More than a month has passed since Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro promised the government would pay the province’s health care aides a $2-per-hour coronavirus-crisis top-up — and there’s still no sign of the money. On April 20, Mr. Shandro announced the temporary raise for health care aides. He said $7.3 million per month had […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Distinction Rebellion? There are plenty of reasons breaking up is hard to do, so don’t expect the UCP to do it
Is a rebellion brewing in Southern Alberta against Alberta Premier Jason Kenney among the United Conservative Party’s old Wildrose crowd? Is there a Prairie fire smouldering in the heart of Wild Rose Country that might turn into another “upstart conservative party”? It could happen. I’m here to tell you not to bet your farm on […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
The likely future history of the Keystone XL Pipeline: Yes, Alberta! The answer is still No!
Who can forget Nov. 6, 2015, the day that will live in infamy? Just about everybody, as it turned out. That was the day that U.S. President Barack Obama decided to pull the plug on the Keystone XL Pipeline, declaring that it was not in the national interest of the United States whether or not […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Alberta government has been sitting on pro-autonomy report or more than a month, Fair Deal Panel member indicates
Has the Kenney Government been sitting on the “Fair Deal” Panel’s report since Easter, wondering what the heck to do with it? Sounds like it. In an annoyed Twitter exchange yesterday prompted by the suggestion in this blog the panel was late with its homework, panel member Donna Kennedy-Glans disputed that timing and told one […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Government puts ‘Fair Deal’ report on the shelf after panel hands in its homework late
Alberta’s so-called Fair Deal Panel, which might have seemed like a good idea when Premier Jason Kenney announced it last fall, presents something of a political problem for a government that has more often than not let Ottawa do the heavy lifting throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Premier Kenney pitched the rhetorical roadshow as a way […]
Posted inBestsellers
The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel returns to top of Alberta independent bookstores’ 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, May 10, 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
If COVID-19 proves anything, it’s that Ernst & Young was out to lunch when it recommended privatizing Carewest and Capital Care
Does anyone remember the $2-million “review” of Alberta Health Services by Ernst & Young launched a year ago by the United Conservative Party Government? Health Minister Tyler Shandro and Alberta Health Services President and CEO Verna Yiu were both on hand to ensure we understood it was an important matter when the initial report of […]
Posted inCanadian Politics
Why won’t Ottawa do anything to rein in equine identity theft?
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 […]