“Nothing is real that does not end on the streets. If tyrants feel no consequences for their actions in the three-dimensional world, nothing will change.” – Timothy Snyder, historian.
On Saturday Mr and Ms Soapbox joined hundreds of Calgarians at the Enough is Enough rally at City Hall. It was one of 8 rallies being held in Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Red Deer, Grande Prairie, Sylvan Lake, Vermillion and Medicine Hat.
It was organized by Alberta Accountability Alliance. AAA’s website says ”We believe in holding government accountable and advocating for the best interests of all citizens and the environment.”
The rally addressed a number of toxic and ill-conceived UCP policies including: the attack on the rights of transgender youth, reorganizing AHS, underfunding public education, ditching CPP, allowing coal mining in the Rockies, kneecapping wind and solar energy and interfering with the decisions of local governments.
Not only are these policies cruel and divisive, they’re being rammed down our throats with no consultation, no transparency and no accountability.
It is no surprise that we’ve decided enough is enough.
As we mingled with the crowd, listened to the speeches and enjoyed the music I was struck by a number of things.
Three more years
The next election is 3 years away.
Think about that for a moment.
Smith and the UCP were elected in May 2023 and a year later their cruel and inept policies are driving thousands of Albertans to protest in the streets.
We’ve tried phoning and letter writing but Smith & Co aren’t listening when we tell them we don’t support what they’re doing. So we’re taking it to the streets. Timothy Snyder calls this “corporeal politics” and encourages citizens to “put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them.”
And yes, 3 years to the next election is a long time, but the upside is this gives us time to build a strong resilient movement that will help push the UCP into the trash bin of history in 2027.
We are not alone
What made Saturday’s rally special was the fact (to use Snyder’s words) we made new friends. This was a non-partisan event, a call for action that attracted a diverse group of Calgarians representing all segments of civil society. People we’d never met before were there with us united in a common cause.
From the minute we arrived and met the woman handing out signs from the trunk of her car to the minute we left with the family who like us was locked out of the parkade, the message was clear: We are not alone. Together we can get rid of the Alberta Agenda.
The zombie agenda
In 2001 former PM Stephen Harper and 5 of his acolytes spelled out the Alberta Agenda in a letter (the Firewall Letter) to then Premier Klein, who incidentally, was not foolish enough to adopt it.
The Alberta Agenda festered for 20 years, then rose like a zombie in 2021, all slicked up with a brand new name, Free Alberta Strategy, and a brand new political party, the UCP, to carry it forward.
This time it stuck. And we’ve been paying the price in missed investment opportunities, underfunded and crumbling public services, and misery ever since.
The no-longer-conservative conservatives ran their experiment. It’s a disaster.
Now it’s time for anyone who is tired of right-wing economists, political scientists, CEOs and fringe leaders setting the agenda for Alberta to stand up for their values and demand better from their government.
That’s why my family and I will be attending future Enough is Enough rallies. And if we miss one, we’ll attend the next one. Because a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon is a small price to pay to protect our province from those determined to drag us back into the last century.
Susan on the Soapbox 
It’s encouraging to see so many Albertans stand up for democracy and simple human decency especially since to do so is to risk bullying from a government that seems to delight in punching down. If the UCP has another 3 years like the first, maybe enough Albertans will say enough is enough and vote them out.
Public Servant: I’m with you on this. Many of those who supported the UCP were stunned by their perfidity.
I am sorry to say Susan but if they were stunned is only because they wanted to believe in fairy tales.
Carlos, you make a good point. It brings us back to the old question: why do people vote against their own best interest?
I followed the advice of Jared Wesley to “Get Off My Couch“, and I am glad I did with home made signs to boot! I found my peeps, and I, too will go to any and all future Enough is Enough rallies. Luckily, I didn`t get locked out of a parkade… that would have been a tad irksome. I took public transit, with my signs (in plastic) to protect them from any rain. It was exhilarating and lonely at the same time as I knew no one. But that is where I practice making myself uncomfortable to do the right thing for all Albertans. Good grief, I can`t take 3 more years. Bon Courage mes amis. A la prochain.
Marilyn McLean: I’m so glad you did! Even though you didn’t know anyone there, wasn’t it an amazing thing to realize that they all felt the same as you did, that the UCP is an abysmal government and it has to go.
PS I’m taking French at Alliance Francaise so I loved your closing sentences.
