“So today is Friday and as always, we are on Climate Strike, young people all around the globe are today sacrificing their education to bring attention to the climate and ecological emergency.”—Greta Thunberg
On Friday my friend Elaine and I joined more than 10,000 Albertans to show our support for Greta Thunberg and Alberta’s climate activists in the climate strike at the Alberta Legislature because as Greta says, “nothing is impossible if enough people stand united and…never give up.”
I’m sure everyone who participated in this rally came away with different impressions. Here are mine.
The Climate Strike
The event was extremely well organized despite the short notice—the date and time of Greta’s visit were announced on Wednesday. We were reminded to march in “a good and kind way” and not to engage with counter-protesters. (No problem there—the Rebel Media truck plastered with images of Greta and chirping her famous “how dare you” phrase could have been mistaken for an ad promoting the event).
Before setting off for the Legislature we learned some new chants, talked to the Extinction Rebellion guy who was giving away cookies and watched the helicopters circling overhead (it was like the sixties all over again).
Two images of the march will always stay with me. The first was an Indigenous drummer who sang as we moved down Jasper Avenue. We didn’t understand the words, but when he was finished we burst into cheers and applause which he acknowledged with a small smile. We’re all in this together.
The second was the feeling of awe as we streamed down Jasper Avenue and turned south towards the Legislative grounds, thousands of us flowing around the reflecting pool before finally coming to rest in front of the steps of the Legislature. We are part of a global community united by a single purpose, to mitigate the disastrous effects of climate change.
Many Indigenous speakers took the microphone before Greta appeared on stage. The one I found especially moving was the young woman who rejected the myth that Alberta produces “ethical oil.” She said this myth obscures the fact that energy companies, with the support of provincial and federal governments, have committed “violence against the land” and against Indigenous peoples and their way of life.
This is an extremely important point for two reasons. First, Indigenous peoples have had to go to the Supreme Court of Canada time after time to enforce the rights they’ve been granted under section 35 of the Constitution Act and second, the “ethical oil” argument only works if Canada compares itself to the worst human rights violators and polluters on the planet. (When was the last time parents told their kids they didn’t have to bring home As and Bs, because anything above an F would do?)
Greta’s speech
I was especially interested to hear what Greta would say given the flak she received from climate change deniers who don’t like her “bossing” them around and the United We Roll folks who drove a convoy of trucks to Edmonton to “show Greta we do not need her yelling at us.”
Did she yell at us and boss us around?
No, she thanked Albertans for “the wonderful reception” she’d received and acknowledged we were on Treaty 6 land. Then she gave a thoughtful and articulate speech about the science of climate change and our role in mitigating its impact.
She said young people around the globe sacrifice their education on Fridays to bring attention to the climate and ecological emergency. They do so because they will not be bystanders in the climate crisis and “want the people in power to unite behind the science.”
She referred to the IPCC SR 1.5 report that concluded the world has a 67% chance of limiting the global temperature rise to below 1.5 degrees. On Jan 1, 2018 we had 420 gigatons of carbon dioxide left in our CO2 budget. Today that number is less than 360 gigatons and at current emissions levels the remaining CO2 budget will be gone in less than 8.5 years.
She discussed the suffering that will result from not addressing climate change, especially for “indigenous communities and people of the global south,” and reminded us that the Paris agreement requires equity so richer countries like Sweden and Canada will need to reach zero emissions faster than poorer countries to give poorer countries a chance to improve their standard of living by building necessary infrastructure to provide roads, schools, hospitals, electricity, and clean drinking water.
She said we can’t leave the responsibility to address climate change to “individuals, politicians, the market or other parts of the world.” This is not a partisan political question, “our main enemy right now is physics.”
Not once did she mention Alberta’s oilsands, Jason Kenney, or the CEOs running oil and gas companies let alone those pathetic sods from the United We Roll convey who spent hours parked blocks away honking their horns.
Another perspective
The 10,000 Albertans who attended Friday’s rally are not alone.
In a recent ARC podcast, the respected economist and investment strategist Peter Tertzakian and his co-host Jackie Forrest discussed Greta Thunberg. Mr Tertzakian said Greta was a “global icon”. He welcomed her getting onstage and telling world leaders to wake up and create real solutions. He praised Greta for bringing focus to the consumption side of the fossil fuels equation and for asking everyone to take personal responsibility for their energy consumption.
