Centrebloq.com, a new Liberal blog on the horizon, seems to have an inside track into the goings-on in the Alberta Liberal Party. According to the blogger, there have been secret meetings attended by top-level party officials, as well as blogger daveberta, to hammer out the details of a new party modelled after the Saskatchewan Party (an amalgamation of Tories and Liberals). Apparently, the conspirators also want to include disgruntled Tories in the deal. Secret meetings, hidden Facebook groups. A spy thriller it's not, but this is about as good as it gets in Alberta politics.Kevin Taft's Chief of Staff, a......
The latest poll taken after the Alberta Liberals elected a new leader, Dr. David Swann, paints a grim picture for his and his party's future (emphasis added): Newly minted Liberal leader David Swann has a comfortable cushion of support among Grit faithful but is up against the same mountain that has dead-ended his party in the past -- the province's towering Tory stronghold, propped up by older and rural voters.A Leger Marketing survey of 900 Albertans provided exclusively to the Herald shows Swann has the support of nearly half his party, with some of his strongest backing coming from...
At least, that's the clear reading one would get from his stated goals: A week after capturing the party crown, Swann says the Alberta government must consider implementing a host of controversial measures like a provincial sales tax, moratorium on new oilsands developments and cap-and-trade emissions reduction plan.He also supports looking at a progressive income tax system --rather than the current flat tax--and more than tripling the carbon levy paid by the province's largest greenhouse gas emitters. Swann is even considering changing the Liberal brand name. Swann can fiddle with his party's name until the cows come home. It...
The newly-minted leader of the Alberta Liberals, Dr. David Swann, has found himself a spokesman and defender in fellow MLA Harry Chase: Although Dr. David Swann was chosen as the Alberta Liberal leader only last weekend, the naysayers are already writing both his and the Alberta Liberal party's epitaph. In Tuesday's Calgary Herald editorial, reference was made to a "Swann" song. Rob Breakenridge, in an op-ed, compared David's professorial demeanour to Stephane Dion in an effort, by association, to undermine David's Alberta provincial leadership potential.The fact that the knives have come out so early in an attempt to discredit...
Time for Albertans to say bye-bye to universal health care: Alberta seniors who need braces or artificial limbs will now have to pull out their wallets to pay a portion of the cost if they make more than $21,000 a year.Changes quietly introduced by the government Dec. 1 will require Albertans older than 65 to pay 25 per cent of the cost of the formerly free devices -- up to a maximum of $500 annually.The news angered seniors and stunned orthotists and prothetists, who had no inkling the move was coming. There was no official announcement. Service providers received...
Honestly, this is so bizarre, it's impossible to make up. Any close follower of Canadian politics will surely have noticed one glaring aberration: Canada's conservatives are anything but conservatives. Just look around. Stephen Harper, now in office for close to three years, has failed as a fiscal conservative. On his watch, Canada has been pushed into a deficit again, has seen the biggest increase in federal spending and no tax relief for hardworking Canadians at all. Even worse, to save his own job, the supposedly conservative prime minister, who claims to be an economist to boot, has converted to...
Too bad; the Alberta Liberals had a chance to change course and, perhaps, oust Ed Stelmach in the next election. Alas, that won't happen now: On December 13 the Alberta Liberals announced Dr. David Swann as the new Leader of our Party. It was a first ballot victory with 2468 votes for Swann, 1616 for Dave Taylor and 491 for Mo Elsalhy. Dr. Swann was selected by rank and file members through a mail in ballot after a four month campaign. The Party wishes to recognize Dave Taylor and Mo Elsalhy for running excellent campaigns and for their dedication...
This just in via a mass email from the Alberta Liberals: Well, tomorrow is the big day. The new Leader of the Alberta Liberal Party will be announced at 2:00 p.m. if there is a first ballot or 2:30 p.m. if there is a second ballot victory. The website will be updated with the announcement by 3:00p.m. so watch it if you can't attend. The announcement will take place at the Glenmore Inn, details are on the website. Prediction: The new leader will be Dave...
