We paid $2 million for this?
The report of Danielle Smith’s Alberta Next Panel dropped Friday afternoon and, boy, is it ever a pitiful little squib!
There’s no report, really, just a few recommendations. Weighing in at a skimpy 17 pages, the whole thing would be worth about a B- if you’d handed it in, say, to a University of Calgary economics professor and he happened to be in a particularly generous mood the night he marked it.*
I’d be embarrassed if I’d just cost someone $2 million (or probably quite a bit more) for an effort as lazy and unconvincing as this.
Indeed, it must have embarrassed Premier Smith and her United Conservative Party Government too. Why else would they have released it into the wild on the afternoon of the last Friday before Christmas?
I mean, seriously, wasn’t this supposed to be the moment of Alberta’s arrival as a sovereign nation within a united Canada, maîtres chez nous?
Well, maybe the UCP brain trust realized that the whole premise of the scheme they announced last June – getting Albertans enthused about handing over their retirement savings to the UCP to Make Alberta an Energy Superpower Again and replacing the RCMP with the Party’s own organs of state security – was never going to work and they might as well sweep the whole thing under the rug as quickly as possible.
Merry Christmas, everyone! And a Happy New Year! Look over there – Santa, probably!
Look, I get it, $2 million is chump change to the brainiacs who run the UCP. It wouldn’t even buy a fighter plane, let alone an aircraft carrier for the Republic of Alberta Navy. But it’s real money to most of us who had to chip in, whether we liked it or not, to pay for it. Surely they had an obligation to come up with something a little less embarrassing than this?
Well, a news release touting the report and papering over its obvious deficiencies adds another couple of pages to the effort, as do some colourful charts of the responses to the panel’s push-poll questions.
The purpose of the exercise was supposedly to find out what Albertans wanted to do, which the UCP obviously hoped would be the same things it really wanted to do, and then get them to lend the idea a bit of democratic legitimacy by voting for them in a couple of referendums.
As the government said in a news release back on June 24, when it announced the exercise, “the panel will consult across the province over the summer and early fall to ensure that those living, working, doing business and raising families are the ones to drive Alberta’s future forward. … It will also include making recommendations to the government on potential referendum questions for Albertans to vote on in 2026.”
Instead, after all that time packing Alberta Next town halls with their supporters and insulting people who didn’t want to talk about UCP hobbyhorses, they found out that Albertans are decidedly unenthusiastic about some of the things the government wants most – in particular, an Alberta Pension Plan and an Alberta Police Force.
That’s pretty clear from the little summaries of public support on the recommendations released yesterday. For example, on the provincial police scheme: “In-person straw polls: clear majority support. Online/survey comments: Clear majority oppose. Professional polling survey: 52 per cent oppose. …”)
The summary for the for APP was much the same, although the report does claim professional polling found there was 54-per-cent support for an Alberta pension. This is very hard to believe unless there was some jiggery pokery with respondent selection. Obviously, we need to know more about this poll.
Regardless, the UCP is clearly not going to give up on either of these ideas, so the report recommends holding a referendum on “proceeding to an Alberta Pension Plan” and exiting the Canada Pension and another on replacing the RCMP with the provincial police force the government is already in the process of setting up.
There will be no votes on these questions, though, until the population has been thoroughly propagandized. Or, as the report put it about the pension, “it would be appropriate in advance of any referendum for the government to present Albertans with a detailed Alberta Pension proposal …”
The panel also wants referendums on immigration, so Ms. Smith can realize her dream of an Alberta ICE (ACE?), and on “specific constitutional amendments.” For example, Senate reform! Well, good luck with that. That’s why the constitution has an amending formula.
One suspects this recommendation was drafted in the expectation that Canada would soon have a MAGA-minded Conservative government in Ottawa along with the same in enough provinces to amend the constitution with greater ease. Alas for the UCP, that’s off the table for the time being at least.
The panel’s first recommendation, on “responsible self-government,” seems to confuse the term with provincial autonomy or, perhaps, establishing Alberta as a super-province that rules all the others. It’s good, or something, the panel says, so we should have more. “We believe that if the entire federation could be rebalanced to respect and empower provincial jurisdiction as laid out in our Constitution, Canada as a whole would be better governed and more unified.”
Notwithstanding the fact that’s not quite what the constitution says, common sense suggests this conclusion is the opposite of what would actually happen. We have responsible government now – that is, the cabinet is responsible to the assembly, even if the assembly doesn’t act like it – and like all provinces we have sovereignty within our jurisdiction.
