Alberta Politics & Government Thread 3.0

[Cappy]

Just straight up pure religious pandering

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by D as in David

Why isn't the federal government giving Alberta more precipitation this year?

The forest fires incoming this year…..

[curves2000]

Originally Posted by GGG

So you are approaching it from the mindset of a loving parent who will support their child and get them the best medical and psychological treatment they need. Those kids and parents are not affected by this law.

Now this law probably does have to balance self harm that isn’t prevented from a parent not being told versus self harm from kids not telling anyone or abuse from parents from disclosure. I’d suggest that suppressing people from knowing and informing parents who will abuse their children of a result of this information likely causes more harm then the edge case where a kid isn’t telling their parents but would tell a teacher who will tell their parents.

Do you believe there is a child who under this new law is more likely to get the help they need than under the previous law? If a child won’t tell their parents why would they tell a teacher who will tell their parents. At least under current legislation they have told someone.

A lot of populist legislation makes sense in the common cases that don’t need to be dealt with. Loving parents who care and support their children will be able to help their child. Why would anyone be against parents helping their child. The logic ignores the edge case where the parents are abusive.

I never understood the pushback to informing parents, and there are a LOT of people who are fully comfortable with not informing parents. If we stop informing parents on these matters, what would be next? It's not like the government takes on responsibility overall in these matters.

As I stated before, I don't have children and this policy doesn't affect me personally. I totally understand some aspects of this new change may affect some children in negative ways and that is not right, some parents can and are abusive without a doubt. I am not condoning that at all.

I am by no means an expert in this field but when people are VERY comfortable about taking major decisions away from parents, not informing etc, I get uncomfortable about it, and I don't have children!

I went to a school that in essence harbored one of Canada's worst sex offenders. Lot's of teachers, admin, principle and management at CBE all claim to have very little knowledge of the situation. It was a decision to NOT really tell parents that there were problems with this teacher, despite a mass amount of evidence and the students actually knowing there was a problem.

My thing is if the government and schools/school boards make a decision to NOT inform parents, then they sure better take 100% responsibility if and when something goes wrong.

[GGG]

Why is the school board a 100% responsible if they choose to not inform but not equally liable if they choose to inform or for the chilling affect that a policy to not inform has?

It isn’t trusting government to do the right thing. It’s trusting children who are afraid of their parents that they are right. I trust those kids more than the government. I trust the doctors of kids more than the government on how best treatment should be done.

This law requires one to trust that the government knows more than parents about the medical treatment for their child.

[Roughneck]

Originally Posted by curves2000

I fully understand that parental consent and notification may result in outing trans kids, causing undue hardship and trouble for teens who may be gay and such. It's an awful situation that shouldn't happen but it's just a reality of the situation.

[Faust]

David Parker

Teachers of Alberta. You no longer have permission to indoctrinate our children into your ideology. You are legally required to inform parents before teaching their children queer ideology. If you do not inform parents, we will know.

https://x.com/davidjpba/status/1752838144146506239?s=61

[Muta]

Why does David Parker think that writing in a threatening tone with passive aggressive is a an effective writing strategy? It just makes me want to oppose anything that mouth-breathing troglodyte says. He is such a cringey embarrassment to Alberta and Canada.

[looooob]

Originally Posted by Muta

Why does David Parker think that writing in a threatening tone with passive aggressive is a an effective writing strategy? It just makes me want to oppose anything that mouth-breathing . says. He is such a cringey embarrassment to Alberta and Canada.

I share your view but do you mind changing the 2nd last word of the 2nd last sentence?

[Fuzz]

A news conference to provide more details on the UCP policy has been scheduled for this afternoon at 1:30, according to an email to media labelled with Orwellian inaccuracy, “Preserving choices for children and youth.”

https://albertapolitics.ca/2024/01/d...hering-policy/

Worth reading the blog post. But #### me, if this news conference name doesn't tell you all we ever need to know about what this government thinks of our intelligence.

