Ric McIver, the Minister for Municipal Affairs, is the point man on Bill 18, the Provincial Priorities Act or as Danielle Smith like to call it, the ‘stay-out-of-my-backyard’ bill (images of cranky old men shaking their fists at kids cutting across their lawns spring to mind).
Bill 18 will force municipalities and provincially regulated entities (housing authorities, universities, health authorities) to get provincial government consent before they can enter into, amend, extend, or renew agreements with the federal government.
Why?
It’s not as if Trudeau’s most recent housing announcement is the first time the feds have signed funding deals with municipalities. Or awarded research grants to professors working at universities.
Never fear, Smith has her reasons, including the following:
Jurisdiction: Smith says the feds giving money directly to municipalities and other provincial entities is (yet another) example of the federal government’s overreach. These entities fall within the province’s sole jurisdiction, therefore the feds should not be doling out money to them.
However, instead of taking her nifty sovereignty act out for a spin or suing the feds on some hokey constitutional grounds, she’s going to pass Bill 18 to make it illegal for municipalities and other entities to accept federal funds without her consent.
In other words, the alleged federal overreach is fine, provided Smith can interpose herself between the feds and the municipalities so she can control who gets the money and what it’s used for.
Strings attached: Smith railed against the fed’s “unrelenting and ideological push” towards net-zero housing, net-zero electricity and safer drug supply programs, saying Alberta has its own policies to address these issues.
Really?
Smith’s Emissions Reduction and Energy Development Plan is a year old and her government has yet to provide details of how it will meet its 2050 net-zero target. She is still relying on yet-to-be-invented technologies and yet-to-be-passed regulations and yet-to-be-set interim targets to get us there.
And Smith’s program to address toxic drug deaths is a dismal failure.
Smith may criticize the fed’s “ideological push” all she wants, but until the UCP’s ideological push offers something better she doesn’t have a leg to stand on.
Alberta should be treated like Quebec: The Alberta government may wish to be treated like Quebec, but the municipal governments and universities don’t care. They just want the money.
BTW: A study of five major multi-lateral federal/provincial agreements entered into since 2015 said that despite some provinces (we’re looking at you Alberta) whining about Quebec receiving “asymmetric” treatment, none of them triggered the clause in their agreements that would have allowed them to take the same deal as Quebec.
In any case Smith’s argument that Alberta should be treated like Quebec is irrelevant because it’s not an issue for the municipalities and other entities don’t care how Quebec’s municipalities and other entities are treated.
Duplicative programs cause waste: Smith says Bill 18 will prevent taxpayer dollars from being wasted on “duplicative programs like pharmacare and dental care.”
How?
Municipalities are not responsible for pharmacare and dental care. Requiring them to get the Smith government’s consent to access federal funding will have no impact on tax dollars slated for pharmacare and dental care.
This makes absolutely no sense.
Manipulation: Smith says she had to step in because the feds are manipulating municipalities into rewriting their by-laws in exchange for federal funds.
In other words, the duly elected municipal politicians cannot be trusted to do their jobs so Smith will do their jobs for them.
This Big Brother scenario became even more bizarre when in Question Period, McIver said Bill 18 is necessary because without it 220 municipalities out of 230 will get nothing from the feds.
He didn’t explain how he came to this conclusion (did 230 municipalities ask for federal funds only to be turned down?).
If McIver is so concerned about these 230 municipalities he can stop eroding their tax base by forcing oil companies to pay their property taxes and not forcing municipalities to pay for their own (unwanted) provincial police forces.
About that red tape
Critics have suggested that Bill 18 will create more red tape and slow down or kill municipalities access to federal funding.
McIver says this is nonsense. It only takes a “couple of minutes, or 10 minutes to review five or eight different agreements.”
[Pause here while every lawyer in the province has a good laugh].
McIver seems to believe the government will pop in at the end of the process, after the deal is fully negotiated and its terms have been recorded in binding agreements.
He’s forgetting what it take to get such agreement (or more likely a briefing sheet) onto his desk for a 2 minute review.
The agreement would come into the government, be sent to the appropriate departments (legal, environment, municipal affairs, energy, and anyone else who may have a policy which may be impacted by the deal).
It would be reviewed by all of the worker bees who will determine whether the deal undermines one or more of Smith’s policies. (It’s risky to second guess an ideological boss so the safe bet would be to reject the deal). On the off chance that everyone recommends approval, they’ll send their recommendation up the chain to their various deputy ministers and chiefs of staff and whoever else needs to agree with the recommendation, before their cabinet ministers skim the briefing document for 2 to 10 minutes and also agree with the recommendation.
Then the cabinet ministers will take the agreement to Smith to see if she’s onside or wants to kill it for ideological reasons that everyone else in the chain had failed to consider.
This will take months, not minutes, meanwhile all the other government entities in all the other provinces and territories will be scooping up every penny of free fed money because none of them (not even Ontario and Saskatchewan) intend to enact their own ‘not in my backyard’ laws.
And, in case we’ve forgotten, this process is brought to you by the bright lights who locked Alberta taxpayers into the Dynalife and Turkish pain meds deals.
But hey, it’s worth it if Smith can “own” Trudeau, right?
Susan on the Soapbox 
“We need this so we can hold up any deals and spend a few weeks whining about the federal government before the deals go through, because if we don’t whine loudly the UCP followers will think we aren’t doing anything and call on the next wannabe Trump to take over our jobs!”
Kelly: Agreed, plus what’s the point of crony capitalism if you don’t control the purse strings. Bill 18 makes it illegal for the municipalities and universities to do anything without Smith’s consent.
Bottom line, she still retains control even when the money being doled out isn’t provincial funds.
The great freedom concepts of Libertarians. Furthermore she wants to also control monney for research in Universities. I am sure we will see great devlopments in horse sedatives to cure viruses.
Susan: Thanks for sharing another great blog. It’s apparent that with Danielle Smith it’s all about power and control. The UCP were supposedly in favour of red tape reduction, but this is the opposite. I don’t know how successful this will be. The federal government will have to intervene. What will the UCP use the federal government money for if they get their hands on it, if it doesn’t go to the municipalities in Alberta? With the UCP, they love to waste money on scandals, that even cost us billions of dollars. I’ll some more fitting music. This is a song written by Dave Mason, World In Changes, from his debut solo album, recorded and released in 1970. Dave Mason was a founder member of the British rock band Traffic, with Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood, in 1967.
Dwayne: As you said it’s all about power and control.
Sadly the feds can’t force Smith to take their money on their terms (those nefarious “strings” Smith keeps whining about).
If Smith follows through with Bill 18 she’ll penalize any provincial entity that applies for and gets federal funds without her consent. In other words she’s prepared to hurt the provincial entities (stuck in line waiting for her consent) just so she can stick it to Trudeau.
Thanks for the song. When I heard these two lines: “World in changes still coming through/You’ve got a lot to learn about me too” I thought about the change that will come to the NDP under new leadership and how this change will be a threat to the UCP who, as the song says, have got a lot to learn about the new NDP too. .
Susan: Here is my next song pick. This is a song written by Richard G. Feldman and Roger Curtis Linn, that Eric Clapton recorded and released in 1978, called Promises. This is one of Eric Clapton’s ventures into country music. I have seen Eric Clapton live, and he is in my music collection.
Dwayne,I’m not a huge fan of country music, but I quite liked this one. Probably because it’s Clapton. Thanks!
Without even reading your, I am sure, great post I just have a question.
Why does Mciver and Danielle Smith look like they have been charged with life in prison?
Actually Mciver has had this face of a walking dead for a while. Feeling guilty about something?
Carlos: It’s very interesting to see how Ric McIver and Danielle Smith are now aligned, when they were political foes before.
Carlos, McIver has always been a glass half empty kind of guy. When he was a Calgary municipal councillor his nickname was ‘Dr. No’. Gossip within municipal employee ranks claimed he was one miserable S.O.B. to work for. Let’s just say he wasn’t popular with the rank & file, though the media LOOOOVVVED him – the Sun, anyway.
