Juno News - Smith demands apology over Skate Canada’s “disgraceful” Alberta ban

00:00:00.000 Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is calling Skate Canada's decision to ban future events in Alberta

00:00:16.160 disgraceful, demanding an apology after the organization moved to punish the province

00:00:21.380 over legislation protecting women's and girls' sports, and other key figures and organizations

00:00:26.440 are starting to take Smith's side. Calgary City Council has voted to end the practice of flying

00:00:31.460 foreign national flags at City Hall following an intense debate sparked by chants and messaging

00:00:36.200 that councillors say crossed the line into anti-Semitism. I'll also break down why Elections

00:00:41.000 Alberta is getting nearly $10 million in extra taxpayer funding as recall petitions, almost

00:00:46.260 entirely targeting UCP MLAs continue to surge. Plus, the City of Edmonton is seeking exemptions

00:00:52.160 to bring back controversial speed on green photo radar at major intersections, even as

00:00:56.980 the Alberta government pushes back. And finally, Alberta's $15 a day childcare program has been

00:01:02.700 granted a one-year lifeline after Ottawa agreed to extend funding while longer-term negotiations

00:01:07.720 continue. All that and more on this week's Alberta Roundup. I'm Isaac Lamoureux and let's

00:01:11.740 get right into that first story. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is demanding an apology from

00:01:16.780 Skate Canada after the national figure skating body announced it will no longer host national,

00:01:21.980 or international events in the province because the Premier dared to protect women's and girls

00:01:27.000 sports from biological males. In a statement posted to Exxon Tuesday, Smith accused Skate Canada of

00:01:33.820 punishing Alberta for choosing to protect women's and girls sports, calling the decision disgraceful

00:01:39.720 and out of step with international norms. She said, quote, women and girls have the right to play

00:01:46.280 competitive sports in a safe and fair environment against other biological females. This view is held

00:01:52.800 by a vast majority of Albertans and Canadians. It is also common sense and common decency.

00:01:59.220 Smith said Skate Canada's decision was a direct response to Alberta's legislation,

00:02:03.300 which requires athletes aged 12 and older to confirm they were female sex at birth in order to compete in

00:02:09.740 female only divisions while still allowing mixed sex categories. Parental consent is also required for

00:02:15.640 minors. The Premier said, quote, we expect they will apologize and adjust their policies once they

00:02:21.720 realize they are not only compromising the fairness and safety of their athletes, but are also offside

00:02:26.920 with the international community, including the International Olympic Committee, which is moving in the same

00:02:32.300 direction as Alberta. Skate Canada confirmed on Tuesday that Alberta is no longer eligible to host national or

00:02:38.920 international skating events while the law remains in force. The organization said, quote,

00:02:44.580 following a careful assessment of Alberta's Fairness and Safety in Sport Act, Skate Canada has determined

00:02:49.740 that we are unable to host events in the province while maintaining our national standards for safe and

00:02:54.660 inclusive sport. Tourism and Sport Minister Andrew Boychenko backed Smith's criticism, saying Skate Canada is

00:03:00.720 failing to protect its own female athletes by refusing to hold events in Alberta. He said, quote,

00:03:06.340 it is disappointing that Skate Canada is refusing to support and protect their own female athletes.

00:03:12.080 No athlete should have an unfair advantage and no athlete should have to put themselves at risk of

00:03:16.220 harm to participate in the sports they love. Conservative leader Pierre Paliève also joined in on the fun.

00:03:22.420 He said, quote, Premier Smith is right. Biological men don't belong in women's sports, period. Protect safety and

00:03:30.200 fairness for women and girls. And it seems that other organizations are also aligning with Smith,

00:03:34.800 not Skate Canada. Of course, Paliève was referencing an article showing that Boxing Canada took Smith's

00:03:40.460 side. Hockey Canada and Curling Canada also said the same to CTV News. So Skate Canada really may be

00:03:47.320 offside on their own. The Fairness and Safety in Sport Act came into effect on September 1st. The

00:03:53.320 legislation requires governing bodies to ensure female-only competitions are reserved for biological

00:03:58.780 females, while allowing for mixed-sex divisions. The Alberta UCP further invoked the Notwithstanding

00:04:05.340 Clause on the Act, which is Bill 29, along with a suite of other transgender-related legislation.

00:04:11.180 This was to shut down ongoing court battles and ensure the laws took effect without delay.

00:04:15.740 When doing so, Smith gave a message directly to young Albertans who were navigating their identity.

00:04:20.600 She said, quote,

00:04:21.440 You deserve dignity, understanding, and support. We will never stop working to keep you safe.