Susan, It’s tragic that it’s come to this. Even though I’m in BC now, I really appreciate that you and Roy are speaking up and standing up for what you believe in re good governance. My kids and grandkids all live in Calgary and it matters very much what kind of government they are having to contend with.
Susan Palmer
Susan: truth be told I’d love to move to BC, to a province that actually changes its government on a regular basis so its citizens don’t feel like they’ll be trapped in the neo-con hell hole forever, but our children live here and we don’t want to leave them behind. So we’ll continue to fight for their future as well as ours. Slowly but surely we will prevail.
I moved here when both of my kids had flown the coop but not yet settled in their lives – Calgary was not a strong pull for them at thaat time. So I decided it made no sense for me to stay on the chance that they may end up in Calgary when all my life I had wanted to live on the coast and the gods conspired to make it possible for me to move to a place that I have come to love. Definitely a price to pay now that I have 3 grandkids but I get to Calgary on a frequent basis and we have had some wonderful summers out here. So no looking back.
Susan: I know what you mean about the coast casting a spell over you. I moved there was I was in my teens, I met Roy there and we finished our undergrad degrees there at UVIC. I absolutely love the place, but our kids are here so here’s we’ll stay. Hopefully we can make this a better place for them over time (however, I’ve got to admit, sometimes I wonder if it’s worth the grind!)
Susan:
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div>You say Stephen Harper and six of his acolytes signed the Firewall letter. D
Thanks David…it appears I can get up off the couch but I can’t count!
I,too, got off my couch, got on the train, went to the protest and made a bunch of noise. I just wish thousands of others had done the same thing. The people need to show more power.
Patti, I agree. It would have been great if the plaza in front of City Hall had been jammed, but the way I see it, this was the first call to action. Many people didn’t know who AAA was, and weren’t sure what to expect, so they hung back.Those of us who went can report back to our friends and family that this was a legitimate protest with credible speakers like Joe Vipond. Hopefully that will assuage their concerns and they’ll join us the next time or the time after that.
retired disabled Calgarian,
This was my first protest for a very long time. My wife and I had planned to attend this because we feel that the Alberta we grew up in is being hijacked and lead down a very ugly path. Everything about that day threw obstacles at us where it would have been easier to just not go. Boy were we glad that was not the case. The energy and diversity of people attending was extremely up lifting. If this is what is happening at the grassroots 3 years out I’ld be worried if I was the UCP. I look forward to the next one and the one after that.
Robert: your comment was so uplifting! A friend of mine said if we don’t show up we’d be sending Danielle Smith and the UCP that they can walk all over us. Now she and her party know we’re here and we truly believe enough is enough. She may not listen, but some of her more moderate MLAs will take notice. Then they’ll have to decide what they want to do about it. The smart thing to do would be to pull back some of their horrible policies otherwise the blowback come the 2027 election will be mind boggling.
Thank you for speaking out for Albertans at the rally.
Before the next rally, be sure people learn what those &^#^%$&SSSnakes have done, moving mental health patients into the Belcher which is a seniors’ long term care facility. Police being called there more than once a week.
Rachel Notley on X: “UCP Must Halt Complex Mental Health Program at Continuing Care Home The Alberta NDP and seniors’ advocates are calling for immediate action by the UCP government to ensure the safety of all residents and staff in the province’s continuing care homes. This demands a Stop Order be https://t.co/Jb0bsGwsQb” / X
Val: very good point. I’ve been talking to anNDP MLA about how helpful it would be if the NDP put out a weekly blurb, something easy to read and understand, that explained what Smith is throwing at us (it’s coming so fast and furious it’s hard to keep up) and the consequences of Smith’s decisions on Albertans. The UCP does this on a regular basis, naturally it portrays Smith’s policies and coming legislation in a favourable light, what we need is something that explains what is really going on.
Scarier than the UCP
are the supposed legion of better political thinkers,
who couldn’t keep them out last time
when UCP were telling us exactly who they were,
Some were thinking that logic and decency would prevail,
everyone can see the horror, without drawing it to their attention
and then they were out voted
by the obsessed, threatened, fearful , insecure and hateful screamers of slogans.
sanity has no appeal for the entitled insane
With the 16 billion dollar a year subsidy to the oil industry
Looks like we are doing corporatism again (still?)
Or fascism as it is known colloquially
and in a kakistocracy …. you go dani
In 3 years any resistance will find itself standing on some “essential” government ground and be eliminated . It’s on the books.
