Category: Uncategorized

Until October 20, the City of Edmonton will be conducting an eConsultation as part of ongoing consultations with Edmontonians on public transit and potential Light Rail Transit (LRT) routes.

And something about lobbying the Supreme Court… I’m not sure how that works…

Criminal law experts dismissed Stelmach’s warning as “rhetoric” and part of a “disturbing” trend by politicians at all levels to deflect the blame on the important public issue.

Criminologist Doug King said Stelmach, like other politicians, is simply trying to pass the buck on the crime file because nobody wants to take responsibility for ensuring safe streets. …

“You can’t just pressure the Supreme Court of Canada. How do you do that?” wondered King, an instructor at Calgary’s Mount Royal College.

“It sounds to me like it’s deflecting (the blame) outside the province to find out why things aren’t going so well in Alberta in terms of gun and gang activity.”

Having purposely backed away from the cesspooly trenches of partisan politics after the March 2008 election, I’ve taken the time to think long and hard about who I would want to support for the leadership of the Alberta Liberal Party. This was a difficult decision, I wasn’t sure whether I actually wanted to support a candidate in this race.

Since 2004, I have had the opportunity to work with Dave Taylor during my terms as Vice-President (External) of the University of Alberta Students’ Union and Chair of the Council of Alberta University Students, and Mo Elsalhy while I worked for the Alberta Liberals, and though I believe that either of them would make fine leaders of the Opposition Liberals, I am interested in supporting a leader who is not iron-clad attached to one political brand-name. I am looking for a leader interested in creating a viable progressive alternative to the ruling PCs — and I believe that David Swann is the only candidate in this race to fit this description.

A reluctant and non-traditional politician, David Swann has the personal sincerity and professional integrity to understand and adapt to the realities of a shifting political environment. After nearly forty years of one-party rule in Alberta, it is clear that the traditional political parties aren’t cutting it. Change will not come in this province as long as the only alternative to the ruling PCs is seen by many Albertans as a branch office of the Liberal Party of Canada, and I believe that David Swann understands this.

I strongly believe that a viable alternative to the ruling PCs will not come from those parties already existent in the traditional political structure, but from a new political movement which has the ability to engage the over 60% of Alberta voters who are not participating in their democratic process — something that none of the current political parties have proven successful at doing.

Whether it be risking his professional career by taking a stand on climate change, being the only MLA to attend the Fort Chipewyan Keepers of the Water conference, engaging Albertans on international issues like Darfur and Iraq, or openly talking about political realignment — I believe that David Swann has proven his ability to look beyond traditional brand-name politics and engage disengaged Albertans to build something viable and new.

I invite you to join me in supporting David Swann.

Just got back from tonight’s Rally for the Arts in Churchill Square.

Hosted by Ken Chapman and featuring speakers Margaret Atwood, Maria Dunn, Alice Major, and other local artists, the rally attracted around around 300 Albertans who support the arts and oppose recent comments made by Stephen Harper. The rally also attracted an array of local elected officials and candidates including City Councillors Ben Henderson and Ron Hayter, former Councillor Michael Phair, MLA Laurie Blakeman, Edmonton-Centre candidate Jim Wachowich, and though I didn’t spot her, there were a pack of Linda Duncan volunteers handing out pamphlets.

If you want to get involved and spread the message about the importance of Alberta’s creative economy, join the Facebook group — Albertans for the Arts.

The nomination deadline for the Alberta Liberal leadership race has passed and three candidate have thrown their hats in — David Swann, Dave Taylor, and Mo Elsalhy will contest the December vote to replace outgoing leader Kevin Taft.

Elsalhy, Swann, and Taylor will face off in a Sunday morning debate at this weekend’s Liberal convention in Edmonton.

Though I thought it was a little bizarre for Bob Rae to attack Stephen Harper over a speech that he delivered five years ago, I’m not convinced that it will actually accomplish much more for the Liberals than simply distracting the media from the Conservatives messaging for a single day.

It did, however, remind me of an article I recently read about the long-forgotten Joe Biden plagiarism fiasco of 1988. Maybe Sarah Palin will bring it up during Thursday night’s Vice-Presidential debate?

Here’s a quick run down of the candidate’s performances at last night’s Edmonton-Strathcona all-candidates forum at the Myer Horowitz Theatre:

Rahim Jaffer, Conservative – Rahim Jaffer is a seasoned retail politician and handled himself well in the face of a fairly hostile audience. As a veteran politician having spent 11 years in Ottawa, this type of forum is clearly old hat for Jaffer.

Linda Duncan, NDP – She didn’t steal the show, but Linda Duncan performed much better in last night’s forum than she did in the 2006 forum at the same location. Duncan was disciplined with her reponses and was clearly on the NDP message as she took on Jaffer.

