Alberta Politics Thread v2

[Zarley]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...xqTKoQsch0_Ze8

Lawyer questions Jason Kenney's Alberta residency while claiming living expenses in Ottawa

This from the former President and CEO of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

According to the House of Commons guide on member allowances, Kenney was acting in accordance with policy on this:

Because they are required to work extensively in Ottawa, Members whose constituency is not located in the National Capital Region (NCR) may choose to stay in a commercial or private accommodation, or at a personal residence when in the NCR. Expenses for such accommodations may be charged under the Travel Status Expenses Account, which provides Members with assistance to defray some of the additional costs of maintaining a secondary residence.

Although Members typically choose to have their secondary residence in the NCR since their primary residence is in the constituency, they may choose to have their secondary residence in the constituency and their primary residence in the NCR.

Obviously as a cabinet minister at that time, Kenney would have been spending most of his time in Ottawa or on the road, but members are required to maintain either a primary or secondary residence in or near their constituency:

The Member’s residence in the constituency must be located in or near the Member’s constituency (“near” means within 100 kilometres from the nearest border of the Member’s constituency).

And, according to the criteria specified, Kenney's Alberta residence would be categorized as primary per the following:

• The primary residence is the one declared on the Member’s income tax return, and is located in the province where the Member votes and pays income taxes.
• The primary residence is in the province or territory where the Member has public health coverage, and where the Member’s driver’s licence is issued and vehicle registered.

[Wiggum_PI]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

Kenney could live in a van down by the river for all I care. The issue isn’t the type of property he resides in. The issue is that he was claiming his mother’s basement as his primary residence to get a taxpayer funded allowance when it’s clear he wasn’t, you know, primarily residing there. How fiscally conservative of me to take issue with that.

You’d think that the former president and CEO of the Canadian Taxpayer Federation, as well as the majority of “fiscally conservative” posters here would have an issue with this sort of thing but here we are.

The handbook for MPs expenses and allowances has quite a loose definition of what qualifies as a primary residence. Briefly reading through it, I really don't see how Kenney has broken any rules here. You might not like it, but they way things are written its pretty clear he's allowed the ~$10k in secondary residence expenses.

If I was Morrow I would tread carefully, he's getting into defamation and libel territory.

Here's a good article from Global, has a link to the MP Handbook...

https://www.google.com/amp/s/globaln...a-calgary/amp/

[redforever]

Originally Posted by Locke

Evidently not.

This Province wasnt 'Too Conservative' to Elect them in the first place, but somehow magically the Demographic has shifted wildly in the last 4 years?

Then again, not taking responsibility is pretty much the NDP M.O.

Votes were split and it was a protest vote. It was not a genuine love in with the NDP.

[Envitro]

Sounds like a thinly veiled political hitjob on the biggest threat to the NDP. I guess we'll have to see who put him up to it, or what the motivation was to publish such an incendiary accusation when the truth can be dug up quite quickly (like posters noted above)

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by White Out 403

The NDP has done a good enough to deserve a 2nd term

[crazy_eoj]

Another non story made up from the NDP/Liberal alliance.

https://www.thestar.com/edmonton/201...on-kenney.html

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Dion

Better question is finding someone who will admit to voting NDP.

I voted NDP,

I’m reasonably satisfied with their performance. The tax base in the province needed to be increased to reduce the reliance on oil. They did that. A Carbon tax in principle I agree with. Not the version that was implemented but the next government can fix that. I thought she got screwed by the libs on pipelines, I don’t think an adversarial premier would have made the situation better initially. We are now at the point where an adeversarial premier is required.

I would consider voting for her for re-election if she has a path to a balanced budget that is more credible than the UCPs. Though I’m leaning in the UCP direction here as we need a government to come in and cut services while leaving the tax base constant.

My fear is the UCP will just cut taxes and leave the services constant. I think anyone who isn’t at least waiting until the two platforms are released is not performing their responsibility as a citizen.

[longsuffering]

Originally Posted by Dion

If you read the tweets from various NDP MLA's the focus is all on Kenney with attempts to demonise him at every opportunity. That seems to be the plan of Notley with hopes the average Albertans will buy her lies and half truths.

You've got to admit that Kenney et al are providing plenty of fodder for their opponents.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by longsuffering

You've got to admit that Kenney et al are providing plenty of fodder for their opponents.

