Is this Stablegate? The Canadian Taxpayers Federation wants to know why Justin Trudeau and his Liberals aren’t reining in equine identity theft. The Twittersphere exploded yesterday when CTF Federal Director Aaron Wudrick indicated he believes horses may be hoofing it to sign up for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, fraudulently saddling the nation with additional debt. […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
That rumble you hear is the sound of the Shock Doctrine artillery softening up Alberta for austerity on steroids
In trench warfare, before the shock troops go over the top, the artillery softens up the defenders with a barrage at the point of the attack. In the midst of a great struggle with a mysterious coronavirus that threatens all mankind, we are being subjected to such a barrage by some of the most trusted […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Hinterland Who’s Who: Hear the haunting call of the wild Deep South Alberta UCP MLA …
With friends like Drew Barnes, does the United Conservative Party really need enemies in these troubles times? The right-wing Frankenparty may have won the 2019 provincial election convincingly soon after it was cobbled together from the fringy Wildrose Party and the old Progressive Conservatives by former Harper Government cabinet minister Jason Kenney, but that was […]
Posted inCanadian Politics
The oilsands’ other dirty little secret — Canadians barely own ’em
It’s the other dirty little secret of the oilsands: Foreign companies and their shareholders are benefitting from the huge dividends produced by Alberta’s vast bitumen sand deposits while Canadians are stuck with the vast bill for the cleanup. It’s like a latter-day update on one of those Country & Western hurtin’ songs we love so […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Coronavirus has U.S. physicians eyeing politics — will COVID-19 and the UCP’s War on Doctors spur the same thing here?
The New York Times reported yesterday how the coronavirus crisis is prodding a wave of mostly progressive American physicians to enter politics. Many are women and most have connected the dots between the United States’ appalling Third World health care system and the disastrous rate of COVID-19 infection and death throughout the Republic. Will we […]
Posted inBestsellers
There There by Tommy Orange leads fiction bestsellers in Alberta’s independent bookstores
Here are the lists of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold by independent booksellers in Alberta during the week ended Sunday, May 3, 2020. The lists are compiled by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta, and include sales at Audreys Books in Edmonton and Glass Bookshop in Edmonton. ALBERTA FICTION BESTSELLERS 1. There […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Jason Kenney calls Elizabeth May, Yves-François Blanchet ‘un-Canadian,’ accuses them of ‘blaming the victim’
Now that Premier Jason Kenney has declared it “un-Canadian” to say oil is dead, I wonder if it’s OK to admit Alberta’s fossil fuel industry is on the ropes? Probably. Mr. Kenney said as much himself in a remarkable rant yesterday directed at the Parliamentary Leader of the Bloc Québécois and the former leader of […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Jason Kenney is Canada’s least popular premier
Jason Kenney is Canada’s least popular premier. When you add in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he’s also Canada’s least popular first minister. I’m not going to belabour this point, but Jason Kenney is Canada’s least popular premier. Actually, I am going to belabour the point. I’m just not going to provide a lot of smarty […]
Posted inCanadian Politics
Maybe it’s time for Ottawa to use its power to close those meatpacking plants until their owners fix their COVID-19 mess
Now that he’s made a little progress sorting out Canada’s gun enthusiasts, maybe it’s time for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to do something about those coronavirus mega-spreaders in our midst — meatpacking plants. It’s no longer possible to deny that the way the meatpacking industry operates in North America makes slaughterhouses focal points for the […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Is the huge gap in COVID-19 cases between Edmonton and Calgary bad luck or bad management?
So far, Alberta’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has been a tale of two cities. It may not have been quite the best of times, the worst of times, but Edmonton’s certainly done well and Calgary’s not done so well at all. That state of affairs extends into the larger regions around Alberta’s two principal […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Alberta’s statement on Ottawa’s gun ban illustrates how little the rule of law really matters to Conservatives
Jason Kenney marked May 1 with a message to the Conservative base complaining about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decisive move in the wake of the murderous shooting rampage in Portapique, Nova Scotia, to ban 1,500 makes of military-style rifles. While a significant majority of Canadians breathed a sigh of relief and said to themselves, “it’s […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
CEO’s letter does nothing to restore confidence in AIMCo after its volatility strategy led to ‘a very unfortunate loss’
It’s only half as bad as you were told by the media, Alberta Investment Management Corp. Chief Executive Officer Kevin Uebelein says in a letter to stakeholders — the Crown-owned funds-management corporation only lost $2.1 billion gambling on market volatility. The first news reports on April 22 indicated the loss was about $4 billion. A […]