Looks like Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia are becoming serious about having their own sovereignty movement/party. What is more, unlike in Québec, this one is being driven by individual citizens and businesses. THE WEST WANTS OUT!Separatist Business & Taxpayer Association Created For Immediate Release Wednesday - December 3, 2008Calgary – Alberta In response to the recent coalition agreement proposed by the Liberals, NDP and the Bloc Quebecois a new business and taxpayer organization is being launched in Calgary, Alberta with the sole objective of encouraging and creating a climate for Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia to leave confederation. "Western...
Alberta premier Ed Stelmach is not too happy with the "junta government" that is about to be installed in Ottawa: A coalition government would be bad for Canada, Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach said Monday, while calling on opposition politicians to rethink their plan to topple the minority Conservative government. "Put Canada first and stop the nonsense," Stelmach said. "This is a time when we need sane, prudent leadership dealing with the bigger elephant in the room, which is the global economic crisis, and it's a real concern to all Albertans." Stelmach made the comments on the same day as...
When you claim to be a conservative, particularly a fiscal conservative, but then go on to spend indiscriminately like a drunken sailor, you shouldn't be surprised when your own profligacy comes to bite you in the behind: The Stelmach government faced extraordinary demands Tuesday to curb expenditures and sock away more cash, after the province predicted economic turmoil will gut $6.5 billion from the expected surplus and delay spending and savings commitments. Business groups, fiscal watchdogs and opposition parties all urged the government to rethink its spending habits and begin weaning Alberta off its reliance on non-renewable resource revenues,...
The latest non-measure thought up by the Stelmach government: Playing hockey, carving powder in the mountains and pumping iron in the gym could soon be a lot cheaper in Alberta after MLAs passed a bill Monday to offer physically active Albertans a $500 fitness tax credit. This is the same kind of nonsense we have come to expect of the Harper government in Ottawa. Tax credits are not tax cuts. They cost the treasury a bundle but do absolutely nothing for actual tax relief. Also, no one will suddenly join a gym or take up organized sports because of...
After living in England for 3 years, I figured it was about time I attended the annual Canada Day festival in Trafalgar square. It had been ages since I had done anything Canada-ey. I am not a particularly patriotic person, so these government-funded, sickly-sweet "Hooray for Canada" parties usually make me want to retch, but I was desperate. I wanted to get filled to the brim with the hot, hot Canadian goodness and I was willing to put up with almost any cheesy Canadian act to get it. The English know surprisingly little about Canada, but, one consistent stereotype I hear is that we’re boring. Nothing gets my goat more than that. We’re not boring! We’re into hockey, the roughest sport there is! We drink like fish! We riot during the playoffs! Hell, we even club seals! If...
Alberta Liberal has penned an excellent article for the Calgary Herald today, explaining how the Tory government under premier Ed Stelmach operates when pushing through bills, without any consultation whatsoever. What if you opened up the morning paper and saw banner headlines declaring that the Alberta government had passed a law to curtail your rights, to privatize health care, or to allow nearby transmission lines built without your input? What if the news came without warning? It can happen. In today's Alberta, a bill can be introduced in the legislature on Monday afternoon and be law by late Wednesday...
by Werner Patels Calgarians are seething with anger at their city council. Over the next three years, property taxes will rise by a total of 25 percent, water fees will go up significantly, and transit users will pay a lot more. While the good people of Calgary are pointing to the expensive pet projects and excessive salaries of their aldermen, mayor Dave Bronconnier insists that these increases are necessary to ensure the smooth functioning of the city. It is fair to say that both sides are right. The members of city council and some of their projects could do...
