Turns out the Kenney Government’s pandemic response has been guided more by political pressure and right-wing ideology than science and expert advice. For weeks Premier Jason Kenney and his army of “issues managers” have claimed Alberta’s determined effort to keep its restaurants, bars and casinos open in the face of surging COVID-19 infections was based […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Gary Mar on Keystone XL: Likely the only guy who can save Jason Kenney’s Keystone XL pipe-dream is Justin Trudeau
It may not quite be impossible for Jason Kenney to see his dream of completing the Keystone XL Pipeline to the U.S. Gulf Coast on his watch come true, but it will be almighty difficult with Democrat Joe Biden in the White House. What’s more, if the project is to be completed the way Alberta’s […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Alberta dithers on, replacing pandemic half-measures with slightly tougher half-measures
Premier Jason Kenney finally resurfaced yesterday, looking healthy enough, to respond to Alberta’s surging COVID-19 infection rate with new half-measures not all that distinguishable from the old half-measures. Bars, restaurants and non-essential businesses will be allowed to remain open with reduced capacity, ditto for megachurches that will still be permitted to fill hundreds of their […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
David Khan and Don Iveson, two bright lights of Alberta politics, announce they’re packing it in
Two prominent Alberta politicians have taken the traditional Canadian walk in the snow and announced their planned departures from their current political roles. Alberta Liberal Leader David Khan, 46, one of the most influential provincial politicians in Alberta without a seat in the Legislature, made his announcement on Sunday. Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson, 42, made […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
The Premier is Missing (not a novel) – will he be back today to launch a big COVID-19 lockdown, or is it something else?
Where’s Jason Kenney? Alberta’s in the midst of a pandemic emergency that grows more frightening by the day, but it’s been days since the public’s seen or heard from the premier. There were 1,584 new COVID-19 cases in Alberta announced yesterday. There were 1,534 announced in Ontario in the same 24 hours. I don’t need […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
Guest Post by Cam Westhead: COVID-19 public health advice – armchair epidemiologists need not apply
By Cam Westhead One of the first things I learned in nursing school was not to panic during times of crisis. Medical professionals are trained to act like a duck – appearing calm on top of the water but paddling like mad underneath. Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw’s demeanour is a prime […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
It’s the pandemic, stupid!
Another day, another COVID-19 infection record broken. This time, 1,155. There are 11 new deaths. Is it just me, or is there a whiff of panic in the cold Alberta air? Not among the hard-core COVID deniers, including those who are United Conservative Party MLAs, of course. They’ll go to their graves before they’ll admit […]
Posted inBestsellers
How To Pronounce Knife, stories by Souvankham Thammavongsa, is indy bookshops’ Alberta fiction bestseller
Here are the lists of the top 10 fiction and non-fiction titles sold by independent booksellers in Alberta during the week ended Sunday, Nov. 15, 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. How […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
As COVID-19 cases soar, UCP MLA tells constituents the pandemic is behind us
Alberta set a new daily record for COVID-19 yesterday, with 1,105 confirmed new cases reported over the previous 24 hours. No fear, though. Apparently the worst of the pandemic is already behind us! Leastways, that cheerful message has been showing up in mailboxes in Alberta’s Banff-Kananaskis riding, courtesy of Miranda Rosin, the area’s young United […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
UCP still covets CPP grubstake, so one way or another AIMCo CEO’s walk in the snow was inevitable
Did Kevin Uebelein jump or was he, ever so gently, shoved? Albertans can be confident we’ll never, ever get a straight answer about what led to the low-key announcement the day before yesterday that the CEO of the Alberta Investment Management Corp., better known as AIMCo, had decided to take the traditional Canadian walk in […]
Posted inCanadian Politics
Canada’s progressive politicians need to pay attention to Erin O’Toole’s pivot to unions
If Erin O’Toole was sincere when he surprised everyone last month by bemoaning the decline of unions, you’d think he’d publicly rebuke Premier Jason Kenney for his ongoing campaign to turn Alberta into a right-to-work state. So far, though, the new Conservative Party of Canada leader has had nothing to say about the United Conservative […]
Posted inAlberta Politics
It was good luck not good management that saved us from COVID-19 last spring; bad management is killing us now
Sunday was Alberta’s deadliest pandemic day to date. Twenty people died from COVID-19. There were 860 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total of active cases to 10,031. And one gets the feeling, given the Kenney Government’s determinedly lackadaisical response to the pandemic, that this is just getting warmed up. Surely it was hubris to attribute […]