A recent survey, conducted by Maru Public Opinion and Janet Brown Opinion Research, took a reading of Canadians’ views of Alberta. The poll measured the reaction to a number of statements about the province including “I respect Alberta Premier Jason Kenney.” The answer to that statement was, unsurprisingly, not much. Just
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The Progressive Economics Forum: COVID and Homelessness: Ten things to know
I was recently invited by the The Economics Society of Northern Alberta to speak at their 2022 Outlook Conference about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on homelessness. Here’s an overview of my presentation: https://nickfalvo.ca/covid-and-homelessness-ten-things-to-know/
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Stephanie Nolen examines (PDF) some of the inequality revealed and exacerbated by the COVID pandemic. Bonnie Allen reports on the tragic story of a Yorkton woman who died as a result of neglect and misinformation. Nancy Lapid points out the health risks
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Afternoon Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Sarah Zhang writes that the three factors which will determine the path of the COVID pandemic over the winter are our own immunity, the adaptation of the virus, and our own behaviour. And Phil Tank reports on the warning from Saskatchewan doctors that
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Excerpt From Trans Ideology and the New Ptolemaism – Kathleen Lowrey
Kathleen Lowrey is one the few and the brave women inside the University of Alberta that manage to retain an authentically feminist outlook. Furthermore, her criticisms of the new gender ideology are spot on and her insights are useful in understanding the ontology of transactivism in academic and real-world settings.
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Schadenfreude, Hydro-Québec and the Maine referendum
It’s called schadenfreude, the satisfaction you get from someone else’s misfortune. Some Albertans may be feeling it this week after the referendum in Maine that rejected a Hydro-Québec transmission line through their state. Projected to generate $10 billion US for Hydro-Québec over 20 years, the project, known as the New
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Why can’t conservatives win the mayoralties of Alberta’s major cities?
Alberta’s reputation as a bastion of conservatism has been belied once again by the recent municipal elections. Both Calgary and Edmonton, which together make up over half the province’s population, elected progressive mayors. And in both cases they replace progressive mayors. Not only did they win, they won big. In
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Carol Off interviews Andre Picard about the cultural factors and policy choices that have led to an avoidable fourth wave of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan and Alberta. And Yasmine Ghania talks to Alex Wong about the need for immediate gathering size restrictions to prevent
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The death graph
A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words. It’s true for me anyway. Maybe it’s my engineering background, but charts, graphs, etc. often make a point much more effectively for me than words. Such is the case with the death rates from COVID-19 in Canada. The number of deaths
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: The "Free Alberta Strategy"
I'll forgive people elsewhere in Canada who might be wondering what the hell is going on in Alberta. A little over a year ago, we were treated to the spectacle of a bunch of Alberta MPs and other luminaries signing the Buffalo Declaration, and today, we get "The Free Alberta
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Edge of the Cliff – Alberta Health Care System Hangs in the Balance
People are morons. They are abusing health care workers who are trying to save their ignorant, stupid lives. Can you imagine the audacity of some of these donkey-donuts cursing out medical staff while proclaiming Covid isn’t real? It’s happening here in Texas-North, and i am fucking embarrassed to live in
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Vote Kinney for Senator
Now that the federal election is out of the way, I turn my attention to the upcoming Calgary municipal election. Both the mayor and the councillor for my ward have retired, so I am confronted by a sea of eager faces seeking to fill the vacancy. I have decided to
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: “Help”
“Effective September 15, 2021, the Government of Alberta has declared a State of Public Health Emergency. … We have identified two areas where the federal government could assist with our response.” With these words, in a letter to federal Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: An Open Letter To Jason Kenney
Dear Premier Kenney, The time for you to step down has come. It actually arrived in July of 2021 when COVID-19 modelling was showing Alberta going into a fourth wave in mid-August. Your government decided to do nothing then, and things got worse than they needed to. You disappeared on
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Notes from the Front Line – The UCP Mismanagement of the Pandemic
An Alberta Healthcare professional shares her experiences on the frontline – “Ok…I am ready to share whether anyone wants to read or not. I am far more of a qualitative researcher than quantitative. I like themes and patterns. Swabbing today uncovered a theme I guess I didn’t expect. Yes
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Alberta Races to be a Covid Epicentre – Airdrie-East MLA Angela Pitt
I am ashamed of my province. There so much stupid going on around the pandemic and getting vaccinated. The stupid people, of course, are now clogging up the ICU’s province wide bumping other life saving procedures and surgeries off the table. We face a nursing shortage and devastating work attrition
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: The Forth Wave In Canada
Canada is experiencing a fair amount of Covid fatigue. The reception of news of the fourth wave seems like only a small ripple in the news. Unsurprisingly the news isn’t particularly good. The light at the end of the pandemic tunnel has gotten farther and dimmer as the delta variant
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Alberta needs a new Lougheed for a new era
Fifty years ago, Alberta entered the modern era. With the provincial election of August, 1971, Albertans dismissed Social Credit, their governing party for 36 years, and elected the Progressive Conservatives. A rural, Bible Belt regime had been replaced by a modern, urban political dynasty. A decent but bland Harry Strom
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Alberta’s debt to the Maldives
As humanity continues to heat the planet, there are winners and losers. Let me rephrase that. Ultimately nobody wins; in the long term if global warming isn’t halted it will bring down global civilization and we will all lose. But in the shorter term there are net winners. Alberta for
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