With his cabinet’s second approval of the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project yesterday afternoon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has either proved the Liberal Party of Canada’s old mojo is still intact or blown it all to smithereens. It’s too soon to tell. Alberta Conservatives and their legion of media cheerleaders
Continue readingTag: Alberta Politics
Alberta Politics: It’s time for a frank talk about the T-word: Just who’s advocating treason here anyway?
It’s time, my fellow Canadians, for us to have a frank talk about the T-word. Albertans who have been paying attention to politics for the past few years cannot have missed the fact certain elements of the right-wing ideological ecosystem have been sloppy and irresponsible in their use of terms
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Left by the pope with a choice between glory to God and death to the carbon tax, what will Jason do?
Turns out you really can’t serve God and Mammon! Who knew? Tout le monde Conservative Alberta was reeling over the weekend at Friday’s news from Rome that Pope Francis, leader of 1.3 billion Catholics, has declared global warming to be a real thing and putting a price on carbon to
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The strategy behind the UCP’s Public Sector Arbitration Deferral Act explained
Albertans who don’t pay much attention to labour relations may be forgiven for wondering about the harsh reaction yesterday to the Alberta Government’s introduction of legislation to delay arbitration for thousands of public employees. Many readers not directly hostile to unions nevertheless may have wondered, “What’s the big deal? The
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Acknowledging public reaction, Edmonton Public Library drops plan to cut pages’ wages, strikes deal with union
Acknowledging negative feedback received by Edmonton Public Library about its plan to reduce pay rates for youth pages in line with the United Conservative Party Government’s cuts to the minimum wage, EPL Chief Executive Officer Pilar Martinez said today the Library would maintain current student pay rates. In an official
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Hiding behind UCP youth minimum wage cut, Edmonton Public Library slashes library pages’ pay
Using the wording of its collective agreement with Civic Service Union 52 as an excuse, and the United Conservative Government’s minimum wage reduction for students under 18 as the trigger, Edmonton Public Library is handing its youth pages pay cuts of $2.30 to $2.50 per hour. This is pretty shameful
Continue readingAlberta Politics: UCP bulls ahead with plan to ignore public employees’ collective agreements
One thing you can say for Jason Kenney’s United Conservative Party Government: they don’t even pretend to act in good faith! Early this month they mailed public sector unions a letter asking them to take part in “a consultation session” about the government’s wish to delay contractually stipulated wage arbitration
Continue readingAlberta Politics: If it seems as if Canada’s Conservatives have lost it, guess again: They’ve just adopted the Trump playbook in its entirety
“Huge pothole on #StAlbert Trail right now! This is a preview of Canada’s future if Justin Trudeau is re-elected as prime minister, as he continues to implement his terrible anti-automobile agenda.” Were I to take to Twitter and say such a thing, dear readers, presumably many of you would conclude
Continue readingAlberta Politics: How will Alberta politicians respond now that groups like Canada’s nurses are demanding action on climate change?
FREDERICTON – On the last day of their national convention in New Brunswick’s capital city today, the approximately 900 delegates of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling on Canadian governments to recognize climate change is a global crisis and a health emergency, and to act
Continue readingAlberta Politics: A timely reminder on this historic day: The hammer of D-Day crushed Hitler on the anvil of Russia
FREDERICTON, N.B. – It’s now been 75 years since our magnificent Canadian soldiers went ashore at Juno Beach in Normandy to play their part the grim and deadly task of sweeping Hitler and his odious empire from Europe. Canadians need to remember, though, that the landings on June 6, 1944,
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Thanks UCP Voters #4
This is a special thank you to UCP Voters. This is special because it is discussing the new UCP Bill 8. I like to call it the “We’re a bunch of small minded bigots and we’re going to take it out on children” bill. It’s also the bill that removes
Continue readingAlberta Politics: There’s not much Jason Kenney’s ‘war room’ can do to ease medical concerns about health impacts of climate change
FREDERICTON, N.B. – Whatever will Jason Kenney’s $30-million “war room” do about people like the nurses and physicians around the world growing increasingly troubled by the health impacts of climate change? They are, after all, members of two professions most trusted by the Canadians according to survey after survey going
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Sean Holman Calls On Canadian Media To Step And Report On Climate Change
Many readers will recall Sean Holman’s BC based log ‘Public Eye Online.’ His commitment to journalism reporting all the news, and digging to get it is well known in media circles. His work is of Read more…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Methinks the MP doth protest too much! Michael Cooper came to that Justice Committee meeting loaded for bear
Now that St. Albert-Edmonton MP Michael Cooper has been given a gentle tap on the wrist by Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer for his offensive performance at the House of Commons Justice Committee Thursday, we can be confident Conservatives will try to make the whole thing disappear as quickly as
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Here’s a bet: Alberta Health Services review announced yesterday will cost more than any savings it finds
Tyler Shandro was pretty bold yesterday when he put out a Government of Alberta news release announcing the United Conservative Party Government’s promised review of Alberta Health Services. Mr. Shandro is the baby-faced MLA for Calgary-Acadia who was made minister of health by Premier Jason Kenney. He is a lawyer
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Thanks UCP Voters #3
So today Jason Kenney officially scrapped the Alberta Carbon Levy (which has been successful in reducing emissions and transition us to clear energy sources) while Edmonton is covered in smoke. A move so garish that even Kenney couldn’t go through with the planned celebrations and instead pretended to care about
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Is Alberta’s ‘Yes to TMX’ campaign a sly tax-funded attack on the Trudeau Liberals?
Things are certainly different on the pipeline front now that Jason Kenney and his United Conservative Party are in power in Alberta! Yesterday, the airwaves were full of reports Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage had announced an advertising campaign urging Parliamentarians to say “Yes to TMX.” (We’ll get back to
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Why wouldn’t Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer appoint an independent prosecutor in the Kamikaze Campaign case?
So riddle me this: Why wouldn’t Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer appoint an independent Crown prosecutor to oversee the Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigation into allegations of voting fraud in the 2017 United Conservative Party leadership race? Especially now it’s been revealed by the CBC that Mr. Schweitzer, who himself was
Continue readingAlberta Politics: United Conservative Party introduces the Open for Fast Food Act – sorry about the 13% pay cut, kids
Premier Jason Kenney’s newly elected United Conservative Party introduced its second bill yesterday, calling it the Open for Business Act. The NDP immediately dubbed Bill 2 the Pick Your Pockets Bill, seeing as its provisions include a 13-per-cent pay cut to $13 an hour from $15 for students under 18
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Thanks UCP Voters
So the NDP lost the last election and the UCP has formed the new government in Alberta with Jason Kenney at the helm. Old news. So I’ve been pretty demoralized about this because I see a lot of bad shit coming. So I’ve decided to share it with everyone, here,
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