McIver/Smith + life in prison – love the concept, doubt will get to witness it.
I remember him being just blah but I never lived in Calgary so I was not as familiar with him. Never had a great opinion about him but I was surprised when I saw him joining this new class of Conservative conspiracy era. I thought he was more of an old style , Manning era Social Credit type person.
As usual I was just having fun with thoughts about Daniella Cinderella and Magic Mciver. Hard for me to believe 47% of Albertans get attracted to this pure carbon garbage.
Linda/Carlos: I know quite a few people who worked at the City when McIver was on Council. They all agree with Linda’s assessment.
Carlos: I believe that’s their “punch back” faces. Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of headlines in which Smith is lauded for “punching back”. The only problem with this is the Feds didn’t throw the first punch, Smith did. So instead of “punching back” Smith is just “punching.” It’s macho language to make her supporters feel she’s taking the fight to Ottawa. Pathetic.
LOL well said. Yes she definitely likes to copy the macho attitudes everyone else is trying to make a thing of the past. Ottawa is shaking I am sure and little Pierre loves it and lately without the glasses he certainly looks like the guy with his hand up all the time trying to suck up to the teacher. Lovely man that Pierre is. He sounds like the tickle me elmo saying ‘Axe the Tax’ – I like his environmental program. It is called AXED THE TAX
Carlos: I have seen UCP MLAs at press conferences, or just speaking. They look uncomfortable. Danielle Smith’s body language doesn’t look right either, when she speaks. I don’t see her lasting a full term as premier. Where will she go to next?
Most people do not turn down free money, but this is the type of conceit mainly of a fairly well off province. Of course, some of the things the Feds want to fund may not be provincial priorities at least for the current UCP government, but that is even more reason to let the Feds fund it – this gets the province off the hook to do so.
A wiser provincial government would just let the Feds fund the things they are not keen on, grumble a bit but generally stay out of the way. Now every time say an affordable housing project is delayed or not funded, or prestigious university research funding goes elsewhere, the Alberta government will be blamed.
If the province makes things too difficult, the Feds can just reallocate the money that should have went to Alberta elsewhere to provinces that are not as belligerent or choosy. Of course, then the UCP will probably go back to whining how Alberta does not get its share of funding, conveniently ignoring that at this point they are mostly creating the problem. They probably will do just that, they are already experts at denial-ism
Dave: you’re absolutely right. Seems to me the UCP is so ideologically hidebound it can’t see the forest for the trees. It’s true that the feds have asked for more transparency and reporting from the provinces on who got the funds and for what purpose. This is a reasonable expectation when one level of government is giving another level of government millions in taxpayer dollars to implement a specific policy. The feds have been criticized for failing to do this on other files (Arrivecan springs to mind).
If Smith thinks she’s going to get carte blanche from Poillievre she’s in for a rude surprise. If he follows Harper’s lead, he’ll cut way back on federal funding for anything that’s not solely within federal jurisdiction. And that’s when Smith will wish she accepted the Liberal’s free money when she had the chance.
Smith won’t be happy until Alberta is separated from Canada. Very probably we Albertans won’t get to vote on the matter of separation because the other provinces and the territories will boot us out because they’ve had enough of Smith’s childish playground antics.
reynoldreimer: I must admit I smiled when I read your comment, only because I agree with you…the other provinces and territories are indeed getting tired of Alberta’s temper tantrums. There’s only so far Smith can push the “poor me” argument while at the same time crowing that we’re the richest province in confederation. It’s interesting to so how many times her so-called allies, Saskatchewan and Ontario have decided not to follow her lead. This Bill 18 debacle is just one example.
Susan: Here is my final song pick. This is from a short lived 1980s blues rock band from the United Kingdom, Box Of Frogs. It is called Poor Boy, and it was written by Paul Samwell-Smith, Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty, and John Fiddler. It was recorded and released in 1984. This band features former Yardbirds members Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty, and Paul Samwell-Smith, and the vocalist is John Fiddler. Another former Yardbirds member, guitarist, Jeff Beck (who passed away, last year), is on certain songs of this album, including this one. This group only released two albums, and has other guests on their albums, including the (late) Irish guitarist, Rory Gallagher, another former Yardbirds guitarist, Jimmy Page, British harmonica player, Mark Feltham, among others. Margaret Thatcher was in power, when this was released. Very fitting then and now.
Dwayne, I really appreciate Susan’s political insight and your comments but why not save your song picks for a different soap box?
Dwayne: this is indeed fitting. Especially the line “I was rich, now what have I got? Nothing!” Alberta has so much in the way of resources, both natural and human and yet we give it away to industry at much less than its value. I noticed you mentioned the song was recorded in 1984 during the Thatcher era. The whole thing sends shivers up my spine.
Thank you!
None of the idiocy that the Alberta Government has shown us since the last election will even come close to getting Smith and her confederacy of dunces thrown out of office unless the NDP can give us reasons to vote for the NDP. The NDP has not given us a reason to vote for them the last two elections. Fingers crossed that they will smarten up.
To paraphrase, you can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time and generally speaking that is enough for Smith to get away with whatever she wants. Let’s face the facts people, we have taught her to treat us like idiots.
Guess “They’re not idiots intentionally screwing the province for their own personal agendas” isn’t a good enough reason…
The proof of the pudding is in the eating. We have had two elections since 2019 and the majority of voters went with the UCP despite knowing what was in store for us.
Sorry Jaundice….but you don’t get to blame the NDP for your willingness to vote for ideas that are patently false….and proven so, election after election.
What old line conservatives need to do, is change something other than their leaders when their chosen party disappoints them. It’s the conservative ideology Jaundice……not the good ideas of the opposition….that keep you folks running in place.
Maybe do a little research, read a little political theory, connect the need for progressive taxes to the desire for good social services, expand your definition of what constitutes an economy (include nurses, teachers, social workers, precarious workers, moms and dads…..and consider that ‘business’ is a part of a good economy, not the entire ball of wax)
And above all, consider changing your political allegiance if your old one keeps f….ing up.
You should go back and read what I said again….carefully. I will reiterate. The reason the NDP lost the last election was that their campaign was terrible. Their campaign was, “Vote for the NDP, Smith is a crazy person”. That is not a campaign. That is a recipe for failure. I can blame the NDP for that. Ask any first year Poli Sci student. Thinking that no one ever changes their vote despite ideas that resonate with them is defeatist.
There’s no doubt the NDP campaign could have been bolder, but there were some good promises made during the election, especially around our key issues of health, education and harm reduction. But of course, if all you saw were the signs suggesting no one could know what Danielle was going to do next, the campaign would seem a bit thin.
We knocked on doors for over two years and won our constituency….but I do agree that we’ve been too careful, given the narrow grasp of good governance that has keep the conservatives in power for so long in this province.
Hopefully, the next few years of Danielle will help conservative Albertans consider it might be wise to brush up on the difference between fear mongering, fight picking with our Federal Government, and good governance that might keep Alberta from being a backwater of unconventional fossil fuels and water shortages.
Let’s see what this summer brings.
I understood what Jaundiced means and I have to agree The NDP campaign was terrible and uninspired. It felt like they did not really want to be government again.
Considering that Rachel Notley left right after the election, it is likely she just did not have her soul into it anymore. If that was true she should have left before the election. The NDP screwed up in different areas and I feel the same is happening right now. Nenshi started with a bang and I am not sure there is anything going other than asking for money.
‘I will fix everything’ just send me the dollars. That might work for the telephone short span slogan driven generation but not for me.
Well stick with the UCP then…….they obviously ran a very good campaign and its not your fault that they’ve already shown us most of it was lies. It ‘s not very many places you can get something for nothing…..but in Alberta, it costs nothing to vote for the status quo………and then blame the opposition for the obvious fact that what you got is not the old status quo, but a lobbyist who makes up stuff, and dances to the tune of the Take Back Alberta wackos.
I might add the lackluster ndp campaign tried to warn you, but as me old mom was fond of saying “experience is a hard lesson, but a fool knows no other’.