Jackie Forrest said 50% of emissions are created by people (40% by industry). She suggested ways to reduce our personal emissions including changing the cars we drive, changing how we heat our homes and becoming more energy efficient.
Mr Tertzakian said he’s personally concerned about climate change and owns a Tesla Model 3 that will “beat the pants” off its Audi and BMW comparables. Mr Tertzakian, like many of us, believes if you’re committed to addressing climate change there’s no excuse for not making renewable choices.
Unstoppable
In yet another display of childishness, Mr Kenney’s government drew the blinds and closed the windows of the Legislature so it wouldn’t have to see or hear Greta Thunberg speak.
It doesn’t matter.
When 10,000 Albertans come together from all over the province to support Greta’s Climate Strike and well respected economists welcome Greta to the stage, we’re unstoppable.
Mr Kenney and his anti-climate change supporters just don’t know it yet.
Susan on the Soapbox 
Very well said Susan!
Yes, Kenney and his crowd don’t understand any of this nor do they want to. They feel they are invincible, given they were given their 50 some % to do as they please. They think they had issues attracting foreign investment before just watch … Also what an homie to be able to see and hear Greta… one thing this leadership hasn’t understood yet, is these young people have only began, their future voters and possibility politicians who will have long memories.. Yes, Mr Kennedy and your fillers flip Greta a finger and snub her and the climate strike but I’m afraid they will have the last word 👍😀
Bota28: I think you’ve nailed it. Kenney and crew come from that super conservative place that says the natural order of things is god > father > mother > child. Consequently it’s safe to ignore what the children are saying. What Kenney fails to recognize is that Greta’s movement started with the children, but it now includes people of all ages and from all walks of life. This is bigger than Greta Thunberg and Kenney closing his eyes and covering his ears won’t make it go away.
Nice piece of reportage Susan- thanks
Joe Ceci: It’s the facts. I like how Susan tells it like it is.
Thanks Joe. It pains me to see Kenney’s UCP government undo the great work you and your government did with respect to climate change (and other things). Kenney is just digger a deeper hole for Alberta to crawl out of. Very short sighted.
Yes the Edmonton climate strike with Greta Thunberg was heartening. If you need some more evidence Mr. Kenney intends to dig us a deeper hole, here it is: on the day Ms. Thunberg made her cogent observations about the grave consequences of ignoring the science around climate change, Premier Kenney also made a counter statement at Lake Wabamun.
He was there to re-commission the old natural gas pipeline serving as an alternative fuel source for the coal fired electrical generators at Lake Wabamun. This matters because those generators may now have a long term future because the industry captured Alberta Progressive Conservatives and their regulators bent the law, committed espionage against landowners, and landowners’ lawyers, and destroyed the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board to pave the way for the construction of two obsolete 500 kV DC electrical transmission lines from Wabamun to Calgary at a cumulative cost much greater than purchasing TMX.
So instead of having a web type grid supporting distributed generation using waste heat from industrial processes, wind, solar, and geothermal, the Cons turned back the clock and stuck Alberta with a very expensive and stupidly fragile centralized electrical grid designed to serve some obsolete coal plants converted to burn natural gas.
The message of Kenney’s anti-Greta public appearance that day was they intend to double down on this mess.
Alberta is well on its way to being an expensive and obsolete backwater with both the Notley and Kenney administrations enabling obsolete electrical grid designs, and spending hundreds of millions on roads for cars, and other carbon intensive infrastructure.
As a result Ms. Thunberg’s and her supporters’ hopes that Alberta will do its part to address climate science seem pretty close to zero simply because so much has been invested in dead end long term projects. It did not have to be this way, but it is.
K Larsen, thanks for this. You’ve provided excellent context for Kenney’s announcement. If I recall correctly he made a point of saying that instead of rallying in support of climate change we should all be applauding projects like this one. The incident you refer to came to light in 2007. It’s a classic example of the conservatives being prepared to do anything to benefit industry. Back then the EUB (which was supposed to be an independent regulator) hired plain clothed detectives to spy on landowners who were concerned about the power line being built on their property. When this became public knowledge the privacy commissioner said the EUB broke the law and the government “condemned” them. Six EUB officials (3 of whom were directors) resigned or quit in the wake of the scandal. Which brings us back to the fundamental question: if you can’t trust your government and its so-called independently appointed agencies to obey the law, who can you trust. At least Albertans could FOIP the EUB, they can’t FOIP the $30 million War Room because the government set it up as a corporation thereby insulating it from public oversight. It’s an egregious abuse of power.