The panel also recommended there be no referendums on Alberta collecting its own income taxes, or on federal equalization programs, presumably on the grounds that will be easier to do later.
The panel devoted three of its pages to the results of the of the online push poll, and four to glowing biographies of the 16 panel members (including the premier as the Great Helmsman, Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz as her mini-me, two additional UCP MLAs, an acupuncturist, and, yes, a University of Calgary economist).
Or maybe the UCP has now simply moved beyond the entire Alberta Next concept. Completely absent from the report, probably significantly, was any mention whatsoever of the UCP push to facilitate a referendum on separation from Canada – and, presumably, eventual absorption by the United States.
I guess we’ll have to wait for the UCP’s Alberta Nexit Panel to hear about why that one’s a great idea.
*Actually, professors seldom mark papers any more. In late capitalism, that’s what underpaid, or unpaid, graduate students are for.
As always, a thoughtful analysis of our government’s thoughtless actions. Thank you for this and do enjoy the holiday season and it’s merry making.
A small note: in the line “Albertans are decidedly unenthusiastic and some of the things the government wants most,” might you have meant to type about instead of and?
Indeed I did, Randy. It’s been fixed. As always, many thanks to my readers, who are my editors – and quite good ones, too! DJC
I have said this many times before and on other forums,
“ I don’t want a female Trumper and Trumpeter, running Alberta!!
I didn’t emigrate to Canada 48 years ago to end up being under the thumb of another would be dictator in Alberta.
Where was your DICTATOR you moved from , ? What do you think we have as leadership today in this woke country controlled by WESTMINSTER and THE WOKE. Our country was great before the LIBERALS were elected 10 years ago ! Smith is a great woman in politics, along with Pierre,, Canada would be a safe reasonable country however, people who love TRADITION along with new and different cultures bought off with free money, hotel rooms while our homeless shiver and go hungry as your tax dollars support these new voters. If Canadians were treated as well,, heck, the LIBS would be a shoe in..
This is a word salad. I tried to parse this nonsense into arguments I could respond to, but it’s just unhinged rage based nonsense.
The left isn’t doing cancel culture anymore, woke is dead, identity politics has been replaced with class based solidarity, they’re shooting CEOs now instead.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
Bruno Brown: The gibberish you posted is excellent. As for facts, it’s lacking in that.
Wait, Pierre is a woman now? Got it, sweet, let’s go with that.
As for the homeless, yeah an electoral system which largely prevents them from voting (as folks without a fixed address) generally and structurally prevents anyone in the political system from giving much or enough of a crap about their needs/views.
But let’s be real on who the people are that really give a crap about the homeless and low-income people in our society. It ain’t the right/conservative side of the spectrum in this country that prioritizes doing stuff to help them that often. It was Klein and others that were making comments on buying people bus tickets to Vancouver as the most efficient solution to homelessness issues in AB back in the 90s.
The US may not get greenland, more likely they will get Alberta
Good grief, Bruno, you’re illiterate. You should have stayed in school. Oh wait, you’d be in a class of 40 students, 20 of whom are special-needs.
What’s that term used to describe this again? Un-governing, seriously how many more times are we gonna go through one of these panels
Hi Kyle. I think Danielle Smith is practicing anti-government. Democratic governments are supposed to at least pretend, sometimes, to listen to the people they govern. I see no evidence that Smith listens to ordinary people. Separatists and oilpatch CEOs, yes; wage slaves and other peons, no.
Yes, the Friday afternoon before Christmas release of this is not the sign of a government that wants to praise this report, but to try bury it.
I suspect even the UCP realizes, despite whatever poll concocted, Albertans have serious reservations about losing their CPP and are not so keen about getting rid of RCMP either. Senate reform may be more popular, but a vote on that risks making the UCP look as powerless and clueless as it did when Kenney made us vote on equalization and then nothing happened. Even they likely remember it was mostly downhill for the K team after that, in part because some of the Smith gang then helped push him out based on that.
So I feel they want this problematic report to now be quickly forgotten, as well as all the time and money that was wasted in arriving at it. If there is going to be a referendum on separatism, then it is also kind of a moot point or confusing to continue discussion of the CPP, the RCMP and the Senate as separate rerendum votes. As well, support for CPP for instance could undermine support for separatism.
The closet separatists in charge of the UCP now may not be that in touch with how Albertans really feel, but they do have some understanding of the tactics needed to try create winning conditions for them and Alberta Next is sure not that.