Jaundiced Eye and Carlos: I’ve spoken with a number of NDP MLAs and have seen comments by the former NDP leader Brian Mason, who would agree with you that the last NDP campaign left a lot to be desired. That’s not to take away from the hard work that Rachel and her team did. They were amazing. Every time I attended a rally I was uplifted and ready to give it my all. We captured a great many seats, but not enough to overcome the UCP. We have to go back to the drawing board and figure this out before the next election because there won’t be anything left of Alberta if the UCP win another term.
noklebym: I don’t believe Jaundiced Eye or Carlos, or any of the other commentators on this blog support the UCP. In fact if they’re like me, they do everything they can to support the NDP and to correct the misinformation and downright disinformation the UCP is feeding its supporters.
Like I said, we have to come up with a better way to get through to Albertans who haven’t been captured by the UCP ideology because what we’ve been doing so far just isn’t enough.
For sure, we have to get bolder. My fear is that we’ll do the opposite…as Albertans we still bow down to a single industry, with big pockets and what could be an unfixable number of orphan wells scattered throughout our rural landscape.
We want the NDP to be stronger…to talk policy perhaps???
But we don’t want to pay the carbon tax, let alone face the climate emergency coming for us. We have a single industry that in situ mines for bitumen (destroying potable water on a daily basis: check out those tailing ponds, its right in the open where our water is going)…and a relative industry that fracks for fossil gas (also a water glutton).
We have a drought in southern Alberta…where DS wants to reopen the coal debate and provide Crow’s Nest Pass men with six figure incomes….and Danielle’s solution to the very real drought is to pipe water from northern Alberta to the south. Steal from the natives, yes: a traditional Alberta solution.
The truth is, we’re all afraid to look at the dying elephant in our political dystopia. Because the truth is, we’ve all been conned by Fossil Fuel companies that aren’t even any longer Canadian……..and all most of us can imagine, is pushing that earth and air and land destroyer further down the asphalt highways.
And then there’s fire: and its next time now. No one talked about them during the election, and I agree, the NDP should have. But they do surveys don’t we know…and I can imagine what they found. Albertans can’t take very much reality, especially during an election.
Had we dwelt on climate, greenhouse gas production, or the dying boreal…Danielle would have won by even more votes than she managed to get.
So for me……….its up to each of us to face the facts of where we are as a province…not keep hoping we can push it away for another decade. So now we need housing, but we aren’t going to get it; we need infrastructure, but not if its part of Trudeaus ‘ideological green agenda’…..
Until more Albertans speak loudly, real truth to pseudo power…the angry denialists will win and our children’s future continue to burn. Instead of blaming the ndp for not being bold enough…let’s tell them what the real threats are.
Instead, I suspect we’ll pick a liberal silver bullet to lead us to an easy victory next time….and do even less to face the future. Sorry Susan, but I’ve been political perhaps, for too long…and worked too hard on the ground, to easily accept the blame game in any of its guises.
noklebym
I was just making a comment about the NDP campaign.
It is only my personal opinion. As I have said many times before, the NDP made some crucial mistakes even while they were government. Poor strategy that extended to the entire campaign. Of course it is not easy to get it right but I was just expressing an opinion.
So your comment ‘Stick with the UCP then….’ , was unnecessary and personal.
I take politics and Democracy very seriously.
Yes I do insult the current UCP politicians but only because they do not deserve to be treated any other way. They are liars, dishonest and unethical and should be treated the same way they behave. They should not be running a province.
Perhaps the issue we’re disagreeing on has more to do with a generalized feeling in the society that government is to be criticized. I think for me, that is part of why we are where we are. I personally believe that the NDP gave us some of the best government we’ve ever had in Alberta when they were in power. Even that farm bill that became such a disaster for them early in their mandate, WAS ACTUALLY THE RIGHT THING TO DO FOR FARM WORKERS…but few Albertans, urbanites especially, paid attention to the details….and the Conservatives drummed up fears it would destroy family farms.
During the four years they were in power, they did a lot of good: The 15.00 minimum was their work. Remember the screams of economic collapse Albertans endured from you know who? They cut child poverty in half, during an oil price recession, they brought our labour code up to where all other provinces already were, they put in a rebate of 30% on solar installation (we took part, as did our daughter), they began pilot programs in low income areas for affordable day care….
The problem with Albertans, in my experience, is they don’t pay very close attention to politics…unless its an issue that effects their bottom line. Years of energy booms have made us hyper critical but attention deficit. To the extent that even KKKenney’s antics (cutting most of Rachel’s programs as well as funding to our public universities, pretending that covid wouldn’t get in the way of ‘the best summer ever’) didn’t teach a lot of us who the UCP were and are.
Same is true for Danielle. Anyone active as a citizen in Alberta should know by now who the UCP are and what they stand for. We attended the information session put on by the CPP last night, and some TBA representatives were there. Listen for 10 minutes and you know who they are: penny pinchers intent on proving that the government is stealing from them…with not a clue that pension plans aren’t the same as their savings account, if they even have one.
So my criticism of ‘blame the ndp for running a bad campaign’ stands. Albertans need to grow up, follow political events and cultivate a memory. Wanting Cadillac social programs and no taxes is a moron’s dream. And fighting with your own federal government, while blaming them for everything that’s wrong is idiotic.
Yet that has gone on in Alberta for years. And its not the fault of the NDP. Choosing Danielle over a lackluster campaign from social democrats….IS ON THE PEOPLE WHO MADE THAT CHOICE. Sucks to be them.
Jaundiced Eye: The only reasons why the UCP got into power in the last two provincial elections is because they cheated and lied. The media was sucking up to the UCP, and would not hold the UCP responsible for their very costly debacles and mistakes. Had the media taken the UCP to task for their very costly debacles debacles mistakes, the UCP wouldn’t be in power a second time. In no way are the NDP responsible for that.
Jaundiced Eye: In 2019, the UCP cheated to get into power, and there is so much evidence to prove that. Around $200,000 in fines were issued to UCP members for election related infractions. The previous UCP leader fired the Alberta Elections Commissioner, Lorne Gibson, who was investigating his leadership race, and issuing the fines to the UCP members. There were also the VPN and Kamikaze campaign sagas. When you have clear evidence of cheating, this is what happens. The R.C.M.P exonerated the last UCP leader, but that doesn’t take away the fact that the UCP cheated to get into power. In 2023, the UCP lied to the electorate, to obtain power. Again, there is evidence to prove that. Had Danielle Smith and the UCP included the Alberta Provincial Pension Plan on their provincial election campaign, in 2023, the UCP would have been defeated. If the UCP would have said they were going to pursue open pit coal mining in in Rockies, prior to the last provincial election in Alberta, the UCP would have been defeated. There are other examples too. If the media would have exposed the lies of Danielle Smith and the UCP would have been defeated in the last provincial election in Alberta. If the media is complacent, compliant, and sucking up to the UCP, then smart Albertans have to take charge, and expose what Danielle Smith and the UCP are doing wrong, so that it sends shock waves all over Alberta, from Athabasca to Stony Plain, to Vulcan, and all points in between, and all over Canada, so that Albertans are taught a hard lesson that what Danielle Smith and the UCP are doing is unacceptable, and detrimental, yo the well being of Alberta, and Albertans, and to keep them out of power.
One advantage to Smith’s series of stupid decision’s is the increasing number of influential voices she is actively encouraging to speak openly about her irrationality, thereby increasing the probability her condition is terminal, as in one term only.
Are you suggesting that perhaps Alberta will wake up? While somehow managing to avoid the charge of being ‘woke”??? A tough act for many, given the belligerent nature of the TBA crowd that supports this ideologue, and the silence of complicity that has characterized Alberta politics as long as I’ve lived here.
But yes: hope springs eternal.
David Baine: I agreed. Recently I attended an event for Nenshi which was hosted by the former Progressive Conservative MP Lee Richardson. There were many people there who were fed up to the teeth with the irrational leadership of Danielle smith and the UCP.
