Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading.- Hilary Beaumont and Nina Lakhani report on the fossil fuel lobby's pressure on U.S. governments to impose draconian anti-protest laws to prevent climate…
Danielle Smith
Danielle Smith announces performative changes with little legal significance to ‘Alberta Bill of Rights’
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith generated a huge amount of virtual ink yesterday yakking about her planned amendments to Alberta’s Lougheed-era Bill of Rights, passed by the Legislature in 1972 and…
The Danielle Smith Chronicles: Still picking fights and wasting other people’s money
Last June, Naheed Nenshi began his campaign to lead the Alberta NDP by observing that Premier Danielle Smith and the United Conservative Party “only know how to do two things:…
Premier Smith Closes the Door on Asylum Claimants
On Sept 12, the day after The Trump/Harris debate, Premier Smith told the federal government that Alberta has closed its doors to any more asylum seekers. Here’s what she said:…
Danielle Smith: Alberta welcomes newcomers, but only if they ‘possess our shared values’
“Alberta has always welcomed newcomers who possess our shared values,” Premier Danielle Smith says in a statement published by on the Government’s official web page yesterday. “Who possess our shared…
Danielle Smith complains to feds about looming Air Canada strike, never mind that other airline
Perhaps feeling as if she’d enjoyed a little success yelling at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about last month’s national rail lockout, Danielle Smith was back at it this week, demanding…
Monday Afternoon Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week.- Andrew Freedman examines how the summer of 2024 is shaping up to be the hottest on record. And Jessica Corbett discusses the strong public…
Breaking UCP promise, Devin Dreeshen pulls plug on $1.5B provincial grant to Calgary Green Line
Let’s try to figure this out: On July 29, Calgary’s $6.3-billion Green Line light rail transit extension project was worthwhile enough for Alberta Transportation Minister Devin Dreeshen to assure Calgary…
Hope y’all had a great Labour Day/Labor Day, fellow Albertans, while our premier popped up in Texas
While Albertans celebrated the traditional final long weekend of the summer amid unseasonable heat, Premier Danielle Smith popped up in Texas, all but ignoring the occasion. This is pretty much…
Happy Labour Day
Yesterday Premier Danielle Smith issued a statement celebrating Alberta Day—a non-stat holiday created by her predecessor Jason Kenney to commemorate the day Alberta became a province—without once mentioning Confederation. Today…
Happy Alberta Day
I just finished reading Premier Smith’s statement celebrating Alberta Day and wondered how I would explain it to someone who knows nothing about Alberta’s history. I suspect the conversation would…
Nenshi Visits Calgary-Elbow
Naheed Nenshi has been busy visiting NDP constituencies across the province. This afternoon he came to the Calgary-Elbow Constituency BBQ. After a (very) enthusiastic introduction from NDP MLA Samir Kayande,…
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week.- Ayesha Tandon discusses a new study showing that the limiting factor in averting a climate breakdown is public policy rather than technological limitations. Aaron…
Alberta Health Services letters tell COVID-19 long-haulers specialized long-COVID clinics are being shut down
It’s not hard to connect the dots between the anti-vaccine extremists including Premier Danielle Smith who now dominate Alberta’s United Conservative Party and the admission by a beleaguered Alberta Health…
Did an anti-vaxx MLA just suggest the UCP is about to ban COVID-19 vaccines? Or what?
A video clip of Calgary-Lougheed MLA Eric Bouchard musing about the future of COVID-19 vaccinations on an anti-vaxx video podcast stirred up a storm on social media yesterday among commenters…
Honey! I shrunk the party! UCP membership shrivels as Danielle Smith moves farther into loony MAGA territory
Honey! I shrunk the party! Sharp-eyed denizens of the Twittersphere yesterday noticed a United Conservative party update that, presumably inadvertently, gave away a dramatic drop in party membership since the…
May I Make a Suggestion?
Where’s our news? I ask because I’ve noticed that the UCP is adept at flooding the media with good news stories about what they’re going to do to help Albertans…
No shock: UCP freeze on renewable electricity generation projects and resulting uncertainty lead to deep chill on investments
It should come as no shock on the first anniversary of the United Conservative Party Government’s seven-month freeze on the development of renewable electricity projects that the policy has resulted…
Danielle Smith tells Calgary UCP ‘town hall’ that 94% of Alberta parents are not having their kids vaccinated against COVID
According to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, only a small minority of Alberta parents are now agreeing to have their children vaccinated against COVID-19, while the vast majority are not. This…