The tipping point has been reached, that ship has sailed , close the gate but the horse is gone and the timing is perfect as disaster after disaster will occupy the masses ,personally and socially, and excuses and blame will supplant reasons and solutions.
I am loath to post tunes but pay attention to the lyrics please, relax it’s a part album, it’s you and me. His For everyman has hard lessons needing learning these days too
We had it in the streets and then …..
Lungta mtn: It’s true we’re facing a global crisis which makes it feel like we’ve lost, but my children will be here long after I’m gone. They’re fighting alongside us and we will do whatever we can to keep what’s left of Alberta from falling into the hands of profit-seekers and charlatans. No one believed 5 years ago that the majority of seats in Calgary would go to the NDP, so I continue to have hope.
lungta mtn: Great song, and I did see Jackson Browne live. He is in my music collection.
Keep up the good work SusanOnTheSoapbox. I enjoy your columns and your writing style (old English prof here). Hubby and I are too old to participate physically but we appreciate the effort of AAA to try to remedy the trainwreck we now call our government. BTW I’ve contacted MLA’s numerous times but have yet to receive a response (e.g. Why are RSV and shingles injections not covered by Blue Cross? Hands of my CPP. Who were the consultants on the curriculum review? Why did you not listen to the teachers’ feedback on revisions? And now all the Bills that have been railroaded through with debate limited?) OMG! We won’t last three more years!!!!
Barb: Thank you! I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog. It took me a little while to learn to write less like a lawyer and more like a blogger. I think if we all try to participate in civil society as best as we can (as you point out physical participation isn’t an option for some of us) then together we will achieve our goals.
I have a friend in her 90s who hounds MLAs on a regular basis and another friend who travels a lot, but shows up at rallies when she’s in town. We do the best we can.
We had a decent turnout in Grande Prairie, roughly 50-75 by most estimates — some people came & went, so the number is a bit fluid. I was honoured by being invited to speak. It was organized by the Peace Country Progressive Alliance https://actionnetwork.org/groups/peace-country-progressive-alliance.
We also had a pretty good turnout back on February 4th when there was a rally against the UCP’s anti-trans policies. (I’ve never tried to claim the status of “ally”, because I feel that requires more investment of time & energy than I have put into 2SLGBTQIA++ issues, but I feel I can legitimately say I’m not an enemy to that community — “friendly neutral”, perhaps?). PCPA organized that one too.
Jerrymacgp: Wow, that was a decent turnout in Grande Prairie. I think it’s easier for us in Calgary and Edmonton to come out to these rallies than it is for you guys in the smaller towns where speaking out against UCP policy can trigger all sorts of backlash. I’m aware of a situation in a small town where someone who put an NDP sign in her front yard woke up one day to find her neighbour dumping a noxious pesticide on her lawn.
So like I said 50-75 people is a good turnout. Well done you guys!!!
Thank you for this post. In the comng three years, I can only hope that he momentum of this movement continues to grow, providing an opportunity for real and better change in Alberta.
Brendon, my sentiments exactly! Thank you.
Thank you for this post. It is so reflective of how I feel.
Donna, you’re very welcome. As I said, it’s nice to see we’re not alone.
Susan: It’s good to see you are back, and with another great blog. For those of us with an Eastern European background, including me, can see how the UCP are running things, much like a dictatorship. I’ve heard a comparison to Victor Orban, the leader of Hungary. I did know people from Hungary. One came to Canada, when he was 5. The other one came to Canada when he was much older, and had a Croatian mother and a Hungarian father. Many people came to North America, from Eastern Europe, and other parts of the world, because of how the governments were oppressive to their citizens. Bill by bill, action by action, word by word, the UCP are turning Alberta into a dictatorship, and they want supreme power and control. I’m glad Albertans came out and voiced their concerns, and their dissatisfaction with the UCP. Hopefully, we can see positive changes. If the UCP continues on this trajectory, the Alberta we knew will be changed forever, and not in a good way. I’ll play some more fitting music. This is a Michael McDonald composition, with The Doobie Brothers. This is a live version of their 1976 song, Takin’ It To The Streets. It was done in 2021.
Thanks Dwayne! It’s interesting that you mentioned Hungary. My folks emigrated from Hungary in 1950 because, as my Mom put it, they had no future there. They lived in Saskatchewan and BC and were steadfast Liberal supporters (federally). They were leery of the provincial NDP at that time, but became more supportive of the party as they grew older and saw how little concern the right leaning parties had for the social issues that mattered to them.
