Reviews

ALBERTA REFERENDUM – OCTOBER 19, 2026

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REFERENDUM ANALYSIS

Alberta is going to the poles for a 10 question referendum on October 19, 2026.

As a minority group dealing with disabilities the direction this province moves in the foreseeable future can have huge impacts on our wellbeing. I believe it is imperative for us to be very careful as to how we answer the referendum questions. I have gone to AI (ChatGPT) for an analysis of the questions as well as the possible answers. I also asked Chat GPT to interpret what the government interpretation of the answers might be.

The resulting document is too long to include in the fall newsletter so hopefully you will read it here!

 

Ther is another great analysis from a group called The Founders. The group members are comprised of the following very respected Albertans. The link at the bottom of this introduction takes you to their site and their take on the referendum. This is a very worthwhile read in my opinion!

  • Judith Dyck

    A retired communications consultant, Judith provided clients with strategic advice and consultation strategies. In addition to working with health authorities, governments, non profits and others, she’s had the opportunity to volunteer locally and nationally, including chairing the boards of Accreditation Canada, Kids Cottage and CPAR, a Canadian NGO working in Africa.

  • Linda Hughes

    Linda Hughes is a retired journalist. She was Publisher and Editor of The Edmonton Journal for many years and served on the board of The Toronto Star. She is a former Chancellor of the University of Alberta and was chair of the Alberta Health Services board from 2015 to 2019.

  • Peggy Garritty

    Peggy is a communications consultant. In addition to writing numerous policy reports, she served as a senior executive responsible for communications, brand and marketing at ATB Financial. She currently serves as co-chair of the board for the Art Gallery of Alberta, chair of the board for Edmonton Screen, and board member for Alberta Ballet and the University of Alberta Hospital Foundation. From 2020-2024, she served as Chancellor for the University of Alberta.

  • Marie Gordon

    Marie L. Gordon AOE, KC, was a family lawyer in Edmonton for 40 years.  She also taught at the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta, and was a researcher, writer and presenter on a variety of family law topics during her career.

  • Sheila Greckol

    Sheila Greckol was a labour and human rights lawyer, as well as being active in the community from 1978 to 2001, when she was appointed to what is now the Court of King’s Bench (2001-2016) and the Alberta Court of Appeal (2016-2023). She also served on the Nunavut courts. Sheila was also involved in judicial education nationally and internationally until her retirement in 2023. She now is a member of the Board of Directors of the Alberta Immigrant Women and Children’s Centre in Edmonton.

  • Anne McLellan

    Anne McLellan served four terms as the Liberal MP for Edmonton Centre, during which she was Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Minister of Health, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and Minister of Natural Resources. Ms. McLellan serves on the boards of Edmonton Global, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, the Institute of Corporate Directors and serves on the External Advisory Council of the Transition Accelerator. Ms. McLellan holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Law degree from Dalhousie University and a Master of Laws degree from King’s College, University of London.

  • Joanne Pawluk

    Joanne is a retired senior executive with extensive experience in economic development, labour force development, immigration, and international and intergovernmental relations. She spent most of her career with the federal government in Alberta and also served as a Canadian diplomat in Hong Kong. Born and raised in rural Alberta, Joanne is an active community volunteer with a longstanding interest in public policy and a commitment to informed public dialogue and civic engagement.

  • Doug Stollery

    Doug practiced law in Edmonton for 30 years before taking on the role of general counsel to Canada’s largest construction company. He has been actively involved in the community all his adult life, including service as the Chancellor of the University of Alberta and President of the Canadian Bar Association, Alberta branch. Doug is a member of both the Order of Canada and the Order of Alberta Excellence.

How To Vote | Empower Your Vote Today — Before You Vote

Metis Cultural Experience

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July 11, 2025

We met at the St. Albert Legion for a soup and sandwich luncheon and visiting with members. We had about 30 people attending. Following the social time we were privileged to have a metis elder speak about their unique lifestyle and about their use of nature’s resources, specifically fish. We learned about their fishing methods, and their use of the scales and bones as well as the rest of the fish body.

After the talk and slide show we were led through an artistic activity making a small flower out of dyed fish scales. This was a lot of fun and the excellent artistic skills of some of our members really stood out. Some of us not so much… I for one won’t be quitting my day job. Ha!

