Peter MacKay, former Harper Government defence minister and one of the dimmer candles to cast his flickering light on Canadian affairs, turns out to have been a prophet after all! Who would have guessed? Back in 2008, when Canada’s role in the long war in Afghanistan had grown considerably in its cost and toll, Mr. […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Never mind sparse facts in Alberta’s first-quarter financial update, its subtext is deep cuts are coming soon
The United Conservative Party Government led by Jason Kenney wants deep cuts, and, by God, it’s going to have them. That includes tax cuts, which will drive the province’s books deeper into the red, and cuts to services to help pay for the tax breaks. If the facts, such as they are known, suggest this […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Andrew Weaver to Jason Kenney: ‘Every day you keep opening your mouth, more people come to the B.C. Greens!’
When it comes to Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, Andrew Weaver is not a fan. This will not come as a complete surprise to anyone who follows either Alberta or British Columbia politics. Dr. Weaver, after all, is the leader of the B.C. Greens. He is also a climate scientist. In some circles, either of those […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
It was a delight to talk with Andrew Weaver about Jason Kenney, details to follow soon
VICTORIA, B.C. — If Jason Kenney’s ears were burning today, perhaps it was because of what Andrew Weaver had to say about him. Mr. Kenney, as all readers of this blog should know as part of the price of admission, is now premier of Alberta; Dr. Weaver is the leader of British Columbia’s Green Party, […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
UCP slaps Alberta Teachers Association … probably not for the last time
Almost completely missed in media coverage of Friday’s purge of NDP appointees to agencies, boards and commissions by Alberta’s United Conservative Party Government was the revelation that the same day the government abruptly cancelled a three-year-old memorandum of agreement with the Alberta Teachers Association to co-operate on curriculum development. While all eyes were on the […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
UCP’s Friday Morning Massacre purges NDP appointees from Alberta’s boards, agencies and commissions
You almost have to admire Alberta’s United Conservative Party Government for the thoroughness of its sudden purge of NDP appointees to government agencies, boards and commissions yesterday. The Friday Morning Massacre began with news the UCP was clearing out NDP appointments on the boards of 10 post-secondary institutions and the Banff Centre. Through the day […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Kenney Conservatives find the perfect policy panel to push the working poor back to penury
If pushing the working poor back into penury is your policy objective, the United Conservative Party led by Premier Jason Kenney has found the right collection of ringers to stack its “expert panel” on rolling Alberta’s minimum wage back to pre-NDP levels. Labour Minister Jason Copping introduced the panel yesterday in Calgary, with lots of […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Oh, dear, what can the matter be? They promised to bring us a pretty ‘Blue-Ribbon,’ but all they deliver is cant!
Once upon a time, your blogger worked for a famous newspaper publisher who announced one day that since we journos hadn’t had a raise for a couple of years we could expect a small one in six months. There was a caveat, though. We would only get the raise if we met certain performance benchmarks. […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Alberta discourse may still be mired in climate change denial, but the rest of the world is moving on
Public discourse in Alberta may still be mired in climate change denial, but the rest of the world is changing and changing fast. Even the New York Times, which along with much of the mainstream media in the United States could be accused until recently of seriously underplaying the climate change story, seems to be […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Conservative mismanagement of health care, which we’re about to see return to Alberta, is a feature, not a bug
Last Thursday, Tyler Shandro advised Albertans that the promised United Conservative Party review of Alberta Health Services is rolling ahead. Well, he did once tell us that things tend to happen in due course. This is pretty much the first we’ve heard from Alberta’s baby-faced health minister since he famously demonstrated he doesn’t yet understand how […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Doug O’Halloran, UFCW 401 president, signs off with dignity and courage
When the United Food and Commercial Workers union held a solidarity barbecue last Friday for a group of Edmonton poultry plant workers it hopes will soon join its ranks, Doug O’Halloran wasn’t there. It’s almost unheard of for Mr. O’Halloran, leader of UFCW 401 for three decades, not to be at an event of this […]
Posted inBestsellers
The 2019 Where the Wild Things Fringe Festival Guide tops Audreys Books’ Edmonton Non-Fiction Bestseller List
Here are the lists of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold in Edmonton during the week ended Aug. 4, 2019. The lists are compiled by Audreys Books and provided by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. FICTION FICTION BESTSELLERS 1. The Nickel Boys – Colson Whitehead 2. The Empress of Idaho – Todd Babiak * 3. […]