Twenty-four complaints by the Edmonton Police Association claiming Councillor Michael Janz broke City Council’s code of conduct have all been dismissed as completely without merit by Edmonton Integrity Commissioner Jamie Pytel. “The complaint was retaliatory, as I have raised a number of concerns about police spending and conduct, and designed to put a ‘chill’ on […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Job swap between justice and labour ministers illustrates shallow talent pool, low ethical bar in Jason Kenney’s government
Friday’s announcement of the job swap between Alberta’s justice and labour ministers illustrates just how shallow the talent pool of potential cabinet ministers still trusted by Premier Jason Kenney has become. It also shows how low the ethical bar now is for ministers in the United Conservative Party cabinet. Faced with the need to fire […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Budget 2022: Petroleum prices are up and Alberta’s back on the fiscal rollercoaster
Alberta never learns. If you doubt me, consider Finance Minister Travis Toews’s provincial budget yesterday. Dubbed “Moving Forward,” the Budget Speech read by Mr. Toews in the Legislature would be better called “Back on the Rollercoaster.” Promising to get the province off the rollercoaster of volatile petroleum prices is a hardy perennial of Alberta politics, […]
Posted inCanadian Politics
PM Trudeau revokes national emergency declaration – Conservative hive mind’s message discipline immediately crumbles
Most of the day yesterday, the voices of Canada’s Conservative hive mind were screaming in unison for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to lift the emergency and lift it now. Some of them, like would-be United Conservative Party leader Brian Jean, even had scheduled tweets set up to automatically demand an end to the state of […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
The Throne Speech: Short-term objectives, privatization, boondoggles, grudges, and attacks on public health care and education
In the Westminster Parliamentary system, the Throne Speech is supposed to set out the government’s direction, goals and policy for a new session of the legislature. The one read by Alberta Lieutenant-Governor Salma Lakhani in the provincial Legislature in Edmonton yesterday appears to have been written for the next 45 days. That is, up to […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Looks like Albertans will get their wish and become the focus of Canada’s attention – it may be an unpleasant experience for some
As the folk wisdom goes, be careful what you wish for, you might just get it. Albertans, who have a habit of complaining bitterly when they are not at the top of the national agenda, are a step closer this morning to having their wish granted thanks to the vote of the House of Commons […]
Posted inGeopolitics
Hot takes: Putin outmanoeuvres the West; Trudeau outmanoeuvres the Opposition, and Alberta outmanoeuvres … shoes!
Well, this has been an interesting Alberta Family Day – and it’s not even over yet. In international politics, Russia recognized the independence of two breakaway Russian-speaking provinces of eastern Ukraine and immediately sent in its armed forces to protect them. Naturally, in the West this will be described as an invasion, although if the […]
Posted inCanadian Politics
With a murky legal strategy but a clear political one, Jason Kenney vows to challenge use of Emergencies Act in court
Using his favourite medium, Facebook, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced yesterday his government plans to go to court to challenge “the unjustified use of the Emergencies Act” by Ottawa. The one minute and 49 second video clip posted to the social media platform was not particularly informative about what the government’s legal strategy might be, […]
Posted inBestsellers
Feast, by Lindsay Anderson and Dana VanVeller, tops Alberta independent bookshops’ non-fiction bestseller list
Here are the lists of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold by independent booksellers in Alberta during the week ended Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022. The lists are compiled by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta, and include sales at Audreys Books and Glass Bookshop in Edmonton. I admit, given the events dominating the news these past […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Jason Nixon’s UCP nomination challenger Tim Hoven got his campaign off to a pretty good start last night
It looks like Tim Hoven’s campaign to challenge Jason Nixon for the United Conservative Party nomination in Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre got off to a pretty good start last night at a rural community hall in the Central Alberta riding. Leastways, a photo that turned up in my inbox shows the former Clearwater County municipal councillor […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Beware the Ides of March: Date set for by-election in which all candidates will campaign against Alberta’s premier
After dragging his feet for weeks, Jason Kenney yesterday named a date for the Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche by-election in which his long-time rival Brian Jean will run for the United Conservative Party on a platform of firing and replacing the premier. The date of election – the Ides of March. So beware! Everybody beware! […]
Posted inCanadian Politics
Ottawa has invoked the Emergencies Act – do you know where your trucks are?
The Canadian government has invoked the Emergencies Act. Do you know where your trucks are? If you don’t, and you run a trucking company, you might want to check. As Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said yesterday, “if your truck is being used in these blockades, your corporate accounts will be frozen. The insurance on […]