For those who complain there’s nothing in the news but COVID these days, try the Alberta section. Lots going on. For example, our government just laid off 26,000 school support staff while shelling out $1.5 billion, plus a $6-billion loan guarantee, to buy us a piece of the Keystone XL
Continue readingAuthor: Bill Longstaff
Views from the Beltline: How Do You Wash Your Hands When There’s No Water?
Handwashing is a lifesaver. As we are being reminded constantly in these days of pandemic, thorough handwashing with soap and water is one of the most effective barriers to the spread of disease. Unfortunately, according to the UN, 40 percent of humanity are without basic handwashing facilities, i.e. soap and
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Back to the 30s?
“We are facing a period of profound adversity unlike any we have since the 1930s,” Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said last week. The premier was referring to the province’s economy which has, like the rest of the country, indeed like the rest of the world, been hit hard by the
Continue readingNotes on Democracy: Democracy’s "Island of Contentment"
The 2020 version of the Global Satisfaction with Democracy report, issued annually by the University of Cambridge, concludes that “democracy is in a state of deep malaise.” The researchers found that since they began their work in 1995, dissatisfaction with democracy has “risen over time, and is reaching an all-time
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: A Silver Lining to COVID-19?
As an optimist I tend to look for silver linings in the darker clouds. The other day I read an article saying some Italians remarked that they could finally hear birds sing and see blue skies as a result of the decline of industrial activity caused by COVID-19. Something good
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Oil Capitals Hunker Down
To Calgarians, the city is starting to feel like a punching bag. Its primary industry suffers one body blow after another. Oil prices crashed at the end of 2014 as surprising growth in U.S. shale production boosted supply while OPEC refused to cut its output. Major investment firms, finally recognizing
Continue readingNotes on Democracy: From Emperors to Emperors and Tsars to Tsars—Plus ça change
The French proverb plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose (the more things change, the more they stay the same) most aptly describes what has been happening at the pinnacle of government in China and Russia. Two years ago, the Chinese Communist Party, completely dominated by its 64-year-old president
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The Baby Boosters
According to the Worldometer (the world population clock), at 12:22 p.m. today the planet’s population of Homo sapiens was 7,769,974,138 with a net gain (births over deaths) of 114,862 so far this morning. You might think this was more than enough of us, given that we are multiplying on the
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The Cartel Still Rules … Sort of
It isn’t easy to convince nominally free-market Albertans that monopoly and government interference in the market made us rich, but of course they did. Nothing has contributed more to the province’s coffers than OPEC, the oil-producing countries’ cartel. OPEC’s control of supply has kept oil prices well above what a
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: On the Subject of Pandemics
The illness and death toll from the coronavirus, or COVID-19 as it is now known, steadily advances. As I write, the bug has sickened over 95,000 people and killed over 3,300, mostly in China. It still has a long way to go to match the flu which annually takes hundreds
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Is Kenney Coming After Our Pensions?
Premier Jason Kenney, ardent free market conservative, has started sounding a little like Peter Lougheed, a former premier with more progressive conservative leanings. Indeed Lougheed was once labelled “Peter the Red” by B.C. Premier Dave Barrett after he bought Alberta an airline. Lougheed never hesitated to dive into socialism when
Continue readingNotes on Democracy: Are the Blockades Backfiring?
If the objective of those protesting the construction of the Coastal Gaslink pipeline through Wet’suwet’en territory was to bring attention to the issue, they have certainly done that. If their objectives were to gain support for reconciliation and opposition to the pipeline, they appear to not only have failed but
Continue readingNotes on Democracy: The Iranian Pseudo-election
Last week, Iran held an election for members of its Islamic Consultative Assembly, the country’s Parliament or Majlis. The Majlis is something less than a ruling body. To begin with, candidates are screened by a council which answers ultimately to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. In addition to screening all
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Wet’suwet’en—A Divided Nation
I have on a number of occasions sat with fingers poised over my keyboard attempting to write something about the Wet’suwet’en/pipeline issue. Too many issues keep cropping up in my mind frustrating my ability to see it all clearly. I am no doubt conflicted in part because the Wet’suwet’en are
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The Price Ain’t Right
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 readingViews 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 reading