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CTV News
5 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Grande Prairie disability advocates frustrated with province
Keith Moore, Inclusion Grande Prairie president, stops for a photo next to the empty reserved chairs for local MLAs during the disability town hall at the Pomeroy Hotel in Grande Prairie, Alta. on Saturday, May 24, 2025. (Photo by Jesse Boily) Inclusion Grande Prairie held a town hall on Saturday to hear concerns regarding changes to the province's funding for people with disabilities. The two chairs reserved for local MLAs remained empty. 'It's so important to have a loud voice when speaking with this government because they have a tendency to ignore most of us,' said Keith Moore, Inclusion Grande Prairie president. Underfunding for disability programs, access to funds, upcoming AISH changes with the new Alberta Disability Assistance Program, and the province 'clawing back' the federal Canada Disability Benefit from individuals were among issues raised at the public event. The province is introducing the Alberta Disability Assistance Program (ADAP) expected to begin in July next year, but locals say there is not enough information for those who will be able to use it. 'We don't know what that new support level would be because there's just no information, and we have asked repeatedly,' said Moore. 'The trends with this government seem to be, let's just cut and cut and cut, people who are more vulnerable in our society are the ones that are targeted.' The province says ADAP will allow people with disabilities to pursue jobs while receiving the financial, medical, and personal support they need. It says ADAP will work alongside the current Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program. 'ADAP is going to be a lower monthly support but allow people to earn more income without it being deducted off their support,' said Moore. Currently, those on AISH have deductions from their monthly living allowance if they have income. Moore said currently AISH clients receive about $1,900 per month for food, rent and utilities. He noted the poverty line is about $2,400 a month in Edmonton. The Canada Disability Benefit (CBD) which could provide up to $200 a month was expected to help those with disabilities have more access to funds, but in Alberta CBD may add more barriers. Inclusion Alberta said in a media release that the province is requiring people on AISH to apply for the CBD but will then reduce their AISH payment by the received CBD amount. It says no other province is doing this. 'The CDB is meant to be a top-up, not a replacement for provincial disability income support,' said Trish Bowman, Inclusion Alberta CEO. 'Taking away a benefit that was intended to help reduce poverty for adults with disabilities is beyond comprehension.' About 77,000 Albertans are accessing AISH. The CBD has a $250 application fee, and approved clients need to qualify for the Disability Tax Credit that requires a medical assessment that may also come with a cost. 'It doesn't make sense,' shouted a person from the crowd at the town hall. Family Support for Children with Disabilities (FSCD) and Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) funding is also underfunded, says Moore. He cited the latest publicly available annual report from the Advocate for Persons with Disabilities (2022-23). 'The budget for 2025 did add some money in, but it didn't even keep up with inflation or the population growth,' he said. 'Every year, we're falling further and further behind, and that is basically what the advocates report for 2022 says — insufficient funds.' People at the town hall voiced their frustrations with a system some called 'dehumanizing.' Moore says he sent invites to Grande Prairie MLA Nolan Dyck and Grande Prairie-Wapiti MLA Ron Wiebe. 'We're going to present everything that was brought forward by families,' said Moore, 'we're going to get folks to write out their stories and everything and will go to the MLAs and again, requesting them specifically to respond to us.' 'We expect them to do their job as allies represent us; they were not elected to represent Premier Smith or the caucus,' said Moore. Moore says contact with the local MLAs has been difficult. 'They're not very accommodating for people who want to meet with them,' he said, noting the MLA offices indicated that they limit meetings to a maximum of 30 minutes, won't meet after 7 p.m. and won't meet with more than six people at a time. Giving each person five minutes isn't long enough to illustrate how funding is affecting a person, he said. Moore, who served on the board of the Inclusion Alberta until last month, said there was no consultation done regarding AISH or the upcoming changes with ADAP. He said he wanted to see Inclusion Alberta included in the changes to legislation, noting the organization represents families across Alberta and that Inclusion Grande Prairie represents many people in northwestern Alberta from Edson to LaCrete. He said it's not uncommon for the province to include stakeholders before making changes to legislation noting oil and gas companies were included in legislative changes to abandoned wellsites. Family Resource Centre closure In March, the Family Resource Centre in Grande Prairie was closed after provincial funding cuts. 'When we lost the Family Resource Centre, one of the responses from the province was, we do not fund advocacy we fund supports,' said Moore. 'We helped over 200 families, during the time it was operational, find a way around the community, connect them with supporting organizations within the community, help guide them through inclusive education.' He said that parents don't know how to navigate the system. The centre helped them navigate funding, ensuring their children received proper education and aid and parents got the education they needed. 