PHOTOS: A wildfire in B.C. (Photo: B.C. Wildfire Service). Below: The Fort McMurray Fire (Photo: CBC/Tia Morari); Green Party of Canada Leader Elizabeth May (Twitter). Apparently Alberta and British Columbia exist on different planets. Literally, I mean. Not metaphorically. How else are we to explain the political discourse among, essentially,
Continue readingTag: Alberta NDP
Alberta Politics: Report calling for big changes to Workers Compensation in Alberta is a step toward ending WCB’s ‘culture of denial’
PHOTOS: Alberta Labour Minister Christina Gray. Below: Alberta Workers Compensation Board CEO Guy Kerr and the members of the WCB Panel, labour relations consultant Mia Norrie, labour lawyer John Carpenter, and Covenant Health labour relations consultant Pemme Cunliffe. Perhaps the two most symbolically important and potentially beneficial changes to Alberta’s
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Conservative politicians’ reaction to PM’s missing-Alberta gaffe suggests they suffer from world-class insecurity
PHOTOS: Are the hillbillies above what our conservative politicians want the rest of Canada to think of when they hear the word Alberta? They should just stop! Below: Calgary Nose Hill MP Michelle Rempel (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Robert Thivierge), Wildrose Party Leader Brian Jean, and Alberta’s grownup premier, Rachel Notley.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Big Tobacco will be pleased as Derek Fildebrandt’s ‘liberty’ video assails restrictions on flavoured cigarettes
PHOTOS: Young smokers, circa 1910. Below: A screenshot of Wildrose Finance Critic Derek Fildebrandt’s social media video, Mr. Fildebrandt himself, former Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose marijuana-legalization strategy Mr. Fildebrandt appears to endorse. Wildrose Finance Critic Derek Fildebrandt is continuing his party’s tradition of
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Happy Canada Day! Nice to welcome a new NDP government, though some caveats may apply here in Alberta
PHOTOS: British Columbia’s NDP Premier-Designate John Horgan with your blogger, not so very long ago. Below: Alberta NDP Premier Rachel Notley, a Vancouver take on a Canada Day flag, and B.C. premier W.A.C. Bennett in his heyday. Happy Canada Day, people, and after more than 50 days of waiting to
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Will deficit hysteria finally pave the way for a sensible Alberta sales tax? Ummm … don’t count on it
PHOTOS: Never mind the political stuff, this is the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory, where astronomer Max Wolf discovered the Minor Planet Climenhaga in 1917. Below, not in the order in which they appear: Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci, British Columbia Lieutenant-Governor Judith Guichon, B.C. New Democratic Party Leader John Horgan, and
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Guest Post: Whither Alberta’s NDP in the face of extreme, desperate, chaotic right and resurgent ‘centre’?
PHOTOS: Contingents from the Centre Right, the Far Right and the Further Right mix it up in the Alberta Legislature’s commissary. Actual Alberta conservatives may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Guest post author Barret Weber, Progressive Conservative Leader Jason Kenney, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, Wildrose Finance Critic Derek Fildebrandt
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Damning ‘carding’ statistics can’t be explained away – they’re evidence of systemic racism
PHOTO: Bashir Mohamed of Black Lives Matter Edmonton speaks in front of the Edmonton Police Service downtown headquarters yesterday. Below: Some powerful charts showing carding practices in Edmonton. It’s too much. The numbers are just too high, the discrepancies in treatment too wide. It’s just too difficult to credit the
Continue readingAlberta Politics: With three right-wing political parties now possible instead of one, has Jason Kenney’s roll of the dice crapped out?
PHOTOS: Jason Kenney, as he may see himself, gets ready to roll the unite-the-right dice. Actual Alberta conservative politicians may not appear exactly as illustrated. (Photo: Publicity shot for Sky Full of Moon, 1952.) Below: The real Mr. Kenney, plus the real Katherine O’Neill, Greg Clark and Stephen Mandel. Snake
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: All roads lead to Red Deer and the Alberta Party for homeless politicos
Red Deer and the Alberta Party are frequent destinations for disaffected politicos in search of a new political home. Katherine O’Neill Led by former Progressive Conservative Party president Katherine O’Neill and backed for former cabinet minister Stephen Mandel, disaffected Tories are booking their flights to the central Alberta city this weekend to discuss bringing centrists
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: All roads lead to Red Deer and the Alberta Party for homeless politicos
Red Deer and the Alberta Party are frequent destinations for disaffected politicos in search of a new political home. Led by former Progressive Conservative Party president Katherine O’Neill and backed by former cabinet minister Stephen Mandel, disaffected Tories are booking their trip to the central Alberta city this weekend to discuss bringing
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Saskatchewan credit rating downgraded for second time by Standard & Poor’s and all we hear are crickets!
