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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

It's the same poll (by Angus Reid). This is sort of a breakdown of that pill by riding/seats.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

So only the wealthiest get to participate in democracy.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

When was the last time someone crossed the floor in federal politics? I can't even remember.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Just saying I'm on page 149/279 of the FINAL EDITS of my dissertation!

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Clarity by making things less clear. What couldn't be clear about that type of clarity.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

This is such a gong show. There are actual problems the government could try and address instead of made up performative actions that have no chance of having meaningful affects.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

I don't understand how limited people on the ballot affects voter fraud 🤨

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

What problem is this trying to solve? I mean aside from the obvious tilting of the field towards the UCP.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 09/10/2025

I made a similar argument with respect to the teachers strike. Respect and collaboration would have built goodwill that probably would resulted in the current deal.being accepted. Instead, as time goes on, more and more teachers refused.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

Great news! @lukaszukab.bsky.social when your done the Forever Canada referendum can I convince you to start another one?

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Reposted by Ian Doktor

Rebecca Graff-McRae @poliscirish.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

@iandoktor.bsky.social an Alberta teacher's open letter on the eve of their first strike in over 20 years. While the Smith govt claim this is about wages, compensation is just the tip of the iceberg after a decade of disrespect & political weaponization. www.parklandinstitute.ca/disrespect

parklandinstitute.ca

When Disrespect Becomes Policy: How Government Neglect Sparked Labour Unrest

As Albertans brace for the first teacher strike in nearly 25 years, a new opinion piece on Parkland’s blog gives a frontline perspective on the government’s long war against public education.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

Maybe he watched the Matt Damon movie Elysium and confused it for reality. That would actually explain a whole lot about his presidency.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

I fear that the advantages our education system had when I was in school will continue to eroded and destroyed by the same government mismanagement we've seen during the last 8 years.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

While I'm still hopeful a last minute deal can be reached I find that increasing unlikely and it makes me sad. Alberta once had what I considered the best education system in the world (again, having taught all over the world for more than 20 years I have a somewhat unique perspective).

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

Like many teachers I'm a father and I'm dismayed that my two children will have their school year interrupted. This has been a long time coming and is the result of the government constantly and consistently displaying disrespect, ignorance, and a lack of caring towards the entire education system.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

I'm offended not only for the way teachers have been treated, but as a fiscally responsible Albertan, I'm dismayed by the waste that's being demonstrated. Building respect with Alberta teachers would have cost less than the new carpet in Danielle Smith's office.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

Instead, teachers were essentially accused of purveying pornography to students. Change the way the UCP engaged with teachers wouldn't have cost the government a single dollar but I'm sure it would have moved enough teachers to vote for the contract they offered.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

I've already written about this elsewhere so I won't go into tons of detail here but to say the UCP could have talked with the ATA, school boards, or the individual schools where the FOUR books were. Any of those approaches would have engaged teachers and demonstrated respect for the work we do.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

Again, that wouldn't have cost the government a dime and it would have built good will that would be very useful right now. And of course there is the ham-fisted UCP book ban.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

There has never been any evidence of that; not to mention the new system has been completely ineffective. Properly managing that transition should have involved consulting and working with teachers instead of insulting them.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

in investigating complaints against teachers so I knew how and why that system worked. However, I quickly changed my mind as the government suggested and stated that the move was necessary because teachers and the ATA were in some way hiding teacher misconduct.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

But wait, there is more. A few years ago the government decided the ATA should not be in charge of teacher discipline. This upset a great many teachers, but honestly, I wasn't one of them. At first. I worked in BC where the BCTF is not directly involved

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

As I said, having taught in both private and charter schools, I'm not against them on principle. But like most teachers, it is impossible for me to support increasing funding there when we aren't funding our public system properly.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

If they did it would be significantly more expensive for everyone. Yet while the public money to education has increased by about 4% per year, charter schools have see increases of closer to 16%.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

I believe there is a place for charter schools in Alberta but they are a very (very) niche set of options that will never make up the bulk of the educational landscape here. They simply don't have the ability to educate the masses of students we have.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

This doesn't just upset teachers and school boards, it makes the entire system worse off. I've worked all over the world (I've taught in four different countries, several provinces in Canada, worked in public, private and charter schools).

