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 readingTag: law
The Political Road Map: Adult Assembly Required: Justin Trudeau & SNC – Lavalin
If anyone can take anything from the past few weeks regarding Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the resignation of Jody Wilson-Raybould, it should be that sometimes even though you try something different, you get the same old turnout. That smile you give when the boss wants you to skirt the
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Sorry, Not Enought “Human Capital”
Restaurant Canada wants Alberta’s $15/hour minimum wage reduced for youth, liquor servers and people with disabilities. Mr Kenney says he’ll consider a reduction for youth and alcohol servers. No word yet on his position on people with disabilities but given his rhetoric (see below) we can assume people with disabilities
Continue readingThings Are Good: Enforcing Environmental Laws can Save the Planet
Nations around the world have been putting more and more environmental protection laws on the books. This has been good to see. However, with many new things it takes awhile for people to get used to them, accordingly the enforcement of these laws has been lax. This means that if
Continue readingThings Are Good: Let’s Rethink Punishment
When someone breaks the law or acts out in a transgressive manner we often turn to punishment to correct their behaviour. We do this in families and as a society, but is it right? If take a moment to look at the roots of modern punishment we might conclude that
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Why Carpay’s Comment About the Rainbow Flag Matters
“History can familiarize, and it can warn.” – Timothy Snyder On Thursday Mr and Ms Soapbox attended Rachel Notley’s Octoberfest in November event. In her speech, Premier Notley mentioned that Jason Kenney, the leader of the UCP, is still supporting John Carpay, who in a speech at a conference organized
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Razzle Dazzle ‘Em: Part One
“Give ‘em the old Razzle Dazzle…how can they see with sequins in their eyes?” —Richard Gere as a corrupt criminal lawyer in the musical Chicago Prepare to be razzle dazzled! Jason Kenney spoke at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce and the Energy Relaunch conference recently. This post will cover the
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Kavanaugh Confirmation Hearing and How a Calgary City Councillor Sank PostMedia’s Credibility
The Kavanaugh confirmation hearing is like a mirror shattering on the floor, shards of glass are flying every where and women are demanding accountability. Everyone knows about the two women who confronted Senator Jeff Flake in an elevator and demanded he think carefully about the message he’s sending women by
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Trans Mountain Pipeline Court Decision
Ms Soapbox spent the long weekend poring over the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision nullifying the Order-in-Council that approved the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX). Mr Bumble’s comment in Oliver Twist comes to mind. Mr Bumble said if the court thought he could control his domineering wife, the law was
Continue readingThings Are Good: Jaywalking Shouldn’t be Illegal
So far in 2018 a car driver has killed a person every week; if this continues Toronto will see yet another year in which more people die from vehicles than guns. Automobile advocates argue that it’s the victim’s fault for dying and demand stricter punishment for trivial things like jaywalking.
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Magical Thinkers: Horgan and Kenney
I’m not sure what’s more bizarre, BC Premier John Horgan’s rationale for asking the BC Supreme Court to rule on whether BC can limit the amount of diluted bitumen flowing on Trans Mountain or Jason Kenney’s reaction to Horgan’s decision to take the issue to court. Magical molecules Horgan defended
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Why is a quarter of Canada’s prison population Indigenous?
The recent decision by an all-white jury to acquit Gerald Stanley, the killer of Colten Boushie calls on us all to confront systematic racism and demand reforms to Canada’s justice system, which “works against Indigenous people at every level”. The post Why is a quarter of Canada’s prison population Indigenous?
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: An Unfathomable Darkness — The Gerald Stanley Verdict
“There is a darkness that exists in this country and I believe we are going to have to feel our way out of it.” — Chris Murphy, lawyer for the Boushie family The verdict that found Gerald Stanley not guilty of any crime, not even manslaughter, in the shooting death
Continue readingThings Are Good: Cyclists Obey the Law More Than Drivers
Cyclists are law disobeying maniacs! At least that’s a common and all too nasty rumour in North American cities. It turns out that car drivers are the maniacs according to a study fresh out of Florida. The study, the largest of it’s kind, put sensors on cyclists which monitored their
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: #Metoo?
Can we talk? Many men (and some women) worry that the #metoo movement has morphed into a man-hating witch hunt where innocent men will be publicly humiliated and deprived of their livelihoods by vindictive women spreading unfounded accusations. They point to the fate of three Canadian politicians, Ont PC leader,
Continue readingThings Are Good: Courts vs. Climate Change
New York City launched a lawsuit against some of the larger polluters on the planet to cover the costs the city faces due to climate change (projected to be over $20 billion USD). A decade ago this case would likely have been thrown out, today with the effects of climate
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Rule of Law in An Age of Fear
“He who puts security before liberty deserves neither.” –Dennis Edney Q.C. quoting Benjamin Franklin Last week Dennis Edney Q.C. delivered the 2018 Milvain Lecture at the University of Calgary. His topic was The Rule of Law in an Age of Fear and his defence of Omar Khadr. Edney discussed the
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Who’s the Real Enemy?
“You’re either with us or against us.” — Benito Mussolini First the UCP demanded the Premier ignore the rules of the House, then they accused her of being against rural Albertans and siding with the criminals because she refused to ignore the rules of the House. Do these guys even
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Whole Gay Thing
Recently Brad Trost and Jason Kenney made some troubling comments about the whole gay thing and the progressives just won’t let it go. Trost, a “full spectrum” conservative, believes in all three conservative values: social conservatism, fiscal conservatism, and democratic populist conservatism. He recently shared his views on “the whole
Continue readingThe Cracked Crystal Ball II: Senator Plett Reprises His Complaints on Bill C-16
Whether we are talking about Bill C-16, Bill C-279 or Bill C-389, there has been one consistent thing in the Senate – the voice of Senator Plett droning on about how terrible this legislation is. This week, second reading of Bill C-16 happened in the Senate, and sure enough Senator
Continue reading