Loved the Doobie Brothers version of Takin’ It To The Streets. The sax is amazing!
Susan: Michael McDonald was a great addition to the Doobie Brothers lineup, in the 1970s. His keyboard playing, singing and songwriting are amazing. Takin’ It To The Streets is very relevant today.
Susan: Here is my next song pick. This is a Stephen Stills composition, from his time in Buffalo Springfield, which was recorded and released in 1966. Very profound lyrics. Neil Young was also in this band.
Dwayne, agreed, it’s definitely time for people to stop and look around. There are so many academics (Jared Wesley comes to mind) ringing the alarm bells telling us our democracy is under threat. But it appears that the idea of democracy is foreign to people who are ticked off about inflation and the cost of living. As long as they can blame it all on Trudeau, they’re fine. A friend told me about seeing a series of billboards along the side of the road heading south of town. The first said AXE, the second said THE, the third said TAX, and the fourth said CALL YOUR MLA. These dolts don’t even know the carbon tax is a creation of the federal government, calling you MLA will have no impact whatsoever. That’s what we’re up against. People with no knowledge of how democracy and the levels of government work in this country.
Susan: These people also don’t know that the carbon tax in Canada is a Conservative idea to begin with. It first originated in Alberta, under premier Ed Stelmach, in 2007. Ed Stelmach supported the CPC, and is a good friend of Stephen Harper, who happened to say that Alberta’s carbon tax was the right thing to do.
You’re right Dwayne, even Danielle Smith supports the carbon tax on industry. Although I suspect if she cancelled it her budget would be in serious trouble.
interesting this song was big on the Friday and Saturday dance hall circuit in the mid sixties in Alberta. Three years later was the overthrow of the Social Credit and Peter Lougheed took over Sept 1969. Then I was able to give my older brother back his birth certificate because they dropped the legal drinking age.
papajaxn: this was such a neat comment. I especially liked the reference to your brother’s birth certificate. Thanks!
Susan: Here is my final song pick. This is a live version of a Dave Mason song, when he was in the UK group, Traffic. It is Feelin’ Alright. It was from Top Gear on June 24, 1968. Many people belive that Joe Cocker wrote the song, but he didn’t. He recorded a great cover of it in the late 1960s.Traffic band member, Chris Wood, plays organ on this particular version, instead of saxophone, which he played on the album version, which was recorded and released in 1968. Dave Mason, a founder member of Traffic, turned 78, on May 10. Steve Winwood, one of the other other founder members of Traffic, turned 76, on May 12. All four members of Traffic, Jim Capaldi, Dave Mason, Steve Winwood, and Chris Wood are multi-instrementalists, and really good songwriters, and have done amazing work in this band. Dave Mason’s compositions were covered by many people. This is another fitting song.
Dwayne, thanks for this. What I really like about your song contributions is they engage us in the issues on a different level. I find they give me hope. Also your mini bios of the musicians are always interesting. 🙂
Susan: This type of rally needs to happen every month (providing the weather is good). People also need to tell everyone that they know that what the UCP are doing is very bad, and that it has to stop. They have to keep telling others that what the UCP are doing isn’t good, at every opportunity, no matter how much they may not want to hear it. The media certainly isn’t doing it, and that’s one of the reasons why the UCP got re-elected in 2023. If the UCP gets into power for another four years, it will be mayhem. This blog is like a glass of cold water on a hot summer day. Very refreshing. It has some very good insights into things pertaining to the government of Alberta. There are only a small number of blogs that are like this.
Dwayne, I agree that these rallies need to happen on a regular basis, I wouldn’t want them to happen all the time because that just burns people out, but once a quarter would do it for me. One of the speakers told the crowd that we should practice self-care, if you can’t make it to a rally, don’t sweat it, there will be another one and you can attend that instead. We’ve got to pace ourselves for the next 3 years which will be gruelling, as you said.
Also thank you for your kind words re: this blog. It’s just my take on the issues and I hope lets people know they’re not alone when they think something is seriously wrong here.
All the best,
Susan.
Bravo Sista! Thank you Susan for eloquently emphasizing the importance of a grand show of unity as seen at last Saturday’s rally. I too attended and was moved by the welcoming smiles and camaraderie which reminded me of the province-wide rallies that helped defeat Ralph Klein’s Bill 11 (a policy that would privatize more public health care than we currently have). With 3 more years before the next election, a huge turnout this early in the game gives me hope.
