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The Charisma Myth

Shaak
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The Charisma Myth is a book by Olivia Fox Cabane, an American writer and public speaker. In her book, she expands on “How Anyone Can Master the Art and Science of Personal Magnetism,” her main point being that charisma can be taught and is not an innate quality, that it can be perfected by anyone.

Here are the key takeaways I got from the book:

HOW TO BE PRESENT AND IN THE MOMENT

Set a timer for one minute. Close your eyes and try to focus on one of three things:

  1. Sounds: Scan your environment for sound.
  2. Your breath: Focus on your breath and the sensations it creates in your nostrils or stomach as it goes in and out.
  3. Your toes: Focus your attention on the sensations in your toes.

RESPONSIBILITY TRANSFER

Whenever you feel your brain rehashing possible outcomes to a situation, try a transfer of responsibility to alleviate the anxiety.

  1. Sit comfortably or lie down, relax, and close your eyes.
  2. Take two or three deep breaths. As you inhale, imagine drawing clean air toward the top of your head. As you exhale, let it whoosh out, washing all your worries away.
  3. Imagine lifting the weight of everything you’re concerned about off your shoulders and placing it in the hands of whichever entity you want in charge.

DE-STIGMATIZING DISCOMFORT

These steps are for when an emotional discomfort is hindering you:

  1. Remind yourself that this is normal and that we all experience it from time to time.
  2. Think of others who have gone through this, especially people you admire.
  3. Remember that right now, in this very moment, many others are going through this very same experience.

NEUTRALIZING NEGATIVITY

This is an extension of the last point and is for when you are having persistent negative thoughts:

  • Remember that these thoughts may be inaccurate.
  • Imagine yourself from afar. Zoom out to see planet Earth hanging in space. Zoom back in to see your tiny self having a particular experience at this particular moment.
  • Imagine your mental chatter as coming from a radio; turn the volume down or put the radio to the side.

REWRITING REALITY

If there is a mental annoyance that is too persistent to leave, thinking of an alternating reality can help you gain a calmer internal state.

♦ Ask yourself a few times, “What if this experience is, in fact, a good thing for me?” and watch how creative your mind can get with its answers.

♦ When you’re dealing with more serious situations, write down your new realities by hand. Write: “The presentation is going well . . .” Or, better yet, use past tense: “The presentation was a complete success . . .”G

THE PERFECT HANDSHAKE

  1. Keep your right hand free.
  2. Use plenty of eye contact, and smile warmly but briefly.
  3. Keep your head straight and face the other person.
  4. Keep your hand perpendicular, thumb pointing straight to the ceiling.
  5. Get full palm contact by draping your hand diagonally downward.
  6. Wrap your fingers around your counterpart’s hand.
  7. Once you make full contact, squeeze to their level of firmness.
  8. Shake from the elbow, step back, and then let go.

GREAT LISTENING

A good listener, believe it or not, listens more than talks. Let the other person talk, and from time to time, wait a second or two before you answer while letting your face show the impact of what they’ve just said.

VOICE FLUCTUATION

You can gain great insights into everything about your voice’s fluctuation by practicing sentences with a tape recorder. Repeat a sentence several times with as wide a variation in styles as you can. Say it with authority, with anger, with sorrow, with empathetic care and concern, with warmth, and with enthusiasm. This allows you to learn what you sound like when you talk, so when you express those emotions in front of someone else, you know truly what effect you are giving.

VOCAL POWER

This is an extension of the last point, and essentially describes how to have an impact with your voice.

  1. Speak slowly.
  2. Pause. People who broadcast confidence often pause while speaking. This conveys the feeling that they’re so confident in their power, they trust that people won’t interrupt.
  3. Check your breathing. Make sure you’re breathing deeply into your belly and inhale and exhale through your nose rather than your mouth. Breathing through your mouth can make you sound breathless and anxious.

“BEING THE BIG GORILLA”

Doing this exercise allows you to practice confidence in front of someone intimidating

Disclaimer: Do exercise in private unless you want to assert extra dominance.

  1. Make sure you can breathe.
  2. Stand up and shake up your body.
  3. Take a wide stance and plant your feet firmly on the ground.
  4. Stretch your arms to the ceiling.
  5. Stretch your arms to the walls on either side of you.
  6. INFLATE. Try to take up as much space as possible.
  7. Roll your shoulders up and then back.
  8. Puff up your chest, broaden your shoulders, and put your arms behind your back.

This helps you create an inner mindset that you have no reason to be intimidated by someone else.

MID-COURSE CORRECTIONS

♦ If any negative thoughts are present, remember that they’re just thoughts, and not necessarily valid.
♦ Check your body. Make sure no tense posture is worsening your internal state. Take a deep breath, and relax.
♦ Find little things to be grateful for: your ability to breathe, the fact that you will still be alive by the end of this.
♦ Imagine getting a great hug from someone you trust for twenty seconds (of course, you may not have twenty seconds, but if you do, this is remarkably effective).

Once your threat response is quieted down, to bring yourself back into a state of confidence, remember a moment in your life when you felt absolute triumph. Your brain cannot distinguish between reality and imagination, so your body will be filled with the same chemical, therefore changing your body language to something more confident and persuasive again.

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How Scientists Captured the First Image of a Black Hole

Shaak
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Using Event Horizon Telescope observations of the center of the galaxy M87, scientists have obtained the first image of a black hole, an accomplishment previously thought of as impossible. The image depicts a bright ring formed from the bending of light due to the intense gravity around the black hole that is 6.5 billion times more massive than the Sun.

It was thought that capturing an image of a black hole was impossible because taking a picture of something from which no light can escape would appear completely black. After working for well over a decade, the team of scientists improved upon an existing radio astronomy technique for high-resolution imaging, using it to detect the silhouette of a black hole.

However, capturing an image of such a distant object still eluded them. Another team formed to take on the challenge an created the Event Horizon Telescope, or the EHT. To capture an image of a black hole, they improved upon a technique that allows the imaging of far-away objects. This is known as Very Long Baseline Interferometry, or VLBI. The larger the diameter of the telescope, the more light it captures. VLBI works by creating an array of smaller telescopes that are synchronized to focus on the same object at the exact same time, actual as a giant virtual telescope. This is an old technique, used to track spacecraft and to image distant cosmic radio sources.

The diameter of the EHT is as large as the distance between the two farthest-apart telescope stations. For EHT, those two stations are at the South Pole and in Spain, creating a diameter that is almost equal to the diameter of the Earth. Each telescope in the array focuses on the black hole and collects data from its location, each telescope providing a portion of the EHT’s full view. The greater the number of telescopes, the better the resolution of the image.

By 2017, the EHT was a collaboration of eight sites around the world, and even more have been added since then. Before the data was collected, the team of scientists had to find a time when the weather was likely to be ideal for viewing at every location. For M87, the 10 days chosen for operation gave a goof four days where each day was clear at each site!

Locations of the participating telescopes of the EHT and the Global mm-VLBI Array

Even though the first picture of a black hole is a noteworthy scientific breakthrough, it has opened new questions for us. For example, scientists are curious about the mechanism by which supermassive black holes emit enormous jets of particles at neat light-speeds.

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Why I Don’t Like to Use Rotten Tomatoes to Judge Movies

Albert Cheng
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The movie industry is one of the largest industries in the world, and in any kind of entertainment industry, there will be critics who review the product. Rotten Tomatoes is one of the largest organizations that score movies by compiling hundreds of reviews from hundreds of critics.

