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Calgary Herald
05-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
Breakenridge: Government right to let MAGA singer express his controversial views
U.S. Christian musician Sean Feucht is facing new permit reviews and public safety concerns for upcoming Western Canadian performances in August. Photo by Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA 2.0 As things stand, in just over two weeks from now, the controversial MAGA-aligned U.S. Christian singer Sean Feucht will be performing at the Alberta Legislature grounds. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Calgary Herald ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Calgary Herald ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Of course, that could change. Given the cancellations that dogged the first leg of Feucht's Canadian tour, and the potential subsequent cancellations that await his return to Canada, he might just decide it's not worth the trouble. Ideally, it would be a lack of interest that would keep Feucht at home, but those intent on boosting his notoriety are making sure that isn't the case. The would-be censors have almost become his de facto promoters. The so-called Streisand effect is on full display in this case. Your weekday lunchtime roundup of curated links, news highlights, analysis and features. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again The Alberta government has resisted calls to cancel the scheduled performance, and that's the right position to take. While it would certainly be fair game to criticize any government officials or UCP members who attend the show and embrace Feucht, merely allowing the event to proceed does not constitute any sort of endorsement. Clearly, not everyone sees it that way. The Alberta NDP is demanding the government revoke the event's permit, citing a vague 'responsibility' to 'uphold the principles of inclusion and belonging for everyone' when it comes to the use of public spaces. By definition, any sort of religious performance or event is geared toward followers and adherents, which makes it very much not 'for everyone.' Governments and government policy can certainly strive to promote inclusion and belonging, but there are – and should be – obvious limits on how much that can be imposed. The criteria for using public spaces cannot be predicated on such a vague concept, since it could also be turned on its head to deny public spaces to the sorts of events that intolerant religious conservatives have tried to shut down. The ' Reading with Royalty ' events at the Calgary Public Library – and similar events at other public libraries in Edmonton and elsewhere in Alberta – are not to everyone's liking. Of course, much like Feucht's concerts, no one is forced to attend. But while these drag events have been prohibited in some parts of the U.S. (I'm curious how many of Feucht's free speech-loving followers object to those bans), officials here have stood up to the calls for censorship. No doubt the NDP would come down on the side of free expression in this case.
Toronto Sun
30-07-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
GOLDSTEIN: Alberta's separation question, unlike Quebec's, is crystal clear
Premier Danielle Smith speaks to reporters during a press conference at the Alberta Legislature, in Edmonton, May 6, 2025. Photo by David Bloom / Postmedia Network Whatever one thinks of Alberta's separation movement, the referendum question it seeks to pose to Albertans is a vast improvement over those confronting voters in the 1995 and 1980 Quebec referenda on separation. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Proposed by Mitch Sylvestre, chair of the separatist Alberta Prosperity Project, it seeks a 'YES' or 'NO' answer to the question: 'Do you agree that the Province of Alberta shall become a sovereign country and cease to be a province in Canada?' That would appear to satisfy the first requirement of the federal Clarity Act passed by Parliament in 2000, incorporating the legal advice of the Supreme Court of Canada, that the question on separation must be 'clear' to those voting on it. Particularly so when compared to the question posed to Quebecers in the 1995 Quebec referendum on separation. It read: 'Do you agree that Quebec should become sovereign, after having made a formal offer to Canada for a new economic and political partnership, within the scope of the Bill respecting the future of Quebec and of the agreement signed on 12 June 1995?' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. While Quebecers are astute followers of politics, understanding this question required knowing, as explained by The Canadian Encyclopedia online, that 'the bill' referred to Quebec's Bill 1, An Act Respecting the Future of Quebec, which included a declaration of sovereignty in its preamble, while 'the agreement signed on 12 June 1995' referenced an accord between the Parti Quebecois and the Action democratic du Quebec (ADQ) party, ratified by then-Quebec premier Jacques Parizeau, then-BQ leader Lucien Bouchard and then-ADQ leader Mario Dumont. The question posed to Quebecers in the first separation referendum in 1980 was even more complex. It read: 'The Government of Quebec has made public its proposal to negotiate a new agreement with the rest of Canada, based on the equality of nations; this agreement would enable Quebec to acquire the exclusive power to make its laws, levy its taxes and establish relations abroad — in other words, sovereignty — and at the same time to maintain with Canada an economic association including a common currency; any change in political status resulting from these negotiations will only be implemented with popular approval through another referendum; on these terms, do you give the Government of Quebec the mandate to negotiate the proposed agreement between Quebec and Canada?' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The 'NO' side, opposed to separation, won the 1995 referendum by the narrowest of margins — 50.58% to 49.42% for the 'YES' side — a winning margin of a mere 54,288 votes out of 4,671,008 valid ballots cast, with a registered voter turnout of 93.52%. The 1980 Quebec referendum on separation failed by a much wider margin, with 59.56% voting 'NO' to 40.44% for the 'YES' side — a winning margin of 702,139 votes out of 3,673,843 valid ballots cast, with a registered voter turnout of 85.6%. In the wake of those votes and, in particular, given the razor-thin vote for the 'NO' side in the 1995 Quebec referendum, the 2000 federal Clarity Act specified that in addition to a 'clear question,' a 'clear majority' of voters was required to decide the issue, without explaining what a clear majority meant. The proposed referendum question in Alberta still has several legal and political hurdles to clear and faces a competing referendum question asking: 'Do you agree that Alberta should remain in Canada?' That said, it would be hard to fault Alberta's proposed question on separation for a lack of clarity. Read More MLB Celebrity Wrestling Toronto & GTA Ontario
Toronto Sun
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Alberta Premier Smith demands apology from fire-stricken Jasper for critical report
Published Jul 18, 2025 • 3 minute read Premier Danielle Smith speaks to reporters during a press conference at the Alberta Legislature, in Edmonton Tuesday May 6, 2025. Photo by David Bloom / Postmedia EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith demanded Friday the fire-stricken town of Jasper apologize and retract a report criticizing her government for its role in last summer's devastating blaze. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Smith, speaking at an unrelated press conference in Edmonton, also blamed the federal government for failing in the fire response by not asking sooner for provincial help and for not clearing out dead trees that provided fuel for the flames. 'I'm very disappointed that this report politicizes what actually should be a very successful example of unified command,' Smith said. 'This report come as a shot out of the blue. It's unfair, it's untrue and I would like them to withdraw it.' Smith added: 'This was a federal fire. It took place in a federal park, and it was a federal Parks Canada response. 'I would ask for an apology from the city (town of Jasper) as a result,' she continued. 'We want to work collaboratively with our municipal and federal partners, but pointing fingers at others when they should be looking at what they can do to improve their own response would have been a far better outcome.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A spokesperson for the town and Mayor Richard Ireland did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The report, released Thursday, was commissioned by the town and reflects a survey of firefighters and other front-line staff who battled the blaze, which destroyed a third of buildings in the town located in the federally run Jasper National Park. Feedback was also gathered through a one-day workshop with 68 attendees, including some from government agencies. The report says Smith's United Conservative Party government complicated the response by regularly requesting information and by attempting to make decisions despite not having jurisdiction. 'While Alberta Wildfire actively supported firefighting operations and participated in the (Incident Management Team), jurisdictional overlap with the province created political challenges that disrupted the focus of incident commanders leading to time spent managing inquiries and issues instead of directing the wildfire response and re-entry,' the report reads. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Smith said her government had no involvement in the lead-up to the fire hitting the town but also that the report didn't accurately convey Alberta's contributions, including $181 million worth of support in disaster recovery funding, evacuation payments and more. 'We all have to look at what we have done in the past and how we can improve. And I don't think that Parks Canada and the town of Jasper have done an adequate job of that,' Smith said. 'I hope they go back to the drawing board.' Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said in a statement Smith's response to the report put politics above people's lives. 