It was a horrible way to end a long and grim week. I crawled across the Friday finishing line, turned on the TV, and there was Rosemary Barton, looking even more like a dominatrix than usual.And leading her grim increasingly boring show with the story of Justin Trudeau, the helicopter,
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Alberta Politics: The Jason Syndrome: Conservative candidate melts down about Hollywood star turn in bid to derail NDP strategy that’s working
PHOTOS: Conservative carbon-tax foe Jason Kenney in a screen shot taken from his recent Facebook video. Actual best experiences may not result as promised from turning on the sound. Below: Hollywood actress Jane Fonda aboard a helicopter somewhere over Fort McMurray. Just what is the pilot pointing at? Below her:
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Alex Hemingway highlights the similarities between Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump in pushing infrastructure plans designed primarily to turn the promise of public services into long-term corporate profit centres: But as I described recently in the Canadian context, these “partnerships” have proven
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on how a change in government hasn’t done anything to slow the spread of Canada’s surveillance state – both in terms of intrusive new legislative proposals, and a continued determination to operate even outside the law. For further reading…– Again, Dave Seglins and Rachel Houlihan reported on the Cold
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: The Minister of Silly Excuses
Yes, Justin Trudeau has set up his predictable excuse for breaking his promise of electoral reform by putting a new minister in charge of the file during a crucial period. But let’s see what Karina Gould has had to say about a more fair democratic system in communicating with her
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Canada’s Trudeau about to make a colossal mistake re Trump Inauguration
False compass? Trudeau and his advisors have decided to snub the most powerful nation in the world by staying away from the inauguration of its next president on January 20. Despite the fact that Americans voted in a free vote for their next president, and Donald Trump won the presidency
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Canada’s Trudeau about to make a colossal mistake re Trump Inauguration
False compass? Trudeau and his advisors have decided to snub the most powerful nation in the world by staying away from the inauguration of its next president on January 20. Despite the fact that Americans voted in a free vote for their next president, and Donald Trump won the presidency
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: The Winter of Discontent over the Carbon Tax
Alberta’s carbon tax, lauded by economists and experts and derided by opposition conservatives, came into force on January 1, 2017. From photo-ops at gas pumps to outright climate change denial, opposition to the carbon tax has been nothing short of hysterical… Continue Reading →
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Jason Kenney – just visiting Alberta? – piously congratulates Michael Ignatieff for Order of Canada
PHOTOS: A screen shot from the Conservative Party of Canada’s vile “Just Visiting” ads, which were designed to undermine then Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff in the spring of 2009. They worked. Below: Dr. Ignatieff, who on Friday was awarded an Order of Canada, and Jason Kenney, candidate for the leadership
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Manitoba Chiefs Suing Trudeau Over Enbridge’s Line 3 Pipeline Approval
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs is suing the Trudeau government over its approval of Enbridge’s Line 3 tar sands pipeline. First Nations leaders have repeatedly stated that no genuine reconciliation is possible as long as Canada continues to approve fossil fuel-based projects that threaten their communities and the planet. The
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Happy New Year! AlbertaPolitics.ca’s Top Ten political predictions for 2017
PHOTOS: Your blogger, in hat, contemplates the difference between the renamed Conservative Party of Alberta and the renamed Conservative Party of Alberta. That’s not a typo. See Prediction No. 9 below for an explanation. Actual Alberta political commentators may not appear exactly as illustrated in this screenshot. Below (with predictions):
Continue readingIn This Corner: Stuff Still Happens, week 52: Let’s recap 2016 … sorry, it’s the law.
Yeah, yeah, I know. It was a terrible year. One of the worst in recent memory. But the rule for anyone who writes a weekly blog or column is that you must write some sort of year-end recap. So, with apologies, here we go. Newsmaker of the Year Is there any
Continue readingAlberta Politics: A Happy New Year to all – seriously, to all of you – as AlbertaPolitics.ca begins its 10th year of publication
PHOTOS: Some of the high points … This one was taken about the time I broke the story that Danielle Smith would be running for the leadership of the “upstart” Wildrose Party. Below: chats, and photos, with Ed Stelmach, Alison Redford, Jim Prentice and Rachel Notley. Dear Readers, On this
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Steve Blaney and the Con Apocalypse (Continued)
Although it wasn't a very big story, and most Canadians didn't pay it much attention, the Con leadership race was one of the recurring horror stories of 2016.A real zombie apocalypse and a virtual cesspool of bigotry. With Kellie Leitch going after immigrants, Brad Trost going after LGBT Canadians, and Rona Ambrose just
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on the need for progressive leaders and activists alike to build connections beyond borders and party lines to combat a reactionary movement which spans the globe. For further reading…– Sam Kriss discusses how the systematic stifling of the left has given rise to the toxic politics of the right.–
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material for your Monday reading. – Jared Bernstein argues that the limited stimulus provided by tax cuts for the rich is far from worth the overall costs of exacerbating inequality and damaging public revenues: I’m encountering progressives who are compelled to be at least somewhat supportive of wasteful, regressive
Continue readingMichal Rozworski: #RealChange wearing thin: A look back at Trudeau’s first year
We’re one year into Justin Trudeau’s government of #RealChange, yet it’s mostly the rhetoric not the policies that have changed. Some of the shine is finally wearing off. Whether approving pipelines, settting electoral reform up to fail or privatizing airports and transit, the Liberals are showing themselves to be the good
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: New column day
Here, on Justin Trudeau’s broken health care promises – and the need for a concerted provincial push for an equal partnership in maintaining and enhancing a universal health care system for all Canadians. For further reading…– The Liberal and NDP 2015 election platforms (PDF) offer a useful indication of the
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Canada’s Conservatives have taken their greatest strength and bulldozed it to the ground: this will not end well for them
PHOTOS: Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidates Kellie Leitch, Chris Alexander and Brad Trost get ready for their next debate on how best to Make Canada Great Again. Actual CPC leadership candidates may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Former Alberta Progressive Conservative premier Ed Stelmach, Alberta PC leadership candidate
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Tuesday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Lynn Parramore interviews Mariana Mazzucato about the options available to build a more fair and inclusive economy even in the face of corporatist leaders like Donald Trump: LP: In your earlier book, The Entrepreneurial State, you describe a model of capitalism that
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