Many casual movie goers like to use Rotten Tomatoes to determine whether they should spend their hard earned dollars on a movie or not. They look at the score of the movie, and decide if it is worth seeing. If the score is high, they go, if it is low, many will opt to pass.

That in itself is reasonable, but the reason I dislike Rotten Tomatoes is because of the way they determine their scores. The way they score a movie is with a percentage, if x percent of critics liked the movie, the score would be x percent. And there is no problem with that either, but the problem comes when they determine if a critic liked a movie or not. For rotten tomatoes, the movie is either “fresh” or “rotten” and if a critic gives the movie a score of anything less than 2.5/4, the vote is classified as rotten.

If the problem with this system is not already obvious, an analogy should make it quite clear. So lets say we had two movies, and each was being reviewed by ten critics, for the first movie, every critic gives it 2/4, that movie would receive 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, and now for the second movie, every critic rated it 2.5/4, that movie would receive 100%. That is the fundamental issue with the scoring system, it is a common misconception, that the percentage is an average of the score that the critics gave, but it is in fact not that, but rather a ratio of critics who liked the movie to those who didn’t.

This could lead to a lot of inaccurate representations for the overall quality of any movie, and besides, shouldn’t we watch the movie and judge it for ourselves?

Sources: 1/2/3/featured

Rhapsody in Blue

Madina Shaykhutdinova
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Rhapsody in Blue, composed by George Gershwin in 1924, is a piece originally for solo piano and jazz orchestra. It was commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman for his “An Experiment in Modern Music” concert in New York on February 12, 1924. However, it is said that Gershwin completely forgot about being asked to compose the piece. In early January 1924, Gershwin’s brother Ira read in the New York Tribune about Whiteman’s concert, to feature a jazz concerto by George Gershwin. Gershwin set to work right away, with only about five weeks before the premiere.

George Gershwin

On a train to Boston, the sounds and rhythms surrounding him inspired the main theme of the piece and its framework. He described that he envisioned the piece as “a sort of musical kaleidoscope of America.” Gershwin completed a score for two pianos, and Whiteman’s arranger, Ferde Grofé, orchestrated the piece, with only a week before the premiere to do so and for the orchestra to rehearse. Much of the solo piano part was not written down. At the premiere, Gershwin played the solo piano and improvised some of the parts, only writing them down after the concert.

The piece begins with the famous two-and-a-half-octave clarinet glissando, first jokingly played as a glide with a wail during rehearsal by the clarinetist in Whiteman’s band. Gershwin liked the sound produced and asked the clarinetist to play it the same way at the performance.

Now, Rhapsody in Blue is known as one of the most important and one of the most performed American concert works of the 20th century.

Image sources: 1/2

What Endgame Could Mean for the Future of Marvel

Albert Cheng
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It’s no secret that Avengers: Endgame will have massive impacts on the Marvel universe that we already know. It will be the final movie for some characters, and hopefully be a beginning for some new characters.

*The following section contains theories for Endgame that could lead to spoilers*

We already know that we will be losing some of our favorite characters, and fans desperate to know which ones have turned to looking at when contracts for some of the actors end. However, contracts can be renewed, especially with characters like Thor, who Chris Hemsworth is still interested in playing. Thor has also been increasing in popularity, so from a financial aspect, keeping Thor alive would be a proper decision.


Just because some contracts are not ending does not mean the actor’s character won’t die, this is likely the case for Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow. She still has one more contract with Marvel, but it’s very possible that final movie for her would be a prequel, rather than something in the future of the MCU.

Nothing with Endgame is certain, time and time again Marvel has surprised its fans with crazy outcomes, but in this crazy, unpredictable ride, one thing is certain; the MCU will never be the same.

Sources: 1/2/3/4

What is Jason Kenney’s Plan for Alberta?

Muhammad Saim
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On April 16th of 2019, Alberta elected a new representative in the House of Commons. Now Alberta is in the hands of Jason Kenney the leader of the United Conservative Party, the new premier has some aggressive moves up his sleeves against the Federal Government in order to get the Trans Mountain Pipeline built. His campaign plan revolved around targeting Ottawa in many cases and Justin Trudeau for Alberta’s economy. Though, throughout the process of his campaign and the election, it was often unclear what Kenney is willing to do to stop some of the problematic events occurring in the province.

“Change that replaces a high tax, high debt ideology with a commonsense job creation strategy that scraps the carbon tax, protects our public services and gets a fair deal for Alberta.”

Less Spending? More Cuts

As most Albertan’s know, the Carbon Tax is getting scrapped for the reason Kenney argues “taking money out of Albertan’s pockets” without a pipeline being built. But a brand new tax on large industrial emitters, killing the climate leadership plan and an Open for Business Act will mostly be implemented in the next one or two years. The tax is a small aspect of the 117 page plan released by the UCP (United Conservatives Party).

The tax plan is beneficial and is a major part in the UCP’s plan, including a costed budget which maintains $700 million in open spending for the next 4 years and with the provincial debt projected to hit only $86.1 billion in the year of 2022-23, compared to the NDP (New Democratic Party) in which the UCP believes will hit a $101 billion. Kenny states “We’re going to have to maintain some discipline to start paying down debt,” the leader also aims to move Alberta closer to the provincial average in program spending, cutting spending on multiple significant factors in the life of an average Albertan, including health care, education etc. The spending will happen after a “rigorous evaluation of all programs and services.” This will not only make life harder for most lower income Albertan’s to afford for health care but the classroom sizes may increase in the upcoming years.

Is it Going to Work?

Sources agree with most of the UCP’s research, but argues that it is off by a little bit, though would say it would have the same impact and a beneficial one in that. The leader of the opposition party seems to disagree, Rachel Notley states ” Jason Kenney’s Plan is reckless.” Sources such as CBC News discusses how it will be hard for the new premier to deliver all his promises. But one thing is certain hes playing some potentially risky moves on behalf of Alberta towards Justin Trudeau.

Too Many Promises?

Seeing the Conservatives plan it is somewhat hard to believe all that they promised to do for our province will become a reality, in some cases political researchers predict in his leadership little to no progress will occur. Global News has similar believes upon the UCP’s plan, from promising better health care while putting in the tax would make it incredibly hard for him to substantially improve health care. Alberta’s economy may improve in some cases, this may drastically affect other major departments. But we can only hope for the best, and as the United Conservatives would say an “Alberta strong and free.”

Political Alberta Leaders Debate (Outlining the UCP’s and other parties platforms) –


Outline Of UCP Plan – https://unitedconservative.ca/Content/UCP%20Policy%20Declaration.pdf

Other Sources – 1/2/3/4/5

The Issue With Estheticians That No-one is Talking About

George Wang
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Estheticians often perform very intimate and delicate procedures. People go to spas to enjoy treatments like waxing, manicuring, shaving, and facials, which can entail very up close and personal contact. Without a second thought, most would assume that the esthetician who is performing these procedures know what they are doing, and are educated properly. However this is not always true in Alberta.

There is no license requirement to become an esthetician and provide services. Legally anyone can do it, whether they went to school or not.

