Albertans live in an alternate universe.
How else can we explain last week’s press conference where Danielle Smith pilloried the draft electricity regulations which are designed to ensure Canada’s electrical grid is running on 100% clean energy by 2035* and unveiled a national advertising campaign of print, radio, TV, social media, billboards and bus wraps urging Canadians to contact their MPs to oppose these regulations.
Apparently, she’s unaware of the July 2023 Abacus poll that showed 71% of Canadians support the regs. And that even here in Alberta a slim majority are in favour of the regs.
Apparently she’s unaware that Canadians have their own provincial and territorial governments and premiers to represent them in these negotiations.
Or maybe she’s very aware and is simply trying to scare Canadians into supporting her position by conjuring up images of people freezing in the dark—that will teach those “eastern bastards.” Oops, forgot, we’re all “eastern bastards” now.
Ideologically driven?
Smith characterized the regs as unrealistic, disastrous, and designed to serve narrow ideologically driven goal.
This would be the same goal that drove the US to invest $370B under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to shift to cleaner energy and reduce the GHGs that exacerbate climate change. A goal that will draw billions in clean energy investment away from Canada and into the US.
Pace and cost of implementation
There was a lot of talk about the high cost of converting Canada’s electrical grid to clean energy, but no discussion about what it would cost to convert Alberta’s grid. Nor was there any effort to put these costs into perspective by considering them in relation to the billions spent on subsidizing the fossil fuel sector and the trillions of dollars that will be spent addressing the impact of climate change on the economy and society in the future.
Smith said the pace of shifting to clean electrical energy generation by 2035 was not “commercially” feasible, noting that Alberta is more reliant on natural gas-fired generation than other provinces. This may be a valid point, but she undermined her argument when she set out her case for sticking with 2050. (See below).
Investment
She said the regs would harm investment in gas-fired power generation…then she mentioned Ontario, where Doug Ford is adding an additional 1500 megawatts of power from gas-fired plants. She said she supposed they’re taking the risk they’ll be fully abated by 2035. Yes, I suppose they are, and maybe we should too.
Alberta’s non-compromise
When pressed for details on what a compromise with the feds might look like—would she be satisfied if the feds loosened some of the restrictions on natural gas backup generators and gave Alberta more authority to make decisions relating to peakers—her answer, when she finally gave it, was no.
Smith said she wants “alignment” with Alberta’s position, namely that Alberta is committed to net-zero by 2050 and will get there however it pleases. In other words, Smith is not prepared to bend. There’s no room for compromise.
And that’s when it got interesting.
Her rationale for her position, 2050 or the Sovereignty Act, was nothing more than a recitation of the bullets listed on the Pathways Alliance website:
- We’ll push ahead with carbon capture and storage (CCS). This is Pathways Phase 1: 2021 – 2030: where it says it will build a CCS network to capture 10 to 12 million tonnes of CO2/year.
- We’ll expand CCS and invest in alternative energy (Pathways Phase 2: 2031 – 2040)
- And “the last mile” will be technological innovations like air capture (Pathways Phase 3: 2040 – 2050).
If the feds don’t like it Smith is preparing a motion to invoke the Sovereignty Act. She appears to think this is a formidable threat and one that she’s reluctant to use.
She said, “Hopefully, no one ever has to see it. Hopefully…we’re able to come to a peaceful resolution with our federal counterparts.”
Peaceful? What’s Smith expecting, that the minute she files her motion the feds will go to DEFCON 5?
The opposite is likely the case. The feds, like many Albertans, have been waiting for Smith to deploy the Sovereignty Act, the act that made her the leader of the UCP, because they’re convinced it has the durability of wet tissue paper.
[Incidentally Jason Kenney was not afraid to challenge the fed’s jurisdiction to pass the carbon tax. It was the first thing he did upon coming into office. Smith’s reluctance to follow suit with the centerpiece of her leadership campaign speaks volumes].
Bottom line
The clean electricity regs are part of Canada’s effort to achieve net-zero by 2050. It’s a goal that is shared by the US, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the European Union. We’re not going to get every step right, but we’ll never get there if we don’t start now.
The fact that Alberta is appealing to Canadians to reject the clean electricity regs, coming on the heels of Alberta telling Canadians it’s claiming 53% of the CPP fund and prepared to screw up their right to a dignified retirement, is mind blowing.
Alternative reality anyone?
*The regs are draft and include exceptions for days when the clean energy sources are not enough to meet demand. If this exception isn’t enough in Alberta’s climate, then Smith should make the case for a suitable exception, she should not urge the rest of Canada to reject the regs.
