The Opposition joined teachers in a makeshift classroom to demonstrate that maintaining proper physical distancing in schools will be impossible without more funding from Kenney for additional teachers, support staff and physical space.
The classroom, set up by the NDP in the Edmonton Federal Building, attempted to fit 30 spaces for students in a standard-sized elementary classroom (defined as about 860 square feet of usable space by Alberta Infrastructure).
At best, it was determined that 18-20 spaces could safely fit in the classroom with two metres of spacing and that’s without accounting for any whiteboards, a teacher’s desk, bookshelves, coat racks and so on.
To date, Jason Kenney and the UCP have not provided additional operational funding to hire teachers and support staff nor has the Government taken any steps to secure additional space for classrooms this fall.
“The bottom line is there’s no way to safely fit 30 students in one classroom with proper physical distancing measures in place.”
- NDP Education Critic @shoffmanAB
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A cell phone video leaked to Alberta’s NDP reveals the true extent of Danielle Smith’s coordinated political interference in the justice system on behalf of those charged following the Coutts blockade. 🧵
The video appears to capture a January 2023 video call between Danielle Smith and street pastor Artur Pawlowski, who faces charges of breaching a release order and mischief for inciting people to block public property at the border crossing at Coutts in January 2022.
“For freedom to be preserved, people must be willing to sacrifice their lives,” Pawlowski told a crowd. “This is our time. If this is our Alamo then so be it.” Prosecutors called Pawlowski’s actions “an overt threat to violence.”
Over four years in government, the UCP have failed to lower surgery wait times and they’ve actually increased, according to data available from the Government of Alberta. 🧵
More than 70,000 Albertans were waiting for surgeries in May 2019. That number has increased to 74,000 as of February 2023.
According to the Government’s own data:
From April 2019 to January 2023, median wait times have increased for hip replacements from 18.7 to 26.3 weeks and knee replacements have increased from 20.6 weeks to 36.9 weeks.
Franklin is a full-time pharmacist in Stettler, and the first-generation Canadian in her family who immigrated to Alberta from India.
Franklin currently lives in Parkdale in Stettler with her husband, and grew up in Edmonton.
Franklin holds a Doctorate in Pharmacy from Chicago State University, and a Bachelors in Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Studies from University of The Sciences in Philadelphia.
On Monday, Savage was asked about a letter Danielle Smith wrote during her time as a corporate lobbyist advocating for the RStar program. In response, Savage said the program “didn’t align with Alberta’s polluter-pay principle and the royalty framework.”
“Alberta’s system has always been based on a core principle: when you make a mess, you clean it up. Danielle Smith wants to violate this basic principle to give away billions of dollars to her friends that helped get her elected.” NDP Energy Critic @KathleenGanley
An Edmonton woman’s name was added to the list of thousands of Albertans who can’t find a family doctor after she was notified she lost hers through a lottery. 🧵
Mona Koch has had the same family doctor for eight years, but in November she received an email informing her that due to changes in her practice, Koch’s doctor would no longer be able to continue providing medical care to her.
Koch, 62, learned that because other doctors left the clinic, her doctor would be taking on some of their patients, forcing her to drop some of her own patients.
A new report shows the UCP government’s plan to withdraw Albertans from the Canada Pension Plan will cost Albertans more in the long term while increasing the risk to their retirement savings. 🧵
According to documents acquired by Postmedia from Employment and Social Development Canada, the federal government anticipates that any provincial withdrawal from the CPP will lead to “duplicate administration, limited risk pooling, and greater risk on investment returns”.
UCP leadership candidates including presumed frontrunner Danielle Smith and former finance minister Travis Toews continue to support the idea despite widespread public backlash.