Latest news with #TheHomestretch
CBC
15-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Jobs. Taxes. Access to women's health care. South Calgary residents share what matters this election
Social Sharing The top issue for voters in Seton isn't tariffs, at least not among the library patrons who stopped by to talk with CBC Calgary's The Homestretch recently. Tariffs have dominated headlines this campaign. But jobs, taxes and the price of groceries dominated the sticky notes on the CBC's whiteboard at a pop-up engagement effort Thursday afternoon. What issue matters the most to you this federal election, and why? Share your personal stories with us at ask@ Homestretch host Jenny Howe broadcast live from the library in Seton all afternoon, and people stopped by to write about the issue that matters the most to them in the federal election, and how it will shape their vote. Adrian Diaz is a student at the University of Calgary. After writing a few notes, he explained it this way. "The cost of living has gone up. The gas prices have just skyrocketed up. Honestly, I remember when it used to be 70 cents, it was crazy.… Now it's like $1.50. Utilities, groceries, all the simple stuff has gone up, for sure," he said. "I have an idea of who I want to support, definitely. Because 10 years of the same thing, I think it's time to change." The Seton library is in the YCMA recreation centre, which is south of the ring road and east of Deerfoot Trail on the southeast edge of Calgary. It's in the Calgary Shepard riding. In the library, some people had already decided who they are voting for, others were still making up their minds and waiting for the leaders' debate. Many people wrote about wanting lower taxes and to find a way to reduce the price of houses. One person wrote about wanting tax dollars to go to fighting homelessness and hunger here in Canada before funds are allocated to helping overseas. But that's not what Lamar Hassan is hoping for. She is 15 and watching the election from the sidelines. She said what she wants is to see the parties focus more on foreign policy and how they can help other places such as Ukraine and Gaza. "We're able to aid so we should be aiding more," she said. "I feel for people. Everyone deserves to have a good life, and as someone whose parents came here from a different country, they came here for me to have a better life and everyone deserve to have that chance." Moana Rae Michelbrink Rhynold is now 18 and will be voting for the first time. She said the issues she's following the most are the cost of housing and access to reproductive health. "I've been busy in my own world but I've heard snippets. The biggest thing is how the Conservative campaign has leaned a lot toward what's been happening in the States in terms of women's access to health care. That's the biggest thing that's scaring me." On Friday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre touched on this on the campaign trail. He was asked about a local candidate's views and said that, if elected, a Conservative government would not restrict access to abortion. Since CBC News was asking "what matters to you," children also stopped by to have their say. Many of them will vote at school in a parallel student election, even though it won't count for the general election. Jasmine Jones, 8, wrote "focus on the environment" and stuck that to the whiteboard to share with her neighbours.
CBC
08-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Alberta tourism continuing to grow after strongest pandemic rebound in Canada
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Alberta's tourism sector has rebounded and grown more quickly than any other province in the country, and industry representatives see more room for growth, even as a trade war with its most popular international market heats up. Recent years have seen the province's tourism sector grow, with Travel Alberta reporting visitor spending totalled $11.5 billion from January to September last year. That marked a 10 per cent increase from the same period in 2023, the most among all provinces. The province says its on track to hit its $13.4-billion goal in visitor spending last year, with a larger vision in mind for the sector to reach $25 billion by 2035. Tannis Gaffney, Travel Alberta's chief marketing officer, told CBC Radio's The Homestretch on Monday that more direct flights to Alberta hav helped boost international tourism, and that the wealth of outdoor tourist destinations makes it an international draw. She pointed out Alberta boasts six UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the most of any province. "We take it for granted, and it's just outside in our backyard that we have these amazing not only cultural gems, but really beautiful experiences that people put on their bucket list for years," Gaffney said. Representatives of the province's tourism sector are meeting across the province this month, in a Tourism Town Hall series popping up in four locations from April 3 to April 15. On Monday, they sat down at the Hangar Flight Museum in Calgary to talk industry trends and growth opportunities. Growth boosted by Indigenous experiences, direct flights The growth in the province's tourist options has partly worked to keep travellers visiting for longer, Tourism Industry Association of Alberta CEO Darren Reeder says, rather than making it a quick stop en route to British Columbia. "Traditionally what's happened is a lot of long-distance visitors come to Alberta, they spend a few days and then go to British Columbia. We want them to auger their entire vacation here in Alberta," Reeder said. While Alberta's national parks and the Rocky Mountains have long been popular destinations, tourism officials point to newer developments they believe are driving growth like Nordic spas in Canmore and Kananaskis, or converted grain silos into accommodations on farms near Pincher Creek. The industry has also responded positively to Alberta's recent All-Seasons Resorts Act. The bill created a new regulator for all-seasons resorts on public land, of which there are currently none, to boost tourism outside of summertime. Officials also point to high demand for Indigenous offerings for tourists, that's growing across Canada, but particularly in Alberta. Indigenous Tourism Alberta CEO Chelsea Quirk said one-in-three international visitors want these offerings, with higher demand among Canadian travellers — especially in younger generations. She said her organization looks to ensure the offerings for tourists are culturally appropriate and coming from Indigenous-led groups and entrepreneurs. "When we got to people, it has to be what they want to be. We can help them fine tune those things and give them the programming they need to do it, but it has to come from the community," Quirk said. U.S. travellers still a growing market The country that Alberta sees the most international visitors from is the U.S., which Reeder said is a still steadily growing market, even amid a trade war between the two countries. "Americans have always travelled in the face of having a fairly strong presence, politically speaking, elsewhere in the world and that has not deterred them," Reeder said.