Interesting bit about professors not marking papers anymore, leaving to underpaid grad students. Another good reason to defund universities. DS are you listening? Get rid of them altogether. Get the students into the trades. Auto mechanics. Speaking of which there’s a transportation crisis looming with the big three auto makers turning out cars that are irreparable and threatening to leave huge segments of the population unable to afford cars. Dabble in that field for awhile and you’ll learn more about how the world really works than from any blabbermouth prof.
There’s a great idea. Doctors and dentists should just be apprentices and Journeyman from trades schools. But, when someone suggests that professors should have apprentices in the form of grad students – he totally objects. Logic is not ronmac’s strong suit!
Ronmac, let me help.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/timbajarin/2025/08/05/built-to-last-why-skilled-trades-are-surviving-the-ai-disruption/
Robots can weld, but can they weld outdoors on site in difficult conditions? AI can’t climb in your attic to repair a leak, or pull electrical wires in your new home, or run a snake down your sink. Robots can, however, build site-ready prefab home panels. Robots can make cars and have done so for decades in Asia, plus they can do it affordably. Which trades will have the human touch that AI and robots can’t replace? Will there be any government programs to retrain workers for the jobs of the future? Where is DS when it comes to committing to funding that will prepare Albertans for the future? She’ll happily sell universities and trade schools to private interests, which won’t help Albertans at all.
Who will be the thinkers if we defund universities? Who will develop new technologies if all the universities close? Do you want to get rid of engineers, doctors, nurses, computer scientists and everyone else who has graduated from a university, or just “blabbermouths”, by whom I think you mean non-science graduates and their programs? That would include most of the current batch of UCP MLAs, I believe.
Yes universities not having proper funding to pay people to grade papers is a great reason to defund them entirely.
This is a whiff take even for you Ron. Question for all you universities are worthless types what happens when the auto mechanic needs a doctor? Who teaches their children? Who engineers the roads they drive on to make sure they’re safe over their lifespan ?
If you think it’s ridiculous what we pay for automobiles now, wait till you hear what they’re doing in CHINA.
In case you missed it, I’m being rhetorical, and what you’re suggesting is ridiculous; Merry Christmas to ABpolitics resident Scrooge
Given university class sizes these days, the expected turnaround time for posting and submitting grades, and the already onerous requirements of teaching imposed upon teaching faculty, having graduate students paid to mark is reasonable, providing that they’re properly supervised.
Just to be clear, Lars, my point is not that grad students shouldn’t mark papers but that they should be paid a living wage for doing so, and should have some reasonable expectation of a permanent job with benefits at a point early enough in their career to live a satisfying life and to be able to retire with dignity. Neoliberalism seems to have ruined universities as a place for employment and it is a wonderment that to me anyone completes a PhD nowadays. DJC
David, I would not disagree with any of this. However, when I was working as a sessional lecturer (teaching classes of 100 – 500 undergrads), the TAs who marked the written portions of my exams were making more than I did. My last appointment was in 2024.
Perhaps this validates your point.
Probably does, Lars. When I worked as a TA, which was decades ago now, I had the advantage of being a member of CUPE, which was a real union. So I had some rights and a collective agreement, if not very much pay. Instructors (as opposed to professors) in those days may well have had a shabby deal, although probably considerably better than scholars today. My late father was a department head and administrator at the University of Victoria at a period in history when administrators were paid only a little more than full professors. My daughter is a postdoc at a European university. So, as you can see, the brains and work ethic necessary to earn a PhD appears to skip generations. Nevertheless, I try to keep up. DJC
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH Some people never disappoint!
If we’re looking at Danielle Smith as the case study for the value of a university degree, I’d have to agree: it was a waste of tuition. Instead of sharpening her mind, her time at the University of Calgary seems to have only inflated her ego. She carries the hubris of someone who thinks a degree makes her an expert on everything, when she’d have been better served learning a practical trade as a welder on a pipeline to nowhere. At least then, she’d be producing something tangible instead of just hot air. Since her last ‘venture’ (restaurant) is sold, maybe it’s time we help her find a career she’s actually suited for—though I’m not sure she’s even qualified to wash the dishes. (Not meant as an insult to dish washers)
anon-56 …. a perfect example of a wasted ‘economics ‘ study can be found in her interview with Ezra Levant/ Rebel News….” we have 85,000 new children and of those 94,000(?)* speak English…..
