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Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 1d

“Amid the smoke bombs and screams that ricocheted throughout a South Shore building last month during a massive military-style immigration raid, one man heard a knock on his door.

On the other side was a mom and her 7-year-old daughter, pleading for his help.”

Neighbor shielded 7-year-old during South Shore federal raid: ‘I didn’t want them to take her’

During the Sept. 30 raid, one tenant protected a terrified girl and her mom. Remnants at the complex, including a detailed map of all the units, offer clues to what authorities may have known before t...

chicago.suntimes.com

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Reposted by Robson Fletcher

Jacqueline Sweet @jsweetli.bsky.social · 2d

WGN, this woman’s employer, is now reporting she was not charged with any crimes and was released.

DHS said earlier she was arrested for assault for throwing objects at agents.

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Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 2d

two men in suits are sitting at a table holding cups of coffee

ALT: two men in suits are sitting at a table holding cups of coffee

media.tenor.com

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Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 2d

So that's how they arrived at those numbers.

Just in case you were curious (as I was!)

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Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 2d

This method yielded an "average parental income" for public school kids to be $97,301.

For private school kids, it was $130,127.

They then excluded "elite" private schools.

And when you look only at "non-elite" private schools, the "average parental income" is $95,549.

Screenshot of column chart from the Fraser Institute report showing their calculations of "parental income" for public schools ($97,301), private schools ($130,127), "non-elite" private schools ($95,459) and "elite" private schools ($192,265).

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Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 2d

"Average income" for families at a particular school was then calculated using these geographic & demographic matches:

Comparing the Family Income of Students in Alberta’s Independent and Public Schoolsfraserinstitute.org FRASER RESEARCH BULLETIN 4
The average income reported for a school is
based on the average income in the dissemi-
nation area where the student’s family resides,
weighted by the number of students in the
school from that dissemination area. For exam-
ple, if all students in a school (public or inde-
pendent) resided in a single dissemination area,
the income reported for the school would be
the same as that for the dissemination area.

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Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 2d

Families in the enrolment data were then "matched" to family categories in the census data.

Census families with no kids were excluded.

Families in the enrolment data with students in K-to-5 were "matched" to the census family category of having kids aged 5 to 10, etc...

Families were matched to enrolment by age.
Students in Kindergarten through grade 5 were
matched to families with children aged 5 to
10, and students in grades 6 through 12 were
matched to families with children aged 11 to 16.
We used two smaller age ranges rather than one
large one to account for the likelihood that fami-
lies with older children would have higher income
(because the parents were older and more expe-
rienced and therefore earning more income). We
chose age ranges with six years in each group.

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Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 2d

Indeed, it turns you can't actually get that income data.

It's obviously private / confidential.

What the Fraser Institute did instead was obtain geographic enrolment data from Alberta Education, which they then mapped against reported family income from federal census data...

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Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 2d

My first thought, of course, was: How did they get data on the income of families with kids in private schools? And the income of families with kids in public schools?

That seems like the type of thing you can't typically get!

So I looked up the 2017 report, which is here:

www.fraserinstitute.org

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Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 2d

Oof I'm down a rabbit hole trying to parse this line in this article:

"According to a 2017 Fraser Institute report, the average after-tax income for a significant majority of independent school families is comparable to, or even slightly less than, the average income for public school families"

🧵

Opinion: Setting the record straight on Alberta’s independent school funding

Independent school association takes issue with Don Braid column on government funding.

calgaryherald.com

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Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 2d

celebs?

Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 2d

"Debbie Brockman, who has worked as a producer for WGN [in Chicago] since 2011, according to her LinkedIn profile, was taken to the ground face down on Foster Avenue and handcuffed while stopped cars honked and onlookers shouted epithets such as 'fascists' at the two federal agents detaining her."

WGN-TV producer detained during ICE enforcement action in Lincoln Square

A WGN-TV video editor and producer was roughly detained by two Border Patrol agents on Friday morning during a highly visible rush hour enforcement action in Lincoln Square.

www.chicagotribune.com

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Reposted by Robson Fletcher

Winnipeg Free Press @winnipegfreepress.com · 2d

TORONTO – Neil Young says he plans to pull his music off Amazon’s streaming service as he urges fans to stop supporting the corporate giant.

