Fairness requires that I inform readers that Alberta’s United Conservative Party Government has now come up with official talking points about that controversial golden puddy tat, said to have been bestowed upon Premier Danielle Smith by a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family.
Alert readers will recall that during Question Period in the Alberta Legislature last Thursday, NDP Opposition Leader Naheed Nenshi referred to the controversial statue of the regal feline as “a giant golden cat” and wondered why the premier hadn’t declared that gift and others as required of Alberta politicians.
Monday evening, the premier’s chief of staff responded on the social media site previously known as Twitter – rather harshly as he is inclined to do – “to all those Nenshi followers who buy your tinfoil in bulk, here are the facts around your latest conspiracy theory about the now infamous cat sculpture.”
First, and most important, he said in his four-point tweet, “the cat sculpture is worth a few hundred dollars and is made of copper – not gold.”
Some responses to that point expressed a certain amount of skepticism that a Saudi prince would be so cheap as to present a keepsake made of mere copper. I would remind such skeptics that copper is practically a precious metal nowadays, as the operators of Edmonton’s and Calgary’s electrical systems are sure to confirm.
“It was gifted to the People of Alberta by the Energy Minister of Saudi Arabia who was attending the World Petroleum Conference in Calgary in 2023,” Mr. Anderson went on. So that answers one of the questions asked in my last post. Since it was given to the people of Alberta, I can see no reason why it couldn’t have been made of gold. Indeed, I would suggest it took a certain amount of brass on the part of the Saudis not to come up with something more precious than recycled electrical wiring!
I mean no disrespect when I say this. After all, as Mr. Anderson pointed out, it is (only?) displayed in the McDougall Centre out of respect of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Somewhat rudely, he accused Mr. Nenshi of having insufficient respect for the gift-giver. “As Nenshi doesn’t understand, because he never has nor will he ever be Premier, the exchange of gifts with foreign dignitaries is a regular part of international diplomacy as a gesture of friendship, economic partnership and peaceful relations,” Mr. Anderson grumped.
So there you have it, people. The matter is settled. There’s nothing to see here, so please move along.
Anyway, Ms. Smith is not available. She’s in Texas “telling Alberta’s energy story on the global stage” and doubtless hobnobbing with Republican politicians. Keep your eye on social media for confirmation.
Maybe its a copper cat, but it sure looks to be something else in the picture. Hey I’m no metallurgist, but copper normally has a different colour.
Also the Saudi’s are not known to cheap out on gifts, so I am skeptical on that count to. Although I suppose it could be a sign of the esteem they don’t hold Smith in. In fairness, she is not a national leader although she may have not so well hidden aspirations to be.
Regardless I have a feeling this cat will soon disappear before anyone independent can conclusively rule on its make up. So perhaps the next title in this series could be The case of the mysterious disappearing cat, which i suppose would sort of be in line with the famous Maltese sculpture in the old movie. Sometimes the truth whatever it is, is as strange, or stranger than, fiction.
Of course she’s gone on another trip and is not available. Didn’t you say just days ago that this would happen? I’m sure it has nothing to do with the RCMP raid on MHCare Medical. This trip was previously planned, amirite? How about that withdrawal of one of Invest Alberta’s finest? Globe and Mail headline: “Invest Alberta’s Jaber on leave after police searched firm in AHS probe”. Just another day, right? Nothing to see there, either.
The next thing you know, Danielle Smith will complain about the market value of the cat statue, as she did about her gifted ribbon skirt. At least she wore the ribbon skirt. I wonder how hard it is to melt a golden cat and turn it into a chunky necklace worthy of a casino gift shop in Vegas. Vive la République! Ça ira.
Anyways, RCMP raids are in vogue right now. Just ask the current and former politicians in Calgary who had their homes raided and phones seized. These are the days of disposable burner phones and magical disappearing conversation threads, so I’m not sure what use any of this will be, or what it’s all about. No, former mayor Naheed Nenshi is not among them.
I look forward to further missives from the premier’s office concluding with, “THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.” I will be very concerned if the faux gold leaf section at Michael’s sells out and doodads appear on the mantel and fireplace in the premier’s office. I fear red carpet and cheap gold tat would be a step too far. Whatever. I hope she doesn’t order gaudy bric-a-brac from Amazon, though, because aren’t we all still doing our best to buy Canadian? Elbows up!
And what will our beloved leader bring back as a gift from Texas – a golden palomino?
“As Nenshi doesn’t understand, because he never has nor will he ever be Premier, the exchange of gifts with foreign dignitaries is a regular part of international diplomacy as a gesture of friendship, economic partnership and peaceful relations,” Like…., seriously? What an arrogant pr***!
Great, the matter is settled because Rob the Snob (or perhaps Rob the Knob) said it is. So if it really belongs to the people of Alberta then there should be no problem with putting it on public display, right? Maybe a private Alberta citizen (a metalurgist?) could examine it to let us all know what it’s truly made of.
I’ve seen the image of the cat. It isn’t made of copper.
So if it’s hollow, could it be full of cocaine? Surely that would make it more valuable!
I’m not buying into any of this. Now Smith is claiming the cat in question is made of copper. Given that the Saudi’s gave Donald Trump a $400m jet as a gift, I highly doubt they cheeped out and are now giving out copper cats. Maybe she will now look at the bottom of the subject cat, and rail that it has a “Made in China” label on the bottom? How can you tell Dingy Smith is lying? Her lips are moving!
OA: I’m pretty sure it was Qatar that gave Mr. Trump the repurposed 747, but the same principle applies. DJC
If this golden cat is indeed a chunk of copper, let’s have some proof. Surely this gift has been catalogued, insured and stored in a safe place on government property. Show. Us. The. Cat. This should be easy. Where is it? Let’s bring in an appraiser immediately and disclose to the public the value of said cat. This would stop the rumours and speculation. The people of Alberta deserve to know the truth about “our” property.
I am willing to give Rob Anderson a copper scouring pad as a special gift if he follows my suggestion. Do the right and honourable thing, Rob. I know it’s hard.
Abs: I sincerely believe it’s not made of pure copper, no matter what Mr. Anderson thinks. If it’s not gold, which probably is unlikely, I’d say it’s most likely brass, which as readers of this blog will all surely know is an alloy of copper and zinc. The colour in Don Braid’s photo looks right and it would be right on brand for a member of the Saudi royal family to give the premier of Alberta (or whoever) a cheap brass trinket and call it gold. DJC