Casino – June 28-29, 2025

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WPSS once again volunteered at the Yellowhead Casino to raise the money which funds our society’s operations for the next year and a half. Thanks to all our volunteers! Extra thanks to those who stepped up to fill in gaps left by the sudden passing of George Kunec. Pat Murray took care of organizational logistics, Val Hitchen filled in as night shift General Manager and Bernie Hornung acted as the lone chip runner on Saturday night. I believe he had the toughest job of any of us, so, hats off to Bernie!

Our sincere condolences go out to Marie and her family as well as to Georges friends here in WPSS.

We should find out what our income for the two days was sometime in August.

 

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2022-2023 – REVIEW

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The AGM for the year 2022-2023 was held on Friday, April 19, 2024 at the St. Albert Legion #271.

Registration was at 11:30 and lunch was served, buffet style, at 12:00. Thanks to the staff at Diner 271 for once again putting on a very delicious lunch and dessert!

On the business side of things, of note was that the Board of Directors, consisting of 10 chairs, lost one member. Jonathan Smethurst has decided to step down. All eight of the remaining directors have agreed to remain for another term. No new nominations were received so the bord will operate with 8 filled chairs and 2 vacancies. If anyone from our membership is interested in serving and becoming more involved in the operation of our society, please contact Pat in the office (780-428-8842) or any of the current directors. We thank Jonathan for his service!

After serving as WPSS Events Coordinator for many years, Rick Meunier has decided to step down. Thank you, Rick, for the great work you have done over the years! Rick is remaining on the board as a director. Sandra Mooney will be assuming the position of Events Coordinator. We look forward to her bringing new ideas and fresh energy to the position!

All committee reports, including the Financial Statements, were presented in the AGM Booklet you were given at registration. In case you did not keep this and wish to review the reports, you can link to the AGM Booklet here.

Once again please note that we have 3 vacancies on the Board of Directors and help with the Newsletter/Website would be very much appreciated!

Please consider stepping up and contributing your creative talents to the operation of your society.

“Many hands make light work”

2023 CASINO FUND RAISER

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Our Casino Fund Raiser happened on Wednesday and Thursday, July 26 and 27. Our sincere Thank-you’s go out to all of our volunteers for manning the various work stations from 9:00AM through 3:30 PM. Shifts went from 9 until 6:30 and 6:30 until 3 or 3:30. These were long days but so worth it for WPSS. We should receive anywhere from $60,000.00 to $95,000.00 for our efforts. Doing this one fund raiser roughly every 18 months sure beats monthly bingos, auctions and other types of fund raising activities – far less work and way more money!! I believe we, the volunteers, are all somewhat bagged after this effort but we got through it and had fun doing it. I am happy to be retired and able to take Friday to recover. I’m pretty sure that the rest of the volunteer crew feel the same!

I want to send a special thank – you to Marie and George Kunec. These two worked tirelessly to organize the event and navigate the treacherous pathway through the AGLC rules and regulations, to recruit the volunteer crew members and set up the shift schedules. They also were on hand at Yellowhead Casino both mornings at 9:00 AM to get things rolling, staying around untill 300PM whe Pat Murray relieved them. They went home for a rest and were back on the job to relieve Pat by 10:00 PM and closed things down at 3:30 PM> That is what I call DEDICATION!! I can’t say thank-you enough.

For the first time in all the years we have been doing the casino we had to rely on “casino angels”, a paid group of people who give their time to fill staffing shortcomings. We just did not get enough participation from our group to fill all the positions. I know we are all getting older and it gets harder each year to put in these long and late hours. However, this event represents the money pot which allows WPSS to continue to function; to publish the Polio News, to run the web site, to offer the reimbursement program and the water exercise program at the ACT pool as well as the social functions which we sponsor every few months. In short, the Casino Event is vital to our very existence. If WPSS is important to you, please consider, if you are at all able, to volunteer a shift or two or even a partial shift.  If you cannot, that’s ok too but perhaps you can recruit a friend or relative to fill in with us. Our next casino hopefully will happen in 18 months time and the time to think about making the commitment is now.

Please, please give it some serious consideration!