As expected Premier Alison Redford visited the Lieutenant-Governor’s office today and started Alberta’s 2012 general election. She waited until the Alberta legislature passed the budget to get the campaign started in an effort to reinforce the party image as stable competent managers. The strategy seemed sound: pass a fair and
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DeSmogBlog: Look to Canada for Proof that Neither Presidents Nor Pro-Drilling Policies Control Gas Prices
Gas nozzle-cide.jpg Another Spring, another round of totally uninformed and illogical arguments about gas prices. You could be forgiven if you’re feeling some deja vu. As conservatives and Congressional Republicans scramble to blame the president for rising gas prices, you might have the feeling that we’ve been here before. Oh,
Continue readingTerahertz: Alberta Education: An election bomb?
Alberta is ramping up for an election and while busty buses and money-for-nothing schemes are dominating the scandals, the new Education Act may be the thing that pisses enough people off to actually care about how this election turns out. Alberta’s education laws haven’t been updated in decades and given
Continue readingAlberta universities make illegal donations to Conservatives
Oh my, even the universities are doing it. According to the CBC, a number of Alberta’s post-secondary institutions, including Athabasca University and the University of Lethbridge, have been donating to the provincial Conservatives. They have joined those municipalities and counties that have been donating to the Tories for years. All
Continue readingDeSmogBlog: Obama Sojourns to "Pipeline Crossroads of the World" for Campaign Speech
Cushing .jpg It's the multi-pronged fight that never seems to end. The Alberta Tar Sands have been near the forefront of the North American energy and climate debate, thanks in large part to growing public concern and grassroots efforts like Tar Sands Action, a campaign led by climate activists to block construction of the
Continue readingPoll: Albertans ‘smug’ and ‘condescending’
Canadians love to mock Toronto and beginning with last year’s Stanley Cup run, Vancouver. It’s understandable why the former is resented; it is the concentrated core for entertainment, news and industry. Let’s face it, if you read a newspaper or watch TV, the source is likely from Toronto. It gets
Continue reading350 or bust: Ethical Oil: The Puppet Rap
This Saturday gem comes from creative folks over at The Tyee: Why is everybody all bitchin’ bout the bitumen? Don’t you like rich men turnin’ into richer men? Solomon, whose agenda you followin? Typical liberal lamestream politics! Crackdown in Iran? Those Ayatollahs should park it! Monks burnin’ in Sichuan? well
Continue readingThe Alberta Advantage—for men only?
It seems the famous Alberta Advantage doesn’t apply to women. Alberta lags all other provinces except Newfoundland and Labrador in women’s wage parity with men. According to a report issued by the Parkland Institute and the Alberta College of Social Workers, in Canada as a whole women’s wages for full-year,
Continue readingRusty Idols: How the mighty have fallen
Last year Gary Mar was the odds on favorite to win the leadership of the Alberta Progressive Conservatives and by extension the Premiership of the richest province in Canada. Now he’s been peremptorily and unceremoniously summoned back to Alberta from his consolation prize/exile job as Alberta’s Asian trade representative in
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Labour Force Exodus
Statistics Canada reported this morning that 38,000 people gave up looking for work in February. The official unemployment rate fell because these Canadians were no longer counted as being unemployed. However, this huge withdrawal from the labour force is a sign of weakness in the job market. Most of those
Continue readingDavid Climenhaga's Alberta Diary: Travel and karate: the perfect ways to put Alberta politics in perspective
Karate: You need to learn it from someone who knows how … Sensei Kiyohide Shinjo instructs a young student in his Okinawa dojo. And you start by learning how to tie your own belt, without any help from the premier’s office. A little bit of travel can really put Alberta
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
Assorted content for your pre-debate reading. – Dave connects a few more dots as to who’s behind Robocon. Guy Giorno helpfully acknowledges that the Cons were supposed to have business-style processes to avoid the exact kind of electoral fraud that’s been discovered across Canada – signalling both that they’re indeed
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Canada – The Petrotyranny
The revelations over how the federal Tories used a robo-calling firm (or firms) to contact voters in possibly 30 or more ridings during last year’s election – misleading them about where polling stations were located – is just another example of the Harper government’s undemocratic tactics. This is on top
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Calgary Radio Station Tackles Bullying
Kool 105.5, a Calgary-based radio station, is tackling bullying with a pretty novel incentive: A contest. The school that signs the most pledges asserting that everyone has “the right to feel safe, respected, valued, and accepted” will get a free concert performed during school hours. Of course, if anyone breaks
Continue readingAre political donations and Alberta’s persistent condo problems related?
Justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done. — Lord Hewart, Seventh Lord Chief Justice of England The same might be said about governing. Governing parties should not only govern justly but should be seen to be governing justly. That is difficult
Continue readingArt Threat: The dirty truth as visual essay – Canada’s govt continues aggressive pro-Tar Sands campaign
In the face of all evidence to the contrary, Stephen Harper’s Conservative government continues to shake the shoulders of critics, eliciting the lonely, pitiful cry: “The Alberta Tar Sands are clean and friendly!” Now the Canadian government is even going up against the EU, the newest Tar Sands nay-sayer, and
Continue readingSlap Upside The Head: Alberta Doctors Still Billing Province For Treatment Of Homosexuality
Last year, Alberta finally removed homosexuality from its list of disorders that doctors in the province could bill the government for treating. This was 38 years after the disorder was delisted by the American Psychological Association, of course, but Alberta’s a little slow and deserved some congratulations for taking the
Continue readingSaskboy's Abandoned Stuff: Why Actions Today Matter
“We’re destroying future generations for now, and forever.” – Jitesh, an Indian oilman. You won’t regret watching this video, the guy’s a very good storyteller.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Wednesday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your mid-week reading. – Thomas Walkom points out that the McGuinty Libs’ choice to emphasize austerity rather than stabilizing Ontario’s economy may lead down exactly the same destructive path travelled by Greece and other countries: (T)he crises in Spain, Portugal and Greece occurred because government spending cuts
Continue readingCanada’s latest threat in an already long line of hostilities: trade war with the EU
(Found this on Google but no attribution. Looks like Montreal Simon’s work, though.) Harper has served notice on seniors, potheads, the youth, internet users, the environment, scientists and just about every other group not profitable to his party. Now, he’s threatened to go to war with the EU over nomenclature.
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