I drew “The Legacy” a while back when Stephen Harper, our former prime minister, the one that hid in a closet when we were attacked, decided to make Canada a petrol state and merged the Ministry of Environment with the Ministry of Natural Resources. For my American friends Harper was
Continue readingTag: Oil Politics
Alberta Politics: Kinder Morgan threatens to pull plug on Trans Mountain Pipeline; Alberta goes wild
PHOTOS: Alberta Premier Rachel Notley in an old file photo of the author’s. Below: Opposition leader Jason Kenney, B.C. Premier John Horgan, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and a famous flag of the Texas Revolution. Remember “peak oil”? Don’t worry about it. Nobody else does either. But last night on social
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Short-term jobs and profits notwithstanding, Canada’s interests are not served by Saudi armoured vehicle sale
PHOTOS: A Canadian LAV III similar to the armoured vehicles to be sold by General Dynamics Land Systems (Canada) of London, Ont., to the Saudi National Guard. Below: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Foreign Minister Stéphane Dion, former MI6 head Sir Ri…
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Alberta’s big problem is the same as Russia’s – so what’s Stephen Harper doing about it?
Keep those wells a-pumpin! Keep those oil prices low! Squeeze those Russkies! Uh … just a minute. … isn’t that bad for Alberta’s many varieties of Conservative? Below: Russian President Vladimir Putin, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Mr. Harper’s hero, Margaret Thatcher. The Globe and Mail, tireless cheerleader for
Continue readingAlberta Diary: If you can’t trust Postmedia when it reports on oil and the environment, when can you trust it?
If you can’t trust your Postmedia website, who can you trust? I mean, other than Alberta Diary. Regardless, don’t blame these poor guys. They’re just trying to earn a living. Below: Economist Robyn Allen, Postmedia CEO Paul Godfrey. Industry self-regulation doesn’t work and never will for a simple reason: He
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: Even Norway Gets the Dutch Disease
We sometimes think of Norway as the country where fossil fuel riches are handled responsibly, not like the Alberta and Canadian governments that just piss it all away. Yes, Norway has amassed an impressive sovereign wealth fund from its Statoil royalties but, beyond that, it has many of the same
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Advice for Tom Mulcair and Justin Trudeau: Hammer Stephen Harper on the economy
The neoliberal Harper economy at work: a Toronto street scene, last week. Below: Thomas Mulcair, Justin Trudeau, Stephen Harper and Margaret Thatcher. Here’s some free advice for a couple of would-be Canadian prime ministers who are both in the news these days, the NDP’s Tom Mulcair and the Liberals’ Justin
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Alberta Politics – Danielle Smith the Meta-Populist
Lesson one in Alberta politics – Don’t fuck with private oil revenue. Lesson two in Alberta politics – There is no lesson two, please refer to lesson one for all concerns about governance. Full marks to Ed Stelmach for attempting to get the public’s meagre spoon into firehouse of wealth that is flowing out of […]
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