Is Athabasca University, long the redheaded stepchild of Alberta’s universities, about to have its Cinderella moment? After years of financial insecurity and deep angst about a mission seemingly made redundant by the Internet that sometimes gave the impression of an existential crisis about to go critical, there are signs the future of Athabasca U is […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Post-secondary review: Alberta prepares to train the workforce of yesterday, starting tomorrow!
Brace yourself for the First 10-Year Plan for the rapid modernization of post-secondary education! As a general rule, promises by highly ideological governments to enact ambitious transformational change in institutions they have targeted as hotbeds of opposition to their dogma and policies should be viewed with a certain amount of distrust. When they start talking […]
Posted inBestsellers
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline tops Alberta independent bookshops’ 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, June 7, 2020. The lists are compiled by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta, and include sales at Audreys Books in Edmonton and Glass Bookshop in Edmonton. ALBERTA FICTION BESTSELLERS 1. The […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
It’s late for snowflakes, but UCP gas minister melts down over criticism at St. Albert Pride flag raising
St. ALBERT, Alberta — My goodness, it’s rough being a government minister in this province! Sometimes people will even criticize you! I mean, seriously, the nerve! This never used to happen to the old Progressive Conservatives back in the day when they occupied all but one or two of the seats in the provincial Legislature. […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
It’s not up to the premier’s staff to decide who’s a journalist — except when it is
Responding yesterday to criticism for letting Alberta Premier Jason Kenney take a question from a reporter for a controversial right-wing news site during Tuesday’s virtual COVID-19 update, Press Secretary Christine Myatt tweeted defensively that “I don’t think anybody wants the government deciding who is or is not a journalist.” Taken to task by Alberta Liberal […]
Posted inCanadian Politics
Corrupt language corrupts minds: Police are civilians, under control of civilians
One of the bees in my bonnet has long been the misuse of the term civilian to describe people who are not sworn police officers. I wrote the post below almost a decade ago — as the startling appearance of the then-sitting prime minister in the text as if he were still a PM rather […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Somehow South Tyrolean autonomy doesn’t sound like the best way to sell the Alberta Fair Deal Panel’s dumb ideas
Sure sounds like Jason Kenney has a problem. He’s promised to release his Fair Deal Panel’s report next Monday, but it’s not at all clear Albertans are going to like what they hear. In politics, like the dairy cooler, things come with a best-before date. And the Fair Deal Panel’s has come and gone. Lots […]
Posted inBestsellers
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens tops independent Alberta booksellers 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, May 31, 2020. The lists are compiled by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta, and include sales at Audreys Books in Edmonton and Glass Bookshop in Edmonton. ALBERTA FICTION BESTSELLERS 1. Where […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Despite COVID-19, 15,000 people join Fight for Equity rally against racism at Alberta Legislature
A mostly youthful throng estimated at more than 15,000 people braved the coronavirus pandemic yesterday evening to join the Fight for Equity rally against racism at the Alberta Legislature in Edmonton. The rally was organized in response the public murder of George Floyd, an African American man, at the hands of Minneapolis police officers on […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Alberta’s Bill 1 is bad law, bad theatre, and an unconstitutional attack on the fundamental rights of citizens
If the passage of Bill 1 by the Alberta Legislature last month demonstrates anything, it’s the contempt in which Premier Jason Kenney and the United Conservative Party hold the rule of law. Mr. Kenney and his well-behaved UCP caucus know that Canada’s Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Not that Canadian Conservatives have […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
No need to lose much sleep over yesterday’s firearms ownership announcement by the UCP
If you’re worried by the announcement Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is seeking ways of “respecting law-abiding Albertans’ long history of responsible firearms ownership,” there’s no need to lose much sleep just yet. The premier’s press conference and news release about how he’s setting up a panel of firearms enthusiasts to look after the interests of […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Parole boards! Rodeo! Guns! The U.S. may be in flames while the world goes viral, but Alberta’s legislators cut to the chase!
The great republic to our south is in flames, led by an American Nero and seemingly teetering on the brink of martial law. At the same moment, the world is convulsed by an entirely new disease, the first truly global pandemic in history. So what are Premier Jason Kenney and his United Conservative Party government […]