Ottawa can afford to speak softly on constitutional matters because it carries a big stick. One of Imperial Oil Resources Ltd.’s drainage ponds at its Kearl site north of Fort McMurray (Photo: Nicholas Vardy). Readers following the federal reaction to the constitutional nonsense, starting with the Smith Government’s so-called Sovereignty
Continue readingTag: constitutional law
Alberta Politics: Danielle Smith to Alberta at first newer of 2023: ‘We haven’t made a decision to invoke the Sovereignty Act on anything’
Judging from Premier Danielle Smith’s first formal news conference of 2023 in Calgary yesterday, no one needs to worry too much about her using the deceptively named Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act any time soon. Parks Minister Todd Loewen, who’s been sending ludicrous letters to Liberals (Photo: Government
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Splish-splash! Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe channels UCP frontrunner Danielle Smith’s cynical Sovereignty Act performance
CALGARY – Is there something in the water in Saskatchewan? Or has Premier Scott Moe’s government just been paying too much attention to the success of the separatist pish-posh served up by Danielle Smith that seems to have set the narrative for the United Conservative Party’s leadership race here in
Continue readingAlberta Politics: With a murky legal strategy but a clear political one, Jason Kenney vows to challenge use of Emergencies Act in court
Using his favourite medium, Facebook, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced yesterday his government plans to go to court to challenge “the unjustified use of the Emergencies Act” by Ottawa. The one minute and 49 second video clip posted to the social media platform was not particularly informative about what the
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: If You Are Going To Vote, Read This
Things are changing rapidly in the world, but as of this moment, we can say a few things about the major political parties of the Western world, with reasonable certainty. It is now undeniable, that by their actions, the major parties of the Western world, including the Democratic party of
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Supreme Court settles the carbon pricing matter in Ottawa’s favour – and maybe a lot more than that
Canadians worried about the survival of the country had cause for relief yesterday morning with news the Supreme Court of Canada had ruled 6-3 the federal government is entitled to impose a national carbon-pollution pricing system – in other words, to act like the government of Canada. Had the court
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Personal Sovereignty, Body Sovereignty – The Foundation Of A Free Society
All our laws rest on constitutional law. All constitutional law rests on habeus corpus, and “the Great Writ”, the Magna Carta. The central axiom and ultimate foundation of all rule of law, all constitutional law, and all human rights, rests upon the principle which was set down and re-affirmed in the
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Alberta’s Bill 1 is bad law, bad theatre, and an unconstitutional attack on the fundamental rights of citizens
If the passage of Bill 1 by the Alberta Legislature last month demonstrates anything, it’s the contempt in which Premier Jason Kenney and the United Conservative Party hold the rule of law. Mr. Kenney and his well-behaved UCP caucus know that Canada’s Constitution is the supreme law of the land.
Continue readingAlberta Politics: ‘Has Trudeau committed treason?’ The answer is no and the question is completely bonkers!
Donna Kennedy-Glans, by all accounts an intelligent and accomplished Alberta Conservative, recently posted and pinned a Tweet asking, “Has Trudeau committed treason?” If her intention was to grab the attention of Alberta’s chattering classes, she succeeded. If she was out for attention, though, I’m not sure she really wanted the
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Rachel Notley and Jason Kenney find common ground, sort of … on dubious pipeline posturing
PHOTOS: Kinder Morgan Inc.’s Trans Mountain Pipeline. (Photo: Handout from Kinder Morgan Canada.) Below: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, Alberta Opposition Leader Jason Kenney, U of A economist Andrew Leach, and British Columbia Premier John Horgan. I guess we can understand why Jason Kenney acts like Alberta has all the powers of
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Inclusion of 1905 act in Constitution means Brad Wall’s ‘Notwithstanding Clause’ gambit is no slam-dunk
PHOTOS: Premier Brad Wall of Saskatchewan (Photo: CBC). Below: Edmonton lawyer Simon Renouf. If Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall thinks he can just snap his fingers and the Notwithstanding Clause of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms will make his Catholic school troubles go away, he may need to think
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Holy smoke! Saskatchewan court’s Catholic education ruling is a bombshell
PHOTOS: Calgary Catholic School District headquarters (Screen grab from Google Street View). Below: Mr. Justice Donald Layh being sworn in in 2014 (Yorkton Today), Edmonton Catholic School District Headquarters, Edmonton Public School Trustee Michael Janz. Holy smoke! The ruling Thursday by a Saskatchewan judge that the province’s government may no
Continue readingAlberta Politics: In subversive move, Edmonton school board chair calls for optional Catholic programs in public schools
PHOTOS: Edmonton Public School Board Chair Michael Janz. Below: CBC evening drive show host Portia Clark, and the logos of the Alberta Catholic School Trustees’ Association and Edmonton Public Schools. In a brilliantly subversive move, Michael Janz, chair of the Edmonton Public School Board, has publicly wondered in a blog
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Teachers Political Protest Not a Strike and Not Illegal
First of all it is not a strike because it is not part of the collective bargaining process because with a government imposed contract, imposed under a draconian law whose constitutionality is under challenge, there is no collective bargaining process….
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Teachers Political Protest Not a Strike and Not Illegal
First of all it is not a strike because it is not part of the collective bargaining process because with a government imposed contract, imposed under a draconian law whose constitutionality is under challenge, there is no collective bargaining process. Secondly the political protest is aimed at the government as
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Teachers Political Protest Not a Strike and Not Illegal
First of all it is not a strike because it is not part of the collective bargaining process because with a government imposed contract, imposed under a draconian law whose constitutionality is under challenge, there is no collective bargaining process. Secondly the political protest is aimed at the government as
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