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Janet French

@jantafrench.bsky.social
12.2K followers 1.8K following 721 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 · 15/10/2026
That's a bummer! I take it almost every day during certain (non-legislative sitting) seasons and I think this spring-summer-fall, it's been more reliable than last year. Cycling up Grierson Hill with loaded panniers isn't the end of the world, but it's a little sweaty 😅
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Update: the problem persisted on Wedneday #yegfunicularstatus 🚲
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Reposted by Janet French
Larry Lynam @scopedbylarry.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
I am gutted by this news. What an amazing health journalist and outstanding human. She will be missed but what an amazing legacy she left us: Helen Branswell, whose reporting on infectious diseases and public health drew acclaim, dies at 69 www.statnews.com/2026/10/13/h... via @statnews.com
statnews.com
Helen Branswell, whose reporting on infectious diseases and public health drew acclaim, dies at 69
Helen Branswell, STAT's infectious disease reporter who earned the respect of experts and public health officials with her accessible, prescient dispatches, has died at age 69.
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Funicular elevator down for maintenance as of 8:45 am. Not sure about funicular - didn’t get that far up! #yegfunicularstatus (Unrelated photo from last night)
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
TL;DR - Alberta school boards have not hit post-strike/lockout hiring targets #AbLeg #AbEd
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
This time last year, 51,000 Alberta school teachers were locked out and classes across the province were cancelled. In the end, the government gave school boards cash for a hiring spree. Here’s how people say that has worked out: #AbLeg #AbEd www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
A year after the Alberta teachers' strike, 2,000 more teachers are working. How have conditions changed? | CBC News
Data suggests government efforts have fallen short of what was promised, and teachers continue to grapple with complex issues during their daily work.
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
By @markusoff.bsky.social #AbLeg www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
ANALYSIS | How anti-COVID activism injected life into Alberta's separatist movement | CBC News
They fought vaccines and public health restrictions. Over time, their push for freedom shifted to independence.
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Edmonton’s public school board will examine its registration policies to see if there’s leeway within its mandate to make it easier for migrant students to enrol. It’s in response to concerns about kids unable to attend school due to immigration status #Ableg #abed www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Edmonton Public School Board to study admission policies with eye to increasing school access for all children | CBC News
Edmonton Public School Board trustees have voted in favour of studying whether there is a way to change the division's policies to make it easier to enrol students without valid immigration status in ...
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
An update: the Edmonton public school board passed the motion to examine registration policies, and may make recommendations to align them with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (if that's in the board's authority). Timeline unclear: chair Saadiq Sumar says it won't rush this work. #AbEd
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
If you are a family in this situation, or an educator/admin with knowledge of enrolment denials at a school, please contact me - it can be confidentially. Janet (dot) French (at) cbc (dot) ca #AbEd #AbLeg
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I’ll be heading to the EPSB meeting today at 2 p.m., which is the only place where other elected school trustees can speak publicly to the motion. Here’s some background on how these decisions affect families and the eternal pressure on boards to track paperwork 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 · 06/10/2026
To date, much of the advocacy - from immigrant-serving orgs and school boards - has focused on amending Alberta’s Education Act. I asked the minister, and he has no appetite for that. Doll says boards instead should look at what *is* in their sphere of control. #AbLeg #AbEd
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Sarah Doll, an Edmonton school trustee, is asking whether that school division can change its registration policies to admit children, regardless of their or their parents’ immigration status. And if they’re charging tuition, can they perhaps tailor the amount to the situation? #AbLeg #AbEd
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
In B.C., Quebec, Ontario - and the U.S., thanks to a Supreme Court decision - children are entitled to a funded public education regardless of their immigration status. This is not the case in Alberta However, a school board can enroll the child and either charge tuition or absorb the cost. #AbEd
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
We asked 10 Alberta school boards if they know how many students didn’t re-enroll this September because of students’ lapsed immigration paperwork. In many cases, no. They don’t have complete information. Here’s what we know about the current situation: #AbEd #AbLeg www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Edmonton public school trustees to consider whether to try to improve school access for migrant students | CBC News
An Edmonton public school trustee wants to see if the division can change its registration policy to keep children with lapsed immigration status enrolled in school.
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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
Fiction or non-fiction? Or, you want me to write a book while sitting ON the funicular?
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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
I wonder, though. If the city was challenged to keep the online status up to date, won’t it be even more challenging to keep physical signage up to date? Also, one would have already ascended Elevator #1 with one’s bicycle to be able to see this sign.
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
In #yeg #yegfunicularstatus news …
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
That was pollster Janet Brown, not moi, but, thanks for listening!
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Reposted by Janet French
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 · 15/09/2026
(Psst: Rebecca Schulz’s former seat. Kenney was Calgary-Lougheed. But in the same area!)
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Background on this drive for Alberta referendum workers: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... #AbLeg
cbc.ca
Elections Alberta soliciting help from other jurisdictions to carry out fall referendum | CBC News
Elections Alberta says it has invited senior and experienced electoral staff from across the country to help carry out October's referendum.
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Elections Alberta is struggling to find enough workers for the Oct. 19 referendum. They need an estimated 60,000 employees. Regs stipulate all votes must be counted within 48 hours - by hand. #AbLeg
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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
Am quite concerned about the future of Mill Creek. We had Jillian Calvert from the watershed alliance on our afternoon show Friday on this very issue “How has city planning impacted urban creeks?” www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...
cbc.ca
© CBC/Radio-Canada 2026. All rights reserved.
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
A thunderstorm rolled in while they were chipping these damaged branches. Because of course it did. #yeg ☔️🌩️⚡️⛈️
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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
Took a few days, but we got there www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
cbc.ca
Albertans on disability payments receive wrong amounts for August | CBC News
Many recipients have reported getting hundreds of dollars less than they normally do, with some reporting that they didn’t get any money at all. The province is blaming a technical issue related to th...
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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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Reposted by Janet French
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 · 01/07/2026
This is a fair question, and I will double check with our language guide about when we use the word “undocumented.”
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Newcomer/education advocates are horrified by the situation - a glut of children with expiring permits, and provincial rules that say schools cannot have funds for them. “This isn't children falling through the cracks,” Lorraine Kinsman said. “This is children falling into a chasm we're creating.”
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
If a family re-applied before their permits expired, they can stay until the federal govt makes a decision. Those who applied after - nope. Those decisions are taking months. And if they cannot provide proof by Sept. 30, schools won’t receive provincial $ for that student for the year. #AbLeg
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
The Bórquez family is legally allowed to stay in Canada, but the parents cannot work, and they would have to pay international tuition ($13,000 ish) to keep their son in school. Alberta school boards say there are thousands of students with expired permits enrolled, and more expiring. #AbLeg
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Janet French @jantafrench.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Now age 7, Silvestre is one of potentially hundreds of Alberta students who are being told they don’t have the right immigration papers to enrol in school for fall. Each situation varies. For Bórquez, their permits expired, and they applied for residency on compassionate grounds. #Ableg
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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 · 18/06/2026
HOORAY 🎉 I didn’t even try and headed straight for the hill.
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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 · 16/06/2026
Clearly, time travel is required
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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
This was also the first time the privacy commissioner has given interviews since the voters list breach came to light in late April. She says it was troubling and disheartening hearing fear and anger from hundreds of Albertans while her investigative powers are so limited. #AbLeg
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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
The promise came after a man with chest pain died after an 8 hour wait in a #yeg ER. A review into his death prompted 16 recommendations. Acute Care Alberta won’t give detail about the status of meeting those recommendations. (I asked at least three times). #AbLeg #AbHealth
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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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