India warns its citizens in Canada of ‘increase in hate crimes’ – Al Jazeera English

EDMONTON – Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says as classrooms get overwhelmed with new grade school students, her government will fast-track new school builds with $8.6 billion over the next three years.

In a televised address Tuesday evening, Smith said the province’s existing budget isn’t enough to keep up with rapid population growth in kindergarten to Grade 12 schools.

“This is quite literally the fastest and largest build our province can manage given available construction workforce capacity and the time it takes to permit, prepare and service available school sites,” said Smith.

The province’s population grew by more than 200,000 people in the last fiscal year.

The premier said often the only thing holding back the cash is school boards getting projects ready for construction.

“If you can prepare the sites, the province will have the dollars set aside to get shovels in the ground,” said Smith.

The government is changing the process of approving construction funding so school boards don’t need to wait every year for the next budget cycle to get the go-ahead.

Previously approved school projects that are now in the planning and design stages could move forward to the next stage as soon as they are ready.

Smith’s announcement comes as the province’s two largest divisions, Edmonton Public Schools and the Calgary Board of Education, say their schools are expected to have a utilization rate of well over 90 per cent this school year, with some schools hitting capacity.

The addition of some $6.5 billion in capital funding would be a significant boost to what was budgeted in February.

Budget 2024 originally earmarked $1.9 billion in capital funding over the next three years for planning, design or construction of new and modernized school projects across the province.

In the summer, the government promised an added $215 million for school boards, including $90 million towards 100 more modular classrooms that are expected to be delivered by the end of the calendar year.

Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides told The Canadian Press that yearly budget numbers will vary under the new plan because different projects will be able to move forward at different times, but it will mean schools get built as quickly as possible.

“That (new) process will help make sure that it doesn’t take five, six years for schools to get built,” he said.

Smith said she expects the construction could lead to about 50,000 new student spaces over the next three years, and 12,500 new charter school student spaces over the next four years.

Smith also used her television address to take a swipe at Ottawa, accusing Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government of “unrestrained” border policies.

Smith said historically high immigration levels – especially for those with temporary visas – is exacerbating housing shortages and challenging education, health and other social services infrastructure.

“Alberta has always welcomed newcomers who possess our shared values – and we will continue to do so,” said Smith, explaining her definition of shared values.

“Welcoming those who believe in working hard, protecting our freedoms, contributing to society, following the rule of law, and who have a deep respect for other cultures and faiths different from their own, have long been a strength of our provincial culture and history.”

Smith called for “more sensible and restrained” policies but did not provide details.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

VICTORIA – British Columbia’s forests watchdog says a complaint about “excessive” logging has led to a call for the province to improve how it manages watersheds.

The Forest Practices Board says it looked at harvesting in the Kettle River watershed in southeastern B.C. between 2016 and 2021, finding 58 per cent of 169 large cut blocks were located in “sub-watersheds” later determined to be “at risk.”

A statement from the board says it found five of seven forest companies did not conduct watershed assessments during that period, nor did they have to.

Board chair Keith Atkinson says the reviews are vital for managing land use and hydrology, but B.C. does not require logging companies to consider watershed conditions in their plans, except in areas that supply drinking water to communities.

The board says it found the ministry had assessed harvesting in the area, identifying “shortcomings” and prompting improvements by the forest companies.

But the report says investigators found a lack of government monitoring in the watershed that spans more than 8,000 square kilometres east of Kelowna.

“The investigation found that government paid attention to licensees’ activities and conducted assessments of licensees’ activities in the watershed,” it says.

“However, (the province) neither systematically monitored their activities nor provided clear guidance on managing cumulative effects aimed at protecting the watershed’s health.”

The ministry and professional associations have since developed initiatives providing information and tools to address cumulative effects, the board says.

“Looking forward, the board encourages ministry staff and licensees to use the current information and tools available to improve watershed management,” Atkinson says in the statement issued Tuesday.

The report notes the investigation did not determine whether harvesting large cut blocks had negatively affected hydrology.

But it found that companies were harvesting large areas in at-risk watersheds, which may elevate the risk of hydrological impacts, the report says.

The board’s investigation began in March 2021, when the watchdog says it received a complaint from a member of the public.

The complainant was “concerned the scale of clear-cut harvesting in the watershed had exceeded acceptable levels, leading to changes in seasonal water flows and increasing the risk of floods,” the board says in its statement issued Tuesday.

The probe also found harvesting 55 of the cut blocks focused on imitating natural disturbance patterns, which led to the logging of “green timber,” the board says.

Left standing, Atkinson says the timber can help guard against logging impacts.

“This is especially important if a watershed’s health is already at risk,” he says.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Whitehorse RCMP say a man from Phoenix, Ariz., is missing after the truck he was travelling in went off a bridge and plunged into the Yukon River.

Police say the crash happened on Monday morning when a pickup truck pulling a trailer missed the Lewes River Bridge, located south of Whitehorse on the Alaska Highway.

Police say the truck and the trailer, loaded with other vehicles, all remain submerged in the river.

Emergency crews arriving at the scene say there were two men in the truck, both of whom are from Phoenix, Ariz.

Police say one occupant escaped from the wreck and was treated for his injuries, while a second man remains missing.

Yukon RCMP say in a statement that police are “planning recovery efforts” and the public should avoid the area until further notice.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.