The Trans Mountain Pipeline Court Decision
Ms Soapbox spent the long weekend poring over the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision nullifying the Order-in-Council that approved the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX). Mr Bumble’s comment in Oliver…
Politics and Government
Maxime Bernier Opens the Diversity Debate
What lunacy is this? Maxime Bernier’s twitter rant condemning Justin Trudeau’s “extreme multiculturalism” policies ended with Bernier exiting stage (far) right, Andrew Scheer promising to fight asylum seekers who jump…
Fifteen Bucks an Hour
The government is gradually increasing Alberta’s minimum wage from $10.20 in Oct 2015 and to a cap of $15/hour in Oct 2018. Fifteen bucks an hour. This increase is not…
Money or Mission? A Simple Test of Policy
In a discussion about politics in America, Michael Lewis, the author of The Big Short and Moneyball, said the rift isn’t between Republicans and Democrats, it’s between the people who…
The Art of Civil Discourse (or why your comment didn’t get published)
Commentators on The Soapbox are generally a well-behaved lot, however Ms Soapbox has noticed an uptick in off the wall comments lately and would like to review why some Soapbox…
Fildebrandt’s Freedom Conservative Party: Joke or Threat?
It is said that Jason Kenney is a shrewd politician but recently he made a mistake that might prove fatal. We didn’t catch it at first, what with Kenney going…
Girls Just Want to Have Fun…at the Calgary Stampede
“When the working day is done. Oh girls, they wanna have fun.”—Cyndi Lauper After a rough few weeks Ms Soapbox and her family dug out their cowboy hats, found some…
Overheard at Rachel’s Cocktail Party
It was packed, absolutely packed, at Rachel Notley’s cocktail party at Hotel Arts in Calgary last Wednesday. The event was billed as an evening of cocktails and conversation with Rachel…
Attack Ad: Yes or No?
Just for the record progressive voters really don’t care where Jason Kenney lived when he served in Harper’s government or whether he visited Alberta often enough or whether he’s using…
Ontario Elects Doug Ford; Alberta Unleashes the Valkyries
Valkyrie: from Norse mythology, meaning “chooser of the slain”; female figures who choose who will die in battle and who will live. Ms Soapbox has a message for all the…
What do Jason Kenney, John Horgan and Elizabeth May have in Common?
This just in from the “strange-bedfellows” department: When it comes to the Trans Mountain pipeline, Jason Kenney, BC premier John Horgan and Green Party leader Elizabeth May are singing from…
Jason Kenney: When a Dog Whistler Loses Control of the Dogs
Ever wonder what happens when a dog whistler loses control of the dogs?* Jason Kenney is beginning to discover that his supporters are way ahead of him on his “conservative…
Mr Kenney Runs Away
The last two weeks have been particularly tiring for Mr Kenney, the leader of the UCP, he spent most of it running away. Mr Kenney hightailed it out of the…
Handmaids For Kenney Attend The UCP Policy Convention
This would be funny in the ironic ha-ha sense if it wasn’t so damned serious. While the rest of us were watching UCP members debate policy resolutions in a conference…
Personal Will, Anyone?
Question: What do Stephen Hawking and Shamsia Husseini have in common? Answer: They both know the power of personal will. Ms Soapbox has been thinking a lot about “personal will”…
The Country is Broken!
Just when Albertans thought things couldn’t get any worse, Jason Kenney declared the country was broken. What? Did Trumpism seep across the border while we were sleeping? Canada survived the…
The UCP Runs Away from the Bubble Zone
Last week the NDP government introduced Bill 9 which will create a 50-metre bubble zone of safety and privacy for women accessing healthcare, including abortions and other reproductive health services,*…
The Attack on Gay-Straight Alliances Continues
Last week the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) brought a court application challenging the constitutionality of changes to the School Act which are intended to support the establishment of…
Thoughts on Politics at Easter
Easter is not usually the time to reflect upon grumpy whiners; but given Jason Kenney’s mission to rebuild the conservative movement in Alberta this might be a good time to…
Jason Kenney Debates a Motion
An update from the Kenney-channelling-Trump department. After weeks of flooding the airwaves with demands for an emergency debate on a motion condemning BC’s interference with the Trans Mountain pipeline Jason…