Alberta’s failing classrooms: The decline of education goes far beyond funding
Throwing more money at the K–12 system won’t fix what’s broken. Accountability, parenting, and high standards must return to the heart of education.
Teacher preparation and accountability also require honest examination. While many educators are passionate and capable, some lack the skills or subject matter knowledge necessary for effective instruction. Yet, due to rigid employment protections, removing consistently underperforming teachers is extremely difficult. Universities, too, must bear responsibility. Faculties of Education are graduating new teachers who often lack proficiency in math, literacy, or science — the very subjects they are expected to teach.
Meanwhile, the curriculum has expanded beyond recognition. In the drive to address every social or ideological issue of the day, we have diluted focus on the academic fundamentals — English or French language proficiency, mathematics, science, and civics. Students leave high school with inflated grades but insufficient skills.
Alberta’s own statistics tell the story. Roughly 20% to 25% of Grade 12 graduates require upgrading in English, math, or science before qualifying for university or technical school.
https://www.westernstandard.news/opinion/burton-albertas-failing-classrooms-the-decline-of-education-goes-far-beyond-funding/68225
Fred Hahn Ousted as CUPE Turns on Its Own Activist Leadership
Fred Hahn’s removal from his national position at CUPE marks more than the downfall of a single leader—it exposes how deeply Canada’s largest unions have been captured by ideological activism. For years, CUPE Ontario has drifted from collective bargaining and workers’ rights toward political radicalism, social-justice campaigns, and foreign-policy crusades. Hahn’s ousting wasn’t just about his rhetoric—it was about what CUPE has become.
At this week’s CUPE National Convention, delegates voted to reject a resolution endorsing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and to strip Hahn of his vice-presidency. But the documents coming out of the convention reveal a far more troubling picture. Fewer than one in ten resolutions addressed bread-and-butter issues like wages, pensions, or working conditions. Roughly a third of the agenda was devoted to ideological or geopolitical issues—condemning ...
A Hint Of Opium Wars: Trump's Campaign Against The Fentanyl Epidemic
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Shift of Focus to Canada
Looking north, at the Canadian border: journalist Sam Cooper recently highlighted in an interview that Canada has become a money-laundering hub for Chinese and Mexican drug cartels over the years.
He refers to the so-called Vancouver model, which in four years facilitated cumulative money laundering from U.S. drug trade exceeding $300 billion. Cooper criticizes the Canadian legislature for failing to effectively deploy the rule of law against these cartels. Moreover, the country has itself become a net producer of fentanyl, with Vancouver as a central hub of activity.
Here too, President Donald Trump is intensifying measures and directly linking a tough trade policy against Canada with the fentanyl crisis. Trump repeatedly hints that parts of Canada – especially the resource-rich province of Alberta – could one day switch sides and possibly become a new U.S. state – a provocation...
