Crowsnest Pass Herald - November 6, 2024

VISIT US AT: crowsnestpassherald.ca CONTACT US AT: passherald@shaw.ca 403.562.2248

Crowsnest Pass

Herald

Vol. 94 No. 42

November 6, 2024 $1.25

Serving our communities since 1930

Pumpkins in the Park

John Kinnear photos

Hundreds of people enjoyed a festive evening at the Coleman Community Society’s annual Pumpkins in the Park on November 1, walking the Miners’ Path illuminated by donated, intricately carved pumpkins. Hot chocolate and coffee awaited guests in the shelter, adding warmth to the popular community event. More photos on page 12.

2 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Have your say on the future of the Pass!

VOTE

NOVEMBER 25 Question on the ballot: Do you support the development and operations of the metallurgical coal mine at Grassy Mountain?

Authorized by Northback Holdings Corporation

Wednesday, November 6, 2024 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - 3 Frank Slide Template.qxp_Layout 1 2023-01-30 11:44 AM Page 1

and both parties were advised to resolve it privately.

POLICE BRIEFS Between October 28 and November 5, the Crowsnest Pass Police Department responded to 58 calls for service, of which five were unfounded. A total of nine charges were made during this period.

The calls included two traffic collisions, six speeding violations, two moving traffic violations, two other non-moving traffic violations, one operation while impaired, one Liquor Act, two 911 Act, one Trespass Act, three Mental Health Act, three Municipal Bylaws, one failure to comply with order, one public mischief, two written traffic offense warnings, three victim services offered (declined), two victim services (proactive referrals), one sexual assault, two criminal harassment, one uttering threats against a person, one assault with weapon or causing bodily harm, one assault, one theft under $5000, one theft over $5000, two mischiefs (damage to property), six mischiefs (obstruct enjoyment of property), one suspicious person, two animal calls, one false alarm, one item lost/found, one Search and Rescue, two breaches of peace and one well-being check.

Break-and-Enter Reported at Seasonal Property On October 29, RCMP responded to a breakand-enter at a seasonal property outside of town. No one was present during the incident, and there were no injuries. However, property was stolen, and the investigation is ongoing.

Suspicious Person Linked to Vehicle Theft Also on October 29, RCMP received a report of a suspicious person potentially linked to an earlier vehicle theft. When officers arrived, the vehicle was no longer present. The investigation is active as RCMP gather further details.

Ownership Dispute Over Tools Reported On October 30, a report of stolen tools valued under $5,000 was made, but RCMP were unable to confirm ownership. The investigation has since been closed.

False Alarm at RBC Also on October 30, RCMP responded to an alarm at RBC, where all people present were identified. It was confirmed as a false alarm.

On October 31, local authorities noted resident concerns over excessive speeding on Highway 22, causing damage to nearby fences. Patrols are being conducted to address these ongoing speeding issues.

On November 2, an individual received a ticket for open liquor after failing to comply with directions from an officer.

Well-Being Check Deemed Safe On November 2, RCMP conducted a well-being check; no concerns. The case was closed without incident.

Lost Individual Rescued from Woods On November 2, RCMP assisted in locating an individual who had become lost in the woods. Officers safely brought the individual back to town.

Trespassing Incident Results in Warning RCMP received a trespassing complaint on November 4. Officers located the individual involved, issued a warning, and no further issues were reported.

Vandalism Report: Starlink Cable Cut On November 4, a complainant reported that their Starlink cable had been cut. No additional information is available at this time; the investigation is ongoing.

Low-Level Assault Case Closed RCMP responded to a low-level assault on November 5, at the victim’s request, and the case is now closed.

On October 29, RCMP assisted a woman experiencing ongoing difficulties with her neighbours.

The matter was deemed civil and was resolved without further police involvement.

An assault occurred at Greenhill Bar on November 2, with RCMP and EMS attending the scene. No further details are available at this time as the investigation continues.

Dispute over Trailer Deemed Civil Matter

Vehicle Collision Due to Icy Roads

RCMP were called on October 30 about a dispute involving a trailer from a local business. After assessing the situation, officers determined it was a civil matter,

On November 5, another vehicle collision due to icy road conditions was reported. No injuries were sustained, and police were not required to attend.

Crowsnest Pass Detachment An emergency SOS message, “hurt in avalanche,” alerted Crowsnest Pass RCMP at 10:50 a.m. Friday, following an avalanche incident involving three scramblers in the Southern Alberta backcountry. The Southern Alberta Regional Search and Rescue (SARSAR) swiftly responded, deploying a team to York Creek Staging Area.

The group of hikers had inadvertently triggered a slab

HWY #3, Frank • 562-8043

Open Liquor Ticket Issued

Assault Reported at Greenhill Bar

RCMP

A bowling pin will fall at a tilt of 7.5 degrees.

Highway Speeding a Point of Concern

Neighbour Dispute Resolved

Avalanche triggers rescue in Crowsnest Pass

DID YOU KNOW

avalanche while traversing snow-covered terrain. One member was buried, though fortunately, the group managed to extricate the individual before additional assistance arrived. Nearby hunters on ATVs also helped support the hikers until SARSAR ground teams could reach the scene.

SARSAR safely escorted the group out of the area and issued a strong reminder to adventurers. Despite warm valley temperatures and limited snow, winter conditions are fully present in the alpine.

SARSAR gives a strong reminder that, despite the lack of snow and warm temps in the valley, it is very much winter in the alpine. Groups traveling in snow covered terrain should be equipped with avalanche transceivers, a shovel and probe. All this gear also needs to come with the appropriate training - @avalanchecanada can help you get involved in a course.

As always there is no charge for Search and Rescue, and we are a 100 per cent volunteer organization. If you would like to donate and support the great work we do visit SARSAR.ca

You can pick up the Pass Herald at: Bellevue - Crockets Trading Company Blairmore - Pharmasave, IDA, IGA, The Pantry and Circle K Coleman - Remedy’s RX and Happy Mart NOTICE:

If you have a digital subscription and your paper stops coming into your e-mail, your subscription is due.

Renew at passherald.ca

4 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Herald Editorial LISA SYGUTEK Below is an interview I had with Ricky Sutton, an Australian digital transformation and AI expert that I met at a recent newspaper conference in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. As the Founder and CEO of Future Media, Ricky brings years of experience as a local reporter, global newsroom leader, and tech entrepreneur, building a $32 million firm from the ground up. Recently, he interviewed me for his publication to discuss my class action lawsuit against Google and Facebook. With his permission, I’m reprinting it here to make sure this message reaches our Canadian audience.

Herald “Letters to the Editor” Policy

Policy: The Pass Herald welcomes Letters to the Editor that examine issues, but reserves the right to edit for length, libel and syntax. Writers must sign letters and include first and last names, address and telephone number. Address and telephone numbers will not be published. Only in exceptional cases will the Pass Herald withhold the name of the writer and in those cases the writer must disclose his/her name, address and telephone number to the Editor.

Electronic email will be considered an electronic signature. Letters to the Editor do not reflect the opinion of the Pass Herald. Letters cannot exceed 600 words. We have limited space, but we do enjoy printing ever­y article. So please, to allow everyone to express their opinion, keep the letters short and to the point. We do have the right to refuse any letter that in our judgement may contain libel or libellous opinions. Should a litigation result from your letter, you as the writer are responsible but so is this newspaper as the publisher.

Our response to the NDP critic on coal DICK AND SUSAN BURGMAN

The fearless editor leading Crowsnest Pass an $8 billion class action We read with great interest the October 30 edition, especially the two articles regarding the Grassy Mounagainst Google tain mine.

Exclusive: The action also targets Meta and is a forerunner for a multi-national suit worth hundreds of billions for publishers if successful...

This is a big one, so buckle in...

A former editor once snarled at me: “If you never go, you never know,” adding with a grimace: “So Ricky, I do need to ask you. Why the f*** can I still see you?”

I reflected on Andy’s invective as I slumped exhausted on a leather couch in New York’s Newark airport, part-way through a 34-hour schlep from Canada to Sydney.

I went, I heard, and today I’m sharing what I learned, from media execs, owners and operators on the frontline of a tech-tonic plate shift in media. It’s quite a big story.

And what I can reveal will impact global newsrooms far more than news media bargaining codes, shady backroom payoffs, or Google’s filthy news initiative bribes.

It’s worth hundreds of billions of dollars, and will happen sooner than most realise, which means it may well be the most impactful newsletter I’ve penned so far.

And the epicentre is a tiny country town at the foot of the Canadian Rockies, 13,100 kilometres as the crow flies from my home Sydney.

And as I know that my former editor Andy is a reader, I want you to know. I went boss, just like you taught me. Cheers for the lesson. OK, let’s get into it.

Global headlines are focusing on the penalties Google will soon face for its illegal assault on publisher ad revenues, but the rulings have set a bigger time bomb ticking.

The guilty verdicts have triggered a host of unprecedented publisher class action lawsuits. Some are public, others are still to break the surface.

But all springboard off the US Justice Department’s court wins, and the lawyers are demanding hundreds of billions in damages for publishers.

And spearheading it all is a tiny four-person newspaper called The Pass Herald in Alberta, led by its feisty and fearlessly determined editor Lisa Sygutek.

She and her legal team have already won a judge’s approval to demand up to $8 billion in damages from Google and Meta to recoup losses wrought on Canadian publishers.

If successful, it will be 16x any antitrust settlement in Canada’s history.

Cont’d on page 10

The first -”NDP Shadow Minister weighs in on local tourism.” Interesting that Ms. Elmeligi represents the Banff-Kananaskis riding, much of which depends on tourism, in a National Park, which disallows industry of any sort. Easy for her to say “depend on tourism” when the National Parks in the Rockies are a destination for literally hundreds of thousands of people every year.

We in the Crowsnest Pass have a tax base that is almost entirely residential. The Alberta government said at one time that any community with a tax base of over 80% residential cannot survive for long. Our tax base is quite a bit over 80%. We would suggest that before she tells us we can’t have a mining industry, she live here for a time working in a tourism job, to see how long she can survive. Then she can tell us that we don’t deserve a CLEAN industry to support our economy.

The bottom line here is that every one of us has something that is made with steel, from cars to fridges and stoves. Steel requires coking coal to make it, and we have some of the best and the CLEANEST in the world right here in the Crowsnest Pass. The company wanting to develop the mine here has already spent millions, and has been jumping through hoops for 15 years trying to abide by all the ever-changing regulations the governments and environmentalists can come up with. We have been waiting 50+ years for tourism to “take off” here, and now, maybe we can see some improvement in our fiscal outlook.

Mr. Matt Jones, minister of jobs, economy, and trade, states that “since 2022, projects around the Crowsnest Pass include Highway 3 twinning (What?

Where?), electricity transmission and substation development, a solar energy project, water and wastewater projects, and a senior’ lodge. We hate to burst his bubble, but these are infrastructure projects, which don’t do a lot to “stimulate our local economy” except during construction.

Talking about the twinning of Highway 3, what that will do is help tourists by-pass the Crowsnest Pass

altogether in their rush to get to BC. The only thing that might help is the bottle-neck that will happen at Crowsnest Lake where the 4-lane will end, and traffic will be lined up back to Coleman. Then maybe some of them might turn off and stop here to spend some time and money.

Travel Alberta’s destination development manager for the southern Rockies says they “ work with communities and businesses to support tourism growth.”

I heard these exact words 30+ years ago when I was president of the local Chamber of Commerce. I submit that our tourism industry has grown somewhat since then, but how much has it reduced our taxes or created new, good-paying jobs?

