The Spring session of the Alberta Legislature ended yesterday after forty-days of debate. The evacuation of more than 88,000 Albertans sparked by the wildfires in Fort McMurray dominated the attention of our political leaders during this session. In …
Continue readingTag: Alberta NDP
Alberta Politics: NDP environmental policies: Who’re ya gonna believe? Mark Carney or Rick Strankman?
PHOTOS: Bank of England Governor and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley at yesterday’s brief news conference in the provincial Legislature Building. (CBC Photo) Below: Rick Strankman and Michael Bloomberg. Who’re ya gonna believe, huh? Mark Carney, form…
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Party like it’s 2016! Alberta NDP hold their convention in Calgary
In the past, the media and political watchers would pay little attention to a provincial convention held by Alberta’s New Democratic Party. Back in 2009 during a stint as a freelance writer, I covered the NDP convention for the now-defunct alt-wee…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Keeping things in in the Right perspective: Wildrose says NDP’s carbon levy is much like killing 10 million people
PHOTOS: Wildrose Agriculture Critic Rick Strankman thinks the NDP Government’s carbon levy is just murder. (Photo grabbed from his Facebook page.) Below: NDP Economic Development Minister Deron Bilous, Wildrose MLA Drew Barnes, another member of the …
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Hard truth from the Parkland Institute: New pipelines won’t much improve the price fetched by Alberta oil from Bitumen
PHOTOS: An oil tanker, floating in “tidewater” – in this case the balmy Persian Gulf. Below: Earth scientist David Hughes, and a caribou strolling along a pipeline, this one in Alaska. That’s tonight’s harvest of royalty-free photographs. My …
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: A Timeline of Derek Fildebrandt’s “suspension” from Wildrose
The Wildrose Party was not one big happy family this week. Albertans might be confused about what exactly happened between Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean and Finance critic Derek Fildebrandt. It might be one of the most bizarre political stories o…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: On the War of the WRP, Saskatchewan’s Great Wall and the mysterious appeal of Alberta Health Services
PHOTOS: A meeting of the Opposition Wildrose Caucus gets under way with Leader Brian Jean and Leader Lite Derek Fildebrandt explaining their differences to each other. Actual Alberta politicians of the right may not appear exactly as illustrated. Then …
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Dr. Verna Yiu named Alberta Health Services CEO No. 8 in 8 years – can she fix what 7 couldn’t?
PHOTOS: Dr. Verna Yiu, who was officially named yesterday as the eighth president and CEO of Alberta Health Services in as many years. Below: AHS Board Chair Linda Hughes and Alberta Health Minister Sarah Hoffman. Sooner or later, you’d think Alberta…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Suspension of maverick MLA didn’t amount to much, even before Wildrose leader’s apparent flip-flop
PHOTOS: Wildrose MLA Derek Fildebrandt appears to be ahead in the race with his party leader, Brian Jean, this past weekend at least. (Photo grabbed from Mr. Jean’s Facebook page.) Below: Blogger Dave Cournoyer and a smiling Mr. Fildebrandt. That was…
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: For Wildrose, “Mr. Wynne” Facebook comment was last straw for Derek Fildebrandt
A statement released late on Friday night announced that Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean had suspended Strathmore-Brooks MLA Derek Fildebrandt from the Official Opposition Caucus. As AlbertaPolitics.ca author David Climenhaga wrote on Friday night:
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Brian Jean’s Wildrose Party leadership is now unquestioned: the fall of Derek Fildebrandt explained
PHOTOS: Brian Jean will be in the background no more … Back in 2015, Derek Fildebrandt was dominating the conversation, refusing to answer questions from a CBC reporter who had annoyed him, as his former party leader looked on, apparently bemused (CB…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Wildrose Party’s half-hearted apology to Ontario premier doesn’t mean much
PHOTOS: Wildrose Party Finance Critic and chief Legislative greeter Derek Fildebrandt, demonstrating a typical attitude. Below: Shocked and appalled critics Naheed Nenshi, mayor of Calgary, David Swann, Alberta Liberal leader, Greg Clark, Alberta Party…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Watching the Wildrose in the Legislature: Beverly Hillbillies … or Deliverance?
PHOTOS: The Beverly Hillbillies in campaign mode. Actual members of the Alberta Wildrose caucus may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, left, and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, right, answer reporters’ questions …
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Brace for it: Alberta is about to endure weeks of vicious climate-change-induced political weather!
PHOTOS: Environment Minister Shannon Phillips at a related announcement last fall. As you can see, some of the same supporters were with her yesterday, as shown below by the Government of Alberta photo taken at the notorious Sky Palace in Edmonton, whi…
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Notley NDP make pigs fly again with support for Climate Leadership Plan
When the Alberta government released its Climate Leadership plan in November 2015, I said that Premier Rachel Notley and Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips had made pigs fly by uniting a coalition of industry leaders and environmental l…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: It’s time for a national postal bank in both Canada and the United States
PHOTOS: The little Post Office in downtown St. Albert, where your blogger lives, which Canada Post is anxious to close as soon as possible. Below: The U.S. Post Office in Fallon, Montana, the Canadian Post Office in Dewberry, Alberta (villageofdewberry…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: NDP moves to rein in Tory patronage and boondoggles at Alberta’s many boards, agencies and commissions
PHOTOS: NDP Finance Minister Joe Ceci on the day he was sworn in. Below: The full list of agencies to be amalgamated or eliminated by the government in the first round of its “ABC” review; NDP Environment Minister Shannon Phillips; and Tory health …
Continue readingAlberta Politics: If the Wildrose Party can’t unite the right on its terms, maybe there’s another way to skin that particular conservative cat
PHOTOS: Don’t look for a happy occasion like this any time in the near future of the Alberta Progressive Conservative and Wildrose parties (grabbed from FashionEra.com). Below: Wildrose Party Leader Brian Jean, Progressive Conservative Party Presiden…
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Are the Alberta NDP keeping their promise to improve ethics in government?
Days after the Alberta New Democratic Party was elected with a majority government in 2015, I wrote a column outlining the promises made in the party’s election platform to improve ethics in government. One year later, here is a look at thos…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: What makes sense for pill presses in Alberta doesn’t make sense for firearms: Discuss
PHOTOS: An illegal pill press, with illegal firearms (Australian Broadcasting Corporation photo). Below: Progressive Conservative MLA Mike Ellis and NDP MLA Deb Drever (Edmonton Journal photo). Hmmmm… Canada’s conservative parties – first among t…
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