Alberta Politics & Government Thread 3.0

[GGG]

I don’t mind those people either. Lots of people like to only pay tax for things they like.

The people that bug me are the people who pretend there is an economic win from this. There is no research that shows it’s worth it as an economic investment that isn’t paid for by people related to the teams. I don’t have a problem if you like the deal but at least come out and say you like it because it locks the flames here for 35 years, and gets concerts that we currently don’t get so I like my and your tax dollars being spent here. Thats an honest statement. It’s one i disagree with but it’s honest.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by nik-

Even the polls on CP, a bastion of support for the Flames, have generally been against the handouts. Smith has greatly overestimated the positive political impact from this. It's much more likely to be greatly negative.

The question is does this move a guy like Slava one way or the other? His cohort decides this election.

[nik-]

Originally Posted by btimbit

I'm not even upset at the arena deal, maybe because we've known for over a decade it was never going to be a good deal so I've just accepted it.

What I don't understand is the same people that throw a temper tantrum and shout "muh taxes" if a city worker stops for a coffee break are the same ones applauding this level of corporate welfare and telling everyone else to just get over it

That's called hypocrisy.

[Reggie Dunlop]

I'm waiting for the Bait and Switch.

The whole deal hinges on a new provincial cabinet rubber stamping it.

[kermitology]

Honestly, the province committing this funding I think the NDP should just agree to. Take the advantage away from Smith. It’s not really core to the success of the project, that’s the City’s contribution.

The UCP should have been bolder. They’re just so ####ing dumb.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by GGG

The question is does this move a guy like Slava one way or the other? His cohort decides this election.

Well I was already not voting for the UPC, so that’s not changing based on this. I’m probably not the target of this though, because I’ve also been against public money for an arena deal. I’ve just accepted that it’s going to happen and I might as well go with the flow on it though. There are exciting things for the city with the project in general, and while I disagree with the funding mechanisms, it’s a done deal.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Is it a done deal? We all know this is a classic vote buy attempt, but what if it backfires? People like Yoho obviously think this is the ace in the hole to wrap up the election, but if polls come showing mild to strong opposition in Calgary to this deal, and the UCP losses the election, then what? Will Council, who will be the next to face the election sword, keep pursuing this at the expense of their own political future? Until we get some polling data on what people in this city think I would say it's a likely deal, but if the polling is against in any meaningful way and the UCP loses then it becomes much harder to predict.

[Ozy_Flame]

Beyond the obviously stupid amount of public money that is going into this, here's the problem I see with this announcement and with the election looming:

This announcement was too early.

If Smith is banking on this being an election mandate, then she should have made this announcement much closer to the election winding up.

If there is significant cache on this piece of news, it's going to end up being pushed down the conveyor belt of 'things the electors forget or don't care about anymore' by the time the end of May rolls around.

They used one of their few ace cards early. Just like the endorsement from Stephen Harper.

Hardly anyone is going to remember - or care - about these things. We all have short memory and time-limiting brain spans, especially with the mountain of news media we are all subjected to on a daily basis.

And there is still a month left for a Premier who loves to put her foot in her mouth and look like a hypocritical fool on camera to say something politically damaging. She's quite good at it with the right time and space.

All Rachel Notley has to do is say "yep, Calgarians deserve a path forward and we'll take a look at the deal when the election is over".


Whoever is advising the Premier and her team lately is giving them terrible advice.

And in my opinion, it looks like they're panicking.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Is it a done deal? We all know this is a classic vote buy attempt, but what if it backfires? People like Yoho obviously think this is the ace in the hole to wrap up the election, but if polls come showing mild to strong opposition in Calgary to this deal, and the UCP losses the election, then what? Will Council, who will be the next to face the election sword, keep pursuing this at the expense of their own political future? Until we get some polling data on what people in this city think I would say it's a likely deal, but if the polling is against in any meaningful way and the UCP loses then it becomes much harder to predict.

I meant a done deal in the sense that the taxpayers are going to pay for a chunk of the new arena. I just plain don’t like that, but that ship sailed years ago. Once you accept that, I think the focus has to be on a fair split.

I do definitively think this is a great project overall. It’s probably going to be awesome when it’s all said and done!

[Aarongavey]

Women’s shelters in Alberta provide essential services for those fleeing domestic violence. With more funding, shelters will be able to expand supports and continue caring for women and families in their communities.
The government is providing $1.6 million to support prevention programs

https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?x...98D6B3FE93EA7C

Province also found 1.6 million for women and children who are the victims of domestic violence, so it is not like all the money yesterday went to building an NHL arena.

[indes]

Anecdotal for sure but some fairly vocal UCP supporters at my work are ####ing pissed about provincial funding for Calgary's arena. Now this is in the Edmonton area so I'd imagine more up here will be choked than down south.

But first time I've heard people out loud calling for Smith to be ousted at my work, so that's something.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Beyond the obviously stupid amount of public money that is going into this, here's the problem I see with this announcement and with the election looming:

This announcement was too early.