Troy and Carmen Linderman of Citizens Supportive of Crowsnest Coal are quoted in both the articles, saying that “tourism will never result in the kind of spinoff business and nearby jobs that the Northback proposal would generate”. They say also that “we’ve been waiting for 50-something years for tourism to take off, and we’re still waiting.” Further Carmen says that “The tourism industry isn’t going to get us where we need to be for lowering our taxes, improving housing affordability, and creating mortgage-paying jobs”.

Correct on all counts.

It is undeniable that the world demand for steel is increasing. We don’t understand why people from outside our community keep telling us that we can’t make a viable, important contribution to the world’s need for steel. We can do it with some of the world’s cleanest coal, using the some of the cleanest production methods. As a person growing up in the Pass I remember the smoking coke ovens, the sulphur smell, the “slack” piles (some of which smoldered for years), the coal dust on the window sills, and the miners who died keeping our communities alive. This is NO LONGER a reality in the Canadian mining industry. Our research has convinced us that this proposed project is safe and viable.

We would ask that citizens of the Pass carefully consider all sides of this issue. Consider how much (or little) tourism has helped our economy since the last coal mine closed 40+ years ago, and how much coal mines have helped the Elk Valley. They have proven that mining and tourism can exist side by side. The Crowsnest Pass will never be another tourism destination like Banff or Canmore.

To quote Troy: “The geography, geology, and weather of the Crowsnest Pass aren’t conducive to typical mountain tourism and development.” He is right.

Please get out and vote for the Grassy Mountain mine.

More Letters to the Editor on Page 14

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Wednesday, November 6, 2024 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - 5

Copy Magic celebrates 30 years and ATB 40 years in Pass

Herald Contributor photos Owners Ken and Linda Petrone celebrated Copy Magic’s 30th anniversary in the Crowsnest Pass on November 1 and 2, alongside the 40th anniversary of ATB in the community. Pictured left are Jennifer Vanderplas, Pincher Creek Branch Manager; Nelson Braz, Manager of Agency Relationships; and Ken and Linda Petrone. In the right photo, the Copy Magic team gathers: back row, from left, Dorothy Gierulski, Lonnie Christensen, and Ken Petrone; front row, from left, Linda Nault, Linda Petrone, and Cindy Sant. The celebration featured refreshments, cake, over 30 prize giveaways, and a 30% off sale.

Hockey Update

#10 Colter Michalsky had another unassisted goal. Rory Macdonald had a great showing in net.

U9 White & Green Hockey Team Media Coordinators The U9 Thunder White hockey team opened their season with a home game on November 2 against Fernie. The young team demonstrated strong defensive and offensive skills, with Rylan Weber making impressive saves in his debut as goalie.

Goals were scored by Bowden Williams and Hudson Priest.

On Sunday, November 3, the team travelled to Fernie for a second match up, this time facing Fernie 2. In a closely contested game, Thunder White players skated hard and battled for the puck. Hudson Priest, Kyson McKee, and Jay Senkow each contributed goals, while goalie Haven Bryan made key saves to keep the game competitive.

U9 Thunder White will take to the ice again on Saturday, November 9, at 4:15 p.m. for a home game against Elk Valley Wild at the Coleman Sports Complex.

Herald Contributor photo

Thunder U9 White playing against Fernie.

On Saturday, November 2, Thunder Green played their home opener. It was a close game, #5 Guz Trotz opened the scoring with an assist from #10 Colter Michalsky followed by two unassisted goals by #16 Finn Graham. #2 Jack Kaprowski had an outstanding game in net.

Sunday, November 3, was the team’s first away game where they faced the Fernie Moose on their home ice. It was high scoring game with 7 goals for our team. #2 Jack Kaprowski had a hat trick, with assists from #7 Declan Colucci, #10 Colter Michalsky, and goalie #14 Rory Macdonald. #5 Gus Trotz scored two unassisted goals. Other goal scorers were #16 Finn Graham, assisted by #2 Jack Kaprowski.

Contributor photo

Thunder U9 Green playing against Fernie.

6 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - Wednesday, November 6, 2024

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING MUNICIPALITY OF CROWSNEST PASS IN THE PROVINCE OF ALBERTA PROPOSED BYLAW NO. 1206, 2024 7:00pm, November 19, 2024 Municipality of Crowsnest Pass Council Chambers 8502 – 19 Avenue, Coleman Municipality of Crowsnest Pass Council Chambers, 8502 – 19 Avenue, Coleman PURSUANT to sections 230, 606, 640, and 692 of the Municipal Government Act, Revised Statutes of Alberta 2000, Chapter M-26, the Council of the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass in the Province of Alberta hereby gives notice of its intention to consider proposed Bylaw No. 1206, 2024, being a bylaw to amend Bylaw No. 1165, 2023, being the municipal land use bylaw.

The general purpose of Bylaw No. 1206, 2024 is to clarify certain provisions, development standards and land use definitions, regarding minimum yard setbacks and maximum building height in the NUA-1 district, the definition of “Urban Area”, and provisions in “Schedule 4, section 21 Public Utilities, Infrastructure Mains, and Servicing Connections” related to the requirement that all properties in the urban area connect to municipal water and wastewater infrastructure.

Details of the proposed amendment are identified in Schedule ‘A’ attached to and forming part of the bylaw.

THEREFORE, TAKE NOTICE THAT a public hearing to consider the proposed Bylaw No. 1206, 2024 will be held in the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass Council Chambers at 7:00 PM on November 19, 2024. Persons wishing to speak to the bylaw shall be allotted 5 minutes to present their position.

AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that anyone wishing to provide slide decks, maps, videos or a written submission regarding the proposed bylaw should email: Bonnie Kawasaki, Executive Assistant to the CAO at reception@ crowsnestpass.com no later than 12:00 PM on November 12, 2024. Verbal presentations (limited to 5 minutes) will be accepted at the public hearing.

For questions regarding the proposed Bylaw Amendment please contact the Development Officer by calling 403562-8833 or emailing development@crowsnestpass.com.

The proposed bylaw may be inspected at the municipal office during normal business hours, and on the municipal website: https://www.crowsnestpass.com/public/ download/files/237666 (scroll Municipal Government / Council / Bylaws / and go to bottom of the page).

DATED at the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass in the Province of Alberta, October 23, 2024.

13.4m2)) (permitted use) • DP2024-221 – 6301 14 Avenue, Coleman (Lot(s) N/A Block N/A Plan N/A) For an existing “Accessory Building or Use up to 72.8m2” (permitted use) • DP2024-322 – 1610 77 Street, Coleman (Lot(s) 11 Block 7 Plan 820L) For an “Office” (permitted use) • DP2024-325 – 13118 18 Avenue, Blairmore (Lot(s) 3-6 Block 27 Plan 2933AA) For an “Accessory Building or use up to 72.8m2” (permitted use) The Development Authority of the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass recently approved the following Discretionary or Development Application(s) with Variances: • DP2024-208 – 22717 9 Avenue, Hillcrest (Lot(s) Pt. 4 & 5 Block 36 Plan 5150S) For existing “Accessory Buildings or uses up to 72.8 m2” (Shed 23.4 m2) (Greenhouse 8.57m2) (permitted use) with a 100% variance to the (north) side yard setback.

• DP2024-222 – 13109 16 Avenue, Blairmore (Lot(s) 12 Block 34 Plan 568LK) For an existing “Accessory Building or Use up to 72.8 m2” (Shed 8.36 m2) (Permitted use) with a 50% variance to the east side yard setback.

• DP2024-326 – 2134 208 Street, Bellevue (Lot(s) 11 Block 16 Plan 6432FE) For a “Home Occupation - Class 2” (Massage Therapy, Reflexology etc.) - (discretionary use) and for a “Freestanding Sign” (0.63m2) (permitted use)

Officers will be conducting targeted enforcement on abandoned, uninsured and/or unregistered motor vehicles parked on Municipal Roadways (Highways) throughout the Municipality. This will aid snow removal crews in the coming weeks.

Visit https://www.crowsnestpass.com/municipal-government/council/bylaws-listed-alphabetically to view the complete bylaws.

NOTICE OF APPLICATION Notice of application to be filed for approval of the natural gas distribution franchise agreement between the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass and ATCO Gas and Pipelines Ltd. APPLICATION SUMMARY The Alberta Utilities Commission expects to receive an application from ATCO Gas and Pipelines Ltd. to approve the existing current and valid natural gas distribution franchise agreement with the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass. This application for approval is required due to changes made by the Utilities Affordability Statutes Amendment Act, 2024, to various statutes governing franchise agreements.

The current franchise agreement, which took effect in September of 2021, grants ATCO Gas and Pipelines Ltd. the exclusive right to deliver natural gas to the residents of Municipality of Crowsnest Pass for approximately ten years.

No changes to the franchise agreement or to the franchise fee rate rider percentage are being made as part of this application. The franchise fee rate rider percentage will remain at its current rate, which is 25%. Including linear taxes, the resulting average monthly franchise fee for an average residential customer will remain the same Any persons claiming to be adversely affected by the at approximately $13.95. The franchise fee is calculated above Discretionary Development Permits or Variances based on distribution charges. An average residential may file an appeal by November 21, 2024, to SUBDIVISION AND DEVELOPMENT APPEAL BOARD (SDAB) through customer uses about 105 gigajoules per year. our Municipal online form or to the or the Land and You may send your concerns about, objections to, or PROPERTY RIGHTS TRIBUNAL, as may be applicable. support for the application in writing to the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass or to ATCO Gas and Pipelines Ltd. on or Subdivision and Development Appeal Board: before NOVEMBER 14, 2024 at: Online Form Submission: https://portal.laserfiche.ca/ o8468/forms/Development_Appeal Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, Laken McKee - Utilities, Fee of $400.00 must be paid with the appeal (will be PO Box 600, phone: 403-562-8833; email: utilities@ contacted for payment once the form is sent). crowsnestpass.com L and and Property Rights Tribunal: ATCO Gas and Pipelines Ltd., Attn: Franchise Agreement 1229-91 Street SW Coordinator, 5302 Forand Street S.W. Calgary, Alberta, Edmonton AB T6X 1E9 T3E 8B4, phone: 310-5678 or 1-888-511-7550; email: franchisecoordinatorgas@atco.com Development Officer Any submissions received, unless you request otherwise, Municipality of Crowsnest Pass NOTICE OF DEVELOPMENT PERMIT will be part of the application submitted and will become Phone: 403 562-8833 part of the public record.

Email: development@crowsnestpass.com LAND USE BYLAW No. 1165, 2023 For more information on franchises or to receive a copy The Development Authority of the Municipality of of the franchise agreement please contact either the BOARD VACANCY Crowsnest Pass recently approved the following PermitMunicipality of Crowsnest Pass or ATCO Gas and Pipelines The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass is looking for applited Development Application(s): Ltd. at the addresses listed above. cants to serve on the following Boards & Committees for For more information: • DP2024-147 – 1213 85 Street, Coleman (Lot(s) 2 Block Terms commencing January 2025.

For more information about the AUC or its approval pro● Crowsnest Pass Seniors Housing Board 1 Plan 0811472) cess associated with franchise applications, please con● Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee For an existing “Accessory Building up to 72.8 m2” tact the AUC directly at 310-4AUC or at info@auc.ab.ca.

The Board & Committee Application Form and the (Greenhouse 10.39m2) (permitted use) The Alberta Utilities Commission is an independent, applicable Bylaw or Terms of Reference for each Board quasi-judicial regulatory body responsible for making & Committee are available at the Municipal Office, or • DP2024-192 – 8920 24 Avenue, Coleman (Lot(s) 15 decisions about utility-related applications. online at www.crowsnestpass.com.