Susan: Apparently, Naheed Nenshi was in Edmonton again, and there was a good crowd. However, the media didn’t report on that. Also, in Edmonton and in Calgary, fairly recently, there were public forums on the CPP. A Liberal MP, and cabinet minister, Randy Boissonnault, a UCP cabinet minister, and an NDP MLA were there. People in attendance wanted the UCP to keep their hands off of their CPP.
Susan: I found this. Danielle Smith contradicts herself.
I left Quebec in 1980, just before Levesque’s referendum. By the way, I am a Francophone. If Alberta chooses to separate, a referendum needs to be passed around. That is the Democratic way we do things in Canada.
As for our Federal Government, many of us think Trudeau should leave his position. We are sick and tired of their wastefulness with our tax money!
I believe that the provincial government needs to be accountable to the people of Alberta, not just the extreme right and elitists.
louloumic: The amount of money the UCP wastes is far greater than what the federal Liberals has done. The Conservatives in Alberta have surpassed the federal Liberals for very costly mistakes, ever since Peter Lougheed wasn’t our premier. They are way worse.
https://energynow.ca/2020/08/a-575-billion-missed-opportunity-haunts-canadas-oil-heartland/?amp
https://calgary.citynews.ca/2023/03/18/alberta-ndp-ucp-20-billion-giveaway/
louloumic: I agree with your points about the need for a referendum if the UCP presses ahead with its hare-brained plan to separate.
I also agree that the provincial government needs to be accountable to the people of Alberta, not just the extreme right and elitists.
I (like many who lean Liberal federally) am concerned about Trudeau’s leadership of the Liberals if for no other reason than he’s an easy target for Poilievre’s divisive brand of politics. As far as I’m concerned Poilievre is no better than Smith. I’d hate to see Poilievre do to Canada what Smith is doing to Alberta.
A couple of dead heads if I ever saw them….thanks for the pictures.
Dwayne – she contradicts herself every single time she talks, When people lie they cannot keepo track of all of their stories and end up like the circus we unfortunately know so well.
Even such UCP-friendly territory as the City of Grande Prairie has benefited from federal funds over the years. Here are just a few examples.
jerrymacgp: So I’m wondering whether the City of Grande Prairie has acknowledged that they too have benefited from federal funds.
PS the examples didn’t come through for some reason.
Yeah, I tried to post some links but it didn’t work. It won’t accept pasting links.
McIver took two years to review the Green Line for Calgary, bumping up construction costs by millions.
Pretty well what you would expect from an old line ‘developer’.
Tom Moffatt: Indeed. And the UCP say they’re the party that will cut red tape, and yet, they’re full of McIvers who will do nothing of the sort.
When research funding is re-directed to other provinces due to this crap, the teams of people who do the research will move too. No problem. For them. Shifty for Alberta. We will have a lot of healing and repair to do when (if) the UCP dark ages finally come to an end.
MT: this is a very serious concern. Three years is a long time to wait for a change of government.
It might actually help as well if Smith would actually pay her own taxes which I believe are now quite extensive….maybe Edmonton could seize the government for unpaid taxes.
/
Bill Albers: That’s a wonderful suggestion. You know what they say about what’s good for the goose…
One thing I think we need to keep in mind is that Smith loves doing politics, but has little appetite for governance. Her entire career as a lobbyist makes opining a lot of fun, with no obligation attached to actually fix the problems she is upset about.
A good deal of her legislation so far is this kind of fantasy headline. The Alberta pension plan is as good an example as any. Once you dig into the reality the headlines obscure, you discover the math about what Alberta would get out of the plane is bogus, and the conditions for leaving are onerous. The other 8 provinces might be fine with being shut of us…..but they aren’t about to let us leave with all the loot Smith fantasizes.
So in essence…..the Alberta Pension plan is politics at its finest. Not going to happen, but might generate a lot of right wing support.
The same might be true for this latest power grab, but here the hold ups could harm a lot of Albertans. Good work I say…might motivate a lot of us to look up the deals already in place between the federal government and Alberta municipalities.
One such deal signed in June of last year involves a lot of money for electric buses in Calgary. Check out the Herald article and be sure to read the put downs of the know it alls. Likely one more reason disgruntled Smithites wanted to recall our mayor, but this agreement is in place and can’t be easily cancelled.
On housing, Smith’s power grab might hurt Albertans, but it should help them to wake up as well. Smith wants to have the final word on infrastructure builds in this province….but she has no governance plans to supplant the Federal government with provincial grants. In fact, her government has been starving municipalities for years now. That they also want leaky fossil gas dependent structures to continue being built should come as no surprise to anyone who reads beyond the headlines.
It’s up to us to wake up and smell the coffee….or get used to drinking the local substitutes for the genuine Arabica!!
I thought complaining about problems without trying to fix them was a Conservative specialty. No matter what level of government you look at, it’s pretty much what you get out of the Cons.
They only pay attention when they’ve a bone to pick with someone….but when drought strikes southern Alberta, or the boreal goes up in the new monster fires, they seem to not off. Their concerns are more personal than political I suspect…but let’s not imagine that makes them nascent feminists…because that’s not generally the case. LOL
noklebym and Kelly: Thanks for the discussion about how it’s silly things like EV buses and not serious things like drought or uncontrolled forest fires that set of the UCP types. I agree with noklebym that Smith is only interested in power, not governing. Once we realize that, we’ll find it easier to understand why she’s pursuing certain projects even when they would violate her so-called libertarian beliefs and/or positions she’s taken just a few short years ago.
Anyone who is solely focused on power is doomed because (to quote Star Wars) “There’s always a bigger fish” which will take these power mongers out.
Lol I immediately thought about the Michael Douglas movie “The American President” in which Douglas’s character, a Democrat president, describes his Republican opponent as interested in 2 things only: scaring you about something and who to blame for it.
Prescient and international.
I spit coffee all over my computer monitor when I read McIvor’s assertion that additional staffing/resourcing wouldn’t be needed.
I’m going to call Bullsh*t!
Lets review their remedial-level math: 800 problematic agreements. Hmmm, there are 252 work days in Alberta. Rick and Danielle are looking to dump the whole shebang on a couple of overworked saps in Intergovernmental Affairs, maybe Alberta Justice to work through the pile. These folk will have to clear 3 agreements each and every business day. Each agreement worked to closure will involve municipality staff, their managers, municipal council approvers – perhaps Municipality law firms; Federal government staff, their managers and decision makers – perhaps their lawyers AND Provincial Govt ADM, DM, Minister and most likely, the Premier herself.
“No additional resources” means no new tools, no supporting applications, no processes or procedures, no gating for review, no timelines for monitoring, tracking, or escalation . Well, maybe an excel spreadsheet or two….
We know Smith et al cannot muster the actual concentration, nor expend the effort of actually governing. You think she or McIvor is going to be available daily to review and approve? Nahhhh.
This feeble foist off to imaginary capacity in Intergovernmental Affairs / Alberta Justice in service of scoring cheap political hits on Trudeau’s Liberals is tragic waste of scarce civil service resources. Its also not out of the realm of possibility that a PP-led Fed Conservative Govt would be in no particular hurry to help Smith out on this file. Those federal funds could just as easily go to ridings that PP needs to capture – like the treasured 905. Majority Con win with that pork. Alberta’s loss.
The losers here are going to be Alberta municipalities swinging and missing out on available Federal funds. This is snarlin’ dog in a manger action! Hey, I get the 10-cards short of a deck UCP hard-on to screw Edmonton and Calgary for the temerity of voting in NDP MLAs. But this crap is going to disproportionately hurt municipalities in ridings that went to the UCP.
So for me, its yet another act of theatrical political vandalism to feed the Backward Alberta Take crowd.
The reason McIver does not need any new people is because they are just going to refuse any money from the Federal Government no matter what. They already did that with pharmacare. For them is easy because of course they have good insurance plans and very generous pensions.