Never has the old saw, “This election is the most important election of our time” been more relevant and meaningful, which is why we need repeated rallies (and posts like yours) to fight the UCP’s predatory power grabs and blatant attempts to destroy democracy as we know it. I’ll attend as many City Hall Saturdays (or whatever they choose to call them) as I can. Nice to know Mr. and Mrs. Soapbox will be there too!
In solidarity!
Judy, thanks for reminding us that province-wide rallies have worked in the past and may well succeed in slowing down the worse of what Danielle Smith and her cabinet intend to foist upon us.
It was great to see you there last week. We’ll see you at the next one!!
@susan would Alberta Accountability Alliance be considering helping citizens living in UCP represented ridings launch recall petitions? It would be perfect irony to see some of those clowns hoist on their own petard.
Gerald: that’s a very interesting question. I don’t know the answer but from what I understand the threshold number of signatures to trigger a recall is almost impossible to reach. I suspect the UCP deliberately made it unachievable so as to avoid being recalled themselves.
You got that so right Susan. The recall law is just libertarian show off. In reality they are more power grabbers than anyone else in the last 40 years in Alberta.
%40 of the valid electors in the riding is a high bar for the petition; even more onerous is the requirement that volunteer canvassers for a recall petition also have to live in the riding.
The 60 fay time frame is also tight. Additionally, any recall petition can’t even be launched until 18 months after an election.
Like I said we do not have a recall law and the UCP is just throwing pennies at the slaves to show us they really care.
Respectfully, I have to disagree with Ms. W on her comment, “cruel and inept”. They are indeed cruel but they know exactly what they are doing. Nothing is happening here by accident.
As well, we will know the “Enough is Enough” rallies are getting under the skin of the UCP if they invoke the “Critical Infrastructure Act”. If the rallies really pick up momentum I can see the UCP planting provocateurs in the crowd to give the Gov’t an excuse to call in the cops(thugs) for a crowd clearing similar to the U of C cop show. It would not surprise me if the U of C spectacle was meant as a lesson for the rest of us.
Jaundiced Eye: This is an excellent comment. As you said, there may be more intentional thinking behind the UCP’s cruel policies than I’ve given them credit for.
Susan: I’m not so sure that Danielle Smith has critical thinking skills. Thomas Lukaszuk, who was in the Legislature, when Danielle Smith was the leader of the Wildrose party, has alluded to that. If you take away the script, or the teleprompter, Danielle Smith is lost.
Given how Danielle Smith was in the Legislature for a long enough period of time, as the Wildrose party leader, she should have an understanding of how the Legislature operates. She doesn’t.
Danielle Smith creates bills that are so bad, that they have to be redone, right after they are made, or they are illegal.
Her first bill as premier of Alberta, was The Sovereignty Act. It’s illegal, without any doubts. Even after it was redone, it still is illegal. Canadian politicians, with extensive expertise being in the government, and that includes those with a legal background, have even said that. What will Danielle Smith do when The Sovereignty Act gets shot down by the courts?
Bill 8, is another very troubling bill that Danielle Smith and the UCP created. If you read it, you would see why that it is. This particular bill basically allows for bribes to happen with MLAs, because it gives them the sole authority to oversee gift limit amounts to MLAs, and it alters them, so they can be set at any amount the MLA wants. Conflicts of interest regulations are also nullified with this bill. In addition, this bill ties the hands of the Alberta Ethics Commissioner, so when the writ is dropped, and a provincial election is commencing, any MLA in Alberta who is doing unethical activities, is allowed to run in the provincial election, without being stopped. There is nothing that the Alberta Ethics Commissioner can do about it.
If these types of things were happening in Alberta politics, 10, or 15 years ago, or even earlier, there is no way that any premier of Alberta would have survived.
We should have more of these Enough is Enough as soon as possible. We need to show these pseudo democrats what democracy is about and that we are the power behind the government and not the other way around.
Danielle Smith and her gang are our employees and were elected to create policies for us as citizens and not for corporations or businesses. If they cannot do that, then quit and go do something else. Elected goverments are created for us and for our well being. Lobbyists should be banned and out of politics. That is what Danielle Smith is and it seems very proudly so. That is fine but we do not need her consent to do what is right. We can easily get her out of there by just invalidate her and these ‘Enough is Enough’ walks can very well do that.
