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Janet French

@jantafrench.bsky.social
12K followers 1.8K following 707 posts

Provincial affairs reporter, CBC Edmonton 📻📺📝👩‍💻 Mildly obsessive about reporting on education. #AbEd Bikes. Knitting. Parenting. Books. Plants. Did I mention bikes? 🚴🏽‍♀️🚲

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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Former Sask. Education Minister (and who also served as a school trustee and worked as a teacher) Ken Krawetz has died www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... #Skpoli #SkEd I appreciated him taking the time to do thoughtful interviews.
cbc.ca
Former deputy premier, Sask. Party founder Ken Krawetz dies at 75 | CBC News
Krawetz joined several others to form the Sask. Party in 1997. 'This one hurts a lot,' Premier Scott Moe said in a social media post.
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Alberta teachers - especially in social studies - are grappling with how, and even if, to talk and teach about the October referendum. Here’s why: #AbLeg #AbEd
cbc.ca
In the face of a new neutrality law, Alberta educators grapple with referendum lessons | CBC News
In Brett Dibble’s Grade 12-level social studies classes, lessons about Alberta’s 10 fall referendum questions are among the first issues students dived into this school year.
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
In #yeg #yegfunicularstatus news …
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Jason Markusoff @markusoff.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
This by-election in Calgary’s deep suburbs, in a seat UCP won last time by 14%, had potential to become either a clear warning about Danielle Smith and referendum politics in urban Alberta, or about the NDP leadership of Naheed Nenshi. And well whaddya know. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Alberta NDP win in Calgary-Shaw byelection | CBC News
Unofficial results from Elections Alberta show NDP candidate Kyle Campbell has won Calgary-Shaw by a margin of 582 votes over the UCP's Mike Derry.
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
PSA: my teen just applied to work on Alberta referendum night and the application was really quick and straightforward. Took less than 10 mins. You can indicate interest in multiple positions, and select which dates you’re available. #AbLeg
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... As Andrew Jeffrey explains, identifying and shelving library material with potentially explicit visuals is a time-consuming and fraught process that has Alberta librarians worried about the implications #AbLeg
cbc.ca
Alberta librarians feeling anxious about complying with new restrictions ahead of Jan. 1 deadline | CBC News
Public libraries in Alberta have until the new year to comply with new restrictions around access to materials in their collection with a visual depiction of a sexual act, but with less than five mont...
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Spotted: Calgary doing us a solid in #yeg during a summer of seemingly endless storms that are damaging our trees. Thanks #yyc 🫡
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
😱Former Saskatchewan NDP leader Ryan Meili now has a band with current and former members of the Sheepdogs, Slow Down, Molasses, the Deep Dark Woods and The Fjords. It’s like Broken Social Scene, within #yxe city limits blueumbrellamusic.ca *obsessed*
blueumbrellamusic.ca
Blue Umbrella Music
Get in touch with Blue Umbrella Music for music updates and inquiries through our contact form.
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Jared Wesley @jaredwesley.ca · 03/07/2026
Alberta is a massive beneficiary of brain drain from other parts of Canada. To the tune of $100B. The social and economic union pays immense dividends. Trevor Tombe brings the receipts. thehub.ca/2026/07/02/t...
thehub.ca
The biggest financial transfer in Canada that nobody talks about
Why Alberta and B.C. are Canada’s biggest brain drain beneficiaries
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
4 years ago, Fernando Bórquez, Javiera Figueroa and their 3 yo son Silvetre moved to Calgary from Chile to be temporary foreign workers. Silvestre finished Grade 1, and dad says his English writing is better than his Spanish. But fed. immigration rules changed. #Ableg www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Hundreds of undocumented Alberta students at risk of losing free access to school | CBC News
Hundreds of children and teenagers already attending Alberta schools could be ineligible to enrol in September as their families’ immigration status hangs in limbo.
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
#yegfunicularstatus - hope you like hills or stairs (until further notice)
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
#yegfunicularstatus Still down for maintenance, unfortunately. Wish I’d known that in advance.
