The only reason I’m going to mention the Sky Palace scandal in the same post as the deaths of 215 Indigenous children at a former residential school in Kamloops BC is because the Sky Palace scandal pulled our focus away from Jason Kenney’s utterly inappropriate response to the history of
Continue readingTag: Crime and Justice
Susan on the Soapbox: It Must Be Nice, Alberta
It must be nice to live in a bubble where Covid-19 is a hoax created by those who want to infringe your Charter right to swill beer in a pub and Covid vaccines are a plot perpetrated by multi-billionaires who want to track your movements from your house to the
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Mr Kenney Responds to the Supreme Court of Canada
“Parliament acted within its jurisdiction.” – Supreme Court of Canada Reference re Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act On Mar 25 Premier Kenney issued a statement followed by a press conference to respond to the Supreme Court of Canada’s (SCC) ruling that the federal carbon tax is constitutional. My first thought
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Chris Champion and the Curriculum Review
Mr Kenney handpicked Mr Champion, a historian, as a subject area expert to provide recommendations for the Kenney government’s revamp of the social studies curriculum for kindergarten to grade 4 students. Mr Champion’s education and experience, while interesting, are utterly irrelevant. He obtained an MA in philosophy from Magdalene College,
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Thoughts on the Death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg
US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday Sept 18, 2020 at the age of 87. She was appointed to the court by President Bill Clinton in 1993 and had been battling cancer in one form or another since 1999. She vowed to remain on the bench as
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Police Surveillance of NDP Cabinet Minister Shannon Phillips
As Ms Soapbox read the decision of retired superintendent Paul Manuel, formerly of the Calgary Police Service, in the disciplinary proceedings against two members of the Lethbridge Police Service who conducted unauthorized surveillance of an NDP Cabinet Minister at a breakfast meeting with four stakeholders, a thought crossed her mind:
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Kenney’s Answer to Systemic Racism: The Tinkerbell Effect
“This time it’s different.” – Masai Ujiri, president of the NBA champion Toronto Raptors The death of George Floyd ignited extraordinary protests around the world. Black, brown, and indigenous people and their supporters are saying this time it’s different. Albertans joined thousands of people across the globe calling on their
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Systemic Racism in Alberta
“This is hard to watch but it’s important. We cannot ignore that systemic racism persists in Alberta and across the world.” – Rachel Notley commenting on the video of the RCMP taking down Fort Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam We were grappling with the harsh reality of our own
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Ignominy of Kenney’s Bill 1
As Albertans flooded into the streets to join the hundreds of thousands of people around the world protesting systemic racism and police brutality, some of us worried about the UCP government’s move to limit our right to engage in peaceful protests by enacting Bill 1, the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act.
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Bill 1 and Freedom of Assembly
What do the Wet’suwet’en First Nations blockades have to do with Alberta’s Budget 2020? Everything. The blockades are the rationale (flimsy as it is) for Bill 1, Critical Infrastructure Defence Act which the Kenney government will use to quell protests when Albertans experience the full impact of Kenney’s budget cuts.
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Bill 22: An Attack on Democracy
Someone once said, “The only thing worse than knowing where the bodies are buried, is watching your enemies dig them up.” In order to ensure the Elections Commissioner’s investigation into the UCP leadership race didn’t dig up any more bodies—heaven forbid, he’d find a trail of breadcrumbs leading directly to
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Mr Kenney’s Fair Deal Panel
They just keep coming, fast and furious, like water gushing from a firehose. Yesterday Mr Kenney announced the formation of the Fair Deal Panel, the latest in a suite of things Mr Kenney says we need to protect ourselves from those who prey on us. So far, he’s created:
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Some Thoughts on Thanksgiving
Usually the thought of Thanksgiving invokes images of family and friends sitting around the dining room table enjoying good food, sparkling conversation and laughter…as well as reminiscing over past thanksgiving disasters like Ms Soapbox’s stuffing that was as dry as sand and Mr Soapbox’s failed experiment involving an oyster.
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: An Interview with Beverley McLachlin, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
I was delighted when Shelley Youngblut, CEO & Creative Ringleader of Wordfest, asked if I would like to interview Beverley McLachlin, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, on stage before a live audience about her new book Truth Be Told: My Journey through Life and the Law.
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: When Goliath Thinks He’s David
Ms Soapbox and her daughter were admiring the statues in the Borghese Gallery in Rome when Amnesty International published an open letter expressing its concern that Mr Kenney’s decision to fund a $30 million war room and a $2.5 million public inquiry into foreign funding of environmental groups undermines and
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Trudeau’s Ethics Violation
It was a headline befitting the National Enquire, splashed across the top of the newspaper in four different fonts and three different colours: “The evidence abundantly shows that Mr Trudeau knowingly sought to influence Ms Wilson-Raybould both directly and through the actions of his agents.” And boom, it turned into
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: About Those Ear Plugs…
Sigh. I expected to spend the next four years writing letters to my MLA, Doug Schweitzer, but I didn’t think the first one would be about ear plugs. But we play the cards we’re dealt so here goes. Dear Hon. Doug Schweitzer, Justice Minister and Solicitor General, I’m a lawyer
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Some Thoughts on Jody Wilson-Raybould’s Testimony
It’s been another week of high drama in politics. Albertan’s concerns over allegations of impropriety surrounding Jason Kenney winning the leadership of the UCP have been swamped by accusations that Justin Trudeau violated the rule of law in his dealings with Jody Wilson-Raybould over the prosecution of SNC-Lavalin. SNC is
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Has Jason Kenney Evolved?
The Up Series is an amazing documentary that follows the lives of 14 British children over five decades. The children were interviewed every seven years starting in 1964 when they were seven years old. The next instalment, 63 Up, will be released in 2019. The children came from the working
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Banning Alex Jones & InfoWars: Social Media Grows Up
This just in from the better-late-than-never department. Last week Apple, Facebook, YouTube and Spotify “deplatformed” Alex Jones’ InfoWars from their platforms and pages. It took them years to acknowledge that InfoWars violated their terms of service and it was time to say goodbye to the angry Mr Jones. The only
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