Categories
Arts and Culture in Alberta Edmonton Arts Council

it’s time for a new capital arts and culture policy.

When thinking about Canada’s arts and cultural capitals, I wouldn’t blame someone for turning their thoughts towards Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver or Ottawa, but the Edmonton Arts Council hopes to change that as they have drafted a new culture policy for Alberta’s capital city in a new report titled “THE ART OF LIVING – A plan for securing the future of arts and heritage in the city of Edmonton 2008-2018.” The report was submitted to Edmonton City Council last week and begins by recognizing why a new and strong arts and culture policy is important for Edmonton:

The need for a cultural plan for the City of Edmonton was first discussed at Edmonton City Council in December 2005 during the debate and approval of the 2006 City of Edmonton operating budget. This need for a unified and wide-ranging cultural plan for the City was spurred by:

• an ever-increasing realization of the importance of arts, heritage and culture to the city.

• an acceptance that the City has key responsibilities in arts, heritage and culture.

• an appreciation that the sector is becoming increasingly complex.

• an awareness that the current economic boom in Alberta has increased the pace of development in Edmonton and emphasized the need to be proactive in many areas, including arts, heritage and culture.

The report also includes testimonials and stories of support from Edmonton arts supporters ranging from Jeanne Lougheed, Todd Babiak, Terry Wickham, Ken Chapman, Greg Hollingshead, Marilyn Dumont, and fellow-former Morinville-ite Marty Chan.

With the Spring Session of the Alberta Legislature starting today, I would hope that Tory Premier Ed Stelmach and Culture and Community Spirit Minister Lindsay Blackett (Calgary-North West) take a serious look at this policy recommendation.

(h/t to Ken Chapman for the link)

Email
Categories
Bakken Formation

more on the bakken formation.

Following up on yesterday’s post on the Bakken Formation, I’ll direct ya’ll to a post that Aaron over at Grandinite wrote last month on one of my newly favorite geological formations.

(picture from BakkenOil.com)

Email
Categories
Bakken Formation Podcasts USGS

what’s going on in the bakken formation?

Did you know that the United States Geological Survey has podcasts?

The latest podcast is on the USGS estimate that potentially 3.0 to 4.3 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil exisists in an area known as the Bakken Formation. The Bakken Formation is a 200,000 square mile blanket of rock stretching over Saskatchewan, Montana, and North Dakota.

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics Alberta Royalty Review Ed Stelmach

ed stelmach’s steers his steady plans along another steady path.

After a year-long province-wide debate on royalties, which included a high-profile royalty review panel, Tory Premier Ed Stelmach stayed steady on his promise that Albertans would get their “fair share” from the royalties collected from oil and gas exploitation. With Fort McMurray and the Tar Sands booming, Ed Stelmach led his steady fight against the evil dogs of looney environmentalism and the socialist opposition on the left who claimed the royalties increase was just not enough, and hard-line free market wing-nut ideologues on the right who screamed that the increase was too much. Ed Stelmach stayed steady. The increase was just enough, Albertans deserved their fair share, and Ed Stelmach was going to stay steady to make sure they got it.

Ed Stelmach was steady as he not only steered steadfast with his royalty plan into 2008, but also had the courage to stand up for his new royalty plan by launching it in front of Albertans during a General Election. On March 3, 2008, Albertans got up and cast their ballots for Ed Stelmach, endorsing his new royalty plan. Much rejoicing was seen in the streets. Ed Stelmach has achieved his new majority. A mandate and an approval of his plan.

Now, with an enlarged caucus and Spring Session of the Alberta Legislature beginning next week, Ed Stelmach is staying steady by not changing his steady plan, but steering his steadfast plan on another steady path. Ed Stelmach has the courage to do what’s right and won’t let small things like year-long debates, campaign promises, and election results get in the way of his steady plans.

Billion- dollar royalty break
Five-year holiday bid to attract new energy investment

Renata D’Aliesio
Calgary Herald; Canwest News Service

Friday, April 11, 2008

CALGARY – The Alberta government is giving oil and gas producers a $1-billion break on royalties over the next five years in a bid to attract investment it fears is being chased away.