This is an issue, as the treatments an esthetician may perform, have serious risks associated with them. Education plays an important role in minimizing such risk. In an esthetics school, one of the first things that a student learns, is how to properly sanitize and disinfect surfaces, and tools. Without such education, one might use the wrong alcohol, or disinfectant which may leave a colony of infectious bacteria on a work surface, ready to infect the next client. Something else that is taught in esthetics courses, is how to deal with clients who have special needs, such as clients with diabetes. The risk of nicks and cuts can be dangerous for clients who have diabetes or are on certain medications. Shunning education can put consumers at serious risk.

Under the current system where basically everyone can provide these commercial services, it burden falls upon the consumer to learn what types of practices are safe. Bottom line is, clients should not have to go take a course on esthetics in order to know if they are being treated properly at the spa. If the government of Alberta were to require estheticians be licensed, it would set a standard of education that would solve the issue of incompetently educated estheticians putting consumers at risk. And, consumers would be able to go to a spa, and be sure that the treatment they are receiving is proper.

Unfortunately not many politicians are talking about this issue. Part of the reason is that this issue mainly impacts the younger generation. The younger generation is not known to be the most politically active, and so politicians have very little reasons to care about such issues. In order to change this, people will have to take the extra step and become politically active. You can find your local representative here. Speaking about these issues will result in change.

Sources: 1/2/3/

How “Greenwashing” Creates a New Ignorance

Elnaz Enayatpour
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There’s a surplus of “green” products out there. At first glance, it seems great to see so many companies willing to change their products, ingredients or packaging to be more eco-friendly and raise more awareness on the current environmental crisis.

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After all, with some of the highest rates of carbon emissions in our air, between 200 and 2,000 species going extinct yearly, and global temperatures dropping at a record speed, it’s no wonder that so many people are taking initiative to fight back and create change.

The problem is here: these “green” products aren’t doing anything. Mostly because they aren’t even “green”. Over the past couple of years, environmental awareness has become a trend that everyone knows gets attention. Research even shows that consumers will go towards products marketed with green packaging adorned with pictures of leaves or trees as a way to justify buying harmful products in the first place, or as a way to contribute to saving the world, one green product at a time. It’s the small things that count, right?

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As a way to profit off of this new trend, companies will create “green” products that often falsely advertise the company’s intentions. These new products don’t have small price tags, either. Organic and “naturally-sourced” materials will often come at unjustified prices, with very little positive reward.

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This false advertising is sometimes all about reputation. Companies that look like they care about going green, or that want their consumers to think they are the “good guys”. However, these companies will benefit off of greenwashing their existing (and damaging) products.

One common example of corporate greenwashing is PepsiCo’s Palm Oil Progress Report, otherwise known as a… disaster.

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PepsiCo, a multi-billionaire food company (owner of Pepsi, Lay’s chips, Doritos, Quaker’s Oatmeal, etc.) rolled out a 16-page progress report claiming many things, such as saying PepsiCo was committed to ending deforestation, and was recognized for “leading the way” in sustainability by WWF. However, PepsiCo was only given a 2.8 out of 10 by WWF, their main suppliers extracted resources from the Leuser Ecosystem in Southeast Asia (the only place on earth where Sumatran elephants, orangutans, tigers and rhinos coexist in nature), and their company is constantly being accused of violating the rights of their workers and subjecting them to unfair wages and work environments.

So what is there to do? As a consumer it’s important to be smart about our purchases and shopping habits. If your dish soap claims to be “green”, ask yourself, “why?”. What ingredients/materials justify the claims, and is the company actually dedicated to creating eco-friendly products, or are they in it for the extra cash? Greenwashing is a problem that will only get bigger as we fall deeper into an environmental crisis like this one. As long as PepsiCo and other companies are willing to take advantage of people’s concern for the earth, there is always and opportunity to change things around and speak up.

Sources used:

http://wwf.panda.org/our_work/biodiversity/biodiversity/http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=1989948

http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=1989948

https://www.agirpourlenvironnement.org/blog/greenwashing-sciencesdo-et-mcpo-3724

Featured image found at:

http://wwf.panda.org/our_work/biodiversity/biodiversity/

Five Places Every Foodie Should Go To in the World

Vidhisha Wagle
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1. Lyon, France

One of the many things to do in France is to explore French cuisine and one of the best places to do so in Lyon, France. Locally fresh food has been grown from surrounding places such as Charolais and Rhone Valley. Many people say that Lyon is the capital for French Food. One of the top bistros to go to is called “Le Bouchon des Filles”. Many of Lyon, France cuisine is defined by simplicity and rich flavour.

2. Marrakech, Morocco

A very popular place to go for tourism and for food is the Jemaa el-Finna market. This is a typical market square in the day, however at night it transforms into a festival atmosphere. There are many things to do here such as tarot reading, snake charmers and many storytellers. Popular dishes to buy here would be fried eggplant, couscous and mechoui which is a lamb dish.

3. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

This city is known for it’s street food and atmosphere. This city has a combination of French food and Vietnamese food. Because of this combination, it eventually made one of the most popular dishes in this city, the “banh mi”. This is known as a sandwich made with French bread and served with meat such as roast pork belly, grilled chicken or sausage. Another traditional dish is pho, which is widely recognized internationally as well.

4. Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo has more than 220 Michelin Star restaurants, more than any city in the world. Many chefs are able to blend traditional dishes and modern cuisine. Many top foods to try would be soba, noodle shops and sushi. Many restaurants are popular here because they use only fresh and seasonal food. Some of the top restaurants to try in Tokyo, Japan would be “Narisawa” and ” Nabezo Shinjuku Mejidori”.

5. Florence, Italy

Florence is known for its art, history, fashion and its cuisine. The rustic food has not been changed and it dates back to ancient civilizations. Many of popular dishes are pastas and grilled meats. Chianti wine and wine braised game such as boar, deer and rabbit are also very popular. Many of these dishes, back in the day were known to be very simple and for the poor. Today it’s known its top cuisine.

Image Sources: 1/2/3/4/5

Two Stars

Dana Desamparado
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Without you, the world is no longer the same

Together we are inseparable

Wherever I am, I think of you

From the beginning, I knew you were special

Never forget how much I love you

An unbreakable love,

Two stars in the sky, forever together

Without you, my universe is incomplete

Image: 1

Why Uber is such a massive controversy in South Korea

Andy Lee
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So I had discovered this video as I was binging YouTube, and it is incredibly intriguing. I highly recommend watching it, as it provides much better insight into the personal perspectives of South Korea’s citizens and taxi drivers.

While in North America and many other countries, Uber has been seamlessly adapted into modern society. Its translation to other countries within the East is far from its expected thriving prosperity.

While the reason’s differ from country to country, for Korea, its declining success is rooted within an already existing taxi industry. These taxi industries protest that Uber is taking away their jobs, and harming the lower-class.

Competition between an already struggling, and impoverished lower-class, the rising popularity of Uber, has led to violent protests, and tense political state. Like one where “Choi, a 57 year old” taxi driver set himself on fire near the national assembly as a sign of protest. He was taken to the hospital, but unfortunately died as the damage was too severe.

One perspective is the unfairness for taxi drivers, who are already suffering, as taxi driving is a job which for many is a last resort when no work is found. So, after working so hard to get a license, having to pay to learn strict procedures and protocols, and often have financial security, now having to compete with individuals who use Uber and lack any professional requirements, but steal the same customers, is viewed as a great injustice.

