TweetVia the Edmonton Journal: Conservative linked to Katz donation named chairman of the Alberta Economic Development Authority BY KAREN KLEISS, EDMONTON JOURNAL JANUARY 30, 2013 EDMONTON – Premier Alison Redford has given a provincial political appointment to a veteran Conservative insider who allegedly brokered a $430,000 donation from Oilers owner
Continue readingTag: Daryl Katz
daveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Three investigations kick-off 2013 in Alberta politics.
TweetDespite winning a large majority in last spring’s provincial election, Alberta’s long-governing Progressive Conservatives had a rough ride in the media and on the floor of the Assembly last year. If Tory MLAs hoped for a reprieve in 2013, they may have to wait for a few months. Starting off
Continue readingAlberta Diary: A tsunami of Tory troubles? Naw, the Alberta universe is unfolding as it should…
All we want are the facts, Ma’am. A couple of investigators hired by Alberta Chief Electoral Officer O. (for Olaf) Brian Fjeldheim prepare to go through the files of friends, relatives and employees of billionaire Daryl Katz who may or may not have donated money to the Redford Tories. Actual
Continue readingAlberta Diary: With the NHL back on the ice, why not let Chinese taxpayers subsidize Canada’s billionaires?
The Great Leap Forum: what Edmonton’s luxurious new ice hockey palace could look like with a little gesture of internationist solidarity from Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Communist Chinese friends. Conceptual art by Dave Cournoyer used with permission. It’s a moment of such perfect convergence that it’s astonishing Alberta’s Wildrose Party,
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Could Chinese “stadium diplomacy” save Daryl Katz’s downtown arena dream?
TweetDid Canada miss an opportunity when the federal government acquiesced to a Chinese Government owned company purchasing Alberta energy company Nexen for $15 billion? Did we miss an opportunity when Canadian energy companies agreed to build a pipeline exporting raw oilsands bitumen to China? Perhaps we are not driving a
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Wildrose rink lotto scheme: a new tax on the prodigal and the poor
Imagine the millions we can scoop up from the foolish and the intoxicated! Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith extemporizes on the advantages of using gambling to subsidize billionaires. Below: Drugstore and hockey billionaire Daryl Katz; former Wildrose candidate Pastor Alan Hunsperger. It was almost a relief yesterday when Danielle Smith, leader
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Wildrose KENO-Arena lottery gambles with future of charities and non-profits.
TweetWildrose Official Opposition leader Danielle Smith re-injected herself into the latest round of news coverage about how to fund the Katz Group’s on-again, off-again arena north of Edmonton’s downtown. At a press conference this afternoon, Ms. Smith proposed that the provincial government should examine using the “KENO gambling model” to
Continue readingIn This Corner: The year in political bloopers.
Ah, politics. It has the potential to inspire, and an even greater potential to inspire derisive laughter or fits of rage. Here, for your reading and enraging enjoyment, are my choices for the top 10 political blunders of 2012, local edition. 1. Allan Hunsperger and the ‘lake of fire’ In
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Edmonton Mayor takes swipes at NDP, Wildrose over Katz arena funding.
Tweet“Danielle Smith will probably yell and scream. Brian Mason will yell and scream. They really don’t care about the City of Edmonton, I guess, but I would hope they would be wise enough to see it’s about Edmonton.” – Mayor Stephen Mandel (December 18, 2012) Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel took
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Bill C-377 can be just the start – let’s shine a light on some corners that are really in the dark!
The ideal Canadian workforce, Harper Conservative style. Below: Social conservative B.C. MP Russ Hiebert. Well, you can’t fight a call for transparency, so why bother? I say, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em! The so-called Conservative Party of Stephen Harper quietly whipped its troops in the privacy of their
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Everythinggate: Perfect storm lands Alberta premier in shark-infested waters!
As a perfect storm blows, Alison Redford’s strategic brain trust parries Opposition attacks about the conduct of her government. The premier is in the centre of the boat, wearing a cowboy hat. Actual Alberta politicians may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: Your blogger with Paul Martin; queue-jumping inquiry chief John Vertes. As the political …
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Smoking Gun
Fresh off the Daryl Katz scandal, Alison Redford is again in hot water: The issue centres on a giant lawsuit launched by the province against the tobacco industry. The province is seeking $10 billion from tobacco manufacturers for the healthcare costs caused by smoking. The suit was announced in May, and was to be handled by a group of local legal firms that stood to gain $2 billion in contingency fees, according to Wildrose. One of the firms includes Redford’s … →
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Wildrose leader to Albertans: You’re gullible and stupid!
Pastor Allan Hunsperger in exile, as seen by the Wildrose Party’s leadership. Below: Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith (mean photo by Dave Cournoyer); the real Allan Hunsperger; party strategist Tom Flanagan; Wildrose House Leader Rob Anderson. Despite an amusing Pierre Poutine moment before it started, the Wildrose Party’s one-day annual general meeting in Edmonton yesterday seems …
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Is a Wildrose ‘coup d’etat’ in the works as blog claims? Not very likely
Shades of Videodrome: Wildrose Deputy Leader Rob Anderson listens to Danielle Smith on a mysterious video about goings on in the Wildrose Party emanating from a French online video site. Actual clips from the missing movie may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: Blogger Kathleen Smith, Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith, Progressive Conservative Premier Alison Redford …
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Fair or not, Opposition targets Katz donation(s) as symbol of Tory sleaze
Caesar repudiates Pompeia: “You’re outta here!” Below: Danielle Smith and Alison Redford. The Wildrose Party strategy for defeating the Progressive Conservative government of Premier Alison Redford when the next election rolls around in 2016 is a variation of the right-wing party’s plan when it came close to winning earlier this
Continue readingIn This Corner: Katz donation assures one thing — no money for arena.
You’d think at some point I’d get tired of writing about Daryl Katz, but no. The guy just keeps doing the most amazing, mind-boggling things. I swear, Katz is an Edmonton version of Mitt Romney. When last we left the klutz that is Katz, out local Monty Burns had managed
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Welcome to Alberta’s Wild West, where the market sets the value of your vote
Drug store billionaire Daryl Katz, right, discusses his plans for a new Edmonton hockey arena with a representative of the Alberta government. Since Wild West hockey barons may not appear exactly as illustrated, a photo of the real Mr. Katz is shown below. (CBC Photo, circa 2008.) Look, people, this
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: A case for finance reform: Reclusive billionaire allegedly donated $430,000 to PC Party.
Tweet“Mr. Katz declined requests for comment” was probably the least surprising sentence printed in the Globe & Mail this week as the national newspaper published reports that reclusive billionaire Daryl Katz had allegedly donated $430,000 to Alberta’s Progressive Conservative Party during the recent provincial election. The maximum contribution limits allowed
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Pharmaceutical billionaire Daryl Katz gave $430,000 to PC Party, Globe & Mail reports.
TweetI am still processing this news and will have more to say soon. In the meantime, kudos to Globe & Mail reporters David Ebner and Dawn Walton for digging this up. From The Globe & Mail: Billionaire entrepreneur and Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz gave Alberta’s Progressive Conservatives nearly half
Continue readingCalgary Grit: Fat Katz
“I’m sorry little boy. This is an Oilers-only campaign.” It appears Daryl Katz has a thing for crumbling dynasties: Billionaire Oilers owner Katz gave $430,000 to Alberta PCs Billionaire entrepreneur and Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz gave Alberta’s Progressive Conservatives nearly half a million dollars – almost one-third of the
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