This and that for your Thursday reading. – David Callahan writes about the U.S.’ billionaire-dominated political system – and why nobody should be satisfied merely with having an ideologically-agreeable set of tycoons buying elections: Depending on your politics, you may either cheer or fear the influence spending of specific top
Continue readingTag: brad wall
Accidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on how Scott Moe’s equalization bluster ultimately shows only that he’s more interested in political posturing than responsible governance. For further reading…– Gregory Beatty reviews how Saskatchewan’s effort to remove renewable resource revenue from the equalization formula was abandoned when Brad Wall decided it was inconvenient to remind the
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Saskatchewan Catholic school funding case likely to drag on despite deadline; cabinet shuffle today in Alberta
You’d think the province of Saskatchewan would be almost out of time to figure out how to deal with a judge’s ruling last year that non-Catholic students may not receive public funding if they attend separate schools. After all, the bombshell decision by Mr. Justice Donald Layh of the Saskatchewan
Continue readingAlberta Politics: If F. W. de Klerk’s apartheid comparison to the fossil fuel economy is OK, why is David Suzuki’s slavery analogy an outrage?
A speech in Calgary last week by the last white president of South Africa in which F. W. de Klerk suggested the challenges faced by Alberta in the waning days of the petroleum industry may not be dissimilar from those facing his country in the last days of apartheid seems
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Pipeline politics in Canada circa 2018: Destroying the rule of law in order to save it
Obviously, we have to destroy the rule of law in order to save it! With Kinder Morgan Inc.’s do-or-drop-it deadline set to arrive on Thursday, that seems to be the idea behind the argument advanced by the increasingly furious Canadian pipeline lobby that the Trans Mountain Expansion project must be
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on how Scott Moe’s first budget is just more of the same in leaving Saskatchewan’s low-income residents behind in the face of rising costs of living. For further reading…– D.C. Fraser’s general report on the budget is here. – The inflation data cited in the column is here, while
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Jason Kenney tries to look tough, but that ship’s already sailed with Rachel Notley at the helm
PHOTOS: The real Rachel Notley, looking tough and determined, as she is. Below: The new slimmed down, but still not very scary looking, Jason Kenney, trying to scare us of course. (Yes, the message from Mr. Kenney’s social media meme has been modified by your poor-sport blogger.) The real Dr.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On personal responsibility
Since the Saskatchewan Party’s leadership campaign didn’t do much to test Scott Moe’s track record, it will fall to the rest of us to point out the reasons why his actions need to come under careful scrutiny. And one such reason comes from Moe’s actions in threatening the provincial auditor’s
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Episode 5: #MeToo rocks Canadian politics, Kara Levis and the PST, goodbye Brad Wall, and more.
A look at how allegations of sexual misconduct have rocked Canadian politics, Alberta Party leadership candidate Kara Levis‘ sales tax idea, how a change in leadership could change Alberta-Saskatchewan relations, what’s weird with the 2017 fundraising returns (Dave goes deep into the weeds), and some hot gossip from Alberta politics
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Brad Wall out! Jason Kenney not yet sworn in! Is Rachel Notley now the Real Leader of Western Canada?
PHOTOS: Brad Wall, the former premier of Saskatchewan, offers his farewell attack on the Alberta NDP to enthusiastic Saskatchewan Party supporters in Saskatoon last night. (Photo: Screenshot from Saskatchewan Party video.) Below: New Sask Party Leader Scott Moe, NDP Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, Manitoba Progressive Conservative Premier Brian Pallister, B.C.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on how Carillion’s collapse points out one of the most important failings of Brad Wall’s tenure in office. For further reading…– Plenty of others have also weighed in on the Carillion story and the dangers of putting corporate interests in charge of public services, including Simon Jenkins, Will Hutton,
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Alberta NDP win the Fake Trade War on the Prairies
In one of his final acts as Premier of Saskatchewan, Brad Wall ended the brief and bizarre fake trade war his government launched against Alberta. The ban on vehicles with Alberta license plates on Saskatchewan road worksites was initially framed as a retaliation for similar actions by the Alberta government.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Brad Wall hoist with his own petard as Saskatchewan climbs down from its embarrassing licence plate war
PHOTOS: Brad Wall, Saskatchewan’s cranky premier and Canada’s answer to Basil Fawlty. (Photo: Saskatchewan Party, grabbed from Facebook.) Below: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, Alberta Trade Minister Deron Bilous, and Saskatchewan Trade Minister Steven Bonk (Photo: Saskatchewan Party). Devotees of slapstick political humour will be disappointed to learn Saskatchewan’s Monty Pythonesque
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Axel von Schubert notes that the effect of Donald Trump’s giveaway to his billionaire buddies will be to turn the U.S. into a tax haven itself. And Michelle Chen discusses how the growth in inequality has been the result of political choices at
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Julian Cribb reports on new research as to mass exposure to chemicals and pollutants: Almost every human being is now contaminated in a worldwide flood of industrial chemicals and pollutants – most of which have never been tested for safety – a
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Brent Patterson rightly worries about the prospect that Justin Trudeau will choose to emulate Donald Trump’s anti-social agenda (just as he’s too often done with Stephen Harper’s): At the time of last year’s federal budget, Finance Minister Bill Morneau commented he would
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Happy New Year! It wouldn’t be New Year’s Eve without AlbertaPolitics.ca’s Top Ten political predictions for 2018
PHOTOS: Will U.S. spear hunters like this guy still be able to come to Alberta after 2018? Your blogger predicts they’ll have to find ursine victims elsewhere. (Photo: Youtube screengrab, grabbed by the CBC and re-grabbed by me.) Below: Demonstrators on Cambie Street in Vancouver protest against the Kinder Morgan
Continue readingAlberta Politics: As the year runs out, here are AlbertaPolitics.ca’s Top Ten developing Alberta political news stories of 2017
PHOTOS: As time runs out on 2017, here are AlbertaPolitics.ca’s Top Ten developing new stories for the year. Below: Opposition UCP Leader Jason Kenney, NDP Premier Rachel Notley, serial conservative screw-up Derek Fildebrandt and Labour Minister Christina Gray. It’s easy to pick list of news stories that caused a big
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Saskatchewan’s War on Licence Plates: Is Brad just mad because he’s been upstaged by a woman, and an NDP woman at that?
PHOTOS: No press releases about Texas plates? Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall didn’t used to have a problem with out-of-province tags on work trucks, at least when they were being used to undermine publicly owned Crown corporations, as this photo posted on social media by Saskatchewan Federation of Labour President Larry
Continue readingAlberta Politics: It was wall-to-wall Brad Wall as premier exits, stage right, before wheels fall off Saskatchewan Party bus
PHOTOS: Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, smiling like old times, says farewell in this video screenshot to an adoring media on his last day in the provincial Legislature in Regina yesterday. Below: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and Alberta Trade Minister Deron Bilous. Political coverage was wall-to-wall Brad Wall yesterday as mainstream
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