I admit that the NDP is running scared and feel that fear mongering and peddling half truths is the only way they can win the election. Just about every speech Notley makes lately has some jab in it about Kenney. You'd almost think the NDP were in opposition by the amount of attacks they make on the UCP party.

[longsuffering]

Originally Posted by Dion

I admit that the NDP is running scared and feel that fear mongering and peddling half truths is the only way they can win the election. Just about every speech Notley makes lately has some jab in it about Kenney. You'd almost think the NDP were in opposition by the amount of attacks they make on the UCP party.

The ease with which you completely write off all reports of corrupt nomination processes - whether coming from inside the party or outside; racist and homophobic social media posts from candidates vying for UCP nominations; expense claim irregularities; backroom deals with donors to UCP PACs, etc. etc. is kind of frightening and shows the danger of cheering for political parties like they are your favourite sports team.

[Dion]

Breakenridge: Drop the charade, bring on the Alberta election already

Albertans may very well share the concerns raised last week by Premier Rachel Notley about a future UCP government possibly entertaining the idea of road tolls. It would certainly be an issue worth raising on the campaign trail.

However, it was hardly appropriate to be launching into a partisan tirade in her speech to the Industrial Heartland annual conference, a speech that was ostensibly government business. As it turned out, the announcement of “the next step in the Made-in-Alberta energy strategy” turned out to be not much of an announcement at all.

There was no official government news release about any such “next step,” but there was an NDP press release that day reiterating Notley’s points about comments from UCP Leader Jason Kenney concerning user pay and infrastructure projects.

We all know an election is coming. But as the premier’s public appearances and proclamations become more transparently political, perhaps we could spare ourselves the charade of pretending we’re not in a campaign. Moreover, we need to get away from the unseemly use of government resources to advance partisan political agendas.

If the premier and her government feel as though they have legitimate business to attend to that precludes such timing, then they should start acting like it. If the premier is already in full campaign mode, the least she could do is make it official and let everyone else join her

Notley’s government is not the first and will not be the last to try to maximize the benefits of incumbency heading into an election. Furthermore, Notley’s NDP is not the first nor will it be the last party to have such an approach while in opposition, only to embrace it themselves when in power. The rest of us, though, shouldn’t be so cynical as to let this slide.

It was actually twice last week where the premier scheduled what turned out to be non-announcements and instead used the opportunity to campaign against her opponents. Earlier in the week, Notley appeared at the construction site for the new Calgary Cancer Centre to re-announce her support for the project. So why was she there? Why were the media summoned there? As it turns out, Notley had a lot to say about she sees as a questionable commitment to the project on the part of the UCP.

As anyone who works in media knows, we’ll all be getting besieged with this sort of stuff on a daily basis during the campaigns from the war rooms of the various parties. But the apparatus of the Alberta government is not the NDP war room.

https://calgaryherald.com/opinion/co...-election-asap

[RyZ]

Interesting numbers from UofC Haskayne School of Business. Things aren't looking bright for Alberta at all right now.

[crazy_eoj]

Originally Posted by RyZ

Interesting numbers from UofC Haskayne School of Business. Things aren't looking bring for Alberta at all right now.

Came to post the same slide. The numbers don't lie.

Anyone who believes the NDP are doing a good job is living in a fantasy world.

[Regorium]

Originally Posted by crazy_eoj

Came to post the same slide. The numbers don't lie.

Anyone who believes the NDP are doing a good job is living in a fantasy world.

Results don't lie but you're living in a fantasy world if you think the conservatives would've done any better in the last four years.

[crazy_eoj]

Originally Posted by Regorium

Results don't lie but you're living in a fantasy world if you think the conservatives would've done any better in the last four years.

Hilarious!

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by crazy_eoj

Hilarious!

All that money 15-19 year olds pump into our economy, lost.

Thanks NDP!

[icecube]

Originally Posted by crazy_eoj

Hilarious!

All this graph likely shows is that it is much harder for teenagers to find a job now that working class people have to work 2-3 jobs just to make ends meet.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by icecube

All this graph likely shows is that it is much harder for teenagers to find a job now that working class people have to work 2-3 jobs just to make ends meet.

Um no.

[PsYcNeT]

No it shows that poorly run businesses can't underpay youth to half-ass their storefront instead of employing adults that won't work for $8 an hour.

[Travis Munroe]

117 active foreclosure listings in Calgary right now with 190 foreclosure sales dating back 6 months or 29 in the last 30 days.

There is pretty much a new foreclosure hitting the market each day in Calgary / Area.