text, all the letters I’ve seen failed to answer the question. Why?

Northback has just released its terms of reference to mine coal in Grassy Mountain. That TOR identifies its plan for an “open-pit” mine. In other words, the proponent appears poised to apply for a permit that is in direct conflict with public assurances provided by Premier Smith and Minister Jean.

A new proposal is not an advanced project. It is, by definition, new. 

All of the replies I’ve seen from Minister Jean, while failing to address the question, convey assurances that no new open-pit coal mines will be allowed. His words: “We have banned mountaintop removal and new open-pit coal mines in the foothills.”

The picture as I see it: a vague, verbal, muddy mix of words that, when translated, appears to place Northback at the head of the table, in full command of policy, procedure, protocol and issue-defining outcomes.

 

Photo by David McIntyre

Alberta | AB, Brian Jean – Government of Alberta, Coal Mining, Crowsnest Pass – Alberta, Energy & Natural Resources, Energy and Natural Resources, Fort Macleod – Alberta, Fossil Fuels, MD of Ranchland – Alberta, Resource Development

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Alberta invokes notwithstanding clause on transgender laws

Written on . Posted in Civic & Government.

Alberta’s government is invoking the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to block courts from striking down three controversial laws. The bills restrict gender-affirming care for minors, require parental consent for pronoun changes in schools and limit girls’ sports to those born female.

Premier Danielle Smith and Justice Minister Mickey Amery introduced Bill 9, the Protecting Alberta’s Children Statutes Amendment Act, Nov. 18. If passed, the legislation will amend the Health Statutes Amendment Act, the Education Amendment Act and the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act.

Smith said the move was necessary to protect children and families.

“Children deserve the opportunity to grow into adulthood before making life-altering decisions about their gender and fertility,” Smith said.

The notwithstanding clause will apply to three pieces of legislation.

Bill 26, the Health Statutes Amendment Act, 2024, bans gender reassignment surgery for children under 18 and puberty blockers or hormone therapy for minors under 16.

Bill 27, the Education Amendment Act, 2024, requires schools to get parental consent for students under 16 who wish to change names or pronouns, and for lessons on gender identity, sexual orientation or human sexuality.

Bill 29, the Fairness and Safety in Sport Act, limits participation in women’s and girls’ sports to those born female.

“By invoking the notwithstanding clause, we’re ensuring that laws safeguarding children’s health, education and safety cannot be undone — and that parents are fully involved in the major decisions affecting their children’s lives,” she said.

Smith said the decision was taken after hearing from families, teachers, athletes, coaches and young people, and consulting medical professionals.

“As a government, we have a responsibility to provide clarity, a responsibility to protect all children and youth and a responsibility to give parents, not institutions or courts, the primary role in life-changing decisions about their children,” she added.

The three laws were passed more than a year ago and two of them face constitutional court challenges.

The government said the notwithstanding clause ensures the laws cannot be struck down by courts or challenged under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Alberta Bill of Rights, or the Alberta Human Rights Act.

“At this moment, we have three lawsuits working their way through the courts with one injunction in place. These lawsuits could take years to resolve, including possible appeals to the Supreme Court,” Smith said. “These delays are not acceptable to this government when children are in harm’s way.”

The legislation bans gender reassignment surgery for children under 18 and puberty blockers or hormone therapy for minors under 16 for gender transition.

It also requires schools to get parental consent for students under 16 to change names or pronouns and to teach content on gender identity, sexual orientation or human sexuality.

Finally, it limits participation in women’s and girls’ sports to athletes born female.

“This legislation is not about denying care. We cannot and will not take the risk of a child undergoing medical, hormonal or surgical interventions that could permanently limit or eliminate the choices they may want to make as an adult to have children of their own one day,” Smith said.

Smith and Amery said the invocation of the notwithstanding clause was necessary due to “high stakes” involved.

“We believe that this is a necessary measure to ensure that these laws stand without further court delay or uncertainty,” Amery said.

“We’ve heard from Albertans, and they expect us to deliver on our mandate to protect young people and their families. Will not apologize for putting our children first.”