Like many (perhaps ‘most’) Albertans I prefer to put my faith in vast science of climate rather than the short term interests of corporations and politicians. As a past Public Health Officer I also prefer the ‘precautionary principle’ which calls for early investment and action where the evidence suggests higher costs and loss of life and environment. I thank Greta for her courage and ability to rally the world to the need for rapid and compassionate transition to cleaner energy.
David Swann: I do remember you. Your drive to become an MLA, was due to you being punished by the Alberta PCs, under Ralph Klein, for speaking the truth.
That’s right Dwayne. I’ve known David for quite a few years and count him as one of the ethical politicians. We need more like him.
Well said David. Greta’s message is based on the best available science out there. If down the road an overwhelming majority of scientists say human activity is not making climate change worse, then Greta and the rest of us will follow the science. The whole idea that climate change is something you “believe” in or not is nonsensical.
John Maynard Keynes once said, “When my information changes, I alter my conclusions. What do you do, sir?” Sadly in the case of the climate change deniers, this option is not open to them.
Thanks for another informative article, Susan. Keynes’ quote is bang on. I like to ask people who are emotionally attached to their ideas, “What would it take to change your mind?” Climate change deniers who’ve nailed truth to the mat would say something along the lines of, “Nothing, absolutely nothing.” That’s when I’d try to change the topic…or find the nearest exit. Keep blogging!
Thanks Judy. I like your advice. I cross posted this blog on LinkedIn and got a lot of stupid comments from people who completely missed my point. I said Greta didn’t come here to insult us, she came here to ask us (and our politicians) to listen to the science. The climate change deniers said: nonsense, a 16 year old girl can’t teach us anything. That’s a red herring used by climate change deniers to avoid admitting they reject the science. Anyone who says they don’t “believe” in climate change is saying they don’t believe in science. It’s like saying you don’t believe the earth revolves around the sun or water boils at 100C at sea level. As you point out, there’s no point in debating these people.
Young people are experiencing climate change and the ecological disasters from a different perspective. It’s like being that kid who wakes up early on New Year’s Day after your parents hosted a party the night before, and realizing they had all the fun. All that’s left over is traces of chip-
dip with a brown film on it, flat coke, ashtrays full of cigarettes, spilled beer, ice buckets of water and a big mess to clean up.
Lori, that’s an excellent description of where these kids find themselves today. It’s even more frustrating for them because when their parents wake up they deny they created a mess in even though the proof is staring them in the face.
One more time the young people of our province show us how out of touch the UCP party of Jason Kenney really is!! Susan keep up the good work on the Soapbox.
Thanks Paul. Isn’t it interesting how young people have taken up the cause when the adults have failed them. The least we can do is support them by voting for politicians who are interested in finding solutions, not just blowing us off with the argument that Canada doesn’t have to take action until China does.
Susan: Thanks for another great blog. I arrived late, but saw people coming back from this event. There were oil and gas supporters. There were also supporters of Greta. Perhaps the oil and gas supporters, and the United We Roll Convoy should ask Jason Kenney and the UCP how they plan to fix the very costly mess that the Alberta PCs left us, which began in the early 1990s. Oil companies in Alberta were not pursued by the Alberta PCs to clean up tailings ponds, abandoned oil wells, and other messes that they were responsible for making. Albertans now have to pay $260 billion to cleanup all of this. This is not even mentioned in the media anymore. For people who are in their late 40s, and older, they would clearly remember how Peter Lougheed governed with sound principles. This also applied to how he handled oilsands development, as he was in the employ of the oil industry, before he ventured into the world of politics. I clearly remember how Peter Lougheed took an aerial tour over the oilsands, around a decade and a half ago. I recall how he was totally dismayed and upset with what he saw. There was no slowing down of oilsands development and oilsands projects popped up like pimples on a teenager. Peter Lougheed then went on record to call Ft. McMurray a mess. Was he ever accurate! There was a mural near the Alberta Legislature with Greta’s image on it. It was defaced by an oil and gas supporter. Stop the lies! There were also profanities put on it that are not printable. It was reported in the news. It was some type of public mural space. The effects of pollution are very real, and if we don’t take action now, it will be too late. As we are nearing the federal election date, this afternoon, I saw an elderly grey haired man, alongside a busy avenue, holding up a sign that said something like DON’T VOTE FOR JUSTIN TRUDEAU! If I am