May 10, 2025 - "Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has garnered the support of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Liberal government for a reset on how the federal government distributes equalization payments.
"Smith has called on Alberta to stop subsidizing provinces with productive economies like Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.... 'That was never the intent of equalization, and it needs to end,' said Smith.
"Spokesperson for Newfoundland’s Liberal government Greg Gill responded by telling the National Post that he agreed with Smith’s sentiment on Thursday. 'Equalization is intended to ensure … fairness for all citizens. Currently, this fairness is not achieved for Newfoundland and Labrador,' said Gill.
"[Gill] said the equalization program hurts residents by negating the high cost of delivering services to the remote areas of the sparsely populated province.... Additionally, he argued that the program currently penalizes the province for developing offshore oil and its other natural resources.
"Last year, Newfoundland filed a court challenge against the federal program on the basis that it doesn’t make good on its constitutional purpose. The lawsuit seeks relief over several issues: the exclusion of service delivery costs in payment calculations, the fiscal capacity cap, the inequitable distribution of excess equalization program funding and the gross domestic product growth ceiling....
"Smith said in March that Alberta would no longer agree to 'subsidizing other large provinces who are fully capable of funding themselves.'
"Of the $26.17 billion in equalization payments earmarked for 2025-26, Quebec and Ontario will take the lion’s share for a combined $14.15 billion. Quebec alone will get $13.57 billion.
"On Monday Smith called for Albertans to begin receiving equitable per capita federal transfers and equalization payments at the same rate as Ontario, Quebec and B.C."
The Alberta government is adding a constitutional challenge of the interim Net Zero regulations to the multiple court challenges they have filed against the federal government.
Danielle Smith in 2011. Photo by Dave Cournoyer. CC BY-SA 2/0, Wikimedia Commons.
May 1, 2025 - "Alberta is taking Ottawa to the province’s Court of Appeal over the federal government’s net-zero electricity regulations, arguing the rules overstep provincial jurisdiction and could drive up costs while increasing the risk of power outages. The province announced the legal action during a press conference on May 1, where Premier Danielle Smith described it as 'another step to protect Albertans’ livelihoods' from federal policies the province says 'threaten' the reliability of its electrical grid and could increase electricity prices by 35 percent....
"The Clean Electricity Regulations are part of Ottawa’s plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. They set limits on carbon dioxide emissions for generation units that use fossil fuels, with the stated aim of achieving a low-carbon economy 'at the pace and scale needed to drive clean growth, strengthen our competitiveness and attract more major investments.'
"The federal government last December shifted its target for a fully decarbonized electricity grid from 2035 to 2050.... Meanwhile, the current framework, finalized in December 2024, provides interim targets generators must meet by 2035, which Smith has also called 'unreasonable and unattainable,' arguing they 'will still make electricity unaffordable for Canadian families.'
"Ottawa says the regulations are needed to protect the environment and human health from the effects of climate change. 'Cutting pollution in communities across the country is good for our climate, economy, health, and well-being,' said the government in December 2024....
"During her May 1 address, Smith cited an analysis by the Alberta Electric System Operator, which suggests the net-zero electricity regulations would make the province’s electricity system more than 100 times less reliable than the provincial adequacy standard by 2038. The report also suggests the federal regulations 'will fail to deliver meaningful reductions in carbon emissions in Alberta'....
"Alberta currently relies on natural gas for 75 percent of its power generation, according to provincial estimates. The premier has previously said the province has a 'quicker and cheaper' alternative solution to achieve a carbon neutral power grid by 2050, but that it would require Ottawa to give up attempts to 'interfere' in Alberta’s governance..... The province has filed multiple court challenges against Ottawa, many of them related to federal climate policies.
"'Canada’s constitution is absolutely clear,' [Alberta Justice Minister Mickey] Amery said at the May 1 press conference. “The provinces have exclusive jurisdiction over the development, conservation, and management of sites for the generation and production of electrical energy.' Ottawa says the regulations are established under the authorities of the Canada Environmental Protection Act, 1999, which provides legislative basis for certain federal environmental and health protection programs."
January 20, 2025 - Alberta Premier Danielle Smith issued the following statement welcoming the U.S. tariff reprieve and calling for policy action:
"Alberta is pleased to see that today, President Donald Trump has decided not to impose tariffs on Canadian goods until the matter is further studied.
"We appreciate the implicit recognition that this is a complex and sensitive issue with serious implications for American and Canadian workers, businesses, and consumers, given the integration of our markets, as well as our essential energy and security partnership.
"Avoiding tariffs will preserve hundreds of thousands of jobs in every sector in Canada and the United States. For example, refusing to impose tariffs on Canadian energy preserves the viability of dozens of American refineries and facilities that process Alberta crude, as well as the jobs of tens of thousands of Americans they employ.