They will starve entire processes because of course privatizing them all is the only objective. This is a very tested process around the world, mostly creating millionaires that will then in time compensate their creators. In Russia for example, most of the oligarchs were intentionally created by Putin by allowing people to be fully manipulated by Putin’s closest friends. One excample is the selling of government owned housing that was sold to a selected few to become billionaires There were stories in ‘The Atlantic’ magazine at the time, of retired couples that were forced out of the places where they had lived all of their lives by thugs. Many of those that offered resistance were threatened at machine gun. That happened in many other places where communist revolutions took place and where these owners had actually paid in full for their homes. These homes were then later sold to private interests again. Very lucrative businesses.
If you read Naomi Klein’s THE SHOCK DOCTRINE…you learn that those oligarchs were created before Putin….by the Washington Consensus that swept into Russia during the Yeltsin years…….to turn the soviet economy into a free market one. Putin I think was one of the beneficiaries, but it was the capitalist west who engineered the end of Russia’s socialist/marxist economy. And from what I remember, the assets of the Russian people, especially their oil companies, were sold to the oligarchs at 10 cents on the dollar…..so it was a very great steal.
I believe Putin has the hold he has on Russia because of the dire poverty many Russians experienced in the years directly following that privatization scheme. We always know more than we know in the privileged west….but it was good for us that those oligarchs invested in America, Canada and the UK…because now we can further appropriate that money and blame them for the Ukraine mess.
Blaming Putin for everything that’s happened since the fall of the Soviet Union is like blaming the ndp for the mess a majority of Albertans voted in for four more years of free fall. We all need to take more responsibility, and question ideologies that put capital before people. For conservatives, that’s hard.
Yes you are absolutely right. My point was the system of changing from one ownership to another without any accountability just to benefit those in power.
Yes I aslo agree with you that the West engineered the end of communism to enrich those who were involved.
I did not mean at all to blame the system in Russia at the time because we love to participate in everything that makes money for us as well. My theory is that they had a government controlled Mafia and we have a corporate controlled one.
The Naomi Klein’s ‘Shock Doctrine’ explains it all very well and I agree with it.
And as your very thorough analysis of the actual work involved suggests….it could well be another photo op with no actual intention of real follow through. If Alberta municipalities….and Alberta citizens don’t like it…perhaps its past time to get off our computers, out of our easy chairs and march on Edmonton??
The long standing passivity of the general Alberta electorate (TBA types and over worked ND activists aside) is a good part of why Danielle thinks she can get away with this grandstanding.
But perhaps our Alberta young people neither need the jobs or the homes that might be built…and if so….its all good.
Imnewillefec: Great comment. As you point out the suggestion that the provincial government can insert itself into the deal making process so it can give an informed thumbs up or thumbs down without increasing staff/resources is a fantasy. Also, the manpower to make Bill 18 a reality will wipe out any “success” the minister of red tape has achieved to this point.
Yet another farce by a government that knows not how to govern.
The 4 horsemen of the apocalypse – here they are – if only the world gave them a chance to become sane
https://albertapolitics.ca/2024/04/danielle-smith-sets-out-to-ensure-the-ideological-purity-of-federally-funded-university-research-in-alberta/
Carlos, thanks for the link to David’s blog.
As a lawyer we’re trained to ask what harm a proposed piece of legislation is intended to remedy. Clearly the harm (at least in Smith’s view) is that some conservative academics believe they’re not getting equal access to research grants (We don’t know if this is true, but for the sake of argument, let’s assume it is). The remedy Smith proposes is to interfere with and perhaps block research grant going to researchers she deems not to be “conservative”. (Let’s call them “progressive researchers” for the sake of argument). The end result is that the progressive researchers will not receive research grants. This does not “remedy” the “harm” Smith has identified because it does not give greater access to funding to conservative researchers.
So what’s the point of Bill 18 other than to the drive progressive researchers out of Alberta to other jurisdictions where the government doesn’t impede their ability to get research funds.
Which I suspect was the objective all along.
Well I agree with you. Furthermore, as far as I understand the grants are given by independent bodies that make decisions based on the merit of the projects proposed. Well why should anyone be surprised that more grants go to people that believe in reality? Why is it surprising that people living in conspiracy theory territory should expect to get more grant money.
The problem is that this government does not understand that they are living in a world that only exists in their low standards brain world.
She wants of course to force that vision on us and make sure that we all become as useless as she is, because in that low standard she can shine.
Good luck to her. In the end we will get rid of this wave of pathetic unreasonable conspiracy theory garbage.
Hello Susan and fellow commenters,
I understand the concerns with the provincial government’s proposal to oversee all agreements int he province between organizations (municipalities, universities etc.).
On the other hand, it may be necessary to have provincial oversight to prevent the majority of City Councillors in Calgary handing over control of what is built on a large percentage of residential lots in Calgary.
The excuse that the mayor gives is that in order to receive $228 million from the federal government, which is an amount of money that will accomplish very little, the City Council will rezone all residential areas in Calgary. This will enable developers, as of right, to build 12 living units on a lot that was once zoned single family residential. R-CG, as it is now proposed, will enable developers to build four main units, usually large and nice and very expensive, plus 4 basement suites plus 4 additional laneway-type units. Two parking spots are required.
Having gone looking for accommodation in Calgary with someone who was on Alberta Income for Severely Handicapped, there seem to be 2 kinds of units. The first kind costs between $800 to $1,000 per month, and may comprise one room in a home, often where the people you rent from don’t actually want anyone in their home and are not very nice to the renter, or a room in a basement or a rooming house , both of which are almost certainly unregulated. These basement suites and rooming houses are frequently unsafe, for example having ancient and dodgy electrical systems, mold etc. No one should have to live in these kinds of situations.
The other type of unit is a basement suite in a new redeveloped home, with the cost of the suite ranging from $1500 to $1550 per month. If you go by CMHC guidelines that accommodation, with rental or purchased, should not exceed 30% of your income, then, you need an income of about $62,000 to rent these suites. Not very long ago, $62,000 was considered middle class.
The person I mentioned will have her disabled young child at the unit, but none of these units, including the expensive basement suites, are accessible for a wheelchair or a walker which the child requires. In my conversations with 3 City of Calgary planners at various meetings concerning the re-zoning, the planners stated that there are no provisions in the re-zoning for accessibility. Two of the planners stated that it would be too expensive to make the units accessible. The person looking to rent would have to find a ground level unit.
Well, if you cannot afford a basement suite, how could you possibly afford a ground level unit in these new so-called “missing middle” residential buildings? In fact, 2 people working full time and earning minimum wage in Alberta would, I believe, have to spend just over the 30% of their combined income to pay just over the CMHC 30%guideline, to afford a new one bedroom basement unit.
I think that most people forced by costs to live in these basement suites would be unlikely to have any children because it would be overcrowded for more than 2 people. Who would sleep in the bedroom and who would sleep in the living area?
Yet, Calgary City Council is planning to allow developers, who generally seek about a 15% profit, to build all sorts of multi-family dwelling units without requiring re-zoning approval of the kind or costs of these units. These units are being built after re-zoning approval now. The situation will be much worse once City lots are re-zoned so that the City of Calgary will allow these kinds of residential buildings as of right, without re-zoning. The only approval that will be required is the number of residential units that can be built on a specific size lot.
The City literature claims that re-zoning will make housing cheaper. I would suggest that developer-decided housing will continue to make housing much more expensive.
I believe that these kinds of housing that is unaffordable to ordinary people will proliferate at a pace that will ensure develop profit remains at the level that developers will prefer.
If you look online, you will find companies offering to build these kinds of dwellings, assuring investors that the company is skilled and experienced at building housing attractive to investors.
This re-zoning is not for the benefit of the Mom and Pop who want to, say, build a unit so they and their grown children can afford to each have a home. If it was for this situation, why would you need to have 12 units on what used to be zoned as single family housing? For you and your closest 11 children and their families? I don’t think so. It is for exactly the situation mentioned in the information on the website of the turnkey operation catering to investors.
