In a better world, the conveniently timed post-election release of statistics showing Alberta had the deadliest month on record in April for fatal drug poisonings would have discredited the “Alberta Model” for treating addiction. Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). Tragically, that is unlikely to happen. Alberta’s United
Continue readingTag: Alberta Politics
Alberta Politics: Yes, Danielle Smith can just apologize and shrug off her ethical failings – so it’s time for a new NDP strategy
Irfan Sabir, the NDP Opposition’s justice critic, wasn’t wrong when he complained on Saturday that Danielle Smith shouldn’t be able to rattle off a meaningless apology in the Legislature and then just sashay away from any consequences for breaking the law. Alberta NDP Justice Critic Irfan Sabir – his outrage
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Deena Hinshaw can’t be called a hero, but she is a victim of vindictive UCP retribution for things she did right
The enemy of mine enemy is my friend and all that, but it’s not clear that supporters of sound public health policy are on the right track if they decide to portray Alberta’s former chief medical officer of health as a public health hero. Dr. Hinshaw with then agriculture minister
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Jason Stephan, temporarily missing MLA, suggests he had no idea in March there would be an election in May
Jason Stephan, the Red Deer-South electoral district’s absentee MLA, apparently now wants us to believe he had no idea in March that there was an Alberta election scheduled at the end of May. Christina Gray, the NDP MLA for Edmonton-Mill Woods, who is acting as the Opposition party’s spokesperson in
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Red Deer-South MLA Jason Stephan, on ‘previously planned trip out-of-province with family,’ a no-show for swearing-in
Silly me. I simply assumed that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith didn’t pick Jason Stephan as her justice minister because he showed signs of being too much of a wingnut. Opposition NDP House Leader Christina Gray (Photo: David J. Climenhaga). Turns out that probably wasn’t it. He may have been one
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Smith to Legislature: Sorry/Not sorry!
Sounding about as sincere as the proverbial used-car salesman and not as convincing, Premier Danielle Smith whipped through an apology to the Alberta Legislature yesterday for breaking the Conflicts of Interest Act back in January when she talked to former justice minister Tyler Shandro about extremist street preacher Artur Pawlowski’s
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Former MLA’s request for investigation of premier’s dishwashing post blown off by office of Ethics Commissioner
The office of the Alberta Legislature’s Ethics Commissioner has blown off a request by a former MLA for an investigation of what he sees as Premier Danielle Smith’s use of her office to further a private gain by tweeting about her shift washing dishes in her husband’s restaurant hours before
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Turns out Facebook didn’t censor or ban Alberta’s premier, but Danielle Smith’s complaint raises a legitimate policy question
It should be well known to everyone now that the claim Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was censored or banned by Facebook is nothing more than a tall tale. Premier’s Office Executive Director Rob Anderson back in the day when he was a Wildrose MLA (Photo: David J. Climenhaga). On Wednesday,
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The boss is going crazy! She’s practically giving her restaurant away! Plus, big tech is censoring her!
Premier Smith in a flattering photo published by Postmedia along with its flattering story about her restaurant in High River (Photo: Source not identified, via National Post). Yesterday morning, Internet sleuths noticed the notorious High River railcar restaurant owned by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and her hubby has been put
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Rachel Notley is no Jim Prentice or Danielle Smith, so she’s not about to quit in a tantrum or a snit
Bored reporters were trying to gin up a little post-election excitement yesterday speculating about whether Rachel Notley will stay or go now that her New Democrats are back in Opposition, albeit with a significantly larger caucus than before May 29. The late Alberta premier Jim Prentice, just before the election
Continue readingAlberta Politics: With half of UCP Caucus in cabinet, more MLA perks to come, we get a glimpse of Danielle Smith’s unity strategy
As of right now, fully half of Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party Caucus is in cabinet. Health Minister Adriana LaGrange (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). A cabinet with 24 members (25 if you count the premier) for a Canadian provincial government is arguably excessive, wasteful and inefficient – at exactly 50
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Danielle Smith names her cabinet – not all the omens are good ones
CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – Back home in Wild Rose Country, Premier Danielle Smith has named her cabinet, so the Internet and airwaves will naturally soon be rife with speculation about What It All Means. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). This is normally a fool’s errand, since less than 24
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Historical facts – so confusing! In case you missed it, World War II didn’t start 79 years ago Tuesday
CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – It took a long time for word of the outbreak of war in Europe to reach this isolated island in the North Atlantic. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). I speak, lest there be a misunderstanding about current events, of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s revelation on
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Consequence culture strikes! Former health minister Tyler Shandro finds himself out of a job
CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – By any reasonable standard, Tyler Shandro was an appalling minister of the Crown. Calgary-Acadia’s new MLA, Registered Nurse Diana Batten (Photo: Alberta NDP). It’s hard to think of any file he handled well, although it’s fair to say that it was during his tenure as minister of
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Despite complaints from the left the NDP shifted too far right, it was a left policy blunder that lost the Alberta election
CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – It’s ironic how, despite complaints from the left about the Alberta NDP’s undeniable shift to the right, it was the party’s sole left-wing policy concession that appears to have sunk its chance to win the election. This may well have been meant as a gesture to placate
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Rachel Notley’s unforced error – that 3% corporate tax increase – probably cost the NDP the election
SAINT JOHN, N.B. – The principal unforced error that most likely cost the Alberta NDP the May 29 election was the foolish decision to blab about a 3-per-cent tax increase for the largest corporations. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). When Rachel Notley said that, with an explanation that
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Premier Danielle Smith, fresh off election victory, suggests resurrecting the Family Compact to run Edmonton!
Even before the dust from the historically close 2023 Alberta general election has settled, Premier Danielle Smith was blabbing about creating an extra-parliamentary council of UCP electoral losers to act as Edmonton’s MLAs. University of Calgary Law Professor Martin Z. Olszynski (Photo: University of Calgary). Of course, the day before
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Hot take: If you were hoping for sanity in Alberta after yesterday’s election, you can forget about it
Those praying for a degree of sanity to prevail after yesterday’s Alberta provincial election were bound to be disappointed by the apparent result last night. NDP Leader Rachel Notley concedes the victory to Danielle Smith last night in Edmonton (Photo: Twitter/Saif Kaisar). At the witching hour, the United Conservative Party
Continue readingAlberta Politics: No predictions today, but the stakes are high, maybe existential, so just go vote!
One of the dirty little secrets of Canadian politics at the end of the beginning of the 21st Century is that a lot of political professionals have come to recognize the awesome power of fear. Former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper (Photo: Screenshot of UCP video). And nothing instills fear
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta’s economy has lagged the rest of Canada under the UCP, well-known economist’s study concludes
No matter how badly they mismanage it, Alberta Conservatives can usually expect to get a pass on the economy. Tomorrow is election day in Alberta (Photo: Michael J/Creative Commons). There’s no point carping about this. It’s not just Alberta. Public opinion research suggests it’s a common delusion among the populations
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