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 readingTag: Rachel Notley
Alberta Politics: Trudeau in India, Part I: PM’s family goes full Bollywood; Conservatives freak out; some alterations suggested
PHOTOS: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau and their children visit the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, India, during Mr. Trudeau’s official visit to that country. Below: Mr. Trudeau, resplendent in gold and making it work. Below him, his late father, prime minister Pierre Trudeau, doing his famous
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Who blinked? Doesn’t matter: There are plenty of reasons to doubt B.C. and Alberta’s differences are settled
PHOTOS: A map showing the route of the Trans Mountain Pipeline. Below: B.C. Premier John Horgan, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, Alberta Opposition leader Jason Kenney, and B.C. Environment Minister George Heyman. No sooner was a truce declared in the Alberta-British Columbia war of wine and oil yesterday afternoon than claims
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Notley opens the Quails’ Gate and lets the BC wine flow into Alberta once again.
Did Alberta win the pipeline war against British Columbia? No, but the great BC wine boycott of 2018 appears to be over. The interprovincial dispute over the Kinder Morgan Inc. Trans Mountain Pipeline is likely far from over, but Premier Rachel Notley announced today that the Alberta Gaming and Liquor
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Jason Kenney tries to look tough, but that ship’s already sailed with Rachel Notley at the helm
PHOTOS: The real Rachel Notley, looking tough and determined, as she is. Below: The new slimmed down, but still not very scary looking, Jason Kenney, trying to scare us of course. (Yes, the message from Mr. Kenney’s social media meme has been modified by your poor-sport blogger.) The real Dr.
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Episode 6: Alberta-BC Pipeline War, UCP loses 2 MLAs, and Alberta Party leadership race
We’re back! After a brief hiatus because Ryan was down south helping Make America Great Again, we are back with a new episode of The Daveberta Podcast. In this episode, Dave and Ryan discuss the ongoing dispute between Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and British Columbia Premier John Horgan over the
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: Best of Alberta Politics 2017: David Eggen, Minister of Education
With more than 1,200 votes cast in the Best of Alberta Politics survey, Minister of Education David Eggen came up on top in the Best Cabinet Minister of 2017 category. Adam Rozenhart and I were delighted to visit David Eggen at the Legislative Assembly this month to present him with
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Jason Kenney’s Non-Partisan Request
This just in from “the train-has-left-the-station” department. Let’s see, how should Alberta respond to BC’s announcement that it will limit bitumen shipments from Alberta until it completes consultation on more spill response studies? Well, the Notley government could impose a boycott of BC wines and create a Market Access Task
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Is just talking about restricting diluted bitumen in pipelines an unconstitutional impediment to trade?
PHOTOS: Some of the Fathers of Confederation looking, well, fatherly. Below: Steely eyed Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, B.C. Premier John Horgan, and would-be premier Jason Kenney. In case you missed it, a new constitutional doctrine seems to be developing in Alberta. To wit: the idea that creating business uncertainty violates
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: BC refuses to open the Quails’ Gate for Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline. Is Alberta up the CedarCreek with no paddle?
It has been one week since the Alberta Government began its great BC wine boycott and supplies of Okanagan wine are closer to running dry in Alberta’s privately owned liquor stores. While Premier Rachel Notley has succeeded in draping herself Alberta’s blue and gold flag, the Kinder Morgan corporation’s Trans
Continue readingSong of the Watermelon: Globe and Mail Letter
In today’s Globe and Mail, you will find a letter from me (fourth from the top, under the heading “In the national interest”) relating the present interprovincial pipeline kerfuffle to global efforts efforts to solve the climate crisis. Never hurts to remind ourselves how much is really at stake.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The Alberta NDP’s Sour Grapes Strategy will only strengthen Coastal B.C.’s nearly universal opposition to pipelines
PHOTOS: Grape vines grow in B.C.’s beautiful Okanagan Valley, one of the prime wine producing regions of the world (Photo: Kelowna Wine & Cuisine Flickr, Creative Commons). Below: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, B.C. Premier John Horgan, and Alberta Opposition Leader Jason Kenney. With Alberta’s Sour Grapes Strategy, the official boycott
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: BC Wine Ban 2018: Notley picks her Mission Hill to die on
If you are an Albertan who enjoys British Columbia wines, now is the time to rush to your privately-owned and operated liquor store to purchase your favourites before it is too late. Alberta Premier Rachel Notley opened up a new front in the Great Constitutional Pipeline War of the Rockies
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Huffing and Puffing “Leadership”
Last week BC Premier John Horgan said BC would ban any increase in shipments of diluted bitumen (dilbit) to BC until a scientific advisory panel determined whether shippers can adequately prevent and clean up dilbit spills. If the panel decides this isn’t possible, the ban on increased dilbit shipments will
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Why Alberta’s NDP would likely prefer a Liberal government in Victoria and B.C.’s NDP just might prefer the UCP in Edmonton
PHOTOS: Yoga enthusiasts on the lawn of the B.C. Legislature in Victoria, probably focusing the energy of the cosmos to make Alberta’s bitumen go away. Below: The Alberta Legislature in Edmonton at about the same time of year. There’s nobody on the lawn because it’s too darned cold. Below the
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Forgotten amid pipeline war brouhaha, new study details failure of Oilsands Big Five to control emissions
PHOTOS: There’s no Plan B! And Alberta’s five largest oilsands producers have set no targets let alone taken action to get their emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. (Illustration: Parkland Institute.) Below: Parkland researcher and study author Ian Hussey (Photo: Parkland Institute), Parkland researcher David Janzen (Photo: Facebook),
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The bitumen hits the fan in Alberta and Ottawa as British Columbia moves to restrict pipeline and rail flow
PHOTOS: B.C. Environment Minister George Heyman, foreground, with members of his environment and climate change strategy council last fall (Photo: Province of British Columbia). Below: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and B.C. Premier John Horgan (Photo: Wikimedia Commons). I’m not going to try to go all
Continue readingdaveberta.ca – Alberta Politics: The Great Constitutional Pipeline War of the Rockies
Fresh from the Alberta NDP’s victory over Saskatchewan in the Fake Trade War on the Prairies, the ongoing political fight over the expansion of the existing Kinder Morgan TransMountain Pipeline from Edmonton to Burnaby is heating up. In the British Columbia NDP government’s most recent move to block the oil
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Chill the champagne! Market-fundamentalist newspaper owners primed for infusion of taxpayer cash!
PHOTOS: The Canadian newspaper industry celebrates the coming of tax subsidies from the federal government. Actual Canadian newspaper publishers may not appear exactly as illustrated – in this case, by Jean-Francois le Troy in 1735 – but readers will get the general idea. Below: Federal Heritage Minister Melanie Joy (Photo:
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Public opinion research standards body to announce details of inquiry into Calgary election polling results this week
PHOTOS: Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, apparently as puzzled by the results of some polls last fall as many other Calgarians were. Below: Marketing Research and Intelligence Association CEO Dr. Kara Mitchelmore (Photo: Linked-In), Mainstreet Research President Quito Maggi (Photo: Mainstreet Research), Mount Royal University political science Professor Duane Bratt (Photo:
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