Susan on the Soapbox 
We get what we vote for….but I’m thinking that by the end of the year, few Albertans will admit that they put this ‘free thinker’ in the Premier’s chair.
Her positions are none sensical, but thanks Susan for showing us exactly who gave them to her…The Pathways Alliance??? Aren’t those the guys lying to us about net 0 fossil fuels???
Anyone with an average IQ knows there’s no such thing. Even if you could strain your back and our credulity to dig bitumen up without emitting greenhouse gases….and I doubt that……the moment you burn any of the darn products…THEY EMIT.
That such bald faced lies get a hearing at all shames every Canadian. But that we elected a premier who either believes those lies…or is willing to double down on them, makes us the laughing stock of the western democracies.
As for me and my house: We’ve gone solar, have that EV and are looking into heat pumps. Whether or not we make it to a green grid by 2035 we need to make every effort to do so. Starting Now.
I’m writing to our federal government and encouraging them to forge ahead. We all should do so.
Ingamarie: You’re right about Pathways Alliance. Suncor is a member and its CEO recently announced that he was pulling back on his renewables investments to focus on their core business, extracting fossil fuels. How’s that for leadership.
In her press conference Smith said the feds should take their cue from industry. I scoured the Pathways Alliance website and found no specific commitments to anything after the Phase 1 commitment to CCS which is still not scalable to make it the panacea everyone seems to think it is.
Thanks once again for the research you do and share Susan….more of us need to speak up and tell the fossil fools directing Danielle that we not only understand the science, we can do the math. Net 0 extraction if it could be achieved would only be worth something if they intended not to burn the product. But fossil fuels are only dug up for burning….so its the old pea in the cup three point shuffle.
Taking us no where good.
The nonsense spewed by the pathways alliance is not unique to Alberta. Today’s Globe and Mail says, in a page B2 report of a conference in Abu Djabo. , “The United Arab Emirates’ president of the conference, Mr. al-Jaber, has said the oil and gas industry needs to be part of the conversation on climate change. He has urged the energy industry to achieve net-zero emissions by or before 2050 and to accelerate an industry-wide commitment to reach near-zero methane emissions by 2030.” I bet that if the fossil extractivists ever do reach their net-zero goal, they’ll start blaming the users of the oil and gas (and tar) who burn their products for wrecking the climate.
Certainly the blame finger is long enough and ugly enough to give it a try. Poor Tom Mulcair: he wanted polluters to pay. The ugly Steve/Justin alternative is the public pays………and through the nose……….for every black nickle oil and gas squeeze out of a dying planet.
Ingamarie: what amazes me is the benighted belief that somehow this “kick the tin can down the road” approach will all work out in the end. We cling to small successes, like the fact emissions per barrel are coming down, but that doesn’t address the fact that the number of barrels produced is going up so overall emissions are going up.
Sometimes I get the impression that politicians and industry leaders think we’re a bunch of idiots.
ReynoldReimer: I recall the former CEO of Enbridge saying industry should not be asked to take the lead in fighting climate change. He believed it was up to government to set the bar and then industry would have certainty as it would know what standards it has to meet by when. And yet every time the government tries to do that industry throws itself on the floor and has a temper tantrum and Smith is right there with them saying she’ll fight their battle on their behalf with our money.
It’s sickening really.
Interesting substack by Jared Wesley. He says Albertans don’t realise how many Albertans want climate action and so are less likely to speak up about it.
https://drjaredwesley.substack.com/p/no-kidding
Many of us don’t speak up for environmental issues because we will be attacked if we do. Employers, co-workers, the Alberta media and the provincial government are happy to direct personal persecution at any individuals who don’t toe the fossil fuel line. This behavior has become an accepted norm in Alberta.
Tom: you are correct that the pro-fossil fuel bias is deeply ingrained in Alberta, individuals and businesses. I recall having a conversation with my CEO when I was VP legal for a major pipeline company. We were talking about climate change and he repeated the same gibberish we hear from Smith that climate change won’t be a problem because technology will be developed to ameliorate its impact. So in essence it was full steam ahead to the edge of the cliff, praying that someone would figure out how to stop the car from going over before it was too late.
We have a lot of gutless wonders in our province….not surprising, after 40 years of right wing intimidation.
Valerie, Jared Wesley is doing such important work. His point about us staying silent because we mistakenly believe we’re in the minority is a very good one. It helps to have the facts, doesn’t it.
See you on Substack?
Franklin, nope, afraid not.
Good morning. I’m not a fan of the move of many former bloggers to Substack, including one that I’ve been reading for many years.
