Alberta Politics: Online speculation about cold-weather electricity crunch highlights the UCP’s lack of credibility

Chances are vanishingly small that Alberta’s United Conservative Party Government somehow managed to intentionally cause last night’s cold-weather electricity crunch that led to every Albertan with a smartphone receiving an emergency alert pleading with them “to immediately limit their electricity use to essential needs only.” Somebody’s screenshot of Saturday’s emergency

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Alberta Politics: UCP minister tells Edmonton mayor he can forget about seeing anyone from the province at a summit on homelessness

Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi can forget about seeing Jason Nixon – Alberta’s minister of seniors, community and social services – at the summit on housing and homelessness he hopes to organize with provincial, city, First Nations, and federal leaders. Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi (Photo: David J. Climenhaga). Indeed, Mr. Sohi

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Alberta Politics: Edmonton mayor to ask city councillors to declare housing and homelessness emergency on Monday, ruffling UCP feathers

In a blog post published yesterday, Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said he has called a special meeting of City Council Monday to ask for a declaration of a housing and homelessness emergency in the city. Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi (Photo: David J. Climenhaga). The United Conservative Party Government was clearly

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Alberta Politics: Expect more chaos in health care, already overwhelmed and at the brink, as AHS ‘senior leaders’ get orders to cut costs 

With Alberta’s overwhelmed public health care system once again teetering at the brink, a memorandum from Alberta Health Services’ acting chief financial officer to its “senior leaders” telling them they must find ways to cut costs has surfaced. Michael Lam, Alberta Health Services acting chief financial officer and vice-president of

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Alberta Politics: As temperatures drop, police and city crews continue rousts of homeless encampments, government pitches winter camping

With temperatures falling and lows below minus-30 degrees Celsius forecast by the middle of next week, Edmonton police and city crews continue to break up homeless encampments in the city core. A Government of Alberta advertisement promoting winter camping (Illustration: Government of Alberta). Police in black uniforms and city employees

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Alberta Politics: Engaged citizens need to take it seriously when UCP leaders start talking about mass purges in health care and education

On December 30, Edmonton Sun commentator Rick Bell published a column suggesting Premier Danielle Smith plans a purge of Alberta Health Services that will reach deep into the middle ranks of the province-wide public health care agency’s management.  Calgary Sun political columnist Rick Bell (Photo: David J. Climenhaga). “Layers and

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Alberta Politics: Ethics investigations, Alberta, style – no rules were broken when Deena Hinshaw was fired! Now please move along, folks …

You were wondering about that ethics investigation into the way former Alberta chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw was immediately re-fired after she was hired as a member of Alberta Health Services’ Indigenous Wellness Core last June? Was it Premier Danielle Smith? She says not (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr).

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Alberta Politics: Replacing to Sovereignty Act so soon? Danielle Smith’s belligerent statement vows new attack on federal power

VICTORIA, B.C. – Is Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party Government now planning to introduce a new, tougher Sovereignty Act to fight Ottawa’s proposed emissions regulations? Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). As is well known, the plainly unconstitutional Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act has

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Alberta Politics: #Kudatah? Not quite – even Danielle Smith admits this Sovereignty Act stuff is mostly performative fluff

“Alberta’s government will not put Albertans and their businesses at risk of freezing in the dark at -30 C due to the federal government’s proposed unaffordable, unreliable and unconstitutional Clean Electricity Regulations (CERs).” —    Actual Government of Alberta press release, Nov. 27, 2023 I think it’s official, my fellow Albertans. 

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Alberta Politics: Preston Manning’s pandemic panel report wants more politicians, fewer docs calling public health shots

Have I got this straight? Preston Manning just made a recommendation to give politicians absolute authority over public health that was so excellent the Alberta government accepted it a week before they got it?  Alberta Premier Danielle Smith (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). Can someone remind me why we gave the superannuated

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Alberta Politics: ‘Lunatics’ really are running the asylum: UCP-TBA fusion starts to sink in with the Alberta commentariat

It was finally starting to sink in with Alberta commentariat yesterday in the aftermath of the United Conservative Party’s annual general meeting that the lunatics really are running the asylum, to borrow a colourful metaphor from former premier and UCP founder Jason Kenney.  Calgary Herald political columnist Don Braid (Photo:

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Alberta Politics: The mystery of Bill 5: Is it part of the UCP’s covert ‘Free Alberta’ agenda or just a bit of administrative housekeeping?

Members of Alberta’s labour relations community were scratching their heads Monday and yesterday about Bill 5, the Public Sector Employer Amendment Act, 2023, last on the list of the first five bills to be introduced by the United Conservative Party in the new session of the provincial Legislature that began

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Alberta Politics: Alberta’s Legislature shudders back to life this afternoon – what will the UCP get up to next?

With the Alberta Legislature resuming sitting today with a Throne Speech, one has to wonder what the United Conservative Government of Premier Danielle Smith will get up to next?  Government House Leader Joseph Schow (Photo: Alberta Newsroom/Flickr). The headline on the government’s news release Friday about the inaugural session of

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Alberta Politics: International Energy Agency predicts fossil fuel use will peak by 2030 – whatever will Alberta have to say?

Maybe Alberta Premier Danielle Smith can send an open letter to Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, to accuse him of trying to frighten Alberta’s seniors.  International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol says the transition to clean energy is unstoppable (Photo: World Economic Forum, yeah, that

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Alberta Politics: Guest Post: Alberta has already killed the notorious Grassy Mountain coal mine, so why is it still alive?  

It’s a true Alberta mystery. The notorious Grassy Mountain open-pit coal mine proposal on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains in southern Alberta near the Crowsnest Pass keeps getting killed by the regulatory process – and somehow keeps being resurrected by its deep-pocketed Australian backers who seem to have

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