Posted inAlberta Politics

Edmonton officials want another $3-million sole-source advertising deal with Postmedia – they should do better

With the implication there’s no alternative solution, Edmonton’s city administration has asked City Council’s Executive Committee to ratify a $3-million sole-source contract with Postmedia tomorrow to provide print and digital advertising to the city for another three years. After all, says the administration’s report, we’ve been putting ads in the Edmonton Journal for 20 years, […]

Posted inBestsellers

Edmonton author Theresa Shea’s The Shade Tree tops Alberta independent bookshops’ bestseller list for week ended Oct. 31

Here are the lists of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold by independent booksellers in Alberta during the week ended Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021. The lists are compiled by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta, and include sales at Audreys Books and Glass Bookshop in Edmonton. ALBERTA FICTION BESTSELLERS 1. The Shade Tree – Theresa Shea […]

Posted inAlberta Politics

No one expected Devin Dreeshen to quit Jason Kenney’s cabinet – so what happened between Monday and Friday this week?

Almost no one expected Devin Dreeshen to resign from Jason Kenney’s cabinet Friday morning.  The thirtysomething minister of agriculture may have been mired in a messy scandal stemming from allegations made in a wrongful dismissal lawsuit by a former United Conservative Party political staffer, and facing public accusations of drunken and bullying behaviour in his […]

Posted inAlberta Politics

UCP bill will allow big money and dark money back into election financing, restrict free speech rights, NDP Opposition says

Alberta’s United Conservative Party introduced new election financing legislation yesterday that appears likely to allow big money and dark money to start flowing back into provincial politics as well as restricting the free speech rights of groups that disagree with the government. So it seems on brand for the UCP to headline its press release […]

Posted inAlberta Politics

Jason Kenney throws chief medical officer of health under the bus for Alberta’s vicious fourth wave of COVID-19

The second-most-predicted event since the election of Jason Kenney and the United Conservative Party as premier and government of Alberta in 2019 has come to pass.  The most predicted event took place immediately after Mr. Kenney’s smiley faced June 18 news conference at which he announced, Delta variant or no Delta variant, Alberta was pulling […]

Posted inAlberta Politics

Rachel Notley’s NDP raises more cash than Jason Kenney’s UCP for third consecutive quarter

Alberta’s Opposition New Democratic Party led the United Conservative Party in fund-raising for the third consecutive quarter of 2021, although not by the dramatic margins seen in the first two quarters. This leaves Rachel Notley’s NDP far in the lead for year-to-date contributions from Albertans, but it contains a warning for the party’s supporters too.  […]

Posted inAlberta Politics

Minister’s claim his chief of staff’s troubles were news to him, raises eyebrows, prompts doubts

Judging from the reaction on social media, not a lot of Albertans believed Jobs, Economy and Innovation Minister Doug Schweitzer when he told a news reporter last week it wasn’t his decision in February to fire his former chief of staff, Ariella Kimmel. After the story broke last Thursday that Ms. Kimmel had filed a […]

Posted inBestsellers

Two celebrity murder mysteries back atop Alberta independent bookshops’ fiction bestseller list for second week

Here are the lists of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold by independent booksellers in Alberta during the week ended Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021. The lists are compiled by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta, and include sales at Audreys Books and Glass Bookshop in Edmonton. Last week’s celebrity murder mysteries are back for a second […]

Posted inAlberta Politics

UCP Government imploding? Sexual harassment scandal hits Premier’s Office hours after supposed referendum victory

Premier Jason Kenney had less than 24 hours to savour his dubious victory in Alberta’s anti-equalization referendum before a serious scandal involving accusations of sexual-harassment, heavy drinking in the office, and the firing of a victim hit the headlines. It’s not clear if the revelation a former ministerial chief of staff has filed a lawsuit […]

Posted inAlberta Politics

Jason Kenney will try to spin his anti-equalization referendum vote as a huge victory – don’t believe him

Deeply unpopular with Alberta voters, distrusted by many in his own divided caucus, and with his United Conservative Party in financial disarray, Premier Jason Kenney will try to spin the 62-per-cent yes vote in his dishonestly worded, constitutionally meaningless, low-turnout, anti-equalization referendum as the hugest victory in the history of hugeness.  That’s what Mr. Kenney […]

Posted inAlberta Politics

Sorting fact from fiction in Allan Inquiry commentary and coverage: That $1.3-billion fib explained

The United Conservative Party and its allies are not being truthful when they say, “The public inquiry into anti-Alberta energy campaigns has confirmed that foreign donors gave $1.3 billion to Canadian environmentalists to harm Alberta’s energy sector.” It confirms no such thing.  I pulled that particular quote from a tweet published on the Twitter account […]