Abuse of Power
Whether you support or oppose Jason Kenney’s policy decisions, as an Albertan you should be concerned about his government’s dishonesty, secretiveness, lack of ethics, unrepresentative decisions [...]
Democracy
Democracy
The Resurgence of Respect for Expertise
So here we are, in the midst of a global pandemic, though for all we know it might still be the opening credits. The whole crisis feels simultaneously as if it is in its early stages (in that we [...]
Lobbyists and Lip Service
Shortly after 3:00 p.m. on March 7, 2007, following what Hansard describes as “a fanfare of trumpets,” freshly minted Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach introduced the Lobbyists Act in the legislature. [...]
By Jeff Gailus
Why I Left Politics
For three and a half years (2004–2008), I had the honour of being the Alberta Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly for Edmonton-Meadowlark. The pay was pleasant, the perks were plentiful. I [...]
Democracy: The Unfinished Revolution
Alberta has built up a huge debt since 1994. Human services, the environment and support for local communities are not the only public policy areas in which Alberta has a debt. All these debts [...]
By David King
Democracy in Alberta
Alberta is a province which began with all the energy and all the ambitions of a deeply democratic society. Look at the early history of the province. The real driving forces were not, as is so [...]
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MOST READ
The Lesson of Lougheed
For 100 years, between 1905 and 2005, Albertans changed their government only three times (1921, 1935, 1971). The last of these elections, the most portentous, happened 50 years ago this August. Alberta has now changed government twice in the past six years. The next election may see yet another new government—meaning ...
The Assault on Higher Education
The Kenney government proclaimed in fall 2019 that Alberta’s post-secondary institutions were “overly dependent” on government funding—which is an odd thing to say about a public good. Then it declared that the province’s grant to the schools should be reduced by 20 per cent by 2023. The rationale for this ...
Rediscovering a River
The Cree called it Kisiskâciwanisîpiy—the swiftly flowing river. For the Blackfoot, it was omaka-ty—the big river. It starts in the Columbia Icefield, at the toe of the Saskatchewan Glacier, and cuts the province in half as it flows through Banff and Jasper national parks, northeast to Edmonton, then east-by-southeast across the ...