Sure, I get it: well-researched, well-crafted blogs are time-consuming to produce, and Substack provides a more direct means to earn revenue from readers than the vagaries of ads and reader donations on a blog.
But the subscription model is exclusionary by design. Only paid subscribers get access to all the blogger’s content, and only paid subscribers get to comment on posts. This is quite different from the traditional blog, which allows commenting even by occasional readers.
I regularly read — and often comment on — three Alberta politics bloggers that lean progressive. One has moved to Substack. I hesitated to subscribe but eventually felt I had to in order to fully participate in those discussions, because I support the blogger and his take on Alberta politics. But if the other two — one of whom is Ms Soapbox here — also go there, I’m going to have to triage my subs and potentially drop one altogether.
That would be a sad day.
Jerrymacgp: like you I understand why some bloggers are on Substack but I won’t be going there. I think the people who follow this blog are very knowledgeable and add a lot to the discussion. I would hate to throw up barriers to their engagement. So thank you for the support and please continue to comment to your heart’s content.
Susan: Thanks for sharing another great blog. Deceptive Danielle Smith is at it again, with her usual bombardment of baseless bluster, and so much contradiction. It’s her style. To begin with, Danielle Smith’s contradictions have to be pointed out. She used to be in a political party that that changed its name, or merged with another party to become the Wildrose party. It was the Alberta Alliance party. She had a very strong opposition to carbon capture and storage, and said it was a waste of money. In fact, in 2015, the Wildrose campaigned on cancelation of it, during that provincial election in Alberta. When the Alberta PCs were in power, they threw away $2 billion on carbon capture and storage. The renewable energy gambit is oopsed by Danielle Smith, yet another politician she had been connected with, via her crossing the floor, Jim Prentice, was in full support of it, when he was premier of Alberta. He said that there was great potential for expanding wind power and solar power for Alberta. As a matter of fact, when the provincial election was going on in Alberta, in 2015, renewable energy was what the political parties were all striving for. They said that coal powered electricity had to go, because of its proven harm to the environment. Jim Prentice was first to say it, way back in 2008-10, when he was handling the portfolio of environment minister, in the CPC party, and next as the final leader of the Alberta PCs. Expensive power bills are a very concerning issue in Alberta. When Danielle Smith was doing her psychobabble press release last week, she pointed fingers at Rachel Notley for closing down coal fired power plants too early. That isn’t the factor, and it was Jim Prentice who spearheaded this initiative, years before. Air quality in Canada where coal fired power plants operated was very poor. Greenhouse gas emissions were also a concern. Jim Prentice wanted to do something about it. This was also an issue in Alberta, and as premier of Alberta, Jim Prentice had the same mindset. The one that made power bills in Alberta go upwards into unaffordable levels was premier Ralph Klein, and this happened with electricity deregulation. He didn’t campaign on it, and just shoved it down our throats, and made the claim that power prices in Alberta would go down, but instead they instantly shot up. He had to take away money from provincial coffers, to make way for rebates to power consumers. Another very stupid thing Ralph Klein did was the Power Purchase Agreements mistake. It has another name, called the Enron Clause. It got that name because of the devious crooks at Enron were involving themselves with our electricity generation system. Power brown outs were done on purpose, to make it look like our power generation system was defective, just so electricity deregulation could proceed. Electricity deregulation has cost us in excess of $30 billion to date, while the Power Purchase Agreements (Enron Clause) mistake, set us back $10 billion. Another major mistake that happened was TransAlta was using power price manipulation tactics, on more than one occasion, to drive up power prices. Any fines they got were never reimbursed to any power consumers. The provincial government stashed the money away. Many years ago, I saw another blogger comparing it to Enron. Even further, under the Alberta PCs, with Ralph Klein’s cabinet minister, Murray Smith, he created a policy that would make Albertans pay for the construction of new power lines, via their power bills. The purpose of these power transmission lines was to export that power to American states. Another kicker is where power companies in Alberta were allowed to hold back a certain amount of the power, to make it cost more for us. There is a term that people were using to describe it, and it’s called economic witholding. The UCP were the ones who were involved with that. I feel we are in for more nastiness with Danielle Smith and the UCP. She needs a way of detracting for the things she has done, such as the distasteful pension plan she wants to foist upon Albertans, or many children who suffered from getting E-Coli at daycares in this province. I’ll share some more fitting music. This is The Yardbirds, with Jeff Beck, after Eric Clapton left the band in 1965. They are doing a Graham Gouldman penned song, called Evil Hearted You. It is from 1965. Graham Gouldman would later form the group 10CC, in the 1970s.
