Alberta Politics Thread v2

[monkeyman]

Do people really believe the UCP are really out to get GSA and LGBTQ community?
Their's a difference in option, that being the UCP believe that teaches should not be held criminally responsible if they feel a need to inform a parent that their child is in distress and why. This isn't some grand movement to out everyone who's part of a group.
if you were a parent and your teen was in distress and you asked a teacher why, wouldn't you want them to be able to answer the question without fear of prosecution?

[GGG]

Originally Posted by White Out 403

I'm not nearly as partisan as you think I am. I had the federal NDP remove me from their call and donation list as I can't support the current leadership and their anti pipeline and anti Alberta views. I wont' be voting NDP or Libera, I'll either vote Conservative while holding my nose or not vote. I would bet my house that a number of posters here would couldn't return that same sentiment.

Fair enough, The language of your posts of taking schedenfraude at the “other teams” behaviour is was led me to believe otherwise.

[White Out 403]

Originally Posted by GGG

Fair enough, The language of your posts of taking schedenfraude at the “other teams” behaviour is was led me to believe otherwise.

Yeah I guess I don't have a lot of patience for it here because kenney started his negative campaign against Notley months ago and has constantly insulted her and the NDP. They fire back and suddenly people are clutching pearls.

[belsarius]

Originally Posted by GGG

let them Strike. Use the bargaining process to extract concessions. Legislate essential services back to work. If a prolonged strike does occurs the elimination of defined benefit plans goes on the table. Many in the private sector are also running 5 zeros.

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Not me, the only sensible place for revenue to go is general. All projects should compete with eachother for revenue. If in the absense of a Carbon tax a project doesn’t get funded then the project isn’t worth doing. The amount of Carbon tax for behaviour hange is not the same as the amount of projects being funded. I agree that sustainable transit funding should be a priority as funds permit. That has nothing to do with the presence or absense of a Carbon tax.

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Based on your economic theory we should hire people to do nothing so they aren’t unemployed.



Source please? 43 - 55 billion, please break down the parts you want to exclude. Also when you freeze salary spending should only increase at 1/2 of inflation because Salary spending has been fixed and is about half the cost..



I haven’t really advocated cuts. I look at they city of Calgary operational efficiencies found and do not see a loss of services. This needs to be replicated.

The NDP has made the situation worse budget wise. Spending went from 43 billion to 55 billion. We can discuss what the benefits and costs of it are but from a balance sheet perspective they certainly made it worse. Also just as Bad as Redford is not acceptable.


I given them credit in doing the heavy lifting on the revenue side but their spending is not acceptable.

Where is this $43B number coming from? The provinces expenses haven’t been that low since 2012. When the NDP took over it was $48B. And if you break it down all expense increases have been to education and AHS. Every other ministry has been on wage/hiring freezes and 0 contract increases the whole time the NDP has been in charge. The increase is under 5% a year they have been in power. And only one year represented a major deviation from inflation+pop increase. This whole spending like a drunken sailor trope isn’t based in fact. You want to blow up hospitals and schools to save some debt payments? That’s your right to vote that way. Me, I’m supporting the government that supports the middle class over some neoliberal rubbish of “job creating tax cuts” and “austerity is best for everyone”.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by belsarius

Where is this $43B number coming from? The provinces expenses haven’t been that low since 2012. When the NDP took over it was $48B. And if you break it down all expense increases have been to education and AHS. Every other ministry has been on wage/hiring freezes and 0 contract increases the whole time the NDP has been in charge. The increase is under 5% a year they have been in power. And only one year represented a major deviation from inflation+pop increase. This whole spending like a drunken sailor trope isn’t based in fact. You want to blow up hospitals and schools to save some debt payments? That’s your right to vote that way. Me, I’m supporting the government that supports the middle class over some neoliberal rubbish of “job creating tax cuts” and “austerity is best for everyone”.

