Yesterday was Martinstag in Germany. I suppose if you think about it, it’s St. Martin’s Day here in Canada, too. The occasion is said to be quite popular with children, with lots of colourful lanterns, costumes and sweets. Sort of like Halloween, only with more conventionally religious overtones. It turns out the Germans don’t celebrate […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Arbitration panel rejects rollback demand, awards 1% raise to non-academic staff at eight small Alberta public colleges
It’s unlikely the United Conservative Party Government of Premier Jason Kenney was pleased when it got word Monday an arbitration panel had rejected an employer demand for a pay rollback and awarded support staff at eight smaller Alberta post-secondary institutions a 1-per-cent raise for the final year of their contract. Unfortunately for the government, this […]
Posted inGeopolitics
U.S. election exposes ‘Triple-E’ Senate myth once and for all as a democratic disaster
Does anyone recall the Reform Party of Canada’s campaign starting in the late 1980s to impose on our country a “Triple-E Senate” – that is to say elected, effective, and, above all, “equal”? Pushed by the likes of Calgary-area farmer Bert Brown and would-be philosopher king Preston Manning, this call for institutional reform based on […]
Posted inBestsellers
The Finder, by Alberta author Will Ferguson, tops independent bookshops’ fiction bestseller list
Here are the lists of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold by independent booksellers in Alberta during the week ended Sunday, Nov. 1, 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. The […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
With COVID-19 infections surging, Jason Kenney doubles down on failing voluntary strategy
With Alberta’s COVID-19 infection rates surging toward Red State proportions, Premier Jason Kenney opted yesterday to double down on the strategy that’s already failing. Using an unusual Friday COVID-19 briefing as his stage, Premier Kenney bragged about how well Alberta used to be doing, then urged Albertans to do their bit to slow the current […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Overwhelmed by new cases, Alberta outsources contact tracing to people testing positive for COVID-19
Overwhelmed by a rising tide of new daily COVID-19 cases – “about 800” were reported yesterday by Chief Medical Officer of Health Deena Hinshaw – Alberta Health Services has announced it will no longer notify most close contacts of Albertans who test positive for the disease. Starting today, if you test positive, AHS now wants […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Big changes at Athabasca U: President departs for B.C. Interior; health dean returns to faculty ranks
Neil Fassina is about to leave his job as president of Athabasca University to lead a small public college in Kelowna, B.C. Two weeks ago, Okanagan College announced in a press release that Dr. Fassina would be taking over as president of the 8,500-student institution on April 1, 2021. “As a family who appreciates the […]
Posted inGeopolitics
The morning after the night before: Meet America’s Alexander Lukashenko, Donald J. Trump
If what is happening in the United States were taking place in another country, the American foreign policy and media establishment would now be denouncing the behaviour of President Donald Trump as that of a tyrant. As is well known, Mr. Trump did better than the polls had suggested he would in yesterday’s U.S. presidential […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Alberta’s story about Ottawa’s COVID-19 app keeps changing, but the ending’s still the same: You can’t have it!
Premier Jason Kenney issued a new explanation yesterday for why Alberta won’t adopt the COVID Alert tracing app created by the federal government. In a testy response to a question by the Globe and Mail’s Emma Graney, Premier Kenney claimed the federal smartphone app isn’t compatible with Alberta’s coronavirus infection tracing capabilities. Ms. Graney asked […]
Posted inGeopolitics
Other than that, my American cousins, how have you liked the last four years?
Our American cousins vote in a historic presidential election today and we wish them well in their endeavor, even if we would have preferred they spelled it endeavour. This message, however, is for my American cousins, be they on Manhattan Island or in Manhattan, Kansas. Blood is thicker than water, but you must understand that […]
Posted inCanadian Politics
Say what? Conservative Alberta MP’s riding association buys pro-life transit ads in Vancouver
Regardless of exactly how Garnett Genuis’s Vancouver bus advertisement asking how there can be too many children was paid for, the Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan MP well known for his vocal opposition to reproductive rights and the Conservative Party of Canada should both have some explaining to do. Mr. Genuis boasted about the appearance of the […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Alberta chases multi-billion-dollar deal with Saudis, never mind what Jason Kenney used to say about them
Now that Jason Kenney’s United Conservative Party is desperately trying to a do a deal with a Saudi Arabian company to build a petrochemical plant in Alberta, I wonder how long it will take before some clever environmentalist in Quebec or British Columbia says they don’t want no stinkin’ “dictator petrochemicals” transported through their province? […]