November 7 is the cutoff date for purchasing an Alberta Liberal membership in order to be eligible to vote in the leadership contest by mail-in ballot. Dave Taylor explains, from an email sent out by his office: I'd like to invite you to consider joining the coalition we're building of moderate Albertans Who value business friendly, fiscally responsible and socially progressive government. Who value transparent, commonsense politics. Who demand government appreciates the value of our hard-earned tax dollars and invests prudently for future prosperity. I'm running for leader of the Alberta Liberal Party To redefine what it means to...
From Calgary's northwest comes this encouraging news: When Davis Fader went trick-or-treating Friday night, he greeted those who answered the door with a most unusual costume -- and question. "Place your vote, McCain or Obama?" asked the 11-year-old. Dressed as a polling booth, Davis surveyed his northwest Calgary neighbours on how they'd vote in Tuesday's U.S. presidential election. And -- perhaps surprisingly for conservative-minded Calgary -- the result reflected U.S. opinion polls that suggest Barack Obama will win. Democratic candidate Barack Obama won a big victory over Republican John McCain, collecting 45 of the 50 votes cast by Davis's...
The Calgary Herald has been tracking opinion through one of its online forums: Of the 17 people who firmed up how they're going to vote in the last week of the campaign, 41 per cent picked the Greens, 24 per cent are headed to the NDP, and 18 per cent plan to back the Conservatives. The Greens are also the top choice for 34 voters who haven't yet made up their minds. Stephane Dion's Liberals, however, trail all parties among the survey's decided and undecided voters. That poll, of course is anything but scientific and representative, but it's quite...
What a terrible tragedy: A family of eight is homeless after fire ripped through a suburban house that relatives had spent the day moving into. The fire started in a garage on Covehaven Terrace N.E. and quickly spread into the house's attic and roof Sunday night after 6:30 p.m. A quick-thinking neighbour raced to the house with a fire extinguisher to douse the flames as the homeowner sprayed water from a garden hose. The men were unable to put the fire out. The five adults and three children escaped unharmed. An absolute nightmare considering that the family was only...
by Werner Patels Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. This could be motto of the 22% of Albertan voters who voted for the Alberta Tories in the last provincial election in March 2008. When people's grandparents and parents have voted Tory all their lives, it is very hard for an indoctrinated present-day generation to vote for any other party – even if some of the other parties have better platforms. It seems, though, that the Tory government's actions, or inaction, are catching up with it. The province's auditor-general has rapped premier Ed Stelmach...
I endorsed Linda Duncan a while ago, because I think that we need people like her (i.e., those committed to education issues) in the House of Commons. Since I don't live in her Edmonton riding, I won't be able to vote for her personally, but the good news is that a Liberal, daveberta, has now announced that he'll be voting for her: After some long and difficult thinking, I have decided that I will be voting for Edmonton-Strathcona NDP candidate Linda Duncan. It seems that Linda's momentum is growing, and she may even have a real chance of winning...
My Mom was reading Grandinite the other day and she had a thought: “why don’t you (me) try to explain the economic turmoil to regular Albertans such as herself?” This brings me to today’s post, which discusses how you would explain the economy to your Mom, your Auntie or even your Gramma.
In short, the world is becoming more scary, but Alberta’s ok. In my opinion, it’s the least-worst place to be right now amidst a planet in turmoil. But even though our underlying fundamentals are sound, how might the global chaos affect us?
My Mom wants to know how the financial mess in the United States will affect Alberta, and in turn, her state of well-being within the big picture. I think many Albertans do as well.
Here’s how I would explain the economy to...
Why do I blog? Well, it might have something with the use and abuse of statistics and numbers I see in the headlines each day. Journalists (God loves them) have a tendency to present numbers in a way that sells copy at the expense of objectivity and perspective.
But in this instance, I thought I’d curb my corrective tendencies and simply add something that’s missing from two headlines related to Alberta’s rising mortgage default rates on mortgages.
The CBC, for example, simply states:
More Albertans unable to make mortgage payments
Whereas Canada.com reiterates:
Mortgage Defaults on the increase
That’s fine, but compared to what? Numbers need to be anchored to something, so how about we compare Alberta with the rest of Canada?
