RECALL NICOLAIDES: Good faith petition or political conspiracy?

The recall petition targeting Alberta Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides has turned into something more concerning than just a grassroots effort in Calgary-Bow involving the education system.What seemingly began as a constituent-led effort by former geophysicist Jennifer Yeremiy has now widened into a province-spanning mobilization campaign involving outside players, teacher union figures, and involvement from Public Interest Alberta (PIA).In the petition, launched on Oct. 14, Yeremiy — who spent more than two decades in Alberta’s oil and gas sector — alleges Nicolaides’ failures in supporting public education and concerns about industry influence in Alberta’s K–12 curriculum — claims the minister rejects and believes to be politically motivated.“He prioritizes privatization, committing to increasing charter-private schools funding from $42 million in 2022 to $561 million by 2027,” the petition reads.It went on to say, “Mr. Nicolaides continues to dismiss Alberta’s role in promoting fossil fuel disinformation across the country,” rendering him, “unfit to lead Alberta Education or represent Calgary-Bow.”Yeremiy now hosts the Gravity Well podcast and previously worked for Apache Corporation, Black Shire Energy Inc., and Canadian Natural Resources Limited, where she served as a liability management specialist between 2020 and 2022.In 2022, she unsuccessfully ran as an MLA under the Alberta Party banner in Calgary–North West.Nicolaides, in his official response to Elections Alberta, argued that the recall process is being misused to challenge government policy rather than address misconduct.“A recall of an MLA should not proceed when the stated reason is dissatisfaction with government policy,” he wrote, adding that using recall to reopen election results undermines “stable governance and the electoral process.”.Airdrie MLA slams recall petition as politically motivated.Earlier this year, in an October interview with Energi Media, Yeremiy said her climate concerns emerged after leaving the oil and gas sector in 2022.She said she became alarmed by what she described as “misinformation perpetuated through the public and through the education system,” particularly around carbon capture, LNG, and fossil-fuel expansion.In the interview, Yeremiy also linked Alberta’s political direction to the US Republican-related policy “Project 2025,”arguing Alberta has become “a testing ground” for its ideas and accusing the government of undermining experts through appointments of unelected decision-makers.She has also voiced strong views on fossil fuels and pipelines, calling pipelines “red-washing” and arguing that renewable energy and site cleanup are the only viable path forward..Yeremiy recounted visiting Nicolaides’ office in early 2024 to raise concerns about industry influence in classroom materials.“I said, ‘You must have the scientific information to tell us we must stop expanding fossil fuel production. What are you going to do with this?’” she told Energi Media.Yeremiy alleges the minister told her he “gets direction from above” and eventually asked her to leave his office.Nicolaides confirmed the meeting occurred but offered a different account when he spoke to the Western Standard.“She asked to meet with me, and I try to meet with as many of my constituents as possible. She had 30 minutes, and during the meeting she wanted me to agree to inject more climate justice into our curriculum,” he said.“She wanted to see more social justice into the curriculum. I mentioned to her that that probably wouldn't be happening.”Nicolaides also claimed Yeremiy made “unsubstantiated claims” about oil and gas industry indoctrination in schools, saying companies in that sector were funding disinformation, something he said none of his constituents had ever raised a concern about before.At the end of the meeting, Nicolaides said Yeremiy told him the meeting was a “waste of time,” prompting him to respond that he had nonetheless listened to her and that if she wanted to “be passive-aggressive,” she should not return.He says she is the only constituent he has asked not to return in his six years as MLA.The Western Standard got in touch with the Calgary Board of Education and asked whether or not oil and gas industry proponents were spreading disinformation in the school curriculum.“Alberta Education sets the K–12 curriculum for all schools in the province, including those in Calgary,” a spokesperson said.“Teachers may use local examples, including the energy sector, to support lessons, but all materials must align with Alberta Education’s standards for accuracy and objectivity.”.The recall campaign has raised questions, as eyewitness accounts say two school buses full of activists from Edmonton and Red Deer were bussed into Calgary-Bow on Oct. 25, to distribute fliers and set up petition booths in an effort involving Public Interest Alberta (PIA) — a non-profit organization focused on the advocacy of social issues — something which Nicolaides is very concerned with, saying the Recall Act restricts this sort of participation..In an Oct. 21 TikTok video posted by Yeremiy, PIA executive director Bradley Lafortune appears, declaring full support for the petition due to what he called Nicolaides’ failures on the “K–12 education file.”