00:04:26.760 You belong in Alberta. We firmly believe that. We also believe it's our duty to protect you.

00:04:32.240 The legislation is about your future. So when the time comes, you have every opportunity to make

00:04:37.040 the adult decisions that are rightfully yours and yours alone. Justice Minister Mickey Amory said

00:04:42.480 the government believes invoking the clause would effectively halt ongoing court challenges.

00:04:47.900 He said, quote,

00:04:49.700 We've said previously that we're prepared to use every single legal and constitutional tool available

00:04:55.420 to protect the well-being of young people, and that's why we'll be invoking the Notwithstanding

00:04:59.960 Clause. We believe that this is a necessary measure to ensure that these laws stand without further

00:05:05.300 court delay or uncertainty. However, for our next story, we'll zoom in from the nation onto Calgary.

00:05:11.640 Calgary City Hall will no longer fly foreign national flags after City Council narrowly passed a motion

00:05:17.660 to amend its flag policy in an 8-7 vote. The change, backed by Mayor Jeremy Farkas and moved by

00:05:23.480 Councillor Dan McLean, removes all provisions allowing foreign flags to be flown on municipal

00:05:28.040 property, including during national days or official visits. The motion amends Calgary's flag policy by

00:05:33.860 removing all provisions allowing the city to fly foreign national flags at City Hall, including on

00:05:38.480 national days or during visits by international dignitaries. It repeals sections that previously permitted

00:05:44.000 those flag raisings and removes the policy's definition of a national day, effectively ending

00:05:48.560 official civic recognition of other countries through flag displays. It also updates the rules

00:05:53.160 for ceremonial and solemn occasions to explicitly exclude flags of nations, barring foreign flags from

00:05:59.080 being flown or lowered to half-mast under any circumstance. As a result, City Hall flag displays will

00:06:05.660 be limited to Canadian, provincial, and municipal flags. And Calgary's new mayor, Farkas, he celebrated the

00:06:11.020 decision. He said, quote, This provides clarity and consistency in our civic spaces, keeping the focus

00:06:17.000 on municipal responsibilities, and continuing to celebrate Calgary's diversity through inclusive,

00:06:21.960 community-led ways. McLean said what began as a unifying gesture had become deeply divisive,

00:06:27.420 pointing to chants and imagery associated with previous flag raisings. He said, quote,

00:06:32.460 As a municipal government, we have a responsibility to ensure that the spaces and ceremonies we oversee

00:06:37.760 reflect neutrality, unity, and respect for all Calgarians. City Hall should be a place where

00:06:43.320 residents feel welcome and safe, regardless of background, faith, or heritage. And while there

00:06:47.840 was some back and forth among councillors during the debate, they eventually clarified that the

00:06:51.460 motion was being moved directly in response to the Palestinian flag being raised in Calgary after

00:06:56.640 Prime Minister Mark Carney recognized it as a state. And the recent vote follows an earlier attempt to

00:07:02.320 fast-track the same proposal that failed on procedural grounds last month, delaying the issue for future

00:07:08.200 consideration. At the time, councillors clarified that the vote had nothing to do with the motion

00:07:12.560 substance, just whether it was worth fast-tracking, which they deemed it was not. McLean referenced some

00:07:17.300 of the chants that took place when the Palestinian flag was raised. He said, quote, By having a certain

00:07:21.780 chanting, which I've seen here in City Hall, globalize the Intifada, from the river to the sea,

00:07:27.060 red triangles, we all know what those mean. Those are calls for violence. The American Jewish

00:07:31.880 Committee, of course, defines from the river to the sea as a phrase that can be used to call

00:07:36.200 for the elimination of the state of Israel and or ethnic cleansing of Jews living there,

00:07:41.540 to be replaced with Palestinian control over the entire territory from the Jordan River to the

00:07:46.080 Mediterranean Sea. McLean explained that councillors were in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He added that the

00:07:51.780 provincial government is moving towards a similar policy. He said, quote, It's not about creating

00:07:56.340 division, it's about easing division. Let's treat everybody the same and just have the flag of Calgary,

00:08:01.560 Alberta, Canada. Council ultimately carried the motion with eight councillors voting in favour

00:08:07.220 and seven opposed. I should say seven councillors and the mayor that voted in favour. With the

00:08:11.260 amendment adopted, Calgary City Hall will now fly only Canadian, provincial and municipal flags.

