U.S. President Donald Trump may not actually have intended to deliver a blow to West Coast environmentalists opposed to the completion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project, but he has done so with his recent dubious allegations about Canada’s trading practices. Building a pipeline capable of carrying diluted bitumen from Alberta to Vancouver Harbour, […]
Posted inCanadian Politics
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer boots Maxime Bernier, self-appointed chief party ideologue, from Opposition front bench
It’s hard not to feel some sympathy for federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer, what with right-wing purists jumping all over him for canning Maxime Bernier from the Opposition party’s front bench. In addition to being the normally ineffectual Mr. Scheer’s chief rival for the hearts and minds of the country’s Conservatives, who are agitated and […]
Posted inGeopolitics
Artificial unintelligence: Tiny computers in tiny hands are the real threat to civilization as we know it
It’s not big computer brains empowered by artificial intelligence that are going to destroy civilization as we know it. It’s little tiny computers, even if they’re pretty dumb, that are small enough to put in the tiny hands of unsupervised children, hopped-up frat boys and shallow narcissists like the 45th president of the United States. […]
Posted inGeopolitics
Who loves ya, baby? Canada’s conservatives urgently need to reassess their dalliance with Donald Trump
A photograph of last weekend’s G7 conclave in Quebec showing several national leaders apparently trying to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to act like a grownup was doing the rounds on social media in the aftermath of the post-summit trainwreck. With the G7 gathering in La Malbaie already nearly universally acknowledged as a debacle thanks […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
No Progressives Allowed! No entry without secret decoder! UCP serves up private Pride pancakes only
While thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, were taking part in Pride events throughout Edmonton today, Jason Kenney’s United Conservative Party held a private, conservatives-only “Pride Breakfast” a few blocks from the route of the parade along fashionable Whyte Avenue on the city’s south side. This reflects the unique problem Mr. Kenney and the UCP have […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Hopes and Prayers, Ontario … Now, let’s get back to Dr. Suzuki and the U of A honorary degree …
Premier Doug Ford. You have our hopes and prayers, Ontario. Our hopes and prayers. And I’m sorry for my friends and readers in Ontario … so sorry to have gotten your hopes up by saying I thought the Ontario NDP would win. You should have known better than to listen to some guy from Alberta […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
The Day We Burned Ole D.C. Down … I blame Stephen Harper for Canada’s latest trade troubles!
I blame Stephen Harper. Face it, Canada’s latest trade troubles wouldn’t have happened without him! If Mr. Harper hadn’t spent $30 million or so of our tax money “commemorating” the War of 1812, who would’ve known our side burned down the White House and sundry other buildings in Washington, D.C., in August of that year? […]
Posted inBestsellers
On Chesil Beach by British author Ian McEwan 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 3, 2018, compiled by Audreys Books and provided by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. EDMONTON FICTION BESTSELLERS 1. On Chesil Beach – Ian McEwan 2. Full Disclosure – Beverley McLachlin 3. Midnight Line – […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
That U of A ‘bailout’ the Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s prattling about? Hasn’t happened; isn’t happening; won’t happen …
Good news for Alberta taxpayers! The University of Alberta has not sought, is not seeking, and will not seek a “bailout” – or anything like a bailout – from the taxpayers of Alberta. Let’s say it again: Hasn’t happened. Isn’t happening. Won’t happen. I mention this because of the startling headline on a Canadian Taxpayers […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Kinder, gentler Kenney must be for real! UCP lavishes 13 words of praise on NDP for capping super superintendent salaries!
Alberta’s United Conservative Party generates a lot of noise. Other than the Trans Mountain Pipeline, however, not a lot of it seems to have much to do with the principal issues facing Alberta these days. Education Minister David Eggen’s decision to slap a cap on the outrageous salaries paid to the province’s 74 school board […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
CLAC’s big role in the Trans Mountain expansion: Another political pipeline problem in the making?
If Canadians are going to have to pay the $10 to $15-billion cost of expanding the Trans Mountain Pipeline, it’s important they aren’t bound by side deals that are not in the public interest made by the project’s former corporate owner. When Kinder Morgan Inc. was masterminding the controversial megaproject to expand the pipeline so […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
NDP ‘Bubble Zone Bill’ to protect abortion clinic patients and staff passes as UCP Caucus heads for hallway hideouts again
Alberta’s “Bubble Zone Bill” to protect abortion clinic patients and staff from harassment, intimidation and potential violence has been passed by the provincial Legislature. When the vote on Third Reading happened yesterday, the entire United Conservative Party Opposition had once again gone into hiding. They’ve done the same thing every time the topic came up, […]