I mistyped the the number, my apologies

They have not met pop growth plus inflation and with wage freezes you should be increasing at only 50% of inflation plus pop growth. This should be the expectation of any competent government.

I’m curious as to where you get the idea that I want to blow up Hospitals and schools? I want to replicate Nenshi and the previous CEO of Calgary methodology of operating like a business and finding efficiencies to save 5% of costs. (Calgary was able to achieve this). And I want the government to take a hard line on the next 4 years of union negotiations as the NDP has done for the last two. Save your rhetoric for someone else.



I agree with you that tax cuts should not be part of anyone’s platform going forward.

[CaptainCrunch]

https://www.nationalnewswatch.com/20.../#.XGxwN7h7mUl

EDMONTON — The Alberta government says it's investing $3.7 billion to move the province's land-locked oil to market by rail.


It says 4,400 leased railway cars will move up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day by 2020.


Shipments are expected to begin as early as July.


"Pipelines will always be the best, most efficient, most economical long-term solution," Notley told a news conference Tuesday.


"We must take action today to provide more relief to our energy workers and the families who rely on these good jobs across this province and this country.
She says her government has been studying the plan since November and is ready to move forward.


"Albertans don't just stand by. We take action."


The province estimates the plan will lead to a $5.9-billion increase in royalties, tax revenues and profits over three years, meaning a net gain of $2.2 billion.
It expects the discount for Western Canadian heavy oil versus U.S. light crude will shrink by US$4 a barrel.



The rail investment is meant to be a medium-term measure as new pipelines to coastal ports, such as the Trans Mountain expansion to the West Coast, remain in limbo.

[MelBridgeman]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

https://www.nationalnewswatch.com/20.../#.XGxwN7h7mUl

Does she know something we don't?

[spotthefan]

Originally Posted by MelBridgeman

Does she know something we don't?

There is probably a lot she knows that most of us don’t. Mostly because she is premier, also because she is a lawyer.

None of which has to be any conspiracy about a pipeline


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by monkeyman

Do people really believe the UCP are really out to get GSA and LGBTQ community?
Their's a difference in option, that being the UCP believe that teaches should not be held criminally responsible if they feel a need to inform a parent that their child is in distress and why. This isn't some grand movement to out everyone who's part of a group.
if you were a parent and your teen was in distress and you asked a teacher why, wouldn't you want them to be able to answer the question without fear of prosecution?

My sense is for every person who opposes GSAs because they think schools are pushing some sort of LGBTQ agenda, there are four who are opposed because they can't handle being in the dark about their kids. A lot of parents feel they need to know and have some say over every single thing in their kids' lives. Right up through high school.

So while I understand the reasons to keep GSA participation secret, I don't agree with the efforts to vilify those who are opposed to them and ascribe malignant motives to parents.

[PsYcNeT]

I just wonder if ya'll ever stopped to think where exactly a confused, curious or depressed kid is going to go if they don't want to go to a GSA to find support in fear of their parents finding out (and in 2019, if you fear your parents finding out then you probably have good reason).

That's right. The internet. Fear for the future.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by MelBridgeman

Does she know something we don't?

That curtailment will be lifted, the diff will increase and rail shipments will rise back up in the short to medium term? Not sure that is particularly exciting or novel.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

I just wonder if ya'll ever stopped to think where exactly a confused, curious or depressed kid is going to go if they don't want to go to a GSA to find support in fear of their parents finding out (and in 2019, if you fear your parents finding out then you probably have good reason).

Did you miss the part where I support GSAs?

I'm just suggesting - crazy as it sounds - that you can support GSAs without vilifying those who have expressed concerns about them as hateful bigots. Most are just garden-variety helicopter parents.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by White Out 403

Yeah I guess I don't have a lot of patience for it here because kenney started his negative campaign against Notley months ago and has constantly insulted her and the NDP. They fire back and suddenly people are clutching pearls.

