Western Standard News Update | 3 Dec 2025

In this Western Standard News Update, Chief Editor Dave Naylor breaks down today’s top stories: a 17-year-old Calgary high school student has been arrested after allegedly using AI to create child-pornography images of classmates, and a Brooks RCMP officer is suspended with pay following assault and choking charges from an off-duty incident. Plus, a recall petition in Premier Danielle Smith’s riding has succeeded, setting up a potential recall vote; a Calgary-to-Banff hydrogen rail proposal has been submitted to the Major Projects Office; and CBSA admits 726 foreign criminals are currently unaccounted for among 33,000 missing immigrants. Also, the Governor General is offering corporate tax credits to help build a skating pavilion on the Rideau Hall grounds, the Department of Finance says it never completed a cost-benefit analysis for the now-repealed luxury tax, and the JCCF launches a nationwide push urging provinces to restore professional regulators to overseeing competence—not policing speech. Follow the Western Standard on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube Music.For full stories and member-exclusive access, visit WesternStandard.news.