| An Alberta judge will rule by Friday whether the provincial government acted legally in ordering striking teachers back to work without a settlement.
The Alberta Teachers’ Association went to court over the provincial order, arguing against the government’s claim the strike was causing an emergency in the province. They maintain the right to strike legally, and say their job action was causing nothing more than an inconvenience.
If the judge agrees with the teachers’ union, teachers across the province could be back off the job immediately. If not, however, the government says it will stick to its plan of giving teachers until mid-March to reach a settlement with school boards before imposing binding arbitration.
The United Way of Calgary and Area is awarding the Calgary Immigrant Aid Society (CIAS) with the Spirits of Gold Award for Diversity.
For 25 years, CIAS has been working with immigrants and new Canadians by providing language services, access to health care, settlement and integration services, and many other opportunities. They also host the annual Immigrants of Distinction Awards, which is in its sixth year.
"We’ve worked both very hard and very successfully to incorporate diversity into our programs and our organization," says CIAS CEO Hadassah Ksienski. "The staff and volunteers help support our programs and activities."
The net worth of young families with children declined sharply between 1984 and 1999, according to a new Statistics Canada survey.
The decline, up to 30 per cent in some types of families, suggests an increasing number of people are financially ill-prepared to deal with the shock of an economic stress, such as losing a job.
In 1984, young families with children had a median net worth of $44,000. That amount declined to $30,800 as of 1999.
Although the wealth of young families fell noticeably, other groups saw a dramatic increase in net worth, specifically families in which the major income recipient had a university degree, or was over the age of 65.
The unseasonably dry winter has fire officials preparing for another busy summer. Alberta Sustainable Resource Development will officially launch the fire season on March 1, instead of the usual start date in early April.
The lack of precipitation – half the usual amount in some regions – is also responsible for fires that occurred during the winter months.
Fire permits will be required for all burning activities within Forest Protection Areas, and will be available beginning March 1.
This is the third consecutive year the fire season has started early. |
