PHOTOS: Are the hillbillies above what our conservative politicians want the rest of Canada to think of when they hear the word Alberta? They should just stop! Below: Calgary Nose Hill MP Michelle Rempel (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Robert Thivierge), Wildrose Party Leader Brian Jean, and Alberta’s grownup premier, Rachel Notley. Bad luck for Prime Minister […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Big Tobacco will be pleased as Derek Fildebrandt’s ‘liberty’ video assails restrictions on flavoured cigarettes
PHOTOS: Young smokers, circa 1910. Below: A screenshot of Wildrose Finance Critic Derek Fildebrandt’s social media video, Mr. Fildebrandt himself, former Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose marijuana-legalization strategy Mr. Fildebrandt appears to endorse. Wildrose Finance Critic Derek Fildebrandt is continuing his party’s tradition of supporting Big Tobacco’s right to […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Happy Canada Day! Nice to welcome a new NDP government, though some caveats may apply here in Alberta
PHOTOS: British Columbia’s NDP Premier-Designate John Horgan with your blogger, not so very long ago. Below: Alberta NDP Premier Rachel Notley, a Vancouver take on a Canada Day flag, and B.C. premier W.A.C. Bennett in his heyday. Happy Canada Day, people, and after more than 50 days of waiting to find out what the heck […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Will deficit hysteria finally pave the way for a sensible Alberta sales tax? Ummm … don’t count on it
PHOTOS: Never mind the political stuff, this is the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory, where astronomer Max Wolf discovered the Minor Planet Climenhaga in 1917. Below, not in the order in which they appear: Alberta Finance Minister Joe Ceci, British Columbia Lieutenant-Governor Judith Guichon, B.C. New Democratic Party Leader John Horgan, and Professor Wolf himself. Judging from […]
Posted inBestsellers
Passages by Alberta author Anne Hamre leads Audreys Books Edmonton Bestsellers List this week
Here is the list of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold in Edmonton for the week ended June 25, 2017, compiled by Audreys Books and provided by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. EDMONTON FICTION BESTSELLERS 1. Passages – Anne Hamre* 2. The Ghosts of Sundown (Young Adult) – D. C. Hooke* 3. […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Guest Post: Whither Alberta’s NDP in the face of extreme, desperate, chaotic right and resurgent ‘centre’?
PHOTOS: Contingents from the Centre Right, the Far Right and the Further Right mix it up in the Alberta Legislature’s commissary. Actual Alberta conservatives may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Guest post author Barret Weber, Progressive Conservative Leader Jason Kenney, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, Wildrose Finance Critic Derek Fildebrandt and Goldilocks, exiting, pursued by […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Damning ‘carding’ statistics can’t be explained away – they’re evidence of systemic racism
PHOTO: Bashir Mohamed of Black Lives Matter Edmonton speaks in front of the Edmonton Police Service downtown headquarters yesterday. Below: Some powerful charts showing carding practices in Edmonton. It’s too much. The numbers are just too high, the discrepancies in treatment too wide. It’s just too difficult to credit the very high numbers of black […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Alberta Liberal David Khan’s call for election spending laws to include PACs strikes a chord
PHOTOS: Alberta Liberal Leader David Khan, who is worried about the activities of the province’s Political Action Committees. Former premier Ed Stelmach is visible behind him. Below: Progressive Conservative Leader Jason Kenney, whose party’s activities are supported by PACs, and a United Farmers of Alberta gas station in Lacombe, grabbed from the UFA Archives online. […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
With three right-wing political parties now possible instead of one, has Jason Kenney’s roll of the dice crapped out?
PHOTOS: Jason Kenney, as he may see himself, gets ready to roll the unite-the-right dice. Actual Alberta conservative politicians may not appear exactly as illustrated. (Photo: Publicity shot for Sky Full of Moon, 1952.) Below: The real Mr. Kenney, plus the real Katherine O’Neill, Greg Clark and Stephen Mandel. Snake eyes? Jason Kenney rolled the […]
Posted inAlberta Politics, St. Albert
It’s official: declarations of Cathy Heron and Cam MacKay mean there’ll be a real fight to be mayor of St. Albert this fall
PHOTOS: Cathy Heron announces her plan to run for mayor of St. Albert last night. Below: Mayoral candidate Cam MacKay, retiring Mayor Nolan Crouse, and Morinville Mayor Lisa Holmes. ST. ALBERT, Alberta City Councillor Cathy Heron announced Thursday evening she’ll be running for mayor of St. Albert. Ms. Heron’s widely expected declaration of her intention […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Saskatchewan credit rating downgraded for second time by Standard & Poor’s and all we hear are crickets!
PHOTOS: It’s quiet here on Crickets Avenue. Don’t expect a Wildrose or PC press release to come along any time soon. (Photo: Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons) Below: Standard & Poor’s headquarters in New York City (Photo: Uncredited, Wikimedia Commons); Brad Wall, the real leader of Western Canada, or so they say. (Photo: Daniel Paquet, Wikimedia […]
Posted inBestsellers
Alphabet Stage, kids’ book by Alberta author Linda Phillips, tops Audreys’ Edmonton bestseller list for second week
Here is the list of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold in Edmonton for the week ended June 18, 2017, compiled by Audreys Books and provided by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. EDMONTON FICTION BESTSELLERS 1. Alphabet Stage (Children’s) – Linda M. Phillips* 2. Annie Muktuk and Other Stories – Norma Dunning*+ […]