Posted inAlberta Politics

Derek Fildebrandt’s hit-&-run fine is only $402 but the political tariff is likely to be much steeper

PHOTOS: Derek Fildebrandt in a pose evocative of his next legal challenge, hunting without permission on private land. Below: Mr. Fildebrandt famously loading jerry cans full of gasoline in his now-notorious big red pickup truck the night before the NDP’s carbon levy took effect on the first day of 2017. Below him, United Conservative Party […]

Posted inAlberta Politics

Get ready for the kinder, gentler Jason Kenney as United Conservative Party leader pivots toward the rhetorical centre

PHOTOS: Get ready for the new, kinder, gentler Jason Kenney. Below: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley; Mr. Kenney, who is about to be sworn in as the leader of the Opposition, with his strategic mentor and inspiration, Stephen Harper (Photo: Jason Kenney Facebook account). His leadership of Alberta’s conservatives, and his seat in the Legislature, now […]

Posted inBestsellers

It’s the week before Christmas, and Stuart McLean’s ‘Christmas at the Vinyl Cafe’ tops Audreys Edmonton Bestseller List

Here is the list of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold in Edmonton for the week ended Dec. 10, 2017, compiled by Audreys Books and provided by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. EDMONTON FICTION BESTSELLERS 1. Christmas At the Vinyl Cafe – Stuart McLean 2. Short Story Advent Calendar 2017 – Michael Hingston Ed.* 3. […]

Posted inAlberta Politics

As expected, UCP Leader Jason Kenney chalks up another convincing win in Calgary-Lougheed by-election

PHOTOS: UCP Leader Jason Kenney celebrates his victory in the Calgary-Lougheed by-election last night (Photo: CBC). Below: NDP candidate Phillip van der Merwe, Liberal leader and candidate David Khan, and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, all their photos grabbed for simplicity’s sake from Twitter. Never mind Surrey and Alabama. Jason Kenney won his by-election victory last […]

Posted inAlberta Politics

Annus Horribilis 2017: Derek Fildebrandt ends his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year with a bang … literally!

PHOTOS: United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney with Derek Fildebrandt in happier times. At the moment, Mr. Fildebrandt may be the bane of Mr. Kenney’s existence. One of them, anyway. Below: Elmer Fudd … the comparison to Mr. Fildebrandt is irresistible. And Mr. Kenney with Jason Nixon, the UCP’s House Leader and posterboy for how […]

Posted inAlberta Politics

The politics of harassment-free workplaces – UCP House Leader Jason Nixon walks right into a trap of his own creation

PHOTOS: A steely-eyed Alberta Premier Rachel Notley meets the media in the Alberta Legislature yesterday in this screenshot of a Government of Alberta video. Below: United Conservative Party House Leader Jason Nixon and UCP Leader Jason Kenney, the subjects of her ire. Mr. Kenney faces the voters in a by-election in the Calgary-Lougheed Riding tomorrow. […]

Posted inAlberta Politics

Discomfort about UCP Leader Jason Kenney’s relationship with the truth winkles into respectable circles

PHOTOS: Jason Kenney, leader of the United Conservative Party and, if things go as expected on Thursday, leader of the Opposition soon thereafter. Below: Alberta commentators Susan Wright, a blogger, and Graham Thomson, one of Postmedia’s political columnists, and U.S. political essayist Frank Rich (Photo: Twitter). There’s a growing discomfort among those who pay attention […]

Posted inAlberta Politics

Saskatchewan’s War on Licence Plates: Is Brad just mad because he’s been upstaged by a woman, and an NDP woman at that?

PHOTOS: No press releases about Texas plates? Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall didn’t used to have a problem with out-of-province tags on work trucks, at least when they were being used to undermine publicly owned Crown corporations, as this photo posted on social media by Saskatchewan Federation of Labour President Larry Hubich illustrates. Below: Mr. Hubich, […]

Posted inAlberta Politics

It was wall-to-wall Brad Wall as premier exits, stage right, before wheels fall off Saskatchewan Party bus

PHOTOS: Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, smiling like old times, says farewell in this video screenshot to an adoring media on his last day in the provincial Legislature in Regina yesterday. Below: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and Alberta Trade Minister Deron Bilous. Political coverage was wall-to-wall Brad Wall yesterday as mainstream media said farewell to their […]

Posted inBestsellers

Edmonton author Gordon Self’s A Most Spectacular Narrative tops this week’s Audreys Books Edmonton Bestseller List

Here is the list of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold in Edmonton for the week ended Dec. 3, 2017, compiled by Audreys Books and provided by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. EDMONTON FICTION BESTSELLERS 1. A Most Spectacular Narrative – Gordon Self* 2. Short Story Advent Calendar 2017 – Michael Hingston […]

Posted inAlberta Politics

The Great Alberto-Saskatchewanian Licence Plate War of 2017: Everything you need to know …

PHOTOS: Tough talk from Alberta Economic Development and Trade Minister Deron Bilous, above, was directed at Saskatchewan’s cranky government. Below: Saskatchewan’s lame duck premier, Brad Wall (Photo: Jake Wright, Wikimedia Commons); Alberta United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney, who calls Mr. Wall “the real leader of Western Canada”; Saskatchewan Highways Minister David Marit; and former […]