Author Archives: susanonthesoapbox

“Hold the Line” and other malarkey

Posted on November 6, 2022 by susanonthesoapbox

The Public Order Emergencies Commission was convened to determine whether the federal government erred by invoking the Emergencies Act. It will be months before we have a decision, but it only took a week of testimony for many Canadians to … Continue reading →

Posted in Disasters, Law, Politics, Politics and Government | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 98 Comments

When the UCP Government Ran Amok

Posted on October 30, 2022 by susanonthesoapbox

“There is no room for the unilateral assumption of authority in a constitutional democracy.” – Nigel Bankes, U of C emeritus professor of law, on the government’s decision to rescind masking in schools. Last week an Alberta court ruled that … Continue reading →

Posted in Alberta Health Care, Crime and Justice, General Health Care, Law, Politics and Government | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 113 Comments

Danielle Smith: Alberta’s Very Own Liz Truss

Posted on October 24, 2022 by susanonthesoapbox

In less time than it took Liz Truss to crash and burn, Danielle Smith transformed the United Conservative Party into the Libertarian Populist Party. And that’s why they’ll lose in the next election. Smith has been the LPP’s leader for … Continue reading →

Posted in Alberta Health Care, Law, Politics and Government | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 49 Comments

A Letter to UCP MLAs

Posted on October 16, 2022 by susanonthesoapbox

Dear UCP MLAs: I’m a constituent without an MLA because your new leader decided I don’t need one. Apparently urban issues (unlike rural issues) are the same all across the city and I can take my concerns to the UCP … Continue reading →

Posted in Law, Politics and Government, Social Media | Tagged , , | 66 Comments

Danielle Smith’s Victory Speech: Backtracking Big Time

Posted on October 9, 2022 by susanonthesoapbox

Did anyone catch Danielle Smith’s victory speech? In it she did three things: Judging by the applause, the audience fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Alberta will take its rightful place Smith started with the usual pitch. It’s time … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Government | Tagged , , , , | 67 Comments

And the Winner is…?

Posted on October 2, 2022 by susanonthesoapbox

Ms Soapbox is draped across her fainting couch anxiously awaiting the outcome of the UCP leadership race and is too distraught to post a blog.* She would welcome her readers’ thoughts on: *Actually she’s working on a project which turned … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Politics and Government | Tagged , | 37 Comments

Kenney’s Legacy: Lessons from Alice

Posted on September 26, 2022 by susanonthesoapbox

Alice laughed. ‘One can’t believe impossible things.’ ‘I dare say you haven’t had much practice,’ said the Queen…’Why, sometimes I’ve believed in as many as six impossible things before breakfast.’—Lewis Carrol, Alice Through the Looking-Glass Jason Kenney is on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Government | Tagged , , , , , | 56 Comments

Pierre Poilievre and the Politics of Brutalization

Posted on September 18, 2022 by susanonthesoapbox

“The word ‘brutalize’ is now employed quite wrongly to mean harsh or cruel treatment meted out by the strong to the weak…but in fact it means something subtler, namely the coarsening effect that this exercise of cruelty produces in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Government | Tagged , , , | 76 Comments

Danielle Smith and the Free Alberta Strategy 

Posted on September 11, 2022 by susanonthesoapbox

We’ve been so focused on the unconstitutionality of Danielle Smith’s central campaign promise, the passage of the Alberta Sovereignty Act (ASA), that we’ve forgotten that the ASA is part of the Free Alberta Strategy’s grand plan to renegotiate our place … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 64 Comments

Danielle Smith & the Alberta Sovereignty Act

Posted on September 4, 2022 by susanonthesoapbox

In June 1215 King John signed the Magna Carta, agreeing to terms that enshrined the principle that no one, not even a king, is above the law. And now 807 years later Danielle Smith is prepared to turn her back … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 59 Comments