Whatever happened to the SoCreds? They turned into the "Pro-Life Alberta Political Association", who are a single issue anti abortion group who uses the fact they are technically a political party to have their supporters get huge tax credits from donations. They have raised more in the last year than any party not named UCP or NDP.
“Time will tell if Smith proves to be a good premier after all, but one thing is certain. She has done what I would have thought impossible: she’s made many Albertans long for the leadership of Jason Kenney.”
Hahaha ain’t that the sad truth.
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Does this mean that anyone who votes for the UCP now isn’t doing so because they’re fiscally responsible but instead because they support their other let’s just call them shenanigans?
I don’t think “fiscal responsibility” is a principle of any party these days. I think they’re all going to spend like drunken sailors based on their party line. Some are just way more drunk than others.
I don’t think “fiscal responsibility” is a principle of any party these days. I think they’re all going to spend like drunken sailors based on their party line. Some are just way more drunk than others.
Ok. So let’s set that issue aside and compare all of their other ideas. Who’s the more sensible option in your opinion and why?
Ok. So let’s set that issue aside and compare all of their other ideas. Who’s the more sensible option in your opinion and why?
For me it comes down to Smith being so bat##### crazy, there’s no way I could support her. The UCP candidate in my riding is a Mini Smith, and the NDP candidate is an environmentalist and conservationist but I haven’t figured out if she’s moderate or extreme (I don’t do Facebook but seems that’s where her info is). Going to be voting against UCP/Smith more than anything.
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Job cuts at SAIT, NAIT, U of C, U of L, MHC, LCC GMCEWAN etc. NAIT announces 7% tuition increase.
Removal of daycare accreditation.
Dissolution of ADLC.
Insurance rate increase.
Tuition cap removal.
Student loan interest rate increase.
Paying Matt Wolf 200k to troll on Twitter.
Cutting PUF funding to public schools while maintaining funding for private schools.
Stealing public sector pensions to buy a pipeline.
Cutting funding to school boards this year and then lying about it until FOIPped.
Tearing up the contract with doctors.
Moving the AISH payment date to save optics on your budget and then causing AISH recipients stress and anxiety.
Giving 4.7 Billion dollars to profitable Oil and Gas companies only to have them walk out of Alberta thus creating job losses when job creation was promised.
Cutting Parent link center funding.
Paying 30 million dollars a year for 4 years on a war room.
Higher dental rates.
Higher school fees including transportation fees.
Higher medical expenses for seniors.
Higher rent prices.
Higher property taxes via funding cuts to municipalities.
Removal of surgical procedures deemed “unnecessary” many including services women rely on.
100 million dollar bailout for O and G companies for their orphan wells.
Cutting funding to Elite Firefighters.
Cutting funding to Volunteer Firefighters.
Ending Human Rights and Multicultural Grants
Closing/Privatizing recreational (camping) sites.
Moving lottery money to general revenue.
Cutting CNIB money.
Firing the Ethics Commissioner.
Removal of Alberta SR&ED tax credits.
Super lab cancelled.
Ended utility price cap program.
Implementing discriminatory wage legislation for under 18’s. Layman terms - removing the minimum wage for children.
Reinstituted the outdated and ineffective standardized testing (PAT) for Grade Three students. Also, looking at adding Grade 1 - 5 PATS.
Pulled coverage for biological drugs forcing people to biosimilars.
Gave 80 thousand to a church for renovations.
Cut Special Olympic funding. Stars air ambulance funding.
Allowing overtime agreements that impact workers time and a half wage pay.
Altering GSA legislation.
Huge cuts to programs for kids in care.
Bill 26 completely exempts farm and ranch workers who work on a farm with five or fewer employees, not including workers employed for less than six months or who are family members, from the Employment Standards Code.
Permitting Press Secretaries and Issues Managers to belittle and bad-mouth constituents on social media.
Cutting daycare subsidy.
Throwing out new curriculum only to load it with Conservative panel. Panel has no active Alberta teachers on it.
Formation of Fair Deal Panel to basically stoke separatism.
Formed Trades Hall of Fame only to cut post-secondary trades programs at Alberta schools.
Attacking journalists such as those at Medicine Hat News.
Removing AB health coverage from spouses under 65.
40 million given to Glenbow Museum.
Removed breakfast grants then reinstated them after blowback.
Attacked teachers as indoctrinators of children.
Promised to fund enrollment growth in education, then did not.
Blamed and targeted school boards who spoke out against the education cuts.
Deindexing Alberta Works and AISH
Taking away benefits for those cared for by seniors
Eliminating the Rental Assistance Program
Halving the investment in affordable housing
Cutting maintenance to affordable housing
Said they'd cut 2.8% spending 4 days later said they're cutting over 14%.
