Friday’s revelation that neither Finance Minister Travis Toews nor Environment Minister Sonya Savage would be running for re-election in the expected May 29 provincial vote quickly gave way to speculation about who, or at least what kind of candidate, would replace them in the short spell remaining till the election
Continue readingTag: Sonya Savage
Susan on the Soapbox: The RStar Debacle (Who’s going to clean up this mess?)
“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” — opening scene, Star Wars The first thing I thought of when I heard the word RStar was the opening sequence in the first Star Wars movie: yellow letters scroll up the screen and the audience learns about the
Continue readingAlberta Politics: From the folks who brought you sovereignty within a united Canada, ‘just transition’ is a divisive, polarizing term!
Sonya Savage is an intelligent woman with an impressive resume in government, the legal profession, and the energy industry. Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson (Photo: JonathanWilkinson.ca). So presumably Alberta’s environment minister understands just how bonkers it makes her sound to be heard saying publicly that “just transition” is a
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Mr Kenney Goes to Washington
May 26, 2022 marked Jason Kenny’s last appearance in the Legislature as Alberta’s premier (we think). His final week was replete with members’ statements applauding his leadership, his legacy, and everything his government had accomplished over the last 3 years. He was especially proud of one achievement: his appearance before
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Reports on controversial coal mining plans received, says Alberta energy minister, providing little additional information
Midpoint between the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage yesterday issued an 85-word statement saying the government’s Coal Policy Committee has submitted its final report and recommendations on Alberta’s long-term approach to coal mining. In addition, the five-member committee chaired by National Energy Board member Ron
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Allen Inquiry half-heartedly exonerates environmental groups that took U.S. funding, turns on Alberta War Room
Of all the conclusions of Commissioner Steve Allan’s misbegotten and sometimes incoherent $3.5-million “Public Inquiry into Anti-Alberta Energy Campaigns” might have come up with, the most unexpected was what he had to say about Canadian Energy Centre Ltd. Who would have thought that the Allan Inquiry would end up attacking
Continue readingThe Daveberta Podcast: Episode 75: Amarjeet Sohi is running for Mayor of Edmonton
Amarjeet Sohi joins the Daveberta Podcast to talk about why he is running to become the next Mayor of Edmonton and discuss his experiences moving to Canada as a young man, being elected as a City Councillor, serving in Ottawa as a Member of Parliament and cabinet minister, and his
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Minister Savage on Coal Policy
What did we learn from Energy minister Savage’s press conference announcing the so-called reversal of the government’s unbelievably bone-headed decision to cancel the 1976 Coal Policy? Well, Ms Savage has some good speech writers. The “thank you for your passion” and “we made a mistake” bits were nice touches,
Continue readingThe Daveberta Podcast: Episode 68: The 1976 Coal Policy and stopping open-pit mining in Alberta’s Rockies
Kevin Van Tighem joins the Daveberta Podcast to discuss one of the biggest issues in Alberta politics today – the expansion of open-pit coal mining in the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Kevin explains how the 1976 Coal Policy protected larges swaths of the Rocky Mountains from open-pit coal
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: Kenney’s “Dead Letter” Coal Policy
Dead letter: something that has lost its force or authority without being formally abolished – Merriam Webster On Feb 3, 2021 Jason Kenney said he rescinded Lougheed’s coal policy which blocked open-pit mining on the eastern slopes and the Rockies because it was “a dead letter.” He said the eastern
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta response to uproar over coal mining on pristine Eastern Slopes doesn’t really change very much
Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage said yesterday coal leases from the Kenney Government’s controversial December 2020 auction have been cancelled, but this does not mean as some news media reported that the province has reversed its plan to expand coal mining on the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains. To
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Hola Tany Yao! You’ve got voicemail! Meanwhile, Energy Minister Sonya Savage completes essential holiday home maintenance in B.C.
One of Our MLAs is Missing! I know, this sounds like the title of a bad movie, the kind that might earn three rotten tomatoes on an online review site, but it’s for real. Energy Minister Sonya Savage – her Okanagan holiday home needed “essential maintenance” (Photo: David J. Climenhaga).
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Pretty much a dud, but still alive, Alberta’s ‘Energy War Room’ stumbles along after a year
Alberta’s “Energy War Room” was a year old yesterday and while the cash lavished on the self-described purveyor of a “fact-based narrative about Canadian energy” isn’t the worst investment ever made, or even the worst investment made by the Kenney Government, its return on investment is nothing to write home
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Auditor General’s Report: $1.6 Billion is NOT a Rounding Error
By a miraculous coincidence the Auditor General’s report on the Kenney government’s first year in office landed smack in the middle of the American election. Well, the election is over. Mr Biden won. Agriculture minister Devin Dreeshen can put away his MAGA hat and we can turn our attention back
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta chases multi-billion-dollar deal with Saudis, never mind what Jason Kenney used to say about them
Now that Jason Kenney’s United Conservative Party is desperately trying to a do a deal with a Saudi Arabian company to build a petrochemical plant in Alberta, I wonder how long it will take before some clever environmentalist in Quebec or British Columbia says they don’t want no stinkin’ “dictator
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Public inquiry, conducted in secret, gets another extension to find elusive foreign funders of ‘anti-Alberta’ campaigns
Apparently commissioner Steve Allan still isn’t having any luck finding those sinister foreign funders of “anti-energy” campaigns. But don’t worry, the government of Alberta has given the head of its “inquiry into anti-Alberta energy campaigns” yet another extension to keep looking for the elusive foreigners featured in Premier Jason Kenney’s
Continue readingAlberta Politics: The economics of small nuclear reactors, touted by Jason Kenney as a ‘game changer,’ just don’t add up
When Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says small nuclear reactors “could be a game changer in providing safe, zero-emitting, baseload power in many areas of the province,” as he did Sunday in a tweet, he’s pulling your leg. For a variety of economic and technical reasons, the scenario Mr. Kenney described
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Good union jobs! Green jobs! UCP supporters need not panic, they’re not for anyone around here!
Jason Kenney and the United Conservative Party, friends of the union man and woman, not to mention the environment! Who would have seen that coming? Premier Jason Kenney (Photo: Chris Schwarz, Government of Alberta). Yet there was Energy Minister Sonya Savage, her words in black and white in the text
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: A “Marathon Session”
The Alberta Legislature is adjourned for a month. For this we are truly grateful because no matter how Jason Kenney tries to dress up his performance—he says he’s well on his way to delivering on almost 70% of his campaign promises—he has not delivered on the promise of “jobs, economy,
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Ottawa taps the brakes on huge coal mine expansion near Jasper National Park; Alberta’s UCP stays mum for now
Federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson tapped the brakes Thursday on the Vista coal mine expansion near Hinton with an announcement Ottawa will take a look at the environmental impact of the project after all. The same afternoon, the Alberta Government led by Premier Jason Kenney, which has never met a
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