National

Smith, Alberta Next panel begin town hall series to hear grievances about Ottawa

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 15 Jul, 2025 11:05 AM

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and a hand-picked panel are set to hold the first in a series of town halls to address public concerns with the federal government.

Some 650 people are expected at today's event in Red Deer as Smith and the 15 other members of the Alberta Next panel hear about grievances inspiring separatist sentiment in the province.

The government is dedicating time at the event to several strategies it's pitching to wrest more control from the federal government, including pulling out of the Canada Pension Plan and withholding social services from some immigrants.

There will also be an open question-and-answer period.

Smith and panel members are set to hear feedback in Edmonton on Wednesday.

The premier has said the panel will recommend ideas and policy proposals for a referendum after the town halls wrap up in October.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Todd Korol

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

What you need to know as Trudeau fights to retain leadership of the Liberal party

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has resisted calls for his resignation for more than a year now but in recent weeks those calls have grown louder and in some cases more public. The Liberal caucus met Wednesday, where MPs had a three-hour long discussion about their party's current state and whether Trudeau is the best one to keep leading it.

What you need to know as Trudeau fights to retain leadership of the Liberal party

Poll suggests more than half of Canadians unaware of gridlock in House of Commons

A debate has ground work in the House of Commons to a halt for weeks, but a new poll suggests that most Canadians are not even aware it's happening. In a new survey from polling firm Leger, 55 per cent of respondents said they had not heard about the procedural issues that have gridlocked Parliament for more than 12 sitting days.

Poll suggests more than half of Canadians unaware of gridlock in House of Commons

Oil removal work begins on 'fragile' Second World War-era wreck in coastal B.C.

The Canadian Coast Guard said the 77-metre-long Brigadier General M.G. Zalinski has been burping up "slow but consistent drops of oil" since the fall of 2022 at the shipwreck site in Grenville Channel, part of the Inside Passage off northern B.C.

Oil removal work begins on 'fragile' Second World War-era wreck in coastal B.C.

B.C. Green leader spoke with NDP's Eby, but didn't pick up when Conservatives called

Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau says the starting place to supporting whichever party comes to power in British Columbia is her party's platform. Furstenau says she has taken a call from NDP Leader David Eby, but didn't answer the phone when B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad called, adding she didn't recognize the number.

B.C. Green leader spoke with NDP's Eby, but didn't pick up when Conservatives called

Witness told rescuers missing B.C. man swept down the rain-swollen Coquitlam River

A witness reported seeing a man who's been missing since Sunday fall into the swollen Coquitlam River as he tried to rescue a dog, and was "immediately swept away," a local search and rescue manager said on Wednesday. Ian MacDonald said Coquitlam Search and Rescue received the report about 59-year-old Robert Belding on Tuesday.

Witness told rescuers missing B.C. man swept down the rain-swollen Coquitlam River

Semi-trailer rollover kills 17 cattle on busy Calgary ring road

A semi-truck carrying a load of cattle rolled over on a busy ring road in Calgary on Tuesday night. Police say the truck, carrying about 95 cattle, was in a single-vehicle crash on an off-ramp from Stoney Trail.