However, following another perspective, many who have heard or experienced uncomfortable or displeasing experiences with Taxi drivers feel Uber is a new refreshing way to travel. Some complaints are regarding the smell of cigarette smoke, or that some refuse to take passengers depending on the location they request, as it would not be profitable for the driver.

Although profitability is often not a concern for taxi drivers in the West, the immense competition of taxi drivers in the East, and places like South Korea forces prices to lower to meet sustainable demands.

Reasons like meager payment for 12-hour work shifts, having to pay a daily $110 from those 12-hour shifts to rent the taxi-car from the taxi company, forces drivers to cater to certain customers, as if the threshold is not met, the driver must pay from his own pocket.

This, coupled with a highly competitive taxi industry creates a flawed system where Uber is seen as a keen enemy, and provides background to the shared animosity of taxi drivers. Considering there are about over 250000 operating taxi’s in Korea, and the minimum fare price is 1/5th of a taxi in LA, or 1/4th of that of Tokyo. As well as a sophisticated transportation industry in buses and trains, the introduction of a new competitor threatens the livelihood of already struggling taxi driver’s.

Yang-Deok Lee, the Executive Director for the National Taxi Association states that each country’s geographical environment, transportation culture and system differs. For example, America, has about 100 times the landmass of South Korea, which results in a taxi shortage, so develops Uber to fill in the demands for such a large area. Whereas the public transportation system in Korea is tremendously developed, as he states:

“We don’t think ride-sharing services are necessary”

As the current supply of taxi’s can easily fill the demand of customers. he continues by saying the “the taxi industry is really struggling right now”, and that “you could even say it’s on the verge of collapse”. And that by allowing regular cars to be used for ride-sharing, it would mean the end of the Korean taxi industry.

Issues like taxi driver unfriendliness, refusing customers and selecting only specific kinds of people stems from this flawed system where the driver needs to make $110, or suffer having to pay from their own allowance. This is without even considering the taxi driver’s personal needs to make money, as the minimum wage in South Korea is currently 7.37 USD per hour. Yang-Deok Lee proposes the end of ride sharing services like Uber, and that reforms in the taxi industry would help heal the bitter experiences many customers feel.

However, this is not just the case with Korea, but any country with a highly established transportation industry, and in countries like China, Germany, and Japan. While in places like China, Uber’s failure is most directly a result of regulations from municipal governments, who are able to control who is eligible to drive a taxi and prices as well. These limitations presented a large threat to Uber, who sold off their Chinese business to Didi Chuxing, who was basically Uber’s greatest competitor, and with possible new regulations, the entire business could be compromised. So selling off the business in China was a reasonable decision considering the potential greater loss of investment Uber had made to gain popularity in China.

I also agree with Yang-Deok Lee that ride sharing services like Uber are unnecessary in South Korea. It seems to create more imbalance and political tension rather than contributing to the economy beneficially. As a Korean, my experiences with taxi’s while I visited in Korea were all positive. As one of the interviewed citizens states in the video: “It’s only natural for bad memories to last longer than good ones”, I think its definite that only a minority of taxi drivers have ill-intentions. Having a ride sharing service like Uber forces taxi drivers to compete, and coupled with an already low pay, this is where selective customer choosing and unfriendliness primarily originates from. The already poor and hard-working lower class do not deserve even greater hardship and competition.

Sources 1/2/3/4

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Massage Therapy Needs to be Regulated, But No-one is Talking About it

George Wang
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Chiropractors, Dentists, Acupuncturists*, Midwives, Pharmacists, and many more health professions are all regulated by colleges under the Health Professions Act (HPA). Most professions in the health care industry are regulated under the HPA. The HPA delegates the regulation of health care professions to regulatory colleges who develop, maintain and enforce professional regulations, standards of practice and codes of ethics. One major responsibility of regulatory colleges, is to investigate complaints about members of the profession it regulates, and discipline those members based on these investigations. Massage therapists are not regulated under the Health Professions Act. Alberta is one of the few provinces in Canada who do not regulate massage therapy under their Health Professions Act. A massage therapist stated in an interview with CBC, “massage therapy can do more harm than good, which makes the therapist’s qualifications vital” explaining why this issue is important.

Sexual Misconduct

There have been countless complaints against certain massage therapists throughout the province regarding inappropriate, and sometimes illegal behaviour regarding sexual misconduct. Just recently, a massage therapist was sentenced to 4 years in jail for sexually harassing women over the course of a few years. Without a regulatory college, there is no professional body that can discipline professionals for acting in an unethical way.

Risk of Injury

In other health professions, a practitioner without the proper training could potentially harm their client. Massage therapy is no different. Without the thousands of hours of training and education that most massage therapists agree should be required. Injuries can be easily prevented, and the risk can be outright eliminated so long as practitioners receive the proper education.

Massage therapy needs to be regulated. Anyone can call themselves a “Massage Therapist” in Alberta, even if they are not properly educated causing a lot of confusion with consumers. There needs to be some regulatory action. Whether it is moving massage therapy into the Health Professions Act, or if it’s creating transparency laws letting consumers know what a practitioner’s qualifications are. The risks are high, and this issue needs to be spoken about.

*Acupuncturists are not currently regulated under the Health Professions Act, they are regulated under the Health Disciplines Act. However this will soon be replaced by the Health Professions Act.

Sources: 1/2/3/4/5/6

What you need to know about Alberta’s Upcoming Election

Ana
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In case the abundance of campaign signs adorning every lawn has yet to notify you; there’s an election today. That’s right today April 16, 2019, is Alberta’s provincial election, and it’s an important one. Perhaps you’ve heard some pretty crazy rumors flying around about parties and their platforms. I am here, however, to put the rumors to rest and equip you with the political knowledge which will soon prove time and time again, to be an asset. So with the provincial election looming closely above us, let’s delve into politics to discover what is potentially in store for Alberta in the next 4 years. Below is a very short summary of platforms which mention highlighted proposals (Encompassing just a fraction of the complete platform). Also included are links to their more comprehensive platforms.
You may notice many redundancies in platforms as far as goals go however the distinction occurs in the means being proposed to achieve these goals.

But wait how do provincial election work again?
A quick recap of your grade 8 social knowledge: In a general election voters across Alberta vote for a Member of Legislative Assembly within their Electoral Boundaries. The party that gains the most seats forms the majority. The premier is the leader of the majority party.

New Democratic Party – NDP

Leader: Rachel Notley

Complete Platform

According to the New Democratic Party’s platform, they will:


Healthcare (pg 13): Continue health care funding in order to keep up with population growth and cut surgeries wait times (Specifically heart cataract and cancer). They pledge to fund operations carried out by Calgary Cancer Centre, the Edmonton South Hospital as well as the expansion on Red Deer Hospital. NDP plans on creating a budget for and funding both the Edmonton South Hospital and Red Deer Hospital. Pilot “Storefront mental health clinics” in both Calgary and Edmonton.


Legislature (pg 39): Strengthen the Conflict of Interest Act, review and amend the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and amend legislature which pertains to campaign budgets for political parties.


Economy (pg 1): NDP’s plan according to their posted platform is to create “A stronger, diversified economy”. Their fiscal budget depicts a balanced budget by 2023-2024 and achieves so through a sort of expansionary fiscal policy. To balance the budget the government would have to pay off Alberta’s current $1.9 billion dollar deficit.


