BC is Sold Out Again: Christy & Allison
Northern Gateway Pipeline Pricetag: Enbridge CEO Lauds Alberta-B.C. Deal, Updating Price CP | By Lauren Krugel, The Canadian PressPosted: 11/06/2013 11:20 am EST | Updated: 11/06/2013 4:02 pm EST I…
Redford
McQueen’s Damage Control Strategy: The Erosion of Natural Justice Continues
“It is incredibly irresponsible and I think they’re trapped in an extremely ineffective strategy of damage control.” — Rachel Notley NDP MLA* Environment Minister McQueen is back from her European…
Does Redford’s “Prerogative” Trump the Law?
When a Queen’s Bench justice compares Redford’s government to the corrupt regime of former Quebec premier Maurice Duplessis you know you’ve hit rock bottom. Justice Marceau made the damning comment…
Alberta’s Sales Tax Phobia
Ever since I was a child growing up, Alberta has made a big deal about how we don’t have a sales tax. Back in the day, when resource revenues were…
A Dead Cat Bounce: Redford’s Approval Rating Up to 32%
It’s called a “dead cat bounce”. It’s based on the premise that even a dead cat bounces when it slips off a 12th floor balcony and lands on the sidewalk…
A “Two Minute Tory” Spends an Evening with Ted Morton
Ted Morton, the former Finance Minister and unsuccessful PC leadership candidate, was holding court at the Manning Foundation. He was going to give a speech on how a bunch of…
Janet Davidson is appointed Deputy Minister of Health
Janet Davidson The Redford government just passed an Order in Council appointing Janet Davidson Deputy Minister of Health. This decision has many implications, not the least of which is this:…
“Show me the money”: The Alberta Medical Association Channels Jerry Maguire
Dr Giuffre & Minister Horne To borrow a phrase from Renee Zellweger in the movie Jerry Maguire, Dr Michael Giuffre had me at hello. He battled Health Minister Fred Horne…
The Home Care Consolidation Debacle: Fred Horne’s Mission Impossible
Like Tom Cruise in Ghost Protocol, Health Minister Horne is tearing through the building trying to stay ahead of the explosives he’s set to detonate. The big question is will…
The Auditor General’s Report: Alberta’s “Enron” Moment
God bless Merwan Saher, Alberta’s Auditor General! He grabbed the government by the scruff of the neck and gave it a shake for dragging us into the abyss of “Enron”…
Health Minister Fred Horne: The Puppet Master
The Google search engine connecting a reader to the Soapbox spat out this query: “Is Fred Horne as stupid as he looks?” Yikes! That’s bit harsh. But I must admit…
We’re all in this together–sort of. The Alberta Flood 2013
Nobody said it better than the Dairy Lane Cafe and the Blue Star Diner in a sunny (literally) little poster announcing that on Canada Day every penny received from sales…
Will Platts Pop Alberta’s “Bitumen Bubble”?
Platts, a global company with a remarkably flaccid name, finds itself smack in the middle of an international price fixing scandal and I really hope the Alberta government is paying…
Conrad Black and Danielle Smith
Conrad Black, the Canadian media mogul and convicted felon* was in Calgary last week to have a “conversation” with the Calgary business elite (and me) over lunch at the Calgary…
Alberta Health Services Executive Bonuses: The joy of friends in high places
Ogden Nash To paraphrase Ogden Nash (actually Mr Nash did not utter this famous phrase, but for some reason we all think he did), “Spring has sprung, the grass is…
The Price of Justice in Alberta: One Free Crime
On March 17, 2013, Alison Redford’s PC government broke the back of justice…and none of us saw it coming. Lady Justice, or Justitia, is the personification of the justice system.…
Budget 2013 (If you want to play with the Big Boys, you play by Big Boy Rules)
“Opening new markets across Canada and around the world has become job one for this government.”—Finance Minister Horner on the 2013 Budget priorities, Alberta Hansard p1440. That simple sentence tells…
And Now…A Message from your Premier-In-Waiting: Mr Lukaszuk
We interrupt our regular programming—the PC spin on the cause of the $4 billion budget shortfall—to bring you an important public service announcement from the Premier-In-Waiting, Mr Lukaszuk. Mr Lukaszuk…
The Power of the Carbon Bubble
The Carbon Bubble has arrived. It has finally emerged as a subject for consideration and debate. Hardly a day goes by that there isn’t some discussion of the Carbon Bubble.…