00:08:16.460 Cultural celebrations and national observances are expected to continue through community-led

00:08:20.820 events elsewhere in the city. But for our next story, we'll stretch back out to a more provincial

00:08:25.300 story. That being that Alberta taxpayers are on the hook for nearly $10 million in additional

00:08:30.540 funding for Elections Alberta recall petitions, which of course almost entirely target United

00:08:35.880 Conservative Party MLAs, and they continue to surge. The Standing Committee on Legislative

00:08:40.360 Offices unanimously approved the supplemental funding after Chief Electoral Officer Gordon

00:08:44.960 McClure returned with revised cost estimates, scaling back his original projection of $1.1 million

00:08:51.540 per recall petition, which would have costed $23.1 million for the current 21 active recall

00:08:57.540 petitions that are seemingly continuing to grow. 20 of the 21 petitions are targeting UCP MLAs,

00:09:04.740 partially organised by Operation Total Recall, which is a group targeting the 47 UCP MLAs who

00:09:10.360 supported using the Notwithstanding Clause to send teachers back to work and protect children's

00:09:15.220 right to education. The single NDP MLA facing a recall petition, Amanda Chapman, actually recused

00:09:20.720 herself from the committee meeting where the funding was approved. UCP MLA Chelsea Petrovic commended the

00:09:26.300 government for respecting taxpayers' dollars by questioning the elections officer's original

00:09:30.980 estimate of $1.1 million per recall verification, which he has since reduced to $317,500 each.

00:09:38.800 She said, quote, looking at other jurisdictions, that is a much more reasonable number. The numbers

00:09:44.040 needed to be looked at, and obviously for good when we're talking about taxpayers' dollars. The $317,500

00:09:50.140 per petition would cost taxpayers about $6.7 million for the 21 currently active petitions,

00:09:56.460 and Elections Alberta previously requested over $13 million in additional funding to manage these

00:10:01.400 petitions, but that request was denied. If all 47 eligible UCP MLAs listed by Operation Total Recall

00:10:08.160 had petitions approved against them, the estimated cost would still be nearly $15 million. Friday's

00:10:14.140 unanimously supported motion provided almost $10 million in supplementary funding to Elections Alberta

00:10:19.000 for the 2025-26 fiscal year. Other costs highlighted by the committee included salary

00:10:24.300 adjustments for Elections Alberta staff and event preparation and readiness for the upcoming

00:10:28.560 general election and possible referenda. Alberta Premier Daniel Smith, who is also facing a recall

00:10:33.740 petition, previously debated with NDP leader Nahed Nenshi about the process being abused. Nenshi accused

00:10:39.860 her of abandoning her support for the recall process. Smith said it was, quote, being abused and misused by

00:10:46.060 the unions and others who are trying to take down this government, adding that the groups involved

00:10:50.400 were, quote, very open about the fact that it's a government overthrow. Smith confirmed that other

00:10:55.360 jurisdictions have highlighted the legislation's intent, which is to remove elected officials' derelict

00:11:00.100 in their duties. She said, quote, it was not intended to have unions weaponize it to bus people in and put

00:11:06.020 GoFundMes online in order to be able to topple the sitting government. That's what elections are for.

00:11:11.220 But for our next story, we'll hop back to municipality, this time Alberta's other biggest city in my home.

00:11:17.680 The city of Edmonton says it is aiming to bring back controversial speed on green photo radar at

00:11:23.080 high-risk intersections, even as the Alberta government says it has no plans to expand automated

00:11:28.740 traffic enforcement. Jessica Lamar, the director of safe mobility for the city of Edmonton, told me that

00:11:34.560 the province's criteria require cities to show one of three conditions. An intersection's collision ratio is

00:11:40.320 at least double the average of five similar intersections. The intersection sees at least

00:11:44.420 50 crashes annually or evidence of traffic fatalities or serious injuries. On top of meeting

00:11:50.040 one of those criteria, the municipality must also prove that other safety measures have been

00:11:54.360 ineffective or not possible. And Lamar provided 10 examples to me of intersections that would meet

00:11:59.600 the requirements for photo radar. Six of the examples had over 50 crashes a year and four showed

00:12:04.820 evidence of serious injuries. For example, 118th Avenue and Wayne Gretzky Drive had 8,778 speed

00:12:12.240 violations and 410 high-speed violations annually between 2022 and 2024. Of course, the data provided

00:12:21.440 are generally before the photo radar changes, suggesting that the photo radar changes were

00:12:26.900 ineffective anyways because people were still speeding in these intersections, so a bit confusing there.

