Your blogger with CBC commentator Rex Murphy, quite possibly on his way to a speaking engagement with the oil industry. Below: the same blogger with Edmonton-St. Albert Member of Parliament Brent Rathgeber, who has a date with history next week; the controversial Press Progress Rex Murphy info-graphic. ST. ALBERT, Alberta MP Brent Rathgeber’s private member’s […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
The Airline Ticketgate saga continued… Alberta’s Redford Tories, forever young, now have Young forever
Former Progressive Conservative Whip Steve Young gets ready to give it to his premier and party leader at yesterday’s caucus meeting in Edmonton. Actual unrepentant Tory MLAs may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below: The actual Mr. Young, apparently yelling something; his friend Wildrose MLA Ian Donovan; Premier Alison Redford’s executive assistant, Brad Stables. After […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Olympic Hockey: It’ll take Grit to overcome Sisu – are Tories patriotic enough to let it happen?
Looks like Finnish hockey to me! Can’t understand what they’re saying, but, Canadians beware, they might have Sisu. Below: A Sisu truck; Lauri Rapala, inventor of the lure of Vaaksy. To heck with politics! Let’s talk hockey, a subject on which our physically unimposing prime minister is nevertheless supposedly an expert, which gives Alberta Diary […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Time to change Alberta Labour Minister’s dual role, and maybe more, to ensure fair and equitable labour relations
Some roles just don’t seem to be a good match for the same person. Here are five examples. Perhaps Alberta Labour Minister Thomas Lukaszuk, below, finds himself in such a position? Can Thomas Lukaszuk properly fulfill his dual roles as Alberta’s Minister of Labour and chair of the all-but-secret Public Sector Resource Committee of Premier […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Remembering Sue Higgins, Calgary alderman: a fiscal conservative, sure, but the real McCoy, not just some ideologue
Sue Higgins in a characteristic pose, grabbed from the Internet. Below: Her official City of Calgary mug, from back in the day. When I heard on the car radio yesterday afternoon that Sue Higgins had died, the first thing I thought of was that green pantsuit. This is a funny thing to remember about a […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Will Alison Redford fire Thomas Lukaszuk? She needs to, but don’t count on it happening!
Alberta Labour Minister Thomas Lukaszuk, at right with Premier Alison Redford, argues with Deputy Premier Dave Hancock, in white suit and goofy glasses, about whether or not to appeal the court injunction against the use of Bill 46. Finance Minister Doug Horner is on the far left. Actual Alberta cabinet ministers may not appear exactly […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Valentine’s Day injunction all but massacres Redford Government’s credibility in fight with Alberta Union of Provincial Employees
Alberta Union of Provincial Employees President Guy Smith at the union’s news conference in Edmonton yesterday. Below: Alberta Labour Minister Thomas Lukaszuk. Mr. Justice Denny Thomas of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench did not merely accept the arguments of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees when he slapped an injunction on the Government of […]
Posted inUncategorized
Means tests: recommended for poor oldsters, not wealthy petro-provinces
The Firewall Five, prominent Western independantistes of another era, before they all started cashing in on their public pensions. Today, everything has changed, thank you very much, except the constant cries for tax cuts, austerity and means testing for old people. Below: the late Ralph Klein with one of the guys who sent him the […]
Posted inAlberta Politics, Canadian Politics
Back to the future with Guy Boutilier: a run to be Fort Mac’s MP looks to be in the cards
Guy Boutilier in his Wildrose caucus office in Edmonton back in 2009. Notice Ralph Klein peering over his shoulder. Below: Other Fort Mac politicians Brian Jean, the Conservative Crossword King, and Mike Allen, a saxophonist, in his St. Paul Police mugshot. Guy Boots, Member of Parliament? Why not? When you think about it, Guy Boutilier […]
Posted inAlberta Politics, Canadian Politics
Dumber than a bag of Anders: Have gun-slingin’ Cowtown MP’s pistol-packin’ pals shot their patron in both feet?
The offending photo of MP Rob Anders and would-be MP Melissa Mathieson, which first turned up on a National Firearms Association Facebook page, then a political blog, then the mainstream media and has now entered the annals of idiocy. Below: the offending target; an example of a target Mr. Anders would have been smarter to […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Pride flags over Alberta: for real, or a cynical commitment of convenience that’s a mile wide and an inch deep?
A rainbow banner flies alongside the city, Alberta and Canadian flags at the city hall of St. Albert, Alberta, last weekend. Below: A really great pride banner spotted during a recent Pride Week in Vancouver. Fourteen years ago, the Alberta provincial government led by Progressive Conservative premier Ralph Klein was convulsed with controversy at the […]
Posted inCanadian Politics
That ‘market freedom’? What a surprise, it’s wiping out farmers and enriching the 1%!
Prime Minister Stephen Harper takes a group of Canadians for a ride on his fully privatized model railroad. This doesn’t actually work in real life, though. Actual Canadian prime ministers may not appear exactly as illustrated, although, if I may say so, the number on the engine comes close to getting it right! Below: Canadian […]