'The interesting thing is that the (Persons with Developmental Disabilities) PDD office in Grande Prairie often referred people to us,' he said, 'that's basically because the PDD office is understaffed; they're maybe 50 per cent of what they were five years ago, in numbers.' Funding to the Family Resource Centre was cut from about $120,000 a year to $64,000, said Moore. He said the province has also stipulated the centre would need to provide courses that follow 'provincial scripts' every month, that would include provincial audits for compliance. Moore said after some conversations, the province indicated it is still funding the Office of the Advocate for Persons with Disabilities. The website stated that the office would visit communities and talk to organizations. 'I invited them to come out to Grande Prairie to talk with (Inclusion Grande Prairie), also the Autism Society - because they're in the same boat we are - and two weeks later, I got a phone call and the lady said they were unable to come out because they didn't know what their budget was and couldn't travel.' Moore then asked if they could accommodate a Zoom meeting and was told it would need to be before 7 p.m. Town & Country News reached out to the Ministry of Assisted Living and Social Services but did not receive a response before press time. By Jesse Boily, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Town & Country News
CTV News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Grande Prairie area dinosaur featured in upcoming Walking with Dinosaurs television series
Emily Bamforth applies plaster to the pachyrhinosaurus lakusta skull to prepare it for its move in the Pipestone Creek bone bed about 40 km west of Grande Prairie, Alta. on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (Photo by Jesse Boily) After almost 25 years a show that brought dinosaurs to life on our television screens is returning, with a local dinosaur taking the spotlight. BBC's Walking with Dinosaurs will feature Wembley's own Pipestone Creek bonebed and its locally unique dinosaur, the pachyrhinosaurus. 'I really loved the original Walking with Dinosaurs, because it was the first time that they had brought dinosaurs to life in a way that presented them as animals,' said Emily Bamforth, Philip J. Currie Museum (PJCDM) curator. She said although dinosaurs were seen on the big screen in movies like Jurassic Park they were depicted as monsters. 'Walking with Dinosaurs was really like a nature documentary about dinosaurs, and no one had ever done that before, so it was hugely influential for me as a kid, and I think it was one of the milestones in terms of the things that influenced me, in terms of the wanting to go into paleontology.' Bamforth is now part of the series as she will help tell the more than 70-million-year-old story of the pachyrhinosaurus and the river of death. 'We tell a story about the bonebed and the herd of animals and the dying from a flood and then getting preserved, but to actually have that brought to life is kind of jaw-dropping,' said Bamforth. She hasn't yet seen the final episode, but an early draft left her with 'tingles' due to how real it felt. 'These aren't just dusty old bones sitting in the ground, these were animals living in this ecosystem,' she said. 'All of this happened right here in northern Alberta, this was our world back then.' A young pachyrhinosaurus named Albie will be featured in the fifth episode of the new series. 'Every year, his herd makes an epic journey north as the seasons change,' says a BBC press release. 'Along the way, he will encounter clashing bulls, tyrannosaur predators, and freak weather events.' According to the BBC, the visual effects teams built up the skeleton, musculature, and finally, the skin in a process that took about 2.5 years. Bamforth says the BBC initially contacted her in 2023 when the show was scouting for various sites worldwide to feature. 'All of the sites in the world, and all the big museums doing big research, they chose us as one of six sites in the world featured for this series, so it really is an incredible honour,' she said. Bamforth and the paleontologist team at PJCDM have been busy: Just last year they made the most significant find to date: a 1.6 metre-long, 461-kilogram skull. It made international headlines and now the museum is once again in the global spotlight thanks to the BBC. 'I think it's bigger than we sort of expected it to be,' said Bamforth, who said she's done over 11 media interviews in the past week from outlets in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the Netherlands. 'It is a very special site; it's like no other in the world, like no place I've ever worked has been like this.' The Pipestone Creek bonebed is one of the densest dinosaur bonebeds in North America. 'I think the community of Grande Prairie and the surrounding communities should be really proud of the fact that this is here and that we have the PJCDM that is helping tell that story, and now we have people from around the world that are interested in coming here,' said Bamforth. 'This is something that's ours, and we can really showcase the amazing paleontology that we have up here, which hasn't really been well appreciated in the past.' She hopes it will bring more international and local visitors to the site to discover what it offers. Walking with Dinosaurs premiered in the UK on May 25 and will premiere on PBS in Canada on June 16. By Jesse Boily, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Town & Country News
