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Thursday, August 7, 2025

Alberta charter school founder says teachers are ‘too busy’ with curriculum to implant biases

By
Rachel Parker
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Following accusations that a Calgary school teacher was pushing an anti-conservative agenda to students, the founder of a new Alberta charter school says she’s not concerned her educators will start implanting their biases onto students because they’re “too busy” teaching students a fundamentally different curriculum. 

Caylan Ford said the Calgary Classical Academy rejects the view that education should be seen as a means of vehicle for social transformation, a philosophy progressive education reformers began to embrace in the 20th century. 

“That’s part of why you end up with a lot of this kind of thing in schools — a lot of focus on contemporary social issues on turning students into agents of change,” she said. 

Ford said teachers at the Calgary Classical Academy are busy teaching students subjects like Latin, music and world history. 

“We expose kids to texts in works of art and literature, and stories that have stood the test of time and are in some cases centuries or millennia old,” she said.

“Frankly, we don’t have time for much else beyond that.” 

Ford’s Calgary Classical Academy opened in August 2022. After families in Edmonton began contacting her “desperate” for their kids to access a classical education, she decided to expand with an Edmonton location, set to open the 2023-24 academic year.

True North reported last week that a concerned parent posted screenshots online of what appears to be a PowerPoint slide from a Calgary teacher showing examples of “appropriate” and “inappropriate” opinions. One example of an appropriate phrase was “Black Lives Matter,” while the phrase “All Lives Matter” was characterized as inappropriate.

Another slideshow was titled “great speakers” and included photos of child climate activist Greta Thunberg, Michelle Obama and Alberta’s former chief public health officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw. 

The parent further told True North that the teacher described examples of “bad speakers” as prominent conservatives like Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, former President Donald Trump, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. 

The Calgary Board of Education won’t comment on the issue, saying it’s an “individual personnel matter.”

Ford says she often hears from parents concerned that their local public schools may not be teaching in a way that accords with the family’s values.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean that there are circumstances like the one that’s alleged here, but there’s a general sense among a lot of parents that they can’t trust their schools,” she said.

“We just espouse a different anthropology and a different understanding of the purpose of education, about the individual dignity and equipping them with the tools of moral intellectual discernment that can apply in various circumstances.”

Smith rejects nurses group request to impose mask mandate

By
Rachel Parker
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Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has shut down a request from the United Nurses of Alberta to reimpose a mask mandate in indoor spaces. 

The nurses group made the demand after Alberta Health Services announced an emergency situation at the Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton following a surge of kids with respiratory viruses.

Smith said she is aware of the situation, but her government has been clear that anyone who feels comfortable wearing a mask should “feel free to do so.” 

“I always appreciate the input of our frontline workers, but we do support choice,” Smith said.

United Nurses of Alberta president Heather Smith issued an open letter to Smith on Tuesday, as the intensive care unit at the Stollery reached 100% capacity.

“For the sake of Alberta’s children, and all Albertans, it is imperative that our government cease treating this situation as if it were a political inconvenience and address it immediately as the public health crisis that it is,” she wrote. 

The letter said a mask mandate would be easy for people to comply with, but also effective to reduce the spread of seasonal viruses “influenza, COVID-19, and RSV.” 

During the United Conservative Party leadership race, Smith promised to do away with Covid-19 restrictions like mask and vaccine mandates. 

Last month, Smith made good on her promise to ban masks in schools through regulatory changes. She also announced that she won’t permit schools to move classes entirely online anymore, saying parents and students have told her they desire a regular school environment. 

In the summer, former Chief Medical Health Officer Deena Hinshaw announced that mandatory masks in public transit, rideshares and taxes would be lifted as of August 19. 

The province also lifted the remaining pandemic restrictions that day, saying people who test positive for Covid-19 would not be mandated to quarantine anymore and Albertans with covid symptoms will not be asked to get tested, but to stay at home until they feel better. 

Ratio’d | This sucks.