Oil and gas: NDP plans to build the Trans Mountain Pipeline.
Business Expansion: Among their targeted industries for expansion are agriculture, media, higher technology, and small businesses. The plan is predicted to create 70 000 new jobs over the course of the next ten years according to their website. A primary area of investment seems to be that of tax credits, or grants and programs to stimulate the economy.

Government Services: Their plan also includes a proposed $25 dollar a day daycare meant to counteract the gender gap in employment (pg 25).

Indigenous affairs (pg 32): NDP plans to continue to invest in affordable housing for First Nations communities. They have said that they will connect indigenous groups with investors in order to purchase equity partnerships in pipelines if they so wish. They promise to continue implementing the much needed infrastructure in order to deliver fresh safe drinking water to all First Nations Communities. They have promised to increase funding for Native Friendship Centres in order to support those who do not live on the reserve.


Crime (pg 34): In regards to crime NDP will create a plan with municipal police services as well as RCMP to minimize the amount of time spent behind desks. Another focus outlined in the platform is to support Rural Crime Watch organizations.


Environment (pg 35): NDP vows to continue the Climate Leadership Plan and meet its proposed goal to decrease methane production by 45% in 2025. They will maintain the current cap on oil sands emissions. They plan on attempting to slow the pine Beetles infestation and attempt to reduce its impact on forests. The plans include a “Clean Lakes Strategy” and further funding for other projects concerning the health of watersheds. In regards to abandoned oil wells NDP plans to work at an accelerated timeline to continue their restorative work with the Orphan Wells Association. An NDP government would make creating land conservations an easier process through reducing regulations.


Infrastructure: NDP has promised 4 000 affordable housing units. They will continue to Complete the Springbank dam to protect against potential floods. They have promised to provide high-speed internet across the province in any home.

Education and Training (pg 15): NDP wants to increase school funding in order to cut down on class sizes and to build 70 schools across the province (particularly high schools). They would make revisions to the curriculum to expand language learning school systems within the province. The party stays it will eliminate tuition fees for those doing high school upgrades and English Language Learning Programs. In post-secondary institutions they would provide an additional 3 000 spaces in programs specifically working with technology.
Seniors (pg 25): NDP pledges to remove copayments for seniors who earn less than 75 000. They plan on Increasing beds for seniors with dementia and pilot mobile teams to support seniors in various homes and centres.
NDP’s fiscal plan is available on page 42.

United Conservative Party – UCP

Leader: Jason Kenney

Full Platform available here

According to the United Conservative’s Party platform they will:


Healthcare (pg 50): Reduce wait times for surgeries to four months or less using the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative as a template to meet their goal of reducing those waiting surgery for more than three months to 25%. Their mental health strategy includes appointing a minister to Mental health and Addictions, investing $10 million over four years into the development of a plan to support treatment centres and developing a response using technology. Support those with Mental health and addiction through home care and care centres. Review proposals of existing supervised consumption sites (safe injection sites) to consider possibilities of endorsing said facilities. Continue the current transfer from hospital care to “community-based” home care. Implement further education and support for health professionals and caregivers. Concerning primary care, UCP wishes to implement the “medical home” model, and lift regulations on many medical professions ranging from optometry to midwifery. Save $840 million by eliminating the NDP plan to purchase laundry machines for AHS, and scrapping NDP’s superlab initiative concerning the nationalization of laboratory services. As of currently, they are not going to amend the Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped program (AISH).


Tax and Business: “Scrap the carbon tax” and challenge the federal carbon tax through a judicial reference to the court of appeal. Lower the general income tax from 12% to 8% for businesses. According to UCP this will create 55 000 jobs and increase the economy by 12.7 billion dollars. Cut “red tape” (regulations regarding employment) using input from a proposed minister, panel and crowdsourcing. Thus creating more free trade between provinces. Repeal Bill 6 which addresses farming and agriculture, and will replace it with the Farm Freedom and Safety Act which includes exempting small farms from employment legislation, adopting a new act regarding property rights and auction crown land for agricultural purposes. The platform outlines a targeted expansion in the Tourism sector through funding Travel Alberta. Establish the Open for Business Act which includes: continuing $15.00 as the current minimum wage but reduce the minimum wage to $13.00 for those who are 17 years or younger. Reverse the changes made in workday labels (regular/irregular), and reverse changes made to the secret ballot in union certification votes. They will reduce regulations applying to forestry, an invest in forest protection. (pg 39) They plan to Lift the replacement worker ban in the public sector. UCP promises that the Labour Relations Board will provide legal support to union workers.


Oil and Gas: Maintain current royalties, and reform the classification of rigs among other changes. Incentivize diversification projects through tax credits as part of the Petrochemical Diversification Program, and decrease well approval time. Jason Kenney has vowed to “turn off the taps” should other provinces continue opposition of pipelines. And should “substantial progress” not be made on the construction of a coastal pipeline and Federal Bill C-69 not be repealed they have promised to hold a referendum on the removal of equalization from the Constitution Act. Alongside this, a proposed ‘Energy War Room’ to respond to false information spread by media (pg 96), and further seek out, with the support of private companies, taking legal action against “defamation by anti-Alberta special interests”.
Immigration: Further develop and launch the Alberta Advantage immigration strategy in order to speed up process times and direct immigration to rural areas through the Rural Entrepreneur Immigration Program (pg 41). UCP plans to attract graduate students to start businesses and implement more programs to support immigrants.


Environment: The UCP have proposed a ‘Technology innovation and Emissions Reduction’ fund in order to decrease emissions. This will mandate that large scale industrial producers reduce emissions. And will implement a system of regulation for large scale producers which will Reinvest the profits made from this into green technology. Invest a proposed $25 million into the fight against the pine beetle and form a Caribou Range Task Force to protect Caribou (pg 39). They promise to increase funding 50% to the Alberta Land Trust Grant (pg 85) and contribute $10 million to create Big Island Provincial Park.
First Nations Affairs: (pg 53) UCP promises to implement more continuous support of addiction and mental health services for indigenous communities. Creating a $10 million dollar fund to support legal actions taken up by indigenous communities searching to develop resources. And will use the approach modeled by Saskatoon Public Schools and the Whitecap Dakota First Nations to create a partnership with First Nations Communities.


Legislature (pg 89): Place a $30 000 limit on donations to political action committees and banning the financing of third-party advertisers by foreign entities. They pledge to revise the Alberta Taxpayer Protection Act to mandate a referendum prior to imposing any carbon tax. And plan to Lobby for reform among the federal government concerning capping equalization, the Canada Health Transfer, the Canada Social transfer and Canada’s Employment Insurance Program among other initiatives.
Education (pg 57): They plan on decreasing administrative spending within the education system, and will build new schools. Over the course of four years transfer to an “essential learning” system to replace the previous “discovery learning” system. Mandate that consent be taught as part of the sexual health curriculum. They will reimplement the grade 3 PAT alongside other language and math assessments in grades 1 to 3, and make diplomas worth 50% for grade 12 students. The revision includes introducing tests for teachers to assess their competencies and reimplementing the 2012 Education Act. They will continue to allocate $168 million to independent schools annually, and expand charter schools through lifting the caps on the number of schools, and enrollment of students (pg 61) To support students with disabilities the government will return to the Wellness Resilience and Partnerships Program. Concerning post-secondary, UCP plans to reduce regulations, and strengthen freedom of speech policies in alignment with the University of Chicago Statement on Principles of Free Expression. They will invest $2 million into post-secondary institutions to support students with developmental disabilities. UCP plans to invest an annual $1 million into trade scholarships, and make $28 million dollar contribution to NAIT and SAIT each. The promise to reform the Alberta Employment Standards Code to allow Junior high students to work on job sites as part of programs, as well as increase Skills Canada funding to $2 million. They support the creation of an Alberta Trades Hall of Fame and invest $10 million dollars into the Women Building Futures to support Females in Skilled Trades. Perhaps the most controversial proposal of the platform would be to allow schools to tell parents of their child’s involvement in GSA’s.


