There are a number of Jason Kenney’s supporters running around with the mistaken belief that because Kenney refuses to answer questions about his Social Conservative (SoCon) beliefs is somehow an endorsement that he will be benign on those issues should he ever become Alberta’s Premier. Like the CPC policy change
Continue readingTag: Alberta Politics
Alberta Politics: Education Minister deserves high marks for ordering recalcitrant religious schools to obey GSA law, but more is needed
PHOTOS: Alberta Education Minister David Eggen. Below: Edmonton lawyer Dan Scott, Kristopher Wells of the U of A’s Institute for Sexual Minority Studies and Services and Brian Coldwell of the Independent Baptist Christian Education Society. Sometimes a government just needs to do the right thing and let the chips fall
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: My submission to the Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission
Earlier this year I submitted a series of recommendations to Alberta’s Electoral Boundaries Commission, the appointed body tasked with redrawing Alberta’s provincial electoral districts for the next election. I initially meant to share this after I submitted it, but for no particular reason I never got around to posting them. The commission will
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Now that he can’t be Mr. Congeniality any more, is Saskatchewan’s Brad Wall eyeing the exit?
PHOTOS: I’m sick of this shifty eyed shot of Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall too, but it’s the only decent royalty free photo of the guy I can find. Below top and bottom: Jason Kenney and Brian Jean, two Alberta Conservatives who used to have nothing bad to say about Mr.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Nuala: A Fable, by Alberta author Kimmy Beach, tops Audreys Books Edmonton Bestseller List this week
Here is the list of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold in Edmonton for the week ended March 19, 2017, compiled on March 21, 2017, by Audreys Books and provided by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. EDMONTON FICTION BESTSELLERS 1. Nuala: A Fable – Kimmy Beach*† 2.
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Alberta author and publisher top list of Edmonton’s bestselling books
An Alberta author and publisher top this week’s list of bestselling books. Ranking first in the fiction category is Nuala: A Fable, written by award winning Red Deer poet and author Kimmy Beach and published by University of Alberta Press. In the non-fiction category, Margaret Atwood’s The Burgess Shale: The Canadian Writing Landscape of the 1960s is also
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Kenney shifts into Phase Two of Uniting the Right
Shifting into the second phase of his campaign to unite Alberta’s two largest right-wing political parties, newly elected Progressive Conservative leader Jason Kenney met with Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean this week. According to an email from Kenney’s campaign, the two men, who are both expected to run for the leadership of
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Cue the balalaikas! Tory MLA hears the Red Army tramping across the Steppes of Central Alberta
PHOTOS: Calgary-Fish Creek MLA Richard Gotfried, at right, and an unidentified friend. (Photo grabbed from Mr. Gotfried’s Facebook page.) Below: Mr. Gotfried with Progressive Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney and PC Vermilion-Lloydminster MLA Richard Starke. Social democracy in Alberta? Pretty much the same as the Russian Revolution! Really! I’m not
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Guest Post: With friends like these … Jason Kenney’s biggest challenge may come from his political allies
PHOTOS: Jason Kenney at the centre of a media scrum a few days before his victory in the Progressive Conservative Party leadership race. Expect to see him in this situation a lot more often now, even though he holds no formal elected political office. Below: Post author Chanchal Bhattacharya, Alberta
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: 210 days until Election Day in Edmonton
With Edmonton’s 2017 municipal elections now 210 days away, we are starting to see more candidates file their intentions to run for city council. I have updated the list of declared candidates, which now includes Alison Poste in Ward 4, Svetlana Pavlenko and Michael Oshry (presumably) in Ward 5, Payman Parseyan and Sandy Pon in Ward 9 and Brandy Burdeniuk
Continue readingAlberta Politics: It’s springtime for Kenney in Wildrose country as Alberta bids farewell to progressive conservatism
PHOTOS: Jason Kenney salutes his supporters after winning the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party on the first ballot yesterday. (Screenshot.) Below: Richard Starke, the Vermilion veterinarian who was Mr. Kenney’s main rival, although not much of one in the event; Opposition Wildrose leader Brian Jean; and Peter Lougheed, PC
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Jason Kenney’s hostile takeover of Alberta’s PC Party is complete
Former federal politician Jason Kenney won the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta today, as was widely expected. Kenney received the support of 75 percent of the delegates attending the party’s voting meeting today at the Hyatt in downtown Calgary. His only opponents, Vermilion-Lloydminster MLA Richard Starke and Calgary
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Like rust, Preston Manning apparently never sleeps: Jason Kenney is just his latest manifestation
PHOTOS: Preston Manning has every reason to feel pleased with himself as he moves toward his goal of uniting Alberta’s right on his own terms, with an extreme social conservative candidate like Jason Kenney in the vanguard. Below: Mr. Kenney; Alberta Party Leader Greg Clark; Danielle Smith, just before she
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Not many surprises in Alberta’s stay the course budget
There were few surprises when Finance Minister Joe Ceci stood to table the New Democratic Party’s third budget since forming government in 2015. What I expect were strategic leaks over the past week revealed some popular highlights included in the budget, giving the government some positive media in the days
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Despite Opposition demands, Alberta NDP says no to risky conservative ideological experiments in its 2017 budget
PHOTOS: Finance Minister Joe Ceci. Below: Interim Progressive Conservative Ric McIver showing off his Three Stooges tie, the sale of which puts the gross in Gross National Product; Opposition Leader Brian Jean; and Alberta Liberal interim Leader David Swann. “Admit it, Alberta, after yesterday afternoon’s Budget Speech was read by
Continue readingAlberta Politics: New board chairs appointed at Athabasca University and Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
PHOTOS: Ray Martin at the side of NDP Leader Rachel Notley, back in the days before she was premier. He once sat in the Legislature with Premier Notley’s father, Grant Notley. Mr. Martin has been appointed chair of the board of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. Below, Edmonton architect
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: David Orr’s ‘Encountering Riel’ on Edmonton’s best-selling book list for third straight week
Here is the list of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold in Edmonton for the week ended March 12, 2017, compiled on March 14, 2017, by Audreys Books and provided by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. Alberta author David Orr’s new book Encountering Riel is on the bestseller list for
Continue readingAlberta Politics: When the celebrated Mr. K. performs his feat on Saturday … what will Brian Jean do?
PHOTOS: Wildrose Leader Brian Jean. Below: Progressive Conservative leader-presumptive Jason Kenney, former PC leadership candidate turned NDP MLA Sandra Jansen, NDP Finance Minister Joe Ceci and a very large sewer rat, political affiliation unknown. Could Wildrose Party Leader Brian Jean beat Progressive Conservative leader-presumptive Jason Kenney for the leadership of
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta finally moves, cautiously, toward reforming labour laws, more boldly to ban cash-for-blood transactions
PHOTOS: Alberta Labour Minister Christina Gray at her news conference yesterday morning. Below: Labour lawyer and respected labour relations specialist Andrew Sims and Health Minister Sarah Hoffman at her news conference yesterday afternoon (Twitter). No sooner asked than answered, Alberta’s NDP government announced a plan yesterday morning to consult with
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Richard Starke’s last push – what happens to the Renew PCers after March 18?
With five days left until Jason Kenney wins the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party in a landslide vote, his main rival is marshalling his forces. Representing PC supporters who want to renew the party, rather than dissolve it, Vermilion-Lloydminster MLA Richard Starke has announced a string of endorsements from former
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