PHOTOS: Is he tall or is he short? Is he a social conservative or not? What’s he really think about privatized health care? Does the Wildrose Party really have new life under Brian Jean, or what? These are questions that need answering. The photo above was grabbed from Mr. Jean’s campaign website. Below: Danielle Smith, […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Apprehended insurrections: Tory party slams the door shut after three horses leave the barn
PHOTOS: Jamie Lall, who until the wee hours of Sunday morning was a candidate for the Progressive Conservative nomination in the Chestermere-Rocky View riding east of Calgary (photo grabbed from Mr. Lall’s Facebook page). Below: “Winner” Bruce McAllister, the former Wildrose MLA for the riding (CBC photo). Cabinet and caucus may now be under Premier […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Darwin Awards, the political edition: So long to Danielle Smith, turncoat former Alberta Opposition leader
PHOTOS: Danielle Smith introduces Alberta Premier Jim Prentice to the friendly folks of Okotoks, the principal community of her Highwood riding south of Calgary. Apparently the scene portrayed in this screen capture from her PC nomination campaign website was not exactly as illustrated. Below: Newly elected Wildrose Party Leader Brian Jean (CBC photo); successful PC […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Bold and transformative it’s not, but budget may kick Tories’ troubles far enough away to resuscitate their dynasty
Alberta Premier Jim Prentice, centre, and Finance Minister Robin Campbell, at right, get ready to throw the switch on yesterday’s budget to breath a little life into their moribund 43-year-old political dynasty, on the table at left. Actual Alberta politicians may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: The real Mr. Campbell, Health Minister Stephen Mandel […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Jim Prentice’s tepid pre-budget message undermined premier’s case for an early election, but so what?
Jim Prentice talks to media at the Alberta Legislature yesterday as former premier Ralph Klein looks on from above. Today we learn what’s actually in Mr. Prentice’s budget, which a month ago we were told would be so startling an election mandate would be, uh, mandatory. Below: Finance Minister Robin Campbell. By noticeably dialling down […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Premier’s televised fan dance fails to inspire but may deliver four more years of the same old anyway
Premier Jim Prentice in the Star Trekkie ambience of the boardroom at Government House prepares to promise Albertans to boldly go where no Tory’s gone before: in the general direction managerial competence. Actual future PC performance may not be exactly as illustrated. Below: Prime Minister Winston Churchill addresses the House of Commons at Westminster during […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
No threats to the Prentice PCs will be tolerated so MLA steps aside, NDP shut out of TV studio
Alberta Premier Jim Prentice, at right, prepares to deliver his solemn message to the people of Alberta this evening, while his voice coach from Navigator Inc. looks on. Actual PC politicians and their advisors may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: Departing Tory MLA Naresh Bhardwaj (Edmonton Sun photo), NDP Leader Rachel Notley and one […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
When is a reorganization not a reorganization? When it’s at Alberta Health Services
PHOTOS: The scene in a typical rural Alberta hospital. (Actual rural Alberta health care facilities may not appear exactly as illustrated.) More health care decisions will be made locally when Alberta Health Services switches from zones to districts on July 1, or so they say. Below: Ambulance services, however, will be centralized even more. Below […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Alison Redford returns and tells us to look in the mirror for the reasons for her fall
PHOTOS: Alison Redford leaves Government House on March 13, 2014, supposedly with a “work plan” she must fulfill to keep her job. A week later, she had been fired. Below: Ms. Redford speaks with the media on the night she was chosen as Progressive Conservative Party leader in October 2011; she meets the press again […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Forget tough talk on public sector salaries for now, another legislative pillar of the Redford Government topples
PHOTO: Alberta Premier Jim Prentice, flanked by Finance Minister Robin Campbell and Labour Minister Ric McIver, lays out the reasons he’d dumping the Redford Government’s Bill 45 at a news conference in Government House yesterday. Below: Thomas Lukaszuk and Dave Hancock. Flanked by Finance Minister Robin Campbell and Labour Minister Ric McIver, Alberta Premier Jim […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Passage of Bill 10 is not likely to be the end of the story for school gay-straight alliances
The surprising turnaround by the Prentice Government on gay-straight alliances in publicly funded schools is certainly a victory for common sense and the common decency of most Albertans. But the government’s unexpected decision to permit the passage on March 10 of legislation requiring all schools to let GSAs operate on school property if students felt […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Call the cops and clear the air: the PC Party cannot investigate accusations of criminality against its own member
PHOTOS: It’s time to pick up the phone and call in the cops. Below: Former Prentice cabinet member Naresh Bhardwaj, former Alberta premier Alison Redford, former Calgary Police chief Rick Hanson. Sorry, but it’s time to call in the police to investigate the bribery accusations against an MLA who was until last Friday a junior […]