Alberta Politics & Government Thread 3.0

[Dion]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

My MLA who is running for the UCP leadership approached me at a pub to try and convince me to buy a membership and vote for them. I think it’s safe to say that the conversation didn’t go as they were anticipating.

Did you ask him to kindly leave or did you ask the bartender to have to him or her thrown out?

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by Dion

Did you ask him to kindly leave or did you ask the bartender to have to him or her thrown out?

Actually I brought up the time I saw them arguing with the manager of an establishment because they were asking her to follow her parties’ COVID restrictions.

[powderjunkie]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...tion-1.6544266

What an utterly stupid and unnecessary demand.

[Dynamic]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...tion-1.6544266

What an utterly stupid and unnecessary demand.

The funniest part of this entire thing is that AU is an online university, it existed before remote learning was even known to most. Honestly it is pretty simple to me. For the UPC they see this as a win-win. There must be some pretty big UPC donors who happen to sell real estate in the region so if they strong arm AU and get more people moved to the region then all is good. Or the entire plan fails because staff don't want to move to some rural conservative town and AU pretty much implodes which goes right with their attack on education at all levels.

Imagine being some highly educated prof who happens to work for AU because it allows him/her to live where they want and still teach. Now some quacks are telling you that you need to move to Athabasca. I know it would take a hell of a lot more than paying my moving expenses. And nothing against Athabasca, I've been there lots and if your an outdoorsy type it may even appeal to you. But you are not going to get much highly educated folk lining up to move there.

[Torture]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...tion-1.6544266

What an utterly stupid and unnecessary demand.

There's just so so many reasons why this is stupid. Just off the top of my head

• It's an online university! Remote work is perfect for their niche!
• There isn't housing or services for 500 more families in Athabasca, town of 2800
• Conservatively, I bet half of the staff will probably just choose to not relocate to Athabasca and get another job. Where would their partners find work in Athabasca?
• Relocation costs, constructive dismissal costs, oooooof
• Did anyone consider the impact on students???
• Do they even have office space for 500 more staff on campus?
• If staff don't relocate, you are not going to find talent with the type of education and experience you need to run a high quality University in...town of 2100, Athabasca.
• What ever happened to FREEDOM and less Government meddling? Or does that not apply to Universities?

At the end of the day, AU has identified a need in the market for a relatively high quality online Canadian University. They can thrive in this environment. Covid, remote work, and remote learning are the perfect opportunities for them to leverage those advantages and they should be encouraged to lean in that, not become some sub-par random University in a town of 2800 that nobody wants to go to.
If they're forced to go to this model the University will fail and there won't be *any* economic benefit for Alberta or the town of Athabasca.

[timun]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

My MLA who is running for the UCP leadership approached me at a pub to try and convince me to buy a membership and vote for them. I think it’s safe to say that the conversation didn’t go as they were anticipating.

At least you have an MLA; mine resigned with little fanfare on Friday...

https://calgaryherald.com/business/s...t-blow-for-ucp

[Lubicon]

Originally Posted by timun

At least you have an MLA; mine resigned with little fanfare on Friday...

https://calgaryherald.com/business/s...t-blow-for-ucp

Did he resign completely as an MLA and walk away, or just as a cabinet minister?

[aaronck]

Wow- this is what Alberta has come to- Here is a link to an essay contest hosted by our Alberta Legislature called "Her Vision Inspires"
I think it was found and scrubbed already, but the Internet never forgets- Here's the third place winner. I feel sad for my daughters today- Anything to do with this government is such garbage

https://web.archive.org/web/20220809...nspiresWinners

Women have a unique strength: our ability to give birth. This strength cannot be justly undermined, underestimated, or demeaned, for without it none of us would be alive today, our way of life and our culture would vanish, our very species would cease to exist. While it is sadly popular nowadays to think that the world would be better off without humans, or that Albertan children are unnecessary as we can import foreigners to replace ourselves, this is a sickly mentality that amounts to a drive for cultural suicide. The first rule of health for any biological population is their ability to reproduce and pass along their way of life into the future. Women are not exactly equal to men. This biological reality is also under attack by present-day delusion. To try to promote that women break into careers that men traditionally dominate is not only misguided, but it is harmful. Such a focus detracts from the languishing unique strength and the truly important role that women have in the preservation of our community, culture, and species. Unfortunately, present day government policies all-too-often have this misguided and harmful aim. Many women now realize in their late 30s that they actually want a child after having been taught that career was what mattered earlier in their lives, and they then regret not having done it earlier, when they were in their prime. Others couldn’t afford to have children when they were younger. Sadly, having children is an expensive burden in our modern society. It is this way because our society has become oriented around personal greed and selfish and hedonistic goals. Families who are trying to raise children are competing for resources such as housing, and are at a disadvantage in this environment. And while there is some government assistance for people with children, it is primarily focused on the lowest income parents, so it provides little help to middle class families. My vision of Alberta is a place that is oriented around healthy families and communities again, not around personal greed and selfishness. Recognizing children as being of the utmost importance in our society would be the cornerstone of such a future. Unity among people requires shared common values, and the importance of children and family are the most fundamental values of any healthy population, so this is also the place to start towards achieving greater unity among presently-divided Albertans. As a future parliamentarian, I would promote healthy appreciation for the value that young Albertan women have in their ability to carry our population forward into the future. I believe that the best approach would be to reward families for their reproductive service both with financial rewards to offset the financial burden they are taking on and with medals to symbolize their valuable achievement of having 2+ children. Encouraging our society to reorient in this healthier perspective would provide the greatest good for Alberta going forward and would alleviate many of the problems that we are currently facing.