*for those who want to retain their lunch, you can watch the essentials on the breakdown.
Also Jared Wesley has a few issues with her “graph-a-nlmics. Math really is hard. Lol
Indeed, going from 79% opposed to an Alberta Pension Plan, that being the UCP on-line survey with questions slanted in favor of the APP along with thousands of extremely rude comments, to 54% support is an absolute miracle. I guess it matters which UCP supporters you ask, especially those that would spank students for asking embarrassing questions.
Smith, tying her province’s citizen’s fortunes up with an Oil Oligarchy that is rapidly fleeing from their fractured dying empire for greener pastures elsewhere…just what is her end game here? To flee with them carrying bags of gold bars out of the province garnered from medical insurance companies, oil and coal magnates and whatever taxpayer’s funds are left that she can lift before the plane leaves?
Of course the report is complete wiffle-waffle that can’t support its own premises. All cons are comprised of wiffle-waffle hoping that bullsh*t baffles brains long enough that the con wo/man can escape with the cash.
End game – flee to Panama with a fat bank account. Typical UCP lack of attention to details – Panama has an extradition treaty with Canada.
Oh my goodness B, I laughed so hard when I read your post. Not necessarily what you wrote but I suddenly had visions of Smith as a Ferengi, like Quark, dragging his suitcase full of “latinum” as he tried to get on the last ship fleeing the space station in front of the invading Kardasians (SP?) Good stuff. Thanks for this.
The old nag has continued out of control, ramaging down blind alleys in pursuit of anti-democratic authoritarian horsesh*t.
The colorful bars charts near the top push-poll questions may be designed to give one the impression people polled are in favor of an Alberta Pension Plan, but if look further down, the results are drastically different. For example: “What potential benefit do you like most about Alberta opting to leave the CPP and create its own Pension Plan?” The response is 73% for None. Another asked “Which risk of opting out of CPP to start an Alberta Pension Plan are you most concerned about?” “That it will be mismanaged by current or future governments” got a 59% response on one and 54% on another. There are a couple of other similar questions and in all cases it points to a rejection of the idea of an Alberta Pension Plan. It will be interesting to see if Dingy Smith falls for the colorful bar graphs (my bet) or looks past that fluff and reads the details.
Judging from the strained buttons and belt buckles, the Next Panel’s meal per diems must have been out of this world!
Eye: The photo, though, was taken before the panel began its work. DJC
I would like to point out that men’s suits are not what they used to be. There is no allowance to let the seams out, except in suits made by a tailor. Clearly, the panel members needed new suits after this was over. Custom suits are not cheap. And since we, Martha and Henry Albertan, forced those per-diems upon them, this is on us. We are co-dependent enablers. We need help. They need suits. See how it works?
Abs: Nowadays it’s hard to get a good bespoke suit anyway. Real tailors are like watchmakers. They barely exist any more in North America and, where they are in business, they will surely retire soon. In both trades, you will find in most cases that the actual work is done out of the country. DJC
Surely a trip overseas for each panel member should have been part of the clothing allowance. If we expected the panel to live off the fat of the land, we should accomodate that. Completely reasonable under the circumstances, although Trevor Tombe does not appear to need it.
Some people look really good in cheap clothes.
Bespoke as in British made? Given the UCP penchant for most things English: Winston Churchill, HRH(when useful) ,meeting with certain far-right politicians who are enamored with dear old Presto; the lovely tweeds ($2100.00 for a suit,etc..) Though it didn’t work out quite so well for the a couple of BC legislature staff, but then again Marlaina is very good at changing laws and though M.Amery gave himself immunity did that law cover anyone else? Pip pip, tally ho and all ….
Though I’m sure we’d much rather see the whole bunch in the tower. Back in the day, they’d be on a slow boat to Australia.
And as far as high tailing to Panama, I’m not so sure it’s such a safe spot: what with the Peace Maker claiming the boats from Ven. make it all the way to the Pacific…by way of Panama ??…hmmm. curious.
