TweetEdmonton-St. Albert MP Brent Rathgeber unleashed a political storm last night when he announced on Twitter that he is leaving the Conservative Party of Canada caucus. Initially citing a “a lack of commitment to transparency and open government,” he expanded his criticisms to the control Prime Minister Stephen Harper‘s office exercises over
Continue readingTag: Thomas Lukaszuk
daveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Pipelines before persons with developmental disabilities?
TweetFresh from a surprise election win, British Columbia Premier Christy Clark‘s government formally announced its opposition this week to the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline that would carry bitumen from Alberta to Kitimat. A controversial issue during the heated election campaign, BC Environment Minister Terry Lake told the media that evidence supporting
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Who leaked the Alberta government’s response to AUPE’s Labour Board complaint, and why?
AUPE President Guy Smith in a characteristic pose. Who leaked the Alberta government’s response to the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees’ unfair labour practices complaint to an Edmonton Journal political reporter, and why? This is an important question because at the time the leak took place, the government document questioning
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Athabasca University board to Athabasca University Faculty Association: Drop dead
The Athabasca University board meets to discuss its vision for the future of the distance-learning institution. Actual visioning board members may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: History Professor Alvin Finkel, AU Faculty Association President Mark McCutcheon. It took Athabasca University’s rubber-stamp board less than 48 hours to tell the
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Negotiating with Alberta’s PC government? Better bring witnesses!
Wildcat strike scene, grabbed from AUPE’s website during the strike. Below: AUPE President Guy Smith, Deputy Premier Thomas Lukaszuk. Advice to anyone who tries to negotiate a deal with Alison Redford, Thomas Lukaszuk or any member or official of their government: take witnesses with you, and make sure you also
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Fixing Athabasca U: a chance for tough-guy Tom Lukaszuk to do something constructive
Athabasca University’s isolated headquarters in winter. Below: Athabasca U President Frits Pannekoek and Alberta Advanced Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk. Athabasca University’s Faculty Association called yesterday for the institution’s president to be replaced by an interim president chosen from among senior staff. On the face of it, this idea makes a
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Premier explains Alberta politics to children: ‘Opposition Leader, what big teeth you have!’
Alberta Premier Alison Redford, right, meets Opposition Leader Danielle Smith, left, while on her way to announcing a new school opening. Actual Alberta politicians may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: The real Premier Redford, Alberta Union of Provincial Employees President Guy Smith. Once upon a time, while Alberta’s premier
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: In Alberta, the billionaire walks and the working man gets the shaft.
TweetThe billionaire walks… There was little surprise among the cynical pundit class yesterday as Elections Alberta announced that it had found billionaire Daryl Katz and his Katz Group broke no laws when the company delivered a donation in the form of a $430,000 bank draft to Premier Alison Redford‘s Progressive
Continue readingAlberta Diary: All lawbreakers will be punished … unless they happen to be Alberta Conservatives
“’Ave you got a leesence for your minkey?” An investigator for Elections Alberta pauses momentarily in his probe of political donations made to the Progressive Conservative Party by seeing-eye monkeys. If you don’t get it, I can’t help you. Actual Elections Alberta investigators by now have likely been transferred back
Continue readingAlberta Diary: The government blinked: Defiant Alberta jail guards have every right to declare victory
The picket line during the five-day strike by Alberta Correctional Peace Officers, which ended last night. Below: Another scene from the strike; Deputy Premier Thomas Lukaszuk; AUPE President Guy Smith. Even without last night’s deal with the Alberta government, Alberta’s defiant jail guards would have been entitled to declare a
Continue readingAlberta Diary: This just in: Deal reached, victory and vindication for striking Alberta jail guards
Supporters and striking Alberta jail guards on the picket line yesterday. Illegally striking Alberta Union of Provincial Employees jail guards have reached an agreement with the government of Premier Alison Redford in “discussions” that Deputy Minister Thomas Lukaszuk said would never happen. AUPE announced five minutes ago that it had
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Craziness in Alberta jails continues – and may get worse today
The scene on the darkened lane that runs past Edmonton’s giant new Remand Centre has resembled the set for an apocalyptic movie the past couple of nights, with striking jail guards’ huge-wheeled four-by-fours crowding the ditches, AUPE banners flapping in the dark and strikers gathered around burn barrels. With Deputy
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Deputy Premier Tom Lukaszuk: exactly the wrong man to solve Alberta’s jail crisis
Wildcatting Correctional Officers on the picket line at the Edmonton Remand Centre just before midnight last night, long after the government’s ultimatum ordering them back to work. Below: Trade unionists occupy an Alberta Labour Relations Board boardroom yesterday afternoon in support of the striking guards. Below that: Deputy Premier Thomas
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Mysterious 2011 review of Alberta Labour Code explained – corporate influence, of course!
Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan, right, speaks to yesterday’s AFL news conference at the Edmonton’s Shaw Conference Centre. Your faithful blogger can be glimpsed at the far right. Beside him, the CBC’s Charles Rusnell. Below: Rusnell, Alberta NDP Leader Brian Mason. Back in the summer of 2011, as
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Has Alberta pioneered an unlegislated ban on collective bargaining?
“Post-secondary collective bargaining,” Alberta style. Advanced Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk and a post-secondary employer negotiator rig the deck, foreground, while a faculty association negotiators ponder what’s just happened. Actual Alberta bargaining teams may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: The real Mr. Lukaszuk, former advanced ed minister Steve Khan. As
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Tories versus Wildrose: Year One in Alberta’s new political game.
TweetOn April 23, 2012, Alberta’s most hotly contested election in decades culminated with the re-election of the twelfth consecutive Progressive Conservative majority government since 1971. Despite holding the large majority elected MLAs, the popular vote showed Albertans were closely divided between Alison Redford‘s Tories who finished with 44% compared to
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Fake tuition freeze flops after Redford’s $147 million budget cut.
Tweet“We’ve been very clear that we will not be balancing the budget on the backs of students,” Premier Alison Redford told the media at a press conference yesterday. This statement is only partially true. The provincial government is not balancing the budget this year. Gathered to re-announced what Deputy Premier
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Count on it: Alberta’s doctors got more than the government’s press release indicates
Dr. Michael Giuffre jots down the Alberta Medical Association’s wish list before yesterday’s agreement with the provincial government. Actual AMA negotiators may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Alberta Health Minister Fred Horne, Advanced Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk. It will take a while to sort out what really happened in
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Mayor Mandel on the warpath, keeps re-election plans secret.
Tweet Stephen Mandel is not ready to announce whether he will run for a fourth-term as Edmonton’s Mayor. Speaking to a crowd of more than 2000 people at his annual state-of-the-city address to the Chamber of Commerce, Mandel avoided the topic of his political future, instead taking aim at Premier Alison
Continue readingdaveberta.ca - Alberta politics: Universities, students and staff push back against post-secondary budget cuts.
Tweet“You don’t want to have five mediocre engineering schools. You’re better off having two really good engineering schools. There’s no doubt about it.” And on that note, Deputy Premier and Advanced Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk kicked off his overhaul of Alberta’s Post-Secondary Education system. It should be noted that there are
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