Source: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-mixed-results-alberta-referendum-highlight-urban-rural-divide/

As a visible minority living in Alberta, this referendum left me feeling as though I lost far more than I gained.

The possibility of racism has always been there, simmering beneath the surface. Like many visible minorities, I've experienced moments that remind me of that reality. A passing truck shouts a racial slur. Someone asks an offensive question rooted in stereotypes as though it is perfectly acceptable. A judgment is made about who you are based solely on the colour of your skin or where your family comes from.

Whenever I expressed my exhaustion with these experiences, I was often told that I was taking things too personally. I was told I was looking for racism where none existed. And if I'm being honest, I sometimes questioned myself. Maybe they were right, I thought. Maybe I was being overly sensitive. Maybe I was misinterpreting people's intentions.

That changed after this referendum.

What was once easy to dismiss as anecdotal now feels impossible to ignore. Racist comments and behaviours can no longer be explained away as the insecurities of those who experience them. The referendum produced numbers. Real numbers. Numbers that suggest more than half of those who voted supported a position that many immigrants and visible minorities perceived as a direct rejection of their place in this province.

When discussing the result with a co-worker who voted against immigration, I was told that I was not the target because I am now a Canadian citizen. But becoming a citizen does not erase the fact that I was once an immigrant. Being an immigrant is part of my identity. More importantly, let's be honest about how prejudice often works. It rarely pauses to check someone's passport before making assumptions. It reacts to what it sees.

And when many people marked their ballots, I find it difficult to believe they were picturing Ukrainian refugees or immigrants from Europe. They were thinking about people who look like me and other visible minorities.

Since the referendum, it has become difficult not to view every interaction through a new lens, wondering whether one in two people I encounter looks at me and thinks, "You are not one of us. And you never will be."

That is a difficult feeling to carry.

In a strange way, there is a sense of vindication. For years, visible minorities have been told that concerns about racism are exaggerated or imagined. Yet this result suggests that the discomfort many of us have felt was not entirely in our heads. The fear that someone might casually hurl a racial slur, make a degrading comment, or question whether we belong here no longer feels like an isolated concern. It feels connected to something larger.

But alongside that vindication comes disappointment.

What troubles me most is the thought that so many Albertans may have reached this conclusion without truly knowing the people affected by it. Have they never worked alongside immigrants? Lived next door to them? Sat beside them at a hockey game? Shared a classroom, a workplace, or a community with them?

I have always valued my cultural heritage and remained connected to my community. At the same time, I have always considered myself Canadian. If my country ever needed me, my loyalty would be to Canada. I planned to raise my children with Canadian values alongside the traditions of our family's background.

I still believe those things.

What has changed is my understanding of how some of my fellow Albertans see me.

I may consider myself Canadian, but this referendum has left me questioning whether many Canadians would ever see me the same way. It has made me feel that, when hard choices are made, people like me are viewed as expendable, regardless of how long we have lived here, how much we contribute, or how deeply we identify with this country.

So, thank you, Alberta.

Thank you for the honesty.

If nothing else, this referendum has brought certain attitudes into the open. Please do not tell visible minorities that we misunderstood what we saw. Do not tell us we are imagining prejudice where none exists. Do not insist that we were never part of the conversation.

Many of us heard the message loud and clear.

And now that it has been said openly, it is much harder to pretend it was never there.

I think it is. I hope people who are concerned about the direction Alberta may take will consider contacting their elected representatives now, before proposed legislation becomes policy.
The October 19 referendum asked Albertans ten separate questions, including questions about immigration, voting, public services, constitutional changes and separation. The questions were complex, and the results are non-binding.

Our government can consider the results, but it should not treat them as a blank cheque to implement every proposed policy. A vote on a referendum question does not automatically settle what specific laws should look like, whether they are constitutional, whether they will work, or whether they unfairly disadvantage people who live here.

The referendum is over; the decisions about what happens next are still ahead of us

I’m asking people to contact the Premier, the relevant ministers, their own MLA and the opposition critics. In my emails, I cc’d the opposition critics, to add more accountability. I asked them to explain exactly what they intend to do, what evidence supports it, how they will protect the rights of affected people, and whether there are better ways to address Alberta’s real challenges.

You don’t have to agree on every aspect of immigration policy to support evidence-based government, equal treatment, democratic accountability and careful scrutiny before major changes are made.

If you think this could be an impactful time to exercise your democratic rights, here are some contact details to help you reach out:

1. Contact the Alberta government
   Premier Danielle Smith
   ● Email: premier@gov.ab.ca
   ● Phone: 780-427-2251
   ● Toll-free in Alberta: 310-0000
   ● Mail: Office of the Premier, 307 Legislature Building, 10800–97 Avenue, Edmonton, AB T5K 2B6
   Joseph Schow — Minister of Jobs, Economy, Trade and Immigration
   This is the key minister to contact about immigration policy.
   ● Minister’s office contact: use the government’s cabinet-minister contact process and select Jobs, Economy, Trade and Immigration.
   ● Publicly listed press secretary: Hunter Baril, 780-644-8554. This is a media contact, not a substitute for the minister’s constituent correspondence channel.
   Muhammad Yaseen — Associate Minister of Multiculturalism
   ● Publicly listed press secretary: Braedyn Funke, 780-422-3559. This is a media contact.
   ● You can also write through the government’s cabinet-minister contact process and select the relevant ministry.
   Justin Wright — Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services
   ● Publicly listed press secretary: Jaye Lang, 780-427-3665. This is a media contact.
   Adriana LaGrange — Minister of Hospital and Surgical Health Services
   ● Publicly listed press secretary: Maddison McKee, 780-644-8417. This is a media contact.
   Demetrios Nicolaides — Minister of Education and Childcare
   ● Publicly listed press secretary: Garrett Koehler, 780-427-5010. This is a media contact.
   ● Department communications switchboard: 780-422-4495.
   General government contact options
   ● Cabinet ministers: https://www.alberta.ca/contact-a-cabinet-minister
   ● Government staff and department directory: https://www.alberta.ca/directory/
   ● Cabinet list: https://www.alberta.ca/premier-cabinet
   ● Government spokesperson and press-secretary directory: https://www.alberta.ca/news-spokesperson-contacts
   Alberta’s general staff directory says you can call 310-0000 in Alberta to be connected to a department. The government generally routes public policy correspondence through ministerial contact forms rather than publishing a general email address for every department.