'Buy local': Neil Young says he will remove his music from Amazon's streaming service

TORONTO – Neil Young says he plans to pull his music off Amazon’s streaming service as he urges fans to stop supporting the corporate giant.

www.winnipegfreepress.com

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Reposted by Robson Fletcher

Paul Fairie @paulisci.bsky.social · 2d

A+ headline, no notes.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 2d

You won’t believe what degrading practice the pope just condemned

Communication must be freed from clickbait and misguided thinking, head of Catholic church tells journalists The pope has condemned clickbait as a “degrading” part of journalism, at a private audience with global newswires. Australian media representatives were among those to hear directly from Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Thursday with about 150 members of newswire alliance Minds International. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 3d

Glad you read the methodology! It's important. But this type of panel-based survey is not uncommon these days. (See this FAQ from the Pew Research Centre.)

Also, CBC News independently assesses any poll results before reporting on them. (Not me, personally. We have a department that handles that.)

The American Trends Panel

What is the American Trends Panel (ATP)? The American Trends Panel is Pew Research Center’s primary source of survey data for U.S. public opinion

www.pewresearch.org

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Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 3d

Hi. A genuine random sample is increasingly difficult, some might say impossible, to obtain and yet public-opinion research continues. Firms use a variety of methods these days to account for the sampling realities they face. CBC News independently assesses any poll results before reporting on them.

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Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 3d

New Angus Reid poll:

A majority of Canadians support the idea of an oil pipeline from Alberta through northern B.C.

The strongest opposition, however, is in B.C.

And a plurality of Canadians say B.C. should have veto rights if its conditions aren't met.

🔗: angusreid.org/pipeline-pus...

Stacked column chart showing majority support for "the idea of an oil pipeline from Alberta to the B.C. coast travelling through northern B.C."

A majority in each province/region either support or strongly support the idea. Support is strongest in Alberta. Opposition is strongest in B.C.

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Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 3d

“It might cause a bit of angst to put some of the stuff out in the public domain but, hey, we do live in a democracy,” said University of Alberta professor Darryl Hunter.

“Student-teacher ratio is a key performance indicator for any system … and people want to know what these numbers are.”

ANALYSIS | Alberta stopped tracking class sizes. Then it changed its funding formula. Now, it's a teachers' strike issue | CBC News

Get a rough idea of how much Alberta’s teaching staff has grown compared to how much student enrolment has grown since the funding formula for school boards was changed.

www.cbc.ca

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Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 4d

It came with studded tires and everything!

1

Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 4d

Right?? 😁

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Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 4d

One of my final interactions on Twitter was to post asking if anyone had an old bike that I could buy to use as a winter commuter.

Someone instead offered me a free bike. We learned we lived nearby. I brought him a case of beer in exchange.

I still ride that bike and we still correspond.

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Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 4d

“U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for jailing Chicago's mayor and the governor of Illinois, both Democrats, as his administration prepared to deploy military troops to the streets of the third-largest U.S. city.”

Via Reuters:

www.reuters.com

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Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 5d

"Grief is the loneliest journey," said Bev Brogden, whose son, Ryden, 27, was killed outside a Banff nightclub.

"Before this incident, my world was humble and happy. It made sense … suddenly I [am] in an unrecognizable world."

She was one of 75 people who provided victim impact statements:

'I became a broken man': Banff stabbing victim's father speaks at killer's sentencing hearing | CBC News

Love and grief filled a Calgary courtroom on Tuesday as the friends and family of Ryden Brogden read aloud their victim impact statements three years after he was fatally stabbed outside a Banff night...

www.cbc.ca

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Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 5d

That's how police described his reaction:

Oct. 7, 2025

Airdrie RCMP seek public assistance in identifying suspect in hit and run of a pedestrian

Airdrie, Alta. – On Oct. 2, 2025, at approximately 8:38 a.m., Airdrie RCMP was dispatched to assist EMS with an injured teenager who was hit by a vehicle. Upon arrival, it was determined that the 17-year-old female was walking across a marked crosswalk at the intersection of Windhaven Gate and Windstone Road, when she was hit by a white Dodge Caravan. The male driver got out of the van and appeared to be upset with the pedestrian. He then walked back to his van and fled the scene, driving eastbound towards 8 Street.

The pedestrian received minor injuries as a result of the collision.

Anyone with information about this incident, or can identify the suspect, is asked to please contact the Airdrie RCMP at 403-945-7267. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the "P3 Tips" app available through the Apple App or Google Play store. To report crime online, or for access to RCMP news and information, download the Alberta RCMP app through Apple or Google Play. To contact RCMP non-emergency line within any Alberta RCMP jurisdiction call 310-RCMP(7267).

-30-

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Robson Fletcher @robsonfletcher.com · 5d

"minor injuries" according to police

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