Energy Minister Mel Knight revealed in Calgary on Thursday that the province has tweaked the new royalty regime to address the “unintended consequences” of its plan announced in October.

The government was assailed over that plan, set to take effect next year. The energy sector charged it made some oil and gas plays uneconomical, while opposition critics contended it shortchanged Albertans on resource riches.

“These (new) programs will help generate hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties and countless new jobs for decades,” Knight said.

“I believe this is good news for most of the industry.”

Email
Categories
Alberta Legislature Bridget Pastoor Ed Stelmach Ken Kowalski Laurie Blakeman

suiting up for spring session #4: laurie blakeman v. ken kowalski.

Get ready for the clash of two very different political worlds as two of Alberta’s arguably most opposite MLAs vie for the Speakers chair.

In the right corner, you have incumbent Ken Kowalski. As previously mentioned, after 29 years in the Legislature Kowalski is returning for his 9th term as the Tory MLA for the Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock area. Kowalski is also the type of rural conservative who campaigns for re-election on hard hitting points like “while human beings can create laws, the laws of God must take precedence” (which is totally appropriate for someone who has been the Speaker of the Assembly since 1997…).

In the left corner, you have the challenger, Laurie Blakeman. Blakeman is the Alberta Liberal MLA for the very urban downtown constituency of Edmonton-Centre. Returning for her fourth-term in the legislature since 1997, Blakeman is tough, outspoken, and a strong advocate of the arts, GLBTQ issues, and women in politics. Blakeman is probably the closest to an anti-thesis to the type of rural politics that Kowalski practices that you can find.

Though it won’t be a surprise when the 71 members of the Tory caucus jump to vote for the good old boy when Ed Stelmach and Kowalski give them the signal, Blakeman will be challenging Kowalski with the express intent of opening new horizons for women MLAs. Bridget Pastoor (Lethbridge-East) will be joining Blakeman in challenging the Tory majority by running for Deputy Speaker.

Email
Categories
Don Iveson Edmonton LRT Public Transit

let’s talk about the west edmonton lrt.

Interested?

A study has been completed to plan the extension of the LRT from Lewis Estates (87 Avenue and 199 Street) to the University of Alberta. As part of the study, open houses will be held to share information and details about the project and the study before it is presented to City Council.


(h/t to the always great Councillor Don Iveson‘s office for passing this along)

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics Alberta Tories

suiting up for spring session #3: getting ready to celebrate 40 years.

For those of your looking forward to the beginning of Spring Session in the Alberta Legislature, here’s a sneak peak at what awaits…

– In members statements, expect a member from the Tory caucus to make a statement in remembrance of the passing of former Moses and NRA head, Charlton Heston.

– Health Care Premiums will be gone in four years, starting… now?

– Speaking of Health Care, newly appointed Health Minister Ron Liepert says health care reforms he plans to bring in will be modeled on the Klein cuts of the 1990s.

– A Blue Ribbon committee is expected to be appointed to plan for the 40th Anniversary Celebrations of Progressive Conservative rule in Alberta in 2011. Expect plans to include the construction of a 50-foot statue of Ralph Klein overlooking the crossing of the Bow and Elbow Rivers in Calgary and military parades across the province…

– Land-use struggles! The fight by rural landowners continues! The Round Hill-Dodds Agriculture Protection Association is fighting to stop the construction of a new coal and gasification plant south of Tofield. Major investors in the project include the City of Edmonton-owned EPCOR and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

Email
Categories
Alberta Royalty Review Alberta Tar Sands Peter Valentine

suiting up for spring session #2: the valentine report.

