If you’re in Calgary, you should check out the city’s YouTube channel, as we’re currently under “Stage Four Water Restrictions”, and there are apparantly a lot of Calgarians who don’t know about it. Calgary has shut down one of its two water purification plants as more inspections of our main water feed pipe, underground, have found that the catastrophic failure back in June might only be the first of several if we didn’t do some major repairs now. Evidence of which has come in that water mains in several communities across Calgary broke when the pressure changed as they turned off the main feeder line.
What’s more, if Calgarians don’t slow down their demand soon, there is a risk of the underground resevoirs draining far enough that they no longer have the pressure to push water through the pipes. This means that people will turn on their taps and there simply won’t be water. What’s worse, if it stays in that condition for long, there’s danger of backflow going into the main water line, contaminating it, which would put the entire city into a boil water advisory until the line could be entirely drained, cleaned and refilled. Don’t even ask how long that would take.
On the bright side, I imagine such a thing would cure Calgary’s housing crisis rather quickly because many people would choose to relocate. Seek the silver lining, and all.
In other news, it turns out that the federal government’s imposed cap on internationals students in some provinces has not only worked, it’s perhaps worked too well, as immigration Canada has already noted a significant slowdown in the number of applications they are receiving for student visas. Universities in the affected provinces are extremely concerned as internationals students are a significant source of income for public post-secondary institutions, one that governments are not willing to make up.
But in the Voice this week, our student interview is with a student seeking to become a counsellor even though he’s already a councillor. An AUSU Councillor, that is. Find out more about this student who wants to make a significant difference in the disability sector once he graduates in this week’s Minds We Meet.
Also this week, we have a short new series opening up that explores how individual countries are handling whistleblowing along with the dangers of AI, corruption, and foreign interference into democracies. It’s an interesting read, and I learned a few things from it, such as Canada is getting ready to take over the leadership of the G7 next year—which is even more interesting when you remember that it will be an election year and so priorities and goals could quickly change. As we’ve seen from Daniel Smith’s reign, the Conservatives have little concerns with disrupting committees and boards to ensure their own people are present. What does that mean when the board being disrupted is the G7?
Finally, we also feature an invitation of sorts. With the start of another series, this one much closer to home and (perhaps?) practical, as [blue rare] brings a guide to hosting a party.
Plus, inspirations, scholarships, events, AU buzz, and amusements are all in store in this week’s Voice Magazine!
Enjoy the read!
