On Feb 27, 2020 the Kenney government released Budget 2020. The day it was tabled it was under water, less than two weeks later it drowned. It sank beneath the surface once and for all because of a snake (or some other creature) in a wild animal market in Wuhan,
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Susan 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: Teck Withdraws the Frontier Application
Let’s try to have a sensible conversation about Teck, shall we? On Sunday, Feb 23, 2020 Teck Resources Ltd pulled its application for the Frontier oil sands project. The federal government was supposed to give Frontier the green light, or not, on Tuesday. Jason Kenney blames the feds, saying “It
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Teck Decision Provides a Lesson on Handouts
For a long time Ms Soapbox has been trying figure out what Mr Kenney and the UCP mean when they talk about a “hand up” and a “handout”. She knew from the context that a “hand up” was good and a “handout” was bad, but she was never quite sure
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Why Is It Always Someone Else’s Fault?
When Jason Kenney convinced Albertans that our economy is solely dependent on fossil fuels (diversification is a luxury, remember) and government policy, not the global marketplace, drives our economy; he needed a scapegoat when our economy failed to grow. Cue Rachel Notley and Justin Trudeau, although with the passage of
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: In Search of Efficiencies in Higher Education…or something…
“The greatest waste now confronting us is not one of money but of human possibilities.” – John Maynard Keynes Ms Soapbox is concerned that the recent announcement by Mr Nicolaides, the minister of Advanced Education, has brought Alberta another step closer to squandering its human possibilities. Mr Nicolaides announced
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: In the Eye of the Storm
Here we are in the eye of the storm, a place of relative calm surrounded by a ring of thunderstorms (known as the eye wall). We passed through one eye wall to get here and we’ll have to pass through another eye wall to get out. This won’t be easy
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: 2020 The Year We Push Back
Kudos to the citizens who parse Jason Kenney’s policies and winnow the truth from the lies. This takes tremendous courage given the government’s thin-skinned and overly aggressive response to criticism. (Check its Twitter and Facebook posts, they’re replete with attacks on anyone and everyone from Calgary’s mayor to doctors, academics,
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Book List
The year 2020 is almost upon us. We know there are tough times ahead. But we need to remember we’re not alone. Others much smarter than us have traveled this path and documented what they’ve learned. They can offer insights to help us understand what we’re experiencing and if we’re
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Is This a Time for Hope?
It’s hard to find hope when so many Albertans are hurting. It’s even more difficult when you realize Alberta’s own government is the source of their pain. Nevertheless, there is cause for hope. I saw that eye-roll. Let me tell you why I’m hopeful. The Notley opposition
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Fair Deal Panel (The Circus Comes to Town)
On Dec 10 the circus rolled into town. It called itself a “Fair Deal Panel Town Hall” but like the Ringling Brothers, its purpose was to distract Albertans from their troubles by dazzling them with spectacle. It took place on a bitterly cold week night, somewhere in the boonies
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Promises Made, Promises Kept…or Not
The UCP government continues to tell Albertans it’s delivering on its promise of jobs, economy, pipelines, when in fact it’s not. The latest example of this Orwellian doublespeak is the UCP government’s “promises made, promises kept” report. This is the second PMPK report. Like the first one it lists
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Fair Deal Panel Registration
The Fair Deal Panel is coming to Calgary on Dec 10. If you plan to attend you’ll need to register. Here’s the link: https://www.alberta.ca/fair-deal-panel.aspx Hope to see you there!
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Day We Demonstrated Outside the UCP AGM
“Public services are under attack. What do we do? Stand up, fight back!” – Protest cheer Ms Soapbox, her husband and her good friend from Edmonton joined the public school teachers, healthcare workers, and deeply concerned Albertans at the huge rally outside the Westin Hotel where the UCP were holding
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: The Fog of Politics
The fog of politics is like the fog of war. It’s hard to see what’s really going on. Albertans are choking in UCP fog. We wonder why Mr Kenney who came to power on the Thatcher/Reagan ideology—small government, low taxes and less red tape—is wasting valuable time and resources
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: The Anti-Alberta Energy Inquiry (Thank God for Lawyers)
In his book On Tyranny historian Timothy Snyder sets out twenty lessons from the 20th century to help democracies resist the “the usurpation of power by a single individual or group, or the circumvention of law by rulers for their own benefit.” These lessons are as relevant for Alberta as
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: How did we get to Wexit?
“Is this democracy’s death spiral? Are we falling, in this and other countries, into a lethal cycle of fury and reaction, that blocks the reasoned conversation on which civic life depends?” – George Monbiot The cycle of conservative fury and reaction hasn’t stopped for Albertans. It started with relentless attacks
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Greta Visits Alberta
“So today is Friday and as always, we are on Climate Strike, young people all around the globe are today sacrificing their education to bring attention to the climate and ecological emergency.”—Greta Thunberg On Friday my friend Elaine and I joined more than 10,000 Albertans to show our support for
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