James works in the healthcare industry. He works three days from 9 AM – 9 PM in one job, and four days in a second day shift job that changes with time. Last week, he got a third job, a night shift, from 10 AM – 7 PM; two hours before his day job begin. You would guess that James is unskilled and needs to do three low paid, unskilled jobs to take care of his family, right? You are so wrong. James is a Medical Doctor who emigrated from Nigeria five years ago to live the Canadian dream with his family.
Of course James is not his real name as we have to keep the confidentiality of the stories you tell us. James is considering moving to another province, or if unsuccessful, takeoff to the United Kingdom. In the recent Alberta 2018 Budget, there is expectation of economic growth which should be supported by population growth. Alberta will have to attract new professional talents, skills, and experiences to fuel this growth. The budget failed to share how Alberta will tap from the colossal experiences, expertise, and talents of thousands of other Medical Doctors, Engineers, Architects, Lawyers and other professionals like James already here in Alberta whose credentials are not recognized to practice the careers that brought them to Canada.
Question to Alberta Labour Minister: A budget that expects population growth in the years to come, can you please comment on the fact that it does not say how thousands of skilled Alberta immigrants, under employed, and unemployed can be brought into the economy to contribute their skills, expertise, and talents, that are not being recognized in Alberta to contribute as well as benefit from this growth? No response yet.
In the summer of 2017, Premier Rachel Notley task Alberta Minister for Education, MLA David Eggen, to lead a series of community conversations about racism in Alberta, to find practical steps the government can take to help Albertans who experience racism. The report was expected to be made public in the Fall of 2017 but it’s not out yet in the Spring of 2018.
So Diversity Magazine reached out to the Spokesperson for Alberta Education, Lindsay Harvey, for some updates. She said they expect the report soon. They received lots of interest with over 2,000 people responding to their online survey. She did not confirm what the next steps are, but will wait to see what the communities and the Premier want to pursue after the report. The Alberta 2018 Budget does not capture this as the report is not out yet. We wanted to know if the budget is flexible enough to accommodate the recommendations for action in 2018 when the report finally sees the light of day. The response we got from Alberta Education was yes, it will but with no mention of when the report will be out.
We have been reading the Alberta Budget 2018 for this two part story on multiculturalism, and now want to switch to the problems of the future and how Alberta positions itself. How do you position yourself, your children, and your family in a fast changing interconnected world?
The world is changing, so too are its technologies. The industrial revolution invented the steam engine, which gave way to the internal combustion engine, and now moving on to the clean renewable energies of the future. Also, there has been an evolution of communication technologies from the printing press, the typewriter, to the fax machine, the telephone, and today the internet that is revolutionizing the way things are done in every industry.
Today, we can talk, chat, connect, apply for jobs, learn just about anything, or buy something from any corner of the world for close to free as fast as our fingers can touch our phones or computers. This internet platform has changed entire industries and how business is done. We can get our stories in front of thousands of people faster, cheaper, more and better stories, bypassing the printing press, using the internet as more and more people get connected through the internet, especially the younger generations.
It makes sense for any government to budget for this global change and position its people for the future. Budget 2018 captures new tech and green jobs and support to these growing industries. Looking at Alberta’s potential to harness this opportunity; lots of sunlight, a good number of colleges and universities, and some very smart people we poked the government ones again.
Question to Alberta Climate Change Office: With your focus on diversifying the economy, and greening Alberta through the Climate Change Leadership Plan, solar and other renewables are still high in prices and the return on investment still too long for most Albertan communities, businesses, and individuals to invest in. By 2019 Alberta Budget 2018 plans to add 600 Megawatts of renewable energy into the grid with a hope to make Alberta’s energy source 30% renewable by 2030. We got a detailed response from Jo-anne Nugent, Director of Communications, Alberta Climate Change Office, Communications & Public Engagement, on what this budget will do to get more Albertans, businesses, cooperatives, non-profits, corporations, aware of this “sharing economy”; producing their own green energy, distributing it through the grid so as to increase demand and bring down cost and meet Alberta’s target, create jobs, generate taxes to boost government revenues, and develop an “Energy Internet” in Alberta. Read her response below.
