Back in August of 2018 our federal government bought us a pipeline. Not exactly a bargain, it set us back $4.5-billion. The pipeline, the Trans Mountain, carries oil from Edmonton to Burnaby, B.C. The government’s reason, apparently, was to reassure Albertans that it really did want to help them get
Continue readingAuthor: Bill Longstaff
Views from the Beltline: Why Would the UN General Assembly Elect Canada to the Security Council?
Prime Minister Trudeau has been hustling around the world, attempting to round up votes for Canada when the UN General Assembly elects members of the Security Council in June. Two seats are available for the Western European and Others Group, and three countries are in the running: Norway, Ireland and
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: A Letter from an Albertan to His Prime Minister About the Tech Mine
Over the weekend I wrote a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau about the proposed Teck Frontier tar sands mine and cc’d appropriate parties. The letter is below. I felt it was important to let the feds know that not all Albertans are in denial about the climate crisis. I hope
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Peter MacKay—Another Made in Alberta Climate Policy?
With Peter MacKay as front-runner in the Conservative leadership race, I dared hope that finally with a leader who wasn’t from the Prairies the party might have a responsible climate policy. The early signs are mixed. Although he has not outright abandoned Canada’s Paris commitment to reduce 2005 greenhouse gas
Continue readingNotes on Democracy: The EU Declares War
I apologize for the alarmist headline. The European Union hasn’t actually declared war, more a case of having recognized a war, a shadow war. Vera Jourova, Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency, claims Russia and China are engaging in a “digital war” with fake news and
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: … And Now We Indoctrinate Our Children
As if we needed yet another example of Albertans’ deep denial of global warming. Education Minister Adriana LaGrange claims she is receiving reports from parents of “extremist views” being taught in the province’s schools. “There was a particular document that was shown to me recently,” she complained, “in terms of
Continue readingNotes on Democracy: Is the U.S. Returning to Its Imperial Roots?
In 1776, the United States declared its independence of Great Britain. The Americans had had their fill of aristocracy and monarchy. Once they had defeated the British, they wrote a constitution that would establish and constrain the federal government. The head of state, for example, now a president rather than
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: How Does a Lawyer Justify Participating in a Legal Fraud?
I understand that in a system that abides by due process all those accused of a crime are entitled to legal counsel, regardless of how depraved they may be. I have no problem there. But I also understand that lawyers are obligated to respect the justice system. And here I
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The Greatest MIstake Humanity Ever Made
There are those who argue that the greatest mistake we humans ever made was agriculture. And they have a point. For 200,000 years we lived a hunter-gatherer way of life, and we did rather well. Evolving in Africa, we came to occupy every continent on Earth except for Antarctica. Then
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: A Royal Contribution
If one subject is done to excess in the Canadian media it’s the royals. Witness the front page soap opera “Harry and Meghan move to Canada.” It is, therefore, refreshing when a royal does something that actually matters. Such an event was Prince Charles speech to the Davos Conference. Not
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The World’s Most Dangerous Man
There are a lot of unpleasant people running countries these days. North Korea’s Kim Jong-un for example, surrounding himself with nuclear weapons while his people starve. Or China’s Xi Jinping, who has made himself emperor. Or the homicidal crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman. Or Jair Bolsonaro of
Continue readingNotes on Democracy: Citizens’ Assemblies Gaining Favour
Democracy has been producing some perverse results recently. A prime example is our neighbour to the south. In 2016, the American people elected Hillary Clinton, one of the most qualified candidates they have ever been offered for president, but they got Donald Trump, undoubtedly the least qualified candidate they have
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Promise of a Collective Voice for the Precariat
Along with much else, the workplace has seen a transformation. Fifty years ago, workers looked forward to full-time, secure jobs with good wages and benefits. Often, the quality of their work was protected by their collective voice, i.e. a union. Today, an increasing number of workers face part-time, temporary jobs
Continue readingNotes on Democracy: Taiwanese Choose Freedom and Democracy
Last Saturday the Taiwanese re-elected President Tsai Ing-Wen. Tsai won more votes than any presidential candidate since Taiwan began holding direct elections for president in 1996. Her party also maintained a majority in the legislature. The landslide was not only a strong voice of support for the incumbent, but an
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Why Do We Choose Fools to Lead Us?
Let’s face it, most of us aren’t all that bright. Or all that wise. Today we live in a quite remarkable hi-tech society. We can communicate instantaneously with someone on the other side of the globe. We can fly to the moon. But it took us 200,000 years or so
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Holocaust in Australia—We Are All Guilty
Scott Morrison, Prime Minister of Australia, has been referred to as a blockhead, which is fair, and not because his large head is rather squarish. He was warned by his Department of Home Affairs that Australia faced more frequent and severe heatwaves and bush fires due to global warming. Twice
Continue readingNotes on Democracy: Defending the Indefensible Left and Right
People of the left and, one would hope, also many on the right, look on with horror as Republican politicians unconditionally support their degenerate president. Trump once boasted “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters,” and it appears that
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The Most Consequential Decision of the Decade
This is the time when we commonly look back over the year, or decade, or century, and pronounce our choice of the most significant event or events. There are endless events to choose and a multitude of rationals for our different choices. So many in fact I weary of making
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: War Rooms and Coal Barons
Alberta’s recently constituted “war room,” sometimes known as the Canadian Energy Centre, is off to a rocky start. First we learned it plagiarized its logo and now it turns out one of its spokesmen has been misrepresenting himself as a reporter. Not an auspicious beginning for the ministry of truth.
Continue readingNotes on Democracy: Christian Editor Disses Trump
Donald Trump may have evangelical Christians wrapped around his tiny finger, but at least one of note has expressed a dissenting view. Editor in chief Mark Galli of the magazine Christianity Today has torn a strip off the president. Galli writes that Trump’s actions in Ukraine are “a violation of
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