Just in time for the Spring Session of the Alberta Legislature to start, former Auditor General Peter Valentine’s long-time coming report, “Building Confidence: Improving Accountability and Transparency in Alberta’s Royalty System,” on the accountability of Alberta’s oil and gas royalty review collection system has been released and the reaction seems to be a bit scattered…

Disappointing Valentine royalty report makes things murkier than ever (Paul Simons, Edmonton Journal)

New report looks like a whitewash (Graham Thomson, Edmonton Journal)

No “super-ministry” needed to handle royalties (CBC)

Valentine’s massacre more like a pillow fight (Don Braid, Calgary Herald)

I Read Dunn and Valentine and I Still Don’t Know If Albertans Are Getting Their Fair Share of Royalties (Ken Chapman)

Gov’t says it may have gotten it wrong (Edmonton Sun)

A Billion Questions (Jeff Cummings, Metro)

Royalty Regime up in the air (Neil Waugh, Edmonton Sun)

Public Confidence Continues to Erode in Department of Energy (Alberta Liberals)

Valentine Report New Spin on Bad News (Alberta NDP)

Expect this to be a hot topic when Spring Session begins…

Email
Categories
Blogs Federal Liberals

daveberta.ca leaving liblogs.ca

Just a quick note to let readers know that I’ve officially requested to be removed from liblogs.ca. As I no longer associate myself or this blog with the Liberal Party of Canada, it seemed like the honest thing to do (as opposed to the dishonest thing to do). As previously mentioned, I haven’t held a membership or been active with the Liberal Party of Canada for a couple of years and the recent quality of federal-level leadership from all parties have convinced me to keep my federal partisanship at an equal null (also, if someone figures out what the Liberal Party of Canada is standing for today, please let me know).

Like many politically active and aware Canadians, I’ve had a difficult time getting excited about politics with the current lack of political leadership in this country. This has led to a pretty strong disenchantment with the current pack of political leaders. Though I continue to support individual MPs and candidates on the federal scene (such as Elizabeth May, Irwin Cotler, Jim Wachowich, Olivia Chow, and Nathan Cullen), I can’t help but wonder what the days of Canada’s exciting leaders felt like – Lester B. Pearson, Robert Stanfield, Pierre Trudeau, etc and etc. I’m sure that I’m not the only Canadian look forward to the day when we will again witness some real debate on the federal political scene in Canada.

One would have hoped that three well-educated leaders like Stephen Harper (M.A. in Economics from the University of Calgary), Stéphane Dion (Ph.D. from Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris), and Jack Layton (M.A. from York University) would be able to raise the level of debate in the House of Commons, but it seems to have degenerated into something that would be more appropriate to a group of political bloggers…

Even imagining what the days of notable provincial leaders – Peter Lougheed, Allan Blakeney, Bill Davis, and René Lévesque – felt like leaves this politico wondering how Canadians ended up with their current (and for a large part uninteresting) group of provincial premiers. Is being boring an electoral strategy? Premiers Ed Stelmach and Dalton McGuinty would certainly lend credence to this theory.

Email
Categories
Canadian Politics Edmonton-Strathcona Rahim Jaffer

dear rahim jaffer, mp edmonton-strathcona.


Above is a pamphlet mailed out by my MP, and below is a letter signed and sent by my house mate and I to Rahim Jaffer, the Edmonton-Strathcona Member of Parliament in question.

Rahim Jaffer, M.P.
7516 Gateway Blvd.
Edmonton, AB T6E 6E8

April 6, 2008

Dear Mr. Jaffer,

On April 4, 2008, we received a pamphlet from your office featuring a
graphic of Jack Layton’s giant floating head and a hopelessly out of
scale CN Tower. We were somewhat puzzled as to why our
Conservative MP would be advertizing for the NDP until we noticed the
text, “NDP Opposition: Selling Out Hard-Working Alberta Families.”

As these types of pamphlets seem to be the only type of
correspondence that we receive from your office, we can only assume
that your full-time job as a member of the governing party is not to
govern, but to attack the opposition (which already finds itself in a
weakened position without your help).

As two constituents and voters in Edmonton-Strathcona, we would
much rather see you earn your re-election through hard work rather
than American-style smear tactics which I can only imagine contribute
to the decision of hordes of voters who chose to not participate in our
democracy. As we evaluate our voting options in anticipation of the
next federal election, we hope that you refocus on representing us,
your constituents, rather than the Conservative Party war room.

Govern yourself accordingly,

(The Undersigned)

Email
Categories
bad zombie movies

violence of the lambs.

