PHOTO: Elke Blodgett in 2016. (Photo: Screenshot from City of St. Albert video.) ST. ALBERT, Alberta I once described Elke Blodgett as not just a passionate advocate for our natural environment, but a force of nature herself. So it was particularly shocking to learn yesterday that Elke, environmentalist, artist, and engaged citizen, had died at […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
A modest proposal to defuse the looming constitutional and national unity crisis caused by Western Canadian pipeline plans
PHOTOS: Protesters opposed to expansion of the Kinder Morgan Pipeline in Vancouver last fall. (Photo: William Chen, Creative Commons.) Below: Police and protesters square off in Burnaby, near Vancouver, where the terminus of the existing KM Pipeline is located. (Photo: Mark Klotz, Creative Commons). It sure looks as if we have a full-blown constitutional and […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Ex-MLA Joe Anglin continues his court fights with Elections Alberta and studies law in the United States
PHOTOS: Joe Anglin, speaking on the steps of the Alberta Legislature in his heyday as the Wildrose Party MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre. Below: Mr. Anglin in November 2015, after his election loss as an Independent to Jason Nixon, his former constituency association president, who won the Wildrose nomination in 2014; Mr. Nixon himself. Former […]
Posted inBestsellers
This Wound is a World by Billy-Ray Belcourt tops Audreys Books’ Edmonton Bestseller List this week
Here is the list of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold in Edmonton for the week ended Feb. 11, 2018, compiled by Audreys Books and provided by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. EDMONTON FICTION BEST-SELLERS 1. This Wound is a World – Billy-Ray Belcourt* 2. The Grave’s a Fine and Private Place […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Is just talking about restricting diluted bitumen in pipelines an unconstitutional impediment to trade?
PHOTOS: Some of the Fathers of Confederation looking, well, fatherly. Below: Steely eyed Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, B.C. Premier John Horgan, and would-be premier Jason Kenney. In case you missed it, a new constitutional doctrine seems to be developing in Alberta. To wit: the idea that creating business uncertainty violates Section 121 of the Constitution […]
Posted inCanadian Politics
He’s no bot, but Russia’s social media and press guy in Canada manages to stir up controversy just the same
PHOTOS: Kirill Kalinin, Press Secretary of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Ottawa, in a reception room of the Soviet-era structure on Charlotte Street. Below: An image shot last week of the exterior of the Embassy, built in 1956 after the original building on the site burned down; the Embassy’s replica of the flag […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Is the decade-long Brian Mulroney rehabilitation project finally paying off … for his daughter?
PHOTOS: Caroline Mulroney (Photo: Wikimedia Commons). Below: Former Canadian Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney in his heyday (Photo: Wikimedia Commons), lobbyist Robin Sears, conservative godfather Preston Manning, and Ontario Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne. It’s now been more than a decade since Stephen Harper ordered all members of his government’s Parliamentary caucus to sever their ties […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Judge lifts publication ban; former UCP MLA Don MacIntyre named as accused in sexual assault case
PHOTOS: The Legislative Assembly’s portrait of former United Conservative Party MLA Don MacIntyre. Below: UCP Leader Jason Kenney, who issued a statement today on the charges against Mr. MacIntyre. OTTAWA Thanks to the ruling of a judge in Red Deer, it can now be reported that former United Conservative Party MLA Don MacIntyre is the […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
The Alberta NDP’s Sour Grapes Strategy will only strengthen Coastal B.C.’s nearly universal opposition to pipelines
PHOTOS: Grape vines grow in B.C.’s beautiful Okanagan Valley, one of the prime wine producing regions of the world (Photo: Kelowna Wine & Cuisine Flickr, Creative Commons). Below: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, B.C. Premier John Horgan, and Alberta Opposition Leader Jason Kenney. With Alberta’s Sour Grapes Strategy, the official boycott of wine from British Columbia […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Making facts everyone knows secret doesn’t protect crime victims, accused persons or democracy … so who benefits?
PHOTO: Nothing to see here, people, please move along … It should be pretty clear by now that Canada’s legal mechanisms to protect victims of crimes and the rights of accused persons haven’t kept up with the digital era in which we live. In case you’re part of the tiny minority of Albertans who have […]
Posted inCanadian Politics
I’m so proud to have known, voted for and written about Dave Barrett
PHOTO: Dave Barrett and the author in February 2008. The death yesterday at 87 of Dave Barrett, premier of British Columbia from 1972 to 1975, is a huge loss to all Canadians. While Mr. Barrett’s government served for a short time, it left Canada and British Columbia with a huge legacy that lives on nearly […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Groundhog Day 2018: Liberty Conservative ‘Didsbury Derek’ dispatched into deepest darkness
PHOTOS: Derek Fildebrandt as he hoped to be perceived when he went hunting in rural Alberta (photo grabbed from his Facebook account). It didn’t work out as planned. Below: Mr. Fildebrandt as he appeared around the Alberta Legislature, United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney, and former UCP Caucus member Don MacIntyre (Photo: David Dodge, Green […]