We’ve had a month of campaigning in the Federal Election 2021. I don’t need to recap everything that’s gone on, except to say it APPEARS (with large emphasis on that word) that the Conservatives seem to have stalled momentum with 3 days to go, and that the Liberals appear to
Continue readingTag: Canadian Politics
Alberta Politics: Jason Kenney proves that Alberta provincial leaders can still influence federal election campaigns!
Who says Albertans don’t have influence in Confederation? Jason Kenney proved once again Wednesday that an Alberta political leader, just by calling a news conference and speaking a few words, can single-handedly influence the course of a federal election! Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Photo: Justin Trudeau/Flickr). One imagines, though, Alberta’s
Continue readingwmtc: another federal election, another opportunity squandered #elxn44 #ndp
I haven’t written anything about the upcoming Canadian federal election, because what is there to say? The results are depressingly predictable. We will either have a Liberal government or a Conservative government. Both will suck. One will suck worse, and one will appear to suck less. In a predictable bit
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Why Canada must confront the myths of its imperial past
The Emin Pasha Relief Expedition (1886-1889) emerging out of the dense forest onto the plains of Africa. Led in part by Canadian William Grant Stairs, the expedition helped Belgian King Leopold II conquer the resource-rich Katanga region of the Congo. Image from Wikimedia Commons. Throughout the 2021 federal election campaign,
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Kenney, declaring public health emergency, to Alberta: ‘I apologize … I don’t apologize!’
The richest, most self-righteous province in Confederation has been forced to go cap in hand to other provinces to beg for beds in which to park our sick vaccine refuseniks and health care workers to travel here and help us keep our hospitals open. Thanks, Kenney! Alberta Health Minister Tyler
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Jason Kenney’s rotten record of COVID chaos has finally become an issue in the federal election
So it’s come to this: Jason Kenney has become an issue in the federal election. All that effort keeping his head down for all but a couple of days over the past five weeks while Alberta’s health care system appeared to fall apart, and here we are. Chief Medical Officer
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Talk of cabinet split over vaccine passports sparks buzz in Alberta government circles
Has the parlous state of Alberta’s health care system, said to be on the verge of collapse as the fourth wave of COVID-19 rampages through the province, opened a serious rift in the United Conservative Party cabinet? With Premier Jason Kenney missing in action for 33 of the past 35
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta’s ‘Energy War Room’ appears to be operating in defiance of the Canada Elections Act
Alberta’s “Energy War Room” appears to be continuing to operate in defiance of Canada’s election laws, campaigning against positions clearly identified with a Canadian political party without registering as an election third party. Greenpeace Canada Senior Energy Strategist Keith Stewart argued recently in a tweet thread that the War Room,
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Indian in the Cabinet, Jody Wilson-Raybould
Politics Full story of SNC-Lavalin affair still to be told, Wilson-Raybould says in new book Social Sharing Facebook Twitter Email Reddit LinkedIn Pressed on campaign trail, Trudeau denies he left former attorney general with impression Read more… The post Indian in the Cabinet, Jody Wilson-Raybould first appeared on richardhughes.ca.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Kenney Government suddenly backs away from long-brewing big battles with nurses and teachers
Alberta’s United Conservative Party Government has suddenly retreated from controversial battles with nurses and teachers that were a priority for Premier Jason Kenney and his inner circle almost since their election in the spring on 2019. Over the Labour Day weekend, a representative of the Alberta Health Services bargaining committee
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: NDP’s same old foreign policy is a massive disappointment
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh on the campaign trail. Photo courtesy the New Democratic Party. Among the New Democratic Party’s 115-page 2021 electoral platform, “Ready For Better,” only one-and-a-half pages are dedicated to Canadian foreign policy—and they leave a lot to be desired. Before getting into its shortcomings, let’s begin by
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Hey Conservatives, you’ve got an Alberta problem
Conservative leader Erin O’Toole and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney. Photo from Twitter. Federal Conservative leader Erin O’Toole is in a tight spot. On one hand, national polls have his party eking out a small lead over Justin Trudeau’s Liberals. On the other, uh, Jason Kenney. At this point, even Ontario’s
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Green Party members give preliminary approval to bold progressive policies
A supporter holds a sign for the Green Party of Canada in Toronto, September 3, 2019. Photo by Cole Burston. On August 19, four days after the Trudeau government called a federal election, the Green Party of Canada (GPC) disclosed that its members had given preliminary approval to a series
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Ne media welcome: Jason Kenney reappears, virtually, answering curated questions via Facebook Live
Having been spotted out for shawarma in Calgary Tuesday night, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney cautiously emerged back into the artificial light of political life yesterday. Rather than making an actual public appearance and risking having to answer rude questions by the province’s media, uncharacteristically uncooperative after Mr. Kenney’s two-week vacation
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: A modest proposal for reimagining Canadian foreign policy
The Canadian flag flies over the Peacekeeping Monument in Ottawa. Photo from Flickr. Kim Campbell once said “an election is no time to discuss serious issues.” While most politicians would reject the former prime minister’s bluntness, they largely follow her logic, offering sound bites and snappy proposals rather than substantial
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Spare a thought for Jason Kenney. He’s lost a lot
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney during a news conference in Ottawa on May 2, 2019. Photo by Andrew Meade. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney can’t seem to catch a break. He just keeps on losing. But let’s get the winning out of the way first. It’s a much shorter list. In 2017,
Continue readingAlberta Politics: In Alberta this week, COVID’s surging and there’s no sign of the premier – but, fear not, we have a chief firearms officer!
Alberta’s premier hasn’t been seen in public since Aug. 9. But he’s just on holiday, Jason Kenney’s spokesperson says. “He is of course still able to fully communicate with his Cabinet and senior officials as required,” Jerrica Goodwin said in a statement yesterday that, seemingly, was intended to reassure us
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: The Fairy Tale Factory
As children, we very much enjoyed fairy tales. Stories filled with wolves and innocent damsels, children led astray by heartless witches, princes and plotters, giants and giant-slayers, all combined to fill us with both fear and ultimately hope, as good prevailed over evil and the world was once more
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Back in the holster: Sport shooting, 3-Gun, and the ban on assault-style rifles
The firearms industry loves practical shooting, but especially 3-Gun, which encourages participants to buy multiple firearms as well as various ammunition and other paraphernalia that people use to trick out their weapons and kit. Photo from Shutterstock. Gun control will again be an issue in the next federal election. On
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta premier unseen since Aug. 9 as COVID counts rise; Opposition assails inaction and media starts to grumble
With COVID-19 case counts in Alberta marching higher by the day, now closing in on 8,000 active cases, the chorus of grumbles about the what’s become of Premier Jason Kenney is increasing in volume. Mr. Kenney was last seen on Aug. 9 at a press conference called to announce expansion
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