This week in AB: March 22, 2025
Alberta
Another AHS bombshell from Carrie Tait at the Globe and Mail
According to documents obtained by G&M, the AHS board was fired before they could receive an update on the other investigation AHS CEO Athana Mentzelopolous had commissioned in November of 2024.
Health Minister Adriana LaGrange refused to answer questions from Ms. Tait on Friday regarding the decision to fire the board, saying that the matter was before the courts — which it is not.
Ms. Mentzelopolous’ claim of wrongful dismissal has nothing to do with Min. LaGrange’s decision to fire the AHS board, but it does seem to be a convenient catch-all for this government’s dedication to hiding the truth from Albertans.
Despite their protests, Evan Romanow, Deputy Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, did release a statement in response to the newest allegations on Saturday morning.
Mark Carney meets with Premier Smith; no photos, please
The Prime Minister was in Edmonton on Thursday, and the Premier deigned to meet with him “at his request” which was very big of her, I know. The ignorant and blatantly partisan statement afterwards attributed to her was likely written by her chief of staff but she gave it her blessing, so she can wear it.
The Premier reportedly gave the Prime Minister a list of demands, most of which revolve around environmental regulation that is bad for unfettered oil and gas development. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has since released a list of demands as well, mirroring those of Alberta. Moe and Smith have had no trouble standing up to Canada in the midst of the trade war Donald Trump started two months ago, a fact that has not gone unnoticed in either province.
Randy Boisseneault announced he will not be running in Edmonton-Centre in the next election, and Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi, who was also a liberal cabinet minister, says he has been asked to run again.
Reporting Saturday afternoon confirmed Mark Carney will run in the riding of Nepean in Ottawa.
The Prime Minister is expected to ask the Governor General to drop the writs on Sunday, March 23.
More questions from QP
Despite last week’s assertions from Justice Minister Mickey Amery that the interim report from the judge-led UCP-commissioned internal investigation would be made available to all members of the Legislature, Danielle Smith’s responses regarding the same omit that; I’m curious whether Amery misspoke.
More information about DynaLife’s bailout came out — somehow, the company was bankrupt within 90 days. That’s not even addressing the massive clusterfluck while it was actually running.
Minister of Public Safety Mike Ellis said there’s no evidence to support political interference with Calgary Police over UofC protests last year. David Shepherd referenced this report from Jeremy Appel, which clearly contradicts Ellis.
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Taxpayer backstop for oil and gas environmental liabilities? It was never going to be anything but when the government refuses to enforce liability of their contracts.
Smith says the final report will be out in April, and that they took recommendations from Alberta Liabilities Disclosure Project, referred to by Regan Boychuk at the time as “a radical idea… akin to nationalization”. Not sure how “radical” using public money to protect private profit is, but, whatever.
Danielle Smith is a guest in conversation with Ben Shapiro for a PragerU event in Florida next week. The opposition doesn’t love it because Shapiro has expressed support for annexation, but the government wants us to focus on the fact that Shapiro doesn’t like tariffs and has 25 million followers — not one of whom likely care more about Canada through the America First brainwashing. That’s the only fact that matters; everything else is just debatable, and unwinnable, outside their own base of support.
Minister of Mental Health and Addiction Dan Williams claims that Alberta is focused on recovery, not facilitating addictions. Unfortunately, the question put to him was about a growing concern over gambling addiction in the province, and the Government of Alberta does run an online gambling website. Perhaps he meant we will only facilitate addictions that make the government money, not save the government money.
On the subject of whether AHS procurement was solely an AHS decision, records obtained through FOIP, and comment from those involved at the time say: not so much.
Briefing notes prepared for Smith and the Minister of Health on procuring the children’s pain and fever medication suggested the province request assistance from the feds in the purchase to shield Alberta from shouldering the costs. Health Minister Jason Copping directed AHS to formalize the riskier procurement deal.
Semi-regular reminder that procurement staff are the middle man for the employer; they aren’t supposed to use another middle man who takes a cut.
Canada
Unity referendums; what if?
This is not, as I had originally thought Saturday morning, a unique idea; apparently it’s making its way around social media this weekend.
I think it would be a great time to hold referendums across the country at voting stations with a simple question: do you support (your province of residence) remaining part of Canada’s confederation?
As columnists for the Canadian arm of U.S. propaganda are near drooling over the possibility of certain provinces causing a national unity crisis, I think this would be a fantastic time to ask it straight out.
There’s a few reasons I think it would be good timing.
First, support for Canadian sovereignty, and unity, is at an all-time high right now. That’s a fantastic place to start.
Second, those who would like to cause more harm to Canadian unity tend to have a certain political leaning. I like the idea of having referendums on Canadian unity simultaneously across the country, during a federal election, because they would have to split their resources.
Third, and maybe most importantly, they would lose the activism of some of their more influential conservative voices; because there’s an election going on.
Fourth, and finally, I look at Brexit and feel like the long campaign period on the question allowed those bad actors the time they needed to work the emotions of voters. It was a close vote — 51.86 per cent — with a notable demographic split by rural and urban, younger and older.
During a press conference on Friday, Postmedia’s Rick Bell was begging Danielle Smith to say she would hold a referendum on Alberta separatism if the Liberals won another federal election and her list of demands were not met within six months. As I said, his salivating at the prospect was disgustingly palpable.
Ms. Smith responded that she would likely hold another Fair Deal-type panel across the province to gauge what Albertans wanted.
Sure.
There’s already money being spent on trying to turn Albertans into traitors because some dudes are too lazy or too inept to simply move to the U.S. if they want so badly to be USians. Instead, they want another country to come to them. The entitlement is really quite something to behold.
While watching Brexit unfold in 2016, I either recognized or could imagine the same rhetoric here; instead of paying federal tax, we could fund 5,000 more medical staff. If we were separate, we’d have so much more money for ourselves. Except, that isn’t what happened for them, and it wouldn’t happen for us either.
Donald Trump wants Canada to be the 51st state; not just Alberta — even though some of us think we’re super special. As the 51st state, taxes will go into one pool, just like they do federally now, and no one would want to give them a “sovereignty act”.
I could go on but I’d rather just argue for the question to be asked sooner rather than later, so we could say “we’ve already asked, and answered that.” I’m biased, of course, because I know there’s a possibility that the Liberals might win this election and I’m not looking forward to the whining from the usual suspects.
We’ll fight it if we have to, of course, but life would be simpler if we didn’t have to move right into it while we have the tangerine twatwaffle to deal with as well.
Just my opinion.
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