CBC
27-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Province announces additional $7 million for Grande Prairie policing transition
The Alberta government is earmarking an additional $7 million in funding for Grande Prairie to establish its own municipal police force, bumping the province's total contribution up to nearly $17 million. The city decided to phase out the RCMP and create its own municipal police force in 2023. The funding announced Tuesday builds on the initial commitment from the Alberta government of $9.7 million over two years. "It's crucial that the community has the resources needed to sustain this momentum and continue laying the groundwork for the Grande Prairie Police Service," said Minister of Public Safety Mike Ellis at the announcement in Grande Prairie Tuesday. The total estimated cost for the transition is about $19 million, which is expected to take five years. The funding will help with projected start-up costs that include building the new service, salaries, benefits, recruitment, equipment and training. "By removing some of this financial pressure, we're we're helping to ensure that the Grande Prairie Police Service is well positioned to succeed as the primary police of jurisdiction for this city in 2026," said Ellis. Municipal police to cost less than RCMP, city says According to an analysis presented to the city in October, the new police service is expected to cost the city less than the RCMP. The analysis was based on the plan to have 110 officers serving in its own city police force by 2028. The RCMP contract projections were for 100 officers. The anticipated cost savings for the GPPS between 2024 and 2028 range from $742,380 in 2026 to $2,739,819 in 2027. In total, the anticipated cost savings are more than $8 million, though that number includes millions in provincial grant money. Once provincial funding through the Grande Prairie Police Service grant agreement ends, the city will absorb all operational costs. The transition remains on budget and on schedule, officials said. "These funds are a key component of our continued progress and success for the transition," said Grande Prairie Mayor Jackie Clayton. "Through our multi-year funding formula, we're able to ensure one-time circuit costs are funded, remain on budget, and set up for success while demonstrating action and accountability for this transition." According to the Grande Prairie Police Service, it has hired 50 officers in the 21 months since the transition began. The full transition away from the RCMP will be in place by 2028.
CTV News
27-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Municipal police force in Grande Prairie almost halfway to officer recruitment goal
Grande Prairie Police Service Chief Dwayne in his office in Grande Prairie, Alta., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fakiha Baig GRANDE PRAIRIE — A northern Alberta city replacing the RCMP with its own municipal police force says it is nearly halfway to its officer recruitment target. Chief Dwayne Lakusta from the Grande Prairie Police Service says 50 officers have been hired since the transition began in 2023 and the service's goal is to reach 110. The Alberta government is providing the force with an additional $7 million, bringing the province's overall contribution to nearly $17 million. The government says the full estimated cost of the transition is $19 million. Lakusta says he's grateful for the additional funding, which will be used to purchase vehicles, a records management system and other necessary software technology. He says the new force is on track to be fully established by next fall. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2025. The Canadian Press
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
Man flown to hospital after powered paraglider crash in northwestern Alberta
Federal transportation investigators were sent to northwestern Alberta this weekend, after a man riding a powered paraglider crashed Friday morning, suffering critical injuries. Paramedics called Grande Prairie RCMP for help shortly after 8:30 a.m. MT Friday, after responding to calls from witnesses who saw the powered paraglider — a vehicle with a propeller attached to the back that's carried by a parachute — fall into a canola field, an Alberta RCMP spokesperson told CBC News. A STARS air ambulance was dispatched to the area and flew the rider, a 46-year-old man who lives in the county of Grande Prairie, to the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, an agency spokesperson told CBC News. The RCMP spokesperson said the man was in critical condition as of Saturday morning. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB), meanwhile, is sending a "team of investigators" to the crash site in the Grande Prairie area — roughly 400 kilometres northwest of Edmonton — to "gather information and assess" the incident, according to a news release issued Saturday. The TSB, an independent federal agency, investigates air, marine, pipeline and rail transportation incidents to improve transportation safety. Its investigations do not assign fault, nor determine liability. This is the second week in a row the agency sent personnel to Alberta. Last week, investigators were sent to the Springbank Airport, just west of Calgary, and Edson, Alta., to examine separate incidents. An investigator was sent to the airport to examine an "accident involving an amateur-built aircraft," the TSB said in a news release on May 16. Two days later, the agency said it was sending a team to Edson, about 195 kilometres west of Edmonton, after two Canadian National Railway trains sideswiped each other, derailing several cars.
