| U of C students awarded for residential plan
A group of six undergraduate students from the University of Calgary’s Urban Studies Program has won the National Energy Ambassadors Competition.
The Calgary students created an alternate redevelopment plan for the Symons Valley area, detailing ideas to create a more energy-efficient method of commute cycles and to include more green spaces than the city’s current design.
"What we are trying to do with this project is advocate sustainable community design," says Ian Manhire, one of the students who worked on the project.
Manhire and his fellow students plan to present the project to the City of Calgary in coming weeks with the hopes of encouraging city officials to reconsider the current plan for Symons Valley. The city’s plan is scheduled to be built in five phases over the next 20 years.
"Hopefully we can get some strategies implemented," says Manhire.
Liberal move for libraries
The Alberta Liberals are putting pressure on the Conservative government to make library cards free of charge.
On Monday, March 14, Alberta Liberal Community Development critic Bharat Agnihotri introduced a motion in the legislature to urge the government to eliminate fees for library cards in all public libraries as a tribute to former Alberta Lieutenant Governor Lois Hole.
"This would be a great way to pay tribute to a woman widely remembered for her love and commitment to libraries and education," says Agnihotori.
The Liberals also want the government to support the motion in order to promote continued reading for Albertans.
Alberta is the only province with widespread fees for library cards – cities such as Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal all provide free library access.
Bears are barely there
A group of scientists, doctors and professors are urging Ralph Klein and his government to formally list the grizzly bear as a threatened species.
With names including Dr. Paul Paquet, director of the Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project, Killian Award-winner Dr. David Schindler, and the well-known Dr. David Suzuki, the letter is signed by 19 scientists and addressed to Premier Ralph Klein.
"It is in the political and ecological context that we support the recommendation of the ESCC to formally list the grizzly bear as a threatened species before the grizzly bears emerge from their dens in 2005," the letter states.
They argue that according to an Endangered Species Conservation Committee (ESCC) report from 2002, the grizzly bear population in Alberta is "threatened." The report goes on to state that the bears’ documented living area has declined to two-thirds of what it used to be, and purports "large areas of potentially lethal contact with humans."
"The rate of industrial expansion in grizzly bear habitat is accelerating so rapidly that scientists cannot keep pace in predicting how these activities influence the survival of Alberta’s grizzly bears," said Paquet.
According to expert opinion, there are approximately 700 grizzly bears in Alberta.
Random Drug Tests Considered Bad Idea.
The Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) is warning that it would be a "bad idea" to allow employers to impose random drug and alcohol testing in their workplaces.
A report done in 2003 by a special committee created by Alberta Human Resources and Employment, leaked out by one of its members last week, stated that a recommended way of decreasing potential substance abuse problems in the work force would be random drug testing in pre-employment and employment stages.
"The drive to force random drug and alcohol testing is occurring without reason, thought or consideration of other options, " stated AFL President Kerry Barrett in a news release countering the report. "Employers have become intoxicated by the idea of a quick-fix solution. I fear that the casualty in this stampede will be the basic human rights of workers."
"The drive for this is coming out of the oil and gas industry, that’s were the drive for this is. They some how feels it is necessary," says Jason Foster, director of Policy Analysis for the AFL. "It’s a small group of employers are that wielding their political influence that could effect every employee in Alberta."
According to Barrett, most experts believe that random testing is an ineffective method for addressing substance use. "It has too many flaws – from false positives, to evasion methods, to inability to prove intoxication."
The United States currently allows random drug testing; organizations like Wal-Mart require drug screening before hiring a new employee.
Correction
In a story last week about fans protesting the layoff of CBC Radio Wild Rose Forum host Don Hill, Fast Forward omitted the first name and title of the CBC spokesperson quoted in the article. Blane Hogue is the acting communications manager for CBC's prairie and northern region. |
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