Alberta Edge
Elbows Firmly Down
The premier took to the airwaves this week to throw down the gauntlet of separation. Adorned in a blue blazer (Red Dress Day pin removed), her elbows firmly down and her hands oddly limp, Danielle Smith sat down for a mid-afternoon chat with Canadians.
The time was chosen, she later said, to get the attention of eastern Canadians as Smith announced a list of non-negotiables that her team will be demanding from Ottawa, including industrial and energy independence from federal mandates.
“For the last 10 years, successive Liberal governments in Ottawa, supported by their New Democrat allies, have unleashed a tidal wave of laws, policies and political attacks aimed directly at Alberta’s free economy and, in effect, against the future and livelihoods of our people,” said Smith. “For Albertans, these attacks on our province by our own federal government have become unbearable.”
It was a 3,000-word snake pit of contradictions, misinformation, gaslighting, and childish assertions of “freedom,” writes David Climenhaga, who recaps the address in greater and more succinct detail than I ever could in this week’s cover story.
“Hilariously, she insisted, ‘it’s not that our preferred candidate and party lost. It’s that the same Liberal government with almost all of the same ministers responsible for our nation’s inflation, housing, crime and budget crisis, and that oversaw the attack on our provincial economy for the past 10 years, have been returned to power.’ In other words, it is that our preferred candidate and party lost!”
Smith also announced a series of “Alberta Next” panel talks to brainstorm what the province should do if the feds don’t give in to their demands. And hey, if Albertans say they want it, then Smith will also put separating from the country to a referendum next year. But only if you, the public, ask for it!
“Alberta didn’t start this fight, but rest assured we will finish it,” promised the premier.
NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi was surprisingly in agreement with Smith at his party’s AGM in Edmonton last weekend. Have a referendum. Put it to a vote. But do it now and quit wasting everyone’s time, demanded Nenshi.
“Call the referendum, call it now, and when you get the defeat, the thumping defeat that you resoundingly deserve, stop playing games with the future of our country.”
The guy’s a born showman, reports Graham Thomson, but the cruel irony for the NDP is Smith keeps stealing the spotlight even when she doesn’t want it. The NDP is “trying to swim upstream against a never-ending torrent of United Conservative Party policies, controversies, schemes and blunders — and one brewing scandal.”
Speaking of scandals, why is an Alberta Energy Regulator director also special advisor to the premier? That’s the question one oil industry veteran had after attending a talk David Yager — who holds both jobs — gave to the Wheatland and Area Surface Rights Society.
“You can’t have your foot in one board at the AER and be in cabinet,“ Mark Dorin tells journalism student Raynesh Ram. “The AER is supposed to be arm’s-length. That is fundamental in a democracy.”
Elsewhere...
- Bloc Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet, asked to offer some tips to Albertans looking to separate, said the province must first define a national culture of its own. “And I am not certain that oil and gas qualifies to define a culture.” [Mackenzie Gray]
- All of this separation rhetoric isn’t about western alienation, writes Drew Anderson. It’s about oil. Specifically, it’s about capitalizing on “both an international crisis and an election that didn’t go their way” to pave a path for a more extreme oil and gas future. [The Narwhal]
- Or maybe it’s just a way to keep the fringe members of her party in check. The premier effectively said as much later on this week, referring to the separation referendum as a means to “avert the emergence of a political rival” from within the UCP’s membership. [Alberta Politics]
- “Let me break this to you gently — that won’t work,” warns Greg Quinn, who has been living with the spectacular failures of Brexit for nine years. U.K. prime minister David Cameron called for a referendum to similarly appease the anti-EU extreme in his party. “And now we are all living with the consequences of a politician’s failure to read the room. Not the first time, and not the last time.” [The Line]
- Teachers may soon go on strike. Members of the Alberta Teachers’ Association rejected a new provincial contract this week. Association president Jason Schilling said the mediator-recommended deal failed to address the increasing complexities of Albertan classrooms. [Lethbidge News]
- The measles outbreak continues to worsen. The number of confirmed cases has now surged past 300, the highest since 1987. [CBC]
- Even more surprise retirements among Calgary’s top police brass. New interim chief Katie McLellan took over operations on Wednesday following the surprise resignation of former chief Mark Neufeld last week. During the subsequent media event, McLellan announced that deputy chiefs Chad Tawfik and Raj Gill were also retiring. The new chief refused to comment on the reasons why. (A reminder that you can contact The Tyee any time with confidential tips or documents.) [Global]
 | Until next time, |
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