The highly controversial (at least in Alberta and Saskatchewan) Bill C-69, which overhauls the federal environmental assessment process for major construction projects, has finally passed the Senate. The Conservatives are…
As a resident of Alberta, I am used to living under Conservative governments. Although I lean left, I can accept this with good grace. After all I am a democrat…
Advocates of proportional representation (PR) make a powerful case. They claim that our current electoral system, first-past-the-post (FPTP), is not democratic. They are right. More often than not a political…
I am a democrat and therefor I must accept the election of Jason Kenney and his United Conservative Party as government of my province. The UCP won convincingly, after all,…
Canada has always been a highly regionalized country—the Maritimes, Quebec, Ontario, the Prairies, B.C., all with varying interests and economies and, with Quebec at least, culture. One particular complaint is…
The other day I had a conversation (argument) about global warming with my neighbour across the hall. He is adamant that we are not causing it. The science doesn’t impress…
The China/U.S. trade war heats up. The rest of us get dragged along willy-nilly. Nonetheless, there is a lot of sympathy for the American case. The Chinese have hardly walked…
It’s one of those times. Alberta is enduring an oil bust so “Western alienation” is back in the news. The word of interest here is “Western.” Although some Albertans may…
This, the 21st century, is a unique time in human history. It is unique in many ways, of course, but most importantly it is the first time in the history…
14 June 2019 The Honourable Sonya Savage, Minister of Energy Government of Alberta 324 Legislature Building 10800 – 97 Avenue NW Edmonton, AB Dear Minister: Recently I read in the…
I must apologize to readers of this blog for allowing my posting to come to an abrupt end a couple of years ago without explanation. I got caught up in…
Two institutions hold the keys to the money vaults of the country. One is concerned about the welfare of society generally, the other about its own welfare only. One is…
Holding a referendum on whether to remain or leave the European Union was one of the dumber decisions in the long history of the British political class, as is becoming…
When we think about democracy we tend to focus on politics and government. These are rightly at the centre of democratic dialogue as they are our overarching social institutions, but…
There is, it seems, a war against democracy. I hesitate to use the word “war” as it tends to suffer from overuse these days—war on drugs, war on terrorism, etc—but…
Watching the Americans thrash about trying to put together a decent health care system prompts much head-shaking and eyeball-rolling. The Republicans have bitched and moaned about Obamacare for seven years,…
Many progressives believe that if the public were better informed about the science behind climate change, people would be more inclined to accept the reality of anthropogenic global warming. A…
In August, 1971, Alberta had its quiet revolution. For 36 years it had been governed by Social Credit, a largely rural-based, social-conservative party led for most of those years by…
I read with interest Royal Dutch Shell’s decision to sell sell most of its stake in Alberta’s tar sands. It brought back memories. I toiled for Shell Canada during my…
I read with interest Royal Dutch Shell’s decision to sell sell most of its stake in Alberta’s tar sands. It brought back memories. I toiled for Shell Canada during my…