Block 35 Plan 9610405) Issued on November 1, 2024 .

For an existing “Accessory Buildings up to 95.2m2” (Shed Applications may be returned to the attention of Bonnie Alberta Utilities Commission Kawasaki by: – 5.95 m2) (Greenhouse – 18m2) (permitted use) Mail: Municipality of Crowsnest Pass, PO Box 600, Crowsnest Pass, AB T0K 0E0 VOTE OF THE ELECTORS ON A QUESTION • DP2024-193 – 13326 19 Avenue, Blairmore (Lot(s) 5-8 Email: bonnie.kawasaki@crowsnestpass.com Block 5 Plan 3380T) In Person: 8502 – 19 Ave., Coleman, AB For existing “Accessory Buildings up to 72.8 m2” (Shed The Municipality will be holding a Vote of the Electors on The Municipality does not retain applications. If you are 8.93m2) (Shed 9.3m2) (permitted use) a Question on November 25, 2024, the question that will interested in volunteering, please resubmit your applica- be asked on the ballot is “Do you support the develop• DP2024-200 – 902 232 Street, Hillcrest (Lot(s) 1 Block B tion. ment and operations of the metallurgical coal mine at Plan 1004LK) Grassy Mountain.”

For an existing “Accessory Building or use up to 72.8 m2” ENFORCEMENT FOCUS (Shed 9.77m2) (permitted use) ADVANCED POLL NOVEMBER 19 10AM-8PM ELECTION DAY NOVEMBER 25 10-8PM TRAFFIC BYLAW – UNREGISTERED/UNINSURED AND • DP2024-210 – 8101 26 Avenue, Coleman (Lot(s) N/A ABANDONED VEHICLES Block 9 Plan 6808CU) Voting locations, information about special ballots, voter For an existing “Accessory Building up to 72.8m2” (Shed eligibility at www.crowsnestpass.com Coming in the month of November, Community Peace

8502 - 19 Avenue, Coleman Box 600, Crowsnest Pass, AB, T0K 0E0 ph: 403-562-8833 e: reception@crowsnestpass.com www.crowsnestpass.com After Hours Public Works Emergencies: 403-562-2021

Wednesday, November 6, 2024 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - 7

Ski Swap 2024 supports Pass Powderkeg ski hill NICHOLAS L.M. ALLEN Pass Herald Reporter

Annual event raises funds for youth programs, food initiatives, and community access to winter sports Hundreds of community members turned out for the annual Ski Swap, held Nov. 1-2, at the MDM Building in Bellevue. With booked time slots keeping attendance organized, the event aimed to raise funds for the Pass Powderkeg Ski Society and KidSport Crowsnest Pass, while also promoting community access to affordable ski equipment.

Ian Crawford, chair of the Pass Powderkeg (PPK) Ski Society, shared how the Ski Swap serves as the society’s primary fundraiser, typically bringing in $5,000$6,000.

“That money allows us to support programs that enhance the experience for users at PPK and helps make it easier for PPK to operate,” said Crawford, “It’s our main event, alongside a few smaller fundraising barbecues.”

This year, Alpenland took charge of consignments and trade-ins, offering locals options to either receive store credit or consign gear. Consignors were able to settle their sales at the event’s end on Saturday, with a 15 per cent commission supporting the ski society.

Attendees were also encouraged to visit the Crowsnest Nordic Club’s “Kids Loan Program” station, where young skiers could access cross-country ski equip-

ment for the season. Available by appointment, the program prioritizes club members and those in ski programs, with additional registration fees and deposits required.

The funds raised from the Ski Swap play a critical role in supporting several key initiatives, such as the “PPK Feeds” program.

“A need was identified two years ago — local youth coming to the hill without food or money to buy snacks,” Crawford explained, “So we fund a healthy snack basket, available stigma-free, for kids who may not have something to eat.”

In addition to food support, the Ski Society also sponsors a scholarship program, funding training for local youth interested in becoming Level 1 ski or snowboard instructors. Last year, the society fully covered tuition for three young individuals to contribute to the ski community as instructors.

This year, the “Friends of PPK” initiative also saw growth. For a $10 fee, community members could show support by becoming “Friends,” a gesture that not only funds programs but also brings potential volunteers into the society’s ranks.

Crawford highlighted a new lending library in development with KidSport Crowsnest Pass to reduce the financial barriers to skiing.

“We’re working on grant applications to fund youth-sized equipment that will be available to loan for an entire season,” he said, “Our aim is to make skiing accessible to families who qualify for KidSport support.”

The Ski Society also offers programs like a weekly seniors’ social skiing hour and the “No Pressure Race Series,” a low-stakes event aimed at helping skiers practice in a relaxed environment.

“We bring in a professional coach to give free tips, but it’s not about competing against others. It’s a fun, timed course for people to improve at their own pace,” Crawford shared.

In light of the event’s success, attendance limits implemented during the pandemic remain in place, ensuring the event runs smoothly. Crawford noted that over 250 people attended Friday’s session alone, thanks to the booking system, which allowed volunteers to provide personalized assistance with fitting boots and selecting equipment.

The Ski Swap continues to support local skiing programs and fosters accessibility to winter sports, helping PPK extend its impact in the Crowsnest Pass community.

Nicholas L.M. Allen photos

Top photo left, Ian Crawford (centre), chair of the Pass Powderkeg Ski Society, engages with attendees at the annual Ski Swap. Remainder photos, Community members browse a wide selection of ski equipment at the annual Ski Swap in Bellevue, supporting local youth programs and affordable winter sports access.

8 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Crowsnest Pass launches vote on Coal Extraction NICHOLAS L.M. ALLEN Pass Herald Reporter

Non-binding poll to gather residents’ opinions on coal mining in region The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass has announced a non-binding vote, set for November 25, aimed at gauging local support for coal extraction in response to growing public interest. Mayor Blair Painter explained that the initiative is designed to capture the perspectives of full-time residents on an issue that has generated both support and opposition within the community.

“Our residents have been reaching out to our council regarding ethical coal extraction in our municipality,” Painter said, “It’s really hard to gauge what percentage is in favour and what percentage is opposed.”

Painter noted that the municipality is adhering to the Alberta Elections Act for the vote, stating that legal guidelines restrict eligibility to Crowsnest Pass residents with a primary residence in the area. This measure excludes secondary property owners from participating, including those with vacation homes.

“We want to know how our permanent residents feel,” Painter added, clarifying that the municipality’s focus is on local opinions. He explained that opening up the vote to people outside the area could influence decisions that primarily affect those living in Crowsnest Pass.

“We do not have an option to ‘open’ up the vote,” Painter continued, explaining the constraints of the Alberta Elections Act. “While we value all property owners and visitors in our community, this vote is ultimately polling our residents, and not those who are fortunate enough to be investors with a second or third home.”

Meanwhile, the Crowsnest Conservation Society (CCS) has voiced significant concerns regarding the proposed Grassy Mountain coal project, citing possible long-term impacts on local water quality, wildlife, and community sustainability.

Society president Brenda Davison detailed these issues in an interview ahead of the vote and the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) hearings scheduled for Dec. 3 and 4.

Davison also commented on the council’s decision to exclude part-time residents from the consultation, noting that they account for about 30 per cent of the municipality’s tax base. She expressed disappointment, suggesting that these property owners should also have a say.

“The Council has said they support Grassy Mountain as a transition to the next

The Crowsnest Museum is located in downtown Coleman - 7701 18 Ave, Coleman, AB T0K 0M0 Open Monday to Saturday 10 am - 5 pm CLOSED Sundays

economy,” Davison said, “But the board of CCS feels that we are already well into that transition,” emphasizing the society’s call for a sustainable long-term plan instead of what she described as the “boom and bust” cycles tied to resource industries.

Davison highlighted AER’s past assessments, which suggest potential contamination risks to local water sources. She warned of possible pollutants, such as selenium and sulfate, that could affect streams for decades after mining operations cease, placing the burden of long-term water quality on Alberta taxpayers.

“Monitoring and treatment would likely be necessary for decades,” she said.

Davison further raised concerns for the West Slope cutthroat trout, a threatened species under both provincial and federal law, stating that selenium runoff from the mine could pose additional risks to this fish species.

Addressing community concerns, Painter clarified the nature of the upcoming vote, stressing that even a positive response from residents would not obligate the provincial government to advance a mining project.

“This is an information-gathering process only and holds absolutely no weight in any of the provincial decisions moving forward,” Painter said, underscoring the vote’s advisory purpose.

He acknowledged past council support for coal mining, highlighting Crowsnest Pass’s historical connection to coal extraction. Previous councils actively promoted coal industry development as a core part of the area’s heritage.

Additionally, Painter mentioned a water diversion agreement that the municipality entered with Riversdale, now Northback, aimed at preserving an expiring water license. This arrangement allows Northback to lease water if the company needs it for future development, a measure Painter described as necessary to prevent the license’s cancellation.

In contrast to the anticipated economic benefits, Davison expressed skepticism, referring to AER’s assessment, which she claims shows that Benga Mining Ltd. “overestimated the financial gains and underestimated the environmental costs.”

She highlighted concerns over potential harm to biodiversity, including impacts on old-growth forests and rare plant communities.

At an open house held September 12 at the Crowsnest Community Hall, Northback’s Manager of Communications, Rina Blacklaws, told residents the new application would be “drastically different” from the previous submission.

“We’re completely changing the application,” Blacklaws said, “We’re looking at everything, and that could even include making it a significantly smaller project for less environmental concerns.”

Despite the society’s firm stance against the project, Davison emphasized that CCS’s position is not intended to create a divide with mine supporters. “We’re a Conservation Society, and they’re looking at the economics,” she said. “But we’re not sure they understand what they have to lose, which could be quite significant environmentally.”

She encouraged residents to review the AER’s executive summary on Grassy Mountain, suggesting that it provides a detailed perspective on the project’s possible long-term environmental and economic costs.

The municipality’s involvement in the Joint Review Panel for Grassy Mountain was also addressed, with Painter asserting that potential impacts on the Crowsnest Pass community justified their participation in the review process.

“Even though the Grassy Mountain project is not within our municipality, it will have a great effect on us,” he stated, “and therefore we feel that we need to be involved in all aspects of the process.”

Northback CEO Mike Young, speaking at a volunteer night on October 16, highlighted the importance of the upcoming vote.

“It’s time the Pass had their say, and I think Council has been brave in making sure this happens,” said Young.

More information on the voting process is available on the municipal website at crowsnestpass.com/municipal-government/municipal-elections/2024-vote-on-a-question.

Nicholas Allen photo

Crowsnest Conservation Society President Brenda Davison speaks over Zoom on November 4, 2024 about the upcoming vote on coal extraction in the municipality and the upcoming Alberta Energy Regulator Review.

Wednesday, November 6, 2023 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - 9

Nick’s Notes A Happy Jets Fan As a die-hard Jets fan tuning in from the Crowsnest Pass, I couldn’t be more thrilled to see the Jets (11-1-0) coming home on a three-game winning streak, ready to take on the Utah Hockey Club.

After a solid but short road trip, they’re back at the Canada Life Centre, and this season has already felt like something special.

Watching this team in 2024 has been an absolute joy. Their offense is on fire, with Kyle Connor lighting it up with 19 points, Nikolaj Ehlers close behind at 17, and Mark Scheifele, Josh Morrissey, and Neal Pionk all averaging over a point per game.

This isn’t just a one-line show—six more skaters are sitting between 9 and 11 points, which speaks to the depth they’re bringing every night. I love seeing everyone contribute; it makes every shift and every line change feel electric.

