Also on my Travel Bucket-List, Calgary Stampede of course! Hope to make it to the Premier’s Breakfast next year. Twice as many chances (other than Edmonton Pride) to meet Rachel Notley!!!
What message does the Danielle Smith ‘straight pride’ photo send to Albertans? | Globalnews.ca
A controversial photo of Premier Danielle Smith posing with a man in a “Straight Pride” T-shirt at the Calgary Stampede this weekend is causing a stir.
Smith’s office released a statement Monday saying: “The premier didn’t read his shirt and obviously doesn’t agree with its message.
“She has always been clear that she supports the LGBTQ+ community and will continue our work to make sure they…
Premier Jason Kenney has accepted the resignations of Grande Prairie MLA Tracy Allard as minister of municipal affairs and Jamie Huckabay as
As most Albertans and many Canadians know, the Alberta provincial government is facing some serious backlash over the international holidays taken by at least 11 members of the United Conservative Party in the last few weeks, brazenly ignoring the latest provincial guidelines on travel and the banning of even the smallest social gatherings outside of household members. Kenney's response on January 4th was lacklustre at best, and I along with thousands of Albertans are extremely unsatisfied. I've decided to write an open letter to our premier, which I feel is necessary and I hope will, along with others, encourage Mr Kenney to take greater responsibility and accept the consequences for himself and his party.
Mr Kenney, you spent weeks telling Albertans that the fault for our constantly rising COVID numbers could be laid squarely at the feet of the public, that our individual accountability - and not any government inaction or refusal to restrict business - was the sole perpetrator. You went on for hours about the commendable - nay, heroic! - response of your government while condemning the average citizen. You repeatedly told the public how much your government deliberated and agonized over the decision to restrict all gatherings of any kind and advise against any kind of socialization outside of households over Christmas. You told us that any disobedience would be punished with up to $1000 fines for a first time offense. And you told us to trust in your government, that you had a plan, that you were doing the best in all of Canada and as long as we just stopped having so many house parties and just listened that this would all be fixed by the time a vaccine arrived.
And now, not only does a large portion of your party decide that the rules don't apply to them, but you have the audacity to claim that it was a simple lack of good judgment? That they "weren't aware" of the fact that they shouldn't flout your own government's mandates for their own convenience? Give me a break. There is no way that a single one of those MLAs or ministers didn't know exactly what they were doing when they booked their cheap pandemic plane tickets, when they were screened at the airport, when they got to their holiday destinations and somehow managed not to quarantine despite international regulations. If it was one, maybe two people who made this supposed mistake, I would maybe believe it. But eleven, with more probably on the way? I refuse to believe that any misunderstanding or miscommunication could be responsible when every other Albertan and every other member of the government had no trouble understanding.
Not only that, but you actively claim to have had no knowledge of even one of these international vacationers. You truly expect us to believe that your Chief of Staff requested extensive time off simply to sit at home fielding Zoom calls from the kids? That your Minister of Municipal Affairs was off for half of December and you had no idea that she was going to Hawaii for what she admits is a 17 year family tradition? A premier may not be omnipotent, but I have a lot of trouble swallowing this particular bitter brew you're serving.
I think the worst part, personally, is that I cannot even find it within myself to be surprised. This is just the latest event in a long line of gross mismanagement and lacklustre responses. Apologies are not enough. Slaps on the wrists and removal of a few MLAs from their committee positions are not enough. After everything that's happened this year, it's all just not enough.
This is why I, along with thousands of others, am calling for your resignation and that of every member of your government who blatantly flouted quarantine advisories. We are not just some "angry liberals" out for blood. We are Albertans of every political leaning who have been following your too-little-too-late guidelines and shouldering all of the blame for the rising numbers, while you refuse to accept any true responsibility. We are furious, we are betrayed, and we will not be placated or waved aside by apologies or excuses. Resign, Mr Kenney, and accept that this time your party has made too many mistakes to regain our trust and support.
I hope that, in the next few weeks, Alberta can take steps toward a more responsible, accountable government.
Kenney is now the third-least popular premier among the provinces included in the poll, a startling drop from September when he was third from the top
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is feeling the political effects of budget cuts his government announced in October, with his approval rating plummeting 15 percentage points in a matter of months.
Kenney is now the third-least popular premier among the provinces included in the poll conducted by DART and Maru/Blue Voice Canada and provided exclusively to Postmedia. That’s a startling drop from September when Kenney was third from the top, behind Quebec Premier François Legault and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe.
The slide in approval comes in the wake of a United Conservative government budget that plans to bring expenditures $1.3 billion below last year’s spending levels. Over the next four years, the government expects to cut $4 billion worth of provincial spending.
Alberta Bitumen Bubble and The Canadian Economy: Revisiting My 2013 Industry Analysis Case Study
Alberta Bitumen Bubble and The Canadian Economy: Revisiting My 2013 Industry Analysis Case Study
Bitumen prices are low because the province has ignored at least a decade of warnings.
Over five years ago now, March 11, 2013, I published this mayo615 blog poston the Alberta bitumen bubble, and the budgetary problems facing Alberta Premier Alison Redford, and the federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty at that time, both of whom were surprisingly candid about the prospect for for ongoing…
Honestly, I really want to meet Rachel Notley at least once in my life, be it at the Edmonton Pride, the Calgary Pride, the Stampede or even just run into her during her morning jog. She’s easily my favourite Premier (especially now, that Ontario shamefully elected that prick when we could have picked Andrea Horwath...), but she’s one of my favourite person, period. And I haven’t met her yet! But she is so warm, and genuine, and committed; she’s a beautiful human, and I can’t wait to meet her in person!
