Alberta Unbound

The fate of Alberta’s separatist referendum is up in the air. But Alberta’s premier and Alberta separatists aren’t the only ones who want a vote to go ahead. There’s mounting evidence of foreign-backed social media campaigns, trying to influence the outcome of the sovereignty debate. Edmonton author and analyst Patrick Lennox assesses the risks to Alberta democracy - and national security. You can read his latest Walrus articles here: Can Alberta Protect Its Secession Vote from Trump? | The Walrus How Did an Alberta Separatist Group Get Its Hands on the Voter List? | The Walrus

Political scientists Melanee Thomas and Yasmeen Abu-Laban, political strategists Ken Boessenkool and Zain Velji, and former Director of the Centre for Constitutional Studies at the University of Alberta Patricia Paradis, dive into the nine referendum questions and how Albertans should respond. Here are the nine referendum questions below: 1. Do you support the Government of Alberta taking increased control over immigration for the purposes of decreasing immigration to more sustainable levels, prioritizing economic migration and giving Albertans first priority on new employment opportunities? 2. Do you support the Government of Alberta introducing a law mandating that only Canadian citizens, permanent residents and individuals with an Alberta-approved immigration status will be eligible for provincially funded programs, such as health care, education and other social services? 3. Assuming that all Canadian citizens and permanent residents continue to qualify for social support programs as they do now, do you support the Government of Alberta introducing a law requiring all individuals with a non-permanent legal immigration status to reside in Alberta for at least 12 months before qualifying for any provincially funded social support programs? 4. 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? 5. Do you support the Government of Alberta introducing a law requiring individuals to provide proof of citizenship, such as a passport, birth certificate, or citizenship card, to vote in an Alberta provincial election? 6. Have provincial governments, and not the federal government, select the justices appointed to provincial King’s Bench and Appeal courts? 7. Abolish the unelected federal Senate? 8. Allow provinces to opt out of federal programs that intrude on provincial jurisdiction such as health care, education, and social services, without a province losing any of the associated federal funding for use in its social programs? 9. Better protect provincial rights from federal interference by giving a province’s laws dealing with provincial or shared areas of constitutional jurisdiction priority over federal laws when the province’s laws and federal laws conflict?

Pilar Martinez, outgoing CEO of the Edmonton Public Library, on the role of libraries in the age of AI and book bans.

Born in Toronto. Raised in Khartoum. Launched in Lethbridge. Calgary-based stand-up Faris Hyttia has a life story, and a comic sensibility, like no other. His parents sent him from Sudan to Alberta to become an engineer. But fate had other, funnier, ideas. More of his comedy can be seen here: Homesick Just for Laughs: Dog People vs Cat People Telus Storyhive: Send Help Instagram & TikTok: @farrooossi More information: https://linktr.ee/farrooossi Recordings of Faris' shows were provided by the comic himself and OK Dope Productions.

Award-winning spoken word poet Nonso Morah on growing up Nigerian-Canadian in rurban Alberta - and on what it means to be an Albertan in Canada today

Chief Conroy Sewepagaham of the Little Red River Cree Nation talks about “making noise up north” as he works to lead his community through recovery from not one, but two, devastating wildfires.

Activist and author Jesse Lipscombe on Alberta’s Black history, the power of radical patience, and building coalitions of resistance. Link to Return to Amber Valley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsRkZz1KJB0

Dishing the dirt on soil health and regenerative agriculture with Kimberly Cornish, Shorty Fensky and Yamily Zavala.

The Hon. Ron Ghitter was an architect of Alberta’s first human rights legislation. Now, undaunted at 89, he’s fighting to protect it.

Join Independent Senator Paula Simons of Alberta and Senator Ratna Omidvar of Ontario as they co-host the final roundtable on municipal issues, inspired by Senator Simons' Senate inquiry into the role of municipalities in Canada today. They are joined by Mayor Dawn Arnold, Mayor of Moncton, New Brunswick; Dr. Kennedy Stewart, professor at Simon Fraser University, the former mayor of Vancouver and a former NDP MP; Lewis Cardinal, Project Manager at Indigenous Knowledge & Wisdom Centre in Edmonton; Edmonton City Councillor Keren Tang; and Mary Rowe, President and CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute. Youtube link to video version of the panel

Independent Albertan Senator Paula Simons moderates a panel of prominent Canadian experts on the topic of infrastructure and municipalities. She is joined by former federal Cabinet Minister Hon. Lisa Raitt, former Calgary Major and current Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi, Bridgewater Mayor David Mitchell, urban planner and Co-Chair Commissioner of the Vancouver City Planning Commission Amina Yasin, and York University Professor Dr. Zac Spicer. This conversation was recorded in late January 2024. Youtube link to the video version of this panel

As part of Freedom to Read Week celebrations, Senator Simons moderated a panel discussion with journalists Danielle Paradis, Jason Markusoff, and Jonny Wakefield on the state of journalism. This event was presented in partnership with the Edmonton Public Library, LitFest, and Calgary Public Library. Jonny Wakefield has been with the Edmonton Journal/Sun newsroom since 2017. He is now the courts and crime reporter, covering the Edmonton Law Courts and other justice issues. He came to Canada from the U.S. as a student in 2009 and became a dual citizen in 2020. Danielle Paradis is an award-winning Indigenous (Métis) magazine writer, journalist, editor, educator, podcaster and mentor who lives in Treaty 6 (Edmonton, Alberta). She has written for both local and international audiences. You can read (or hear) her work at Aboriginal Peoples Television (APTN), Canadaland, Chatelaine, The Walrus, Alberta Views, Toronto Star (Edmonton), Canadian True Crime Podcast, and The Sprawl. Danielle covers politics, arts and culture, and Indigenous Issues. Danielle loves a good FOIP story and studied investigative journalism, story-based inquiry method, at the Centre for Investigative Journalism out of the UK. She has journalism, focusing on advanced reporting and reporting on diverse communities at MacEwan University and Humber College. She has also worked for a non-profit, Indigenous Friends Association, that focuses on connecting traditional knowledge and digital technology for Indigenous youth. She also has a background as a literary editor for Other Voices and in-depth media experience in both television and audio journalism. Jason Markusoff has been writing about what's happening – and not happening, but maybe should – in Alberta for more than two decades. He's a writer, editor and producer with CBC Calgary, and before that he's been a correspondent for Maclean's, Calgary Herald and Edmonton Journal. He's on Twitter a lot less these days, for patently obvious reasons.Paula Simons was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 2018, after a long and distinguished career as one of western Canada’s most acclaimed journalists. She has been a radio documentary-maker, a playwright, and an author of popular history, but she is best known for her work as a political columnist and reporter with the Edmonton Journal.

Senator Simons speaks to Timothy Caulfield, Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy and Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta, about the Canadian and global rises of health misinformation and disinformation. Timothy's books, including Relax: A Guide to Everyday Health Decisions with More Facts and Less Worry and The Science of Celebrity . . . or Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?, can be found here.