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
More change in Alberta health leadership, with little explanation from officials - by @jenleecbc.bsky.social www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... #AbLeg #AbHealth
cbc.ca
Alberta health system 'rudderless,' doctor says, as latest AHS leader departs | CBC News
Another key health leader in Alberta is out, more than two years after the provincial government launched its health system overhaul, sparking fresh frustrations and worries among frontline staff.
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
A new poll suggests a vast majority of Albertans agree that privacy law should apply to political parties. This, after nearly 3 million Albertans’ personal information was exposed from a copy of the voters’ list www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... #AbLeg
cbc.ca
Poll suggests 84% of Albertans want privacy law to cover political parties and candidates | CBC News
At least four in five Albertans agree that the privacy law applying to businesses should also apply to political parties, suggests a new Ipsos poll, conducted for a B.C. privacy advocacy organization.
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
#yegfunicularstatus it’s Wednesday, which raises the question of whether it is the second Wednesday after a waxing crescent moon, or a Wednesday two fortnights after the last funicular maintenance Wednesday, and I honestly can’t keep track. Anyway, both elevator and funicular worked today, BUT …
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
More than four months after the government promised triage liaison physicians would “immediately” begin work in some of Alberta’s busiest ERs, they’re nowhere to be found www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... #AbLeg #AbHealth
cbc.ca
Still no triage liaison physicians in Alberta ERs, 4 months after province's pledge | CBC News
More than four months after pledging that emergency physicians would soon begin roles monitoring waiting room patients, the Alberta government’s promised triage liaison physicians aren’t yet on the jo...
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
#yegfunicularstatus Mercifully, both lifts are working - a welcome monsoon reprieve
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Day of Action view from the newsroom - we can definitely hear the chants and honks from inside. This is an organized labour demonstration protesting a wide swath of Alberta government policies and actions. #Ableg #yeg
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
kings-printer.alberta.ca/Documents/Or... Alberta’s cabinet has made official the referendum question about having a binding referendum on separation #AbLeg
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Some scenes from the western (and northern) premiers’ conference in Kananaskis this week. B.C. Premier David Eby shows off his gift from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith - cowboy boots - and Smith gifts everybody Team Canada soccer jerseys. #AbLeg #yyc
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Jason Markusoff @markusoff.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
NEW: UCP MLA who promoted the separatist petition quietly quit his parliamentary secretary post last month, but will not disclose why. Premier Smith has strived to say her caucus and cabinet support staying in Canada. Jason Stephan has been the lone public outlier. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... by me
cbc.ca
Danielle Smith's constitutional adviser quit post after promoting separatist petition | CBC News
UCP MLA Jason Stephan quietly stepped down in April as parliamentary secretary for constitutional affairs, after being appointed last year.
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
#yegfunicularstatus Elevator and funicular were running.
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
We also spoke with Treaty Six Grand Chief Joey Pete tonight. He says while the premier says this approach to a referendum may not violate Justice Leonard's ruling, the Alberta government is still showing a "total disregard to First Nations." #Ableg
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Edmonton mayor Andrew Knack has issued a statement on the referendum referendum (no, that's not a typo), calling it "reckless" by the provincial government. Excerpt: "Premier Smith and the UCP Government's separatist agenda is catastrophic for Edmontonians, Albertans, and all Canadians... " #AbLeg
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Alberta will hold an October referendum on whether or not to have a binding referendum on separatism. Smith says she will vote to remain in Canada #Ableg www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... For clarity: this is a referendum about having a referendum, not a separation referendum.
cbc.ca
Alberta to hold fall referendum on whether to have binding referendum on separating from Canada | CBC News
Premier Danielle Smith says Albertans will be able to vote in the fall on whether they want the province to hold a binding referendum on separating from Canada
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
I’m at the special select legislative committee meeting to continue hearing what they will do with the Forever Canadian petition to propose Alberta remain a part of Canada. The premier also has a video address scheduled for 6:45 pm. #ableg Follow along on our live page www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Alberta legislative committee debating pro-Canada petition ahead of premier's address | CBC
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Ok so the committee meeting for the Forever Canada petition has taken a surprise turn. After hearing from proponent Thomas Lukaszuk, Minister Nate Glubish made a motion to recommend the legislature send the petition and committee report to the lt-gov for the purpose of calling a referendum Oct 19
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
NEW: Both Finance Minister Nate Horner and Hospital Minister Matt Jones have posted letters on their X accounts saying they won't be running for election again and are leaving Alberta cabinet. #AbLeg
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Alberta's government will have a cabinet shuffle tomorrow. No official details here about who's in and who's out. #AbLeg
NEW cabinet ministers to be sworn in
May 20, 2026
New members of cabinet will be sworn in by Lt-gov Salma Lakhani. Swearing in ceremony. A media pool camera and videographer will be used; no additional media will be permitted. When: Thursday May 21, 9:30 a.m. Participant: Premier Danielle Smith.