Crime (pg 64): Invest $10 million to hire more prosecutors, support staff. Implement the Public’s Right to Know Act an annual report on crime and the government’s actions relating to crime. develop a Repeat Offender Policy, and organize an Alberta Parole Board for offenders serving less than two-year sentences. Request from the Federal government additional Queen’s Bench Justice appointments, and a complete review of the Criminal Code sentencing principles with a particular focus upon rural crime. They will proclaim the 2002 legislatures standard for human trafficking The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons in order to establish a consistent definition of Human Trafficking. And form a Human Trafficking Task Force, increase public education, and the publication of businesses which have been involved in Human Trafficking. Push for the federal government to impose consecutive sentencing for those charged with human trafficking. Enacting the Saving the Girl Next Door Act which includes enabling victims to acquire restraining orders, and file civil lawsuits against their traffickers. As well as declare that February 22 to be Human Trafficking Awareness Day. To reduce Domestic Violence UCP would like to pass “Clare’s Law” which allows officers to disclose a convicted felons past of domestic violence to their partner. The UCP will invest in technology, support centres, and a 24-hour crisis line to support survivors of sexual assault. Increase funding for Alberta Law Enforcement Teams by 69%. The plan to provide the opportunity for Minority groups who may be vulnerable to hate crimes to receive $100 000 grants for use to purchase security equipment.


Charitable Organizations (pg. 71): They pledge to pass a Freedom to Care Act which exempts charity groups from commercial regulations. And will organize a Points of Light Award to honor groups or individuals for their volunteerism.


Seniors (pg 73): To provide more options through the Affordable Supportive Living Initiative which relies on partnerships to build housing units for senior.


Disabilities (pg 75): Modify the Standards for Special Education, and contribute $1.5 Million annually to Family Managed Supports among other supports. Provide employment opportunities for persons with disabilities available through increasing employment within the city of Calgary


Veteran Affairs (pg 74): Establish a Heroes Fund to provide eligible families that have lost a loved serving their country with an extra $100 000 on top of the sum supported by the federal government. Support through funding First Responders diagnosed with PTSD, and create an Alex Decoteau Veteran’s scholarship of Honour to provide post-secondary scholarships in the amount of $5 000 to members of the Royal Canadian Forces.


Fiscal Plan: Can be found on page 103 and amounts to a projected 714 million dollar surplus in 2022-2023.

Alberta Party


Leader – Stephen Mandel

Find their full platform here

The Alberta Party plans to:


Healthcare: develop a way of putting fluoride in municipal drinking water. Invest $48 million to expand Alberta Health Care Insurance to cover an annual dental checkup and two x rays, until the children are 13 years of age. Pass an Alberta Accessibility Act to reinforce the Federal bill C-81. Appoint an ‘Accessibility Advisory Council’. Implement hearing loops in government buildings which offer important services. Increase Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) to match inflation. And release the review of Persons with Developmental Disabilities program which has already begun but not yet been released. Complete projects including the Edmonton South Hospital, Grande Prairie Regional hospital, Calgary Career Centre and Red Deer Hospital expansion. Build more non-acute care clinics to reduce the use of emergency rooms, putting a halt to the purchase of Laundry Machines for AHS, and will cancel the Superlab. Increase funding for the opioid crisis by $23 million to take a public health approach which encompasses continuing to fund existing Supervised Consumption sites, fully funding the Take Home Naloxone Kits program and making the kits more available to organizations

Business and Employment: Attempt to bring big businesses to Alberta by initiating a program where businesses with 250 or more employees receive a three year “tax holiday”. Reduce corporate tax to 10%, double the small Business deduction. Expand the Summer temporary employment program.

Nonprofits Plan: Provide stable funding to non-profit organizations through the Community Initiatives Program expanding the funding period to five years from 30 months. Repeal regulations regarding the application process for funding.

Indigenous Relations: Educate public servants in Aboriginal history. Enrich aboriginal culture through support of indigenous-led initiatives. Implement the Calls to Action as outlined by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Honor Jordan’s principle and paying for the equitable needs of First Nations children. Raise the per-student funding to be on par with the provincial average, and fully fund 3 000 post-secondary spaces for FNMI students. Provide financial support for Indigenous lead postsecondary education programs and centres.

Arts and Culture: Attempt to attract investment into the film industry through tax exemptions and reduce regulations.

Carbon Tax: Eliminate the carbon taxes for heating in homes, use in vehicles, businesses which emit less than 100 000 annually but otherwise maintain current tax. Exempt non-profits and municipal governments from the carbon tax, and implement minimum production quotas in order to be required to pay the carbon tax.

Agriculture: Offer current landowners a Right of First Refusal and options for lease for a set number of years depending on the industry. Establish an Alberta Agriculture Innovation Fund of $100 million annually to support research and initiatives concerning the health and sustainability of crops. Contribute $2 million to agritourism and increase agricultural exports. Exempt small farms from elements of Bill 6.

Environment: Appoint a bee Protection task force. Support bio fuel projects. Implement regulations regarding waste disposal systems such as the Extended Producer Responsibility program which will prevent Albertans from paying twice for their recycling.

Forestry: Use Alberta wood more in infrastructure. Create an Alberta Forestry, Technology and Research Institute with $50 million dollars in funding. This will create an estimated 6 000 jobs and generate $100 million in government revenue


Childcare: Establish ‘the Children First Plan’ which would encompass direct financial support to lower and middle-income families who have children in daycare, a ‘caregiver tax credit’ and increase the number of spaces open at daycares. The plan would operate on a voucher system which could potentially cover the full cost of any licensed daycare in Alberta. The plan would also provide a caregiver tax credit for those who opt not to use the voucher program. Organize a new Ministry of Early Childhood.


Crime: Expand the work of sheriffs to be inclusive of greater tasks. Increase funding for sheriffs. Share some of the revenue from Cannabis with municipalities for enforcement and treatment. Invest $5 million additional dollars to Victim Services to increase staffing.

Government relations: End the Tax Collection Agreement so that personal taxes an estimated $11 million) remain in Alberta to replace the current installment payments. Transfer control of Canada Pension Plan to the provincial government to make the Alberta Pension plan. Reform tax collection by allowing Alberta to first collect personal and corporate income taxes and then remit them to the Federal government. Implement changes to the review of sexual misconduct complaints in provincial governments to eliminate conflicts of interest.


