Report-card Bill, 70.4% Referendum Turnout & $150M Bike Rip-Out — Edmonton Thursday

🏛️ Government & Politics

1. Alberta introduces bill to standardize school report cards. Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides introduced Bill 35 to give the province authority to set guidelines for report cards, aiming for new rules by fall 2027 in public, separate and Francophone schools; the bill stops short of mandating a single format or platform.
2. Historic 70.4% turnout in Alberta separation referendum. Elections Alberta reported 70.4 per cent turnout on the separation question — the highest provincewide turnout since at least 1975 — and three-quarters of voters opted to stay in Canada rather than hold a second binding referendum.
3. Edmonton and Calgary voting patterns: both rejected Danielle Smith’s referendum. Provincial reporting shows both Edmonton and Calgary voted against Smith’s referendum questions in this round, a result framed as a potential urban political problem for the premier.

🏈 Sports

1. Oilers beat Flames 4-0 as Tristan Jarry records shutout. Edmonton defeated Calgary 4-0, Jarry made 24 saves for his 24th career shutout, and Connor McDavid extended his season-starting points streak to 13 games with two assists, giving him a league-leading 36 points.
2. CFL All-Star lists include three Elks players. Quarterbacks Nathan Rourke and Davis Alexander headlined divisional All-CFL teams; Edmonton’s Skyler Griffith (fullback/tight end), Carter O’Donnell (guard) and J.J. Ross (cornerback) were named to the West squad.

🚨 Crime & Public Safety

1. EPS chief addresses detainee drop-offs in Chinatown and data-driven policing. Edmonton Police Service leadership spoke publicly about detainee drop-offs in the Chinatown area and outlined a data-driven strategy the service is using, according to EPS briefings reported locally.
2. Two charged after human remains found in Calgary home. Calgary police charged a 49-year-old man and a 50-year-old woman with indignity to a dead body after human remains were found during a welfare check on Skyview Ranch Road N.E.; an autopsy was scheduled and identification was pending.

🌦️ Weather & Roads

1. Removing Edmonton bike lanes would cost at least $150 million. A city email estimates the minimum cost to rip out bike lanes in Edmonton at $150 million, according to reporting on municipal budget implications.
2. Province approves speed-on-green photo radar at one Edmonton intersection. The City of Edmonton received provincial approval to reinstate speed-on-green photo enforcement at a single intersection, per provincial and city notices.

📰 Also Today

• Proposed Alberta bill would require daycares to inform parents quickly.
• Alberta to standardize report cards and add professional-development details.
• Federal auditor finds Ottawa abandoned promise to end thermal coal exports.
• More provinces ending time changes; health implications explored.
• Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk slated to do first spacewalk.
• Study finds most Alberta cougar deaths caused by people.
• Most UCP riding groups oppose leadership review, averting threat to Danielle Smith.
• Three charged with murder in death of 12-year-old boy in rural Alberta.
• Alberta bill would strengthen consumers’ right to repair cars and electronics.
• Innisfail hockey team marks eight decades in central Alberta.
• (duplicate ID used above) Ripping out bike lanes in Edmonton cost estimate reported.
• (duplicate ID used above) EPS detainee drop-offs coverage.
• (duplicate ID used above) Report-card standardization coverage.
• (duplicate ID used above) Speed-on-green photo radar approval coverage.
• (duplicate ID used above) Calgary human remains investigation.
• (duplicate ID used above) CFL All-Stars named, Elks represented.
• (duplicate ID used above) Oilers finish road trip 3-1-1 with 4-0 win.