not mistaken, the elderly man is not supposed to do that before a federal election, as there is some law against it. If I am wrong, please correct me on that. I do know that nobody can vote for Justin Trudeau, if they do not live in his riding. The federal parties will have to address the environment. Also, I still read the letter writers to the Edmonton Sun. They are getting more and more absurd. Some were comparing environmentalists to communists. This is so crazy. Fairly recently, a friend of mine got a phone call from someone. They started asking him about election issues. My friend asked them if this was an election poll or survey. They said no. Then my friend asked them why they were asking him political questions, if it wasn’t? They were out witted by him. My friend then gave the person answers that could not match any of the questions that were asked. We both agreed that election polls should be banned. Some other very interesting things that I saw. On Saturday’s Edmonton Sun, there was a full sized front page ad urging people to vote for Jagmeet Singh and the NDP. It was paid for and authorized by the NDP. Then, on today’s Edmonton Sun, on the front page, it had a photo of Andrew Scheer. It said in bold upper case letters. THE RIGHT CHOICE. Scheer and Conservatives offer real solutions to the problems Canadians face. When I bought this paper, the cashier at the drugstore I got the paper from looked at this and said this should not be allowed. I told the cashier, who was a younger woman, that the Sun supports the Conservatives. I agreed that this was wrong. I mentioned to her how the Alberta PCs were very bad, since Peter Lougheed was not the premier. I said that the Alberta PCs blew around $35 billion on a petrochemical (bitumen) upgrader, and the Sun staff were still urging people to vote for the Alberta PCs, in 2015. The Sun staff knew about this, but tried to avoid giving that boondoggle, (one of many from the Alberta PCs since the mid 1980s, and onwards), much coverage. I hope their ploy backfires on them with Andrew Scheer. Will the Sun staff acknowledge that Andrew Scheer also supports a carbon tax?
Dwayne, very interesting points. Let me elaborate on your point relating to the media. I was shocked to hear the Edmonton Sun ran an editorial saying if the Liberals formed a coalition with the Greens and NDP it would be a “coup”. The dictionary defines a “coup” as a sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government. A coalition government is not a “coup”. In the first place all the MPs representing the Liberals, Greens and NDP will be democratically elected, secondly, legal and constitutional scholars have said coalition governments in Canada are rare but there is nothing illegitimate about them. Obviously there’s no violence involved in forming a coalition so to call it a “coup” is the height of irresponsible journalism.
After this idiotic comment, Scheer came out with the statement that it was “modern political convention” that the party that got the most seats formed government. The Globe & Mail ran a number of articles saying this is absolutely not true. The only time the party with the most seats forms government is when it wins the majority of the seats. If the Conservatives don’t have a majority and even if they have more seats than the Liberals, they don’t automatically form government because they have to demonstrate they have the “confidence” of the House. The only way to get the “confidence” of the House is if the Greens and NDP support the Conservatives and that’s a non-starter.
The lies the Conservatives have put out there in the hopes of winning this election is mind boggling.
Susan: I agree with you. The Sun is involved with this. Is it also illegal to hold a sign before an election, which tells people not to vote for a politician, or a political party? I thought it was.
Dwayne, I don’t know the answer to your question. I do know that politicians are not allowed to campaign within a certain distance from a polling station but I don’t know if the same applies to citizens.
Whatever outcome of today’s vote, I feel a sense of hope as I read your piece. I am reminded of the lyrics to The Times They Are A Changin….The order is rapidly fadin’
I am forwarding your reportage to friends and family members. So they can forward to their children and grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Many thanks Susan,
Claudette
Thank you Claudette! I agree with you that the times are indeed a changing. I think we’ve reached a tipping point on the issue of climate change. You see it in the way big banks and investment firms are backing away from investing in fossil fuels and large insurance companies are asking the federal government to back stop them against sky high insurance claims arising from extreme weather (caused by climate change).
When it stops being good business to support the fossil fuel industry things will change. Add that to the work of climate activists and boom, we’re unstoppable.
Thank you so
Much for this report! We watched and heard the demonstration but coverage of the people who attended seemed sparse. For eg they reported ‘thousands’ but not how many thousands!
Closing the blinds at the legislature seems like the epitome of the state of ‘denial’. Our government is demonstrating how silly looks. In this case silly and dangerous!