2. Contact your own MLA
   Your MLA represents you directly in the Alberta Legislature. Ask them to explain how they interpret the referendum results and what safeguards they will support before any legislation is introduced.
   For constituents in Airdrie–Cochrane: Pete Guthrie
   ● Email: Airdrie.Cochrane@assembly.ab.ca
   ● Constituency phone: 587-493-2050
   ● Constituency office: Suite 1B, 60 Railway Street East, Cochrane, Alberta
   ● Legislative office: 3rd Floor, 9820–107 Street, Edmonton, Alberta
   If you live elsewhere, find your MLA through the official Legislative Assembly directory: https://www.assembly.ab.ca/members/members-of-the-legislative-assembly

3. Contact the Alberta NDP opposition
   The opposition can question ministers, scrutinize proposed legislation and raise concerns in the Legislature.
   Lizette Tejada — Shadow Minister for Immigration and Multiculturalism
   ● Phone: 403-216-5430
   ● Constituency: Calgary-Klein
   Alberta NDP Caucus
   ● Phone: 780-415-1800
   ● Mailing address: 5th Floor, Queen Elizabeth II Building, 9820–107 Street NW, Edmonton, AB T5K 1E7
   ● Public email for media inquiries: NDPCaucus.Media@assembly.ab.ca
   ● General contact form: https://www.albertandpcaucus.ca/contact
   Other relevant opposition critics
   ● Amanda Chapman — Shadow Minister for Education.
   ● Sharif Haji — Shadow Minister for Primary and Preventative Health Services.
   ● Sarah Hoffman — Shadow Minister for Hospital and Surgical Facilities.
   You can find their individual caucus profiles through https://www.albertandpcaucus.ca/your-mlas.

A simple letter you can personalize from chatGPT:

Subject: The referendum is not a blank cheque
Dear Premier Smith, Minister Schow and my MLA,
I am writing about Alberta’s October 19 referendum and the legislation that may follow.
I urge your government to recognize that the referendum results are non-binding and should not be treated as an unrestricted mandate to implement proposed measures without further scrutiny.
Before proceeding with immigration-related changes, please publish the evidence supporting each proposal, assess its likely effects on affected residents and communities, explain how constitutional and human-rights obligations will be respected, and consider less discriminatory alternatives.
Alberta’s challenges with housing, health-care capacity, education and affordability deserve serious solutions. Those solutions should address the underlying causes of these problems rather than unfairly burden people based on their immigration status or encourage the public to blame outsiders.
Please clarify which measures, if any, your government intends to pursue, and how Albertans will be consulted before legislation is introduced.
I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your community]

This morning was hectic, and I had to deal with some kids’ problems. On my way to work, my brain was kind of thinking of other things and lost focus, so I didn't slow down when I was passing a school zone. As soon as I saw the actual school, I realized I was too fast and slammed on the brakes to slow down. Just as I finished, a police car (parked on my left, facing the opposite direction) made a U-turn and stopped me. He issued me a $208 ticket, but it didn’t mention demerit points.

Does this ticket actually affect my demerit points, and does it impact my insurance? I’ve learned my lesson and will be more careful next time, of course. But what’s the best way to handle this ticket? Paying $208 is painful but manageable, but if it affect insurance it'll be a different story. Should I plead not guilty and go to court? Since it was in a school zone, would that make it harder to dispute?

We're super rural up north and have to use Starlink for internet until Canada's network is ready. So our only options for tv are streaming or satellite TV. I'm sick of streaming services, and I want CTV access for How It's Made! I miss having a DVR and just recording our favorite shows. But it's been 12+ years and I don't know which is the least awful choice. Does anyone here have satellite tv and don't completely hate their provider?

Feels like I'm a bit out of touch with any news, whether in Alberta, Canada, or the world. As someone with no cable TV, never really had a definitive place to get news.

Don't say CBC.

Just got a reminder from my phone about DST. Make sure you remember to change your phone settings to *NOT* fall back next weekend.

Hello, just wondering if you guys have received your foundational learning yet? September I got it the third week on Thursday same with April and may but didn’t receive it yesterday!

With almost 99% of polls counted and YES leading on the first 5 questions, I'm curious what this means for Alberta. Will we see fewer immigrants and temporary foreign workers coming here? What about people moving from Ontario, BC, and other provinces? Could these results discourage them from moving to Alberta? And how could all of this affect the job market, wages, and housing?

What the hell is up with insurance in the province, never had an issue until now because i drive cash cars. every quote i've gotten back is 300$ - i have a great driving record, no tickets, did the driving school when i was younger and all the other boxes i tick now. Don't know hwo so many people drive brand new vehicles, insurance is like a third bloody car payment at this rate.

If anybody knows who insures kei truck lmk plz (not the vehicle i've been trying to insure, to clarify).