If you’re looking for a movie to rent this weekend (because of all the snow, if you’re in Edmonton…), here’s what happens when good sheep go baaad…

Email
Categories
Alberta Views Magazine

alberta views magazine blog.


As you can probably tell from the title of this post, Alberta Views Magazine has launched a blog.

As part of their new endeavour into cyberspace, the good folks at the Alberta Views Blog will be issuing a series of challenges to Albertans every month. I took them up on their first challenge and this is what resulted…

For those of you not familiar with Alberta Views, it’s a great Alberta-based magazine focusing on the “unique political, social and cultural life of Alberta from a progressive perspective.” And they do a pretty good job at it.

Email
Categories
Alberta Politics Ken Kowalski

suiting up for spring session #1.

With the Spring Session of the Alberta Legislature set to begin on April 14, here’s a part of the pre-game show that I will be spotlighting over the next ten days…

– Back for a 9th season. It’s unlikely that anyone in the Tory caucus will take a run to unseat the Boss Hogg of Alberta politics from his throne. Yep, I’m speaking of Speaker Ken Kowalski (Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock). Kowalski was re-elected to his 9th term in the Assembly on March 3 after having been first elected MLA in 1979 (which also happens to be the same year that the Dukes of Harzzard aired…).

– Keep an eye on the guy from the north. After getting the boot in Tory Premier Ed Stelmach’s post-election cabinet, Guy Boutilier (Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo) might not be too happy-go-lucky about his new backbench real estate (in both Legislature office and assembly seating terms). Boutilier was first elected MLA in 1997 after serving as Mayor of Wood Buffalo. If anything, he’ll at least have former Klein-era Ministers Heather Forsyth (Calgary-Fish Creek) and Pearl Calahasen (Lesser Slave Lake) to keep him company in the backbenches…

– New faces in the 11-member opposition. Newly elected Alberta Liberals Kent Hehr (Calgary-Buffalo) and Darshan Kang (Calgary-McCall), and New Democrat Rachel Notley (Edmonton-Strathcona) are the new faces in Alberta’s opposition benches. It will also be interesting to see how Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft (Edmonton-Riverview) and New Democrat leader Brian Mason (Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood) carry themselves in this session following their setbacks in the March 3 election.

– Who art thou? With Tory MLA Sharaz Shariff’s defeat to Darshan Kang in Calgary-McCall, the Assembly will be looking for a new Deputy Chair of Committees. Following the last election, Shariff was outsted as Deputy Speaker by fellow Tory MLA Richard Marz (Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills) in a seemingly obvious Rural clique v. Calgary power struggle in the Tory caucus. Though most all Albertans could probably care less who the Deputy Speaker and Deputy Chair of Committees are, they are important indicators of the power politics of the governing caucus.

– License Plates. As far as I can tell, Heather Klimchuck (Edmonton-Glenora), a rookie Tory MLA and Minister of Service Alberta is going to be spending most of her time overseeing the important project of designing Alberta’s new licence plate.

Email
Categories
Uncategorized

what about alberto-canadian?

Looks like we’re a country of mutts. Your’s truly included.

About 53 per cent of the province’s population reported having more than one ethnic origin in 2006, compared with 48 per cent in 2001.

Across the country, the proportion of people who reported multiple ancestries was 41 per cent in 2006, compared with 38 per cent in 2001.

Email
Categories
Alberta Tar Sands Exxon Mobil Corporation Imperial Oil Kearl Lake

and in oily tar sands news…

Habitat – 1
Imperial Oil – 0 (well, not really zero, but for the purpose of this post…)

A major oil sands expansion has been thrown into doubt as it has lost a critical permit to proceed. The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has revoked the water permit for Imperial Oil’s Kearl expansion in the Athabasca oil sands.

A spokesman from the DFO said “[Imperial Oil has been notified by letter that they are not authorized to procees with any works or undertakings that will cause harmful alteration or disruption or destruction of fish habitats or that destroys fish.”

Imperial Oil is majority owned by the Exxon Mobil Corporation.

Email