You’re welcome Linda. You’re right about the coverage. Post Media worked hard not to mention the numbers but the CTV reporter who reported on the event live said he’d covered the Leg for decades and this was the biggest protest he’d seen since 2003. I suspect we’ll be seeing more protests of this magnitude after Kenney drops his budget on Oct 24. It’s funny how our premier who vowed to fight for the industry with a $30 million War Room and tough talk directed at Horgan and Trudeau decided to run away and hide from a 16 year old girl.
LOL
Oh My God that is so absolutely right
Easy reason – he would not be able to tell her anything but the same he said in the video – if Greta asked him a question outside the cassette reply then it would have been disastrous
🙂 🙂
For those of us used to protests of 100 people even when it is an important issue, 10 thousand sounds almost impossible in Alberta. Taking in consideration that it involves the Oil and Gas business, the odds of this happening is basically none. But it happened and like I said before I am proud of Edmonton.
The media, as usual, just basically gave the basics and always careful not to upset their masters who of course are fully in the pocket of big business and institutions like the International Democratic Union, run by our dear Harper who apparently makes sure that democracy grows like for example Victor Orban in Hungary. 🙂
I have been in Edmonton since 1981 and this was by far the biggest demonstration to happen in this city. The truck comedy was basically ignored and although they came ready and armed with megaphones for a total disruption, nothing happened. It was an enormous failure and at one point I thought their noise was the fireworks part of the main demonstration. Some of them tried to intimidate youngsters but it did not work.
Young people gave the grown ups a full lesson in citizenship, respect and ‘Being a Bully is Old News 101’.
I being an old dinosaur, wished I could have hammered one of them into the asphalt, but I also took on the lesson and stayed quiet and calm despite being sick at the end of the day, due to too much frustration accumulated inside. Their posture in the middle of the road covering half of their faces and their legs apart like the SS troops and white Nationalists, made me sick.
No one in the Legislature had anything to say. No surprise of course. It is not the first or last time that they behave more like an animal circus
The sad part of this is that they are actually running this province. Or so they think.
Carlos, you’re absolutely right about the significance of this March. It’s a huge wake-up call for Kenney who’s living in his own little bubble, egged on by the industry which will drop him like a hot potato if it decides it’s in their best interest to distance themselves from him. All it will take is a few bloopers coming out of the $30 million War Room and the $2.5 million public inquiry into foreign funding of environmentalists and the industry will ask him to shut it down because he’s making them look bad.
Your comment about the convoy counter-protesters is bang on. I don’t know why these guys think standing around trying to look menacing is going to get them anywhere. They look like buffoons. I overheard one trying to give a pamphlet to the Greta supporter marching ahead of me. The Greta supporter handed it back and said “what are you going to give me next, a brown shirt?” The counter-protester meekly melted into the crowd.
We taught them two important lessons on Friday: (1) we’re not afraid of them and (2) we outnumber them, so bring it on!
Loved it – I fully agree
I was also approached but to give me a finger and called me a F… idiot which of course I replied. This because I walked in the area they are for themselves. I dared to go into their territory. This guy behaving like a circus monkey came out of his truck to insult me. Again like you said just a barking dog. He clearly noticed that to challenge me deeper involved some danger!!! and these people only have courage when it is 5 of them to one.
He did not melt but basically turned from a bear to a chicken – pathetic to say the least.
They looked like those people you see in movies like Pablo Escobar. Just a Jason Kenney character if we were to make a movie.
https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2019/10/19/Scheer-Falsehoods/
In the meantime the lies and falsehoods continue American Republican style making me wonder which passport is Scheer using to become prime minister. I guess at least 31% do not care either way.
Indeud. I find it stunning that the risk of having an US citizen as prime minister is not more of an issue to Canadians.. I mean if Albertans REALLY do think the price of Western Canadian Select is going to rise if that happens I have some ‘ocean front’ properties near Boyle for sale they’ll be interested in.
Stunning is the correct word – Anyone that claims that we are a democracy must be in dire need of going for a mental check up at the Alberta Hospital.
In the end the 16 year old autistic Greta Thunberg is the only mentally stable person in the all scene.
I confess that I can only see one solution for the whole corrupt, sociopathic system – TEAR IT DOWN.
From his speeches, Jason Kenney does not even understand what is going on – it reminds me of the movie ‘Forest Gump’.