The move drew immediate criticism from teachers and opposition parties. Jason Schilling, president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, called the legislation “an extraordinary step” and “dangerous.”

In a press conference Nov. 19, he said it could undermine trust between students, parents and teachers. Schilling warned that mandatory parental notification and consent could put vulnerable students at risk.

“What we saw yesterday is not normal. It is not routine governance. It is a dangerous escalation by a government that has grown far too comfortable reaching for the notwithstanding clause as a political weapon,” he said.

“Yesterday, the Alberta government introduced legislation that once again invokes the notwithstanding clause, not once, but three times.”

Earlier in October, the province had passed legislation to end the ATA-led provincewide teachers’ strike and impose a new four-year collective agreement. It had also taken the rare step of invoking the notwithstanding clause to prevent legal challenges.

Schilling called the government’s recent move an attempt “to ensure that no parent, no teacher, no student or no court can challenge these decisions, even when they affect fundamental rights.”

He called the sections being shielded some of the most sensitive in education, requiring careful handling.

Instead of creating safety, Schilling said, the rules could put vulnerable students at risk and turn moments of trust into mandatory disclosure.

Using the notwithstanding clause to bypass courts, he said, undermines accountability and the balance of power meant to protect all Albertans.

“This government is in effect, saying that they know these new laws violate Albertans’ rights, and they want them to move ahead anyway,” he added.

At a rural roundtable Nov. 24, Amery defended the government’s approach when asked about concerns raised by the ATA, including risks to vulnerable students, especially in small communities.

Amery said the government believes parental involvement is essential and rejected the ATA’s warnings.

“We are always taking the position that every single child deserves love and support,” he said.

“I think the problem with the position that the ATA has taken is that it encourages a disconnect between parents and children. It encourages children to or teachers, for example, to withhold important information that I think parents all across this province very much would like to know.”

He said the government believes that parents want the best for their children and they can address any issues that their children are having in a much better way if they know them. Therefore the government will not back away from mandatory parental notification.

“We take a very firm position that parental notification is important. Every single parent wants to know what’s going on with their young children. And I, as a father of three, would certainly feel the same way,” he said. “So that is something that I think that we’re not prepared to bend on.”

Amery said the province is increasing support for youth, noting new mental health resources and $27 million in funding since 2019 for programs supporting LGBTQ+ young people.

“We simply think that parents have a role to play, and we certainly do not think that children of a younger age should be able to make medically irreversible and certainly life-changing decisions before their brains and bodies are fully developed,” Amery added.

The Opposition also condemned the measure. Former Calgary mayor and NDP leader Naheed Nenshi said the UCP government was using the notwithstanding clause to enforce potentially unconstitutional laws.

“Introduction of Bill 9 is a continued attack on the protected rights of all Albertans,” Nenshi said in a press release.

“Children across the province are now asking, ‘if they’re going after my trans friends now, will I be next?’ Indeed, all Albertans should be asking themselves ‘Who’s next?'” he said.

The notwithstanding clause allows provinces to override certain rights in the Charter for up to five years. Alberta has now invoked it twice in less than a month.

Bill 9 will be debated in the legislature in the coming weeks, while court challenges to the previous legislation are still underway.

 

Strong local journalism matters to Canadian communities

This article was reported and written by Shootin’ the Breeze’s Local Journalism Initiative reporter.

The Local Journalism Initiative is a federally funded program that supports original public-interest journalism in smaller or underserved communities across Canada. Content produced through the initiative is editorially independent and may be shared by other Canadian media outlets.

Stories like this are reported to keep readers informed and connected — and to reflect real Canadian life.

Alberta | AB, Alberta Education, Gender Identity, Human Rights, Justice, Mickey Amery – Government of Alberta

Three stick figures stand together; one has a speech bubble with a checkmark, another has a speech bubble with an "X," and the middle figure has no speech bubble.

Health advocacy group opposes Alberta’s private diagnostic plan

Written on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Friends of Medicare is challenging the Alberta government’s plan to allow private purchase of diagnostic testing, calling the proposal a move toward American-style healthcare that will worsen wait times.

The advocacy organization says permitting Albertans to pay out of pocket for MRIs, CT scans and blood work will not reduce wait times as the government claims, according to a Friends of Medicare news release responding to Tuesday’s government announcement.

Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare, said the approach amounts to queue-jumping for those who can afford to pay.

“To think that permitting Albertans with unaddressed health needs and money to spare to access potentially unnecessary diagnostic tests will somehow reduce our wait times is completely ludicrous,” Gallaway said.

The organization points to previous privatization efforts as evidence the approach fails to deliver promised benefits. Alberta’s attempted privatization of community medical laboratories resulted in weeks-long waits for basic diagnostic work before being returned to public delivery at a cost exceeding $97 million.

Friends of Medicare argues existing privatization of diagnostic services like MRI and CT imaging has already contributed to current wait times by putting pressure on publicly delivered services.

A 2022 Auditor General report recommended improving diagnostic services by utilizing unused public capacity and organizing access more effectively. However, two successive UCP governments have ignored those recommendations while pursuing privatization instead, according to the organization.

Gallaway said the government should focus on addressing healthcare staffing shortages and ensuring family doctors are available to hundreds of thousands of Albertans who lack access to primary care.

“Albertans are already suffering without access to the preventative and diagnostic healthcare they need, as a result of an ongoing staffing crisis throughout our healthcare system,” he said.

The organization noted Alberta missed more than $13 million in federal health transfers under the Diagnostic Services Policy in 2023 and 2024 due to patient charges for medically necessary diagnostic services.

Friends of Medicare also raised concerns about recent allegations of corruption and interference in private healthcare contracts while the government continues expanding privatization efforts.

“We know that Alberta is already failing to ensure that patients aren’t being illegally billed for diagnostic services,” Gallaway said. “Even while government officials are being publicly accused of very serious allegations of corruption and interference in private healthcare contracts, they’re plowing ahead with further schemes to funnel more of our valuable public healthcare dollars into private profits.”

The organization argues Albertans deserve access to quality care based on medical need rather than ability to pay upfront.

Premier Danielle Smith announced Tuesday that Alberta will allow residents to privately purchase diagnostic services while maintaining public coverage for physician-recommended tests. The government said it will reimburse costs if privately purchased tests reveal serious conditions.

 

Alberta | AB, Chris Gallaway – Friends of Medicare, Friends of Medicare – Alberta, Health, Health Care, Health Organizations

The words "back to school" are written in white chalk on a black chalkboard.

In rare move, Alberta invokes notwithstanding clause to end teacher strike

Written on . Posted in Civic & Government.

The Alberta government has passed legislation to end the provincewide teachers’ strike and impose a new four-year collective agreement. It is also taking the rare step of invoking the notwithstanding clause to prevent legal challenges.

Bill 2, the Back to School Act, tabled and passed Tuesday, legislates a settlement between the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association and the Alberta Teachers’ Association.

The agreement covers the term from Sept. 1, 2024, to Aug. 31, 2028. It includes a 12 per cent salary increase over four years, with additional market adjustments of up to 17 per cent for 95 per cent of teachers. The agreement also commits to hiring 3,000 new teachers and 1,500 educational assistants to reduce class sizes and enhance classroom support.

The government’s action came after nearly three weeks of provincewide job action that began Oct. 6.

Premier Danielle Smith said the government acted to address classroom challenges and respond to teachers’ concerns.

“The end of the strike does not bring an end to the teachers’ concerns raised through the bargaining process, and we are addressing those concerns head-on,” she said during a press conference Monday.

Under the legislation, teachers and students are to return to classrooms this Wednesday.

The bill prohibits further strikes or lockouts during the term of the agreement, with enforcement through the Alberta Labour Relations Board.

Financial penalties of up to $500 per day for individuals and $500,000 per day for organizations will apply in cases of illegal job action.

Notwithstanding clause invoked

The Back to School Act invokes Section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, known as the notwithstanding clause. It is a powerful constitutional tool that allows federal, provincial or territorial governments to override certain Charter rights for up to five years.

The clause can override fundamental freedoms under Section 2 (including freedom of association) and legal and equality rights under Sections 7 to 15, but not democratic, mobility or language rights. Its use must be explicit in legislation and automatically expires after five years unless renewed.