[timun]

Originally Posted by Lubicon

Did he resign completely as an MLA and walk away, or just as a cabinet minister?

He said he's resigning his seat at the end of the month. Media were reporting that it would trigger a by-election within six months, but the Legislative Assembly Act says that in the "last year of the legal life of the Assembly" a by-election doesn't need to be held, so it'll sit empty for the next nine months.

[TorqueDog]

Huh, Schweitzer was my MLA and I had no idea he quit on Friday. "To little fanfare" is right.
I didn't care for him at all, I didn't vote for him the first time and he certainly wasn't getting my vote this time. As far as I'm concerned, the seat was effectively empty anyway.

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmon...tion-1.6544266

What an utterly stupid and unnecessary demand.

As a private citizen, can you get in trouble for e-mailing the Advanced Education Minister "Would you f--k off already, you useless tw-t?"? Every time this guy's name is in the press, it is almost exclusively for him doing something pointless and/or stupid.

[timun]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Huh, Schweitzer was my MLA and I had no idea he quit on Friday. "To little fanfare" is right.
I didn't care for him at all, I didn't vote for him the first time and he certainly wasn't getting my vote this time. As far as I'm concerned, the seat was effectively empty anyway.

I feel much the same way, and still a bit embittered about Greg Clark losing the seat. He was a great MLA; Schweitzer was nothing but a UCP stooge right up until the point he apparently couldn't stand it anymore and walked away.

[timun]

Originally Posted by aaronck

Wow- this is what Alberta has come to- Here is a link to an essay contest hosted by our Alberta Legislature called "Her Vision Inspires"
I think it was found and scrubbed already, but the Internet never forgets- Here's the third place winner. I feel sad for my daughters today- Anything to do with this government is such garbage

https://web.archive.org/web/20220809...nspiresWinners

You know who gave out medals to women who had 2+ kids? A certain German political party, popular in the 1930s and '40s...

[Flames0910]

Originally Posted by timun

I feel much the same way, and still a bit embittered about Greg Clark losing the seat. He was a great MLA; Schweitzer was nothing but a UCP stooge right up until the point he apparently couldn't stand it anymore and walked away.

I think you're being generous saying he made some kind of stand. He just saw the writing on the wall and saw being part of the UCP was no longer in his best interests. It was a completely self-serving move to get off a drowning ship while there are still lifeboats.

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by timun

At least you have an MLA; mine resigned with little fanfare on Friday...

https://calgaryherald.com/business/s...t-blow-for-ucp

Is this a subtle brag?

[calf]

Originally Posted by Torture

If they're forced to go to this model the University will fail

I think this is the end game

[GGG]

Originally Posted by timun

You know who gave out medals to women who had 2+ kids? A certain German political party, popular in the 1930s and '40s...

Do you think the 3rd place author wrote what they thought the UCP would pick? The medals seems just to on the nose. Ike why would anyone want a medal. It also tracks a boarder hitting dog whistles of cultural suicide and biologically different which is just the right amount of xenophobia and transphobia to get buy the people filtering but still enough tonne offensive to the general public.

I commend who ever wrote this satire and got it through.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by GGG

I commend who ever wrote this satire and got it through.

If it is parody, then it is a fine example of Poe's law.

[timun]

Originally Posted by GGG

Do you think the 3rd place author wrote what they thought the UCP would pick? The medals seems just to on the nose. Ike why would anyone want a medal. It also tracks a boarder hitting dog whistles of cultural suicide and biologically different which is just the right amount of xenophobia and transphobia to get buy the people filtering but still enough tonne offensive to the general public.

I commend who ever wrote this satire and got it through.

I started thinking the same thing while driving home from work this evening, listening to coverage of this on CBC Radio One: "Was this letter concocted by someone seeking to embarrass the government? Did they use just enough dog whistles to appeal to the sensibilities of so-con UCPers, while really trying to prey on their gullibility and ignorance to sneak this letter through and make them looks like foolish bigots?"

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by timun

I started thinking the same thing while driving home from work this evening, listening to coverage of this on CBC Radio One: "Was this letter concocted by someone seeking to embarrass the government? Did they use just enough dog whistles to appeal to the sensibilities of so-con UCPers, while really trying to prey on their gullibility and ignorance to sneak this letter through and make them looks like foolish bigots?"

Well the UCP are foolish bigots, I doubt anyone can make them look like that.

[Geraldsh]

Originally Posted by GGG

Do you think the 3rd place author wrote what they thought the UCP would pick? The medals seems just to on the nose. Ike why would anyone want a medal. It also tracks a boarder hitting dog whistles of cultural suicide and biologically different which is just the right amount of xenophobia and transphobia to get buy the people filtering but still enough tonne offensive to the general public.

I commend who ever wrote this satire and got it through.

The author’s name is S. Silver….