By
Harrison Faulkner
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Doesn’t it really suck when you break the law six times in seven years? That’s what Justin Trudeau said in his year-end interview with CTV News. He also went on to say that although “it sucks” when cabinet ministers violate the conflict of interest laws, “the system is working”. If you can enrich your friends with taxpayer money without facing any consequences the system is definitely working for you… but is it really working for everyone else?

Also on the show, Justin Trudeau told Canadians that “he has to” take away your hunting rifles and that he will not apologize for his comments made toward Freedom Convoy protesters.

Stay tuned for the final Ratio of the Week winner before the Ratio of the Year finale episode on December 29th.

Tune in to the latest episode of Ratio’d with Harrison Faulkner!

The Rupa Subramanya Show | What’s in the Twitter Files? (Ft. Katherine Brodsky)

By
Rupa Subramanya
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Internal documents from Twitter released by Elon Musk and shared by journalists Matt Taibbi and Bari Weiss reveal how Twitter deliberately moderated content, shadow banned users, and filtered visibility on certain posts. Who was affected by Twitter’s moderation and which stories were hidden from plain site? What exactly was revealed in the Twitter Files?

Joining Rupa on the show today is Katherine Brodsky, a writer with Wired, Mashable, Newsweek, Variety, Esquire and the Washington Post. Rupa and Katherine examine the revelations that came out of the Twitter Files and what they mean for the future of Twitter as the digital public square.

Tune into The Rupa Subramanya Show on True North!

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Taxpayers billed nearly $2.8 million for vaccine injury compensation

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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The federal government has paid out nearly $2.8 million to claimants injured by a vaccine authorized by Health Canada. 

Newly unveiled statistics from June 1, 2021 to December 1, 2022 show that 1,067 claims of vaccine injury have been found admissible for compensation by the federal Vaccine Injury Support Program.

In total, 1,276 claims were filed but 209 were found to be inadmissable after not meeting “eligibility criteria or (being) unable to move forward in the process due to incomplete information or ineligibility.”

Successful applicants were paid $2,779,277 since the program began. It is not clear how much each individual has received or what the largest single payout was. 

To be eligible for compensation under the program a claimant has to prove that the injury was severe, life-threatening or life-altering that may “require in-person hospitalization, or a prolongation of existing hospitalization” and resulted in “persistent or significant disability or incapacity, or where the outcome is a congenital malformation or death.” 

Compensation is only available for vaccines authorized by Health Canada on or after December 8, 2020. 

Currently there are another 662 claims being processed while another 48 are undergoing a Medical Review Board assessment. 

According to Public Health Agency of Canada statistics 42,545 “non-serious” adverse events have been reported following Covid-19 vaccination. Another 10,519 adverse events were found to have been serious. 

As first reported by True North, Canadians told a Health Canada focus group survey that the federal government’s mass Covid-19 vaccination campaign was perceived to be “threatening” and “bossy.” 

“The main weakness in the concept was the part of the tagline in both storyboards that reads “Get vaccinated” as many participants believe that getting vaccinated remains a choice and that they are not receptive to any messaging that is telling them what do to,” wrote Health Canada.

“A few also felt the tagline was a bit “bossy” and should suggest parents get their children vaccinated rather than telling them to do so.”

Health Canada financed children’s “activity book” explaining doctor-assisted suicide

By
Andrew Kozak
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A government funded “activity book” targeted toward teaching children about doctor-assisted suicide has recently resurfaced.

Canadian Virtual Hospice first published the booklet in July in order to prepare children who have someone in their life who may have chosen Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD). Topics in the booklet include defining MAiD, who is eligible and how it is administered to a patient.

“A person can only have MAiD if they are at least 18 years old,” it reads. “And if they have a serious illness or disability that hurts their body or their mind so much that it feels too hard to keep living.”

“The person having MAiD will get three different medicines. They are usually given in an IV. Then the needle is taken out and the straw can be used to send medicine straight into a person’s body in their blood,” describes the booklet. 