Cut PCS funding.
Cut Emergency transportation amount ($98) from Alberta Works Recipients
Restricting access to the Additional Shelter Amount so AW Recipients can't afford rent
Adding barriers to accessing AW (new paperwork heavy process)
Adding red tape (means testing) to seniors benefits
Removed 270 agricultural scientists.
Increased or maintained funding to private schools.
Cuts to Diagnostic imaging ordered by physiotherapy and chiropractors.
Cuts to High Fidelity Wraparound Services.
Cut education tax credit.
Cut funding for SCS. Calgary Medicine Hat. Implemented SCS review panel comprised of members who have never worked at or accessed SCS services.
Bill 1 which looks to remove protest rights.
Higher deficit than previous government.
Possible change to negligence in auto accident claims. See fairalbertainjuryregulations dot ca for details.
Bill 5 - calls to question school board autonomy by restricting use of reserve funds without minister approval.
125 laid off from Alberta Innovates.
Raised personal income tax. Lowered basic amount.
40 thousand on Pickle ball.
Decreased funds to homeless shelters including but not limited to Fort McMurray.
Elimination of the STEP program, a summer student program that employed many post-secondary students from May to August.
Removed class size initiatives.
Allowing for an unworkable wildlife corridor in Canmore so a developer can build a resort. This project was rejected by last year with the exact same footprint.
Broke contract with AB paramedics for a wage re-opener in third year of contact before going into new term contract negotiations despite the previous salary freeze with no cost of living increases in nearly a decade.
Cancel the working group tasked with banning gay conversion therapy in Alberta.
Making Fish and Wildlife officers into first responders.
Reducing municipality grants which directly led to expansion of “cost recovery” for fire services in many areas. Bills from Fire Department.
Set up "snitch line" for Un-Albertan activity
Edit: Looks like the Google doc link has waaaay more than the spoilered list.
9 appears to be a non-sequitor and hyberbole. She didn’t steel pensions to buy a pipeline. They also didn’t steel a pension they changed oversight which likely isn’t great but it’s not stealing.
Money on the Glenbow seems like a weird transgression as is money for pickle ball
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Max Fawcett @maxfawcett
This is a pretty damning report of how Albertans have fared economically under the UCP. Spoiler alert: it hasn't been great. #ableg
This is an argument for the UCP if you believe that politicians control the economy. Essentially our housing is so cheap and wages so high that we have strong migration into Alberta which is preventing labour shortages from driviNg up wages.
So by any fair read this is what should be happening to an economy that is strong. It should attract migration which suppresses wages.
Quote:
The source of the weaker wages and income growth will be explored in an upcoming report. However, preliminary findings suggest that the situation is the result of: 1) a strong migration to Alberta keeping the supply of workers higher than in other parts of the country, and 2) continued adjustment following the 2010s energy boom-bust cycle.
In reality macro economics dictates most of our economy and the government only affects the edges.
This is an argument for the UCP if you believe that politicians control the economy. Essentially our housing is so cheap and wages so high that we have strong migration into Alberta which is preventing labour shortages from driviNg up wages.
So by any fair read this is what should be happening to an economy that is strong. It should attract migration which suppresses wages.
In reality macro economics dictates most of our economy and the government only affects the edges.
A lot of the in migration is from government policy failures in other jurisdictions as well. I manage a handful of rental properties, and 2 of my last 3 new tenants have been people leaving Vancouver for cheaper rent.
Nobody in Alberta has any influence over BC real estate prices. Those are a mix of capital controls in China and artificial controls on land use in the Lower Mainland (absurd zoning + ALR).
Why Fata? if there is one thing Nenshi always had going for him, it was calling people on their bs, glad he's going after Smith.
His problem was making stupid people feel stupid. Not the best way to last forever as a politician. I know IQ isn't everything but the average person is in the 50th percentile of intelligence, therefor is dumber than half the people out there, but the average person rates themselves somewhere in the 70s percentile of intelligence, people like to tell themselves they are ~60% higher on the intelligence curve than they actually are, and they really don't like having it pointed out that they aren't. But it doesn't mean we can't enjoy Nenshi pointing out that Smith is stupid.
Last edited by #-3; 04-27-2023 at 08:48 AM.
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From the "aging poorly" pile...Sorry Jen, I really loved this quote.
Quote:
"Edmonton is the clear example of this. I mean, clearly, so much of Edmonton's flagging, sad, little ego is tied up in their hockey success that they needed to sign a scam of a deal to give a sweetheart arena over to (Oilers owner) Daryl Katz. And now all of a sudden the expectation is that Calgary is going to fall in line?"
"I'm afraid we're not that pathetic," she said. "We're just not that pathetic, as a city."
