Alberta Politics: Former Edmonton PC MLA, set to serve two years of house arrest, once promised to donate entire salary for scholarships

Back in 2008, while running as the Progressive Conservative candidate for the Alberta Legislature, Carl Benito made the spectacular promise to donate his entire MLA salary to create a scholarship fund for students in the Edmonton-Mill Woods riding. Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney earlier this month (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). “Carl’s

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Alberta Politics: What’s next for former Wildrose leader Danielle Smith now that she’s dropping out of right-wing talk radio?

Former school trustee, former Wildrose Party leader, and former controversial legislative floor-crosser, Danielle Smith announced yesterday she will add right-wing talk-radio bloviator to her long list of former occupations.  The woman thought in 2012 to be on track to become Alberta’s first Wildrose Party premier announced yesterday she is ending

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Alberta Politics: In epic flip-flop, Jason Kenney reverses course, disciplines globe-trotting MLAs and sacks migratory chief of staff

After a weekend of unprecedented denunciation from all points of the political compass, including many of his own loyal supporters, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney yesterday folded and accepted resignations from two cabinet members and a top aide, while demoting four backbench MLAs for ignoring repeated pleas by health officials not

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Alberta Politics: Will Jason Kenney risk cracks in his UCP coalition by enforcing new COVID-19 measures?

Better late than never, the Kenney Government sharply changed course yesterday and announced much tougher lockdown measures that have the potential to slow the spread of COVID-19.  These will include closing bars, lounges, casinos, hair salons, libraries, and sports studios, restricting restaurants to take-out sales, mandating indoor masking and at-home

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Alberta Politics: Corporate lobbyist and former aide to two Conservative premiers named University of Alberta external relations VP

A high-profile lobbyist with connections to past Alberta Conservative governments and involvement in a controversial effort to open a large private hospital in Edmonton has been named as the University of Alberta’s new vice-president of external relations. U of A leadership, presumably, concluded lobbyist Elan MacDonald has the connections necessary

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Alberta Politics: Handpicked UCP advisors call for mention of residential schools to be erased from primary grades’ social studies curriculum

A recommendation by Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s handpicked curriculum advisors to strip all mention of residential schools from the province’s Kindergarten-to-Grade 4 curriculum “will perpetuate systemic racism through whitewashing,” says Melissa Purcell, the Alberta Teachers Association’s staff officer for Indigenous education. “The Indian Residential School system was created to erase

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