ILLUSTRATIONS: Will Santa have to come armed and armoured like this to be safe on Alberta rooftops in case the province’s loony right mistakes him for a UN trooper bent on world government and turnip confiscation? Below: Wildrose MLA Rick Strankman a…
Continue readingTag: Shannon Phillips
Alberta Politics: NDP environment minister, premier blamed for withdrawal of Senator Lindsey Graham from presidential race
PHOTOS: South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham dropped out of the race to become the Republican Party’s presidential candidate this morning. Well-informed sources point to Environment Minister Shannon Phillips and the rest of Alberta’s NDP governmen…
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Notley Reads the Tea Leaves: The Climate Leadership Plan
Last Sunday hell froze over, or so it seemed to many Albertans. Alberta’s NDP premier, Rachel Notley, unveiled her government’s Climate Leadership Plan. She was surrounded by representatives from NGOs and aboriginal groups as well as the CEOs of Suncor, … Continue reading →
Alberta Politics: Alberta’s climate-change strategy: Rachel Notley builds a coalition of big business, environmentalists and civil society
PHOTOS: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley with leaders of the remarkable coalition on climate change her NDP government has built (Government of Alberta Photo). Below: Brian Jean, Alberta’s complaint-of-the-day Opposition leader; Gary Doer, three-term ND…
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta Politics: Who said what about the NDP’s ambitious Made-in-Alberta Climate Change Plan
Pigs continued to fly in Alberta politics today as energy industry leaders and environmental groups joined Premier Rachel Notley and Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips at a press conference to release Alberta’s much anticipated plan…
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta Politics: Keystone XL is dead. New government means climate change back on the agenda.
Having enjoyed the last week in the sunny Berkeley, California, it felt odd to turn on the car radio to hear the local disc jockeys discussing the tarsands and the merits of a pipeline that would pump unrefined bitumen from Canada to Texas. Being one of… Continue Reading →
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta Politics: Notley creates Economic Development ministry, appoints rural Municipal Affairs minister
Alberta’s provincial cabinet grew from twelve to thirteen today with the appointment of Lesser Slave Lake MLA Danielle Larivee to the posts of Minister of Municipal Affairs and Service Alberta. Ms. Larivee takes over those roles from Deron Bilous. Mr. Bilous, one… Continue Reading →
Continue readingAlberta Politics: NDP deftly picks royalty review panel while media freaks out about low-key welcome for ‘lightweight’ U.S. politicians
PHOTOS: U.S. President Lindsey Graham, left, is welcomed by a Wildrose Government colour party of Alberta Legislature security officers sometime in the imagined future. Actual circumstances may not unfold exactly as illustrated. Below: Former finance deputy minister Annette Trimbee, energy economist Peter Tertzakian and Beaverlodge Mayor Leona Hanson, as they
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta’s NDP needs to react more quickly, plus throw the Tories under the bus where they belong
PHOTOS: Carbon capture: The oil company executive in the bow tie places the carbon in a bottle, which is then stored underground by his corporation for billions of dollars. Or something like that. If the bottle breaks, of course, we’re screwed! Actual carbon capture schemes may not appear exactly as
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta Politics: Notley strikes a collaborative tone in Canada’s pipeline debate
This week’s Council of the Federation meeting in St. John’s, Newfoundland marked Alberta Premier Rachel Notley’s first appearance on the national stage since the NDP won a stunning victory in the May 5, 2015 provincial election. The new premier used the meeting to strike a more… Continue Reading →
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Cowboy Code and the Abuse of Grazing Leases
Alberta ranchers could teach Wall Street moguls a thing or two about leveraging other peoples’ money for personal gain. The Auditor General just released a report showing that Alberta ranchers short changed Albertans about $25 million last year. Furthermore, they’ll keep doing it unless the new government does something about
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Civil Disobedience the Wildrose Way
For a brief and shining moment we had détente. The NDP government and the Opposition met in the Legislature, engaged in healthy debate and came together to pass a landmark piece of legislation, Bill 1, which bans union and corporate donations to political parties. Then Wildrose Opposition Leader Brian Jean
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Civil disobedience, Alberta-style: obviously it’s only an outrage when non-conservatives talk about it
PHOTOS: Which one looks most like a certain Wildrose critic, back in the day? Just asking. Below: Wildrose MLA and frontbencher Rick Strankman, who was pardoned by PM Stephen Harper. Below them, Wildrose Leader Brian Jean and enviro activist and Alberta values violator Mike Hudema plus his scary book. VICTORIA,
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Reflections on the end of the Alberta NDP’s first session: voters want the government to succeed, the Opposition and media seek failure
PHOTOS: Members of the Press Gallery mark the end of the session in the Alberta Legislature by showering paper on MLAs. That, of course, was back in the day when the press still used presses, and wrote their reports on paper. Below: Premier Rachel Notley and Environment Minister Shannon Phillips
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta Politics: Notley NDP waste no time implementing popular progressive agenda in former conservative heartland
Banning corporate and union donations: Check. Restoring funding to health, education and human services: Check. Increasing corporate taxes: Check. Introducing a new climate change strategy: Coming soon. Phasing in a $15 per hour minimum wage: Coming soon. Reviewing Alberta’s natural resource… Continue Reading →
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Sunshine, ice cream and a mellow multitude of 10,000 or so usher in the NDP era in Alberta
PHOTOS: Here’s my shot of the crowd as it began to break up after the ceremony had ended and I’d managed to run upstream to the steps of the Legislature. The Canadian Press photo below shows what the crowd looked like as Premier Rachel Notley and her cabinet were sworn
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta Politics: Notley’s Crew: Alberta’s First NDP Cabinet
Thousands of Albertans packed the Legislature Grounds for the swearing-in ceremony of Premier Rachel Notley and Alberta’s first NDP Cabinet. This marked the first time in 44 years that a party other than the Progressive Conservatives were sworn-in to office… Continue Reading →
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Picking a cabinet is never an easy job – it’ll be tougher, with higher stakes, for Rachel Notley
It’s a pretty safe bet these four MLAs will be in the Notley Government’s first cabinet. From left to right, Deron Bilous, Brian Mason, David Eggen and, of course, Premier Designate Rachel Notley, who together made up the entire NDP caucus before the May 5 election. Below: Three other possible
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta Politics: It’s still hard to believe the NDP won Alberta’s election
Two days later it is still hard to believe. The New Democratic Party won an election in Alberta? The NDP won a majority government in Alberta? Rachel Notley is the next Premier of Alberta? Get used to it, because Albertans have spoken. A change in… Continue Reading →
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta Politics: 12 races I’m watching on Election Night in Alberta
With all the polls showing the 43-year long governing Progressive Conservatives trailing the NDP and Wildrose across the province, there could be a race to watch in every constituency in Alberta when the provincial election polls close at 8:00 p.m. tonight. Here are 12 races that… Continue Reading →
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