You were wondering about that ethics investigation into the way former Alberta chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw was immediately re-fired after she was hired as a member of Alberta Health Services’ Indigenous Wellness Core last June? Was it Premier Danielle Smith? She says not (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr).
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Alberta Politics: After a day of negotiations, deal lightly taps the brakes on mass Christmas clearances of Edmonton homeless camps
Lawyers for the Edmonton police and the city of Edmonton on one side and the Coalition for Justice and Human Rights on the other reached a deal last night that lightly taps the brakes on pre-Christmas sweeps to bust up eight homeless encampments in the city’s downtown core. Justice Kent
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Police officer swears city officials agreed with plan to drive Edmonton homeless people from encampments before Christmas
Edmonton Lawyer Avnish Nanda yesterday posted on social media part of an affidavit in which Edmonton Police Service Staff Sergeant Michael Dreilich swears city representatives agreed with the police department’s plan to roust residents of eight downtown homeless encampments just before Christmas and break up their shelters. Edmonton lawyer Avnish
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Edmonton mayor appears to have been blindsided by city police plan for Christmas roust of eight homeless encampments next week
What is the goal of this week’s intended Christmastime mass roust of downtown Edmonton homeless encampments by city police, and why did they unilaterally spring it on city officials and social agencies while ignoring the city’s encampment response strategy? Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi (Photo: David J. Climenhaga). The EPS plan
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Danielle Smith celebrates her return from COP28 with unhinged attack on federal environment minister
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz celebrated their return from the COP28 United Nations climate change conference in Dubai by accusing federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault of “treachery against our province” in an unhinged rant published yesterday on the government’s official website. Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Battling bovine belches and fighting farmyard flatulence was all very well until Ottawa got involved – now it’s an outrage!
Using the COP28 climate conference in Dubai as a news hook, on Sunday the federal government announced a new draft protocol on reducing enteric methane emissions from beef cattle, which is a fancy way of saying bovine burps and farmyard flatulence. The deceptive image tweeted by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith
Continue readingAlberta Politics: LPNs’ application to join Direct Nursing Care bargaining unit summarily dismissed by Alberta Labour Relations Board
An application by a group of Licensed Practical Nurses for their jobs to be reclassified as part of Alberta’s Direct Nursing Care bargaining unit on the not-unreasonable grounds that direct nursing care is what they provide has been summarily dismissed by the Alberta Labour Relations Board. Calgary LPN Quintin Martin
Continue readingAlberta Politics: ‘Pause’ in Smith Government’s Alberta pension plan sales pitch sounds more like a strategic effort to regroup
On Friday, Finance Minister Nate Horner used what was billed an “Alberta Pension Plan engagement update” to announce the United Conservative Party Government will “pause” its effort to persuade Albertans the province should take over more than half the assets of the Canada Pension Plan and use them to set
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Expect Rachel Notley, NDP premier from 2025 to 2019 and current Opposition leader, to step down today
Look for Opposition Leader Rachel Notley, NDP premier of Alberta from 2015 until 2019, to step aside today. After her election victory in May 2015, Ms. Notley proved to be a capable premier in difficult times, offering a steady hand of leadership and presiding over possibly the only time since
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Replacing to Sovereignty Act so soon? Danielle Smith’s belligerent statement vows new attack on federal power
VICTORIA, B.C. – Is Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party Government now planning to introduce a new, tougher Sovereignty Act to fight Ottawa’s proposed emissions regulations? Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). As is well known, the plainly unconstitutional Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act has
Continue readingAlberta Politics: United Conservative Party Government tells Alberta nurses: Don’t worry, there’s no list, and you’re not on it!
VICTORIA, B.C. – Are you wondering why Alberta Health Services would threaten nurses with layoffs in the middle of an international nurse shortage and a national health care crisis at the very moment the province’s governing United Conservative Party is trying to reassure everyone things in health care are just
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Layover in Dubai: Who are the ‘hundreds’ of Albertans accompanying Danielle Smith – and who’s paying the freight?
So, about this group of “hundreds” of Albertans who have accompanied Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her field trip to dusty Dubai for the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference – are they part of an official mission, or just some sort of petrostate posse of uninvited interlopers? International sojourner
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The last thing Alberta New Democrats need is a dumb fight over their name, which is just fine as it is
It would be a pity if the coming NDP leadership race got sidetracked into a silly fight about whether Alberta Opposition party should change its name. Former Calgary-Currie NDP MLA Brian Malkinson, who thinks the NDP should change its name (Photo: David J. Climenhaga). But exactly that could happen when
Continue readingAlberta Politics: #Kudatah? Not quite – even Danielle Smith admits this Sovereignty Act stuff is mostly performative fluff
“Alberta’s government will not put Albertans and their businesses at risk of freezing in the dark at -30 C due to the federal government’s proposed unaffordable, unreliable and unconstitutional Clean Electricity Regulations (CERs).” — Actual Government of Alberta press release, Nov. 27, 2023 I think it’s official, my fellow Albertans.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Danielle Smith to implement Alberta Sovereignty Act, legislation Jason Kenney called ‘full-frontal attack on the rule of law’
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith confirmed yesterday she’s about to use her Alberta Sovereignty Act – the clearly unconstitutional legislation that even her United Conservative Party predecessor Jason Kenney called “a full-frontal attack on the rule of law.” Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney a few days before he left office in
Continue readingAlberta Politics: About those very expensive bottles of children’s ‘Tylenot’ – where’s the CTF when you need it?
Where’s the Canadian Taxpayers Federation when you need it? Help is on the way? Well, not really. But Premier Danielle Smith got a photo opportunity out of it, anyway, in the aroma-torch-lamp section of an Edmonton pharmacy in March (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). Like the cops, they never seem to be
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Manning to Alberta Conservative MPs (and 1 Liberal): Supposedly non-partisan pandemic report ‘could be used by the CPC’
In case you were looking for another reason to want Preston Manning’s preposterous politicized pandemic panel report to be spiked, there’s this … Calgary Skyview Liberal MP George Chahal (Photo: Mahmoud Alshall, Creative Commons). Yesterday morning, George Chahal, the Liberal Member of Parliament for the Calgary Skyview riding, took to
Continue readingAlberta Politics: H * l y S h * t! Who could possibly have known why China picked on those Two Michaels back in 2020?
A few days less than three years ago, I asked in this space: “Why did China’s government pluck the Two Michaels from among 300,000 Canadians in China?” Michael Kovrig (Photo: Twitter/Michael Kovrig). The answer, I suggested then, was that both Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor had “the kind of backgrounds,
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Danielle Smith delivers more promised chaos in health care with purge of six senior AHS executives
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith – she basically promised chaos in health care and she’s delivering it (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). The politically inspired purge of senior Alberta Health Services officials by the United Conservative Party that has now begun is likely to paralyze decision making throughout the provincial health care system. The
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Preston Manning’s pandemic panel report wants more politicians, fewer docs calling public health shots
Have I got this straight? Preston Manning just made a recommendation to give politicians absolute authority over public health that was so excellent the Alberta government accepted it a week before they got it? Alberta Premier Danielle Smith (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). Can someone remind me why we gave the superannuated
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