l'advantage albertain

We want so badly to be Quebec but not to the benefit of people who live here.

I’ve long believed that the Alberta Advantage is really to corporate interests, even if it seems like we get the benefit of no sales tax and enjoy the lowest provincial tax rate in the country.

Yet, from 2015 to 2019, annual grocery store food spending was higher in Alberta than any other province.

Perhaps we spend more because of all that disposable income. Or, maybe, corporate interests adjust their pricing in provinces where people have less disposable income.

I’m simply pointing out that if we have to pay more, we’re not really the ones enjoying this so-called “advantage”, are we?

This Week in AB

“Just transition” shouldn’t only be available for oil and gas

You’ve probably heard the term and how outraged (insert sputtering fool here) are about the feds keeping tabs on job availability and employment rates for the oil industry.

Turns out, they aren’t the only ones losing out to global industry upheaval.

What about the just transition for women in already crappy paying jobs?

A recent report from the Middle America (totally doing this) found that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other automation will be phasing out the not-so-great-but-at-least-it’s-something jobs more commonly held by women who, let’s face it, if they could get a better job, they would have already done that.

Canada isn’t all that different when it comes to economic challenges and if we will be facing the same ones here, I’m hoping the feds are also looking out for them even if they aren’t as likely to organize a coup — because groceries still cost more in Alberta.

Winners and losers

Most of this thing is mad.

Let’s begin with the single positive fraction of the UCP’s “moratorium” on new energy projects in Alberta.

Scratch that; the single positive fraction of the '“moratorium” on new green energy projects in Alberta: ensuring regulations and costs for clean up and reclamation of land exist for such projects.

Since everyone fully expects oil and gas to absolutely screw Alberta (and Canada) on the latter, it actually makes sense to ensure something is in place to stop that from happening. However, since the legislation and obligation already exists for oil and gas — an industry that Smith wants to offer $20 billion in “incentives” to actually meet said obligations… I cannot fathom how that all pieces together in her head.

Danielle Smith and her band of numpties want us to believe Alberta doesn’t currently generate enough power to add renewable power sources.

"So I've told (the federal government), how can I bring on additional wind and solar if I'm not able to secure the reliability of my power grid by being able to bring on natural gas peaker plants? That's the heart of the problem," Smith said on her Saturday morning clarification segment August 5 on Corus Radio.

"No one is proposing any new natural gas plants because the federal government has created so much uncertainty in the market."

As we all know, the best way to combat apparent uncertainty is to create more uncertainty.

“In order to create not just any jobs but well-paying ones, ‘being open for business’ is a second critical priority for the Smith government”, wrote well-known Conservative supporter Jack Mintz in June, of the successes we will see from the UCP’s re-election.

Smith’s claim is that adding new power sources requires additional power sources behind them because the new power sources won’t work when there’s no sun or wind. The same sources that, presumably — since I didn’t hear that the people of Brooks froze last winter while there was snow on the solar panels— currently supply energy to the area.

Yes. The crux of her argument relies on ignoring the fact that we currently have the energy supply.

*stares blankly*

Hinshaw case details political takeover of pandemic decisions (called it)

I’ll just add that I think a large majority trusted Dr. Hinshaw to make these decisions — the anti-expert Christian right Jason Kenney brought in to support his takeover of the PCs (and, yes, the same group that brought him down) didn’t support her authority.

Speaking of which, I spelled that out in detail back in May of 2020.

In 2021, Bill 66 repealed Bill 10, as well as made changes to some of the authority afforded a Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) in Alberta when a public health emergency is declared.

The decision, made public August 2, offered a few people the opportunity to say “I told you so”.

Lorian Hardcastle from the University of Calgary’s faculty of law has consistently maintained that Hinshaw’s responsibility was to exercise her authority under the Act, adding that the recent decision details that violation.

While Bill 10 provided the CMOH override clause, the UCP Cabinet relegated Hinshaw’s role to that of advisor behind closed doors.

As investigative journalist Charles Rusnell wrote, “It is also important to point out that (former Premier Jason Kenney and former Minister of Health Tyler Shandro) and the entire #ucp caucus didn't just lie to the public and use Hinshaw as a shield for their pandemic decisions, they willfully ignored the law and lied about breaching it.”

Then they unveiled the “new and improved” packaging with the “same great formula” and sold it to us with a huge mark up.

Final thoughts

Must watch: Fisk

It has great characters and made me laugh. I hate that there’s only six 30 minute episodes and we don’t have season two yet, but I am on the edge of my seat.

It’s dry, very dry, and weird. Absolutely adored it.