The booklet continues by describing how lethal injection works: “The first medicine makes the person feel very relaxed and fall asleep. They may yawn or snore or mumble. The second medicine causes a “coma.” A coma looks like sleep but is much deeper than regular sleep. The person will not wake up or be bothered by noise or touch. The third medicine makes the person’s lungs stop breathing and then their heart stops beating.”

In a section titled: “What if I (or someone else) don’t want them to have MAiD?” the booklet writes: “MAiD is a personal choice. That means that no one can decide for another person. Each person has to decide for themselves.”

The booklet also suggests children to “Draw or write about your ideas and feelings about the person in your life who is choosing MAiD.”

Doctor-assisted suicide was legalized in Canada in 2016 for limited situations, but is expanding at an alarming rate.

In an interview with True North, the Executive Director of Canadian Physicians for life Nicole Scheidl said the booklet’s approach was “insidious.”

“The authors suggest that euthanasia is a medical practice and that medicine is used to euthanize a person,” said Scheidl. “Euthanasia is not medical treatment. It is what happens when medicine fails.”

On top of that, Scheidl says the booklet does not accurately describe how euthanasia drugs work and that it “glosses over the issues raised by the drugs used.”

“The entire booklet is focused on normalizing euthanasia as the best way to die.” said Scheidl.

“The medical evidence is overwhelming that determining whether someone will recover from mental illness is impossible to predict. Psychiatrists report that individuals who are suicidal are now no longer accepting treatment as they are waiting for the March expansion of euthanasia.” said Scheidl.

“When someone is suicidal, they can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. We should help them towards the light, not facilitate the ending of their lives,” Scheidl continued.

When asked about what Canadians should know about doctor-assisted suicide, Scheidl replied, “Practitioners are offering assisted suicide to individuals whose motivations are driven by social concerns like loneliness, poverty, and abandonment. Even though the law does not accept this as criteria, it is happening. And of course, we are only seeing some of the many stories being reported in the media.”

Last summer, an official with Veterans Affairs Canada brought up doctor-assisted euthanasia with a veteran who was seeking treatment for mental health issues. The veteran, who wished to remain anonymous, was told to see doctor-assisted suicide without prompt.

In a special joint committee on MAiD in October, Dr. Louis Roy from the Quebec College of Physicians suggested parents would one day be able to request assisted death for babies.

The revised legislation on MAiD became law on March 17, 2021 which expanded eligibility to individuals whose death is not reasonably foreseeable. 

Doctor-assisted suicide will expand and become legal for those struggling with mental illnesses starting in March 2023. The government has delayed the expansion in order to consider recommendations from expert panelists working with the provinces.

The Daily Brief | Alberta fights back against Trudeau’s “absurd” EV mandate

By
Anthony Furey
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Source: Facebook

The Trudeau government has announced that by 2035, every major passenger vehicle sold in Canada will need to be electric. However, as first reported by True North, the Alberta government has come out swinging saying that they may use the Sovereignty Act for the first time to oppose it.

Plus, a firearms group is pointing out that after denying his government’s latest firearms ban would affect hunters, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has conceded it does exactly that.

And despite Trudeau’s assertion that he was never briefed about the Chinese government interfering in Canada’s electoral system, it was revealed that an unredacted Privy Council Office document warned the government about Chinese operations in Canada in February 2020.

Tune into the final episode of The Daily Brief for 2022 with Anthony Furey and Jasmine Moulton!

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Alberta may use Sovereignty Act to oppose Trudeau EV mandate

By
Rachel Parker
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The Alberta government is considering ways to push back on the Liberals’ “absurd” electric vehicle mandate, including employing the province’s new Sovereignty Act for the first time. 

On Wednesday, Liberal Minister Environment Steven Guilbeault announced that every major passenger vehicle sold in Canada must be electric by 2035.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s office says the mandate is a clear violation of Alberta’s right to freely regulate its economy.

“Our Cabinet and Caucus will discuss this issue and what tools we will consider using to push back on this absurd federal policy, including potential use of the Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act,” the premier’s office said in a statement to True North. 

The premier’s office also said the announcement is “exceptionally tone-deaf” as Albertans and Canadians struggle with inflation.