'Rather than accepting responsibility and promising to do better, they do what they always do: lash out at any criticism, insult others and refuse to accept any blame for the mistakes they have made,' Nenshi said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Bill Given, Jasper's chief administrator, said in an interview before Smith's news conference that the report wasn't to lay blame. It should be considered a chapter in an overall look at the fire response focusing on municipal improvements, he said. 'We were specifically asking, 'How can (the town) improve?' And in order to find out how you can improve, you look for gaps, you look at overlaps, you look for weaknesses, and then you go to address them moving forward.' Given said it was clear last July that Jasper's unique jurisdictional circumstance made the response complicated, and the report affirms the need for all parties to understand each other's roles. He also repeated that the report was written by independent consultants and based on surveys of those involved. 'The spirit that the report is being put into the public is one of continuous improvement,' Given said. MMA Toronto & GTA Tennis Celebrity Toronto & GTA
Toronto Sun
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Husband of ex-premier questions why Smith's spouse sitting in on government meetings
Published Jul 15, 2025 • 1 minute read Premier Danielle Smith speaks to reporters during a press conference at the Alberta Legislature, in Edmonton, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. Photo by David Bloom / Postmedia Network EDMONTON — The husband of a former Alberta premier is questioning why Premier Danielle Smith is inviting her husband to sit in on government meetings. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Lou Arab is married to former premier Rachel Notley and has long been a senior leader with the Canadian Union of Public Employees. In a social media post, Arab takes issue with Smith's recent comments saying there is nothing wrong with her husband David Moretta sitting in on meetings discussing government rail projects. Smith says Moretta covered rail issues as a former journalist and as her husband can advise her on anything she sees fit. But Arab says when Notley was premier he was not allowed anywhere near labour policy, was not free to lobby any cabinet minister, and says Smith is, in his words, 'full of it' when she claims having Moretta in such meetings is acceptable conduct. The CBC reported this week that Moretta was invited in 2023 to three government meetings about a proposed passenger train project and future provincial rail plans. RECOMMENDED VIDEO NFL Editorial Cartoons Toronto & GTA Toronto & GTA Columnists
CTV News
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Couple finds sweetness in shared gingerbread Alberta legislature project
Matt Intihar and Sheila Guevara with their model of the Alberta legislature created out of gingerbread. This is a love story made out of gingerbread. Matt Intihar and Sheila Guevara spend often spend quality time relaxing together in a unique way: by making model houses from the sweet-and-spicy baked delight. 'Both of us inspired each other in doing a project, because he's good at what I'm not, and I think for him, I'm good at what he's not, so we compliment each other,' Guevara told CTV News Edmonton. The pair were in a local bake shop when they saw a gingerbread castle built by the baker. 'We thought, 'Geez, that would be pretty neat if we could build something like that,' Inithar said. 'I don't know if we're up to it, but we can give it a try.' Gingerbread Alberta legislature A replica of the Alberta legislature created by Matt Intihar and Sheila Guevara out of gingerbread. (Connor Hogg/CTV News Edmonton) Their first gingerbread house was simple, then they decided to go bigger. At first, they planned to build a replica of the White House, home of the U.S. president. They ultimately selected the Alberta legislature as their subject. It was closer to home and easier to research in person. 'As time went on, we thought, 'We can do this, we can add that on, and so slowly, it became a bit more detailed as time went on,' Intihar said. Intihar and Guevara worked on their project together and separately, dictated by their shift-work schedules. 'He comes home, I'm sleeping, or I come home, he's sleeping,' Guevara said. 'But when I come home, I see something that he did. and I'm like, 'Oh, cool! I can do this!' Creating their delicious legislature took six months of manipulating gingerbread and key ingredient marzipan – plus painstaking research, baking, sculpting and re-sculpting. 'We managed to finish it, and we're pretty happy with how it looks,' Intihar said. Alberta legislature gingerbread A replica of the Alberta legislature created by Matt Intihar and Sheila Guevara out of gingerbread. (Connor Hogg/CTV News Edmonton) The happy couple are in the process of finding a place to display their work and also sharing what they learned about each other in the process. 'He sits right there and he's just doing his little thing,' Guevara said. 'It's very heartwarming, and he is very graceful doing it, and it makes me push myself harder, too.' Intihar said the process brought them even closer. 'I guess this kind of thing could pull people apart, maybe they'd get fed up with each other,' he said. 'I think, for us, it did bring us together.'
