EDMONTON — The Calgary Catholic, Public, and Rocky View ATA branches are facing backlash on social media after hosting a "drago bingo" night on Saturday. The member-only event, hosted by prominent Calgary drag figure Farah Nuff, was organized by three Calgary ATA branches and celebrated the completion of another round of student report cards. Word about the event spread across social media after the event, as conservatives criticized these groups of teachers for hosting a "woke" drag show bingo night, noting that they are the individuals charged with educating children. Individuals took the incident and compared it to the ATA's decision to cancel a speech by country music performer Paul Brandt at their provincial teacher conference in February, after lyrics from a 2005 song of his led Albertans to speculate that he was in favour of Alberta independence. .Many Albertans were outraged when Brandt was pulled from the conference because the teachers’ union disagreed with his political stance, especially because he has historically been a leader in the fight against sex trafficking. Premier Danielle Smith even weighed in on the situation after Brandt's speech was cancelled. "I’m immensely disappointed by the Alberta Teachers’ Association's decision to withdraw Paul Brandt as one of their keynote speakers at the North Central Teachers convention this past week," wrote Smith in a February X post."Not only is Paul Brandt one of Canada’s greatest musicians, but his organization 'Not in My City' has been leading the fight against sex trafficking for years— especially when it comes to endangering our children. Standing up for the victims of sex trafficking is most certainly a non-partisan cause.".Alberta teachers have also faced skepticism in recent months as parents report incidents of some choosing to push political ideologies against their students.One such incident includes an audio recording from inside a Fort Saskatchewan teacher revealed a teacher going on an anti-conservative ideological rant about how Albertans are closed off to any other political ideology.This drew a response from the Government of Alberta, including a statement from the Ministry of Education and Childcare, which outlined how schools and classrooms should refrain from pushing ideologies on students and focus on creating an inclusive and respectful learning environment."We want to be absolutely clear: we unequivocally condemn any classroom environment—and any educator—that targets, shames, or ostracizes a student for being conservative or for belonging to any political group," wrote Garrett Koehler, senior press secretary, Education and Childcare, in a statement following the Fort Saskatchewan incident."There is no place in Alberta’s education system for ideological intimidation. Students deserve better, and parents have every right to expect better.”