GoinFawr, from what I’ve seen most people working in the oil sector have no idea what drives the price of oil. They’re all excited about Scheer’s promise to build an energy corridor across Canada. Economists say it could cost as must as $100 Billion, lawyers say it could take up to 50 years to build because, guess what, you still need to consult with the Indigenous peoples and land owners along the route and you still need to address environmental concerns. Also no one is going to sign off in advance on a corridor running through their back yard without knowing what it’s going to transport (oil, natural gas, electricity, all of the above?) and in what quantities. Furthermore, no one will give up a chunk of their property without getting compensated for it. So good luck with that.
This promise is straight out of unicorn land.
Carlos, there’s some kind of lunacy in the ranks of the Conservatives that allows them to overlook the lies Scheer has put out. It’s like Trump supporters, they really don’t care how awful he is as long as he acts in their racist and evangelical interests.
Carlos, isn’t it reassuring to know that 2/3 of Canadians rejected Scheer and his conservatives in favour of progressive candidates. Sadly we’re stuck in this backwater province under a government that will spend the next 4 years telling us we’re victims, railing against the majority of Canadians and threatening to leave if we don’t get what we want whatever that may be. Idiots.
It’s shameful enough that last Friday the children were the responsible and reasoned individuals and the ersatz government of bought & paid for ignorant and cowardly adults played the part of petulant children. But what to make of the cowardly and shameful act of defacing the mural portrait of Greta? Twice!
I am hurt, and shaken.
Recently David Suzuki said this, “It’s a crisis for Christ’s sake, like Japan attacking Pearl Harbour! You have to win regardless of cost, but I am sure the savings will be huge, the opportunities immense. But the fossil fuel industry will have to be shut down.”
Again, as usual, he is right!
He is suggesting that in the next protest the youth take over the Parliament, by force, and conduct parliament for the day, debating, passing and enacting legislation to mandate GHG reductions. Of course it would all be pretend and for show. But what a show!
To actually have a parliament that worked for the betterment of citizens – what a concept!
Political Ranger, when I worked in the private sector we used to hear a lot about “the tone at the top”. If the tone was respectful then the employees were respectful, if the tone was bullying, then the employees were bullies. Defacing Greta’s portrait is another example of Kenney’s faiure and the failure of his team, to treat Greta’s visit with respect. It was Kenney’s idea to bring earplugs into the House so his MLAs wouldn’t be “forced” to listen to Opposition debate. It was his Legislative staff who pulled the blinds on all the windows facing Greta and the crowd of 10,000. The message is clear, Kenney’s government is a bunch of immature babies who’ll throw temper tantrums when they’re challenged or don’t get their way. Pathetic.
Good Morning! Well, as good as can be expected I suppose.
Minority gov’t, as predicted (GF polishes fingernails on lapel)
NOW we can get some things not done, but in light of what might have been: I can live with that since Minority gov’ts tend to keep the more loony proposals at bay.
And the island of orange reason still presides in Strathcona (congratulations Heather on winning your very first try!), completely surrounded by a rough, raging sea of stupidly tempestuous blue-in-the-facers shooting themselves in the foot, again and again and again and again.
ps
Minority gov’t indicates Canadians have forced electoral reform on their federal legislative assembly; let’s see if the point is taken by Trudeau
pps
Even Andrew Coyne is talking about ‘proportional representation’ now, I wonder why?
(hint check the popular vote vs. seats)
Liberal votes:
5,911,879
Conservative:
6,152,521
hahahahahaha!
Well I am not sorry for the Conservatives – they have had many opportunities to change this, instead they cry when this happens. This will NEVER happen with proportional representation,
Yes Andrew Coyne has seen the light for a while now.
I have been waiting for 38 years so I may not see Canada voting system change. Instead of this ridiculous first past the post created to guarantee that the aristocracy always won once the King became a Constitutional symbol.
It was much easier to get Marijuana legalized that having a decent, real and fair voting system. Thanks to Justin Trudeau it did not happen.
The only politician that has repeatedly ask for it is Elizabeth May who finds her party in this ridiculous situation
Greens get 1161746 and get 3 seats
Bloc Quebecois with 1377254 gets 32 seats
a difference of 215508 gives the Bloc 29 seats in a Parliament they do not want to support
This is just probably the biggest political absurd in any democracy in the world.
In Proportional Representation the distribution would be
Liberals 112 – NOT 157
Conservatives 115 – NOT 121
Greens 24 – NOT 3
Bloc Quebecois 27 – NOT 32
NDP 54 – NOT 24
A completely different House of Commons and a proportional representation of the number of Canadians that voted for them. The consequences are terrible and I agree with Elizabeth May when she said the ‘First Past the Post’ is DANGEROUS
How do we justify this is beyond me and still we cannot change the system.