I’ve grabbed the data...
It's amazing what two and a half years in Ottawa can do to decent people. For starters, they lose of all sense of humour and creativity (National Post columnist Don Martin is a textbook example of that). Then, common sense is thrown overboard in giant-sized buckets – again, this is true of Martin but even more so of the Prime Minister, it seems: Harper said Friday during an election campaign stop in Calgary that his government would ban the export of the heavy black oil from Alberta to countries with lax environmental laws, specifically countries with more lenient greenhouse...
Crackhead pipeliners, coked-up tradesmen and meth-binging truck drivers typically take the blame for drug demand in the province, as it’s generally assumed they are the only ones earning $10,000 per month. This debate, while accurate, paints only a small part of the picture.
High-flying executives are also responsible for generating drug demand in Alberta, and gangs are more than willing to expand supply, says the Solicitor General of the province.
Canoe.ca:
“I think a lot of guys and gals sitting on the tenth and fifteenth floor of the office towers snorting cocaine don’t see how they’re affecting the violence on our streets, they think they’re immune to it all,” says Fred Lindsay, the province’s top cop, who believes it’s now time for...
Tyler Kinch has been a fellow Alberta blogger for some time. Now, he's branching out into active politics by running for the NDP in Calgary Centre. He explains his reasons for running here. This being Calgary and a federal election, the odds, unfortunately, are against Tyler, but I'll keep my fingers crossed for him. Good luck,...
This is proof, yet again, that Alberta really is different from the rest of country and would probably be better off as a separate country. It also shows that Liberal does not equal Liberal. Liberals in Alberta are quite a different breed from the dysfunctional and misguided ones in Central Canada. Anne McLellan, therefore, is still a popular figure in Alberta today, and the reason why she won – as a Liberal – in Alberta several times was due to her espousing Alberta Liberal values and the support she garnered from provincial conservatives as a result. In Alberta, politics...
In reference to my previous post.
I wonder when Jack Layton is going to credit some policy of his for stopping oil sands development when it’s clear the market conditions are already slowing this development.
Petro-Canada is talking itself out of the Fort Hills oil sands project.
The latest cost estimates on the project, released late Tuesday, highlighted a 50-per-cent spike in expenses over the past 15 months, on a project that was already projected to eat up $14.1-billion. Keep in mind: This initiative still needs approvals from both the Petrocan board and government bodies.
The first take from analysts on Wednesday is Petrocan, owner of a 60 per cent stake in Fort Hills, will need to see $100-a-barrel crude oil prices to earn a 10 per cent return on Fort Hills. You know that...
Memo to Jack Layton . . . From the Fort Sask Record, regarding upgrader construction in the area:
Only two upgrader projects are presently on schedule – Shell’s first phase that is under construction and Petro-Canada’s Fort Hills project, which is going through the regulatory process.
All of the rest are on hold according to Danielson and, “either waiting for financing or waiting for something to happen.”
Danielson added the projects by BA Energy and Northwest Upgrading are awaiting further cash, while StatoilHydro has delayed its upgrader startup, now proposed for 2016.
And Total, who completed their purchase of Synenco last month and placed that company’s upgrader proposal on hold, has come out with a new startup date for its original proposal.
Graph Source: Heavy Lifting
I...
I don’t think this poll is accurate. People say many, many things, especially online. What they do is completely separate from that.
Albertans willing to pay price to go green
The ranks of those who prize environmental protection are especially strong among Albertans aged 18 to 34, he noted. “They’re very ‘in the now,’ ” he said. “The environment trumps the money and toys right now for many youngsters.”
But with one in six Albertans directly employed by the energy industry, and the province enjoying wealth that still measures favourably against the rest of North America, experts wonder if people are being truthful when they profess to treasure soil, water and trees more than their potential earnings.
“Not for a second,” said...