And let’s talk about Ehlers for a moment. If you’re a long-time Jets fan, you know how big it was to watch him become the highest-scoring Danish-born player in NHL history with a two-point night against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Watching him reach this milestone at the height of his game in our jersey is something to celebrate. It’s one of those moments that remind us why we cheer game after game.

Now, they’ve shown some real character this season. In the game against Tampa, they were down 2-0 early thanks to a questionable upheld goal that could’ve crushed their momentum—but it didn’t.

Instead, they turned up the heat. Namestnikov scored right after, followed by big goals from Stanley and Scheifele. They ended up taking a 7-4 victory, and it was yet another notch in their season-high seven comeback wins.

This isn’t just a team that wins; it’s a team that finds a way, every single time.

The defense deserves its credit, too. Logan Stanley’s crushing hit on Luke Glendening in that game had the whole arena buzzing, and Dylan Samberg has been solid, adding three goals already this season—a huge step forward for him.

There’s something about their defense that has a tougher, grittier edge this year, and it’s great to see that intensity and control of the ice.

I am writing this on Tuesday morning, so I’m excited to see how they match up against Utah, another team sitting in a playoff spot, even if their record isn’t as sharp.

The Jets have the advantage in scoring, depth, and probably in the net. With Utah’s defense struggling with injuries, I’m hoping they take control early and keep the pressure on. But as every fan knows, you never take anything for granted in hockey. Every win matters, and they’re proving it night in, night out.

There’s something special about watching your team come together like this, even from afar. After years of ups and downs, seeing the Jets hit their stride with such balance and resilience is thrilling.

The belief that they can go the distance this season is stronger than ever. So here’s to every line that goes out and gives their all, and to the season that’s shaping up to be unforgettable.

Let’s keep this streak rolling—Go Jets Go!

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10 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Editorial cont’d from page 4 Lisa’s a Netflix documentary in the making, publishing’s Erin Brockovich, and we met on Canada’s remote Prince Edward Island last week.

She told me: “When I started using Google for ads, my first cheque was for 17 cents. Then, our national advertising started to shrink dramatically.

“It was Google, and that pissed me off. My paper’s not a business, it’s a legacy. I’m doing right in the world.

“When I launched this legal action, some in my industry implied I should stay in my swim lane, but my special power is that I don’t hold back.

“I’d tell the Prime Minister he’s an a**hole if I thought he was. We are the checks and balances for democracy, and that’s why I am going into bat… for everyone.”

Since we spoke, I’ve identified class actions are underway, or planned, by thousands of publishers in America, Australia, the UK, and Europe.

Damages totalling hundreds of billions are being sought off the back of the DoJ’s victories. There’s no official number, but an estimated 36,000 publishers are joining.

A lattice of law firms covering more than two thirds of the planet are comparing notes and filing complaints to courts to get the ball rolling.

In most jurisdictions, damages claims are limited to the past eight years, but not all.

The cases seek reparation for ad revenue lost to publishers through Google’s self-preferencing of its ad supply, backroom deals with Meta, and other losses.

The antitrust guilty verdicts secured against Google over the past year have provided the foundations for the actions.

Lawyers have already found big money backers who are underwriting the high cost of the legal cases, such is the confidence of them winning.

This confidence has only strengthened after initial efforts by Google to dismiss the case in Canada was rebuffed by the judge.

The damages, combined with structural changes demanded by the DoJ, have the potential to refloat publisher earnings, and re-flatten the playing field for competition.

The damages will also dwarf the payouts publishers have begged for in bailouts from Governments, and the bribes they’ve taken from the Google News Initiative for years.

It’s the biggest untold story in global media, playing out from this office in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta.

It’s behind that door that local newspaper editor Lisa stepped up as the lead litigant against Google, demanding billions.

We met at the Rideau Hall Foundation’s local publisher meet-up on Prince Edward Island, where I was speaking.

Ricky: Tell me about your paper.

Lisa: We’re a family-owned business, started in 1930, in a tiny town with a population of 5,600 people.

It was a coal mining town, very ethnically diverse.

Italians, English, Czech, anybody who was Eastern European and knew how to mine came here back in the day.

Ricky: Is that where you’re from?

Lisa: Yeah. My children are fifth generation. My family immigrated from Poland, so we’re steeped in the community. The owner Buddy bought into the paper in 1950, and my mother started working for him.

They went into partnership in 1969 and worked at the Pass Herald until they both passed away, in 2015 and 2017. They left it to me as a legacy.

Ricky: Wow. You inherited it.

Lisa: I did, yeah. I started working there when I got

out of university when I was 26.

Ricky: How many staff?

Lisa: We now have four, but when things were good, we had eight. I’m also on the board of the Alberta Weekly Newspaper Association (AWNA), so, I’m running the paper, on the town council, and wearing a few hats.

Ricky: But you could feel something was going wrong in publishing?

Lisa: Oh yeah. In 2014, we started doing Google advertising. The first cheque I received was for 17 cents. It was nothing.

“I couldn’t believe I was opening up my website and seeing Google’s ads all over the place and being paid 17 cents.

“It was really disturbing. Then, I watched our national advertising start to shrink dramatically.

Ricky: Can you give me an example?

Lisa: Half our revenue then was coming from what we called national advertising. It would be Ford, GM, Dodge, and Chevrolet. They were doing full page ads, and things were great. We had a thriving business.

Since 1999, my gross revenue has dropped two thirds today.

Ricky: Were those national advertisers buying direct, or coming to you through agencies?

Lisa: Agencies. At that time, AWNA had a rep who sold ads for all the papers, but then we started losing them.

Ricky: Can you remember when you noticed?

Lisa: We’d get a GM ad every week, full page. We’d get a full-page Ford ad every two weeks.

All of a sudden Ford dropped out. I asked AWNA why and was told the client pulled them because we didn’t have a dealership in our community, but the ads had actually moved to Google and Facebook.

Google began by hitting the region’s tiny newspapers first. The ads just stopped. By 2016, the ads were all gone. There was nothing. It was a fast slide.

Ricky: How badly were you hit? Did you lose all 50 per cent?

Lisa: Yeah, and we were heavily reliant on them. It meant we couldn’t pay the bills.

They were also important because they meant we were able to worry less about local ads, meaning we could cover local stories without worrying we would upset an advertiser. That’s a big issue for local reporting.

Ricky: National ads meant you could report freely, unfettered?

Lisa: Exactly, and I was watching it happen. I told AWNA we needed to change our business model.

We needed to stop relying on national ads and become more community ad focused or we’d lose the papers. They laughed at me.

So, I started a push on community advertising, walking the streets myself. Delivering the papers myself…

Ricky: Fascinating. When was this?

Lisa: About 2017.

Ricky: You had seen the writing on the wall?

Lisa: Yes, and nobody else noticed.

Ricky: I call this Cassandra complex. Why do you think people didn’t listen?

Lisa: Cognitive dissonance. If something scares you, you don’t want to know about it. They were myopic, just worrying about what was going on in their lane. But I could see it. I could see paper after paper losing their national ads, and it was spreading geographically. It took about two years for everybody to lose their ads.

Ricky: Did the agencies realise Google was behind it?

Lisa: No, they never said that. They said it was our location, or the advertiser was cutting spending… I don’t think they really understood what was happening either.

Ricky: How big a crisis was it in your community?

Lisa: I didn’t take a paycheque for a year. I worked

for free. I cut two staff. I started delivering the paper myself…

Ricky: Alright, so let’s stop and talk about your passion. I’m assuming you’re absolutely f***ing furious at this point.

Lisa: Yeah. I’m really mad.

Ricky: And you’re breaking your back to keep it going. Why? Lisa: It was a legacy thing. My family had loved it and built the paper. As a child, I told everyone my mom owned a newspaper. It was so cool. Still is.

It’s more than a job. It’s about doing right in the world. I truly believe we are the check and balance of democracy. That means something to me.

I worked hard at school. I have three degrees, but I’m making no money, so I have to believe.

It also afforded me the opportunity to be a great mom because in a community newspaper like this I’m at my kids’ concert, because I’m covering it for the paper.

Ricky: Bravo. So you’ve decided you’re going to fight. You’ve lost half your revenue to Google.

Agencies are telling you any old story, but they’re clueless too. What happens?

Lisa: I got pissed off and that’s when I went to AWNA to see what they were doing to salvage this?

What were they doing in advocacy to call out Google and Facebook?

I joined the board, then became the vice president.

I’m President now.

Ricky: I’m not surprised.

Lisa: You either like me or you don’t, and I’m OK with that. My special power is I’ll tell the Prime Minister he’s an a**hole to his face if I truly think he was.

I don’t hold back.

Ricky: That’s why you’re the perfect lead litigant. Where did the class action come from?

Lisa: A director at AWNA told me a law firm wanted to sue Google and Facebook, but nobody would talk to them. Nobody would step up to the plate. I said, sure.

Ricky: What were you expecting?

Lisa: I didn’t really know, but I knew I was pissed off with 17 cent cheques. We were too small to make money from platforms, and we had lost our national advertising.

Ricky: You were stuck in the infamous Valley of Death…

Lisa: As a local paper, we were really hit. Bigger papers took money from Google. It was a pittance, but they were getting something, like the Google News Initiative...

We just weren’t. We weren’t big enough to be on their radar, but I knew how important we were. That just pissed me off even more. Then the lawyers, Sotos, came on board.

Ricky: Ok… Lisa: They said they needed someone to have the guts to do it. Three minutes in and I told them it was me. We’re doing this, I said. Give me the paperwork.

I’ll sign it tomorrow.

Ricky: Just like that?

Lisa: Hell yeah, just like that.

Ricky: OK, stop. There are class actions all over the world, but it’s getting almost no news coverage.

Papers aren’t writing about it, even though some know it exists. Very few publishers are showing the courage to step up like you, even though lawyers have the funding and are raring to go.

Billions and billions and billions and billions of dollars are up for grabs, as well as the fundamental principles of fairness, competition, justice, and punishment.

Why do you think there is so little energy? Is it fear?

Lisa: When I launched this, some members of AWNA implied I should step down. They felt I should stay in my swim lane. I was making a lot of waves.

Cont’d on page 11

Wednesday, November 6, 2024 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - 11

Provincial Update:

Government back in session GEORGE LEE The Macleod Gazette - LJI Legislation around property rights, gun ownership, tourism and parental involvement in education should spark the interest of rural Albertans, the UCP’s government house leader speculated in announcing plans for this week’s reconvened session of the legislature.

But pleasing people who live beyond the province’s cities is not driving his party’s fall agenda, Joseph Schow said in advance of politicians’ return to the floor of

Editorial cont’d from page 10 At the time, Google was paying some papers, but the money was never reaching the smaller titles. I had to make sure that small newspapers got their fair share too.

Ricky: You’re referring to the payments Google was making prior to the Canadian Government cutting the $100 million deal in its news bargaining code, right?

Lisa: Yes, but none of it was coming down the line to us. Every weekly newspaper in the country was being crushed by Google and Facebook. These are valuable weekly newspapers, some 100 years old, but all were being left out of the funding. I went to bat for all of them.

As Lisa planned her action, she was surprised to find it hard to get other publishers to join.

Ricky: What did they tell you? Were they eager?

Lisa: No, they gave me nothing. Crickets. And I don’t know why, for the life of me. Maybe it was fear.

It’s like being a beaten dog. They get a scrap of food every couple of days, and they’re so willing to take it, that they’ll eat the other dog to get there.

It was like Lord of the Flies. Close up, it looked so tiny, but viewed outwards, and it was gigantic in scale.

They just couldn’t see it. I could. I said guys, this is happening.

Ricky: How many publishers were caught up in this?

