The low point of my summer (and there were many with this UCP government) came on Aug 3 when Danielle Smith announced a 7 month moratorium on wind and solar renewable energy projects—a decision that paralyses more than 100 projects valued at $33 billion—ostensibly to address policy concerns that could
Continue readingAuthor: susanonthesoapbox
Susan on the Soapbox: A Letter to Protest Moratorium on Renewable Energy Projects
Dear Readers: It’s August.We should be enjoying what’s left of summer but with the Smith government it’s one stupid thing after another. Premier Smith Smith’s decision to impose a 6 month moratorium on new renewable energy projects was the last straw. Yesterday I sent a letter of protest to Smith,
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Summer Break
Dear Readers: The government is on break and so are we. However if you’d like to share your thoughts about politics (or anything else for that matter) please feel free to post them here. See you soon. Susan
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Harper’s Handshake
Recently former prime minister Stephen Harper tweeted about the “importance of centre-right parties strengthening their collaboration” The tweet was accompanied by a photo of Harper shaking hands with the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, The “centre-right” party Harper was referring to was Orbán’s Fidesz. Think about that for a moment.
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Canada Day
The Soapbox family had a wonderful Canada Day and we hope you did too. We had a celebratory dinner with family and friends. We started with drinks and snacks on our sunny, windy patio then moved back inside for Mr Soapbox’s famous jambalaya and my neighbour’s delightful Canada Day Rice
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: A “Reset” to Alberta-Ottawa Relations (Chortle)
When Danielle Smith and her team met with federal ministers Jonathan Wilkinson and Dominic LeBlanc to discuss energy and climate change measures, there was some talk that Smith may be open to a “reset” of the Alberta-Ottawa relationship. Unfortunately, some of her cabinet ministers missed the memo. Danielle Smith and
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Danielle Smith Stands her Ground (or something)
Last week the Feds unveiled the Sustainable Jobs Act, Danielle Smith responded in her typical word-salad fashion and the press lauded her for standing her ground. Against what? The Feds said… Natural Resources Minister, Johnathan Wilkinson, says the Act is about creating and protecting jobs as we shift to a
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Politicization of the Beast
Welcome to “Life in a Conservative Province” also known as “they say the wackiest things.” “They” being conservative premiers who say idiotic things when asked: how do you reconcile your government’s policies with the impact of climate change on the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires? Before we get into
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: A Word of Advice…
We’re still trying to make sense of this election. There’s no question Rachel Notley’s NDP made phenomenal gains against the UCP. They pulled in 776,000 votes (157,000 more than they received in 2019) and gained 39 seats (15 more than they had in 2019), but it still wasn’t
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Election Day
We’ve said everything there is to say. We’ve done everything we can do. Vote wisely Alberta.
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: No means No: Smith and the Ethics Commissioner’s Report
Yes, I watched the debate. No, I’m not going to write about it except to say Danielle Smith’s closing comment illustrates how slick she is. Smith said, “My commitment to each of you is to serve you with everything I have and to the best of my ability, however imperfect
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Thoughts on Danielle Smith’s Latest Comment
When is a person old enough to know better? I ask because Danielle Smith was 50 when she said 75% of the public who took the covid vaccine would support a tyrant like Hitler. She also said she wasn’t wearing a poppy because the politicians “ruined it for me this
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Wildfires and Gordon Lightfoot
“Do the best with what you’ve got.”—Gordon Lightfoot News of Gordon Lightfoot’s death, while not unexpected, still came as a shock. We didn’t think he’d live forever; truth be told we didn’t think about him very much anymore, then boom! he was gone. And I’ve been thinking about him
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Flames Arena Deal (What’s my vote worth?)
Last week the City of Calgary. the Province of Alberta and the billionaire owners of the Calgary Flames signed a nonbinding MOU for a new arena and related improvements. The tab is $1.2B with $800M for the arena and $400M for related improvements in the entertainment district. It looks like
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Gondek, Notley and Smith: An important conversation
Last week Calgary Economic Development presented its Report to the Community. The highlight of the event was Mayor Jyoti Gondek’s conversations with Rachel Notley and Danielle Smith. Gondek asked each leader 4 pre-set questions and 2 questions from the audience. She talked with Notley first and Smith second. It was
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Hiding From the Fourth Estate
Last week Danielle Smith announced her new “one question, no follow up” rule for journalists asking questions at her press conferences. She said the “one question” rule would apply to everything, not just the ethics commissioner’s investigation into whether Smith interfered with the administration of justice in her 11
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Happy Easter!
Readers of this blog know that we take a break from politics on holidays. They also know that the Soapbox family is not terribly religious, but we do love our traditions. One of our favourites is the Easter egg decorating competition. This year in addition to usual categories–the prettiest egg,
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Smith’s 11 Minute Phone Call with the Pastor
“That’s an astounding thing to say from the Premier of the province.” – Law prof Eric Adams On May 29 Danielle Smith issued a press statement to pre-empt a CBC story about a conversation she had with street-pastor Artur Pawlowski. People thought she was bracing for renewed accusations that she
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: A Simple Question (well, three simple questions)
Something is happening with Alberta’s anesthesiologists and it’s not clear what. Last week, David Shepherd, NDP health critic, asked Jason Copping, the UCP health minister three simple questions: will surgeries in AHS publicly funded hospitals be postponed because AHS is redeploying anesthesiologists to for-profit chartered surgical facilities (CSF)? has
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Who Do You Trust?
In less than 70 days Albertans will decide whether Daniel Smith’s UCP or Rachel Notley’s NDP will form the next government. Political junkies like me have pretty much made up our minds about who’s getting our vote, but we’re always interested in what others are thinking. which was why I
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