At a Glance - Week of July 16, 2024
New Standardized Testing Directive from Government
In an email sent to school boards across the province, the Alberta Government shared that there will be an increase in the number of assessments elementary students undergo each year. According to the email, the new assessment regime will begin in September and will include Kindergarten students for the first time (effective January 2025).
Students in grades 1-3 will test in September and January each year. Students requiring “extra support” will have an additional test in June.
In a media release, Alberta Teachers’ Association President Jason Schilling said “when so many kids are falling through the cracks, we need to be giving them a safety net instead of measuring how fast they’re falling. Teachers don’t need a test to identify which students are struggling; they need smaller classes and more supports to get those kids additional help.”
Auditor General Reports on Water Conservation
This week, the Auditor General’s office released two reports – one was focused on Alberta’s water conservation efforts. The report looked at the system used by the Ministry of Environment and Protected Areas from 2019 to 2022 and found three main areas of concern.
· Managing surface water
· Issuing/tracking licenses
· Public availability of data
The Auditor General concluded that “Alberta could face more severe and frequent droughts in the future” as a result of a lack of “effective processes to manage surface water allocation and use in the province.” The report also identified that the province does now have water conservation objectives for most provincial water basins.
In response, the ministry issued a statement saying that the provincial budget includes $23 million over the next three years to improve Alberta’s water management system.
Grizzlies in the Crosshairs
After 18 years of enforcement, the provincial government is easing the ban on grizzly bear hunting in Alberta. Pursuant to an Order in Council in June, amendments were made to a regulation under the Wildlife Act to permit the hunting of “problem bears”.
Successful permit applicants will be allowed to hunt bears that have been food-conditioned to the point it poses imminent risk and those that have killed livestock, damaged private property, or made contact with a person resulting in injury or death.
Minister Todd Loewen stated that “this is an overall management strategy for problem wildlife in particular, to make sure that we can respond to rural Albertans, both their concerns of safety but also loss of crop and loss of livestock.”
Opposition Critic Sarah Elmeligi countered the minister’s statement, saying “human use management on the landscape like the livestock compensation program, subsidies for electric fencing, attractant management on public and private land, and better education, are the things that actually reduce conflict.”
CEO Change at AESO
Effective August 1, 2024, the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) will have a new president and CEO at the helm. Aaron Engen has been named as the successor to Michael Law. Engen is the current chair of the Power System Committee and has served with the AESO board of directors since 2020.
Outgoing President and CEO Michael Law will be departing AESO following a 15 year career with the organization. AESO board chair Karl Johannson said in a media release that “This is a critical time for the AESO as we move towards both a new market design and significant energy transition activities. The AESO continues to focus on the next milestone as it progresses design work on the Restructured Energy Market in parallel with government policy.”