Lisa: There were more than 1,000 community newspapers in 2022, fewer now, and then 76 dailies, across 176 publisher groups.

Ricky: And you’re seeking $8 billion in total. $4 billion from Google. So, 1,076 publications divided by $4 billion is $3.7 million per publisher. The majority of these publishers are small. How transformational would $3 million be to you?

Lisa: Well, I’ve lost well over a million, and if I add the cost of living, it’s closer to $1.5 million. I’m only actually recouping what I’ve lost.

The rest can be for all of the sh** and abuse that they’ve put me through, and the strain of the past few years and the lost wages.

Then there’s laying off people who worked with us for 20 years, stuffing flyers when I’m 50 years old...

Ricky: You’re Erin Brockovich. You’re going to make them pay.

Lisa: Yeah. I am.

Ricky: So, let’s say $3 million comes back. What will you do with it?

Lisa: My worry is that this has left a lot of publishers so exhausted that they will just shut down. I don’t want that to happen either.

If we can get a $3 million payout and change the way that Google and Facebook do business, publishing can be viable again.

That means many might see a window to sell. Right

the house this week.

“We don’t necessarily distinguish between rural and urban Alberta. We govern for everyone,” Schow told reporters.

“So as a rural politician, I definitely know the interests of my constituency down south, and I trust that MLAs know the interests of their own,” said the member for Cardston-Siksika.

The UCP highlighted 13 bills it plans to introduce this fall. Among other things, the bills will affect rights, privacy and access to information; education, early learning and childcare; fairness and safety in sports; health care; meat inspection; justice; financial statutes; and tourism.

The All-season Resorts Act will “recognize there’s a lot of Alberta to explore in a responsible and environmentally conscientious way,” Schow said, responding to a question about legislation and rural Alberta.

“We have such a beautiful landscape, and Albertans want to share that story with visitors from around Alberta, around the country and around the rest of the world,” said Schow, who is also the minister of tourism and sport.

now, you can’t give a newspaper away.

Maybe there are opportunities for new young people interested in the industry to come through. I don’t know.

Ricky: Do you care if the future is in print, or is this about a pivot to digital? How do you feel about that?

Lisa: There’s something lost when local news is digital. History is never truly archived somehow.

It can be lost, and history manipulated, but can’t change what’s on paper.

My favourite part of the day is walking into the office on a Wednesday morning to find the paper still wet, and I can smell the ink. There’s something in that.

Lisa’s court case initially sued both Meta and Google, alleging the two conspired together in a project called Jedi Blue to suck advertising dollars from publishers.

The judge in an earlier hearing cleared the case to sue Google, but not Meta. The suit demands $4 billion from each for a total of $8 billion. Lisa and the lawyers filed an appeal to drag Meta back into the case last week.

Lisa: It’s frustrating, but we’ll get them.

Ricky: How did you come up with the $8 billion number?

Lisa: That was my lawyers. They say it’s for 10 years of losses.

Ricky: That would make it one of the largest damage payouts in human history.

Lisa: It feels like I’m a movie right now.

Ricky: OMG, you are. You’re Erin Brockovich.

Lisa: And that bothers Google, right? They thought I was stupid, which is something I get a lot. I look a certain way, so they dismiss me as dumb.

Ricky: They think you’re fearful.

Lisa: Oh yeah. Fearful and stupid.

Ricky: But… Lisa: Smart people are smart. It doesn’t matter how you look. And I’m smart, and I’m aggressive Ricky: Google doesn’t like taking it on the chin from real people. They’re not used to it.

Lisa: Oh yeah, for sure. When they walked into court that first day, with their fancy shoes, I was sitting in the back. They asked me: Who are you?

I said: I’m the Pass Herald, and the judge said: ‘It’s you who is suing for $4 billion?’ Yep, I said, that’s me.

When I’m mad, I’m laser focused. I’ve never quit a thing in my life, and I will not quit this. I will not be bullied by anybody.

But it’s not about just the money. The money’s great and all, but I want them to have to change the way they do business, and admit they were wrong. That matters more.

Ricky: It’s up to us.

Lisa: 100 per cent. I’ve sacrificed so much to be a mom and have a meaningful career. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it, and done it well.

But I believe things happen for a reason. I’m here doing this for a reason, and now I have done all that, I can focus on pissing off Google and Facebook.

Cont’d on page 14 Ricky: Tell me about meeting them face-to-face in court.

Lisa: Oh, that was great. I don’t think they thought it was going to get this far. They dismissed me, and that pissed me off more, so flew down to the court in Toronto…

Ricky: Were you nervous?

Lisa: None of them make me nervous. They came in with their fancy suits. It was a whole tranche of lawyers, maybe 10 of them.

My lawyer said: We’re representing the Pass Herald, and she’s sitting in the back of the court.

Google’s lawyers turned around and looked at me, and their faces dropped. It was worth a million dollars.

They had no clue I was coming.

Ricky: You turned the tables?

Lisa: By being there, I put a face to something. This wasn’t an ambulance chasing lawyer after a settlement, this was a real human.

Their lawyers were just to make money, but I was the real deal, from a little town putting a face to the damage. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

Ricky: Why do you think they were so rattled?

Lisa: I don’t think that they actually thought that I would care enough. They thought it was a frivolous lawsuit.

They didn’t think people in Canada were smart enough to do this. That we were just a bunch of backwards heathens. They underestimated us.

Ricky: You think that they think they’re smarter than the rest of us?

Lisa: 100 per cent, but I showed them that the world stinks because of them, and someone was willing to call them out.

I had three lawyers there. I was so proud of them.

They had an answer to everything.

Ricky: Fearless?

Lisa: They were brilliant. We’re a team, and we all have skin in the game. I prop them up and they do the same for me. Every time we hit a roadblock, we bypass it and keep going. We got this.

Ricky: What was the hearing for?

Lisa: It was a strike motion from Meta and Google.

They wanted the case to be refused. They said none of the decisions were made in Canada so it shouldn’t be a Canadian case.

We lost on Meta, but we filed an appeal last Monday. The judge has already ruled the Google case will go ahead.

Ricky: So, it’s happening...

Lisa: It will go back to court early next year.

Ricky: How are you feeling? How are the energy levels?

Lisa: I’m here for the long haul. I know it could be a five-to-eight-year slog. We all knew that from the beginning. If I don’t step up, this isn’t happening. If I don’t step, local news loses again.

I’m an excellent poker player. I’ll take them all the way. I’m not even close to being done and I will live for a long time yet. My goal is to shut them down.

12 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Panthers volleyball team serves up $1500 for cancer support

Herald contributor photos

The senior boys volleyball team raised $1,500 during the Green and Gold volleyball tournament for the Look Good Feel Better Organization. All proceeds will go toward supporting people undergoing cancer treatment, helping to improve their quality of life.

Pumpkins in the Park

John Kinnear photos

Wednesday, November 6, 2024 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - 13

Landscaping • Trenching • Trucking

Karson Yakubowski

Landen Yakubowski

Cell 403-563-0811

Cell 403-563-0319

Box 1503 Blairmore AB T0K 0E0 Email abexcavationlck@gmail.com

14 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - Wednesday, November 6, 2024

That’s a wrap at Horace Allen LISA SYGUTEK Pass Herald Editor The Horace Allen School’s Garden Harvest Veggie Wrap Buffet on October 22, 2024, was a vibrant celebration of healthy eating and hands-on learning. Students from Early Learning and Kindergarten to grade 3 got to enjoy a colorful selection of vegetables, including peas, carrots, peppers, kohlrabi, and tomatoes grown in the school’s own garden, as well as some local produce. The Eco Club planted these vegetables in the spring, and the tomatoes were a unique addition— grown from seeds provided by the Tomatosphere project, with half having traveled to space on the International Space Station!

The event featured 12 bowls of fresh vegetables for the students to mix and match in their lettuce wraps, along with rice noodles and shredded cheese for extra flavor and texture. The volunteer moms and grandmoms enjoyed seeing the students’ enthusiasm as they tried new veggies. It was a delightful harvest celebration, showing how different-colored vegetables contribute to a healthy body and fostering excitement around fresh, local food!

Lesley Margetak photo

Students savor fresh, colorful veggies from the Horace Allen School garden at the Garden Harvest Veggie Wrap Buffet, October 22, 2024.

More Letters to the Editor Dark times, troubled water and two surviving trout DAVID MCINTYRE Crowsnest Pass When a 2023 midsummer surge of mud and water transformed Rock Creek into a brown, muddy mess, I, living on the stream’s cascading outer edge, was one of the first people to witness the disturbing event.

Days passed before I learned of TC Energy’s ensuing “incident report” defining its role in the muddy outcome of its over-the-Livingstone-Range pipeline construction.

The pipeline, created through critical habitat for cutthroat trout in the headwaters of Rock Creek, trans-

Provincial update cont’d from page 11 In an opening statement to the press, Schow broached controversial topics around the increasing profile of transgender Albertans. The government plans to protect children from “potentially making life-altering and often irreversible adult decisions involving alteration of their biological sex,” he said.

Legislation will “support students’ success and well-being in school by strengthening the ties between parents and their children’s education.” It will make sports fairer by ensuring that biologically born women and girls can compete in biological-female-only cate-

formed the creek into a mucky mess in August of 2023, and did this during a protracted regional drought.

Recently, on October 29, 2024, following 14 months of futile, near-daily creekside searches for any surviving trout, I saw what I’d come to believe was impossible: two surviving trout.

Rock Creek, a long year ago, was documented as one of Alberta’s relatively few streams still harbouring pure-strain westslope cutthroat trout. Whenever I’d take a break from yard work, I’d toss grasshoppers into the creek’s many pools and watch as the “hoppers” were consumed in swirls of competing trout.

Several years ago, my wife and I welcomed fisheries biologists to the creek at our doorstep so they could conduct DNA sampling of the stream’s abundant and conspicuous trout.

These recent pictures of cutthroat abundance no longer exist. But my recent discovery of two trout offers a glimmer of hope that cutthroats may rise to their former numbers.

My wife made the initial discovery of the two trout, almost certainly the same two I saw later that same

day. My observations included a glimpse of one darting trout and an unforgettable face-to-face encounter with the second trout.

I watched the trout with binoculars as it, facing me and the late day sun, finned slowly in clear shallow water. Sunlight showcased the trout’s black-spotted back, its richly spotted flanks, its pelvic fins, its dorsal fin, even its tiny adipose fin.

That moment of discovery, showcased in living colour following a 14-month, labour intensive—no sign of any surviving trout—search, was euphoric … until the sudden gravity of “only two” hit me.

Can the two trout survive predation and the coming winter? Is there sufficient invertebrate life in the stillmud-covered, oxygen-deprived stream bed to support trout? I don’t know the answers to these questions.

The cutthroats’ future in Rock Creek and the creek’s potential to return to its former biological integrity remain unknown, but as the sun sets on autumn, two trout, each roughly 15 cm in length, offer hope for Alberta’s threatened cutthroats and their future in Rock Creek, a tributary of the Crowsnest River.

gories, he said.

To make sure transgender athletes can also “meaningfully participate in sports,” the government will support the creation of divisions for more than one gender, Schow said.

The government will continue to work with smaller municipalities in the creation of new legislation, the house leader said in response to a question about high-profile clashes with the Rural Municipalities of Alberta.

The association representing 69 counties and municipal districts in Alberta, the RMA has criticized the government on issues like the regionalization of victim services and increased control of municipal decision-making.

“It’s important for us to make sure that we can con-

tinue to work (with municipalities) in a seamless way, but also understanding that sometimes our interests don’t always align,” Schow said.

