Coal Front
For centuries, coal miners toiled in dim, claustrophobic tunnels in the grip of a constant fear. Coal dust mingled on their bodies with the cold sweat brought on by an invisible enemy. They [...]
Westbound Train
In the summer of 1970, a 12-coach train painted with day-glo hippie flowers carried Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, The Band, Ian and Sylvia Tyson, Buddy Guy and other folk-rock and blues icons [...]
Puppet State
There was a time in this country, and not so long ago either, when “puppet” was a dirty word. Sure, there was the kiddie entertainment ghetto, where slack-mouthed, rubber-headed Muppet [...]
Holistic Cow!
A walk across the historic A7 Ranche, west of Nanton in southern Alberta’s foothills, reveals a land rich in native grasses and wildlife. Cattle and deer graze the hills, keeping the land [...]
Strange Bedfellows
When the federal Liberals are in power—and except for the Diefenbaker and Mulroney years (and the Clark and Campbell months), that’s been the case since 1935—it’s a given that Ottawa and Edmonton [...]
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Jason Kenney’s Vision for K-12
It was by all accounts, a fiery speech. Standing on a blue-curtained stage in front of a couple thousand supporters at the UCP’s inaugural policy convention in Red Deer in May 2018, leader Jason Kenney went on the attack against anti-oilsands activists and the foreign money he says funds them ...
Mandate Creep: National Parks and Tourism
I retired from a career with Parks Canada a few years ago, not long after signing off on a management plan that prescribed a 2 per cent annual increase in visitors to Banff. Local businesses were ecstatic that the new plan seemed finally to acknowledge tourism growth as a priority ...
Deficit-Free by 2023!
Alberta’s most recent budget (2018–19) projected an $8.8-billion deficit—a shortfall of $2,024 per Albertan. Although that estimate was revised to $6.9 billion in the February third quarter fiscal update, this remains the province’s third large deficit stemming from the recession starting in 2014. Maintaining expenditures even as revenues drop unexpectedly ...