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

meaningfully including teachers and recognizing their expertise would have built goodwill that would have led to some of that 15% who voted no having a different opinion. What else? The overt redistribution of funds from public schools to private and charter schools.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

but on the whole the entire development process has resulted in a worse curriculum that will lead to challenges for our kids. There was no monetary benefit to excluding teacher input from this process. However,

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

(Those concerns proved correct as the government had to pause, walk back, and change numerous aspects after the fact). I've never been clear on what the haste to do this was; there are some aspects of the K-6 science curriculum I like,

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

Then there was the curriculum that both the Kenney and Smith government bulldozed through. Despite concerns repeatedly raised by teachers and other educational experts we were ignored and sidelined.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

And there was no cost to the Alberta Government to leave the money where it was (I would actually argue the move put the government in a more risky position).

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

Let's go back and talk about forcing teachers to transfer their pensions to AIMCo. We didn't want that. Toews and Kenney lied about the benefits and never admitted the risks. And teachers knew that. We weren't consulted with what was being done with OUR money.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

Over the past 8 years, the UCP have never missed an opportunity to antagonize teachers unnecessarily and on issues that didn't involve money.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

While wages are, as I pointed out, a major sticking point, respect and trust would have gotten the government that 15% without having to pay teachers more. What do I mean?

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

So to avoid a strike, the government didn't need to change the minds of every teacher; they needed to convince about 15% (or 5000 of the 48000 teachers) to have a different view.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

historically it does not address over a decade of neglect. However, despite this huge erosion in teacher earnings, this wasn't an impossible ask. As I pointed out, the contract was rejected by a relatively modest margin.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

more here than there. Now, my colleagues in BC make about $6k more than I do here. During the past 12 years, Alberta teacher wages have stagnated with inflation far outstripping increases. So while I don't disagree that 3% per years roughly keeps pace with inflation today,

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

Who deserves the blame in the (soon to happen) Alberta teachers' strike? My thoughts. Both the ATA and the GoA have both said they cannot agree on wage increases. The history of that goes back more than a decade. In 2012 I was teaching in BC and when we returned to Edmonton I made over $17k

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

Honestly, most wouldn't care. A scare crow wearing a CPC shirt would win.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

But driving conditions and habits are going to have a bigger effect. 20% means that if your tires last 5 years in a Corolla, they'll last around 4 years in a Tesla.(Incidentally I've had my Tesla for 5 years and haven't noticed even that much difference).

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

They are but not enough to make serious differences. A good comparison is a Toyota Corolla and a Tesla 3 (they are roughly the same size). The Corolla maxes out at 3150 lbs and the Tesla 3 at 4050 lbs. About 25% heavier. So sure, the tires wear maybe 20% faster.

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Reposted by Ian Doktor

Hon. Thomas A. Lukaszuk @lukaszukab.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

CALGARY more #ForeverCanadian petition signing events coming up! Please, stop by. Canada needs your participation 🇨🇦 #Yyc #Ableg #cdnpoli

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Reposted by Ian Doktor

Hon. Thomas A. Lukaszuk @lukaszukab.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

We are at the Old Strathcona farmers’ market in Edmonton. Crowd gathering before we managed to set up. Thank you!!! We will be here until 3 pm. Come and sign the #ForeverCanadian petition. #Yeg

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

I read the headline and at first felt sorry for the taxpayer. Then as I read the story I kept thinking, okay but they were warned (and never mind the risks of investing that much money in penny stocks). And then they were warned again. And fined before being wanted again.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

This image only shows a small part of the nebula (which covers an area about 5 times larger than the full moon). It's located in the constellation Cygnus at a distance of about 2500 light years. The gas itself is mostly ionized Hydrogen with some Helium and other trace gases like Oxygen.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

The summer has been pretty lousy for stargazing but the last few days has been exceptionally clear. I finally got a chance to test out a new Hyperstar Lens for my telescope. This is a 30 minute image of part of NGC 7000 (also know as the North America Nebula).

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

Instead of increasing penalties for killing someone, why don't you just make it harder to . . . you know. . . .own a . . . car. Yeah, that's it. A car. Not like that's a code word for something else.

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

Isn't there an old saying something along the lines of how it's hard to convince someone of X if his livelihood depends on believing the opposite?

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Ian Doktor @iandoktor.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

Learning ABOUT science, even in the absence of specific facts of content, gives people the ability to critically analyze information they are confronted with and appreciate the nuanced nature of the ways science works.

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