"Despite today’s promising news, the threat of U.S. tariffs remains very real. As a country, we must take the following immediate steps to strengthen and protect our economic and security partnership with the United States, and to avoid the future imposition of tariffs:
Focus on diplomacy and refrain from renewed talk of retaliatory measures, such as imposing tariffs on exports or cutting off energy supplies to the United States. Having spoken to the President, as well as dozens of governors, senators, members of Congress, and allies of the new administration, I am convinced that strong, consistent diplomacy and working in good faith on shared priorities is the path to a positive resolution with our American allies. The worst possible response to today’s news would be for the federal government or other provincial premiers to declare 'victory' or escalate tensions by needlessly threatening the United States.
Negotiate ways to increase what Canadians and Americans buy from each other. For example, the United States should consider buying more oil, lumber, and agricultural products from Canada, while Canada should consider buying more gas turbines and military equipment from the United States, as well as the IT equipment needed to strengthen our AI data center sector. Finding ways to increase trade in both directions is essential to achieving a win-win situation for both countries.
Redouble border security efforts. Over the next month, all border provinces should, either alone or in partnership with the federal government, deploy the necessary resources to protect our shared border from drugs and illegal migration.
Announce a significant acceleration towards achieving the NATO target of 2% of Canadian GDP. This is clearly a shared priority that benefits both our nations. There is no excuse for continuing to lag behind.
Addressing immigration channels and known loopholes that allow people hostile to Canada and the United States to enter our country, and restoring immigration levels and rules that existed when Stephen Harper was Prime Minister.
Immediately repeal all federal anti-energy policies (production cap, Clean Electricity Regulations, Impact Assessment Act [Bill C-69]) and expedite preliminary approval of the Northern Gateway and Energy East projects."
The British government has stopped the use of puberty blockers to transition under-18s within its National Health Service, and is now temporarily banning them for all prescribers.
March 13, 2024 - "Children in England will no longer be prescribed puberty blockers at gender identity clinics, according to the country's National Health Service (NHS). In a policy document released Tuesday, the NHS said that following a review of published research, 'we have concluded that there is not enough evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness of [puberty suppressing hormones] to make the treatment routinely available at this time.'
"Under the new policy, puberty blockers for those under 18 will only be available as part of research studies. One such study is slated to begin by the end of 2024....
"According to a published report by BBC News, fewer than 100 young people in England are currently prescribed puberty blockers by the NHS. The report said they will all [be] able to continue their treatment.
"The blockers have become a contentious issue in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.... They've been banned for minors in several U.S. states. In Alberta, Premier Danielle Smith ... plans to introduce similar policies. Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has said he does not support trans kids under 18 taking puberty blockers. The Canadian Paediatric Society and Canadian Medical Association have both stated their support of gender-affirming care."
May 29, 2024 -"The government has today introduced regulations to restrict the prescribing and supply of puberty-suppressing hormones, known as ‘puberty blockers’, to children and young people under 18 in England, Wales and Scotland. The emergency ban will last from 3 June to 3 September 2024.... During this period no new patients under 18 will be prescribed these medicines for the purposes of puberty suppression in those experiencing gender dysphoria or incongruence under the care of these prescribers.
"The NHS stopped the routine prescription of puberty blocker treatments to under-18s following the Cass Review into gender identity services. In addition, the government has also introduced indefinite restrictions to the prescribing of these medicines within NHS primary care in England, in line with NHS guidelines.... This action has been taken to address risks to patient safety.
"Patients already established on these medicines by a UK prescriber for these purposes can continue to access them. They will also remain available for patients receiving the drugs for other uses, from a UK-registered prescriber."
Four Liberal cabinet ministers have attacked Alberta premier Danielle Smith for giving an interview to American journalist Tucker Carlson, claiming she is attempting to "summon evil forces from the United States" to incite political violence against them.
January 25, 2024 - "Four of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet ministers appeared before reporters Thursday to condemn Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's decision to meet with former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson. They also took issue with some of the rhetoric Carlson used while speaking to a large crowd that gathered Wednesday to see the conservative commentator in conversation with Smith at Calgary's Telus Convention Centre.
"Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault said he was disturbed by Smith's call for Carlson to put Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault in his 'crosshairs'.... During a conversation about the pitfalls of solar panels, Smith said to Carlson, 'I wish you would put Steven Guilbeault in your crosshairs.... He happens to be our environmental minister federally. He believes he has the expertise and knowledge to tell us in Alberta how to run our power grid,' Smith added. Tucker replied that he didn't want to know Guilbeault based on Smith's description.... Smith's comment was interpreted by Boissonnault as a call for violence, an attempt to 'summon evil forces from the United States to try and take on one of our colleagues'....
