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. Ric McIver and Danielle Smith Why?   It’s not as if Trudeau’s ..read more

According to those who know about these things, political slogans, those short pithy statements plastered across websites, banners, and lawn signs, are an important part of a candidate’s brand.   The experts say that in addition to being short, slogans should be vague and inspiring. Because it’s not so much what they say but what the voters hear that matters. Weird, eh? Some NDP slogans Two provisos here: (1) I’m focusing on the three candidates who appear to be the front runners but it’s early days and this could change in a nanosecond, and (2) this is a discussion about the candidates ..read more

It’s Easter Sunday and the world is a mess. (Cue brief political interlude) Here in Alberta we’ll have an opportunity to improve things…if we don’t get derailed in the run up to the NDP leadership race. We have a lot of policy to debate so let’s not get cross-threaded with fellow party members over:   Who is or isn’t a true NDPer. If the party is serious about expanding its membership, it doesn’t matter when someone joined the party; all that matters is the new guys are here inside the tent building the party, not outside ignoring it or trying to knock it down.   Whether or not membe ..read more

Rachel Notley was elected as an NDP MLA in 2008. She became the leader of the NDP in 2014 and will be stepping down as leader in 2024. She led the party through three elections and served as premier from 2015 to 2019. She was a formidable leader and premier and will be a tough act to follow. Since she announced her resignation, six candidates have stepped forward to fill her (mighty big) shoes. They are: Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse Kathleen Ganley Gil McGowan Sarah Hoffman Naheed Nenshi Rakhi Pancholi NDP supporters are thrilled with this slate of highly qualified candidates. Which is more than ..read more

In case you didn’t catch Danielle Smith’s bizzarro Address to the Province last week, the one where she signalled what we could expect in the 2024 Budget, here’s a brief synopsis. (Smith’s comments are edited for tone and appear in bold). Premier Smith’s pre-budget address to the province We need to get off the oil and gas revenue rollercoaster. Agreed! But according to economist Trevor Tombe, the 2024 budget is even MORE reliant on the price of oil than the last one. Last year the government needed an oil price of $68/barrel to balance the budget; this year it’s up to $73/barrel. So the quest ..read more

Last week in pursuit of her “parental rights” agenda, Premier Smith announced a set of policies that limited medical treatment for transgender youth and did a whole lot more. I tried to imagine what it would be like to explain these policies to someone not living in cloud cuckoo land. Here goes:   Smith says this policy is necessary because… The decision to access transgender medical treatment is an “adult choice.” It cannot be made by a minor because, as we all know, adolescence is a difficult and confusing time and the minor may make a decision they’ll regret for the rest of their lives ..read more

“We didn’t get everything right, but we governed with integrity, an ambitious agenda and an earnest desire to make life better for Albertans.”—Rachel Notley The first time I met Rachel Notley was after she’d won the NDP leadership race. She was hosting a meet-and-greet at a coffee shop in Calgary. It was mid morning and the shop was practically deserted. Which was a good thing because it gave us time to talk. I told her I had run for the Liberals in a recent by-election and was trounced, but the NDP candidate had done far worse. Would the NDP ever gain traction in Alberta’s true blue political ..read more

Last night Alberta’s electric system operator (AESO) issued a province-wide emergency alert asking Albertans to immediately reduce their electricity use to minimize the potential for rotating outages across the province. First the good news, Albertans responded to the call. Within minutes usage dropped significantly and rotating power outages were avoided. Well done, Alberta! Now the bad news, the bozos are out in full force blaming the emergency alert on Justin Trudeau (he’s pushing a net-zero power grid by 2035, you know) and Rachel Notley (she “shut down” coal plants, you know).   Rea ..read more

The UCP’s “bread and circuses”* approach to government is no longer working. The “bread” (low taxes and high employment) is no compensation for our crumbling healthcare, education, and social services. The “circus” of blaming the federal government for everything is wearing thin. And to make matters worse, the folks at Take Back Alberta (TBA) and Free Alberta Strategy (FAS) tell us they’re setting Danielle Smith’s agenda, and if she doesn’t play along, she’s out. The TBA/FAS ploy is a game changer which shifts the UCP government from “bread and circuses” mode to Squid Game: The Challenge. How ..read more

Every family has its own holiday traditions. In the Soapbox house on Christmas Eve we play Rummicub and eat ourselves silly (I don’t know what they put in caramel popcorn but I can’t get enough). On Christmas morning we get up early to open presents and enjoy Mr Soapbox’s outstanding Frittata and tonight we’ll have a traditional turkey dinner complete with Christmas crackers and silly paper hats.    In keeping with tradition here’s Rudy the rescue dog to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year. We’ll talk again in 2024. In the meantime feel free to share your traditions ..read more