Dwayne, thank you for this very informative comment. I was shocked when Smith said the NDP wrecked the electricity market. What a ridiculous statement. Smith need only review the history of electricity deregulation to lay the blame squarely where it belongs–at the feet of the conservatives. Years ago a reader commented that he’d attended a function where Klein was the guest of honour. Klein was asked to explain the rationale behind deregulation. He said he hadn’t a clue. What that tells me is the electricity companies were leading the PCs around by the nose. And they still are.
Thanks for the Yardbird song. I remember listening to them when I was much younger, although I can’t say I remember this song. Interesting lyrics!
I have just read “The Patriot” by Jeffery Goldberg in The Atlantic’s November 2023 issue.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/11/general-mark-milley-trump-coup/675375/
What struck me was the utter disconnect from reality demonstrated by Trump.
I immediately understood the futility of trying to connect to reality someone utterly disconnected from reality. Even with medical intervention, is the person actually connected with reality?
Is there a spectrum of disconnect or is there simply a spectrum of danger that arises from that disconnect. I do not know.
I think that in the Trump case, the only sensible action is keep the disconnected away from opportunity to do great harm.
How serious is this situation? Not Trump serious for sure, no nuclear goes to deal with. Reading Goldberg’s piece about General Mark Milley is a mind opener.
Mike Klein
Sorry – nuclear codes to deal with
Mike K: thanks for this. I wasn’t able to get the article to open fully, (need to subscribe for a free trial to do that) but I certainly get your drift. I heard a fellow being interviewed last week on CBC. I’ve gone blank on his name, but he was a university prof who found himself in the centre of a conspiracy theory. He said people should react to those who believe conspiracy theories in an open and non judgmental way. I tried that with a friend and work colleague who believes the crap spewed by QAnon, Alex Jones, etc, and after about a year realized that listening and gently pointing out the flaws in their logic wasn’t working. My friend just dug herself deeper into the fantasy. I don’t know what happens to these people when they are forced to confront reality, What happens if Trump is re-elected and doesn’t turn them all into multi-millionairs? But as you so rightly point out the one we should worry about is Trump himself.
Paywalls … hmm . I guess they seem necessary. Anyway, Ret’d General Milley described instances where he and staff would explain the existence of guardrails on presidential prerogative and how they work. Trump’s responses were entirely off point. He would suggest doing other illegal behaviour to drive an equally illegal outcome. Or he would simply call the general or other advisor a coward, bending the knee to deep state actors. This was repeated over and over again.
It struck me how much it reminded me of looking after someone I cared about as that person went deeper into psychosis. That person was talking about a world I could not see or understand. I was obviously talking about a world that person could not see or understand. There was a true deep disconnect.
Are Smith et al disconnected from reality? Maybe so. Maybe just use language, words, that strongly suggest that disconnect and insist on sticking to that version of their story. I doubt that it is possible to get those folks to see the reality that I see. Am I sure about my reality? Mostly sure. Are they sure about their reality? Perhaps more sure by a marked degree. Is that evidence of self-persuasion?
Maybe.
Mikegklein: thanks for the description of Trump’s behavior. It sounds more like a bully than someone who’s lost touch with reality, but then again, I know nothing about mental illness. From what I’ve read about Trump he’s someone who has never been called to account. He’s gone bankrupt many times and says he’s a savvy businessman, he cheats on his income tax and still the banks lend him tons of money, he whipped up the Jan 6 mob and is facing 91 indictments, and still the Republicans are allowing him to stand for re-election. The quest for power is driving Trump and the Republicans mad.
All they’re doing is making the rest of Canada think they’re a bunch of fucking assholes. It STILL stuns me that this party has any popularity at all; they might as well be the Killjoy Party…
I find it absurd as well, but as one of those people said: my family has always voted conservative…
What we are seeing here is not conservatism, it is blatant ignorant behaviour.
Sharon: agreed.
Kelly: that is the 64 million dollar question–why is anyone continuing to support Danielle Smith’s UCP. Having said that I see rifts developing between the TBA and non-TBA crowd. The Nov AGM is going to be a humdigner.
Article a little while ago showed that Alberta electricity prices have gone up some 128% under the UCP, much much more than anywhere else in Canada. Why not point out that little fact when Dani the Destroyer comes out with her ludicrous statements about future electricity prices?!!!
Ah ha! See! We do need gas lights, oil lamps, oil furnaces, gas furnaces. So cheap!
You may well have hit upon her deep strategy….she’s a reality denier, but she’s also quite cunning.
Mike and Ingamarie: well, rising electricity prices benefit the electricity companies (and their executives and shareholder it’s all part and parcel of the same free market/trickle down economics ideology.
