Stampede and the Westness of West
The first poem in Aritha van Herk’s new book, Stampede and the Westness of West, ends with something akin to a threat: “Stampede or else.” One can almost hear the film score of a gunfight in a [...]
God’s Province: Evangelical Christianity, Political Thought and Conservatism in Alberta
Alberta may be the only Canadian province in which two premiers collaborated to write a play. That William Aberhart and Ernest Manning were playwrights—in 1931, before either became premier—is [...]
Notley Nation: How Alberta’s Political Upheaval Swept the Country
It remains a pleasant shock that Alberta is no longer a political monolith. Why Rachel Notley’s NDP triumphed and how well they are governing have occasioned considerable debate since the [...]
This Land: Betrayed
Friday, January 13, 2017, was not Jessica Ernst’s lucky day. That’s the day the Supreme Court of Canada handed down a non-decision in her legal battle against the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER)—a [...]
Profile: Grande Prairie
Guess where the city ends and the county begins,” says Bill Given, the two-term mayor of Grande Prairie—the main retail and services hub for northwest Alberta. We’re driving past gas stations, [...]
The Sicilian Wife
Edmonton writer Caterina Edwards’s latest book is both an intriguing mystery and a sharp critique of how men often expect women to behave. As a mystery, The Sicilian Wife is a departure from [...]
Who Needs Books? Reading in the Digital Age
Lynn Coady is the Giller Prize-winning author of Hellgoing, as well as the author of Strange Heaven and The Antagonist, so answering the titular question of her 2015 CLC Kreisel [...]
The Digital Nexus: Identity, Agency and Political Engagement
Fake news. Filter bubbles. The influence of social media on the US election. Online harassment of female politicians in Alberta. These are just a few of the digital media issues competing for [...]
The Banker and the Blackfoot: A Memoir of My Grandfather in Chinook Country
John “Jack” Cowdry, the author’s grandfather, first came to my attention in L.V. Kelly’s Alberta ranching chronicle The Range Men (1913). The Cowdry brothers were the first bankers to set up shop [...]
In Focus: Festival of Animated Objects
Two years ago Xstine (pronounced “Christine”) Cook, founder of the International Festival of Animated Objects, passed the torch—an actual flaming torch—to Peter Balkwill, co-artistic director of [...]
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Reducing the Harm
It's a little after 10 o’clock in the morning and Taylor feels like she’s climbing the walls.
When her name is called and the door to Lethbridge’s supervised drug consumption site buzzes open, Taylor moves quickly on her crutches. She settles into a chair at the second booth from the end ...
Should All Drugs Be Decriminalized?
Hakique Virani says yes.
Twelve-step addiction recovery programs teach that it is irrational to “do the same thing over and over again expecting different results.” This should be a lesson for legislators too. As the 4,000 Canadian families who lost a loved one to an opioid overdose last year know, our ...
Holy Healthcare
Just tell them we don’t have it here.” That’s what the nurse told me in Killam Hospital, an hour east of Camrose. I’d asked what would happen if a woman came into our ER asking for the morning-after pill. The nurse wasn’t being self-righteous, but simply explaining the policy.
As ...