Carlos: The UCP cannot get into power without being dishonest. Danielle Smith is as dishonest as they come in politics, because she is a proven, pathological liar.
The media never stood up to Danielle Smith’s lies, the very costly mistakes the UCP made, and the blatant disregard for democracy that the UCP has shown. They enable it.
Before Danielle Smith re-entered politics (either Preston Manning, the longtime carbon tax supporter, who helped Danielle Smith get defeated in 2015, from the floor crossing incident, or David Parker, had urged Danielle Smith to return to politics), she was the president of the Alberta Enterprise Group. Danielle Smith’s lobbying history runs deep, and this is why we are paying for the DynaLife fiasco, which is now $100 million, the R-Star mistake, which is $20 billion, the expensive hockey arena for Calgary, which is $1.2 billion, and Danielle Smith had previously opposed as the Wildrose party leader, and as a radio talk show host, among others. She had ties to these things, when she was a lobbyist.
I remember when Alison Redford was premier of Alberta, and Danielle Smith was the Wildrose party leader. Danielle Smith would get upset at Alison Redford for doing things that are not as bad as what Danielle Smith is now doing as the premier of Alberta.
Danielle Smith and the UCP have created a series of bills that stifle democracy, clear the UCP of conflict of interest breaches, and ethics breaches (Bill 8 does exactly that), and delays the provincial election.
Danielle Smith and the UCP feel they can do whatever they want, without any repercussions, or consequences.
Something has to give. If the UCP continues on this way, and gets re-elected after 2027, it will be a nightmare.
The UCP are not the Conservatives we used to have. Their followers don’t know that. Ralph Klein was extremely bad, and the UCP are trying to outdo him, and are getting worse.
Hi Susan:
If Danny Girl had a 1/4 brain power of Rachel Alberta could be in good shape.
Protests worked in the 1960/1970’s, but, not today.
Politicians are tooo entrenched in their own views, not necessarily council’s views, theirs.
Seen it too often, whether it was township council, village council, or city council.
Friday lunch almost ALWAYS determined/determines what happens at the council meeting on the Monday night.
Doesn’t matter how well presented, or, how well researched, or, how many make a presentation on the issue at the Monday night meeting is a waste of time.
SAD.
Cynical you say ?
Nope.
Reality.
Sincerely and kindly.
Gord -Peterboro
Gord, I admit you make a good point. Look at Danielle Smith and her relentless efforts to pull Albertans out of CPP despite the fact that 70% of Albertans are against leaving CPP.
Us and ours showed up in the Capital city for Enough is Enough, and I think the youngest of us, who was (surprisingly to me) the most adamant that we attend, got quite a bit out of actually seeing first hand that we aren’t alone.
I disagree with your assessement of the utility of protest in the new millenium Gord, because while it may take a ‘critical mass’ of protesters to effect change, that number of outraged citizens capable of tippng the scales exists regardless of anyone’s cynicism. The same goes for directed political correspondence. And that is and has always been their power, even in the 1960’s and 70’s.
In any case, being with a group of people who feel a similar way as you is always cathartic, and can be empowering too.
GoinFawr: I was heartened by your comment that the youngest of you was the most adamant that you all had to attend. As you said, so many benefits that flow from these kinds of events, not the least of which is discovering that you’re not alone. It gives me hope that together we could make a difference.
For those of you interested in Democracy. It seems that finally now that dictatorships are getting closer to shake us up, we are starting to see way more articles about a renewal of our completely outdated democracies.
A new book by British economist and philosopher Daniel Chandler titled ‘Free and Equal’, based on ideas of John Rawls.
This is one of the articles I found today alone
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jun/06/general-elections-democracy-lottery-representation
and of course from our good old Alberta UCP
https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2024/06/06/Alberta-Joins-Battle-Deny-Right-Vote/
Carlos: thank you for these links. I found the discussion around sortition and citizens’ assemblies particularly interesting, I have always liked the idea of citzens’ assemblies, but I must admit it hadn’t occurred to me that a simple lottery system could produce results that would be as good as what we have now.
I subscribe to Monbiot’s articles. I think he’s an intelligent and perceptive observer of the human condition.
Carlos, those were excellent articles, I particularly liked what Monbiot had to say. Thanks!
Hi Susan
You are always very welcome.
Thank you for caring about these issues and writing so clearly about them.
Monbiot is an interesting thinker.