#ucp

Skate Canada says it won’t host national and international-level events in Alberta, citing provincial law that restricts transgender athletes from participating in female-only sports.

The organization said in a statement Tuesday that its decision was made following its assessment of Alberta’s Fairness and Safety in Sport Act.

The law, which came into effect Sept. 1, blocks transgender athletes from Alberta who are 12 and older from competing in female amateur sports.

“Skate Canada considers a variety of criteria when selecting host locations for its national events,” the statement said. “Following a careful assessment of Alberta’s Fairness and Safety in Sport Act, Skate Canada has determined that we are unable to host events in the province while maintaining our national standards for safe and inclusive sport.”

Two advocacy groups fighting the Alberta government on transgender laws say they are switching tactics to continue their battle in court. The renewed challenge from the groups Egale and Skipping Stone comes one day after Premier Danielle Smith’s government used the Charter’s notwithstanding clause. The clause allows governments to override Charter rights and prevents courts from striking laws down. One of the transgender laws prohibits doctors from prescribing puberty blockers and hormones to those under the age of 16 and from performing gender-affirming top surgeries on those under 18. The advocacy groups say if the law can’t be challenged on the Charter, they will argue it’s a criminal law issue, given doctors who don’t comply with it could face fines or even imprisonment. They say only the federal government has the authority to make criminal law, so Alberta’s law should be ruled unconstitutional.

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Ms Smith: I think that we are acting in the true spirit of economic reconciliation.

Petition to the Minister of Health

Whereas:

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms exists to protect individuals and minority communities from discriminatory laws;

Recent legislation enacted by the Governments of Alberta and Saskatchewan restricts the rights, dignity, and safety of transgender and gender-diverse people, particularly children and youth, including access to gender-affirming and medically appropriate health care;

These provincial governments have invoked the notwithstanding clause to shield such legislation from judicial review, thereby preventing Charter challenges from being meaningfully heard;

The Constitution Act, 1867 provides the federal government, through section 90, with the authority to disallow certain provincial legislation in order to protect constitutional principles and minority rights; and

The use of extraordinary constitutional powers to limit Charter protections warrants careful federal review and response.

We, the undersigned, Concerned Allies of Transgender Canadians, call upon the Minister of Health to Recommend and support, within Cabinet, the exercise of the Government of Canada’s constitutional authority, including the power of disallowance under section 90 of the Constitution Act, 1867, to annul or repeal provincial legislation enacted in Alberta and Saskatchewan that restricts the rights of transgender and gender-diverse people and has been shielded from Charter scrutiny through the use of the notwithstanding clause, and to affirm the federal government’s responsibility to uphold Charter rights across Canada.

Dreamworks Animation Television And Disney Branded Television Team Up For "Casper The Friendly Ghost" Live-Action/Animation Hybrid Series For Disney+. Rob Letterman And Hilary Winston Set As Showrunners With Steven Spielberg As Executive Producers.

What if the two biggest animation powerhouses in recent years which brought us many beloved animated movies worked together for a live-action/animated project....... that would give us a good scare. Casper the Friendly Ghost will get the live-action series treatment with a brand new live-action/animation hybrid series, the project was part of a in a competitive bidding war with multiple streaming services with Disney+ winning the bid.

Rob Letterman and Hilary Winston, who executive produce Disney+’s “Goosebumps” series, as well as Steven Spielberg will serve as Executive Producers for this new series.

There are no details yet about the new Casper, described as a modern update on the classic ghost story, which is in the early stages of development. It is believed to have a dark edge to it the way Wednesday tackles the Addams Family lore. Letterman and Winston are writing, with Letterman set to direct. The duo are executive producing with Spielberg.

The series is produced by UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, as well as DreamWorks Animation Television in association with Disney Branded Television. This is a rare Disney+ series project based on famous IP that is not from within the Disney ecosystem or derived from books. If Casper goes to series it will be the first time Dreamworks and Disney will work together on a project much ironic since Dreamworks was created by Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg to create a rival to Disney.

Ink piece and abandoned ink piece

Which is funny enough on its own, but then one of my coworkers was like "Not enough Jesus Points, that's for sure."

And we all looked at her like "???"

She explained that when her husband does something nice he jokes that he's racking up "Jesus Points" for the afterlife.

According to that same coworker, our current provincial government's actions regarding the teachers' strike mean "they ain't rackin' up any Jesus Points either."