“The Government of Alberta offers a multitude of opportunities to help the province move to renewable energy and energy efficiency. Renewable Electricity Program (REP). To help meet Alberta’s firm target of 5,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030, the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) will run a competitive and transparent process for companies to bid on building renewable energy projects in our province.
By 2030, the Renewable Electricity Program is expected to attract more than $10 billion of investment in the Alberta economy and create more than 7,200 jobs for Albertans as projects are built. Round One: Three successful bids from the first round of competition were announced Dec 13, 2017. Round one set a record for the lowest renewable electricity pricing in Canada with a weighted average price of 3.7 cents per kilowatt-hour. By comparison, the weighted average price for Ontario’s large renewable procurement in 2016 was 8.5 cents per kilowatt-hour. The first round of competition attracted $1 billion of investment from international and Alberta-based companies and is expected to create 700 construction jobs and 40 long-term operational jobs. Rounds Two and Three: AESO is currently accepting applications for the second and third rounds of the program to provide a total of 700 megawatts of renewable electricity -enough to power nearly 300,000 homes.
The second round will see private-sector partnerships with Indigenous communities to produce up to 300 megawatts of power. Each bid must include a minimum 25% Indigenous equity ownership component. The third round will add up to 400 megawatts and follow the same open competition format as the first round of the program. Energy Efficiency Alberta (EEA). Energy Efficiency Alberta is a public agency that is promoting energy efficiency and community energy systems in the province, which will help reduce emissions, save energy, and enable an energy efficiency services industry that previously did not exist in Alberta. Alberta is one of the last jurisdictions is North America, and the last in Canada, to have energy efficiency programming.
Three programs are currently available, and one is fully subscribed and now closed. More programs will be considered as the agency ramps up operations and evaluates the success of initial efforts.
The Residential Retail Products Program.
The Business, Non-Profit and Institutional Energy Savings Program.
The Residential and Commercial Solar Program.
The Residential No-Charge Energy Savings Program
Year-end results show that Albertans benefited from energy efficiency and renewable energy programs in 2017: Albertans are saving an impressive $300 million in energy costs and have received $45 million in instant savings and rebates to purchase over nine-million energy-efficient products.
Albertans avoided almost three million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions as part of energy efficiency programs in 2017.
As of January 2018, 1,100 home improvement companies and 200 retailers have helped deliver energy efficiency products and programs, driving economic activity across the province. By making upgrades and installing energy-efficient products as part of Energy Efficiency Alberta’s five programs, Albertans are investing $140 million in their homes and businesses. Approximately 1,200 private sector jobs are expected to be created.
As of January 1, 2018, more than 500 households and businesses have applied to participate in the Residential and Commercial Solar Program. When all approved installations are complete, this will represent 16 MW of new energy – enough to power 2,700 homes for one year.
The Municipal Climate Change Action Centre. The MCCAC provides funding, technical assistance, and education to support Alberta municipalities in addressing climate change. It is a collaboration between the Government of Alberta, the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA), and Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA).
The MCAC currently offers three main programs: The Alberta Municipal Solar Program.
Climate Resilience Express.
The Non-Profit Energy Efficiency Transition Program Indigenous Climate Leadership.
The Indigenous Climate Leadership Initiative will be developed in collaboration with Indigenous peoples and will include programs and funding that will help communities:improve energy efficiency and reduce energy cost so combat the effects of climate change, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improve community buildings and facilities, develop community-based (renewable) energy supply and large-scale energy projects; and access training for green jobs.
Indigenous climate leadership programs are as follows: Alberta Indigenous Climate Capacity Program (AICCP), Alberta Indigenous Climate Planning Program (AICPP), Alberta Indigenous Community Energy (Audits) Program (AICEP), Alberta Indigenous Energy Efficiency Retrofit Program (AIEERP), Alberta Indigenous Solar Program (AISP).
With support from Alberta’s Indigenous Solar Program, Louis Bull Tribe has installed solar panels on their administrative building and the Louis Bull Community Health and Wellness building. Alberta Indigenous Green Energy Development Program (AIGEDP). Alberta Indigenous Green Employment Program (AIGEP),” Jo-anne Nugent, Director of Communications, Alberta Climate Change Office, Communications & Public Engagement.
