Beyond Local

In many cases, the results of municipal election day in communities across Alberta don't stop on October 18.

Frances Haugen, who testified before a U.S. Senate committee on Oct. 5 that Facebook's products harm children and fuel polarization in the U.S., is proposing to create an independent ombudsman accountable to the House of Commons in Canada.

The Ponzi scheme structure is unintentional and not nefarious on the part of municipal governments, planners and leaders, who are not committing any kind of criminal conspiracy, said Daniel Herriges, a senior editor for Strong Towns, a non-profit group that advocates for more sustainable development.

Brig.-Gen. Bill Fletcher said he couldn't comment on what would happen to personnel who are not vaccinated. But the federal government has said public servants will be put on unpaid administrative leave if they aren't vaccinated by Oct. 29.

Political scientist Jared Wesley, the lead on a recent University of Alberta survey on referendum voting intentions, said the poll suggested the "Yes" side remains in the lead. But he said a disturbingly high percentage doesn’t understand how equalization works (44 per cent); wrongly believes Quebec gets the most per capita (85 per cent); and fails to understand Ottawa does not need provincial buy-in to change the equalization formula (62 per cent).

Canadians are – and will remain – among the biggest consumers of energy over the next decade, even as policies ramp up to make the country more energy-efficient, a global energy forecast suggests.

The federal government is mulling handing responsibility for verifying passengers' vaccination status to airport officers, rather than airlines – which hope to skip the headache.

It's the news nearly four million Canadians have been waiting to hear: people who received doses of two different COVID-19 vaccines will qualify as fully vaccinated when the U.S. reopens its land borders to non-essential travel next month.

Mike Parker, president of the Health Sciences Association of Alberta, said the province used to get 1,000 calls for service per day in the province and now they are getting around 1,500 calls for service per day.

"We’re already starting to hear some of our members indicate to our clients, who are the oil and gas producers, that we don’t have any rigs available. And it’s largely due to crew shortages," said Mark Scholz, chief executive of the Canadian Association of Energy Contractors.