“So when it comes to the RMA, they do good work on behalf of their members. And I personally interact with counties and municipalities all the time by constituency. But I know at a much higher level, (Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric) McIver is doing a tremendous job reaching out, consulting with the RMA and other municipalities, as they encounter challenges in our ever-evolving province.”

Absorbing 200,000 new Albertans last year is putting pressure on rural and urban municipalities alike, Schow said. “I do applaud Mr. McIver. He’s done a great job consulting municipalities, to work with them and address their concerns.”

Wednesday, November 6, 2024 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - 15

Rural Albertans deserve clarity on policy planning GEORGE LEE The Macleod Gazette - LJI

Conflicting messages hide province’s policing plans from rural Albertans — NDP Albertans —“especially rural Albertans” — deserve clarity about the province’s policing plans after contradictory UCP statements, the NDP’s public safety and emergency services critic told the legislative assembly Oct. 28.

David Shepherd said his ministerial counterpart and the premier are muddying up an issue that could have major funding implications and doesn’t reflect what the UCP campaigned on during the last election.

Premier Danielle Smith has said Alberta municipalities will be able to choose between Alberta sheriffs and the RCMP, Shepherd said. Yet Minister Mike Ellis has said the existing sheriffs, buttressed by new legislation, “will not replace, undermine or destabilize the RCMP,” he added. “Can (the minister) clarify who got it wrong?”

Ellis responded that the NDP’s position is clouded by an urban bias that doesn’t understand the crime and policing challenges rural Albertans face.

He said that “this is how out of touch the members opposite are here with their urban privilege when it comes to safety within rural Alberta. We have said time and time again that the new independent police agency will augment and support the RCMP.” In the spring portion of the current session, the legislature passed the Public Safety Statutes Amendment Act, 2024. The legislation enables the government to create a new independent agency. The agency would place the police-like functions of the Alberta Sheriffs under the same kind of legislative framework and civilian oversight that exists for other police services, the province’s website says.

Wildfire season in Alberta: a look back GEORGE LEE The Macleod Gazette - LJI

UCP highlights strength and charity Albertans showed during wildfire season Albertans stepped up during a wildfire season that put provincial resources to the test but nonetheless decimated Jasper municipality, the legislature heard Oct. 28.

The destruction of about a third of the townsite and about 32,000 hectares of the park that surrounds it broke hearts around the world, said Martin Long, the UCP member for West Yellowhead.

“Seeing this destruction occur in Jasper, a place where families from across Alberta, Canada and the world have made cherished memories, was heart wrenching,” Long said. “In this challenging time we saw our province come together, united in support of Jasper.”

Long, whose riding includes the Municipality of Jasper and the national park itself, continued: “Thanks to the tireless efforts of our brave first responders and the collective action of our communities, all residents were evacuated safely, and many are now able to return home as we focus on recovery and rebuilding. To consider,

Shepherd, the member for Edmonton-City Centre, said it doesn’t appear that the government can afford to create a new agency, given a shortage of spending on health care, education, workers, housing and more. “How much is all of this going to cost? Where is the money going to come from? Does (Ellis) intend to defund the RCMP, or is the premier’s mouth writing cheques his department can’t cash?”

Responded Ellis, the member for Calgary-West: “I know it’s tough for the NDP to go outside of the bubble of Edmonton, but if you looked at the sheriff automobiles, they are police cars. If you see their uniforms, those are police uniforms. If you see the utility belts that they have, those are use-of-force weapons.

“We have the infrastructure in place. It really is a matter of designation . . .Despite what the NDP wants, we are going to continue to support rural Albertans because they have rights as well.”

The Court and Prisoner Service was renamed Alberta Sheriffs in the early 2000s, later expanding into the forerunner of today’s Sheriff Highway Patrol.

Alberta Sheriffs are responsible for courthouse security and prisoner transport, traffic and commercial vehicle enforcement on provincial highways, and conservation law enforcement for Fish and Wildlife Services. They provide personal protection for senior provincial government officials, along with security at the legislature and other provincial facilities.

Rural Albertans benefit through surveillance of criminal targets provided by the Sheriff Investigative Support Unit. SISU supports police agencies across Alberta, with a primary mandate to work with the RCMP. Surveillance got an extra boost in July when the province announced the creation of two eight-member teams, one for the north and the other for the south.

Geared at preventing criminals from targeting farms and rural businesses, the teams activate at the request of local police.

Also under the sheriff umbrella is a unit called Safer Communities and Neighbourhood. SCAN uses legal sanctions and court orders to hold owners responsible for illegal activities on their properties. And the Fugitive Apprehension Sheriffs Support Team, or FASST, helps other police services find and arrest wanted criminals.

About 1,160 positions make up the Alberta Sheriffs, and about 1,000 of those are peace officers, said a statement over the summer break from Ellis’s ministry.

The RCMP needs the support, Ellis said, because “on any given day” Alberta is 17 to 20 per cent short it’s authorized complement.

Albertans beyond the bright lights have “a right to feel safe in this province,” Ellis said.

on that horrific night in July, the bravery, fortitude and selflessness of the first responders, is overwhelming.”

He honoured “the incredible spirit of Albertans in the face of adversity.”

The UCP’s Scott Sinclair said he’s seen first-hand Alberta’s response to wildfires in Slave Lake, particularly in 2011 when one damaged or destroyed about a third of his hometown.

“While this last wildfire season has been challenging for Albertans, we’ve also witnessed Alberta’s remarkable resilience and community spirit,” said Sinclair, the member for Lesser Slave Lake. “In the face of tragedy the province united to support affected communities, with Albertans from all corners coming together to help displaced residents and to help combat the fires.”

Todd Loewen, minister of forestry and parks, said Alberta was able to limit the total area burned in Alberta to about 700,000 hectares, down 1.5 million hectares from 2.2 million the year before. Through a $155 million boost in wildfire preparation, Alberta added frontline responders, air tankers, heavy equipment, and helicopters equipped with night-vision technology.

At the season’s peak in July, Alberta had 1,900 personnel, over 150 helicopters and 23 air tankers ready to act, said Loewen, the member for Central Peace-Notley. Alberta also implemented a unified command approach with municipalities across the province, thanks to the Emergency Statutes Amendment Act passed earlier this year, he said.

The UCP government put $14 million into a community fireguard program to help 21 communities with fire prevention. It paid a share of 75 FireSmart projects throughout the province worth $7.1 million, “and these are only some of the things we’re doing,” Loewen said.

When it comes to wildfire fighting command in Alberta, published reports identify the Jasper wildfire — actually a complex of fires including two that converged on the municipality in late July — as an outlier. The province’s decision-making was limited because it wasn’t part of a unified command set up the federal government, the UCP has said.

16 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Mining company makes extra push by lobbying for coal mine ANGELA AMATO Investigative Journalism Foundation - LJI Mountains and dense forests surround the pocket of former mining communities in the Crowsnest Pass. Streams trickle from the mountains, forming waterfalls that bring tourists to the quiet mountain oasis not far from the bustling communities of Canmore and Banff.

Despite the area’s beauty and quaint charm, the five communities that make up the municipality of Crowsnest Pass — Bellevue, Blairmore, Coleman, Frank and Hillcrest — are lacking in opportunities due to the fading of forestry and mining industries that they were founded on.

But a proposed mining project might alleviate those worries, an Australian mining company claims. Benga Mining Limited acquired the Grassy Mountain project from Consol Energy and Devon Energy in 2013. It wanted a surface steelmaking coal mine at the former Grassy Mountain site, a coal handling and preparation plant, an overland conveyor system and a new section of rail track.

The company applied for an environmental impact study in 2015. Following years of study, a decision to nix the project was made on Aug. 6, 2021, by Jonathan Wilkinson, the federal environment minister, due to significant environmental concerns.

The company is still intent on making the project happen. It submitted three applications in 2023 under its parent company’s subsidiary, Northback Holdings, to do limited test drilling to determine the composition and location of the coal resource.

Northback CEO Mike Young is among several leaders in the coal mining and transportation industry who are lobbying the province with the Coal Association of Canada (CAC). The Alberta lobbying registration, dated Sept. 15, states that the group is “advocating for the economic opportunities, primarily from steelmaking coal exports, that coal mining in Alberta offer to Albertans by way of jobs, government revenues and stimulation to local and often rural economies. Many of these opportunities lie in the Eastern Slopes of Alberta, where coal mining has resulted in influx of commerce in the past.”

The registration also calls for those with coal mining expertise to be included in decision-making roles.

Neither Northback nor the CAC responded to requests for an interview.

The Ministry of Energy and Minerals said Northback is asking to use water from the lake at the bottom of the non-reclaimed Grassy Mountain site to support the test drilling.

The ministry said it would be “inappropriate” to comment further as “Northback’s test drilling application is before the Alberta Energy Regulator’s Hearing Commission which is responsible for making a final decision on the application.”

Locals to vote During a Sept. 10 council meeting, Crowsnest Pass councillors passed a motion to hold a non-binding vote on the proposed mine to determine where local support lies. Similar to a plebiscite or referendum, residents will be asked if they “support the development and operations of the metallurgical coal mine at Grassy Mountain.” The vote will be held on Nov. 25, with advanced polls opening on Nov. 19.

Crowsnest Pass Mayor Blair Painter said they aren’t conducting the vote specifically for Northback’s project, but they are looking to hear from residents to determine if they want to see the industry come back.

“We’re talking to our local residents because that’s who we’re concerned about,” said Painter in an interview. “It has nothing to do with Northback’s drilling program.”

Eran Kaplinsky, a law professor at the University of Alberta, said the vote might not make much of a difference when it comes to the province’s decision to go forward

with the mining project.

“Municipalities do not have jurisdiction over natural resource extraction projects,” said Kaplinsky in an interview. “They have limited jurisdiction over the planning aspects. Provincial approval supersedes any municipal approval on such questions.

“All that the question can yield is the level of support in the community for that kind of project.”

However, Kaplinsky adds that the level of support may be evidence for other regulatory bodies or approval agencies such as the Alberta Energy Regulator or the federal Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.

Northback has created a campaign on its website in response to the community’s upcoming vote, encouraging residents of the Crowsnest Pass to “vote yes” on the Grassy Mountain project.

The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) gave the Northback drilling project advanced project status on Feb. 23 of this year. The regulator said projects are given advanced status when a proponent has submitted a project summary to the AER for the purposes of determining whether an environmental impact is required.

A letter from Minister of Energy and Minerals Brian Jean said “once a project is considered an advanced project, it remains as one regardless of the outcome of regulatory applications submitted before it was declared an advanced project.”

Environmental impacts As part of an assessment done by a joint review panel with the AER and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, Benga argued the proposed project was not likely to cause any significant adverse effects following mitigation measures. However, in a 2021 report, the panel found Benga’s claims to be overly optimistic, and they were not assured about the feasibility of some of the proposed mitigation measures.

“While Benga acknowledged the importance of taking a conservative approach to the identification and assessment of project effects, we find that in practice it did not always do so,” the report said.

“Overly optimistic assumptions resulted in a likely underestimate of predicted project effects in some areas, such as for surface water quality and human health, and this reduces our confidence in Benga’s assessment.”

Based on the assessment, the review panel concluded that the project is “likely to result in significant adverse environmental effects on surface water quality, westslope cutthroat trout and their habitat, whitebark pine, rough fescue grasslands, and vegetation species and community biodiversity.”

A decision on the environmental assessment was released on Aug. 26, 2021, stating “the significant adverse environmental effects that the project is likely to cause are not justified in the circumstances.”

However, Painter said the Grassy Mountain project is getting compared to older mines in British Columbia that are still operating, but were developed before there were stringent regulations to protect the environment such as exist today.

