Alberta—boom or boon?
I opened the CBC website one morning this week to be confronted with the headline “High oil prices a potential boon for beleaguered Alberta.” I mistook “boon” for “boom” and…
Alberta
Fair deal for Calgary?
The list of plebiscites Calgarians will be asked to vote on in the October municipal election is growing. The City will ask voters once again (this is a periodic exercise)…
Doubling Down on Racism – The Chris Champion Edition
Over at the Dorchester Review, we find one Chris Champion doubling down on his position that the "Indian Residential Schools (IRS) really weren't all that bad". The dust-up on Twitter…
Referendumbs and Equalization
So, the Kenney-led UCP government in Alberta wants to hold a referendum on equalization. Here’s the proposed question: I want to bring two points to your attention here. First, is…
Will Kenney’s woes help O’Toole?
How the mighty have fallen. Just two years ago, Jason Kenney, flush from a convincing election win over the NDP, was the Conservatives’ golden boy. Even the national leader had…
Alberta’s Dilemma: When do we recognize that the world is changing?
Back in 2015, I started asking a simple question: is Alberta ready? Whenever I talked to politicians or entrepreneurs or thought leaders, I asked that same simple question. I asked…
You, yes you, will pay for the tar sands cleanup
The general rule in regard to environmental damage is the polluter pays. In accordance with that rule as applied to mining, Alberta has in place the Mine Financial Security Program…
Following the money.
You can’t track the money trail to Canadian politicians as easily as you can to American politicians. I finally have a theory on what is driving Jason Kenney in Alberta.…
Alberta justice minister goes full paranoid
Alberta Justice Minister Kaycee Madu’s comment that a Covid disaster is “what the NDP, the media and the federal Liberals were looking for and want” is contemptible. Politics can be…
Sunday Afternoon Links
This and that for your Sunday reading. – Zeynep Tufecki writes about the deadly delay in recognizing the reality that COVID-19 spreads largely through aerosol transmission. Elliot Hannon reports on…
Trumpeting for the Trumpers.
Those provincial premiers from Alberta and Ontario must be taking all their cues from former U.S. president Donald Trump. They have both got their asses in a sling as they…
Premier Kenney encounters contrary constituents
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, dating back to his college days, has never been comfortable with people who hold divergent views. Perhaps chief among the views he despises the most are…
Leadership Lacking.
We are not getting much provincial leadership in Canada these days. Despite liking both Andrew Furey in Newfoundland and Labrador and John Horgan of B.C., I cannot say much for…
Alberta government fails school curriculum
To comment on the new school curriculum proposed by Alberta’s Department of Education, I’ll do something it apparently didn’t. I’ll rely on experts. Specifically, four professors who teach in the…
Canute-like Kenney confronts Canadians.
In the supposedly moralistic story of King Canute of the North Sea Empire, Canute was demonstrating that even a king could not control the tides. It is somewhat strange that…
Alberta—big winner of Covid relief
The Covid pandemic has, among other things, reminded us that we are indeed “all in it together,” requiring government leadership and assistance unprecedented in recent history. According to a report…
Tuesday Morning Links
This and that for your Tuesday reading. – Katie Raso describes the coronavirus pandemic as the neoliberal Chernobyl, having exposed how we’re not only unable to respond to a disaster…
Mr. Kenney, take back control of the damn tax!
It’s encouraging to hear someone in the upper reaches of the Canadian establishment recognize reality. Ruling on the appeal by Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan against the federal carbon tax, the…
The 2021 alberta budget
On 25 February 2021, Jason Kenney’s United Conservative Party government tabled its third budget, announcing very few major changes to either spending or taxation, while also projecting a deficit of…