Happy New Year! Get ready for generational change in Canadian politics
Expect the new faces of Canadian politics to be young faces – like those of Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson, 34, shown above with some clapped-out old geezer, and Manitoba MP…
David Climenhaga
The Top 13 from 2013: Alberta Diary borne ever upward on wings of far-right loons
Ron Paul, the crazy uncle of the American right, surrounded by grinning acolytes at the 2013 conference of the Manning Centre for Undermining Democracy in Ottawa. Putting Dr. Paul here…
Pretty rich: Manning Centre founder and namesake lectures Ottawa Press Gallery on ethics
The Parliamentary Press Gallery, apparently as seen, sort of, but not quite, by Preston Manning. New ethical guidelines required? Doubtful. Below: The founder and namesake of the Calgary-Based Manning Centre;…
Ice Storm 2013: It’s still an emergency, and the PM is still missing in inaction
Canadian soldiers, summoned by Mayor Mel Lastman, clean up the streets of Toronto after the big dump of 1999. Below: Mr. Lastman. (Photos grabbed from the Toronto Star.) More days…
Ice storm 2013: Is the Canadian government like the cops – never around when you need them?
Prime Minister Stephen Harper over flooded Calgary last June. Apparently there’s no sign of him anywhere near Toronto now. Below: Then U.S. President George W. Bush over New Orleans in…
Remember the reason for the season: It’s time to put Krampus back into Christmas
Jiggers, look busy, it’s Krampus! And why is this mom giving him the thumbs up, I wonder? Below: Santa Claus, the God of Coca-Cola; Che Guevara; and Jesus Christ. Never…
Don’t go cryptic on me, man! Marking 100 years of crosswords with seven letters across
Dave’s Alberta Politics Puzzler: try to solve it if you dare! Click on the image for a larger copy. Below: Crossword inventor Arthur Wynne, MP Brian Jean. Today is the…
Shining you on: Alison Redford calls for a little selective sunshine on civil service salaries
The scene in February 2014: CBC investigative journalist Charles Rusnell pores through a list of senior Alberta civil service salaries as horrified deputy ministers and university professors look on. Actual…
Moving on from the St. Albert Public Library Board: an occasion for bittersweet reflection
Your blogger with some of his fellow library trustees at last night’s farewell performance as chair of the St. Albert Public Library Board. Hasta la vista! Below: St. Albert Place.…
An open letter to Dave Hancock, Deputy Premier: Why you should quit … Now … Really!
Illegal organizations like this continue to operate in Alberta behind closed doors, despite the fact someone may yell … St**ke! … in violation of the Act to Protect Albertans from…
The little government that grew: Alison Redford shuffles deckchairs on her cabinet
After her change of heart, Alberta Premier Ebenezer Redford, top left, accompanied by Speaker Gene Zwozdesky in his ceremonial robes, watches as some of the members of her cabinet sit…
Who gets muzzled next by unconstitutional Redford Government laws? Environmentalists?
Deputy Premier Thomas Lukaszuk, in motorcycle sidecar, gives the order to go after a pesky trade unionist’s blog. But look out! Alison Redford’s Alberta Thought Police may already have their…
Nelson Mandela: ‘An international emblem of dignity and forbearance’
Nelson Mandela, in about 1964. Nelson Mandela is the father of modern South Africa, but he belongs to all humanity now, and all of humanity seems ready to embrace him…
Resolving ‘Tobaccogate’ – Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion … but not necessarily in Alberta
Where there’s smoke, ummm…. there’s smoke. Got that? Actual Alberta government tobacco lawyers may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Alberta Ethics Commissioner Neil Wilkinson. The astonishing thing about yesterday’s…
If the deputy premier wants free speech for Ukraine so badly, why is he attacking it in Alberta?
Alberta Deputy Premier Thomas Lukaszuk in the Rotunda of the Alberta Legislature. Note, in the background at left, Wildrose Opposition Leader Danielle Smith. Below, a recent Twitter message from Mr.…
Hell freezes over in Alberta: Right-wing Wildrose Party sides with unions, sort of, over unconstitutional Tory bills
AUPE President Guy Smith, left, with Alberta Liberal MLA David Swann and Wildrose House Leader Rob Anderson on the steps of the Alberta Legislature last night. Below: Part of the…
A challenge for the Redford Government: use Section 33 of the Charter to impose your unconstitutional laws
Queen Elizabeth II signs the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982 as a smiling PM Pierre Trudeau looks on. Now null and void in Alberta? Below: The Charter,…
A serious question for Albertans: Is the Redford Government out of control?
Whose House is it? In Alberta, not yours! Public service union members tried to enter the Alberta Legislature yesterday to protest Bills 45 and 46, and soon found the doors…