There's insults and then there's websites that try to make a leader look like a monster. The insults have been flying back and forth since she's been our Premier and it's something that I loathe about politics. It would nice if all parties could stick to their platforms and leave all the childish behaviour out of it.

IMNSHO I just think that the website about Kenney took mudslinging to a new low and was uncalled for.

[Dion]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1098000472974123008

[Jacks]

Gotta agree with Kenney (shocker I know) that the NDP should not be committing the province to multi billion dollar deals in what is clearly an election period. Drop the writ or stop announcing money to be spent.

[monkeyman]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

I just wonder if ya'll ever stopped to think where exactly a confused, curious or depressed kid is going to go if they don't want to go to a GSA to find support in fear of their parents finding out (and in 2019, if you fear your parents finding out then you probably have good reason).

That's right. The internet. Fear for the future.

I honestly think if a child is in that kind of serious danger from a parent because they're part of a GSA, it'd be beneficial if a teacher could raise those concerns to an intervening individual/agency. oh, but they can't or they could be prosecuted.

I'm not against GSA's, I'm against prosecuting teachers if they feel a need to intervene or have an open discussion about a student with real problems.
I believe a teacher, who takes the time to involve themselves in a Childs life does so with the intention of helping them and not just to out them for no good reason.

[cal_guy]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Particularly the public sector "industry" and AUPE.

The increase in this area has been and is asinine.

Part of that time the PC were in power.

From June 2015 to January 2019 changes in employment was(in thousands)

399.2 to 436.6 for public sector employees an increase of 37.4
1528 to 1523 for private sector employees an decrease of 5
365.2 to 366.8 for self-employed an increase of 1.6

If you start at November 2015 after the first NDP budget then the numbers go to an increase of 8.3 for public sector employees, 34.2 for private sector, and a 7.4 increase in self-employed.

[Dion]

Crude-by-rail plan won't impact grain shipments, Notley says, but farmers still fearful

However, Ward Toma — general manager of the Alberta Canola Producers Commission — said farmers have little faith in assurances by the rail companies. Twice in the past five years, higher-than-expected crop volumes (combined with cold weather that forced the railways to run shorter trains) created a grain shipping backlog that left crops stranded in bins and elevators across the Prairies and led to billions of dollars in lost sales. At the same time, crude-by-rail exports have been growing, hitting an all-time high of 330,000 barrels per day in November.

Alberta Wheat Commission general manager Tom Steve said issues like track capacity and availability of locomotives are concerning.

“To just be able to wave a magic wand and say there will be no negative impact on grain movement, well, there’s a lot of factors that go into that,” Steve said. “It’s a very delicate balance to be able to maintain efficient rail service . . . and I’m not sure the government has completely thought this through.”

Hemmes said as long as the dominant routing of oil movement remains to the south, it is unlikely the province’s crude-by-rail strategy will interfere with farm shipments. However, if a significant portion of the new crude cars starts to travel west instead of south, that could become a problem.

“That will cause concern amongst not only grain shippers but with all market segments (potash, coal, sulphur) who are shipping into that corridor,” Hemmes said in an email. “The onus will be on the railways to ensure that their resources grow to accommodate any additional capacity requirements.”

https://calgaryherald.com/business/l...-still-fearful

[Dion]

The cost and expected profits from leasing rail cars to ship oil south of the border.

Expect Notley to use this as a major piece of her election platform saying we are doing what we can to get our oil to market.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1097951137586544640

https://twitter.com/user/status/1097957908778606592

Kenney as expected takes offence to this deal.

United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney called the plan a “fiscal train wreck” and took issue with the $3.7-billion price tag during the election campaign period.

“The government should not be encumbering a prospective future government or taxpayers with multibillion-dollar decisions,” he told reporters.

“They had nearly four years to do this before now.”

https://calgarysun.com/news/politics...2-ef2d71fc7610

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Dion

Kenney as expected takes offence to this deal.

So he's against addressing the differential unless he's the one doing it? Could he epitomize "party over province" any better?