Women of ABpoli Hot Flashes: SMFH
This Week in AB
Conservatives can count on rural - too bad the feeling wasn't mutual
“I've heard a couple of rural MLAs refer to it as the United Calgary Party. https://t.co/umzgAlwSSg”
I was born in Calgary and raised in north-central Alberta. I've never lived in either of Alberta's major cities, preferring instead to live in rural communities outside of them.
What smaller rural communities lack in educational opportunities, shopping, extracurricular activities, cuisine options, jobs, public transit... where was I going with that?
Oh, right; smaller communities make up for the lack of mostly everything with an atmosphere of community; many people know your name (both the good and the bad with that one), which kid belongs to which house, smaller class sizes, more greenspaces, short commutes from one end of town to pretty much anything, and lower speed limits.
Rural areas tend to expect, and respect, a preponderance for physical labour. As a young poet, writer, and voracious reader, I preferred logic problems to calluses, and poured over my mom's Webster's encyclopedia the way most kids devoured comic books.
People think differently in rural -- there is less room between right and wrong, and "good" and "bad" -- nuance is a foreign language.
It is likely the expectation of simplicity that gives us the most grief out here. There's a strong "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" sensibility coupled with a "just use common sense" mentality that fails to consider the many complexities of issues that don't impact us -- until they do.
So, when you have a political leader who speaks rural but acts urban, it doesn't take long to notice. When you have a political party that is more concerned with complexities than simplicities, we notice. And when you shun what rural wants because you lead an entire province with differing -- even simultaneously conflicting -- needs, we stop trusting you to work in our best interests.
The bottom line is that in rural, we would rather have representation that never forms government than a government that doesn't represent us.
"New Blue" becomes yesterday's news
The UCP was never a big tent.
Kenney used the same playbook as Harper in taking over the progressive conservative coalition parties: eliminate the moderates and call anyone who wasn't conservative enough "biased", or a "liberal", who wasn't welcome in the party.
Interestingly enough, the Alberta identity really plays a big part - I tried to piece that together earlier this week.
Alberta laughed at "budgets that balance themselves" because we all know it takes oil revenue to do that
Not, you know, actual fiscal acumen https://t.co/nq20XYWjht”
"But Alberta pays more!"
Because Albertans make more.
"It's not fair!"
Around, and around, and around, we go.
For a government that demands independence, they don't respect it at all
Yesterday, Nicolaides removed Laird as chair. #ableg #abed https://t.co/DWDMTd7Wc1”
Alberta's small towns are dying. I may have hit on this with the first story as to some of the reasons why that might be.
It hardly changes the fact.
People need jobs. Not everyone wants to (or can afford to) simultaneously work for minimum wage at the local hardware store and fire up the local economy.
Athabasca University was one of those places with well-paying union jobs in a town of 3,000.
To their credit, the government of Alberta is trying to force the good union jobs to stay in the community. Like so many other things, it's failing. No matter how much you might want to stop progress, it doesn't need you - there's plenty of other people who are willing to step over the barricades.
Alberta docs have answers
We have lots of health questions - follow Dr. Mithani as she addresses the questions people ask.
PSA: you have to follow and ask in order to get answers.
Thin blue line insignias "reluctantly" discouraged
Remember that time when Black Lives Matter was met with Blue Lives Matter and because the Blue Lives were discriminately killing the Black Lives it was a whole thing?
Well, it was, and it is, and the Calgary Police Union finally said "ugh, if we have to stop enabling rhetoric and visual reminders that we think some lives matter more than others, we will".
Alberta teachers still fighting against the UCP's horrendous curriculum
I'm full of euphemisms today.
How about: "measure twice and cut once"?
"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"?
This isn't a misunderstood policy decision, it's our children's future and therefore all of our futures.
We have to get it right, "failure is not an option", yada, yada, yada.
Canada and beyond
Ontario heads to the polls on June 2
Ahead of the Ontario provincial election, polls are telling us that Doug Ford and his PC party will retain government.
Even the stories about riding associations topping up those who were struggling to make ends meet on salaries of $100K/year to $165K/year didn't move the needle.
And hey, if you want to supplement expenses for those who make well over the Canadian median income, no one wants to stop you - philanthropy is about you, after all.
(And I say this as a happy member of a weekly poker group that donates to the charity of the winner's choice - no matter what that choice is.)
This story though - annoyed me more than a Pierre Poilievre sound bite: because it's not the same thing.
Ontario Liberal Leader Steve Del Duca spent around $9,000 a year over six years wining and dining. For some of those years, he was a Minister in the Ontario government.
A brief explainer: party funds are supposed to be used for party business. If you know that "party business" is helping pay childcare or a mortgage for your Member of Provincial Parliament who makes over $100K/year, or the private school tuition for the leader of your party who already gets a top up for being the leader of the party, no big deal.
But if you're donating to a party because you believe they'll make your life better and you're topped out at donating $25/month because no one is helping pay your childcare, or mortgage, or children's private school tuition, I think you have a right to be upset.
However, if your representative is using your donations simply to help them stay in the game -- which involves wining and dining -- and they use the money for that purpose, especially when they could have billed the taxpayer, there should be some recognition that these are not the same things. Duh.
CPC leadership race still months away from ending
Kudos for including all the steps, I guess?
Full disclosure, I'm a white cis woman who doesn't hate Canada. I think the US is a grotesque devolution of integrity and intelligence and I don't want that for us.
Do I think Canada is perfect? No.
Do I think we can't do better? No.
Do I think we need saving by a paranoid conspiracy theorist who is willing to lie to an entire population for their own ends? Also, no.
Speaking of grotesque...
“It takes a monster to kill children.
As I'm sure you're all aware, another school shooting happened in the U.S. this week.
17 children between the ages of nine and eleven were gunned down in their classroom, along with two teachers, while 17 more were injured, and 19 police officers stood around outside.
The people who make laws are all throwing their hands up in the air saying "what can you possibly expect us to do?"
Thoughts and prayers were never enough but even they have to be tiring of that by now, wouldn't you think?
Final thoughts
“Total bans on abortion should come with total bans on ejaculation. https://t.co/ARBF3mWINd”
I study violence and I study mental health.
The problem is access to guns.
I’m also the elected president of the International Society for Research on Aggression.