Jane Thrall, Green – Out of all the candidates, Jane Thrall impressed me the most. As a first-time candidate at her first forum, Thrall was well-spoken, succinct with her points, and was impressively clever when she wasn’t sure what a Green Party policy on a specific issue was.

Claudette Roy, Liberal – Thanks for showing up. If Roy is a strong candidate, her performance at last night’s forum sure didn’t show it. After being nominated over a year ago, Roy either wasn’t able communicate with the audience or simply didn’t have a grasp of what her party stood for. Next.

Kevan Hunter, Marxist-Leninist – If there was a Sarah Palin Award for Preparedness, it would be awarded to Kevan Hunter with distinction. At the beginning of each response, it seemed that he spent half of his allocated time trying to think of ways he could relate his responses to Marxist or Leninist theory, rather than actually answering the question.

Albertans For The Arts – Inaugural Rally

Wednesday, October 1, 2008
6:00pm to 7 pm
Churchill Square
(Across the street from the Winspear Centre)

Facebook event

I’m sitting in a 300-400 person audience at the Edmonton-Strathcona all-candidates forum at the Myer Horowitz Theatre with Legendary Campaign Manager Chris Henderson.

It’s been a generally low-key forum, but the most loaded question of the night came right off the bat as an audience member launched an abortion-taser combo question to Conservative incumbent Rahim Jaffer. In response, the best and most clever quote of the night goes to Green candidate Jane Thrall:

“I’m not sure what the Green policy is on tasers, but I can assure you that we won’t use them on pregnant women.”

The University of Alberta Students’ Union-hosted Edmonton-Strathcona all-candidates forum 7:00 pm tonight at the Myer Horowitz Theatre is sure to be a good show.

Though there’s been a sizable amount of media coverage about NDP candidate Linda Duncan‘s chances of knocking-off Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer, I think Duncan’s chances rest more on Jack Layton‘s performance in Thursday night’s leaders’ debate than any of the local candidates debates.

As a frustrated and undecided Edmonton-Strathcona voter who can’t stomach the overly negative Conservative and confusing Liberal campaigns, I’ve narrowed my options down to three ballot box choices on October 14:

a) Voting for Linda Duncan: There is no doubt that in 2008 Duncan is the only candidate with a shot at defeating Jaffer. Though it remains debatable how good her chances actually are.

b) Voting for Green candidate Jane Thrall: Nothing in this campaign has made me feel like any of the three main political parties have earned my vote, so the idea of supporting a non-traditional party is very appealing.

c) Spoiling my ballot: There’s a strong possibility that Barack Obama could get my write-in vote.

A dramatic power struggle has erupted in the Alberta Green Party between past-Lacombe-Ponoka candidate Joe Anglin and leader George Read.

From the Green Party website:

On September 27, 2008 in Morningside Alberta, a hostile and undemocratic takeover was attempted on the Green Party of Alberta. Those responsible proposed last-minute constitutional changes, a name change, and a total transfer of power to themselves.

Though I’m sure it’s less dramatic than the media release makes it sound, I can’t say that I’m surprised that a group like Anglin’s would and could mount a take-over of the small party.

Anglin’s ‘agitate, agitate, agitate‘ style is much different than Read’s low-key leadership. After leading a group of central Alberta landowners against the construction of new transmission lines, Anglin was the most successful Green candidate in the 2008 provincial election (garnering over 20% of the vote) and has supporters from across the political spectrum in his constituency. Though a power struggle may envelope the Greens in the meantime, Anglin might just be what the Greens need to get the interest and attention of voters in Alberta.

– The Professional Arts Coalition of Edmonton will be hosting a discussion on Federal Arts Funding with Liberal MP Bob Rae and Senator Tommy Banks on Saturday, October 4 from 4:30 to 6:30 pm at the Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre (8426 Gateway Blvd).

– Edmonton Chante started this weekend and will run until October 4.

– Earlier this week, the Calgary Professional Arts Alliance, which represents over 150 Calgary based arts organizations and independent artists released a statement objecting to Stephen Harper‘s comments about Canada’s creative economy, reminding Harper of the arts in his own backyard:

In 2005, over 43,000 Calgarians were employed within Calgary’s creative industries, representing about 13.5% of the city’s total employment. In 2001, 4.1% of Canada’s workforce, or 611,000 individuals, were employed in the arts sector alone.

– Chantel Hebert raised some interesting points about Michel Rivard‘s video on Conservative culture funding.

– Edmonton-Centre candidate Jim Wachowich and Edmonton-Strathcona candidate Linda Duncan are the only two Alberta candidates to have been endorsed by VoteForEnvironment.ca.

This video is making the rounds in reaction to the short-sighted Conservative Party attitude to arts and culture funding in Canada.