CBC
28-03-2025
- CBC
Speeding, noise pollution targeted by Calgary's new traffic safety team
Team will consist of eight peace officers and two sergeants Speeding and noise pollution in residential areas will be more closely monitored by a new initiative that the city launched on Thursday. Calgary's new traffic safety team is a 12-month pilot program focused on enforcing speed limits in playground zones, tackling noisy vehicle violations and spreading traffic safety education. Approved by city council in November 2023, the team includes eight peace officers and two sergeants, building on work already being done by the Calgary Police Service. The team's spokesperson, community safety inspector Brad Johnson, said its primary focus initially will be monitoring playground zones. "Adding resources that we're going to bring to the table with peace officers helps in these areas of high sensitivity. We're talking about playground zones, we're talking about in front of schools. Our concern is safety for people utilizing those spaces," Johnson told CBC Radio's The Homestretch on Thursday. LISTEN | Bradley Johnson on the new traffic safety team: Media Audio | The Homestretch : Traffic Safety Team Caption: Why Calgary is creating a new team of peace officers for traffic enforcement. Open Full Embed in New Tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. Johnson said the team will use information gathered from traffic incidents to identify areas around Calgary where they find a high volume of traffic safety concerns. Launching on Thursday, Johnson said the team is expected to hit the streets at the start of April to work with CPS and Calgary 911 on traffic enforcement. Johnson added the team's launch is timely because the population boom in Calgary has led to more drivers, pedestrians and cyclists using the city's roads. In high-complaint areas, the city said the public can expect to see increased enforcement efforts. The work will be coupled with public awareness campaigns rolling out ahead of stricter bylaw enforcement so residents understand what to expect from the program. Andy Woodward, the acting inspector for CPS's traffic section, said on Thursday the new team won't replace existing CPS traffic units, but will instead work with them to alleviate some of the pressure of their work. He expressed optimism about the new pilot program's usefulness. "I'm pretty confident this is going to succeed, and I would think in 12 months time we'll be looking at saying can we expand it, and if we can expand it we will do so," Woodward said. Michelle Perrault is one Calgary resident who said the new effort is welcomed, arguing any time more monitoring is done on speeding, it's useful to the community they're deployed into. "I think people will be more attentive to slow down, watch out," Perrault said. But some residents in Calgary aren't as confident. Sarah Young-Fleming said she's previously complained about speeding on her street in the city's southwest, and has noticed more policing only has a temporary effect. "It changes for a day while the police are here, but then they leave and everybody's back to speeding," Young-Fleming said, who added she'd rather see speed bumps installed.
CBC
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Come see CBC's The Homestretch live at the Banff Public Library
Open to the public, no tickets required CBC Radio's The Homestretch will broadcast live on location at the Banff Public Library on Thursday, March 13, as part of CBC/Radio-Canada's ongoing partnership with public libraries, known as Collab. From 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., the public can attend the special broadcast — free of charge and no ticket needed — while hosts Chris dela Torre and Jenny Howe focus in on some of the bigger issues affecting Banffites, with stories from those living in surrounding communities. Banff-born musician Amelie Patterson will perform live. Other special guests include Banff Mayor Corrie DiManno, Banff Public Library director Sarah McCormack, Banff and Lake Louise Tourism's vice-president of destination development David Matys, and more. Thursday's conversation will feature information on the new CBC Banff bureau, which will cover the Bow Valley and the national park, including Canmore, Lake Louise and Kananaskis. Attendees will also hear from residents on what they love about their community, why they choose to live in the mountain town, and what they're most concerned about for the future of Banff. For those who can't attend in person, listeners can tune in live to 99.1 FM in Calgary or use the CBC Listen app.
