When the UCP Government Ran Amok
“There is no room for the unilateral assumption of authority in a constitutional democracy.” – Nigel Bankes, U of C emeritus professor of law, on the government’s decision to rescind…
law
Danielle Smith: Alberta’s Very Own Liz Truss
In less time than it took Liz Truss to crash and burn, Danielle Smith transformed the United Conservative Party into the Libertarian Populist Party. And that’s why they’ll lose in…
A Letter to UCP MLAs
Dear UCP MLAs: I’m a constituent without an MLA because your new leader decided I don’t need one. Apparently urban issues (unlike rural issues) are the same all across the…
Therapy + Cash = Lower Crime
It’s a simple equation which may sound obvious to some and bizarre to others. Our current approach to crime focusses on punishment and repression, and that clearly doesn’t work given…
Another Urban Myth Busted
Road users always complain that other people are breaking the law, every group of road users accuess another of breaking the most traffic rules. Truckers think cars are the worst,…
Jason Kenney’s “Breaking Bad” Press Release
Last week, the feds granted BC a 3-year exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act decriminalizing the possession of up to 2.5 grams of certain illegal drugs for personal…
Space Lawyer Protected Us From Mercury
Exciting personal space law news! In 2018 a whistleblower told me about a new satellite thruster that used mercury, the poisonous liquid metal, as a propellant, and that it would…
A Traffic Ticket and a Phone Call
On Feb 25, 2022, Premier Kenney issued a misleading press release setting out his rationale for a Cabinet shuffle. Two cabinet ministers, who should have been (back) benched a long…
Quick comment on the Illegal Occupation & Blockades
Ms Soapbox is under the weather, as such there will be no blog post today. I expect to be fully functional next week, at least physically. It will take longer…
Kenney and the Autocrat’s Handbook
The Alberta Legislature ended the 2021 Spring Session on a particularly disturbing note. Members of the Opposition asked Jason Kenney to apologize for his role in pushing the niqab ban,…
Fighting Racism in Kenney’s Alberta
Sometimes it pays to sit through a 53 minute 42 second Kenney press conference because something unexpected will happen at the very end. In this case it happened at the…
Alternative Solutions to Calling the Police
Respect for the police continues to erode due to questionable, immoral, and illegal police behaviour. Just this week in Ontario, police breaking the law ruined an entire case taking down…
Easter in Alberta
Whether you observe Easter, Passover, or the rising of the first full moon after the spring equinox, this is the time of year when we emerge from the gloom of…
Carbon Pricing in Canada is Constitutional
A few years ago the federal government in Canada started charging for carbon wastage by people and companies. The 2018 Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act was passed to ensure that…
Mr Kenney Responds to the Supreme Court of Canada
“Parliament acted within its jurisdiction.” – Supreme Court of Canada Reference re Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act On Mar 25 Premier Kenney issued a statement followed by a press conference…
Former ICC Judge Wants to Criminalize Ecocide
Florence Mumba, a former judge of the International Criminal Court, is working hard to make ecological destruction a criminal act. Mumba and a whole team of international lawyers are focusing…
The Auditor General’s Report: $1.6 Billion is NOT a Rounding Error
By a miraculous coincidence the Auditor General’s report on the Kenney government’s first year in office landed smack in the middle of the American election. Well, the election is over.…
Thoughts on the Death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg
US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on Friday Sept 18, 2020 at the age of 87. She was appointed to the court by President Bill Clinton in 1993…