Having taught post-secondary in Alberta, the education gap is alarming; this will make it worse. Albertans are being deliberately miseducated about Indigenous-settler relations to support the province's dependence on dispossession and resource extraction: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/education-experts-slam-leaked-alberta-curriculum-proposals-1.5766570

I saw it everyday, working with bright students who did not learn about the history of colonization and treaty in the province and their treaty responsibilities and, not surprisingly, held ignorant views of Indigenous peoples as "barriers" to the province's prosperity.

And, here's the thing, "Alberta" gets a bad rap because of its political climate, but working with youth in the classroom made me realize that the education gap can be bridged. Education is the answer.

That history and knowledge about Indigenous-settler relations can equip Albertans to better navigate the future. That's why this curriculum bs is so infuriating. It is ensuring that Albertans will be ill-equipped to grapple with the pressing issues of the day.

It is ensuring that Albertans will continue to be poor treaty partners, because they are not being educated on treaties, among so many other things, let alone what it would mean to live in a good way as a treaty person. That's exactly as the UCP wants it.