Alberta

One library faces a $100,000 bill. Is there a way to fight back?

"'In Alberta we believe in free speech. Full stop.'

So says Alberta’s premier, Danielle Smith.

And it’s true... sort of.

We absolutely believe in free speech here in Wild Rose Country... except when we don’t. And there are no exceptions, ever... except when there are.

Well, you’ve got to hand it to Ms. Smith, she has chutzpah — famously defined by American humourist Leo Rosten as 'that quality enshrined in a man who, having killed his mother and father, throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan.'

Smith made the comment quoted above in a little video widely circulated online Tuesday, apparently in response to another short video, posted by the Edmonton Police Service, encouraging members of the public to report incidents of hate..."

by David Climenhaga

Book censors have flooded social media with out-of-context book excerpts and imagery to support their arguments. In 2025 alone, more than 4,200 titles touching on race, gender, and sexuality were challenged in the United States.

According to Paul T. Jaeger, a professor and scholar at the University of Maryland’s College of Information, the purpose of current censorship movements is not to simply remove individual books from library shelves, as is typically the case with concerned parents. Their goal is to erase entire groups of people from society.

Canada isn’t immune to the issues ailing the United States. Up until recently, the Canadian government censored gender diverse books and authors that failed a test called the Hicklin test, which had roots in an English obscenity trial from 1868.

Like their American counterparts, far-right groups like Action4Canada hold workshops to inform parents on the dangers of “sexually explicit” books, and instigate them to mobilize against LGBTQ2S+ rights, which they characterize as indoctrination.

Early in 2025, the CBC reported on the impact anti-LGBTQ2S+ narratives are having on Albertans. In Valleyview, a small town in northern Alberta, a 17-year-old became fearful of her own neighbours, who accosted the transgender teen for having stood up in support of LGBTQ2S+ titles in the public library’s catalogue.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/68172438

We need to do more to protect our most vulnerable. Please consider signing this petition on Change.org

https://c.org/tjZZbNbqzL

Alberta has eliminated the practice of semi-annual clock changes and adopted permanent Alberta Time.

A new West Coast pipeline is stoking industry excitement. But oilsands giants may be wary of spending big to grow, analysts say.

Energy and environmental organizations are reacting with alarm to the new Canada-Alberta deal to build a new oil pipeline to the West Coast, questioning whether new buyers can be found for the oil that may eventually flow through the pipelines.

Has anyone ever seen Danielle (devastation) Smith and Sarah Chucklefuck Sanders in the same room? I have a theory that they are the same person.

Alberta's tariff impact, political response to Trump and more have made it a Canadian outlier.