I would like to mention a couple of the reasons that you don’t wnat to live in a basement. First, as the government of Canada website states that all basements have radon entering, to a greater or lesser degree. Radon is a colourless odourless gas that is the second leading cause of lung cancer in people who do Not smoke. Radon is the cause of aobut 16% of lung cancer in people who do Not smoke. You may have noticed an information piece that was sent by the City of Calgary to residents of City describing this situation, too.
Yet, there do not appear to be any standards for mitigation of radon in the new construction of basement suites, which the City of Calgary encourages.
In addition to radon gas seeping into basements, the concrete used for the basement may emit radon from the aggregate sand and small rock pieces mixed with cement to create concrete.
It is possible to mitigate radon with the appropriate kind of exhaust system which, according to the government of Canada website typically costs about $1,000 in a typical residence. There is no mention of radon in the City literature promoting building of these basement suites, nor is there any mention of any requirement to mitigate it.
In addition, gas furnaces and hot water heaters give off some products you don’t want to breathe in. The air quality decreases while these appliances are operating. Those living in a basement suite could well be exposed to these products.
Now, $62,000 provides you with a small basement suite with limited sunlight and air circulation. In a basement, you are exposed to radon gas and the products created during the operation of natural gas furnaces and hot water heaters.
Once the re-zoning goes through as a result of the secret contract between the City of Calgary and the federal government, the 3 new zones will only encourage building of a larger number of more expensive homes without the necessary controls that will enable the building of more modest homes that ordinary people can afford to buy or rent. Although I don’t necessarily agree with the provincial government giving itself, through legislation, the right to oversee every contract with the federal government made in Alberta, it may be a legitimate exercise of provincial responsibility to oversee contracts with the federal government that will make housing increasingly expensive and unattainable by ordinary Albertans.
Hello Susan and fellow commenters,
One correction to my comments above. Very expensive and exclusive areas in Calgary, including upper Mount Royal, will not be re-zoned. According to one city planner, the reason is that these are “direct control districts” and there is some sort of agreement so the City will not re-zone them. Also, they are “full” so there is no room for more density? Does this give you the impression that re-zoning is only for the plebs, but the rich and powerful are too important so we won’t annoy them with the re-zoning and other decisions that are to be foisted on the rest of the population. it makes you wonder if the re-zoning is actually for the benefit of ordinary citizens.
And one other point. At least 3 City planners at the meetings, as I mentioned, stated that the re-zoning is not bout increasing affordability of housing. Even though the second sentence in the City of Calgary literature states that 84,6000 households in Calgary cannot afford their housing. And the literature goes on to give the very distinct impression that greater density will increase affodarbility. Apparently, the window dressing of increasing affordability, in part by increasing the amount of “missing middle” housing, is just that – window dressing.
It seems most likely that this re-zoning is a gift to developers and investors, providing increased control and profits, as we have suspected all along.
Welcome to the Neo-Liberal Cowboy unregulated capitalism, the one Pierre Poilievre will promote even more to make sure his ‘Common Sense’ propaganda creates more millionaires. Nothing will change in a system that is controlled by those who benefit from this window dressing.
The system is designed to benefit those that already have a lot and we can talk forever but nothing will change. The UCP is not interested in resolving any of these issues. They never were and they never will. We know all of that and the real problem is that we fall for their propaganda and keep voting them in. SO WHAT DO WE EXPECT?
Danielle Smith and her freedom fighters have to go and have to stop controlling everything like rabid dictators.
Hi Carlos,
You make great points. In this case, it is City Councillors in Calgary who are making these zoning changes, which they claim are necessary to obtain the federal money being dangled in front of them. Maybe, just maybe, Danielle Smith would put a stop to this re-zoning.
Like you, I have little hope that she would stop it, but most certainly the federal government is already on record demanding that municipalities make the zoning changes before the federal government will even consider giving the municipalities any money for housing. The money form the federal government, actually, is for infrastructure, not for buidlign any actual houses.
I figured out how the amount of money that the federal government was going to give to one municipality would translate into housing, just for fun. If the municipality had used the money to build the number of houses required to be built by the federal government in exchange for this infrastructure funding, each “home” would be 45 square feet, the size of a small bathroom, and probably one that you couldn’t fit a wheelchair in if you included a bath tub in the bathroom.
Thsi supposed infrastructure money would be funny if ti didn’t make me cry.
I have to wonder if the federal housing minister has any idea what he is talking about. Is that Sean Fraser, I don’t remember for sure, offhand.
We absolutely have to have housing made possible by a massive program such as that developed after the Second Wrold War. And maybe add in a murb program which gave investors a tax break, not a licence to squeeze renters like wet rag until every drop of money is squeezed out like the current crop of investors do. Lots of half decent apartment buildings were built under murb and investors made a reasonable but not extortionate amount of money. Many of those apartment buildings from around the 70s or 80 when murbs existed as a tax break. ( I would have the check the exact dates that the murb program was in existence.)
Professor Martine August, from the University of Windsor I think, writes about the financialization oh housing which has become quite extreme since the late 80s – early 90s. Especially since 1993 when Canadian income tax legislation was changed to enable the creation of real estate investment trusts (reits). According to Prof Martine and also the anti-poverty organization ACORN, more than 20% and maybe as high as 30% of all apartment units in Canada are now owned by reits.
Reits exist in 39 countries (presumably created by legislation in these countries), so no wonder housing is unaffordable to many people.
you can see the fianncial vultures circling and rubbing their talons – the land speculators. See Vancouver as a perfect example of this with real estate companies “assembling” land by buying up groups of adjacent homes, soemtimes even whole city block blocks. And other land speculators. Then the speculators keep the land until it increases in value. Then the land is sold to develoeprs who guld not-so-excellent residential building. Van, where Bob Rennie is called the the condo king, seems to be a bit more into condos, than Calgary. Then, the ordinary Vancouverite pays more than these places should cost to have a place to live.
Many of these condos are about the size of an ice box (what our grandparents had to keep food cold before fridges were affordable and available), and you try to squeeze in a whole family. Now condo and apartment buildings are creating play rooms/areas for children and other common areas because the condominiums are so small.
I spent a lot of time in Van between 2017 and 2020 going to Simon Fraser University for post-grad studies in, guess what, Urban Studies, and I saw the future of Calgary and it is not bright on the housing front.
Cristina
With the current mindset and the commodification of housing , nothing will change and soon we will be used to the fact that some of us just do not have the right to a home. Once this is entrenched, then it will never be resolved.
Governments come and go and the promises continue so that we can extend a system that serves a few of us. Politicians are now just slogan puppets controlled by big corporations and big money, which has become the new religion and the only objective in life.
We need to destroy the system in order to stop all these vicious circles of aloofness and greed. No wonder it is only after a war that some problems get resolved.
I have serious doubts the housing problem will ever be resolved in Canada. With governments insulting each other and with companies very happy with the current situation and immigration levels of at least 1 million people a year, we can kiss any resolution goodbye. Even with the Liberals gone and the new prophet Pierre Poilievre, the situation will get worse. What real reason does he have to fix it? He loves us? I am sure he much prefers to dwell in the parties of the big realtors and speculators. They pay way more than we can ever afford.
Those (McIver & Smith) are two of the sourest faces I’ve seen in some time! Pissing people off seems not to be the happy past-time we/they’ve been lead to believe …
Thanks for the run down – again.
MBoschma
The media didn’t hold Danielle Smith and the UCP to account, and that’s why the UCP got re-elected. The UCP’s mistakes are piling up high and fast. Coal mining lobbying, screening of grants for research at universities, and more.
Dwayne the Media cannot hold the UCP to account. They are all on their side.
Other than Graham Johnson and David Climenhaga, they are all in their pockets.
This is whar very rich Canadians and Corporations do and it works all the time because both the Librals and Concervatives are in bed with them.
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2024/04/18/news/it-was-fossil-fuel-lobbyist-frenzy-lead-up-federal-budget
I just heard on the CBC news this afternoon for example that the famous pipeline to the West Coast had an original price of 7.5 Billion but due to our great skills on building these projects it ended up costing 34 Billion. Pretty close don;t you think?
