Much has been made in some sectors of the media about former premier Alison Redford’s absence from the legislature since her resignation. It seems the Princess Premier has not attended a single session of the legislature since she quit, prompting the usual “shouldn’t you have to show up for work
Continue readingTag: Alberta Politics
Alberta Diary: With friends like these… How much did gun lovers’ aid hurt Rob Anders’ candidacy?
Soon-to-be-former MP Rob Anders with would-be MP Melissa Mathieson. Did this photo help, or hurt, his unsuccessful candidacy? Below: Ron Liepert, the Conservative who beat Mr. Anders in the Calgary Signal Hill riding nomination battle. How big a role did the guns ’n’ ammo crowd play in the defeat Calgary
Continue readingAlberta Diary: PS, Tories love you! Is Alison Redford leading predators away from her party? Or what?
The now-famous cell-phone camera shot of Ms. Redford dining with her daughter at Lulu California Bistro in Palm Springs, grabbed from the Internet. VICTORIA, B.C. Truth be told, former premier Alison Redford is not the first Alberta cabinet member to just say to hell with it and take a few
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: The Shocking Dr. Levin
The long, twisty and sordid legal saga of Aubrey Levin has finally come to an end. Originally found guilty on three counts of sexual assault in January 2013, Levin’s five year prison sentence was upheld by the Alberta Court of Appeal, Wednesday. The case has garnered international attention, due to
Continue readingDented Blue Mercedes: The Shocking Dr. Levin
The long, twisty and sordid legal saga of Aubrey Levin has finally come to an end. Originally found guilty on three counts of sexual assault in January 2013, Levin’s five year prison sentence was upheld by the Alberta Court of Appeal, Wednesday. The case has garnered international attention, due to
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Why underage drinking at 24 Sussex Drive is no joke for the Harper Government
Awwwww, everybody drinks to much, just like the National Post says! Fuggedaboudit. Look at these young guys, partying it up at 24 Sussex Drive! Below: Ben Harper in 2010. VICTORIA, B.C. The National Post wants Canadians to smarten up and pay attention: Everybody drinks too much, OK? Even our reporters!
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Alberta Tories waiting for a Jim Prentice coronation
TweetCould the snoozer that has become Alberta’s Progressive Conservative leadership race risk becoming a coronation if former federal cabinet minister Jim Prentice jumps into the race? Necessitated by the resignation of Premier Alison Redford on March 19, the race to choose the next leader of Alberta’s 43-year long governing PC Party has so far
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Thanks to Tom Lukaszuk’s memo, Albertans know it wasn’t just Alison Redford with the entitlement problem
Members of the Alberta government’s Public Affairs Bureau spin a good yarn in response to freedom of information requests filed ages ago by Alberta journalists, opposition politicians and other busybodies. Actual government propaganda officials may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Labour Minister Thomas Lukaszuk, Information Commissioner Jill Clayton and
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Building a replacement school in Greater Highlands?
TweetWhen was the last time we talked about opening a new school in the urban core, rather than closing one down? Packed into the gym of the hundred year-old Highlands Junior High School, hundreds of school and community members heard about plans to replace three already existing schools with a
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Waiting in ambush for PC leadership candidate Ken Hughes: the ghosts of health care disasters past and present
Back in the day when Alberta Health Services was still full of promise, AHS board chair Ken Hughes, above left, got his instructions from health minister Ron Liepert, right. Mr. Hughes is now a candidate for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party and Mr. Liepert is a candidate for
Continue readingAlberta Diary: In one day, the ground shifts in Alberta politics in ways unexpected, sometimes uplifting, sometimes troubling
On March 23, Lewis Cardinal became the first nominated federal NDP candidate in Canada for the expected 2015 election. (Photo by Dave Cournoyer, used with permission.) Yesterday he stepped aside in the face of undisclosed health problems. Below: Wildrose Finance Critic Rob Anderson. What a strange day it was yesterday,
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Insiders will pretend to be outsiders in the PC leadership race
Tweet Former Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel is not running for the PC Party leadership Former Edmonton mayor Stephen Mandel announced yesterday that he will not run for the Progressive Conservative Party leadership. Mr. Mandel was seen as a great hope by many Edmonton Tories, who believed him to be the outsider
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Wildrose tells Craig Chandler to get lost; Tories might be smart to do the same
Craig B. Chandler in a portrait snatched from his Facebook Page. Below: Wildrose Opposition Leader Danielle Smith’s brisk communication to Mr. Chandler. GRANDE PRAIRIE If Alberta’s Progressive Conservative Party leaders were smart, they’d quickly find a way to send the same message to Craig B. Chandler he just got from
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Conservatives spar for safe Alberta ridings
TweetWhile the epic battle between Rob Anders and Ron Liepert in Calgary-Signal Hill was entertaining to watch, preparation for the next federal election has sparked nomination contests in ridings across the province. And with two by-elections expected to be called within weeks, federal political parties are lining up their candidates for the
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Redford-Hancock Government moves ahead with plan to gut public sector pensions
Alberta Environment Minister Robin Campbell, right, in one of the rather undistinguished jackets that are causing such a brouhaha in the provincial Legislature this week. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Doug Horner, below, is moving to attack the pensions of 300,000 Alberta public employees and no one is paying much attention. Below
Continue readingAlberta Diary: The ‘Self Preservation Society’ wants Jim Prentice for ‘The Alberta Job’ – but can he forgo his ambition to be PM?
“The Alberta Job.” Will the original “Self Preservation Society” get to keep the Tory gold? Is Jim Prentice – above, not exactly as illustrated – the man to help them do it? Read on to find out why we’ll probably never find out. Below: The actual Jim Prentice. Below him:
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Big Money in Edmonton Municipal Election
Tweet$4.35, $19.75, and $5.45 are how much Don Iveson, Karen Leibovici and Kerry Diotte‘s campaigns spent for each vote received in Edmonton’s October 21, 2013 mayoral election. With the most efficient dollar-to-vote ratio is Mr. Iveson, who won the election with a landslide 132,162 votes (62% of the total votes cast).
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Good riddance, Rob Anders
TweetIt finally happened. The man who called Nelson Mandela a terrorist, insulted Canada’s veterans, and called for war against Russia, has suffered his first major defeat since he was first elected in 1997. After a campaign filled with accusations of dirty tricks and political mischief, arch conservative Member of Parliament Rob Anders lost the Conservative
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Rob Anders loses by a nose in Signal Hill as Cowtown Cons make the best of a bad choice
Lost by a nose … but what a nose! A 22-year-old Rob Anders in 1994, heckling an Oklahoma politician. Below: Calgary Signal Hill nomination victor Ron Liepert; Mr. Anders as he looks today. There was blood in the water of the Bow River as it flowed through Cowtown last night.
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Alberta Tories on public service pensions: ‘We lied. So what are you gonna do about it?’
As Tory leadership candidates Thomas Lukaszuk, standing, and Doug Horner look on, Alberta Premier pro tempore Dave Hancock tries out the barrel in which the next leader of the Progressive Conservative Party will lead their caucus over the falls. Actual Tory premiers and would-be premiers may not appear exactly as
Continue reading