Alberta Minute: Queen Elizabeth, Avian Flu, and a Red Deer Event

Alberta Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Alberta politics.

This Week In Alberta:

• There will be an outdoor ceremony from 10:00 am to 11:00 am this morning at the Legislature honouring Queen Elizabeth II. The event will also be livestreamed for those who are unable to attend. Today is also a federal holiday and Alberta is observing a Provincial day of mourning.
  
  
• We are hosting a Pints & Politics event in Red Deer on Friday, September 23rd in conjunction with our friends at Common Sense Red Deer. Please join us for some casual drinks and an opportunity for everyone to get together with like-minded Albertans to chat about politics. There's a lot going on, so there will be plenty of conversation topics! The event will be held at Boston Pizza at 3215 Gaetz Avenue, from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm. If you don’t live near Red Deer, don’t worry - there will be events near you coming soon. Please RSVP here.
  
  
• Alberta Canola’s board is accepting nominations for four available director positions. Candidates don’t have to reside in a particular region to serve as a director but must meet other conditions, including having grown canola in it. Nomination papers are due October 31st. 

Last Week In Alberta:

• The Alberta Legislature reconvened for a special one-day session to celebrate the life of Queen Elizabeth II and offer condolences to the Royal Family. In what is likely the last speech Jason Kenney will give as Premier from inside the Legislature, he delivered a eulogy and spoke to how the death of the monarch had personally impacted him. God Save the King was sung and the accession of King Charles III was formally affirmed. Premier Kenney headed to London (on his own dime) to wait in an hours-long queue to pay his respects at the lying in state.
  
  
• Justice Minister Tyler Shandro fired Collin May, the Chief of Alberta’s Human Rights Commission after he refused to resign following allegations of Islamophobic comments made in a 2009 book review. The National Council of Canadian Muslims called for May’s resignation and Shandro followed suit. May will be taking legal action. He claims that, in his book review, he was simply summarizing the views of the book’s author rather than providing his own characterization of Islam.

• An update was released regarding confirmed cases of avian flu. Alberta has the highest number of cases with over a million turkeys, chickens, and geese euthanized so far to combat the outbreak. Currently there are 18 infected premises in Alberta and investigations into two others. Currently there is no evidence to suggest that this disease can be transferred to humans through the consumption of cooked poultry or eggs.

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