Infrastructure: Make reformations to resolve tenancy disputes for mobile home owners, invest an additional $250 million to bring fiber optic and 5G internet to every community in Alberta, support the Alberta to Alaska Railway through a $10 million dollar investment into connecting stakeholders and performing consultations. The project, however, will rely upon private sector financial support. Continue a push for the Trans Mountain Pipeline and if need initiate the use of “declaratory power”. Finish the construction of the Springbank Dam.


Alberta Justice System: Make legal aid more affordable through a discretionary fund and thus more accessible for a greater amount of the population. Incentivize better work for legal aid lawyers through increased compensation and providing some tax benefits for those who participate often. The plan will see the allocation of $140 million dollars over 4 years into legal aid. Reform to mandate that in the case of family disputes Unified Family Courts must review all settlements. Hire 25 more crown prosecutors and remove the wage freeze using 10 million dollars. Make many amendments to court proceedings to make the system more efficient and decrease delays.

Education: They wish to double the number of educational assistants. Invest $230 million more dollars a year into inclusive education for school board Reformation to post-secondary education in order to increase space available (45000 new spaces). Maintain the current cap on tuition and completely eliminate fees for high school upgrading. Implement a ‘creator-owned system’ addressing issues of intellectual property in postsecondary institutions. “Offer forgiveness of provincial student loans for post-secondary graduates who, after graduation, remain and work in Alberta for a certain amount of time in their area of study”. And subsidize the cost for post-secondary students using tax. Mandel promises to mandate that children attending publicly-funded schools receive vaccinations. Invest an estimated 190 million into building and/or modernizing 25 schools a year. Develop learning centres for adults pursuing their K-12 education including certificates and degrees. Increase the eligibility age for education funding to 25 years old. Increase the number of teachers and education assistants in classrooms, and work to combat the declining enrollment rate of rural schools. Include more education focused on mental health and mandate consent as part of the curriculum. Increase diversity among the ATA to represent minority groups.

Seniors: To provide 3 5000 addition long term care beds totaling to a $230 million initial cost and a $260 million annual cost. Launch a pilot program similar to the Better at Home Program to assist seniors in domestic affairs ranging from snow shoveling to grocery delivery. Implement an Alberta Caregiver Tax credit worth up to $6, 986 per year. Establish a Ministry of Seniors which will organize housing grants and programs.

Alberta Liberal Party

Leader: David Khan

Find their full platform here

According to the Alberta Liberal Party’s platform they will:


Business and Taxes: Make large reformations to tax by eliminate income taxes for two-thirds of Albertan’s, lower taxes for all Albertan’s and cut corporate taxes by 2%. Reverse changes made to statutory holiday pay. Introduce an 8% hospital and schools tax. Review and reform business subsidy programs. Focus on increasing inter-provincial trade. Exempt small businesses from small business taxes for the first three years.

Training: create an $80 million dollar annual grant fund which will provide up to $2 500 in job training or studies to unemployed individuals. To apply individuals must be unemployed for three or more months.

Education: Increase space in STEM post-secondary courses by 25%. Amend the curriculum to make education more inclusive by increasing funding for special needs classes by 50%, integrating LBGTQ25+ topics into the curriculum and include mental and emotional wellness education. Place a cap on class sizes. Eliminate all school fees for both public and publicly funded charter schools.

Oil and Gas: Support and aim to build the Trans Mountain Pipeline, while involving First Nations communities in the process. Reinitiate the East Pipeline project. Amend Bill C 69 which pertains to the Canadian Energy Regulator Act and make reformations to the National Energy Board. Establish additional policies applying to climate change and indigenous rights.

Seniors (pg 19): Invest $150 million into home care and assisted living. Create a Ministry of Senior services. Replace the Seniors Property tax deferral program with the Seniors school Property Tax Agreement.

Environment (pg 20) :
Implement a ‘Voluntary Vehicle Retirement Program’ to encourage Albertans to use other forms of transport, as well as incentivizing the use of alternative forms of fuel and investment into the development of geothermal energy. Review and amend current programs and policies concerning disaster preparedness setting aside a larger sum of money for emergency situations.

Federal Government Relations: Lobby for the federal government to treat hydro energy revenue to be treated the same in other provinces as oil and gas in Alberta. Combine and cut down on the 6 already existing energy agencies within the province of Alberta. Invest in making green energy a more economic option within Alberta. Double the amount of protected areas in Alberta by 2030, create wildlife corridor and crossings among other wildlife policies. Implement policies and regulations to protect water supplies, reduce urban sprawl and make revisions to Alberta’s recycling program.

Agriculture: Support agricultural initiatives focused around the protection of soil health and water supply, and combating chronic wasting disease.

Infrastructure (25): Double current funding for the construction of affordable housing, and invest $50 million in updating existing facilities. Support LRT projects like the Calgary Green line and the Edmonton West Valley LRT projects, find an alternative to Greyhound, mandate seat belts on buses. (pg 38)

Human Rights and Gender Equality (pg 29): Implement Pay Equity Legislation which requires that companies to prove that employees are being paid equal wages regardless of gender. Increase funding for women’s shelters, subsidize the cost of childcare, provide free birth control to women and mandate sexual assault/harassment and consent training for police officers and judges. Make abortion services more accessible in rural areas, and consider portable housing as a temporary housing solution for survivors of domestic violence. Review and reform the Alberta Human rights act to combat a wider scope of discrimination.

Healthcare: Take preventative measures in the form of a 100 million dollar investment which will form a Preventative Care Task Force to alleviate stresses on Emergency Care. Create 22 000 new long term care space, funneling $150 million into home care and assisted living. Revise Emergency Response systems through increasing the number of paramedics, and allowing for AHS to take over what is currently the City of Calgary Ambulance dispatch. Implement a $50 million dollar plan to support community-based dental care, removing legislature that prevents dentists from offering promotions. Transfer to a “primary care clinic” model to replace the “Fee for service” model in place to incentivize better care. Require that all healthcare institutions are able to provide MAID (Medical Assistance in dying) services.

Opioids and Mental Health: Declare the opioid crisis a Public Health Emergency, and combat it through funding more treatment beds, increasing the number of supervised injection sites and providing addiction counseling free.Establish courts specifically for mental health and drugs

Inclusion: Ban conversion Therapy (pg 32). Support those with disabilities through appointing an Associate Minister of Disability. Increasing the representation of disabled individuals in government, expanding FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) education, and increasing the number of scholarships available to those with disabilities. Further increase funding to the AISH (assured income for the severely handicapped) to match inflation.

Political Reform: Replace the current dominant party system with a Proportional Representation system (pg 34) to encompass Mixed Member Proportional Representation. Increase regulations on Political Action Committees including banning foreign donations and placing a cap on funding. Increase indigenous representation through the addition of six new seats to Alberta Legislature reserved for the FNMI community.

Crime: Decriminalize the possession of small quantities of drugs (pg 17). Provide an additional $5 million to the regional victims of crime fund, increase the number of police officers, and make a tax credit for security systems of up to $100 dollars (pg. 26) Decrease court wait times through a task force dedicated to increasing the efficiency of Judicial systems including revision to matters of child custody and the Medical Examiner’s office. Separate the role of the attorney general from the position of Justice Minister.

Image Source: https://www.elections.ab.ca/

Taking back #GirlBoss: Is Empowerment Going Wrong?

