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Please click on the icon below to read Diversity Online for January 29 Edition
Please click on the image below to watch Diversity TV Community Newscast for January 29
Hosted by Harriet Tinka
Here are your headlines…
Edmonton Police Service enhances and expands its bias awareness training to every officer…..
Calgary is providing up to 400 small businesses with free online stores….
Coronavirus Project Cool Times and Diversity TV brings to you a COVID-19 vaccine panel to share some experiences and direction coming up after this newscast…..
Now the news in detail….
1. Why is the City of Edmonton garbage collection fee two times higher than that of Calgary…..
Calgary waste collection fee is 50% less than that of Edmonton, a huge difference that has raised some eyebrows in Edmonton. On a Facebook chat response, the City said it’s difficult to compare costs across municipalities as strategic goals, programs and services, costs and funding mechanisms all vary.
They explained that Edmonton’s waste fees appear higher than Calgary’s because Calgary Waste & Recycling Services receives a subsidy of approximately $20 million/year. By comparison, property taxes are not used to fund any Waste programs in Edmonton. Edmonton’s Waste programs and services have been funded solely by a “user fee” from the waste utility rate since 2009.
2. Edmonton Police Service steps up bias awareness training in its entire body of staff….
Bias awareness training has been incorporated in Edmonton Police Service (EPS) training for some time now, but EPS is taking it to a new level by building on stakeholder engagement initiatives, drawing from the Commitment to Action sessions, Roadmap: Systemic Review of Issues Facing Indigenous People, and the LGBTQ2S+ Apology Community Policing Modules.
The community policing modules that are currently being offered to Recruit Training Unit will be expanded to the rest of the service. The curriculum includes education on trauma-informed policing and the victim-offender overlap through discussing case studies of Indigenous, LGBTQ2S+, and Newcomer trauma, adverse childhood experiences, and cultural safety.
Inspector Mitchell Flaman of the EPS Equity, Inclusion and Human Rights Branch joins Diversity TV to share more.
3. Fashion of the Week…..
This week Fashion of the Week takes us to B&P Boutique in the Northland Village Mall in Calgary. Need a classic and elegant outfit for your next event, this 2 piece outfit of long mermaid fishtail with marching prop top fully beaded with rhinestones will be perfect for that occasions. Available from L to 2XL in different colors.
For more, please visit www.belleandposh.com for more information.
4. Diversity Profile of the Week….
This week, we’re proud to highlight Krazy Jerk, a Jamaican Restauran on 1715 52 St SE Calgary. Since 2013, Krazy Jerk has been serving delicious Jerk Chicken, Oxtail, and many other wonderful stuffs made from scratch at the restaurant. Hear from owners in their own words…
5. Coronavirus Project Cool Times:
Alberta Health has reported scams where victims are asked to provide personal information, send money or buy gift cards to secure a COVID-19 vaccine early. If you’ve received such a call, contact Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre or your local police. The COVID19 pandemic has created a tough climate for businesses to survive. Diversity TV spoke to two business owners in Edmonton about their COVID-19 experiences and how they’re coping.
6. In Diversity TV International News….
In football, the African Nations Championship currently being hosted by Cameroon advances to the quarter final stage with Mali taking on Congo and DR Congo play against host Cameroon.
7. Dish of the Week…..
Our Dish of this week blends Chinese nodules and sweet chilli chicken by Selasi’s Grill in Edmonton. Let’s take you into the kitchen of Selasi’s Grill to cook with the Chef…..
8. Alberta NDP Caucus shares their vision for a racism-free education system in Alberta…..
One of their goals of the education system that was proposed at the January 16, 2021 Zoom session is to end racist policies, ideas, and systems with accountability from the highest level. The Alberta NDP team is proposing; Mandatory intercultural and anti-racism education for government members and staff, department staff, governing bodies of post-secondaries and school boards, instructors and staff in post-secondaries, and school boards.
They also proposed legislated anti-racism expectations, accountability/enforcement measures and rights, an advisory body to oversee the above, provide guidance, recommendations, and support culturally and linguistically diverse populations and Indigenous peoples in defending their rights.
The official Alberta NDP Opposition is also proposing the systemic lack of representatives of the Indigenous and ethnic communities in Alberta school systems with dire need for training, hiring and recruiting practices that lead to an education system that is representative of the population that it serves. We invited MLA Jasvir Deol, NDP Critic for Multiculturalism to tell us more about these proposals.
9. Announcements….
A. Are you an Internationally Educated Professional? The Global Talent Conference in Edmonton is looking to connect and inspire. This year the Edmonton Region Immigrant Employment Council (ERIEC) will co-host the first Alberta Global Talent Conference with their counterpart in Calgary, the Calgary Region Immigrant Employment Council (CRIEC). The event will be virtual. This year’s theme is Redefining Mentoring and Networking to take place on Thursday, February 25th, 2021, from 9AM – 4PM.
To register, please go to https://whova.com/portal/registration/globa_202102/
B. Businesses within Edmonton’s Business Improvement Areas (BIAs) may be eligible for a rebate of up to three months of their 2020 BIA tax if they were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the form of a credit to their business tax account. The rebate is part of the Edmonton Economic Recovery Grant, as the City makes an effort to help businesses hurt by the pandemic. To be eligible, a business needed to have been closed for a minimum of two weeks in 2020 because of the pandemic, and earned zero revenue while closed. The rebate is only applicable to the BIA tax and not to any other type of federal or provincial tax. The application deadline is February 28. To apply, go to www.edmonton.ca/business_economy/assessment_tax/business-improvement-area-taxes.aspx?utm_source=virtualaddress&utm_campaign=biaassessment
C. The City of Calgary is providing up to 400 more small businesses and artists with free online stores between Feb. 1 and March 31. This is part of ShopHERE powered by Google. ShopHERE’s goal is to get 50,000 deserving companies Canada-wide online so they can reach a wider audience for their products and bring in new revenue. They hire university students to build these websites for registered small businesses, including home-based companies, artists, service providers like hair salons and auto shops, and more.
Learn more: https://newsroom.calgary.ca/city-offering-small-business-ecommerce-support-through-shophere-grants
D. MP Ziad Aboultaif has been nominated to seek re-election in Edmonton-Manning. We invited MP Aboultaif to discuss what he accomplished during this term, and what he hopes to focus on next term.
Thank you for watching Diversity TV Community Newscast from Harriet Tinka, see you next week.
We now begin our business panel.
10. Diversity TV in the Community….
This week, the global cases of COVID-19 crossed a tenth of a billion. Vaccines, the hope of a COVID-free world have had varying levels of efficiency with challenging side effects in some cases.
We invited some healthcare professionals to share their thoughts on the COVID-19 vaccine on Diversity TV COVID Vaccine Panel.
Here are our panelists:
Nurse Educator, Diversity TV Health and Wellness Commentator, Lola Ogo Olorunfemi
Dr. Unati Makiwane, founder of United Medical Clinic in Calgary
Gbemisola Bello, a registered nurse in Calgary who has taken the vaccine.
