There are bound to be calls for formal inquiries after the long-term care horror show discovered in Ontario and Quebec, and quite likely on its way to being discovered in other provinces. This isn’t actually what Canada or any Canadian province needs, though. We already know what led to the collapse of the seniors-care system […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
This is not the Beaverton: Energy Minister Sonya Savage finds the bright side of COVID-19
Well, it’s nice to know someone’s happy about the global coronavirus pandemic! Canadians got a rare glimpse into Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage’s thinking yesterday thanks to a friendly podcaster at the Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors. On the topic of the TransMountain pipeline expansion, John Bayko, who is also CAODC communications vice-president, asked […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Guest post by John Ashton: Don’t let inner city Ward 7’s needs be forgotten in Edmonton’s new ward map
By John Ashton Last week, drowned out in the clamour of the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Edmonton revealed its new proposed municipal ward map. The redrawing of municipal wards is a dull and pedantic task, full of compromises that please few. Nonetheless, it’s a process that has winners and losers. And then, like Edmonton’s […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Who will see their pandemic money first? The UCP’s political staffers, or Alberta’s health care aides?
In case you were wondering if Alberta’s United Conservative Party was also going to apply for funds from Ottawa’s Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy to keep party staff employed, that question has now been answered. Of course they are! The UCP trotted out the same excuse as its federal counterpart for the decision to apply for […]
Posted inCanadian Politics
Federal Conservatives seek emergency support to help kick unemployed people off emergency support!
Surely there’s a special corner of Hell for the leaders of political parties who try to get unemployed people kicked off federal pandemic emergency supports at the same time they demand federal emergency supports for their private army of trolls! Or am I the only one who finds it ironic to discover Conservative politicians who […]
Posted inBestsellers
The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Daré is Alberta independent bookshops’ fiction bestseller this 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, May 17, 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
Frustration grows as Tyler Shandro’s promised $2-per-hour top-up for health care aides fails to appear, again
More than a month has passed since Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro promised the government would pay the province’s health care aides a $2-per-hour coronavirus-crisis top-up — and there’s still no sign of the money. On April 20, Mr. Shandro announced the temporary raise for health care aides. He said $7.3 million per month had […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Distinction Rebellion? There are plenty of reasons breaking up is hard to do, so don’t expect the UCP to do it
Is a rebellion brewing in Southern Alberta against Alberta Premier Jason Kenney among the United Conservative Party’s old Wildrose crowd? Is there a Prairie fire smouldering in the heart of Wild Rose Country that might turn into another “upstart conservative party”? It could happen. I’m here to tell you not to bet your farm on […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
The likely future history of the Keystone XL Pipeline: Yes, Alberta! The answer is still No!
Who can forget Nov. 6, 2015, the day that will live in infamy? Just about everybody, as it turned out. That was the day that U.S. President Barack Obama decided to pull the plug on the Keystone XL Pipeline, declaring that it was not in the national interest of the United States whether or not […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Alberta government has been sitting on pro-autonomy report or more than a month, Fair Deal Panel member indicates
Has the Kenney Government been sitting on the “Fair Deal” Panel’s report since Easter, wondering what the heck to do with it? Sounds like it. In an annoyed Twitter exchange yesterday prompted by the suggestion in this blog the panel was late with its homework, panel member Donna Kennedy-Glans disputed that timing and told one […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Government puts ‘Fair Deal’ report on the shelf after panel hands in its homework late
Alberta’s so-called Fair Deal Panel, which might have seemed like a good idea when Premier Jason Kenney announced it last fall, presents something of a political problem for a government that has more often than not let Ottawa do the heavy lifting throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Premier Kenney pitched the rhetorical roadshow as a way […]
Posted inBestsellers
The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel returns to top of Alberta independent bookstores’ 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 10, 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 […]