If Smith is banking on this being an election mandate, then she should have made this announcement much closer to the election winding up.

If there is significant cache on this piece of news, it's going to end up being pushed down the conveyor belt of 'things the electors forget or don't care about anymore' by the time the end of May rolls around.

They used one of their few ace cards early. Just like the endorsement from Stephen Harper.

Hardly anyone is going to remember - or care - about these things. We all have short memory and time-limiting brain spans, especially with the mountain of news media we are all subjected to on a daily basis.

And there is still a month left for a Premier who loves to put her foot in her mouth and look like a hypocritical fool on camera to say something politically damaging. She's quite good at it with the right time and space.

All Rachel Notley has to do is say "yep, Calgarians deserve a path forward and we'll take a look at the deal when the election is over".


Whoever is advising the Premier and her team lately is giving them terrible advice.

And in my opinion, it looks like they're panicking.

She can't make funding announcements in an election period, so this had to be done before Monday.

[Ozy_Flame]

I was not aware of that. Oh well.

[Roughneck]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

I was not aware of that. Oh well.

It is important to remember that we are in an election period when it comes to media questions, but not in an actual election period when it comes to funding announcements.

[Looch City]

Why shouldn’t any other town in Alberta get equal funding? She’s basically put her entire basket of eggs into Calgary.

Hope it backfires like a ######

[Faust]

Sohi wants to talk 'fair treatment' for Edmonton after Smith commits $330M for Calgary arena:

https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/sohi-wan...rena-1.6371354

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by kermitology

Honestly, the province committing this funding I think the NDP should just agree to. Take the advantage away from Smith. It’s not really core to the success of the project, that’s the City’s contribution..

Damned if you do and damned if you don’t eh. Are we just okay with them all lying? We know that it’s a liars profession. But here we have a politician saying that they are going to do exactly what they should be doing (actually finding out if Albertans are for this or not, and then basing their decision on that), and a bunch of people are saying that she should instead just lie.

[Faust]

Jeromy (Pathfinder) Farkas @JeromyYYC
We could've saved the original arena deal by putting in $30M in Dec 2021. Instead, Gondek & Smith negotiated a new deal -- now with no revenue stream back to the City -- costing #yyc taxpayers $250M and provincial taxpayers $330M more. Genuinely impressive. #yyccc #abpoli

https://twitter.com/jeromyyyc/status...789036034?s=21

[Fuzz]

This sounds like a giant steaming load of bull####.

It's hard to find out much about the leader of Alberta's third-wealthiest political party.
Murray Ruhl appears to have no presence on social media. He's not been quoted in any Alberta media outlet, despite leading the Pro-Life Alberta Political Association for five years.

No photo online, seemingly anywhere. If you looked on the party's website recently, there's no sign of Ruhl, who's also its president.

In fact, the party won't share any details about who the leader is, or even where in Alberta he lives. (Calgary, according to campaign finance documents.) It's inconsequential, because Pro-Life Alberta is a team without emphasis on individuals, executive director Richard Dur said in an interview.

One thing makes it quite similar to other parties: the prominence of the DONATE button on its website. The party mentions that its donations count for tax credits — up to 75 per cent of a contribution's value — on most of its web pages.

Tax credits for anti-abortion groups, well that's just ####ing brilliant.

"I think it is a mockery of what the good people of Alberta that are volunteering in political parties are meant to do," said Troy Wason, former executive director of both the Alberta Party and Progressive Conservatives.

Absolutely.

As a party, it enjoys multiple advantages no comparable group has.

"Charitable pro-life organizations can issue tax receipts, but can't engage in politics (they would lose their charitable status)," its website has stated since late 2021. "Other political pro-life organizations can't issue tax receipts, and can only engage in politics outside of provincial elections. Only Pro-Life Alberta can do both."

Elections Alberta law also regulates the contributions and activities of various third-party advertisers, including ones which are organized around single issues like policing, injury law and post-secondary education. Some can only advertise during election periods, and others only outside of them — and neither type can issue tax credits.

"It is essentially a political action committee masquerading as a party. They want the best of both worlds," said Autumn Reinhardt-Simpson, founder of the Alberta Abortion Access Network.

"Probably what they are doing is attempting to goad the UCP further to the right on social issues."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...arty-1.6821605

Why is this province so full of people with zero scruples?

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Faust

Jeromy (Pathfinder) Farkas @JeromyYYC
We could've saved the original arena deal by putting in $30M in Dec 2021. Instead, Gondek & Smith negotiated a new deal -- now with no revenue stream back to the City -- costing #yyc taxpayers $250M and provincial taxpayers $330M more. Genuinely impressive. #yyccc #abpoli

https://twitter.com/jeromyyyc/status...789036034?s=21

The costs of the project didn’t double in the past year so either key elements of the scope were excluded or the project was going to be 250 million over budget and CESC wanted to get out of their cost over run guarantee.