But it goes even weirder. The Federal Government will sell it when it is completed for 50% of the cost. This is what the politicians that flood us with talks of markets and fairness call a good deal.
So we pay 34 billion with our tax money and then of course sell it to private interests for 17 billion. Good deal don’t you think? Exactly the same principles that Russian Mafia applies to create their oligarchs, except here we call it the price of doing business.
The companies will cry murder and send their armies of lobbyists and in the end they get it for 10 billion and laugh all the way to the bank. Any doubt of what this kind of transaction is called?
Well I do not think I need a comment on this one. People are slowly understanding Danielle Smith needs to see a psychiatrist or a cult psychologist as soon as possible. Not sure why it takes so long but I guess they are nicer than I am.
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/for-danielle-smith-even-federal-research-grants-to-universities-are-part-of-a-liberal-plot/article_ab9e0bec-00e0-11ef-9a0f-731b8889d725.html
These are the people that are the defenders of freedom and free speech.
They love freedom but only if it is what they want. Otherwise it is WOKE !!!
It is fascinating to follow this way of thinking. You do what I want and you experience freedom, or you do what you think is reasonable and factual and you are a communist woke that does not understand real freedom.
Just absolutely incredible. So she wants a balance of people university educated that believe in facts and the same number of dodos. That way we have a free society. And she is saying this to conferences like the TRUE NORTH AND FREE!!!!
Danielle get a ticket to Hungary and take Harper with you.
Sounds like Smith consulted doctors who may have had political bias or maybe were anti-vaxxers. Subscription so I haven’t read the whole article.
Alberta review of COVID-19 led by doctors who challenged vaccine policies expected next month – The Globe and Mail
My goodness one wonders how much we can take before we have a political collapse in this province.
What else is going to happen in this purgatory.
https://albertapolitics.ca/2024/04/busted-globe-outs-danielle-smiths-unpublicized-pandemic-data-task-force-headed-by-physician-who-attacked-covid-restrictions/
Wow this is the same people that criticized Rachel Notley for trying to control school curriculums.
The UCP is controlling Universities, health care, the political system and soon we can go to jail for opposing this fascist libertarianism and the premier.
This is the type of boldness that the NDP did not dare to use in order to make sure this province would be a real democracy.
No reaction from the public AMAZING. I guess many people really love this stuff.
https://nationalnewswatch.com/2024/04/25/bill-would-grant-alberta-powers-to-fire-municipal-councillors-postpone-electionsopposing this crap
I have been surprised and frustrated that journalists are allowing Pierre Poilievre just go free with is conspiracy theories, lies, disrespect for citizens and especially journalists and his own colleagues in parliament. The man is disgusting but again just like Danielle Smith he seems to attract a lot of people. These could be my own words.
Finally Christopher Holcroft published this article in the Tyee and I hope there will be many more to come. This is also my opinion about Pierre Poilievre.
https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2024/04/26/What-We-Risk-Normalizing-Poilievre-Politics/
Well finally the biggest WACKO in the country gets expelled from the House of Commons. About time.
Is this idiot what the conservatives want for prime minister? Well good luck.
Finally a good article by my favorite writer Linda McQuaig
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/poilievre-flirts-with-far-right-while-media-looks-away/article_042337dc-07d6-11ef-a81b-3ff15a5fa50c.html
Unreal that this man could even be considered for prime minister along with his buddy Danielle Smith – the famous libertarian but only when it is convenient.
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2024/05/02/opinion/danielle-smith-wants-all-power
Part of enduring and being smart in politics is not just going for cheap and easy wins. Another part is not doing things to make too many enemies.
Smith and crew are going for cheap and easy here by continuing to create conflicts with an unpopular Federal government. However, perhaps the part they have thought about less, is the impact this will have on municipalities who face more financial pressures than the province. This will restrict their ability to fund things and the Federal money when available is welcome by all municipalities across Alberta both big and small.
So the Smith gang have just made it unnecessarily more difficult for all municipal leaders to do their jobs. There are a lot of municipal leaders across Alberta and many have influence in their communities. So it is a political mistake for Smith and the UCP to make municipal leaders lives more difficult and so potentially make enemies of many of them.
Dave I agree 100% with you but there is something we also need to consider, The UCP loves to make everyone feel small and powerless. This is their party culture. Making life miserable to everyone is ingrained in their religious background of sinners that need a tough treatment to succeed and pay for their violations.
Everything they have done so far is exactly what was expected, at least by those of us that new exaclty what they real agenda is. Blame everybody for their incompetence and be tough and take away anything that makes people’s lives easier. The case of the transportation for low income and seniors is just an example. Taking away power from municipalities and bully them is another one.
These people are incompetent to run a government and I just hope they crash has hard as possible. They do not deserve our respect.
If they pass the municipality bill I will never vote on local elections again. I Hope other people do the same.
Here is another smart analysis for those that like an extra dose of politics.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/danielle-smith-bigger-government-analysis-1.7194179
Enjoy it if you have not read it yet
Carlos: Danielle Smith contradicts herself, and lies at an alarming rate. All politicians do lie, but Danielle Smith excells at it.
Here is a good reference to that.
Danielle Smith was the Wildrose party leader, and she was objecting the size of premier Alison Redford’s cabinet, and didn’t agree with it, and look at the size of Danielle Smith’s staff and cabinet. It is unlike any other, in the history of Alberta. She has a staff of 34, and a cabinet of 34, that includes associate ministers.
For Danielle Smith it’s also a lust for power and control, which is unhealthy for democracy. Absolute power can corrupt a person, and it is doing that to Danielle Smith.
Danielle Smith has made horrible policy decisions, and has also done very costly mistakes, that are not just millions of dollars in cost, but also costing billions of dollars.
What Danielle Smith is doing, along with the UCP, is proving to be unpopular, but she has to stiffle opposition to it, or turn people’s attention from it. That means finding detractions, going after municipal leaders in Alberta, and cutting down Legislature sittings, even lower than they already are, because Alberta has the lowest amount of Legislature sittings of any provincial or territorial government in Canada.
Danielle Smith is making it so that whatever she imposes, cannot, or will not be challenged, by anyone, at any level of government. Bill 8, even makes it so that the Alberta Ethics Commissioner is rendered powerless, before a provincial election in Alberta, so any MLAs that partake in nefarious activities, can’t be punished, and have the power to run in the provincial election. The bill also changes the gift limit amounts for MLAs in Alberta, and endorses straight up bribery.
Whatever Danielle Smith and the UCP are doing, is very bad, and it may even be impossible to undo the damage. If the damage can be rectified, it will take a long time to do. The bills that Danielle Smith and the UCP have created, also are interconnected, and are causing so much havoc on Albertans.
I have never seen a premier of Alberta have so many announcements, as Danielle Smith. She does multiple announcements in a single week. In those policy announcements, there are policies that try to make Albertans get distracted from the things she is doing wrong.
It seems that Danielle Smith might not finish her tenure as the premier of Alberta, so she wants to try to stop that.
Dwayne you are right and things seem to be moving to make your last senetence in your post a possibility.
Here is another one
https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2024/05/06/Why-UCP-Is-Threat-Democracy/
A big threat in my opinion and they practice the slow step by step approach so that the public does not even notice. I will do all I can to make sure people know what is going on.
Is this any surprise? The Ivermectin premier cannot keep up with her lies and of course sooner or later it all comes up to the surface as a big pile of stinking manure.
When is this going to end is the only question. It is no longer if it will happen but when it will happen. This is just a mind boggling vicious circle of crap just like the functioning, if at all, of her mind.
The incompetence is sickening and she may have caused great damage to our wind and solar energy industry.
She has to decide whether she is a lobbyist for the oil companies or a liar on radio or premier of Alberta and those who voted for this scandal better stay away next election if they want a decent place to live.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-renewables-pause-moratorium-aeso-foip-1.7196943
I could not agree more. This is a good first step. We need way more changes in our political system if we want to avoid the total collapse of the rule of law and democracy.