Randi-lee: No. bespoke as in properly tailored. There are certainly some fine tailors on Savile Row and Jermyn Street, but they cater nowadays to the extremely rich and are few in number. Not so long ago there were competent tailors in almost any city who could stitch a bespoke suit. They are very few nowadays, though, and surely Sam Abuhassan here in Edmonton is past retirement age now. Made-to-measure stores that send their barely trained clerks’ calculations to the Third World do not match the quality and fit of craftsmen like Mr. Abushassan. DJC
Dave, you are right on, for the most part. My quibble has little to do with the content of the post. As a recently-retired professor (4 years ago) I can assure you that I and the professors I know did most of our own grading. (Mind you, that was in the liberals arts which have been starved of funding for decades.) The hours that TAs can work is strictly limited, and in my department anyways, there was a cap of what percentage of the students’ work can be graded by a TA. This is not to mention that graduate admissions and funding (at least in the lowly arts programs) have been severely cut, limiting the supply of TAs who are assigned to the very largest classes.
Thanks, Mark.
I retired as a Professor 2.5 years ago, and agree entirely with you, even though I was in Science. I always marked papers, mock grant applications, and any questions requiring more than a sentence to answer myself, and I had many like-minded colleagues. TA hours were in short supply, and most TAs were involved in lab demonstration and (very formulaic) marking of lab reports – the majority of this happening in very large first and second year courses.
The next election should be a humdinger. Remember how long it took to vote in the fall municipal election? Now add in 10 referendum questions or so. Danielle Smith and the Smiths must figure they can win it all if only they can keep enough people out of the polling stations.
Dump a load on the Friday before Christmas and run. How very typical of them: tuck tails and slink away like the weasels they are. We can imagine their thoughts as they dashed out of sight, “See ya, suckers. We’re coming to take everything away.” Now they have a few weeks to brush up on how to run a banana republic. Lesson one: popaganda. Lesson two: take funding from foreign dictators in exchange for a piece of the action. Enjoy the beaches, beeches. Check on your offshore bank accounts, maybe buy property in a non-extradition treaty country. We’ll stay frosty.
Don’t forget all votes must be manually counted now, a “wexit” vote would take days (?) to count ? And then the courts ?
One thing is for sure, the UCP wants an Alberta Ice because they want a police force to enforce the laws as they wish they were, not as they are written. The RCMP, scandalous as they have been at times, are still beholden to the constitution of the county called Canada, not to Tin Pot Yankee Doodle Dani.
The Next Panel consisted of a group of people so stupid they don’t know how stupid they are. To flout a 2 million dollar report that clearly is an idealogical document that flies in the face of the will of the people is disingenuous at best. The lunatics are definitely running the insane asylum, ie. Hellberta, into the ground; to assume that life will be better if we join the USA is crazy. The USA is run by a convicted felon, lunatic, who has no boundaries save to feather his own nest, just like Smith et al. MAGA is a malignant tumour. These fascists are out to destroy the world in preparation for the rapture – their zealous belief in the supernatural is dangerous and flies in the face of science. We have a flu epidemic, measles is rampant and covid has not gone away contrary to the UCP viewpoint which is based on hogwash. And people are suffering, perhaps even dying because of these callous monsters. Not a shred of decency in any UCP/MAGA idiot. They do not govern for the people but to fill their coffers with taxpayer money. And the fact that they ignored the will of the people re: the Support Canada Petition organized by Lukaszuk is tantamount to malfeasance. The UCP is full of lying criminals and worse. Every single person who votes to support the UCP in the coming election or referendum is in my opinion a traitor. One hopes that those in the UCP party are held accountable for their efforts to destroy Canada. Time will tell, but it would be a shame to see these people get away with their destructive ideas and initiatives. I hope that the UCP people, and I use the term “people” with much hesitation for they actually are monsters of the worst kind, get coal, ironically, for their holiday gift.
As for the commenters on Alberta Politics who do not support the UCP, I wish you a healthy holiday and a happy new year. As for the vile UCP supporters, they can all go to hell.
@Goethe
They’re so stupid they’re *begging* to join up with a corrupt dying empire engaging in warmongering rather than try to support their own medium-economy country to strengthen their position and weather the oncoming storm.
Did we stop teaching history in high school or something?
Here is what Danielle Smith is imitating. When the dying empire dies, where does that leave us in Alberta? Vulnerable, that’s where. Smith’s border patrol is a scam. Trump doesn’t care about 400 tons of cocaine plus weapons smuggled into the U.S. from Honduras, so the grams of illegal drugs moving south from Alberta don’t even register. Remember that Smith wanted Canada to bow down to Trump over this. She misread the situation by a country mile, on purpose?
https://youtu.be/uW-KvIkH7dU?si=edUnIgml48sCXOBT
I wonder if Marlaina’s obsession with creating an Alberta police force has anything to do with possible criminal convictions arising from the Corrupt Care scandal? It’s obvious she has already begun even though a clear majority of Albertans have rejected it.