And more gaslighting!
dbtazzer: Indeed!
dbtazzer: You’re right. A reporter asked Smith something similar at the end of her “kill the clean electricity regs” press conference. She blamed the high prices on the NDP while failing to acknowledge that the NDP capped electricity prices while they were reforming electricity markets to stop this kind of wild price escalation. When Kenney was elected he scrapped the NDP’s efforts to reform the electricity market taking Alberta back to the market we have today. The price of electricity started to climb and in the spring of 2023 (when the UCP were running for re-election) Smith’s government deferred any price increases above 13.5 cents until after the election. The UCP was re-elected, the deferral was revoked and the ratepayers will be paying back what they owe to electricity companies ($200 million in deferred price hikes) between April 2023 and Dec 2024.
High electricity prices are solely the result of the UCP messing around with the electricity market.
Unfortunately this explanation is too complicated to put into a question and Smith gets away with saying it’s all the NDP’s fault.
Between the 7.5 million being spent to lie about the ridiculous APP and the 8 million to spread misinformation across Canada re: net zero that money could do a lot of good elsewhere. But ….that’s what happens when the province is being run by ideology and not for the people.
I agree Sharon. At the press conference Smith was talking about renewables and alternate energy. She said small modular reactors (SMR) would be ready to roll in 2028 but we’d need to get the “social license” from Albertans before we went with them. Getting “social license” would take time, she said, we’d need public consultation etc.
Given that she’s trying to ram APP down our throats with an anticipated start date in 2027, and she’s already got her consultation team up and running, seems to me she could whip up a together a SMR consultation process pretty quickly if she put her mind to it.
Frankly, everything she’s doing re: renewable and alternative energy is a smoke screen. All she really wants to do is give fossil fuels as much runway as she can. So she’ll never budge off the 2050 net-zero date.
Hopefully she’s willing to increase her fire fighting budget and her flood mitigation budget with all the damage her fossil fuel dream team is creating…but wait, she’ll probably try to blame it on those methane producing cows…
Good point Sharon: trying to “save” tax dollars by not reducing emissions means we’ll be spending much much more addressing natural disasters, wild fires, flooding, and the like.
Smith must be laughing her pimply, dimply backside off. All she has to do is repeat her previously expressed drool on electricity regs and everybody forgets all about the nearly 400 children ill with E.coli, some developing life long health issues.
I know why Alberta politicians keep referring to the Alberta Advantage. The advantages all go to the politicians. They can say or do anything with impunity and are never called to account. Case in point, Kenney and his finance fraud allegations investigation going on 6 years. If anyone out there mistakenly believes the Alberta Advantage is all about the lowest taxes, Ontario’s lowest tax rate is 5%, which is half of what Alberta’s is.
P.T. Barnum was correct.
Jaundiced Eye: Very good point re: the 400 children sick with E. coli. This issue alone should have dogged her for months, but two weeks ago it was replaced by her APP strategy (we’re all talking about how stupid her 53% of CPP number is) and last week it was replace by her national campaign to lobby against the 2035 clean electricity regs.
I expect we’ll be going at it hammer and tongs on pronouns and parental rights and LGBTQ2 issues by the time the UCP AGM rolls around.
Parental rights is the gift that has kept on giving for the regressive right for the last fifty years. Gay rights, civil rights, you name it, for some odd reason it triggers parental rights. The ghost of Anita Bryant haunts us to this very day.
Jaundiced Eye: given Smith’s proclamation that she’s a libertarian she should stay away from this issue, but she won’t, otherwise she’ll lose the TBA crowd. We’ll see all sorts of cockamamie legislation entitled “The Protection of Women in Bathrooms Act” and idiocy like that.
Seems to me that unless any Federal policy wasn’t first promoted by Danielle & her supporters then the automatic response regardless of whether said policy is something the UCP & crew would actually support is to demand an alternative plan be followed. One that naturally came from Danielle & crew & is therefore ‘the right’ policy. Remember, this is a premier who flat out refused to ‘compromise’ even when the Feds were ready & willing to hand over buckets of cash for stuff the UCP said they wanted to implement. Nose, spite, face. As one character in a movie once said “I’ve worn dresses with a higher IQ”. Indeed.
Why I have tried to discipline myself to never use “right” to mean “correct”. The right have turned “right” into meaning, almost never “correct”.
Dear Ms Wright:
Someone needs to start a “Go Fund Me” page for a one ticket for Ms Smith
to Baffin Island.
She is blissfully unaware that Alberta is interconnected to the rest of
the provinces and parts of the
United States.
Thus any reform to regulations, involves more than just Alberta.
