Who would have thought a decade ago, or even six months back, that Canada’s chances of surviving as a unified country would be better than those of the United States? The thought the mighty United States of America — e pluribus unum, and all that — could be on the cusp of an existential crisis […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Jason Kenney offers medical equipment to Ontario, Quebec and B.C.; pitches national solidarity on resource development
One hates to play the skunk at a garden party, but somebody needs to ask the question a lot of Albertans must be thinking. To wit, if less than a week ago we barely had enough N95 medical masks for Alberta’s hard-pressed nurses, doctors and other front-line health care workers to work for the next […]
Posted inBestsellers
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel tops 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, April 5, 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
Docs fight Alberta pay cuts in court, seeking $250 million, while battling COVID-19 on the front lines of health care
Yesterday morning, Christine Molnar, president of the Alberta Medical Association, announced that the province’s doctors are launching a constitutional challenge and seeking $250 million in compensation from the United Conservative Party Government for the way it tore up their contract two months ago. Yesterday afternoon, Health Minister Tyler Shandro showed up at Chief Medical Officer […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Rachel Notley and the NDP can thank their lucky stars they didn’t eke out a victory last April
I don’t imagine running Alberta is much fun right now. I’m afraid, though, I can’t summon up much sympathy for Jason Kenney and his United Conservative Party. Be careful what you wish for, goes the ancient proverb, you just might get it. From the UCP’s perspective, this isn’t the way things were supposed to work […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Jason Kenney lays out the bad news on COVID-19 capably enough, then wanders into the economic weeds
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney actually sounded pretty good on TV last night as he laid out the hard facts about COVID-19, what it’ll probably do, and what might do if too many of us act like jackasses and don’t stay close to home for the next couple of months. Mr. Kenney certainly sounded yesterday like […]
Posted inGeopolitics
OK, Canada’s good to go for those 3M medical masks — at least until Donald Trump changes his mind again
As is often the case when dealing with Donald Trump, the saga of the five million N95 respirators built by Minnesota’s 3M Co. and purchased by Ontario keeps changing. On Saturday, the U.S. President invoked the Defense Production Act to force the Maplewood, Minn.-based multinational to stop sending Canadians the suddenly precious pieces of medical […]
Posted inCanadian Politics
Virus-blocking masks are part of our future — it’s time to dump Canada’s unconstitutional anti-mask law
Universal adoption of homemade face masks would have huge health and economic benefits in the current global coronavirus pandemic, says a paper published a few days ago by seven Yale professors. “We estimate that the benefits of each additional cloth mask worn by the public are conservatively in the $3,000-$6,000 (US) range due to their […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
The premier is disappointed? Where did Alberta’s Mr. Belligerence go when Donald Trump told 3M not to ship N95s to Canada?
Where’s the tough guy we got to know during the last Alberta election campaign, the Jason Kenney of the Summer of Repeal, the War Room and the War on Foreign Funded European Urban Greens? The Alberta premier’s favourite American president, Donald J. Trump, say’s he won’t let 3M Co. of Maplewood, Minn., ship any more […]
Posted inBestsellers
The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel tops independent Alberta bookshops’ fiction bestseller list for third week
Here are the lists of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold by independent booksellers in Alberta during the week ended Sunday, March 29, 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. Sorry about missing this list […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Smoke and mirrors aren’t cutting it — Alberta’s health minister still needs to go
Despite a lot of smoke and mirrors, Alberta’s United Conservative Party Government has never dispelled the queasy feeling many Albertans have that Tyler Shandro’s personal business dealings render him unsuitable to serve as minister of health. It was Mr. Shandro’s personal conduct, publicly berating a neighbour who posted a critical meme about the Shandro Family’s […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
April Fool aftermath: UCP says it’s broke, AUPE job protections back on, spill reporting suspended, Greens choose leader, and more
Whether or not Bob Buckle meant it to be an early April Fool’s joke when he posted his deep thoughts on public education on social media, opining that “perhaps it’s time to reduce our physical plant and footprint with large structures and move to virtual online learning,” he’d be smart now to claim that was […]