To continue your tip of the hat to some French, “Quelle surprise”!!!
It behooves me to think the UCP, Smith, her wild-eyed cadre from Bonnyville, their abdominous/bald “lawyer” (hopefully the Law Society will throw out the trash), Presto, Harper, all the others at the cash trough, and those who refuse to accept the grandness of all that is Canada are single-mindedly hell bent to destroy Alberta. They are the least suited for public service because of their private fixations and motives. They have no vision of the future but their apocalyptic cosmology. Even Presto’s papa never preached that brand of nonsense.
And if Smith thinks that she can speak for “those living, working, doing business and raising families … drive Alberta’s future forward”, she had better take a hefty dose of Ivermectin, review her pending Oil company board appointments (in waiting, for her fiery demise). She will, after all, feel a sense of empowerment for a girl with a hot dog stand who was able to con so many, from so many political parties, in her seemingly endless tirade against science, medicine, health care, education, and an ethical, progressive government without ever disclosing what was really in those ‘hot dogs’.
Hello DJC and fellow commenters,
Danielle Smith continues to make poor decisions which she foists on Alberta, using legislation and other means. Whether or not the courts will uphold all the legislation remains to be seen. At the same time, her decisions and actions signal that governance in Alberta is becoming increasingly authoritarian. The drive to privatize socially important services, including education and health care, will make the province both unaffordable for anyone but the rich. Almost everyone else will become increasingly impoverished. I think that some businesses will leave Alberta and others will decide against investing here. The Alberta Prosperity Project, whose policies will ensure the opposite of prosperity for most, is trying to sell Albertans on a fantasy. Unfortunately, too many believe the Project’s rubbish. Whether or not the majority of Albertans will be informed enough to vote in a different party/parties at the next election remains to be seen. Another term of “rule” by Danielle Smith, and it is rule as policies and actions become increasingly authoritarian, will make Alberta an undesirable place to live.
That’s quite a clever name you used for their next wasteful – Alberta Nexit Panel!
As someone who intently watched the Brexit debacle, which divided many families. this would indeed be an added disaster.
A certain part of our voting population needs to waken up to the possibility and stop voting for these CONS/MAGA parties.
It’s remarkable how thin and unambitious the Alberta Next final report is. There is so much opportunity in Alberta but the UCP is fueled mostly by grievance. It’s an era of big missed opportunities for Alberta and that’s deeply unfortunate.
One thing appears to be certain. They did not agree with Prof. Tombe on equalization. Was this ideological blindness on the part of the other panelists or a failure of Dr. Tombe to fulfill the most basic obligation of a publicly funded academic, that is to educate?
They also missed the memo that thanks to the United Farmers of Alberta in 1930 Royalty payments from oil and gas are excursively levied and are the property of the Government of Alberta. No matter how much or little, zero Royalties go to Ottawa.
Norway, with only 40% of Alberta’s fossil fuel production, and most of that from the bottom of the North Sea, now has nearly $1.5 Trillion US in their Heritage Fund. The Alberta Cons mostly failed to keep collecting royalties and frittered away the little they did collect.
Alberta’s oil exports have increased by just over 40% since 2015 and Trudeau the Younger’s TMX pipeline. Puts a whole new light on those bumper stickers offering to have sex with Trudeau, doesn’t it?
Well, Katy Perry evidently saw one of those bumper stickers, so they had an effect. Perhaps not the intended effect, but I doubt Trudeau’s objecting.
Lars! STOP that! DJC
This comment is the best example yet of why it is a shame this platform doesn’t have “laughing” emojis on it …
The UCP vision, and the likely results:
A provincial police force will turn a blind eye to UCP malfeasance, and will be a political goon squad for the govt.
Creation of an APP in order to use pension funds to support Alberta junior oil and gas. 95% of those investments will fail (but the owners, who are all UCP donors, will get rich), and the 5% that boom will not be enough to offset the losses. We will only hear about the 5%. AIMCO, the B-team when it comes to investing, will inevitably get poorer returns on pension investments than the CPP, but the UCP will top up benefits during good times with energy revenue, and during bad times they will shrug and say “Sorry, you’re screwed. Nothing we can do”.
They will ensure that Health and Education portfolios are so poorly managed and funded that they fail, and expensive teachers, nurses and doctors are let go, or quit en masse. Cheaper “workers” (professional standards will be lowered) are found who maximize profit for the new privatized owners, who provide “partnerships” with the government. Private schools and hospitals will become the norm for those able to afford it. B-grade public services are only for the hoi polloi.