As mentioned in the blog, UofC political scientist had this excellent post, perhaps Cruves2000 and anyone else supporting this vile trash would do well to review these links:

The video released today was Smith at her finest: communicating with empathy and sounding entirely reasonable, while doing the bidding of the very social conservatives she claims to disagree with. Her attempt to depoliticize the issue appears to entail acceding to the full policy agenda being pushed by social conservatives, but wrapping it in kind words and an improbable promise to recruit a physician specializing in this area to practice in the province.

https://lisayoung.substack.com/p/dangerous

[PepsiFree]

I assume the word Muta was trying to pull was “troglodyte.”

Parker and Smith just make me sick, honestly. I hate hearing from them, I hate the decisions they make, and I hate how confident they are in the righteousness of their own hate to the point where I find this thread intolerable and depressing.

People who voted for Smith really ####ed Alberta. They should be ashamed of themselves, but I doubt they know the feeling.

[Muta]

Changed. Meant to say troglodyte, that one is 100% on me. Sorry folks! I’m in Costa Rica, it’s been a week and the sun is frying my brain.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I assume the word Muta was trying to pull was “troglodyte.”

Parker and Smith just make me sick, honestly. I hate hearing from them, I hate the decisions they make, and I hate how confident they are in the righteousness of their own hate to the point where I find this thread intolerable and depressing.

People who voted for Smith really ####ed Alberta. They should be ashamed of themselves, but I doubt they know the feeling.

The silent posters who read this, voted UCP(we know you are here), yet can't show their faces in defense of what they've done to the rest of us shows how selfish and cowardly they are in their support. People who only give a #### about their paycheque, even though their vote goes to a party who continually dumps our cash down the drain. Too stupid or indoctrinated to actually work toward a society of kindness and understanding vs fear and hate.

Perhaps they'll have trans kids of their own, who disown them for their bigotry and they get to die alone and sad, wondering why their kids and granddkids won't visit them as they take their last, evil breath.

Be ####ing better.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Faust

David Parker

Teachers of Alberta. You no longer have permission to indoctrinate our children into your ideology. You are legally required to inform parents before teaching their children queer ideology. If you do not inform parents, we will know.

https://x.com/davidjpba/status/1752838144146506239?s=61

Ironic with the Big Brother vibes that gives off.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by curves2000

I don't have children so this policy doesn't really affect me personally but one thing I can't understand is why there is SUCH pushback from parental consent and notification in specific areas? The state doesn't own or control the children, it's the parents who are responsible to raise children.

I fully understand that parental consent and notification may result in outing trans kids, causing undue hardship and trouble for teens who may be gay and such. It's an awful situation that shouldn't happen but it's just a reality of the situation.

On the reverse, if I have a child who may better identify with a particular gender, want a specific pronoun, is considering gender changing surgery, is trouble coping with being gay etc and the province does not inform the parents, is that right? Do we really want the government to make decisions on what's in the best interest of the child? Would the government take responsibility if my child committed suicide and I wasn't notified, thus not allowing me the opportunity to spare no expense, time and trouble to ensure that MY CHILD get's the best care available. Parents will go to extreme lengths to assist and help their child, leaving no stone unturned. Does the government?

I get that we live in different times than before but do we sometimes forget what happens when we give the government control over certain things, like parental control.

The same governments that allowed the absolute horrible scenarios that happened with residential schools are suppose to be looking after the best interest of the child? Was the state not looking after the best interest of the child then, as recently as the late 90's?

Do we not have an insane amount of issues with children services for abusers, sexual assault convicts, lawful and unlawful hospital apprehensions within specific communities. We have a bail and prison system that allows the sickest of individuals to be let out to commit the same offenses over and over again to children and we wonder why it happens? We have foster home and care issues where children are treated like flat out garbage and only kept around long enough for the money train to run out of fuel, then tossed onto the street at 18.

The same government's are then suppose to fully be looking after the child's best interest by NOT informing me if my child may or may not be having serious issues at school which COULD put them in a position to harm themselves?

It seems like with this issue some people have WAY TOO MUCH faith, hope and confidence in random government administration instead of their own parental and gut instincts. The vast majority of parents would be able to handle the described issues at school much better than the government would in my personal opinion.