Gord-Peterboro
Gord, you raise such an important point. Notwithstanding all the “Free Alberta” talk, our province is deeply connected to the rest of Canada and the US.
In a recent press release touting the Jobs Minister’s trip to the United Arab Emirates the government said “Alberta is the economic and job creation engine of Canada, and Alberta’s government is committed to working with international partners to achieve prosperity for people across Alberta, Canada and the world.”
Achieving prosperity for people across Canada? By gutting their CPP? Who does she think she’s kidding?
Dear Ms Wright:
I have been asked to clarify the matter of hydro power connections.
Should Alberta have a colossal electric [hydro] failure, it must first
go to B.C. Hydro for a backup, hookup.
If B.C.Hydro can’t help, then Alberta has to go to its American members
and ask for help.
This is akin to to the “Fire Mutual Aid Agreement” that 95% of A L L
Fire Departments have in North America.
Most notably, the “Mutual Aid Agreements”, are used in bush/wildfires,
though they are often used in a “General Alarm Fire” in a city or Town.
Because Alberta has the “Electrc/Hydro” Mutual Aid Agreement with B.C.,
and, the states shown on the map, Alberta CAN N O T unilateraly
make A N Y regulatory changes W I T H O U T the agreement of B.C.,
and, the 9-state American electric companies in the USA below Alberta.
Further, Alberta needs to get an agreement, with SK/MB and the
neighboring states when all else fails.
Trust this is as clear as mud from the North Saskatchewan River.
Kindly.
Gord-Peterboro
How to understand Smith a little better is to see how she responds to her base. When her base cheers for “blah blah”, she repeats “blah blah”. Random “blah blah”‘s are unlikely to form a coherent holistic policy, incorrect or correct. Each group within the base seems to have its own pet “blah blah”. Hence her “blah blah” changing from occasion to occasion even though the “blah blah”‘s might be directly contradictory.
Fascinating way to run country … er province.
MikegKlein: this is bang on. “Blah blah” is exactly what we hear from Smith at every press conference. A reporter asked her about her claim that Alberta is entitled to $334 billion of the CPP investment fund. She said something to the effect that Moreau Shepell,–yes, she said, that Bill Moreau–did the analysis. I think she was trying to give the report the veneer of credibility by citing Moreau’s name, but he had absolutely nothing to do with the report.
Moreau stopped being actively involved in MS back in 2015 when he became an MP and cabinet minister in Trudeau’s government. He did not return to MS after he resigned in 2020.
Furthermore, the company which changed its name to LifeWorks in 2021 was sold to Telus in 2022. And Moreau was not involved in any of these corporate transactions. For Smith to suggest that Moreau had anything to do with the flawed Telus report is a classic example of “blah, blah, blah.”
There’s a historical precedent for Danielle Smith’s bluster and blather. It’s the American Know-Nothing party of the 1850’s:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know_Nothing
Same anti-Them propaganda, same blame-everybody-else mindset, same scapegoat-seeking tactics, same populist “They’re out to get us” BS.
What frightens me is, Donald Trump has managed to revive the Know-Nothing attitudes and force them into the mainstream. He’s made stupidity, ignorance, arrogance and grievance acceptable—and Smith is a poster child for Canadian Trumpism. Her enablers and fellow-Trumpies include Rob Anderson, Barry Cooper and, lately, David Parker.
Worse, the noisiest rednecks get the press coverage. This exposes their hatreds and selfishness, not to the light of day, but to fellow-travellers who go, “Yeah, I like that! Where do I sign up?” That’s how Smith became leader of the So-United Conservatives, and a shill for Take Over Alberta, or Take Alberta Backward; your choice.
What to do? Let’s turn the “Tell the Feds” thing back on Smith. Send emails saying, in effect, we disagree with Smith’s posturing. We WANT to transition to clean energy, the sooner the better. We WANT a transition plan that doesn’t drop-kick O&G workers when the CEO decides they’re “redundant.” We WANT Alberta to have a diversified economy—and a government!–that isn’t ruled by oil executives.
MikeJ: Finally, an explanation for how far back Take Back Alberta wants to take us–1850 and the American Know-Nothing Party sounds about right.
Salman Rushdie wrote a piece on the “take back” movement in The Guardian. He suggested that people yearning for the “good old days” would be hard pressed to pinpoint when and where this glorious time existed, noting that if people were honest they’ll realize that “the good old days” are nothing more than a mythical past that exists only in their nostalgic imaginations. It’s an excellent point and one the “take back” crowd should put their minds to.
