Commentary

Editor: As the Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission consulted on the design of new ridings for the next provincial election, they clearly heard a diversity of views about Lethbridge ridings.  At one end of this range of perspectives are those who feel strongly that the existing boundaries should be preserved.  That’s fair; what isn’t legitimate, though, [...] Read More »

Editor, So Smith has already broken her pledge to hire 3,000 more teachers and 1,500 EAs. Here is a statement from the government’s own press release: ”Over the next three years, school boards will be provided with funding to hire 3,000 teachers and 1,500 new education assistants to support students with complex needs. These funds [...] Read More »

Editor, The Alberta teacher strike spiraled into a disaster for all parties concerned, except for the provincial UCP government. As expected, their irresponsibility only exacerbated the mess. They are deliberately obtuse. Prior to the strike, teachers and their students had to bear the brunt of the classroom situation by working under horrible conditions. The teachers [...] Read More »

Editor, Recent investigations by CBC, The Bureau, and Todayville have uncovered serious failures in PEI’s land oversight system. The Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC) approved land acquisitions that appear to violate the spirit of provincial law—often involving opaque ownership structures, questionable religious entities, and patterns of acquisition that suggest regulatory capture rather than due [...] Read More »

Editor, I read Ken Moore’s letter about synchronized traffic lights with interest. I agree, it would be wonderful if the light was green for us all the way down.  An issue that I and some of my friends have with traffic lights, is that some of them, on the green light, the walk countdown to [...] Read More »

Tadashi (Tad) Mitsui For the Herald Fall 2025 has been stressful.  Two friends passed away.  Ray Whitehead was a close friend. His last job was Director of Doctoral Program of the Toronto School of Theology at the University of Toronto. He persuaded me to come back to Canada when I was working in Switzerland in 1978. He [...] Read More »

Blaine Hyggen Lethbridge Mayor I am so very pleased to be back writing my monthly column. And that is thanks to the wonderful residents of Lethbridge who, through the 2025 Municipal Election in October, gave me the opportunity to serve for another four years as your mayor. I truly believe in this city and possess the deepest gratitude for your continued trust. I look forward to working for you and I’m humbled [...] Read More »

Editor, “In the National Interest.” Those words now remove environmental regulations in Canada when referring to “fast tracking major projects” like pipelines, mines, transmission lines and LNG. Does that sound like a good idea? No one likes bureaucracy, but regulations, good regulations are absolutely necessary for a myriad of reasons. Flint Michigan for example. The [...] Read More »

Chris Schneider, Ania Theuer & Stacey Hannem For the Herald In October 2024, Lethbridge hosted the first Annual First Responders Suicide Awareness Conference. Suicide is tragic and the underlying conditions that lead to it are multi-faceted. The public has learned of two recent suicides of on-duty Manitoba Mounties, one in September and the other in [...] Read More »

Chris Spearman For the Herald As I write this update on the status of the coal mining issue, the Chinook winds are gusting at 102 kph.  I’m reminded of the recent Alberta government science report on wind blown coal dust, just one of four Alberta government research studies that document the harm done by active [...] Read More »