Having announced Monday it would spend $9 million cooking up a fanciful provincial railway “masterplan” that includes a public transit component, the United Conservative Party Government yesterday informed Edmonton and Calgary it is ending its contribution to their low-income transit pass programs. Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek (Photo: Calgary.ca). The mayors
Continue readingTag: Edmonton
Alberta Politics: Emphasizing hope and inclusion, Naheed Nenshi gets a warm welcome from Edmonton New Democrats
Former Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi may have started his campaign to lead Alberta’s NDP with harsh words about Danielle Smith and the United Conservative Party, but he adopted a softer tone last night for his first campaign meeting with Edmonton New Democrats. Mr. Nenshi showed up for the supper-hour event
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Letter implores Edmonton mayor and council to intervene to halt ‘violent and disruptive decampment’ planned today
With Edmonton Police Services ready to start breaking up some of the homeless camps in downtown Edmonton this morning, opponents of the mass clearances will circulate a letter to Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi and City Council imploring them to intervene to seek a moratorium on the rousts. An EPS mobile
Continue readingThings Are Good: This Northern Canadian City is Investing $100 million into Cycling Infrastructure
People opposed to efficient transportation systems argue that cycling infrastructure doesn’t work in the winter, and anybody not suffering from car brain knows that people can ride bikes in cold weather. The city of Edmonton, located in the northern half of Alberta, has launched a great new initiative to promote
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: 1MillionMarch4Children – Let the ATA Know that Teaching Gender Ideology In Schools is Not Okay
Your DWR Public Service Announcement. Make your voice heard and speak for child safeguarding and age appropriate materials for students.
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Alberta—rural government in an urban province
The last century saw the greatest revolution in this country’s history. I refer to the mass migration from country to town. At Confederation, about 80 percent of Canadians lived in rural areas, today that’s less than 20 percent, and the trend continues. We have become an urban and suburban nation.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Premier Danielle Smith, fresh off election victory, suggests resurrecting the Family Compact to run Edmonton!
Even before the dust from the historically close 2023 Alberta general election has settled, Premier Danielle Smith was blabbing about creating an extra-parliamentary council of UCP electoral losers to act as Edmonton’s MLAs. University of Calgary Law Professor Martin Z. Olszynski (Photo: University of Calgary). Of course, the day before
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: For Alberta, sovereignty; for Calgary and Edmonton, supplication
One might think that Alberta’s provincial government would have the greatest respect for its subordinate level of governing—the municipalities. One might expect that to be especially true for the two major cities, Calgary and Edmonton. These are the closest level of government to the people for over half the province’s
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Notley tells throng of supporters of NDP plan to invest $1.8 billion in Edmonton over three years
Calgary may be the battleground in Alberta’s May 29 provincial election, but NDP Leader Rachel Notley stopped in Edmonton yesterday morning to tell a throng of supporters packed into the entrance hall of the Citadel Theatre in the city’s downtown what her party would do for Alberta’s nowadays-neglected capital city.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Embarrassed by premier’s telephone tête-à-tête with extremist facing criminal charges, UCP retreats to its safe space: Law ’n’ Order rhetoric
Sounding a mite panicked by the negative public response to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s willingness to bend rules to help political allies in trouble with the law, the United Conservative Party has retreated to its ideological safe space: Law ’n’ Order, with a side of dog-whistles and urban crime stereotypes.
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Around Edmonton – The Walterdale Bridge
Edmonton has been doing a fine job of selecting some beautiful architecture to grace the river valley.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Guest Post by Brad Lafortune: Edmonton’s proposed encampment strategy violates human rights
The reality about human rights is that while they may be enshrined in international and federal laws, they are negotiated and often ignored every day in our streets and communities, usually with no consequence. When it comes to encampment response in Edmonton, the so-called right to housing is no exception.
Continue readingNorthern Currents –: The Police Problem in Canada
The Emergencies Act sets a dangerous precedent- as does Bill 1 in Alberta, and we should not be encouraging their precedent-setting use. It is clear that the systems and leaders have not been listening. Legislation that allows the system to reproduce the same old issues is not going to bring
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Trucker Freedum Rally Plagues Edmonton
Did you ever need to see what ignorance and a banal level of patriotism looks like? Here ya be. The Rally for Freedom in my hometown. It is so very disheartening to see this level of absolute farce on display. These individuals are demonstrating their absolute lack of social responsibility
Continue readingNorthern Currents –: Edmonton City Council votes to Defund the Police
The Edmonton city council voted to cut the 2022 Edmonton Police Service (EPS) budget by $10.9 million last Wednesday. EPS will still be allocated $385 million next year. I guess more armoured vehicles are out of the question next year? Defunding the police is the correct path for Canada to take, and
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Why can’t conservatives win the mayoralties of Alberta’s major cities?
Alberta’s reputation as a bastion of conservatism has been belied once again by the recent municipal elections. Both Calgary and Edmonton, which together make up over half the province’s population, elected progressive mayors. And in both cases they replace progressive mayors. Not only did they win, they won big. In
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Join the Protest in Edmonton To Keep Female Prisons Single Sex
Men, regardless of their gender magical feelings, do not belong in female prison facilities. Prioritize female safety over male gender feelings.
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Happy Winter Solstice from Edmonton Alberta
Sometimes it is nice just to push the current events to the side and refocus for awhile on a different picture. Happy Solstice everyone. Some pics of my hometown. First three photos from Randal Talbot.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Thanks to a public-spirited leaker, a risky health-care privatization scheme is exposed
Panicky sounding United Conservative Party “issues managers” were frantically insisting yesterday everything is copacetic and above board with secret plans to build a $200-million private orthopedic surgical hospital in Edmonton. No way will this result in two-tier health care, they contended, often shrilly calling anyone who suggested otherwise a liar,
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Happy Canada Day
No public celebrations or fireworks in Edmonton this year. But that’s okay, eh… 🙂
Continue reading