PHOTOS: It’s quiet here on Crickets Avenue. Don’t expect a Wildrose of PC press release to come along any time soon. (Photo: Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons) Below: Standard & Poor’s headquarters in New York City (Photo: Uncredited, Wikimedia Commons); Brad Wall, the real leader of Western Canada, or so they
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Explaining Derek Fildebrandt’s ambitions: Jason Kenney vows to stifle ‘bozo eruptions’ in the UCP
PHOTOS: Alberta Progressive Conservative Leader Jason Kenney. He vows to find ways to ensure there are no bozo eruptions in the ranks of the United Conservative Party. This will not be easy. Below: Frequent eruptor Derek Fildebrandt, who says he’s considering running for the leadership of the UCP himself; former
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Opposition focuses its fury on Tzeporah Berman, ignores oilsands advisory group’s consensus recommendations … why?
PHOTOS: Environmentalist Tzeporah Berman. Below: Former Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers president Dave Collyer, who worked successfully with Ms. Berman to produce the recommendations of the Alberta Government’s Oil Sands Advisory Group, and Opposition leaders Jason Kenney of the Progressive Conservative Party and Brian Jean of the Wildrose Party, who
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The full-court press is now under way to get Canadians ship their tax dollars to right-wing ‘legacy’ media
PHOTOS: Canada’s newspaper publishers are finally getting a grip on how to deal with this new-fangled technology stuff, like that Internet thing. Just pick up the phone and get the federal government to give you money! Below: Postmedia columnist Andrew Coyne, Postmedia CEO Paul Godfrey, former Globe and CBC journalist
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Environmentalist Tzeporah Berman, who gave as good as she got, leaves Alberta oilsands advisory role
PHOTOS: Former Oil Sands Advisory Group member Tzeporah Berman. Below: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, Progressive Conservative Legislative Caucus Leader Ric McIver, and Environment Minister Shannon Phillips. Tzeporah Berman, the high-profile environmentalist who became a lightning rod for right-wing fury at Alberta’s NDP, is no longer advising Premier Rachel Notley’s Government.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: PC-Wildrose merger agreement leaves many unanswered questions for Wildrosers and the rest of us
PHOTOS: Wildrose Party Leader Brian Jean and Progressive Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney shake on their merger plan in this Wildrose photo. Below: Lacking anything better to illustrate this story with, here are a couple of party logos. If anything’s clear from trying to make sense of the agreement that
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Alberta Conservatives now appear less united than they have in years
Progressive Conservative leader Jason Kenney took aim at the New Democratic Party and Alberta’s teachers this week, claiming that both groups are planning to hijack the July 22 vote to fold his party and the Wildrose Party into a new United Conservative Party. Kenney’s claims are unsubstantiated and are likely
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Recommendations of independent review of Athabasca University seem unlikely to survive Alberta political reality
PHOTOS: University of Saskatchewan Professor Ken Coates, author of the independent review of Athabasca University released last week. Below: Athabasca U President Neil Fassina, AU Board Chair Vivian Manasc, and Alberta Advanced Education Minister Marlin Schmidt. Recent news reports about the continuing woes of Athabasca University and in particular coverage
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Year after year, about now, Alberta conservatives shoot themselves in the same foot
PHOTOS: Then-Wildrose MLAs Kerry Towle, leader Danielle Smith and Jeff Wilson (in Wildrose T-shirts behind the sign) take part in the August 2014 Calgary Pride parade. Below: Wildrose staffer Cory Johnston, current party leader Brian Jean, former leader Smith (Photo: Dave Cournoyer) and Alberta NDP Premier Rachel Notley. Bottom: Calgary
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