Overview

• Letters published Oct. 2 present sharply different reactions to a reported exchange between UCP staffer Bruce McAllister and student Evan Li at a Sept. 29 Alberta Next panel in Calgary.
• One reader who watched Global Morning News called the moderator’s treatment of the youth trying to speak about a looming teachers’ strike “appalling.”
• Another writer argues coverage has misstated the remark as endorsing a “beating,” saying the clip showed a reference to taking Li “over his knee,” which they frame as spanking.
• That writer contends the focus on wording has obscured Li’s underlying question about the potential teachers’ strike.
• A separate letter on the same page criticizes vaccine access, citing long waits to book shots and alleging a $100 charge for a COVID vaccine as evidence of degraded public health services.