Category Archives: Politics and Government

The Day Premier Smith Lost All Credibility

Posted on February 26, 2023 by susanonthesoapbox

Albertans are asking a lot of questions about RStar, the $100 million pilot program designed to give owners of inactive wells a royalty credit on new wells if they clean up their old wells which they’re legally obligated to clean … Continue reading →

Posted in Danielle Smith, Energy & Natural Resources, Law, Politics and Government | Tagged , , , , , | 78 Comments

The UCP Government Responds to Justice Paul Rouleau’s Report on the Emergencies Act  

Posted on February 19, 2023 by susanonthesoapbox

On Friday Justice Paul Rouleau released his report of the inquiry into the Trudeau government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act in response to the convoy protests in Ottawa and elsewhere in Canada. Rouleau determined the Feds’ decision met the … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Justice, Law, Politics and Government, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 60 Comments

The RStar Debacle (Who’s going to clean up this mess?)

Posted on February 12, 2023 by susanonthesoapbox

“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” — opening scene, Star Wars   The first thing I thought of when I heard the word RStar was the opening sequence in the first Star Wars movie: yellow letters … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Justice, Danielle Smith, Energy & Natural Resources, Environment, Law, Politics and Government | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 108 Comments

Shandro’s Disciplinary Hearing

Posted on January 29, 2023 by susanonthesoapbox

The “boiling frog syndrome” is a metaphor used to describe the failure to act against a problematic situation which will increase in severity until reaching catastrophic proportions.—Wikipedia.   Let’s talk about Tyler Shandro’s disciplinary hearing. While it’s easy to get … Continue reading →

Posted in Danielle Smith, Law, Politics and Government | Tagged , , , , , | 66 Comments

“Too Many Gotchas”

Posted on January 22, 2023 by susanonthesoapbox

“Nothing to see here, move along.” – Movie trope Last week the CBC published a story saying that a staffer in Danielle Smith’s office sent a series of emails to Crown prosecutors challenging their assessment and direction on criminal cases … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Justice, Danielle Smith, Law, Politics and Government | Tagged , , , , | 73 Comments

Political Interference in the Administration of Justice (Again!) 

Posted on January 15, 2023 by susanonthesoapbox

“What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.”—Proverb, originated 1562 Did you catch all that? Premier Smith has been all over the airwaves saying that regardless of what it looks like she wasn’t trying to interfere with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Justice, Danielle Smith, Law, Politics and Government | Tagged , , , , , | 62 Comments

Free Money? No Thank You!

Posted on January 8, 2023 by susanonthesoapbox

Many years ago the (then) Progressive Conservative government offered energy companies bags of money if they undertook projects the government thought were necessary. The CEO I worked for told us to create such a project (even though it would be … Continue reading →

Posted in Danielle Smith, Energy & Natural Resources, Environment, Politics and Government | Tagged , , , , | 35 Comments

A Tale of Two Strategies (okay, one strategy and one gong show)

Posted on December 18, 2022 by susanonthesoapbox

Congratulations to all of you for surviving the Smith government’s first session in the Legislature. It started on Nov 29 and ended on Dec 15 and it felt like an eternity. Smith has been premier for two months. she sat … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Government | Tagged , , , , , , , | 60 Comments

What Just Happened?    

Posted on December 11, 2022 by susanonthesoapbox

“…the folks who literally spent seven days telling us that what was written in their bill was not written in their bill [will] determine what is…unconstitutional on the part of the federal government…” Rachel Notley, Hansard, Dec 7, p 235 … Continue reading →

Posted in Danielle Smith, Politics and Government | Tagged , , , , , , , | 86 Comments

Danielle Smith’s Bill 1: The Wrecking Ball Effect

Posted on December 4, 2022 by susanonthesoapbox

Wrecking ball: A heavy steel ball hung from a crane, used to demolish large buildings. Commonly used during the 1950s and 1960s. Considered one of the most common forms of large-scale coarse demolition.—Wikipedia   Last week, Premier Danielle Smith unveiled … Continue reading →

Posted in Law, Politics and Government | Tagged , , , , , | 84 Comments