Elnaz Enayatpour
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You’ve heard it, I’ve heard it… be a girl boss! Go into STEM! Take over this male-dominated world! And while it is, of course, true that we still lack female representation in some of the biggest industries and fields today (think robotics, engineering, government), the intentions behind encouraging young girls to venture into STEM fields has gone from push to shove. It seems we’ve also forgotten (at times) that equality stems from choice, not obligation.

Pushing for equality in our fields has tons of benefits, of course. Think: more stable economy, faster progress and advancements and a lot more overall representation. Plus, it’s the new age! We need engineers, scientists and programmers more than ever, and it seems that we have to enter these fields just to keep up with our fast-paced society.


https://bdc-tv.com/heres-women-drop-stem-programmes/

At the same time, research suggests that when women are given choice and the encouragement to pursue passion, they don’t actually go into STEM fields. This could explain why only 19% of all engineering majors are female in the U.S, while the number rises to 40% in Jordan.

Girls who do enter these fields end up dropping out at scary rates. Data from Harvard Business Review shows that over 52% of highly-qualified females in STEM roles quit their jobs, either to leave the field completely or to drop to a lower position. Two questions are immediately raised: why is this happening, and what does it mean? The same research pointed out that women felt as if they were unqualified for their jobs, the work-life balance was unjust and achievable, or hostile workplace cultures.

http://blogs.nature.com/news/2012/11/leaky-pipelines-for-canadian-women-in-research.html

Another issue that women face, specifically in STEM, is feeling like just another statistic. Hey! Go study this because, did you know, only this percentage of women go into this field?

Many girls feel extreme pressure to represent ALL females, which could explain why women are dropping out at such alarming rates: they go in out of a sense of obligation, and once they realize the field is not for them, it’s often too late. As well, girls who are alienated in a large group of males can be anxious to never mess up or make mistakes because they see it as a reflection of all females.

So, what does this mean? With women dropping out at these rates, workplace culture isn’t likely to improve or become more inviting of new workers. If this habit persists in our cultures, girls will continue to lose confidence in their academic or social skills at younger ages because of the lack of representation or motivation.

The culture is a vicious cycle, but it’s not here to stay. Tons of research shows that representation is really what matters, and not just for young girls. Seeing is believing, and this stays true in the workplace. A study testing the effects of social environments on stereotypical beliefs of women found that when women are exposed to welcoming and diverse environments, they are less likely to adopt stereotypical opinions on themselves over a long period of time.

https://www.theplanner.co.uk/news/renewableuk-vows-to-have-30-women-speakers-at-events

There are tons of ways to increase representation of women in our cultures, and it all starts with the small things, such as encouraging more female high school students to pursue STEM studies or participate in science and math workshops or competitions. On a larger scale, many companies have started initiatives to increase female representation and participation. Johnson and Johnson, a medical devices and consumer goods manufacturing company has adopted a program called “Crossing the Finish Line” to connect young, multicultural women to senior managers that could be potential sponsors. Microsoft has done a similar thing, creating “mentoring rings” for the women interested in working at their company.

No matter where we are currently, there’s still a ton of work to be done, but it’s also important to celebrate how much progress we’ve made so far. There’s no doubt that pressuring girls into STEM has ended up backfiring so far, but the process has proven to be trial and error. Instead, we should focus on giving girls the platform for speaking up and giving them mentors to look up for. True equality, after all, comes from everyone being able to succeed at their own pace and by their own standards.

Featured image: https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2017/03/23/girls-in-stem-culture-is-failing-both-girls-and-stem.html

Sources used: https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2017/03/23/girls-in-stem-culture-is-failing-both-girls-and-stem.html

https://hbr.org/2008/06/stopping-the-exodus-of-women-in-science

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022103104000253?via%3Dihub

Remembering a Favourite Author: Kurt Vonnegut

Fatima Mir Baloch
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Summer is the only time I get to do some pleasure reading, after a school year of textbooks to absorb into my brain so I can ace my exams. Hence in the summer of 2017, I decided I would read as many books as I can, all written by one author, that is Kurt Vonnegut. Slaughterhouse-Five was the first one I had read that was written by him, during my winter break in grade 10. My love for reading had actually diminished by that time, but that book brought it back. A book about the experience of the Second World War, Slaughterhouse-Five spoke volumes about that heartbreaking time with only short, simple sentences. That was when I knew that Vonnegut was an author like no other.

So I read more of his works over the summer of 2017, such as the Sirens of Titan and Bluebeard, both of which were also amazing to read. Throughout most of his writings, I observed that Vonnegut constantly pondered upon the often-pondered-upon question: is there such a thing as free will, or do we all have a predetermined path of life? He ultimately concludes that the latter is true, and he brings forward some very interesting perspectives on it through his writing. Where you stand on that debate shouldn’t matter. Vonnegut will nevertheless take your breath away through his stories. 

Kurt Vonnegut was born to Kurt Vonnegut Sr. and Edith, on November the 11th in 1922, in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was the youngest of three children. Vonnegut was the son of German immigrants who had settled into the US. His parents never taught him to speak German in order to show American patriotism. Vonnegut had addressed this and said that this left him feeling “ignorant and rootless.” 

The financial security of the Vonnegut family soon diminished. Vonnegut’s father’s brewery closed down in 1921 with the Prohibition Act, and when the Great Depression hit, he couldn’t find many people to rebuild. Due to this financial misfortune, his father became what Vonnegut described as “a dreamy artist.” His mother became bitter and abusive and as Vonnegut described, expressed hatred “as corrosive as hydrochloric acid.” 

Kurt Vonnegut had witnessed the horrors of World War 2. He was a prisoner of the War, and he observed the firebombing of Dresden, a moment he details in Slaughterhouse-Five. Despite the morbidity of that situation, it never made him a hardened old man that most men become. He was a humanist.  

Though an atheist, he preferred to sometimes refer to himself as a “Christ-loving agnostic.” His philosophy on kindness and forgiveness may come partially at least, from his African-American cook, Ida Young, who was credited by Vonnegut himself for his upbringing by her in his childhood. 

“I am a humanist, which means, in part, that I have tried to behave decently without any expectation of rewards or punishment after I’m dead.” – Kurt Vonnegut.

Later on in 1945, Kurt Vonnegut won the Purple Heart Medal for frostbite and was soon discharged. After that he started writing pieces for magazines like Collier’s, The Saturday Evening Post, and Cosmopolitan. His career in writing spanned fifty years. He had published fourteen novels, three short story collections, five plays, and five works of nonfiction. 

 Kurt Vonnegut Jr. passed away on April 11, 2007 in Manhattan, New York City, New York at the age of 84. According to his wife, he suffered from brain injuries from a recent fall. 

Vonnegut was not just an interesting writer, he was an interesting human being. He has touched not just the hearts of the ones he was surrounded by, but the hearts of people all around the world.

Sources:

http://www.openculture.com/2014/12/kurt-vonnegut-reveals-why-his-dog-is-not-a-humanist.htmlhttp://www.openculture.com/2014/12/kurt-vonnegut-reveals-why-his-dog-is-not-a-humanist.html

https://www.notablebiographies.com/Tu-We/Vonnegut-Kurt.html

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiY04XDzNfhAhWR-lQKHSxrChcQjhx6BAgBEAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kickstarter.com%2Fprojects%2F1949966329%2Fa-permanent-home-for-kurt-vonneguts-legacy&psig=AOvVaw1n8gwZ_syfjBP0L2D-Q8xU&ust=1555606653410654

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