In a joint conference with Smith, Justice Minister Mickey Amery said invoking the clause was necessary to prevent court challenges that could delay the return to classrooms.

“Using the notwithstanding clause in this case preserves the sovereignty of the legislature to act in the public interest,” Amery said. “We believe that it is in the public interest that students return to the classrooms as soon as possible.”

Amery added that the clause was being applied to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Alberta Bill of Rights and the Alberta Human Rights Act.

“It is a vital provincial constitutional right. It is not just open to the legislature to take this step, but rather a moral imperative,” he said. “We will not apologize for putting children first.”

A Treasury Board and Finance official said the clause is being used to balance the rights of teachers with the need to protect students from further harm and sets reasonable terms for the teacher collective agreement.

According to the province, Alberta’s unique two-tier bargaining system, involving both central and local negotiations, risked further job action if not resolved through legislation.

Without the notwithstanding clause, teachers could have argued that forcing them back to work infringes on their Charter right to freedom of association, which includes collective bargaining.

The clause has been used sparingly by Canadian governments. In Alberta, it was used in 2000 in relation to the Marriage Act at the time.

Class size task force and new investments

Alongside the back-to-work legislation, the province announced a new Class Size and Complexity Task Force to address teachers’ concerns about classroom pressures.

The government will begin collecting and publicly reporting class size and composition data, and will use that information to direct additional funding to the most affected schools.

Smith said the new task force will chart a path in three key areas. First, by the end of November, additional funding will be provided to school boards to help meet new teacher and educational assistant hiring targets, based on data collected.

About $100 million per year for the next three years will go toward hiring 1,500 additional educational assistants, alongside a commitment to bring 3,000 new teachers into classrooms.

Smith added that the province is investing about $8.6 billion to build or modernize 130 schools, saying it “will make a significant difference in reducing class sizes.”

Second, an action team formed in June is developing recommendations to reduce classroom disruptions and strengthen support for students and educators. The team’s report will be released in November, and the ministry of education and child care will begin implementing recommendations immediately.

Third, the government plans to work with education stakeholders to replace the 20-year-old standards for special education with a new inclusive education policy framework.

“Alberta has a long and proud history of having a world-class education system, and going forward, I know that tradition will continue,” Smith said.

ATA calls legislation ‘egregious and unnecessary’

Jason Schilling, president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, said the government’s decision to invoke the notwithstanding clause to end the strike has devastated educators across the province.

“Today marks a dark day for Alberta, for teachers, for students and for every Albertan who believes in equity, freedom and democracy,” Schilling said Tuesday.

He called use of the notwithstanding clause “an egregious and unnecessary measure to force teachers and school leaders back to work and strip them of their Charter rights.”

Teachers, Schilling said, are being forced back under the same collective agreement that 90 per cent of them rejected only a month earlier.

“By invoking the notwithstanding clause, this government has done more than silence teachers and school leaders — it has silenced democracy itself,” he said. “This is an assault on the rights of every Albertan.”

Schilling said the same overcrowded classrooms, lack of support and underfunding will still be waiting for teachers and students as schools reopen Oct. 29.

Citing some positive outcomes of the job action, he said the strike prompted the government to resume collecting class size data — something stopped in 2019 — and to acknowledge that class size and classroom complexity matter.

He said teachers will comply with the law but added that “compliance is not consent.”

The association, he said, will fight the legislation “with every tool the law provides and every ounce of conviction we possess.”

“We will challenge this legislation in the courts, in our communities and in the very conscience of Albertans,” Schilling said. “While the government may have ended the strike, they have not ended the crisis in Alberta’s classrooms.”

 

Strong local journalism matters to Canadian communities

This article was reported and written by Shootin’ the Breeze’s Local Journalism Initiative reporter.

The Local Journalism Initiative is a federally funded program that supports original public-interest journalism in smaller or underserved communities across Canada. Content produced through the initiative is editorially independent and may be shared by other Canadian media outlets.

Stories like this are reported to keep readers informed and connected — and to reflect real Canadian life.

Alberta | AB, Alberta Education, Alberta Teacher Strike, Education, Mickey Amery – Government of Alberta