Alberta Politics & Government Thread 3.0

[Roughneck]

Old people need to be isolated and studied so it can be determined what nutrients they have that might be extracted for our personal use.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

Or we should eat aborted babies or poor peoples children.

The Democrat delicacy. Liberal elites won't share that stuff with us commoners.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by kermitology

This is the reality of climate change. Frankly, we're already past the point of no return in my mind considering we're moving far too slow to make an impact. Meat and dairy is about to get obscenely expensive, and if you think that switching to a plant-based diet will help, there are already shortages of pulse seeds and export bans from many countries that dominate the pulse market.

We're well ####ed.

That’s why I’m a Pesca-Pescatarian.

[para transit fellow]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

The Democrat delicacy. Liberal elites won't share that stuff with us commoners.

i am finding this tangent to be repulsive

[81MC]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

I don't understand why we are eating at this point at all. It is 2022 and we should be eating some cheap, readily available source of calories for our energy supplemented by macro and micro nutrients to keep us healthy.

Oh, they’re available, and pretty much everywhere. They’re called plants.

we just choose not to eat them unless they’ve been picked by a Mexican, shipped to a distribution centre and then wrapped up with a piece of meet. The doom around the food thing is bizarre. 1/3 of food is wasted here. If we get to the point of no return, I’d expect that number to drop pretty same hard.

[Ozy_Flame]

Travis Toews enters the leadership race.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1531497077489905664

[GordonBlue]

Can't help but think Jean already has it wrapped up.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

Can't help but think Jean already has it wrapped up.

I don't know...he'll be splitting the wacky right vote with Smith and whoever else emerges.

[Nancy]

Originally Posted by GordonBlue

Can't help but think Jean already has it wrapped up.

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I don't know...he'll be splitting the wacky right vote with Smith and whoever else emerges.

Last time around, Brian did not get the nod from social conservatives due to his stance on abortion and gay marriage... given that the abortion issue is back on centre stage, could happen again?

https://www.thewilberforceproject.ca..._or_brian_jean

[Harry Lime]

In every country, pro-life should get its own party. Abortion Party.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I don't know...he'll be splitting the wacky right vote with Smith and whoever else emerges.

Generally these races are done with some form of runoff balloting (last UCP race used IRV), with the winner not declared until someone gets 50%+1. So the wacky right vote doesn't need to worry about vote-splitting. Assuming that Jean is drawing a larger portion than Smith, and all of Smith's voters have Jean ahead of establishment conservatives on their ballot, Jean will get all of these votes.

In the one poll we have (haven't seen the poll released to the public but media members have been talking about it), Jean has 22% support, Smith 18%. (Both numbers rise to +30% when removing undecideds.) So that wing is already closing in on a combined 50%, which is a really strong starting position, and I expect them to be super-aggressive in recruiting new members.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Generally these races are done with some form of runoff balloting (last UCP race used IRV), with the winner not declared until someone gets 50%+1. So the wacky right vote doesn't need to worry about vote-splitting. Assuming that Jean is drawing a larger portion than Smith, and all of Smith's voters have Jean ahead of establishment conservatives on their ballot, Jean will get all of these votes.

In the one poll we have (haven't seen the poll released to the public but media members have been talking about it), Jean has 22% support, Smith 18%. (Both numbers rise to +30% when removing undecideds.) So that wing is already closing in on a combined 50%, which is a really strong starting position, and I expect them to be super-aggressive in recruiting new members.

Man, we are so ####ed.

[TheIronMaiden]

No matter who wins the leadership race, they will become premier.

The UCP are going to handedly win the next election. The Calgary suburbs are the king maker, and that is the strongest conservative base after small towns in southern AB.

[Fuzz]

I'm thoroughly disgusted the UCP decided we need a Chief Firearms Officer paid for with our tax dollars who's sole job seems to be fighting the Federal Government and cheer leading for guns. All while having a massive personal stake in the issue.

In 2019, during her testimony before the Senate committee on national security and defence, as it was considering changes to firearms regulations, Bryant said her own gun collection is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...arms-1.6471789

[the_only_turek_fan]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

No matter who wins the leadership race, they will become premier.

The UCP are going to handedly win the next election. The Calgary suburbs are the king maker, and that is the strongest conservative base after small towns in southern AB.

I don't know man. If people like me are not going to vote UCP, I am not sure who will?

[TheIronMaiden]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

I don't know man. If people like me are not going to vote UCP, I am not sure who will?

Obviously I have no idea. It is just a really strong hunch based on historical voting habits.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

Obviously I have no idea. It is just a really strong hunch based on historical voting habits.

I would tend to agree with you - although if Only Turek Fan is actually not voting UCP that seems indicative of a problem for them

[Muta]

I'll bet on this - if the UCP even do one small thing that may be perceived as 'good' (let me re-iterate - perceived) before the next election, there will be a large amount of people that will happily flock back to the UCP and conveniently ignore the damaging warpath they've been on for four years.

[BlackArcher101]

I know tons of people who continue to say they won't vote NDP because they ruined this province.

[dustyanddaflames]

Originally Posted by #-3

I do sometime wonder about this one, it's a pretty common message that's out there, but I know some pretty wealthy cattle farmers. Not really a question I've ever asked or one I have cared too deeply about, they are in an industry with enough competition, and if they can make money at it good on them.

But it always seems to be the guy driving around in a $120K truck, sitting on millions of dollars of property and blowing thousands at charity auctions that cries poverty the loudest. Some times it makes me wonder.

There are some pretty wealthy farmers in general, I would agree with you - and we have a tendency that things are never perfect enough . I would say the majority of us however are surviving at best in the cattle industry.

As a producer, there hasn't been a lot of financial gain, and when you add in the last 5-10 years worth of drought in SE Alberta - things are rather bleak. The government program last year helped, absolutely, but for us in SE Alberta, this hasn't been a one year thing - and the only relief we've gotten until last year, is income deferral if we had to sell cows. Doesn't replace income, doesn't pay expenses as the hope is eventually you can use that money to replace the cows you were forced to sell.

Last year we paid close to 80K in replacement feed costs due to drought (38% of our farm income), and that was relying on some carry over from '20 which was a pretty good year for us. Our choice, we could have downsized - maybe chose wrong, I don't know, question it every day.

This year, we have no feed reserves going into this winter, we have gotten 3/10 of rain all year, the cost of all inputs has at least doubled from last year - fortunately we haven't gotten the heat from last year, but you can see the grass starting to turn over the last week.

It is shaping up to be another year like last, if not worse based on all the expenses going wild. None of us want to be a leech on financial aid, but when your expenses have 3-4x over the last decade and your calf is still worth the same as it was 10 years ago - the game becomes a difficult one to play without rain. We aren't like grain farmers and put our calves in a bin until the price is right - they animals have to go and we often times just have to take what the market says they're worth. And we can't raise more of them on the same land base in these conditions.

This is not a poor me post, we chose the life - but it is a glimpse in that the industry is in trouble as my story is probably more common than the people you mentioned above. Some will make it through, but there will be a bunch that a) can't or b) choose not to.

There was an article in the Western Producer that said packers/retail are making about $300/head each, while feedlots/producers are each losing roughly the same dollar figure. Our '21 loss wasn't that high, but the system is broken, and I honestly don't know what can be done to fix it.