Alberta Labour Minister Thomas Lukaszuk, at right with Premier Alison Redford, argues with Deputy Premier Dave Hancock, in white suit and goofy glasses, about whether or not to appeal the court injunction against the use of Bill 46. Finance Minister Doug Horner is on the far left. Actual Alberta cabinet
Continue readingTag: Alberta Politics
Alberta Diary: Valentine’s Day injunction all but massacres Redford Government’s credibility in fight with Alberta Union of Provincial Employees
Alberta Union of Provincial Employees President Guy Smith at the union’s news conference in Edmonton yesterday. Below: Alberta Labour Minister Thomas Lukaszuk. Mr. Justice Denny Thomas of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench did not merely accept the arguments of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees when he slapped an
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Back to the future with Guy Boutilier: a run to be Fort Mac’s MP looks to be in the cards
Guy Boutilier in his Wildrose caucus office in Edmonton back in 2009. Notice Ralph Klein peering over his shoulder. Below: Other Fort Mac politicians Brian Jean, the Conservative Crossword King, and Mike Allen, a saxophonist, in his St. Paul Police mugshot. Guy Boots, Member of Parliament? Why not? When you
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Phone poll suggests NDP MLA testing waters for leadership bid?
TweetIs there an undeclared race underway to become leader of the Alberta NDP? An interactive voice response poll calling Albertans on February 11 suggests there just might be. The automated phone poll conducted by the Toronto-based Research House began with innocuous questions aimed at gaging opinions about the current Progressive Conservative government
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Dumber than a bag of Anders: Have gun-slingin’ Cowtown MP’s pistol-packin’ pals shot their patron in both feet?
The offending photo of MP Rob Anders and would-be MP Melissa Mathieson, which first turned up on a National Firearms Association Facebook page, then a political blog, then the mainstream media and has now entered the annals of idiocy. Below: the offending target; an example of a target Mr. Anders
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Fair Elections Act would introduce Alberta-style partisan elections officials
TweetA proposed amendment to Canada’s Elections Act would introduce handpicked partisan elections officials into the current non-partisan election process. The ‘Fair Elections Act,’ a sweeping act introduced by Conservative minister Pierre Poilievre, includes an amendment to Section 124 of the Elections Act which would give the incumbent candidate, riding association
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Pride flags over Alberta: for real, or a cynical commitment of convenience that’s a mile wide and an inch deep?
A rainbow banner flies alongside the city, Alberta and Canadian flags at the city hall of St. Albert, Alberta, last weekend. Below: A really great pride banner spotted during a recent Pride Week in Vancouver. Fourteen years ago, the Alberta provincial government led by Progressive Conservative premier Ralph Klein was
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Upstairs, downstairs in Alberta explained by Labour Minister Thomas Lukaszuk: ‘We’re dealing with different job descriptions’
Furious Alberta civil service “oranges” protest high-handed Tory “apples” during their illegal st**ke of 1980. Below: Provincial Treasurer Lou Hyndman in 1976; Labour Minister Thomas Lukaszuk, no longer missing in action. Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose! After a spell during which he appeared to be missing in
Continue readingAlberta Diary: High-speed rail in Alberta: a terrible idea that just won’t go away
“Modern high-speed passenger trains are not pushed forward on billowing sails…” Although, when we’re done paying for a multi-billion-dollar high-speed rail link between Edmonton and Calgary, this may be how many of us have to get around if we fancy using public transit. Below: William Cornelius Van Horne and the
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Gun-toting conservatives take aim at Macleod by-election candidate
Tweet“Just say no-to-Barlow!” was the message broadcast to the 15,941 followers of the National Firearms Association Facebook page. The National Rifle Association‘s Canadian cousins hope to drag down John Barlow, a candidate for the Macleod Conservative Party of Canada by-election nomination who they claim supports the RCMP seizure of firearms from abandoned houses during last year’s
Continue readingAlberta Diary: The view from Alberta: Nova Scotia premier assailed for embarrassingly low travel bill
A steward serves Alberta Premier Alison Redford as members of her entourage dine nearby during their return flight from South Africa. Don’t worry, this is satire, and actual Alberta politicians and their political advisors will never appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil, obviously suffering from a
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Will any Calgary Grits be going to Ottawa in 2015?
Nenshi made history in 2010. His Chief of Staff might do the same in 2015. We’ve all heard the jokes. When Calgary was hit with flooding in 2005, the Calgary Herald ran a delicious cartoon showing a giant ark being loaded up at the Stampede grounds, and Noah lamenting that,
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Redford’s top advisor earns more than Obama’s top advisor, claims Wildrose
TweetPremier Alison Redford‘s chief of staff earns a bigger salary than his counterpart in the West Wing, claimed the official opposition Wildrose in a press release yesterday. As the salary disclosure ”sunshine list” of Alberta’s senior public servants who earn more than $100,000 annually was released late last week, opposition critics honed in on Ms.
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Small changes may signal glimmer of awareness of trouble ahead among rank and file Tory MLAs
Members of Alison Redford’s brain trust plan the latest hashtags in the Twitter war with AUPE … No! Wait! That’s Bob MacNamara telling LBJ about his plans for the war in Vietnam! What the hey? Below: That rude info-graphic; Red House Chief of Staff Farouk Adatia; White House Chief of
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Farewell Liberalberta? Alberta Liberals back in the red
Tweet Less than two years after adopting a new green and grey Liberalberta logo, the Alberta Liberal Party appears to have switched back to the party’s traditional red. A new website design launched last week shows the Liberals have also dropped the “-berta” portion of the logo, returning to plain ‘Liberal‘ name. The
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Back to the future? Private-client opinion polls said to show big shift toward Alberta’s Wildrose Party
The future belongs, the future belongs, the future belongs to us… Peter Lougheed preaches to the converted in Calgary not long before the 1971 provincial election. After 42 years and counting, is there really another seismic shift under way in Alberta, or just more blundering by pollsters? Below: Mr. Lougheed
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Deputy Health Minister Janet Davidson’s compensation: glaring omission in Alberta Sunshine List coverage explained
Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne with Janet Davidson shortly after he announced her appointment as Deputy Minister in September 2013. Below: Service Alberta Deputy Minister Jay Ramotar; Lord Black of Crossharbour in his role as honourary lieutenant colonel of the Governor General’s Foot Guards. And the top paid Alberta civil
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Alberta’s ‘Sunshine List’ – let a little light shine in … but only a little, and only where we want it
Alberta’s ‘Sunshine List’ – mostly moonshine? Below: Premier Alison Redford. Today’s the day the government of Alberta is supposed to publish its “Sunshine List” of its supposedly most highly paid civil servants. It’s not appeared yet – so, it being a Friday and all, it’ll probably show up at about
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Five ways to save the Senate of Canada
Tweet Is the Senate of Canada broken? And if so, is it worth saving? Here are the positions held by Canada’s federal political parties: 1) Abolish the Senate The New Democratic Party of Canada, the official opposition since 2011, are staunchly in favour of entirely abolishing the Senate of Canada.
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Oh to be a fly on the cabinet room wall today! Court grants stay on application against AUPE of Bill 46 until Valentine’s Day
Steam vents from the cabinet room at the Alberta Legislature. Actual eruptions of Tory fury may not be exactly as illustrated – and, actually, that’s the Lieutenant Governor’s office. Well, whatever, it’s better than a file shot of the law courts sign! Below: AUPE President Guy Smith. Who wouldn’t want
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