“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 readingAuthor: susanonthesoapbox
Susan 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
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Reno
Ms Soapbox is on week six of an eight week renovation. The sad little room in the photo is what is left of her writing room. She’s taken to working in the basement wrapped in a blanket and her energy is flagging. While this situation lends itself to all sorts
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Budget ’23: The Same Old Razzle Dazzle (with sprinkles on top)*
I’m not sure what Trevor Tombe did that caused Danielle Smith to say he was becoming one of her favourite economists, but it certainly wasn’t this. In a recent article about Budget 2023 Tombe said the budget moved Alberta into a “new fiscal reality where we are more reliant on
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Day Premier Smith Lost All Credibility
Albertans are asking a lot of questions about RStar, the $100 million pilot program designed to give owners of inactive wells a royalty credit on new wells if they clean up their old wells which they’re legally obligated to clean up in the first place. The question asked by a
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The UCP Government Responds to Justice Paul Rouleau’s Report on the Emergencies Act
On Friday Justice Paul Rouleau released his report of the inquiry into the Trudeau government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act in response to the convoy protests in Ottawa and elsewhere in Canada. Rouleau determined the Feds’ decision met the “very high threshold” necessary to invoke the Act. The Alberta
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The RStar Debacle (Who’s going to clean up this mess?)
“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” — opening scene, Star Wars The first thing I thought of when I heard the word RStar was the opening sequence in the first Star Wars movie: yellow letters scroll up the screen and the audience learns about the
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Woke? What?
Woke (/ˈwoʊk/ WOHK): adjective: aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)—Merriam-Webster I don’t read publications like the Western Standard or the Dorchester Review as a rule but thanks to the imbroglio over Law Society Rule 67.4, I made an
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Shandro’s Disciplinary Hearing
The “boiling frog syndrome” is a metaphor used to describe the failure to act against a problematic situation which will increase in severity until reaching catastrophic proportions.—Wikipedia. Let’s talk about Tyler Shandro’s disciplinary hearing. While it’s easy to get drawn into the melodrama and pathos (key elements in a
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: “Too Many Gotchas”
“Nothing to see here, move along.” – Movie trope Last week the CBC published a story saying that a staffer in Danielle Smith’s office sent a series of emails to Crown prosecutors challenging their assessment and direction on criminal cases arising from the Coutts border blockades and protests. You remember
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Political Interference in the Administration of Justice (Again!)
“What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”—Proverb, originated 1562 Did you catch all that? Premier Smith has been all over the airwaves saying that regardless of what it looks like she wasn’t trying to interfere with the administration of justice. On Thursday Jan 12 in a discussion
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Free Money? No Thank You!
Many years ago the (then) Progressive Conservative government offered energy companies bags of money if they undertook projects the government thought were necessary. The CEO I worked for told us to create such a project (even though it would be of little value to the company) and apply for the
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Seasons Greetings!
The Soapbox family and Rudy the rescue dog would like to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a peaceful and happy holiday. Some of you may have noticed that Rudy has become rounder and furrier; but then again, who hasn’t. See you next year!
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: A Tale of Two Strategies (okay, one strategy and one gong show)
Congratulations to all of you for surviving the Smith government’s first session in the Legislature. It started on Nov 29 and ended on Dec 15 and it felt like an eternity. Smith has been premier for two months. she sat in the Legislature for 15 days and already she’s created
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: What Just Happened?
“…the folks who literally spent seven days telling us that what was written in their bill was not written in their bill [will] determine what is…unconstitutional on the part of the federal government…” Rachel Notley, Hansard, Dec 7, p 235 What happened over the last 7 days in Alberta politics
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Danielle Smith’s Bill 1: The Wrecking Ball Effect
Wrecking ball: A heavy steel ball hung from a crane, used to demolish large buildings. Commonly used during the 1950s and 1960s. Considered one of the most common forms of large-scale coarse demolition.—Wikipedia Last week, Premier Danielle Smith unveiled the Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act (Bill 1).
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: A Letter to my Conservative-voting Neighbour: A Guest Post by Lloyd Lovatt
Lately Ms Soapbox has been thinking about how to talk to her conservative friends without falling even further down the rabbit hole of polarization. Then a friend sent me this letter which acknowledges the sadness a Lougheed conservative must feel at the loss of their party and suggests we reach
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: A Short Break
Dear Readers: I’m working on a project so there will be no blog this week. However if you’d like to share your thoughts about the UCP’s latest missteps (there certainly are enough to choose from) feel free. See you next week. Susan
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Reign of Misinformation
The last six months have been hell and the next six months will be worse. By election day, May 29, 2023, we’ll have transitioned from Jason Kenney, the politician who went to great lengths to convince ‘the people of destiny” that their sense of victimhood was justified to Danielle Smith,
Continue reading