Chief of staff AG report put at centre of Greenbelt controversy resigns

The chief of staff at the centre of an explosive investigation into the Ford government’s Greenbelt land swap controversy has resigned.

In a brief statement Tuesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s office confirmed that Ryan Amato, chief of staff to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, had resigned.

Ford accepted Amato’s resignation “effective immediately,” the premier’s office said.

Amato was at the centre of the auditor general’s recent Greenbelt investigation which found that a few developers with connections to the Ford government benefitted from its decision to remove land from the Greenbelt.

On Monday, at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference in London, Regional Chief Glen Hare called on the premier to sever ties with those connected to the controversy.

“As a result of the auditor general’s findings, we ask that Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Steve Clark, either resign or be removed from his title. We are also asking that his Chief of Staff immediately resign as well,” Hare said, to applause from a room filled with mayors and municipal representatives from across the province. |Read more https://globalnews.ca/news/9913119/ontario-greenbelt-chief-staff-resign/|

#GreenBelt #RyanAmato #ford #onpoli #developers #swindle

Officials need to address root problems of violent crime to improve public’s perception of safety: expert

Edmonton residents have experienced a series of violent acts and crimes over the past several months, from fatal stabbings to public shootings to hate crimes leaving the public feeling unsafe, despite officials continually stating they are doing their best. Experts and members of the community are saying the root cause needs to be addressed.

Temitope Oriola, a criminology professor at the University of Alberta, says what we are seeing is the end result of a series of underlying social problems.

“Violent crime, in particular, is a manifestation of much deeper social malaise,” he stated. “Therefore, what we’re seeing are symptoms of underlying problems in society — issues in relation to social deprivation, what criminologists call ‘concentrated disadvantage’ in certain neighbourhoods, gang activities … While it is absolutely necessary we deal with the symptoms, it is also important that we deal with the broader underlying problems.”

In order to deal with these issues, Oriola says all branches of government and the community need to work together, shifting from jurisdictional battles between the province and city to a more “operational approach.” |Read more https://globalnews.ca/news/9915623/root-problems-violent-crime-edmonton-public-safety-perception/|

#Edmonton #yeg #violence #stabbing #shootings #abpoli #community #SocialProblems

The political battle over postsecondary education in Alberta

The election outcome signals continued controversy over the state of postsecondary education in Alberta in which many fear the very purpose of higher education is under attack.

The situation has sweeping ramifications both throughout the province and beyond Alberta’s borders. Alberta is “a real bellwether for what’s coming to the rest of Canada,” says Dr. Spooner. “What I see as sort of a wider assault on higher ed that’s happening globally in certain countries, and certainly throughout the United States, is definitely happening in Alberta.”

Dr. Spooner examined that “assault” in a chapter he wrote for Anger and Angst: Jason Kenney’s Legacy and Alberta’s Right, a book of essays edited by Trevor W. Harrison and Ricardo Acuña, published this year. Against the backdrop of a larger anti-intellectual movement, he argues that Alberta’s underfunding and cuts have created a path to major restructuring.

Provincial funding cuts to postsecondary education totalled more than half a billion dollars between 2019 and 2023. That represents a staggering 31 per cent cut to funding over the last five years, according to data from Higher Education Strategy Associates. University Affairs requested an interview with new Minister of Advanced Education Rajan Sawhney, but did not hear back by the time of publication.

At the same time, the provincial government is repurposing and reprogramming the role of universities, says Dr. Spooner. “There’s a real push to move universities away from their traditional mission of serving the public and democratic society, to narrow them and reduce them to serving industry and labour market needs,” he says.

When the role of universities is reduced to serving the economy, Dr. Spooner says the many benefits that a robust higher education system bring to society are at risk of being lost. “It has to be about more than just jobs.” He thinks university degrees should give students portable and flexible skills – such as critical thinking and creative thinking – that can be applied to many different types of work, including jobs that have not been invented yet. |Read more https://www.universityaffairs.ca/features/feature-article/the-political-battle-over-postsecondary-education-in-alberta/|

#postsecondary #education #alberta #ucp #abpoli #assaulted