“Not only will this Ottawa edict cost taxpayers and ratepayers tens of billions for needed grid upgrades, it will drive up the costs of purchasing vehicles, and erode Albertan’s freedom to choose what vehicle they need to meet their and their family’s needs.”

The legislation would add requirements to car manufacturers and importers to meet annual sales targets beginning with the 2026 model year, meaning 20% of vehicle sales must be electric. 

By 2030, that target will grow to 60% of all sales, until 2035 when all vehicles sold will be required to be electric.

Per the regulations, manufacturers or importers who don’t meet the sales targets could face penalties under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. Penalties under the act range from a fine $15,000 to imprisonment for up to three years for first offences. 

Smith’s Sovereignty Act legislation passed the Alberta legislature earlier this month, just ten days after being tabled.

The government says Bill 1 allows the province “to stand up to federal government overreach and interference in areas of provincial jurisdiction, including… private property, natural resources, agriculture, firearms, regulation of the economy and delivery of health, education and other social programs.”

The bill lays out a legislative framework for Alberta to formally defend its provincial jurisdiction while respecting Indigenous and treaty rights, Canada’s Constitution and the courts.

When it was introduced, Smith said she hopes the province will “never have to use this bill.” 

“It begins the conversation with Ottawa so that they do not continue to pass aggressive policy targeted specifically at our industry and specifically at our development of our natural resources,” she said.

The Andrew Lawton Show | Who won at the Public Order Emergencies Commission? (ft. Paul Wells)

By
Andrew Lawton
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It’s been almost a year since the first leg Freedom Convoy set out for Ottawa from Delta, British Columbia in a weeks-long protest culminating in the federal government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act and a swift expulsion of the protesters from Ottawa. This fall, the Public Order Emergency Commission convened to investigate the circumstances leading to the emergency declaration. While the Commission was about fact-finding, for some of the parties and witnesses it was about face-saving. Journalist Paul Wells, who covered the hearings on his popular Substack, joined True North’s Andrew Lawton to discuss the winners and losers of the Commission’s hearings. Wells is the author of An Emergency in Ottawa: The Story of the Convoy Commission, which will be published in March as the second edition of Sutherland Quarterly.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE ANDREW LAWTON SHOW

Ottawa announces all vehicles sold by 2035 are required to be electric

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

The Liberal government has announced that by 2035, every major passenger vehicle sold in Canada will need to be electric. 

On Wednesday, Liberal Minister of Environment Steven Guilbeault unveiled the zero-emission vehicle sales target. 

The legislation will work by adding requirements to car manufacturers and importers to meet annual sale targets beginning with the 2026 model year – meaning 20% of vehicle sales must be electric. 

By 2030, that target will grow to 60% of all sales until 2035 when all vehicles sold will be required to be electric.

“With Canada’s deep experience in auto-parts manufacturing, vehicle assembly, and with all of the critical minerals needed for batteries found here, Canada is well positioned to be a leader in making the vehicles that the world is looking to drive,” claimed Guilbeault in a press release. 

“With (zero emission vehicles), we can cut pollution, create jobs, and make life more affordable for families across the country.”

Critics have argued that the production of electric vehicles is very emission intensive, including the process of extracting minerals like nickel, cobalt and lithium to create lithium-ion batteries. 

In 2020, the CBC reported that nickel production results in “air pollution, water contamination and the destruction of habitats.”

The government’s new regulations will not apply to the production of emergency vehicles. 

Manufacturers who fail to meet the targets could be punished under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. 

As it stands, fully-electric or hybrid vehicle sales made up only 7.2% of new car registrations at the beginning of the year. In 2021, they were only 5.2% of the market. 

The federal government has also largely failed to meet its own standards with records showing that less than 5% of federal fleet vehicles purchased in the last year being electric powered. 

According to an Inquiry of Ministry first reported on by Blacklock’s Reporter, of the 2,899 vehicles purchased by the federal government since 2020 only 137 were electric and 782 were hybrid vehicles. 

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