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
What would Alberta election results look like if we applied 2023 votes to the majority and minority electoral boundaries commission recommendations? A data team worked it out: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... - this comes as the Opposition accuses the government of trying to gerrymander the maps #AbLeg
cbc.ca
CBC News mapped proposals of Alberta boundary changes to last election results | CBC News
The debate around Alberta's electoral boundaries commission is far from over and is certain to animate Alberta’s legislature for months to come. In the meantime, CBC News' elections unit and data jour...
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
#yegfunicularstatus Excellent at 9 am today
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
#yegfunicularstatus Elevator and funicular were working at 9 am today #yeg
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Jason Markusoff @markusoff.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
2025: Alberta passes law to prohibit any public bodies from selling personal information for any reason. 2026: Alberta passes law to exempt itself from that law if it sells its newish online casino Play Alberta. @jantafrench.bsky.social reports: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Alberta's privacy watchdog concerned incoming law allows Crown to sell customers' personal information | CBC News
Alberta’s information and privacy commissioner says newly passed legislation allowing a Crown corporation to sell users’ personal information to a private company sets a “concerning precedent.”
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
#YegFunicularStatus - GOOD. Elevator and funicular are moving this morning. #yeg #yegbike
The view up the funicular, from inside the car, of the rails, with the glass walled staircase visible on the left and shrubbery on the right. A tall white building is at the top.
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
The heated issue of redrawing Alberta's electoral boundaries is now before a legislative committee, where there is now scrapping about procedure. That may sound process-y. But questions of alleged political influence in drawing electoral boundaries are worthy of your attention. #AbLeg
cbc.ca
All-party committee seeks judicial chair to lead effort to redraw Alberta electoral boundaries | CBC News
It will be the third such attempt since last year to redraw the boundaries, after a formerly independent process became a political football.
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
#YegFunicularStatus three days in a row! Elevator and funicular working smoothly. 2 bikes, 3 people in funicular. Me to bikeless man: “You forgot your bike.” Man: “I’m from Guelph.” #excuses #yeg
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
#YegFunicularStatus 🚲 Elevator and funicular are working. 🌲 ☀️ 🚲
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
#yegfunicularstatus First bike-on-funicular of the year. Funicular and elevator were A-OK. 👌🏼 #yeg
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
On this, yes, trying to access the latest boundaries commission website redirects you to Elections Alberta's main website. However, the commission feedback and reports *are* available on Elections AB's website: www.elections.ab.ca/resources/re...
elections.ab.ca
Electoral Boundaries Commissions - Elections Alberta
The Electoral Boundaries Commission Act requires that a commission be appointed during the first session of the legislature, following the second general election after the commission’s last appointme...
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... Edmonton hospital admins are filing disciplinary actions against some doctors, revoking their hospital privileges and filing complaints to the regulatory college in the fallout over a contract dispute. Lawyers and the AMA say it needs to stop. #AbLeg
cbc.ca
Alberta health system leaders disciplining doctors caught in dispute over hospitalist contracts | CBC News
Doctors and hospital leaders are at loggerheads in Edmonton, with disciplinary action, legal threats and staffing confusion in the wake of expired contracts that changed how hundreds of doctors across...
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Some current and former school trustees say a new bill eroding school board autonomy signals the Alberta government plans to eliminate elected trustees. The minister says he has no plans to do so. #AbLeg #AbEd www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
ANALYSIS | Alberta trustees worried about the future of school boards under proposed bill | CBC News
Some current and former Alberta public school trustees say an education bill before the legislature erodes so much power from school boards, it raises questions about whether the government wants to e...