Old people, sick people, those with addictions and mental health issues, disabled people, immigrants, and poor people will see drastic service cuts, all in the name of “financial responsibility”. Two added bonuses to this strategy – many will die earlier or move elsewhere, thus reducing costs even more, and the word will go out that Alberta is not a great place to move to for poorer people, and they will stay away. Only the young, healthy, and especially the wealthy need come – and the govt will continue to provide a tax structure to incentivize this demographic.
Create a constitutional crisis on flimsy or obviously impossible pretexts, but in the firm belief that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and that the rest of Canada will give Alberta more than she already gets. Canada develops a hate for Alberta like one hates the bragging relative who got lucky on the lotto, and who now constantly flouts how smart and successful they are. The UCP whines about being Alberta being unfairly hated.
Flood the media with issue after issue that exhausts even the most patient and strongest opponents. Use of the Notwithstanding Clause will become the norm. Legislation will be continually changed to prevent any meaningful pushback from citizens. The UCP calls this being nimble, and proactive.
And so, at this point I am simply unable to see how anyone with a brain, a soul, a smaller bank account, or a conscience can vote for these people. As Trump weakens, perhaps a cooling down of the fever will begin here as well. The Alberta Progressive Tory Party gives hope to moderate conservatives who, to their shame, allowed themselves to be outflanked by the lunatics. To them, I wish good luck. I like to think that the NDP is allowing the UCP to strangle themselves, and are simply shutting up and staying out of the way while keeping their powder dry. I know others here are disappointed, but it’s not bad poker to wait out the lunatic going all in on every hand – eventually the bluff is going to be called with a better hand, and the crazy guy will get busted.
The fix was in from the start. The UCP needed some pretence to justify it’s agenda and reach it’s predetermined conclusions.
“exclusively” the choice of the Gov. of Ab to levy and keep Royalties. NOT “excursively” which is mostly what the UCP does as it floods the zone. Sheesh, the word looked okay to me – sorry about that.
Thank you for doing yeoman’s service explaining Alberta Politics. And thank you for moderating comments and for the excellent observations from my fellow commenters. Best wishes of the season to all.
I’m curious about economist Trevor Tombe’s participation in the Alberta Next panel. He always seemed to be a reasonable fact-focused non-partisan political commentator but I assume he contributed to, and signed off on this document. When he was named as a member I thought maybe we’d see some opposition and controversy in the panel debates but now I’m not so sure.
I’m sure Trevor is happy with the taxpayer money he got for doing absolutely nothing.
CX: I don’t think the amount paid to panel members who are not public officials is significant. I’ve seen the number of $500 per month, but I can’t conform that tonight. DJC
So Tombe sold his reputation down the river for a few pieces of silver? They must have offered him something…..
Bird: Hubris not greed, methinks. DJC
So ok, why is this government so intent on trying to sell a load of unwanted policies to the Alberta public. Losing a couple of referendums no matter how cleverly worded to get to yes, would do no good to their cause. But I’ve never accused Premier Ditzy of being a deep thinker.
UCP and an Alberta pension plan……what a joke….heritage fund…..garbage…..count me out….more tax payers subsidies to the a fossil fuel industry is all the APP will ever be….now nationalize or provincialize and it may be a viable alterative somewhat like a Quebec pension plan….however when billions of dollars are leaving the province from a broken down royalty system…..tax loopholes….money for billionaire and their arenas…..unpaid O&G municipal taxes and other subsidies…..it’s just not worth….4.5 million people supporting O&G or 44 million people supporting O&G…..RBC will pick the latter……
In a world that made sense, the UCP would quietly shelve the idea of an Alberta Pension Plan since: a) it doesn’t make any sense at all from a retirement income perspective (and has been ridiculed by experts from the pension industry), and b) the government actually doesn’t care even a little bit about pension issues.
Unfortunately that’s not the world we live in, and the UCP will pursue this fantasy because they think it will allow them to get their hands on a whole bunch of money from the CPP Fund. They’re wrong, but it doesn’t really matter, because they’re like jackfish: they see something flashing in the water and they bite it every time.
I guess we should have seen it coming. Albertans aren’t (all) stupid, just misinformed. We know a good deal when it’s spelled out for us (except the lunatic right). We know when a deal is fair or not (except those who believe “fair” means “I get what I want, losers!”).
