Alison Redford: The Puppet Premier?
On March 17, 2014, following Premier Redford’s tearful introduction of her daughter Sarah to the Legislative Assembly, the ND Opposition leader Brian Mason rose to ask the Premier a critical…
Politics and Government
TransAlta and the Court of Public Opinion: A $66 million fine or multimillions in profits?
Last month TransAlta kicked a damaging allegation into the court of public opinion: did it manipulate the electricity market by improperly shutting down six power plants during peak demand hours…
Alberta’s “Traffic Court Reform”: One Step Closer to a Police State
Justice Minister Denis is touting “Traffic Court Reform” as a “citizen-friendly” dispute resolution process to “resolve” traffic tickets. It’s also the first step into a quagmire that erases our civil…
Breakfast with Hillary Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton was in Calgary last week to give the keynote address at a breakfast meeting of 2500 Calgarians who paid about $500 to hear her speak. Luckily my…
Where are the Ethical Lawyers?
In the last three months Albertans have witnessed a shocking display of raw power. The Redford government calls it “delivering the responsible change Albertans voted for.” The rest of us…
“What Makes Canada So Great?”
Michaela Pereira, CNN television personality and news anchor (I use the term loosely) asked a member of the Canadian Olympic skiing team this question: “What makes Canada so great?” My…
CSEC Exonerated
Mr Jean-Pierre Plouffe, CSEC watchdog, has determined that CSEC is off the hook,it did not direct any activity at Canadians or persons in Canada. He’s hanging his hat on the…
Forget “Angry Birds” Where are the Angry Canadians?
Saturday’s headline in Canada’s “newspaper of record”, The Globe and Mail, was not “Harper government caught spying on Canadians” but “Rob Ford admits jaywalking ticket in Vancouver”. Are you kidding…
The Trouble with Ezra Levant…
Mr Ezra Levant Ezra Levant is a Canadian media personality, an ultra-conservative political activist, author and lawyer who has made a brilliant career out of being half right. In a…
The Buck Stops Here — Privacy 101 for Minister Horne — A guest blog by lawyer Brian Thiessen
Susan on the Soapbox welcomes her first guest blogger. Employment and privacy lawyer Brian Thiessen has a few words to say about a privacy breach that impacts 620,000 Albertans. The…
Does Fort Mac Look Like Hiroshima?
Neil Young said many provocative things about the oilsands, but the one that became a lightning rod for criticism was this: “The fact is, Fort McMurray looks like Hiroshima”.* He…
Neil Young is Right
“Take a second to really look at what you hear.” – Neil Young, singer/songwriter Neil Young knows how to rile up a crowd. In a 15 minute press conference* to…
Minister Bhullar’s Revelation: 741 Children Die in Government Care
Last week Human Services Minister Manmeet Bhullar made a shocking announcement—741 children died in government foster homes or other forms of government care since 1999. This is 13 times higher…
The Progressive Conservatives Prepare for War–Really!
“Our organization cannot lose the grassroots donation battle to our opposition if we hope to win the war in 2016.”—Ron Renaud, PC Chief Financial Officer Win the war in 2016???…
CNRL’s Primrose Problem: A Slow Motion Blow Out
When King Edward VIII abdicated the throne to marry Wallis Simpson it was scandalous. When the Alberta government abdicated the regulation of Alberta’s natural resources to an industry-led agency nobody…
Redford’s Performance Appraisal: The Building Alberta Plan
Alison Redford’s performance appraisal document landed on my doorstep a week ago. It’s called “The Building Alberta Plan 2013 Edition”. In the real world a CEO undergoes an annual performance…
Redford and Mandela: Hypocrisy and Hope (Part 2)
“He would continually bring people back to the table. That was his greatest strength”—Ms Redford on Nelson Mandela* Sadly, Ms Redford never learned how to bring “people back to the…
Redford and Mandela: Hypocrisy Meets Hope and Learns Nothing
The Redford government’s capacity for hypocrisy knows no bounds. In the same week that Redford’s PC government passed two corrosive pieces of anti-labour legislation, Ms Redford reflected on what she’d…
145 Children Die in Government Care; but 89 Don’t Count
“WHEREAS the Government of Alberta recognizes that children and youth are our greatest resource…blah blah blah”—Child and Youth Advocate Act One hundred and forty five children died in government care…