No gold stars this week for either the Government of Alberta or the Alberta Teachers' Association, as both sides have failed to strike a potential deal on a labour dispute that has kept around 750,000 students out of class for the foreseeable future. This week on West of Centre, host Rob Brown, along with University of Calgary political science professor Lisa Young, Evan Menzies of Crestview Strategy and Cheryl Oates of The Discourse podcast delve into why this is not a normal strike, but is ultimately about the future of public education in Alberta. Also, a newly-released third-party investigation into procurement at Alberta Health Services has found no evidence of wrongdoing by anyone in government. But the judge who wrote the report acknowledged he couldn’t make any definitive statements based on the restrictions limiting the scope of his probe, and the panel believes there are still some outstanding questions. Finally, the panel weighs in on Alberta’s plans to leave Wild Rose Country in the dust in favour of the motto "Strong and Free" as it redesigns its licence plates, and whether this move is a matter of provincial pride or is steering attention away from bigger issues.

Host: Rob Brown | Producer & editor: Diane Yanko | Guests: Cheryl Oates, Evan Menzies, Lisa Young