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2024/05/09/opinion/we-need-law-against-lying-politics
Here is an important read – I hope people come to understand what is going on before it is too late. This is not Conservatism, it is lunacy.
https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2024/05/10/Pierre-Poilievre-Politics-Intimidation/
Carlos: Here is more proof of what you are saying.
https://albertapolitics.ca/2024/05/its-never-too-early-to-panic-ucp-introduces-bill-to-extend-its-term-and-control-everything-everywhere-all-at-once/
Hi dwayne. Yes I saw this one this morning and a very good article. It seems more people are realizing the game we are playing in this province is a serious one.
I am glad that even down east people are paying attention to this circus here. We are the very first ones in Canada to experience this new fascist movement trying to infiltrate our political system. People are looking at our nut cases here and I believe many of them will change their minds voting for Pierre Poilievre, the Canadian Trump. A spoiled, self centered and arrogant individual. Justin Trudeau is also arrogant and entitled but at least he is not loud and does not spend time with anti-democratic traitors.
Well it is May and we already have air quality advisory and evacuation alerts in our province. Despite this being an yearly event and one that can at a certain point destroy most of our great forests and in the process create serious lung problems for wild animals as well as all of us, our premier cannot even say the word climate change or renewable energy. She prefers to destroy the renewable industry and double the fossil fuel industry that we have already developed in this province. Furtermore feeding the Oil Big Corporation money making machines. To be able to continue that process until the whole province becomes unhabitable, she is trying to gain control of everything including what we think and what we learn.
If you are an Albertan reading this blog, even if you are an UCPers please think seriously if supporting this mindless lunacy is what you want for your family and your descendents. It is more than fine to be a Conservative but it is not fine to be a lunatic believing an anti-democratic idiot.
Carlos: I read that Danielle Smith is in British Columbia, watching hockey. Nero fiddles, while Alberta burns.
🙂 🙂 🙂
Incompetent small minded clowns and McIver seems to be the fiddler these days. With that Armaggedon believer face.
Unfortunately I was just listening to the interview or whatever that was with Nenshi.
The presenter could not stop talking as if she is the one running for office. Then Nenshi got sick of waiting and got in only to use the same old crap politics of blame blame blame.
Instead of using the opportunity to tell Albertans his policies for our future and get these clowns kicked out, he went on this rampage of how bad the government is and how she lies blah blah blah.
At the same time in the party of the WORKERS the candidates have to give up on the leaders race because he had to pay another 60 thousand dollars – unreal. Nothing seems to change in this province even after major mistakes are made.
Nenshi, we all know how brutal this government is. We need your vison for this province not what is wrong with this government. I can tell you what is wrong – INCOMPETENCE, Now show us you are competent to run this province.
No wonder people vote less and less for this joke.
Former NDP leader weighs in on the dangers of venturing into ‘Liberal-land’
In a rare post on his Grumpy Old Socialist blog, former Alberta NDP leader Brian Mason has weighed in on Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan’s departure from the NDP leadership race and the NDP’s troubles winning back working class voters.
“Why are working people abandoning the NDP?” asked Mr. Mason. “In part, it’s because the NDP has abandoned them.”
“This phenomenon can be observed world-wide, as social democratic parties move to the right in an attempt to reach their elusive pot of gold,” Mr. Mason wrote. “Workers feel abandoned and become prey for conservative and far-right parties.”
Mr. Mason pointed to how several union members in the NDP’s 2015 caucus lost their nominations or decided not to seek reelection. “One reason was a desire by the party leadership to attract more professionals and business people, including those with connections to the energy industry. Some long term NDP activists were also passed over in pursuit of these goals.
“We are seeing the results of this policy today, as a huge liberal wave threatens to drown the social democratic elements of the party,” he said.
“If the Alberta NDP is to avoid permanently veering off into Liberal-land, it needs the labour movement more than ever,” Mr. Mason concluded.
This is taken from David Climenhaga today’s post and I could not agree more with Bryan Mason.
We are very quiet here and we should be having more fun.
Here is this excellent article by David Climenhaga as how this UCP government is doing exactly the opposite to sustain any Alberta Advantage. We are going down and we can feel it.
Of course Conservatives would love to be paying $ 1 dollar an hour minimu, salary so that their members could be having even more than they already have. No respect whatsoever for anybody. If it was not for Rachel Notley to raise it to $15 dollars an hour they would still be the lowest in the country.
https://albertapolitics.ca/2024/05/the-alberta-advantage-for-workers-subject-to-the-provinces-wage-suppression-tactics-its-gone-like-the-wind/
This is what employers want
Ottawa under fire over not compelling companies to ask unions before hiring temporary foreign workers
article by Marie Woolf and Matt Lundy in the Globe and Mail the article is available on the paper for those who would like to read it
Ms Soapbox, we haven’t seen any new blog posts in over a month. I hope your health and your loved ones are all OK — we miss you here :-).
Hi Jerry: as you point out I’ve been off the soapbox for a few weeks now. You know how it is, sometimes life gets a little bumpy. Anyway I hope to be back this Sunday. Until then, take care. 🙂
Glad to know you’re OK and looking forward to your next post :-).
Municipalities have no independent standing. They are created by, and subject to, provincial governments. Municipalities getting the approval of the Province for any deals with the federal government is simply logical under the current Constitution.
Gerry: you’re right that municipalities are creatures of (provincial) statute, but I don’t agree that the province interfering with the feds providing money directly to the municipalities is logical under the current Constitution. To the best of my knowledge, there’s nothing in the Constitution that addresses the provincial/municipal relationship. .
Smith is behaving like any abusive spouse who cuts connections between their victim and the victim’s family and friends. Part of taking control of the victim. She’s a separatist who wants to drag us out of Canada
We may be Albertans but we are just as much Canadians with every right to talk with our federal government and access federal programs and funding without provincial politicians interfering.
‘We may be Albertans but we are just as much Canadians with every right to talk with our federal government and access federal programs and funding without provincial politicians interfering.’
Absolutely valjobson920 !
The so called freedom lover, telling us who we are allowed to talk to in her take back free Alberta.
The biggest bag of crap I have ever heard about. What us next? A visa to leave Alberta to go to Ottawa?
Gerry – the Canadian constitution does not address relationships because of course if it did, it would now be useless document.
Constitutions should be looked at and revised at least every 50 years. It is a mistake to just use literally when we all know that in 1867 cities did not even exist here in the West and Provinces like Alberta were not created until 1905..
So accepting the relationships that currently exist between cities and provinces and changing them to give more power to the cities just makes sense. Obviously not to the UCP because of course the cities in Alberta do not support the party and as they have done so far, they want to show us who is the boss and even have the power to fire Mayors at will.
If you are talking about logical, then for sure this is not it at all, but we all know what the objective is. Mayors, throughout the world have now more power than ministers and so they should because they are responsible for way more than many ministers are. They also produce more economic development that should not be controlled by the provincial governement. Very especially when the provincial government is as incompetent as this UCP one is.
They are elected municipal governments and they should behave like one and independent from the ideological tendencies of ministers of the government of Alberta who in many cases do not even have experience to run a Second Cup.
Being subject to documents created in a time when Canada was not even a world known country is as bad as people literally interpreting the Bible. At least we know who wrote our Constitution. In my opinion a Constitution should be an evolving document, changed in special country conferences and instead of having someone representing the Crown in Canada we should have our own Constitutional Court. Dialog like we had in 1987 and later the Charlottetown Accord in 1992 should not just be done as a consequence of a Crisis. I think that was, to me, the greatest legacy from prime minister Brian Mulroney, even though they were not approved by Canadians in a referendum. They opened many bridges that are now accepted like the current Reconciliation process.
I did not like prime minister Brian Mulroney economic policy but I certainly remember the effort he put in to unify and make our country stronger. Right now we have a leader of the Conservative (fascist) party of Canada insulting other politicians and destroying any kind of possible conversation and much more interested in Pierre Poilievre ‘I am the only one’ type slogan. It seems Canadians are interested in this kind of politics. I wish us all, all the luck in the world.