In a Jan. 15 letter to the Chairman of the Alberta Energy Regulator, Environment Minister Brian Jean lifted the ban on coal exploration on the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains that was put in place after intense public pressure on Jason Kenney’s United Conservative Party Government in February 2021. Hard to say whether the […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Canada could be in stronger position than U.S. if trade war breaks out: economist Paul Krugman
Canada may find itself in a stronger position than the United States if a trade war breaks out between the two countries. Don’t take my word for that. That’s Paul Krugman speaking. You know, the distinguished professor of economics, winner of a Nobel prize in that field* and for almost 24 years until late last […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Media matters: If Justin Trudeau’s vacation itinerary was so vitally important, why isn’t Danielle Smith’s?
Do you remember the furor the National Post and all its little local Postlets ginned up about Justin Trudeau’s Christmas holiday in British Columbia? Hard to believe that was just three weeks ago! It feels like a year. The brouhaha has already almost completely disappeared down Postmedia’s capacious Memory Hole! “The office of the prime […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
If Danielle Smith intends to defy a national consensus on how to respond to Donald Trump’s tariffs, she should call an election
If Alberta Premier Danielle Smith intends to defy an all-party, all-province, national consensus on how to respond to Donald Trump’s tariff threats, she should call a provincial election and get a mandate to do so. After all, notwithstanding the disproportionate number of MAGA ideologues and Alberta separatists in her United Conservative Party caucus and cabinet, […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Danielle Smith’s ‘Pillow Talk’: All we are asking, is give oil a chance!
In what must be one of the more bizarre settings for an official news conference in Canadian political history, a cranky Alberta Premier Danielle Smith held forth on her meeting with Donald Trump from what appeared to be her hotel bed yesterday. Only John and Yoko did it better! But all they wanted was for […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Danielle Smith races to the side of the biggest right-wing celebrity of them all, Donald Trump, conducts ‘diplomacy’
There being no Canadian version of the Logan Act, there’s little that could be done about Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s mortifying pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago to pose for a selfie with Donald Trump and, or so she claims, “engage in constructive dialogue and diplomacy with the incoming administration.” Her race to the tacky Florida resort to […]
Posted inCanadian Politics
Should Canada be part of the United States? Maybe that’s a good question to ask Canadians
Should Canada be part of the United States? Maybe that’s a good question to ask Canadians. If Justin Trudeau has the guts and moxie to throw the gloves down on the ice, all he needs to do is call a referendum! Just put it on the ballot for Canadian voters to render their verdict on […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
No joke! We counted: Alberta Health Services has had 12 chief executive officers since 2008!
Message to Alberta Health Services’ new interim chief executive officer and to whomever follows him as CEO: “Don’t let the revolving door hit you on the way out!” How many chief executive officers has AHS had since premier Ed Stelmach’s Progressive Conservative Government promised in 2008 to create “a 21st century health care system” and […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
More chaos at Alberta Health Services as Athana Mentzelopoulos is suddenly out as CEO
After working just one year and 32 days of her four-year contract, Athana Mentzelopoulos is no longer president and CEO of Alberta Health Services. Did the former Alberta and B.C. senior civil servant jump or was she pushed? It’s not clear. We’ll likely never get a straight answer from Premier Danielle Smith or anyone else […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Assailing UCP’s sham consultations, Public Interest Alberta plans to publish ‘People’s Budget’
When it comes to developing sweeping policy changes or building provincial budgets, Alberta’s United Conservative Party Government likes to do it in the dark. But, a sympathetic Albertan might ask, what about all those telephone town halls? What about all those online surveys? Didn’t the government even strike a star-studded panel to engage Albertans about […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
If there’s a federal election by spring, what will the UCP do about that Edmonton-Strathcona by-election?
The announcement of Justin Trudeau’s resignation plan yesterday leaves Alberta’s United Conservative Party with the conundrum of what to do about the timing of the Edmonton-Strathcona by-election, in which Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi intends to run to replace his predecessor, Rachel Notley. Given the timing of Ms. Notley’s resignation last month, the by-election will […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Rod Sykes, mayor of Calgary from 1969 to 1977, dead at 95
Rod Sykes, mayor of Calgary from 1969 to 1977, has died. During his three consecutive terms in office, James Rodney Winter Sykes put in motion major projects that continue to benefit Alberta’s largest city, among them development of the iconic Calgary Tower, Calgary’s downtown convention centre, and the city’s sprawling light-rail transit system. He was […]