Coal mining was once a booming industry in the Crowsnest Pass, with the first mines opening in the 1870s. The last mine in the area closed in 1983. The 1976 Coal Development Policy for Alberta limited coal mining in the area to protect the Rocky Mountains.

But in 2020, the province’s UCP government rescinded the 1976 policy to allow for more open-pit mining exploration in the Rockies. Due to public outcry, the policy was reinstated in 2021 and the Coal Policy Committee was established to make recommendations on Alberta’s coal industry.

Coal from the Grassy Mountain mine would be used for steel and not electricity, as Alberta has stated that it will finish phasing out its coal power plants by 2024.

Still, the environmental impacts of open-pit mining continue to be a concern.

Northback claims that its “planned reclamation” of the land will “provide improved conditions for regrowth and rehabilitation.”

The company said old machines, debris and “abandoned waste” litter the mountainside from the previous mine, which closed over 60 years ago. Northback has said that by taking over the mine, they will “clean up” the area, which currently poses safety risks for those who venture near the site.

“The company will be able to reclaim the previously disturbed and abandoned site, making it safe and enabling future use by locals, Indigenous peoples, Albertans and Canadians,” said a promotional video on Northback’s website.

“If this project is to go ahead, it’s an opportunity to get gainful employment and enrich our community for the next 25 to 30 years,” said Painter. “After that [the land] will be reclaimed. If it doesn’t, then it will never get reclaimed.”

Wednesday, November 6, 2024 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - 17

Pass Herald’s Puzzle Page

18 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - Wednesday, November 6, 2024

19 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Honouring the Past in a world on uncertainty LISA SYGUTEK Pass Herald Editor My recent journey through Belgium and Holland was no ordinary tour—it was a journey into the heart of sacrifice and courage, where history’s lessons are carved into the land itself. Over 10 days, I walked the fields and paths of the Battle of the Scheldt Estuary, paid respects at the Adagem Canadian War Cemetery, and visited Operation Market Garden’s key sites. Each location left an imprint on my heart, a powerful reminder of what it took to protect the world we now share.

In the quiet, somber rows of Adagem Canadian War Cemetery, I could feel the weight of lives lost too soon. I thought of the young Canadians who, so far from home, gave their lives for ideals greater than themselves. The silence there felt sacred, almost reverent, as if the fallen were with us still, whispering reminders of the cost of freedom.

One of the most moving moments came at the Airborne War Cemetery in Arnhem. There, two British soldiers, found only recently after 80 years, were given a final resting place alongside their brothers-in-arms. The simplicity of the ceremony, the heavy quiet of the onlookers, in honor of these young men were heartbreaking reminders that, for all our progress, some sacrifices remain unfinished, some promises unfulfilled. In that moment, the weight of World War 2 felt both distant and close, a reminder that time cannot erase duty.

Fort Breendonk was a place that drew silence from us all. Standing within those walls, where resistance fighters and prisoners once suffered under brutal oppression, I felt both admiration and sorrow, a grief for humanity’s capacity for cruelty, yet a hope inspired by the resilience of the human spirit. It was a place of haunting memories, where history warns us of the OUR FALLEN HEROES depths people can fall to when we lose sight of our shared humanity.

At Waterloo, walking the land where battles shiftIn honour of Remembrance Day, we pay ed the course of history over 200 years ago, I was retribute to the courage, dedication, and sacrifice minded of how moments of unity and courage alter the future. Each step across those fields felt like a connecof those who have served and those who tion to the people who stood their ground, shaping the continue to protect our freedom. May we course of nations. always remember their legacy. Lest We Forget.

These pilgrimages matter because they remind us of what’s at stake. In today’s world, with its turbulence and shifting threats, it is easy to forget the past struggles that preserved our freedoms. Yet as the saying goes, “those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it”, and in the presence of these historic sites, MLA Livingstone-Macleod the cost of forgetting felt all too real.

For Canadians, these journeys aren’t just about remembrance but about safeguarding the ideals that so LIVINGSTONE-MACLEOD CONSTITUENCY OFFICE many fought and died for. In honouring their sacrifice, we recommit to peace, understanding, and the hope for 4927 1st Street West, Claresholm, AB T0L 0T0 a better future.

Livingstone.Macleod@assembly.ab.ca | 587-424-2004

Remembering

Chelsae Petrovic

20 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Belgium Remembers

Left photo: The Adegem Canadian War Cemetery in Belgium. The cemetery now contains 1,119 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War and one unidentified burial of the First World War. There are also 33 Polish and two French burials.

Right photo: A statue at Canadaplein (Canada Square) of the City of Eeklo, Belgium deplicting a woman holding a dying Canadian soldier during World War 2.

Lisa Sygutek photos

Supplement cont’d on page 23 and 24

Honouring all who served valiantly for our freedom

403-562-8555

Blairmore

Wednesday, November 6, 2024 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - 21

Livingstone Range School Division update FRANK MCTIGHE Contributor

Livingstone Range enrollment close to projections There was little year-over-year change in enrollment in Livingstone Range School Division.

The school division had 3,595.96 full-time equivalent (FTE) students enrolled as of the end of September.

That’s a decrease of 2.19 students from last year, but 2.71 students ahead of projections from last winter.

“As you can imagine, a January projection of what our enrollment in September might be like is a challenging thing to do,” associate superintendent of business services Jeff Perry said.

Perry presented the enrollment numbers to trustees during their Oct. 22 meeting at the G.R. Davis Administration Building in Fort Macleod.

The province needs enrollment numbers early from all school divisions to accommodate the budget process.

“Our FTE projection was very close to what our actual FTE was,” Perry said.

Following is enrollment across the division as of Sept. 27.

Fort Macleod — W.A. Day school, 290 students, the same as projected but down 10.5 from last year; F.P. Walshe school, 375 students, down eight from projected but up eight from last year.

Granum — 45 students, up 2.5 from projected and up 5.5 from last year.

Nanton — A.B. Daley school, 182 students, up 3.5 over projected but down seven from last year; J.T. Foster school, 200 students, down four from projected but up one from last year.

Stavely — 81.50 students, up 11 over projected and up seven from last year.

“Stavely is a highlight,” Perry said of an increase of 11 students over projections.

“There’s more people that moved into Stavely.”

Claresholm — West Meadow elementary, 305 students, up four over projected and up 6.5 from last year; Willow Creek Composite, 330 students, up 9.4 over projected but down 4.6 from last year.

Pincher Creek — Canyon school, 247.5 students, up 7.5 over projected and up five from last year; Matthew Halton school, 282 students, up 13 over projected but down eight from last year.

Lundbreck — Livingstone school, 227 students, up 20.5 over projected but down 19.5 from last year.

“We’ve found that a number of students who were attending Livingstone from other communities have returned to their communities,” Perry said.

Crowsnest Pass — Horace Allen school, 158.7 students, down 20.8 from projected and down 12.3 from last year; Isabelle Sellon school, 140 students, same as projected and up four from last year; Crowsnest Consolidated, 315.25 students, up 15.25 over projected and up 16.25 from last year.

Outreach school — 61 students, up one from projected and up four from last year.

Colony schools — 247.5 students, same as projected but up 4.5 from last year.

International — 41 students, down one from projected and down one from last year.

Other — Home education and virtual school, 86.61 students, down 10.14 from projected and down 1.04 from last year.

Trustees seek input on four-day school week Livingstone Range School Board will decide early next year whether to implement a four-day school week.

In the meantime, the board is soliciting feedback from staff, students, parents and other stakeholders.

Livingstone Range communications co-ordinator Karly Bond provided an update at the Oct. 22 board meeting on the work that has been done on stakeholder engagement.

Trustees in April announced it would implement a four-day school week.

The move was determined to be in the best interests of students, and also offered benefits in cost-savings and staff recruitment and retention.

Bond provided trustees with a report last week on her work in the area of communicating the decision and getting stakeholder feedback.

A page on the four-day week was created on the Livingstone Range Web site www.lrsd.ab.ca/4dayweek.

That page includes an overview of the four-day school week, a time line for stakeholder engagement and a list of frequently asked questions.

There is also a draft 2025-’26 school calendar based on a four-day week.

The school division has also e-mailed information directly to staff and parents, inviting them to visit the Web site.

“Stakeholder engagement is critical to this project,” Bond said.

The school division is getting feedback from staff, students, parents and other stakeholders.

“I’m pleased to report that we are right on track with our engagement time line,” Bond said.

Staff were invited in May to take part in an anonymous on-line survey.

That on-line survey attracted participation from 47 per cent, or 272 staff members.

Trustee Carla Gimber asked whether the level of staff participation is good or bad.

Bond replied that response from one- to two-thirds would be considered “normal.”

Trustees learned Bond will do three sessions in November at Divisional Day to invite staff to have in-person conversations about the four-day week.

From May to October Bond and school senior administration met with admin councils, union representatives, the boards of education for Kainai and Piikani Nation, Hutterite colony leaders and students from Livingstone Leaders.

“In total we have had in-person conversations with 123 individuals,” Bond told trustees.

The decision was made not to have a broad survey of parents. Rather, meetings will be held with school council chairs and vice-chairs.

To date, Livingstone Range has received on media inquiry, 10 phone calls from staff and parents and 10 hand-written letters from parents of Hutterite students.

Bond intends to complete stakeholder engagement in November and in December compile a report to trustees.

“We are on track to present a report to trustees in January 2025,” Bond said.

School board vice-chair Lacey Poytress praised Bond for the work done on communication and stakeholder engagement.

“I really think that it is setting the board up for success in making this decision,” Poytress said.

Trustee Kathy Charchun encouraged people to visit the Web site for information.

Trustee Brad Toone agreed. saying the Web site answers many questions that people have about a four-day week.

People can also e-mail 4dayweek@lrsd.ab.ca to provide input.

Trustees receive update on collegiate project Livingstone Range School Division has hired a prime consultant to assist with the PEAKS Collegiate Campus building project.

Associate superintendent of business services Jeff Perry announced last week that FWBA Architects was chosen from the firms that responded to a request for proposals.

“We’re excited that we’ve moving forward with a prime consultant,” Perry said.

Perry made the announcement during the school board’s Oct. 22 meeting at the G.R. Davis Administration Building in Fort Macleod.

Perry told trustees the next step is a meeting with FWBA Architects to start on design development.

PEAKS Collegiate Campus is designed to help students transition from high school in post-secondary and careers in environmental science.

A partnership between Livingstone Range, Lethbridge Polytechnic and industry, Peaks Collegiate Campus gives students the chance to study geology, forestry, wildlife, hydrology, geography, and several other STEM-related subjects in a hands-on, immersive environment.

The province in April 2023 awarded Livingstone Range $5.77-million for the collegiate campus and a dedicated facility.

The building must have the capability to house students and staff during winter months when they are there for more than one day.

“This is really exciting,” school board vice-chair Lacey Poytress said. “I can’t wait for it to start.”

Poytress suggested associate superintendent Chad Kuzyk could provide an explanation of the collegiate campus.

Kuzyk said the collegiate is part of the dual credit pathway Livingstone Range started previously.

The idea is to provide students with pathways into careers from high school to post-secondary studies.

Livingstone Range’s environmental science pathway is somewhat unique in Alberta.

“We’re very thankful for the funding that we were provided to be able to start this,” Kuzyk said.

Poytress stressed that the money used for the collegiate is additional funding for Livingstone Range, and not from the government’s operational funding.

“It’s a significant amount of dollars but it’s not coming from our classrooms,” Poytress said. “It’s actually expanding our classrooms and our opportunities for our students.”

Perry told trustees the goal is to have people on-site for construction within the next year.