00:12:31.360 And the city is also planning to increase traditional enforcement by hiring additional

00:12:35.620 peace officers. However, the Ministry of Transportation told True North that the provincial

00:12:39.720 government has no plans to expand photo radar beyond the current framework. A ministry spokesperson

00:12:44.940 told True North, quote, any use of automated traffic enforcement must meet the provincial guidelines,

00:12:50.360 which focus on high-risk locations such as school, playgrounds, and construction zones. Any new site

00:12:56.240 must meet the approval criteria, including clear evidence of collisions, proof that other safety measures have

00:13:00.860 not worked, and a commitment to implement complementary strategies alongside photo radar. They added that

00:13:05.600 the City of Edmonton has already submitted two exemption requests, which are currently under review.

00:13:10.020 The City of Edmonton told True North that the revenue from photo radar would fund traffic safety programs

00:13:15.520 through the Traffic Safety Act and Automated Enforcement Reserve. Lamar said, quote,

00:13:20.980 She explained that since photo radar was removed, excessive speeding has increased, including an 87% increase in

00:13:38.620 vehicles traveling between 20 and 29 kilometers an hour over the limit. Lamar said, quote,

00:13:43.920 Speed was a factor in every collision and was the direct cause of 57% of traffic fatalities in 2023.

00:13:50.900 Again, providing data from 2023, which is before the provincial photo radar changes took place,

00:13:56.640 so they were still active during this time. And a lot of people pushed back on X. One user said, quote,

00:14:02.160 Or, we could stop letting immigrants drive. Another said, quote,

00:14:06.620 They think it's the cameras, but it's mass, unvetted immigration.

00:14:10.320 Finally, one user asked,

00:14:12.320 They doubled the population with third-worlders. What do they expect?

00:14:16.160 But moving on to our last story, we'll cover a child care development in the province.

00:14:19.960 Alberta's $15 a day child care program has been temporarily rescued by a one-year funding extension

00:14:25.240 from Ottawa, keeping the program in place until March 31st, 2027. Education and child care minister

00:14:31.620 Demetrius Nicolaides said the extension provides breathing room while Alberta seeks a long-term

00:14:36.520 agreement better suited to the province's mixed child care model. He said, quote,

00:14:40.780 This extension is great news for Alberta families. It means parents will keep saving thousands of

00:14:46.000 dollars and more child care spaces will be available in communities that need the most.

00:14:50.260 The one-year extension covers both the Canada-Alberta early learning and child care agreement

00:14:54.920 and the Canada-wide Canada-Alberta early learning and child care agreement,

00:14:58.820 including the final year of the infrastructure funding stream. The extension delivers a combined

00:15:03.240 $1.17 billion from Ottawa in the 2026-27 fiscal year to support affordability measures and

00:15:10.200 workforce compensation. The agreement maintains the $15 a day fee for children kindergarten age and

00:15:15.640 younger in licensed daycare and family day home programs beyond March 31st, 2026. Parents will also

00:15:21.680 continue saving up to $100 per child per month on preschool fees, with combined provincial and

00:15:27.420 federal government funding covering about 80% of total costs. The provincial government estimates

00:15:32.120 this saves families $11,000 per child each year. Federal Minister of Employment, Workforce Development

00:15:37.840 and Disability Inclusion, Patty Hajdu, framed the extension as both a family support and an economic

00:15:43.000 policy when speaking at Friday's news conference. She said, around 900,000 children are benefiting from

00:15:48.880 affordable child care nationwide. Since November 2021, Alberta has introduced 51,000 new child care

00:15:56.000 spaces towards its goal of $68,700. She explained that the average savings per year per child would

00:16:02.700 work out to about $7,600. Hajdu said that more working-age mothers were participating in the labor

00:16:08.340 force than ever before at nearly 80%. The extension also removes a previous restriction that capped

00:16:14.560 federally supported family day home spaces at $14,500, allowing more home-based providers to

00:16:20.480 qualify for funding and expand capacity. Nicolaides said, quote, we could have rushed into a long-term

00:16:26.320 deal that maybe was not the best fit for Alberta, or we could try to find a temporary measure to

00:16:31.280 continue our work to find a system that actually meets the needs of Alberta families. Since joining the

00:16:36.200 federal program, Alberta reports more than 150,000 affordable child care spaces province-wide,

00:16:41.700 with about a third created since 2021. The number of certified early childhood educators has increased by

00:16:47.380 more than 75% to over 30,000 according to government figures. But that wraps up this week's Alberta

00:16:53.700 Roundup. My name's Isaac Lamoureux. Have a great weekend, thank you, and God bless, and also, Merry Christmas.

Juno News - December 21, 2025

Smith demands apology over Skate Canada’s “disgraceful” Alberta ban

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