Alberta schools are public no more … What gives?
Alberta schools are public no more. Or something. A ministerial order signed by Education Minister Adriana LaGrange on Aug. 15 eliminated the word “public” from the legal title of all…
Alberta Politics
‘Blue-Ribbon Panel’ report sets stage for full-blown austerity, private health care, soaring tuition and much more
The recommendations of the Kenney Government’s “blue-ribbon panel” on Alberta’s finances yesterday went further over the top than you’d even have expected from a report ginned up by a couple…
Happy Labour Day, Alberta Day, or whatever … brace yourself for unpleasantness tomorrow!
Happy Labour Day! Given the occasion, it’s mildly surprising Alberta’s United Conservative Party Government didn’t use today to announce the “findings” of its “blue-ribbon” panel’s “deep dive” into the state…
Why Canadian media won’t call post-Brexit protests ‘pro-democracy demonstrations’
If there are riots in Britain after the hard Brexit Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party cronies have scheduled for Halloween, will mainstream media in Canada describe them…
Never mind sparse facts in Alberta’s first-quarter financial update, its subtext is deep cuts are coming soon
The United Conservative Party Government led by Jason Kenney wants deep cuts, and, by God, it’s going to have them. That includes tax cuts, which will drive the province’s books…
Andrew Weaver to Jason Kenney: ‘Every day you keep opening your mouth, more people come to the B.C. Greens!’
When it comes to Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, Andrew Weaver is not a fan. This will not come as a complete surprise to anyone who follows either Alberta or British…
It was a delight to talk with Andrew Weaver about Jason Kenney, details to follow soon
VICTORIA, B.C. — If Jason Kenney’s ears were burning today, perhaps it was because of what Andrew Weaver had to say about him. Mr. Kenney, as all readers of this…
UCP slaps Alberta Teachers Association … probably not for the last time
Almost completely missed in media coverage of Friday’s purge of NDP appointees to agencies, boards and commissions by Alberta’s United Conservative Party Government was the revelation that the same day…
UCP’s Friday Morning Massacre purges NDP appointees from Alberta’s boards, agencies and commissions
You almost have to admire Alberta’s United Conservative Party Government for the thoroughness of its sudden purge of NDP appointees to government agencies, boards and commissions yesterday. The Friday Morning…
Kenney Conservatives find the perfect policy panel to push the working poor back to penury
If pushing the working poor back into penury is your policy objective, the United Conservative Party led by Premier Jason Kenney has found the right collection of ringers to stack…
Oh, dear, what can the matter be? They promised to bring us a pretty ‘Blue-Ribbon,’ but all they deliver is cant!
Once upon a time, your blogger worked for a famous newspaper publisher who announced one day that since we journos hadn’t had a raise for a couple of years we…
Alberta discourse may still be mired in climate change denial, but the rest of the world is moving on
Public discourse in Alberta may still be mired in climate change denial, but the rest of the world is changing and changing fast. Even the New York Times, which along…
Conservative mismanagement of health care, which we’re about to see return to Alberta, is a feature, not a bug
Last Thursday, Tyler Shandro advised Albertans that the promised United Conservative Party review of Alberta Health Services is rolling ahead. Well, he did once tell us that things tend to…
Doug O’Halloran, UFCW 401 president, signs off with dignity and courage
When the United Food and Commercial Workers union held a solidarity barbecue last Friday for a group of Edmonton poultry plant workers it hopes will soon join its ranks, Doug…
Postmedia seeks new editor for Edmonton Journal – what became of the old one?
Postmedia is now advertising for a new editor-in-chief for the Edmonton Journal and the Edmonton Sun. It may come as something of a surprise to Edmonton readers that English Canada’s…
Fallout from dual probes into 2017 United Conservative Party leadership campaign still drifting down
It may not be fair, and you may not like it, but politics is like French justice: Guilty until proven innocent. OK, the French say it ain’t so, and we…
Symbolic MLA pay cut set stage for attack on public services – so why did the NDP support it?
Like neoliberals everywhere, Alberta’s Conservatives overrate the virtues of big business and undervalue those of democracy. This is not exactly news. This was a clear message yesterday from the vote…
Jason Kenney pledges ‘I will never give up on Canada’ while stoking Alberta separatist sentiment
Maybe Canada needs a Clarity Act for pollsters’ questions intended to gauge the level of support for provincial secession from Canada. The Clarity Act, of course, is the federal law…
Journalists who are UCP members are not the problem; media companies that publish nothing but conservative views are
There was a fine old to-do on social media Friday night when a Toronto journalist revealed that a high-profile Postmedia columnist known for her enthusiastic support of Jason Kenney had…
UCP Government, with no apparent short-term Plan B, seeks leave to appeal injunction suspending Bill 9
Unsurprisingly, the United Conservative Party Government has filed notice of appeal on the temporary injunction granted by the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench that halted application of Bill 9, playing…