Trustees seek wider audience for information Livingstone Range School Board wants to make sure its work on behalf of students is known by a wider audience.

Trustees last week approved a list of ways information will be shared as proposed by the board’s advocacy committee.

Cont’d on page 22

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Livingstone Range School Division update cont’d from page 21 “We have to start letting people know we do a lot of advocacy for our students and for the division, and this is a beginning,” trustee Clara Yagos said.

Yagos presented the advocacy’s list of recommended ways to share board information during the Oct. 22 meeting at the G.R. Davis Administration Building in Fort Macleod.

“There are a lot of ways that we have talked about and looked at,” Yagos said. “We looked at some viable ways so that we hopefully get the things that we are doing out to the public.”

The methods for sharing information proposed by the advocacy committee include: • Creating an advocacy link on the Livingstone Range Web site where information is shared.

• Communicating appropriate board initiatives and letters with the Alberta Teachers’ Association liaison committee.

• Sharing relevant letters with school parent councils along with key messages.

• Sending appropriate initiatives and letters to local newspapers.

• Sharing board initiatives and letters with the school administration at admin council meetings.

“This way they will know we are promoting our students all the time,” Yagos said.

Trustee Greg Long suggested putting board information on social media sites in each community.

“I think that would be a good place to put relevant information about school board work and initiatives,” Long said.

Long isn’t convinced the public goes to the Livingstone Range Web site for information, but said they do look at Facebook sites.

“I think that would be an appropriate way of getting our information out to the community,” Long said.

School board vice-chair Lacey Poytress wasn’t convinced information belongs on social media sites.

Poytress said there are many different types of social media, and many different community sites on each.

“I think it is an unreliable place to put information,” Poytress said.

Social media sites open posts to comments that may not be appropriate or informed.

“It’s not appropriate for our communications officer to be sitting and monitoring all these sites and trying to respond to comments,” Poytress said. “It can just get pretty crazy pretty fast in those comment sections.”

Poytress said there would have to be a bigger conversation with the communications officer and the school division information technology team.

Trustee Brad Toone agreed consistency in messaging is important.

“I do agree that social media is an avenue that requires further investigation,” Toone said.

Trustee Carla Gimber agreed social media can be effective, but without a proper plan on what will be post-

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ed and who will monitor and respond to comments the school division would open itself to problems.

“It scares the daylights out of me to be honest,” Gimber said.

Poytress noted Livingstone Range had its own social media accounts where information could be shared.

Long agreed his amendment to the proposed list requires further discussion, and it was defeated.

Trustees amended the list to receive school board letters to include the Alberta School Boards Association rural caucus.

FACES is changing students’ lives FACES continued its mission of challenging students physically and emotionally to make good choices that improve their lives.

Livingstone Range School Board learned last week that a record 622 students enrolled in the six-day sessions at the PEAKS Campus.

FACES founder Rick Bullock made a presentation to trustees during their Oct. 22 meeting at the G.R. Davis Administration Building in Fort Macleod.

Bullock stressed FACES is grateful to be able to run its program through Livingstone Range.

“Your support has been important from the get-go,” Bullock told trustees. “We think what we do is important, and we can’t do it without you.”

FACES started in 1999 with a locally developed curriculum approved by Alberta Education.

Students can earn up to 10 high school credits per year through participation in both a personal adventure and the camp’s wilderness adventure.

“What we do is for our students,” Bullock said. “One of the little mantras we have created over the last three years is something that has been really impactful for students is that it’s a challenge, choose change model.”

Bullock said FACES staff helps students understand that a lot of the value as they strive to become the best they can be happens during the challenge phase.

That includes dealing with discomfort in the physical challenges FACES presents as well as becoming vulnerable and in relationships.

Students learn to use that discomfort, along with the excitement and anticipation, to help them make choices.

“They recognize that choices are really important,” Bullock said. “They have the opportunity to find the change that happens because of the choices they make.”

“When they start to see their whole lives through that framework of challenge, choose, change it is really impacting for them.“ Bullock turned the presentation over to Ammi Saunders, a student at F.P. Walshe school in Fort Macleod who has been in FACES for two years.

Ammi is planning to go back to FACES next year as a student leader.

Ammi told trustees one of the challenges she faced was overcoming her fear of heights to rappel down the mountain.

“If I hadn’t gone down the rappel and made the choices, I don’t think I would have become the person I

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am now,” Ammi said.

Had she not done the rappel, Ammi said she likely wouldn’t have gone on the 40-kilometre steep hike that is part of second year, and would have missed the fantastic scenery.

“It made me realize that it was okay to be scared of something and to choose to do something I didn’t want to,” Ammi told trustees.

In response to a question from school board vice-chair Lacey Poytress, Ammi said her experience at FACES impacts her everyday life, both in school and outside.

Bullock told trustees 622 students registered for FACES last summer.

“We were full the first week after opening registration,” Bullock said. “It was fabulous. It was humbling in a way to see how quickly we filled.”

Bullock told trustees Livingstone Range students are given a two-week period to register before it is opened to students from across the province.

About 130 spots are filled by Livingstone Range students, with the rest coming from outside.

“I do think there is some room for improvement to see more kids from Livingstone Range go,” Bullock said. “Our commitment is to make sure that everyone who wants to go, gets to go.”

Bullock said FACES appreciated the support of new FACES principal Jennifer Hamilton.

The six-day sessions are held at PEAKS Campus in the Crowsnest Pass, with access to canoeing, rock climbing, rappelling, and hiking.

“This has been an important part of my life for 25 years,” Bullock told trustees. “I appreciate what we’ve been able to do together.”

School board chair Lori Hodges has watched FACES grow.

“I appreciate the growth that we’ve seen,” Hodges said. “We thank you for running this amazing program for the students.”

School board vice-chair Lacey Poytress said participation in FACES has been life-changing for some students.

“I am so proud of the work you have done,” Poytress told Bullock.

Students can register for FACES for the summer following their Grades 9, 10 and 11 years at www.faceseducation.com.

plus

23 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Looking Back

BY JOHN KINNEAR

A Pivotal Point in History I hate war. I hate everything about it.

It is a continuous curse on humanity that robs us of what could be a lasting peace and a united stable world.

It is heartbreaking to watch what is unfolding in the Ukraine war. It is too easy to turn a blind eye to this madness and carry on our merry ways, unaffected by what is happening half way around the world.

As we approach Armistice Day we would do well to remember that in two world wars we as a nation committed and lost many of our own to defend the right of democratic countries to exist in peace.

The recent history of how the country of Ukraine came to this point in time is a complicated one. If one looks back eleven years we see the beginnings of how this nation, striving to be a democratic country connected to the European Union, was summarily attacked. In a nutshell, the people rose up in February of 2014 against a totally corrupt president in what is referred to as the Maidan Revolution or the Revolution of Dignity. Maidan is a Persian word that means a square or open space and that is where they gathered en masse for weeks by the thousands. They were not to be deterred in their demands. While the Ukrainian parliament had voted overwhelmingly to join the EU, Russian pressure on the corrupt president led him to turn to Russian ties instead. What the Ukrainian people saw then was their rights to the basic human right to protest, speak and think freely and to act peacefully without the threat of punishment, were being dismissed.

Over 400,000 occupied Independence Square at one point and protests were met with deadly force. Hundreds died. The events that unfolded were painful to review through that terrible February.

As I said it is all very complicated but during that month, while the country was in parliamentary chaos, Russia invaded and annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula.

Thus began 8 years of conflict and attacks on the Ukraine from all sides.

It was ten years later, on February 24th, 2022, that all out war began with Russian troops attacking from Belarus in the northeast and from Crimea in the south-

Lest We Forget Municipal Staff and Council would like to take a moment to honor and be thankful to the men and women who gave their lives and their health to fight for our freedom and the freedom of those around the world.

east, in an attempt to take over the country. They wanted to seize Kyiv, the capital city and Kharkiv, an economic and cultural hub.

Russia has always menaced its neighbours, including Finland, and its seems this time most of the Western World was prepared to support, in whatever way they could, this latest aggression. It is almost three years in now that the Ukraine has stood its ground as best it could against aircraft, missile and drone attacks and ground troops pressing them from many sides. It is heartbreaking and very disturbing to see this unfolding.

Recently I read about a young man from Outlook, Saskatchewan that died in June 10th of this year in this war. He was a combat medic on the Ukrainian front lines who was killed by a Russian drone. His name was Winton (Bud) Hardy and he was 41. His family had a history of service with his grandfather serving in World War II and his father in the armed forces for many years. Bud had all kinds of military training and decided almost instantly to join up when he heard Ukraine President Zelenskyy’s invitation to anyone who wanted to volunteer for the International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine. While he was not serving in an official capacity for Canada, he went specifically to help innocent people. He researched it all, saw the horrors happening and decided he wanted to do something about it. He was one of 13 Canadians killed so far in the Ukraine. Another Saskatchewan man, Joseph Hildebrand, died on November 7th, 2022 fighting in the city of Bahkmut. He was killed while pulling fellow soldiers to a safe territory. Joseph signed up into the military right after high school and was with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. He served two years in Afghanistan. Joseph was “blown away” when he heard Canada was not sending soldiers to help. He just had to go.

This brings to mind a similar story I did many years ago about Anthony Peressini, from Blairmore, who died in 1938 fighting with the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. This was not a war that Canada supported but thousands went to fight for a worthy cause. Anthony found his way to France and into Spain, as many others did on their own, to fight for what he felt was right of the people of Spain. Dictator Franco, assisted by Hitler, eventually crushed this effort and Anthony never came home.

It was a war that left Spain with painful memories that persist to this day. Many of those who fought and returned unacknowledged, signed up again in 1939 to fight against the same fascism that had swept over Spain. It seems there will always be a call to arms when it comes to defending democracy here and abroad.

We in the Western World are at a turning point in how far we are prepared to go to keep this beautiful country from being overrun by the Russians. Canada has poured more than 4.5 billion dollars into helping the Ukraine keeps its freedom and independence. But it seems that some of our neighbours to the south believe that it is a waste of money and depending on the election there may be an immediate end to supporting Zelenskyy and his war torn country. We can only pray that some kind of peace agreement will be put in place. The systematic destruction of many parts of the Ukraine will set that country back for years, if they survive and can rebuild.

It is a country with wonderful resources and people and deserves to be able to stand alone. The toll that has been taken on this country is terrible, with millions fleeing from the onset of the attacks in 2022. By March of that year half of all the children in Ukraine had left their homes and a quarter of them left the country all together.

Cont’d on page 24

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24 - CROWSNEST PASS HERALD - Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Looking Back cont’d from page 23: A Pivotal Point in History 90% of the refugees were women and children. Russia has caused the greatest refugee crisis of the 21st century. Many fled to countries like Poland, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. Over 210,000 have actually made it to Canada on temporary emergency visas.

Next week you will learn, in a column, about two of those 210,000 that are here amongst us in the Pass. They are Iryna Oleksiivna and her husband Nik. Iryna is going to share with us, in her own words, their journey of escape to our welcoming country. They come from Kyiv where almost every day that capital city endures drone and missile attacks. I cannot for the life of me imagine how it would feel to be menaced with such deadly force living in a city of almost 3 million people. This madness must be stopped.

From top top to bottom, left to right: Map of Ukraine showing battle zones - by John Kinnear WInton (Bud) Hardy as a young man - submitted by brother Will Hardy Joseph Hildebrand, second Canadian to die in Ukraine - submitted by Carissa Hildebrand Antonio Peressini, 24, died in the Spanish Civil War - Thomas Gushul collection

Stay safe this We remember Halloween

To those who served on the frontlines of conflict; thank you for bringing us to today.