I think the “good old days” these folks are talking about was that period of 2005 to 2014, when the price of oil hovered over $100/bbl, even unskilled labourers on oil lease sites earned six-figure incomes, and there was such a labour shortage in many parts of Alberta that even burger flippers and coffee slingers were making well above minimum wage.
https://www.macrotrends.net/1369/crude-oil-price-history-chart
“Tell the Feds We WANT Renewables!” draft letter:
Dear Minister [insert name]:
Contrary to the story Premier Danielle Smith is pushing, most of us in Alberta do not hate and fear renewable energy. We see the need to reduce carbon pollution. We’re trying, as individuals, to take positive action.
We disagree with Smith and Rob Anderson about wind turbines being “ugly.” We see through Smith’s story that natural-gas fired electricity is “essential.” Yes, for now it is; but not forever, and not until 2050.
We know that Smith’s moratorium on large-scale wind and solar projects is a scam. It’s intended to hurt the renewables industry—the only real growth industry in Alberta!—and preserve the old, tired, power structure of oil and gas executives. Smith and her enablers are living in a dangerous delusion. The oil industry will inevitably be forced to shrink. Delaying the inevitable will only make the transition worse.
I’m one of the many progressive Albertans who want our province to move forward, not backward. I don’t believe that carbon capture will “save us” from the climate crisis. I believe strongly that, as proven by Mr. Rich Kruger of Suncor and Mr. Alex Pourbaix of Cenovus, corporate executives will do nothing that isn’t paid for by governments. Danielle Smith will help the likes of Pourbaix and Kruger. She will not help ordinary Albertans.
That’s why we support positive action by the Federal government. Smith won’t do anything constructive, she’s a breaker not a builder. We need strong action from Ottawa to move forward. There’s more support in Alberta for climate-change action than Smith and her backers dare to admit. But we’re beaten down by decades of corporate propaganda and Conservative (United or not) browbeating.
Leadership from the Federal government is essential to overcome stonewalling by reactionary industry “leaders” and their captive politicians.
Sincerely,
MikeJDanysh: this is brilliant! Smith said contact your MP, so we are going to contact our MPs. Thanks for sharing.
A great letter. Press send.
Mike J Danysh:
That’s a great idea and letter.
Mike you should get at least our signatures and send it in as soon as possible.
You can certainly add my name.
I noticed that there is a delegation of so called business leaders going to Ottawa because of course they cannot talk to these idiots here.
I also noticed that the province is making vaccines available but it is cutting the pharmacist fees so that they do not bother vaccinating unless they have to. Just absolutely screwed up. The UCP has this ability to cut fees when the people doing the work have to do it regardless. It is really remarkable that there are people here that sympathize with this kind of behaviour. Infantile-paranoid syndrome
Thanks Carlos. I’m filling out a form to get my mom (age 92, in long-term care) the latest Covid jab. Instead of one check box and a signature as in April, it’s an AHS form that demands info on allergies, chronic health conditions, and a list of current meds. Oh, also if you got Covid, and when.
Is the TBA guv’mint TRYING to discourage people from getting the jab? I wouldn’t put it past them.
So much for being able to ditch the masks. Suddenly I’m glad I bought more. (Costco online, if you’re interested; MedSup KN95s.)
Susan: Here is my second song pick. This is from a well known Canadian artist, Bruce Cockburn. It is If A Tree Falls. This was released in 1998. The song makes sense today. I did see Bruce Cockburn live, and met him. He is also in my music collection.
Susan: Here is my final song pick. This is some live music from The Yardbirds, and it is from 1964. It is a cover of a Chuck Berry song, Too Much Monkey Business. This has Eric Clapton on lead guitar. He is 19 years old here. He would leave the band in early 1965, to be replaced by Jeff Beck (who is on the other song pick I shared). Then, Jimmy Page joined the band, and was there with Jeff Beck, for a short time, being on bass, to replace departing member Paul Samwell-Smith, before taking on guitar duties. After Jeff Beck left the band in late 1966, Jimmy Page remained with The Yardbirds until July 1968, and after the band split up, Jimmy Page formed Led Zeppelin. This is in my music collection, as is the other Yardbirds song pick I shared.
For all of you who like my “Tell the Feds Danielle’s Wrong” letter, here are two handy references to Canada’s MPs and Cabinet ministers:
https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en
https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/ministries?ministry=29&precedenceReview=97&province=all&gender=all&lastName=&view=&sort=precedence
The beauty of the internet is, you’re not limited to just emailing your OWN member of Parliament. (Mine is Tim Uppal, so a letter to him is a lost cause and waste of electrons.) But Edmonton has two NDP MPs, both of whom have their heads screwed on with the nose forward. For Cabinet ministers, have fun! The PM, Environment, Energy, Labour, Intergovernmental Affairs, Science…the list isn’t endless, but it’s extensive. Look it over, and let’s see how many reply!