That bolded part is what's important, and you're looking at it exactly wrong.
In a situation where the province has imposed a requirement to inform parents, they Province is EXPLICITLY deciding what is in the best interest of the child, and they are doing it, not based on the individual child's needs, but on a blanket basis on what they think is right, and not taking any individual circumstances into consideration.
Specifically that despite the risk of sever negative consequences at home, the Province should be outing every child.

The province has taken away any agency the child has in their own life, and that person's right to privacy.

When there is no requirement to report these children (that's what this really is, it's not informing parents, its reporting children), the provinces is making no determination on what is best for the child. The Province is leaving it up to the individual to determine what is in their own best interest.

Parents do not own their children. They do not have absolute authority on what happens to their children. Children are people with rights as well, and that includes, to some extent, a right to privacy.

Certainly we grant parents certain authority over their children, but it's not absolute authority, we don't grant parents carte blanche to decide what is best for their children in all circumstances. If we did, there would be no laws against child abuse.

Allowing children to determine for themselves who they want to tell about their own identity is exactly what you're asking for, keeping the Province out of the decision about what is right/best for a child.
Requiring teachers to report children, is the antithesis of what you say you want.

[Jimmy Stang]

If the pronoun/outing stuff wasn't bad enough, they managed to slip in some very regressive things that aren't making the headlines, but are very concerning.

Requiring opting-in to each lesson about human sexuality is bonkers. As if an opt-out mechanism for the exceptions wasn't enough, requiring that students be opted-in to learn the very basics about sexual health is downright archaic. It plays into the far-right conspiracies that educators are trying to turn your kids gay and all of that other nonsense. There are so many implications - from birth control, infections/diseases, consent, etc.

And requiring ministerial approval of any materials about sexuality is "solving" a problem that didn't exist. Another shot at educators who, according to the far-right, are ruining children by teaching them that women don't have to be barefoot and pregnant for life, and that gay people exist.

[CliffFletcher]

What’s weird is that conservatives are acting as though schools are overstepping their bounds by not disclosing gender affirmation or membership in GSAs. But it’s the opposite - schools are saying that’s a discussion for parents and kids to have and it’s none of their business.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

What’s weird is that conservatives are acting as though schools are overstepping their bounds by not disclosing gender affirmation or membership in GSAs. But it’s the opposite - schools are saying that’s a discussion for parents and kids to have and it’s none of their business.

Wait, are you just now coming to grips with the irrationality of the average conservative? It's not weird, it's a feature.

[TheIronMaiden]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Wait, are you just now coming to grips with the irrationality of the average conservative? It's not weird, it's a feature.

These takes are very unlikeable.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

The silent posters who read this, voted UCP(we know you are here), yet can't show their faces in defense of what they've done to the rest of us shows how selfish and cowardly they are in their support. People who only give a #### about their paycheque, even though their vote goes to a party who continually dumps our cash down the drain. Too stupid or indoctrinated to actually work toward a society of kindness and understanding vs fear and hate.

Perhaps they'll have trans kids of their own, who disown them for their bigotry and they get to die alone and sad, wondering why their kids and granddkids won't visit them as they take their last, evil breath.

Be ####ing better.

They're such weasels. Come in here and own it. Explain to us why this is good for the province and its people. Or come in here and apologize to the rest of us for the UCP operating exactly how we said they would, but you were too dumb to see it.

Then on the next election grow a brain or acknowledge you're not equipped to realize you're believing moronic propaganda the rest of us can see right through. Hopefully then you'll take your fingers out of your ears and evaluate the parties and their leaders not in terms of blue/orange, but based on what they're offering Albertans. If you do that it would be impossible to choose UCP over NDP.

[Jimmy Stang]

This is why "big tent conservatism" is so dangerous. When your tent contains Parker, Take Back Alberta, and others of that ilk, they have a say in setting policies. And when they gain more leverage, our of fear of getting Kenney'd, the politicians fall in line.

I think that Smith and her Wild Rose upbringing is perfectly capable of introducing horrible, dog-whistling legislation like this. Absolutely. But when you've got Parker with a gun at your back, it ends up being even worse.