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
The Alberta government has just tabled a bill it says will remove politics and ideology from schools, including limiting flags to Canadian and Albertan only (in most cases). More here: #AbLeg #AbEd
cbc.ca
Alberta government says new bill intended to remove politics, ideology from schools | CBC News
The Alberta government says new legislation would require teachers and school boards to be “neutral” and “impartial” when delivering lessons and crafting a school environment.
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
More than three years after inking the deal to buy 5 million bottles of childrens medication, most of which didn’t and couldn’t come, the Alberta government says AHS is now using legal means to try and recoup $49 million from the sellers www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... #AbLeg #AbHealth
cbc.ca
Alberta Health Services taking legal steps to try and recoup $49M for medication never received | CBC News
Premier Danielle Smith says Alberta Health Services is trying to get its money back after paying $49 million to an importer and Turkish drug company for products it never received.
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
A phase out of incentives for Alberta doctors (stipends) could have a substantial effect on the availability of hospital care, starting April 1. Not only did surgeons warn of potential cancellations, but ER docs and hospitalists are warning of a potential hit to emergency and inpatient care #ableg
cbc.ca
Edmonton emergency doctors and hospitalists warn of ER backlogs when stipend payments end | CBC News
Some family doctors and emergency room physicians working in Edmonton hospitals warn that an April 1 end to stipend pay arrangements could put patient care at risk and increase suffering.
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Canada Healthwatch 🍁 @canadahealthwatch.ca · 19/03/2026
Alberta bill would limit MAID to patients facing 'reasonably foreseeable' death www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alb… @jantafrench.bsky.social @cbcnews.ca ↷ canadahealthwatch.ca/featured 🍁
Justice Minister Mickey Amery, right, speaks at a news conference on Wednesday, March 18, while Alberta Premier Danielle Smith looks on. The Alberta government has introduced new provincial restrictions around Medical Assistance in Dying .
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
What books did Alberta schools *actually* pull off the shelves in response to a provincial order? It took a lot of work to find out. We still don't have a complete picture. And some schools are still pulling material. Free speech advocates say it's ban unmatched in Canadian history. #AbLeg By me.
cbc.ca
By the book: Alberta schools pull at least 160 titles from shelves to meet provincial order | CBC News
Alberta school divisions complying with a provincial order have removed dozens of graphic novels from their shelves, from illustrated versions of literary classics to coming-of-age memoirs and dramati...
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
“If we're relying on the RCMP to save us from foreign interference during a provincial referendum, it’s not gonna happen. And I would say the same for CSIS and for any kind of regulatory body, frankly,” said security expert Patrick Lennox. Story by #ableg @iciemmanuel.bsky.social
cbc.ca
Alberta ‘excessively vulnerable’ to foreign interference, experts warn | CBC News
Alberta is not ready to deal with the threat of online disinformation coming from foreign actors in a possible referendum campaign on separation this fall, according to national security experts.
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
A BC court found an Alberta separatist movement leader misappropriated $1.3 million of his elderly aunt and uncle’s money. Their niece says Dennis Modry hasn’t paid it back.
cbc.ca
Family seeking $1.3M owed by Alberta separatist leader Dennis Modry after court order | CBC News
Relatives of a prominent Alberta separatist who met with U.S. officials are upset that he has failed to pay back more than $1.3 million that he owes from a court order issued almost a year ago. A B.C....
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
Premier Danielle Smith claimed Ontario doesn't offer health coverage to temporary foreign workers' families. But that province does, under several conditions. Watch this fact check. #AbLeg www.cbc.ca/player/play/...
cbc.ca
Fact check: Danielle Smith’s comments on temporary residents
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is defending a plan to limit health and education support for temporary residents. We fact-checked some of Smith’s claims about temporary foreign workers and Alberta tax...
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
An update on this: Premier Danielle Smith just fielded a question about the missing promised TLP emerg. doctors at a press conference. Smith: "If it turns out to be the case that doctors are not interested in filling those triage positions, we can look at nurse practitioners..." (1/2) #Ableg
cbc.ca
Alberta government won't say if promised new triage emergency doctors are on the job | CBC News
Nearly a month after Alberta’s hospitals minister said emergency room doctors would “immediately” be working to triage patients in overcrowded waiting rooms, the province and its health agencies will ...
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