Not a great sign for the UCP
https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/alberta-business-leaders-in-ottawa-to-promote-collaboration/wcm/3d146501-87a0-4d11-aa1d-a64cdc2f5202
About time someone shows what the Alberta reality is. Our provincial government is a joke. Business people do not even want to go to Ottawa accompanied by idiots.
Good for them. Get these medieval souls out of the picture if you do not want to look like them.
Promoting collaboration – imagine how innovative that is.
Carlos: Collaboration is a dirty word to the UCP. Fighting is their goal. The UCP does this to detract attention from their serious mistakes, which keep piling on, all the time.
I wonder how much they diverge from Smth’s BS ideas. This article suggests it varies:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/business-federal-alberta-net-zero-meetings-1.6986586
Susan: I see that the voters in Manitoba came to their senses, and got rid of their Conservative government, that wasn’t even Conservative. They have the ability to learn, while in Alberta, we don’t.
I have always felt that the words Danielle Smith and reality do not go together that well. She often seems more like a reality denier (or ignorer) and her target voting base likewise. So here latest comments about future clean electricity and cost do not surprise me at all.
Of course, Alberta already has very high electricity prices right now and over the last few months they have been particularly, very frighteningly high. I get the feeling she is partly trying to use this issue as a distraction, or a cover, for her own party’s past mismanagement of Alberta’s electricity market. Perhaps some of her supporters will believe that, or its just part of her reflexive anti Ottawa politics that also appeals to some of them. Of course the problem for her of using the Sovereignty Act as a threat is that it may be revealed to not be an effective threat when challenged. So I am also not surprised she keeps on huffing and puffing about it, but not actually putting it into use.
Hello everyone. I belong to what we call ‘The Insight Community’ which is run by the City of Edmonton. We get surveys (not many) that are well designed and the questions are interesting and they vary from opinions on policing to the state of infrastructure. I have enjoyed participating in it and because the city always asks for more members I decided to share it here. I am sure some of you would be interested
https://cityofedmonton.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ahqZ9n302uBVd3g
I am sorry I went so off topic.
As far as our premier I cannot get over that we actually elected an oil lobbyist to manage our province. That alone makes me lose my balance.
By the way Word Press made some changes and so far I have not had anymore problems. Are you experiencing the same or I just already lost my mind and convinced myself that it is over.
Before I forget what about that win by Wab Kinew in Manitoba? I think it is an important sign that fighting back is working. I hope he is very successful because it will be an important step for progressives in Canada.
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2023/10/05/opinion/wab-kinew-wins-one-canada
I hope you enjoy it
Carlos: Hopefully, this spills over into Saskatchewan, and Ontario, when they have their provincial elections. After that, Alberta will be next.
Before we get too excited about the Manitoba election, let me throw a bit of cold water on everyone here. Even when viewed from afar, it’s pretty obvious that Manitoba has quite a different political culture than Alberta. For one thing, they routinely change governing parties, in the same way that Canada does federally. They have not had decades-long periods of one-party rule in the same way Alberta has had.
Secondly, the NDP was able to win seats in the rural North, something that remains beyond the Alberta NDP’s grasp. The UCP has a virtually unbreakable stranglehold on rural and small-city Alberta, with very few exceptions, giving the UCP a huge numerical leg up in terms of seat count before any big-city votes are counted. Until the NDP cracks the code of the small cities and rural Alberta, they are unlikely to ever win another election.
https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/manitoba-votes-2023/live-results-map
The alternate reality of Smithville gets weirder again. Mike de Souza of The Narwhal has been trying to get answers from the UCP government—and instead got a run-around. In fact, he got a LOT of run-arounds. He’s submitted a complaint to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta. Perhaps by coincidence, the Globe and Mail has also registered a complaint. The result is a very rare thing: the systemic investigation of the UCP government’s response to requests for information.
https://thenarwhal.ca/oipc-alberta-danielle-smith-foi/
I wonder if de Souza will eventually find out who put Danielle Smith up to the moratorium on renewable energy? Not to mention how much of the 132-item “wish list,” handed to the Kenney government in 2020 by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Propagandists (I meant Producers), was implemented? We may never know, but stay tuned. A few answers, and some blush-reddened UCP faces, may eventually appear.
The UCP propaganda machine is going full speed ahead. Here’s another example of it happening.
https://financialpost.com/opinion/alberta-taking-half-cpp-assets-reasonable-start