The battle for Alberta starts taking shape

BY JOHN MATHER

The gloves are coming off.

In the not too distant future there is a provincial election coming to Alberta.

And, without some sort of miracle in policy and branding by one of several third parties, this election will be a battleground between the right what we have now, and the left in what we had from 2015 to 2018 (which saw debt loads in our province soar while the economy spluttered).

It’s a battle between the UCP on the right led by Danielle Smith, and the NDP on the left led nominally by Rachel Notley, but still beholden to the wishes and commands of national leader Jagmeet Singh (who is always quick to point out he’s no friend of our province).

While the economy, jobs, healthcare and education will be important debating points in the upcoming election, almost everything will hinge on the disastrous proposal coming form the desks of Liberals in Ottawa….

JUST TRANSITION!

This diabolical proposal designed to shutter Alberta’s, Saskatchewan’s and to a lesser extent Newfoundland’s oil and gas industry, is fully supported by Jagmeet Singh and the Federal NDP.

They are what stands between you, me and the rest of Canada and a Federal election which would likely see the Conservative Party of Canada win a majority (if we believe the public polls on the topic), and return Canada to a path of economic recovery and worldwide success under Pierre Poilievre.

But the Liberals are propped up by the NDP supply agreement and they fully support JUST TRANSITION.

And Rachel Notley has to support Jagmeet Singh!

Smith has said she was sickened when she saw a briefing document from Environment Minister Jonathon Wilkinson’s department stating what the outcome of JUST TRANSITION would be on the economies of Alberta and Saskatchewan in terms of damage to our economy and job losses.

How can you improve healthcare, education systems, and other issues important to Albertans when the Federal government is intent on killing your main industry and doesn’t care less about the subsequent jobs losses.

Picture families defaulting on mortgages en masse, being forced out of the province to try and find less meaningful jobs. This is what Justin Trudeau and his henchmen propped up by Jagmeet Singh have in mind for Alberta.

But whoa, mutters Notley.

Continued

“I disagree with JUST TRANSITION. You can’t just terminate Alberta’s main industry overnight,” she states meekly. She knows she has to kowtow to Singh so she can’t offer any plan to how she would fight this injustice.

Instead, she tries to deflect by saying if Smith didn’t fight the Federal government, the Province and Feds could work together in an amicable environment and create a situation where everyone would be happy smelling the roses and wearing rose coloured glasses.

Nonsense.

Smith has to fight the Feds. Hell, all Albertans who value our way of life in this province have to fight the Feds on this.

Lower caste Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault from Edmonton, said JUST TRANSITION won’t be as damaging as everyone says.

Well, Randy, it’s spelled out in working documents which your party has created, and no doubt with some minor tweaks you will fully support.

And explain it to those workers in the cod fishing and coal mining industries who the government JUST TRANSITIONED into oblivion.

It is crafted to strengthen eastern Canada, boost some support for the Atlantic provinces and just leave the west as a shell of a wasteland.

A region of Canada with the greatest potential. A region with products that the rest of the world wants as other commodities are produced by terrorist rogue states or dictatorships who have no respect for human rights or environmental standards.

But the Canadian West does! And the thanks we get from the Trudeau Liberals is shut it down.

And Notley wants to lead this province and make nice with the Feds.

The Liberal and eastern

NDP moguls want the west back to living in sod shacks.

Don’t fall for it.

When provincial politicians come knocking at your door ask them bluntly where they stand on JUST TRANSITION.

Then if they all say they oppose it, which they will … they want your vote after all, demand you see their correspondence to Ottawa demanding an end to such stupidity.

Because if they’re NDP they won’t be telling the truth. They have to support Jagmeet’s position, no matter what Notley may mumble.

If she was a loyal Albertan she would disavow the federal NDP and actually come up with a workable plan in consensus with the UCP to form a joint front to oppose the draconian Liberal proposal.

Yup, the gloves are off in the provincial election and right now, Premier Smith is on the high road fighting for Albertans.

BY HAZEL ANAKA

I spent Sunday, my usual day for writing this column procrastinating. Not because I’m a procrastinator by nature but because any glimmer of a topic eluded me. I made time for the word puzzles I play on my phone. Though play is probably the wrong word; I tackle them as brain work, challenges that are hopefully staving off dementia. I cooked. Sort of. I washed a load of Roy’s farm outerwear and did some small mending on my sewing machine.

But most importantly, I worked on my journal making business. A variety of tasks, some fun; others less so are part of the deal. I’ve set up a month-at-a-glance calendar that shows the YouTube videos I’ve posted to my channel (HazelAnakaDesign) and those scheduled days or weeks in advance. I also use it to track my Instagram posts. For some reason, I find that harder to do consistently. It’s not that onerous; just posting some pictures or a really short video, writing some text, and voila. A perfectly timed YT video has distilled the key elements so maybe that will make this easier and dare I say, fun. Whatever I post to IG also goes to my business Facebook page preventing duplication of effort. In this space I’ve often complained about Facebook and other social media platforms. I was never an early adopter and seem to be playing catch-up and trying to learn ever since; trying to use it as a tool rather than a social connector.

That explains, in part why an Etsy customer of mine from Australia wanted weeks for a FB reply. She was an absolute doll about it and I’m grateful for that.

I’ve always refused to be a slave to my phone and its notifications. So, unless I force myself to check certain things, I’m oblivious. In 2023 being oblivious is not a winning business model. What I like most about this whole journal making thing is the variety of tasks. Today, for instance, I did some machine stitching around some ephemera I’d made. It’s another element that conveys that handmade aesthetic. I also gathered papers for the signatures for an upcoming project. In an effort to create some efficiencies, I decided I’d make three journals on the same theme at the same time since I’ve already collected and curated every little thing that may made it into the books. To create some YouTube content, I’m doing a multi-video start-to-finish series which will begin airing February 1st. Since my iPhone can’t pause and I have no skill in or desire to learn video editing, I have to be very organized and cognizant of the running time. That means having the right supplies within reach; knowing what to do offscreen ahead of time; and how much detail to get into.

Another job I continued was the harvesting of images from a 1901 scrapbook I bought at auction. It’s a slow, painstaking process with the aim being to avoid damaging the very old fragile paper. Once I get them cleaned up, I’ll sort, scan, and digitize them. Creating some vintage digital papers for my Etsy shop gives others without access to old documents an affordable solution. They include some very tiny, quaint antique greeting cards with scalloped edges and embossed designs. Of course, magazine ads and fashion spreads are always fun.

I also thought about when I last watched the news, how treacherous our icy sidewalks are, how the boxes for dona- tion are piling up, and how I wish we had a chef on staff. In an effort to save money and waste less, I’ve been working my way through the freezer and pantry. If after thawing the item looks too far gone, Rocky and the cats get an unexpected treat. I thought about how both the garage and basement would benefit from a thorough reorganization and tidying up. I wondered if the treadmill and recumbent cycle are still in the basement asking about me. I wondered why there’s so much crap on Netflix. A look out the window

January 25, 2023 - 5 reminded me how much the sun affects mood. I considered making a list of all the things I’ve ‘misplaced’ recently. Did I ever tell you that after spending nearly $400 on a new key fob and programming for the Venza, Roy found it among his things? Arrgh. I strategized ways to build my business. I created. I putzed. I thought about people and places and the disappointing show (Vegas Live) we saw at the Mayfield. I thought about my poor chapped hands. And whether retinol A really helps skin look younger.

Not too shabby for a Sunday, from where I sit.