When Fort Saskatchewan goes to the polls to elect City Council this fall, “the rules” will be a little bit different. Although the most noticeable new “rule” under Alberta’s recently-amended Local Authorities Elections Act is that council and mayoral terms are now four years long, there are some other changes. For example, laws regarding...
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Living here in Alberta, we happen to have “Beautiful British Columbia” next door, with its rugged untamed wilderness, hot summers, and cosmopolitan Vancouver a quick plane flight (or a day’s drive) away. But my home province also offers Albertans a perhaps far better gift: one you don’t even need to go there to receive....
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So, it seems it’s back to the old talk about oil. Last week’s debacle involved none other than Federal NDP Leader, Thomas Mulcair. He was chided by Premier Redford and others for saying that oilsands success could be a cause of the decline of manufacturing in Eastern Canada. I think if this whole debacle...
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How things change! We are again a country where our government has a majority in Parliament, and the “natural governing party” has been reduced to third party status, winning its least number of seats since Confederation. And perhaps equally as significantly, separatists were dealt a historic defeat. Nowadays, I’m not so much of a...
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Although the federal electoral race in Redwater will probably have a quite predictable outcome, and even though rural constituencies in Alberta tend to elect candidates from a specific party, whether you support the Liberals, Greens, NDP, or Conservatives, you should vote regardless of how you think the election will turn out locally. There are...
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We are only about a week into this federal election campaign, and I can’t help but think that things are very different in this election, compared to elections of the past, and even compared to the election we had just a couple of years ago. And I don’t think this is necessarily a “good...
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Although Alberta certainly doesn’t seem to be facing an energy crisis at any point in the foreseeable future, given that our province is blessed with some of the largest proven oil reserves of any region in the world, oil and gas resources don’t automatically equate to a free supply of electricity. Because of that,...
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In a certain sense it was predictable — just when one thought the Fort Mall situation had finally been resolved, with new buyers purchasing the property and immediately starting on its redevelopment – - the situation surrounding the mall is back in the public sphere. This has occurred because Council is now considering whether...
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Imagine going to the grocery store to pick up a few items; a jar of Cheez Whiz, a bottle of Cranberry Juice, a tub of margarine, and a couple kilograms of frozen breaded chicken cutlets. Would you be feeling a bit of “sticker shock” when the cashier rang up your four item purchase and...
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The Mayor’s recent State of the City Address provided an update on a number of initiatives by our municipal government, on everything ranging from our city’s approach to vandalism to the development of City Centre Square. But of particular interest to me was Mayor Katchur’s mention of our city’s transit system. In her address,...
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