Danielle Smith is obviously a separatist, heavily influenced by the Free Alberta Fantasy of her mentor, Barry Cooper. The website is apparently still up, if you have a high tolerance for bullshit.
There are two possible explanations for Smith’s arrogant, contemptuous management style. She may be convinced that, as the “smartest person in the room,” she can decide what to do without bothering herself with consulting the Little People of Oilberduh.
Or, she may be taking orders from the real sources of power in UCP Land. That’s either 1) the CEOs of the oilpatch (who could cut off Smith’s campaign funding if they’re pissed off) or 2) Jeffery Rath, Mitch Sylvestre and their fellow delusionists (who could kick Smith out of the Premier’s office if they’re pissed off).
PLEASE NOTE WELL: despite Smith’s noise, the separatists and Alberta Firsters are a small minority. Polls reported Albertans were 75% in favour of NOT busting up Canada. The low-water mark was (wait for it!) a mere 65%, right after Mark Carney became Prime Minister. (Carney still has a fairly high approval rating in Alberta, too.)
Dr. Jared Wesley has pointed out the UCP are a danger to democracy in Canada—and we Albertans can fight back:
https://drjaredwesley.substack.com/p/what-can-we-do
(Note: There’s lots more, well worth reading. Dr. Wesley doesn’t put a paywall on his blog.)
Mike J Danysh: If the UCP put these very despised things to the electorate, they would have lost the 2023 provincial election in Alberta.
Grift-o-kons fully embrace the concepts of terra nullis and the Doctrine of Discovery. Nobody lived in Alberta before 1988 and if they did they were red, or worse,pinko heathens. Swindling backed by violence has worked before, why fix what ain’t broke?
I don’t recall asking for any of these things. Yet, Danielle Smith and the UCP are going ahead with them. The sooner the UCP are gone, the better.
On the specific matter of policing, I share many others’ concerning about the UCP’s plans for replacing the RCMP with an Alberta Police Service/Force — which many fear will become nothing more than the UCP’s private army — and the sneaky way they’re already doing it by stealth as they expand the scope of authority and responsibility of the Alberta Sheriffs Branch. But, what many here seem to lose sight of is, the RCMP are most likely np or going to be with us in the current form for very much longer.
There is a document on the federal Ministry of Public Safety website, A New Policing Vision for Canada: Modernizing the RCMP, located here: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2025-mdrn-rcmp-grc/index-en.aspx. Dated 19 March 2025 — before the last election that returned Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government to power — this document sets out the challenges facing the RCMP and federal law enforcement in general, and sets out how the provincial Police Services Agreements (PSAs) and the contract policing model are barriers to the force succeeding in its national and international mandates. The document contains this text:
“Finally, Canada’s role in supporting provinces in their delivery of policing services must evolve. The federal government should be committed to working closely with Provinces to support a transition away from contract policing, while maintaining strong interoperability with federal policing. The expiration of current Police Services Agreements in 2032 presents the first opportunity for implementing this next phase of policing in Canada.”
The RCMP are gonna go, at least in terms of day- to-day policing of smaller municipalities and rural Alberta. It’s just a matter of when, and what will replace it.
By the way, for those readers here who don’t already know, the City of Grande Prairie is in the midst of setting up its own municipal police force to replace its municipal RCMP detachment. This is the first new municipal police force in Alberta to be set up since 1956 in Camrose.
The new Grande Prairie Police Service, whose police chief is former Edmonton Police Service Inspector and ALERT Superintendent Dwayne Lakusta, is scheduled to become the police force of primary jurisdiction in the city in October 2026.
https://www.gppolice.com/about/executive-leadership
Now, my wife and I happen to live just outside the City limits, in the County of Grande Prairie No. 1, so if we call 911 for police, we’ll still get RCMP. But all of our kids and their families live in the City, and my wife and I both work in the City, and we do all of our shopping and dining out and day-to-day activities in the City, so this transition will still affect us. It reminds to be seen whether, in the fullness of time, this transition will be found to have been a good idea.
Rats. A couple of typos crept into my post. Here are corrections:
– First paragraph, opening sentence: “I share many others’ concerns about the UCP’s plans”
– First paragraph, final sentence: “the RCMP are most likely not going to be with us in the current form for very much longer.”
Hello DC and fellow commenters,
When I was a T A at the University of Alberta in the 90s, we taught entire half courses and did all the marking too. This was in the Faculty of education. I don’t know how things were arranged in other faculties.