Watch note

How the watch records the public record

A short note on how Consumer Access Watch entries are sourced, written, and corrected — primary documents first, watch reading second, and clearly labelled.

What the watch is and is not

Consumer Access Watch is a civic monitoring effort. We index Alberta-published primary sources on smoking and vaping policy and write plain-language summaries of what those documents say. We do not provide legal advice, medical advice, or a final policy position.

Sourcing rules

Primary source per entry. Every watch entry links to the underlying document — most commonly the Alberta plain-language rules page (link), the published Tobacco and Vaping Reduction Strategy (PDF), or the 2020 What We Heard review (PDF).
Bills handled in the same way. Bill 208 is read as published in the Legislative Assembly's record (PDF).
Federal context kept distinct. Health Canada material is cited only for context and is not used to interpret Alberta rules (link).

Writing rules

"In the record" vs "watch reading". Each entry separates what the document says from what the watch reads into it. Watch readings are flagged as positions, not findings.
No medical or legal claims. The watch does not characterise relative health risk and does not interpret legal effect.
No inflammatory framing. Entries are written in plain language and avoid loaded terms.

Correction process

If a member identifies a misreading or a missing primary source, the watch updates the entry, adds a brief change-note, and timestamps the correction. The point of a watch is the record, not the watch's pride.

What gets watched

Bills affecting tobacco, smoking, and vaping in Alberta.
Provincial rules and enforcement guidance.
Provincial strategy documents.
Public consultations and consultation summaries.