“We can think of nothing better than to throw our full support behind Jenny and Alberta Resistance’s efforts here to recall Demetrios Nicolaides and ensure that Albertans’ voices are heard in between election periods, because democracy is something that should be held,” Lafortune said..On Oct. 24, Yeremiy posted another video on TikTok calling for Calgary-Bow residents to “paint the community yellow” and gather at a Petro-Canada station located at 89 Street West and Bow Trail on Oct. 25.In the same video, Lafortune again appears, this time with Jay Procktor, a member of the Alberta Teachers' Association's (ATA) executive council encouraging people in Edmonton to meet at Southgate Mall and take buses to Calgary to “keep the pressure” on in Nicolaides’ riding..PIA told the Western Standard its work in “Calgary and across the province is focused on speaking with Albertans about the government’s infringement on teachers’ Charter rights and the ongoing underfunding of public education. We understand and fully comply with all rules outlined in The Recall Act."We brought people from across the province to paint Calgary-Bow yellow because people from across the province are extremely frustrated with his performance. We can’t expect Albertans to have these rights taken away and not respond. Our efforts to support teachers and students are to help amplify their concerns to the government. Unless the UCP changes course entirely on healthcare, education and their attacks on democracy (unlikely) more and more Albertans will mobilize."Some Calgary-Bow residents interviewed by the Western Standard under the promise of anonymity challenged Yeremiy’s claims that oil and gas companies are directly presenting propaganda in schools and believe the recall campaign is less about education and more about political frustration with the UCP government, especially in the wake of the teachers’ strike and back-to-work order.One resident, we shall refer to as Kevin, said he encountered petition volunteers at the Petro-Canada station on Oct. 25 offering free pizza to his son — but only if Kevin signed the petition. In the Elections Alberta canvasser code of conduct, it states, a canvasser cannot, “accept or offer inducement or money to canvass.”Kevin said he saw 15 to 20 volunteers at the booth, none of which he recognized from his riding with the exception of a teacher from his son’s school and a large truck behind the booth full of ‘Recall Nicolaides” signs that were being handed out.There were also two petitions for people to sign, one for defunding private schools and the other for the recall campaign. “It didn’t seem spontaneous and seemed more oil and gas-related than [Nicolaides] related,” he said. Canvassers told him oil and gas companies were shaping curriculum, a claim he disputes.“They said oil and gas is dictating the curriculum, my son has gone through the school system and has never received a presentation from an oil and gas executive,” Kevin said. “They talk about the industry the same way they talk about climate change. I don’t see bias... I’m not for or against oil and gas, solutions come and go. [Yeremiy’s] solution seems to be to stop everything now and she was saying carbon capture isn’t a solution.” He also said there was no debate about Nicolaides’ actual failings as a minister and that it all seemed “very political.” .A video posted on Youtube showed LaFortune at the same Petro-Canada station on the same day Kevin and his son visited, saying, teachers are “fed up,” and calling the recall a “do or die” moment..Kevin also recounted another incident on Nov. 3, of seeing a volunteer — without any identifiers on — stationed at a Recall Nicolaides booth outside of his son’s school approach a stopped school bus and hand the driver a clipboard to sign..This made Kevin raise questions about how possible signatures from outside the riding will be screened, especially since Elections Alberta is expected to verify each signature and ensure canvassing complies with the rules that have been set out. According to the Elections Alberta rules, people signing a petition must print the residential address where they ordinarily reside at the time of signing; provide their telephone number or email address; confirm in writing they are an eligible elector and have resided in the electoral division for at least the last 3 months. “Does Elections Alberta check all of these signatures, do they know the people signing are in the riding, or who they say they are?” Kevin asked. Another resident, who will be referred to as Wendy, who has experience in the energy sector, said she met Yeremiy at the same booth and felt that she “called everything lies,” that didn’t agree with her narrative. Wendy also added her daughter had never seen oil and gas presenters in her classroom in the riding.“I feel like her recall is more about being anti–oil and gas,” Wendy said stressing the need for balance in the education system.“Kids need to understand what the province was built upon and what some of the issues are with oil and gas,” she said. Wendy also wondered if Yeremiy saw this as an opportunity to oust Nicolaides because there had been a close race in the riding during the last election which saw Nicolaides win with 49.74% of the vote, a slight margin over the NDP candidate Druh Farrell who had 47.39%.“I think [Yeremiy] saw this as an opportunity. The recall legislation is there and they’re being vicious about it, in terms of how they're approaching this,” Wendy said.“Is this about [Nicolaides] being an inadequate education minister, or because [Yeremiy] is anti–oil and gas? It feels like sour grapes from someone who ran before and lost.”Other activists with political ties also seem to have become part of the recall campaign. .Gurmit Bhachu, Chair of the Member Engagement Committee for Calgary Public Teachers, a Grade 4 teacher at Bridlewood School, and the former NDP candidate for Calgary-Heritage during the last federal election, posted a video on Oct. 25, addressing Nicolaides saying he was heading to Calgary-Bow to ensure constituents “will not vote for you again.” He added, “Teachers will not be bullied.”.On Oct. 26, Bhachu again posted on Instagram:, saying, “I’ve helped get ministers ousted before. You just might be next.”Despite the controversy, some residents such as Kevin, support the Recall Act in principle but don't agree with how the current petitioners are going about the process.“Recall should remain — the spirit is about holding corrupt politicians accountable," Kevin said. "Most people I’ve spoken to about this agree.”Under Alberta’s Recall Act, organizers have 90 days to collect signatures from 40% of eligible voters in the riding — roughly 16,000 signatures in Calgary-Bow.The Western Standard reached out to Yeremiy for comment.

RECALL NICOLAIDES: Good faith petition or political conspiracy?

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