I am now convinced politics and so called democracy in Canada is a dying project. Only 66 % of Canadians voted. An incredible 34% do not even bother sustaining this joke. I do not blame them a bit. Unless there are changes coming I will be joining them and requesting a protest vote.
What does it take to convince us that politics is what sustains us as a country rather than a game corporations and elites play to get us to make them rich and live enslaved to a lie and propaganda. Obviously way more than I ever expected.
It is absolutely amazing that we do not take time and interest to even look at what is happening and how this affects our lives and our descendants.
There is no environmental voice in our parliament due to the voting system. There is no check on big money control due to the voting system.
I believe I am retiring from this fight and definitely from political life in Alberta – it is not possible to win without a revolution violent or not.
Yes, GoinFawr, isn’t this an interesting turn of events. I watched the election on CBC and agreed with the conservative strategist who said this will be a very stable minority because the Liberals and NDP are generally aligned and notwithstanding Jagmeet Singh’s comments about TMX, the NDP won’t want to topple the Liberals because they don’t have the money to run another election. The best thing about this election is that Canadians demonstrated in overwhelming numbers that they’ll vote for parties committed to address climate change and they won’t vote for the party that refuses to consider it. Brian Mulroney warned the Cons about this but they chose to ignore him, preferring to follow Jason Kenney’s misguided strategy of lies, smears and denial. By the way I read that every riding Kenney campaigned in rejected the Conservatives. He’s no longer the “great white hope” of the Conservative party.
Look at the answers Scheer gives to this journalist at global.TV
https://globalnews.ca/video/6057103/one-on-one-with-andrew-scheer-2
This is the number one Conservative candidate to become Prime Minister.
Just listen to the first 2 questions – This man has 5 children he raises to be good citizens – I am glad I will not be here when they are adults.
Never mind Justin’s kids who get similar treatment.
Carlos, Scheer and Kenney’s ability to twist the truth is astounding. Scheer says he ran a positive campaign. Kenney says Trudeau is pushing Albertans out of our province. The truth is Scheer ran a disgusting campaign filled with lies and it’s Kenney, not Trudeau, who is pushing Albertans out of our province by subsidizing oil companies (that refuse to use the money to hire more workers), refusing to embark on serious diversification efforts, and making the lives of all Albertans more expensive and onerous by decoupling inflation from taxation (our taxes will rise) and cutting public services (public education, public health, AISH, seniors are just the beginning of the pain to come). I’m hope the people who voted for the UCP are proud of themselves.
This is the class of premier we have – He is not a separatist but gives them a platform – they have the right to be frustrated. The people concerned with our environment on the other hand will have to be under police surveillance through the War Room
I do not need to say anything else. These people are simply demented.
This is just out of anything I have ever seen – this is on par with Mugabe and the rest of his kind.
Carlos Beca: If you saw the UCP’s budget, (which they finally came up with), it’s Kleinesque. It was withheld until after the federal election on purpose, to prevent the CPC from losing more seats than they did. Andrew Scheer is probably done as the CPC leader. Elizabeth May stated that he won’t be Prime Minister. The PPC were wiped off the electoral map entirely.
Dwayne, this budget is a nightmare, it’s impact is even worse than the UCP admit because for the first time since 2001 they’re not indexing tax brackets. As such Albertans will pay $600 million more in taxes. The only people who got a tax cut were the corporations ($4.7 billion at last count), everyone else got a tax hike. That’s what happens when Albertans elect a party that goes back 20 years for its policies.
Carlos I agree with you. Kenney talks out of both sides of his mouth. On the one hand he says he’s a federalist and separation makes no sense for Alberta, on the other hand he tells Albertans they’re victims who’ve been used and abused by Trudeau (by policies he and Harper put in place by the way). A true leader would say “There will be NO Wexit on my watch. End of story.” But he’s not a leader, he wants to keep his base happy while at the same time trying to appeal to new supporters. That backfired for Scheer and it will backfire for Kenney, the result will be an even more divisive Alberta than we already have, we’ll be fighting with each other and the UCP will be fighting with Ottawa. It’s a stupid waste of time, but deflects attention from the fact Kenney has not and will not be able to deliver jobs, jobs, jobs, as he promised.