"Guilbeault said he felt 'targeted' by Wednesday's Smith-Carlson fireside chat, which was focused on energy and recent power usage alerts in Alberta, when the electrical grid was severely strained by frigid temperatures. 'This increases political violence against everyone who runs for office in this country,' he said.
"Boissonnault also accused Carlson of 'spewing hate speech'.... 'For Danielle Smith to bring the mouthpiece of the MAGA conservative far-right to Edmonton Centre to spew hate about LGBTQ2 people is beyond the pale,' Boissonault, who is gay, said of Carlson's second Alberta event in the provincial capital. 'It's deplorable and we won't stand for it'....
"Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez attempted to link Pierre Poilievre with the event, which the Conservative leader did not attend.'I'm asking Pierre Poilievre to condemn those hateful and violent statements by Tucker Carlson," Rodriguez said. 'The extreme-right politics — don't ask the question if it's coming to Canada. It's already here.'
"Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said it's 'deplorable' for conservative Canadian politicians to rub shoulders with 'the American extreme right.'
"Asked for a response to Liberal calls to condemn Smith and Tucker, a spokesperson for Poilievre said Trudeau and his ministers are 'yet again twisting themselves in knots to distract from the hurt and suffering they are inflicting on Canadians'.... 'Trudeau's desperate Liberal ministers will say anything in an attempt to distract Canadians and hope they forget about the misery caused by Liberal policies,' said Sebastian Skamski....
"Carlson is a highly controversial figure in American media and politics. For years, he hosted one of the most-watched shows on U.S. television, rallying a deeply conservative audience to the Republican cause.... Since his ouster from Fox, Carlson has hosted a program on X, the social media service formerly known as Twitter, where he's ignited criticism with his anti-Ukraine messaging about Russia's invasion."
The Trudeau government's Impact Assessment Act, dubbed the "No More Pipelines Act" by its critics, unconstitutionally exceeds the limits of federal jurisdiction, Canada's Supreme Court has ruled.
October 13, 2023 - "Canada's top court has delivered a highly anticipated judgment, writing in a majority opinion that Ottawa's Impact Assessment Act (IAA) is largely unconstitutional. The IAA, previously known as Bill C-69, allows federal regulators to consider the potential environmental and social impacts of various resource and infrastructure projects. It was enacted in 2019. The IAA has long been controversial among conservative politicians in Alberta, including former premier Jason Kenney, who frequently referred to it as the "no more pipelines act."
"The ruling was part of a 'reference case,' which involves the provincial and federal governments asking courts for advisory opinions. It doesn't mean the law is now off the books — a ruling such as this from the Supreme Court of Canada is not necessarily binding, but is traditionally treated as being binding by governments, noted David Wright, an associate professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Calgary. 'I think what we can expect is the federal government is going to get to work very quickly to put together a suite of amendments to bring the act into conformity with the law,' Wright said.
"Writing for the majority in a 5-2 decision, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada Richard Wagner said the process set forth in Sections 81 to 91 of the IAA were constitutional and could be separated out. Those sections involve projects carried out or financed by federal authorities on federal lands, or outside Canada, and therefore fall under federal jurisdiction. Those provisions were not challenged as unconstitutional.
"However, Wagner wrote that the balance of the scheme, involving 'designated projects,' was unconstitutional. Under the IAA, designated projects are those projects that are set out in the regulations or are subject to a ministerial order. 'In my view, Parliament has plainly overstepped its constitutional competence in enacting this designated projects scheme,' Wagner wrote.
"Wagner wrote that environmental protection remains one of today's most pressing challenges, and Parliament has the power to enact a scheme of environmental assessment to meet this challenge. 'But Parliament also has the duty to act within the enduring division of powers framework laid out in the Constitution,' he wrote.
"Dissenting Justices Andromache Karakatsanis and Mahmud Jamal wrote that they believed the act was constitutional in its entirety....
"Alberta previously filed a constitutional challenge with the Alberta Court of Appeal, and was supported by the governments of Saskatchewan and Ontario, three First Nations and the Indian Resource Council. Various environmental and legal groups, as well as other First Nations, supported Ottawa. In a 4-1 decision, the court called the law an 'existential threat' when it came to Canada's Constitution. The federal government appealed that non-binding opinion, and the Supreme Court held hearings on the act in March."
"Today's decision was keenly awaited by legal experts, who recognized its importance in providing clarity to an area of law that has long been under debate. Wright, the associate professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Calgary, said it wasn't the outcome most of those who follow this area of law expected. 'This really does set the the legal landscape for federal impact assessment for decades to come,' said Wright, who was also an intervener on the case. 'What we now know is that there are significant constraints on what the federal government may or may not do with respect to legislating in relation to environmental assessment.'
May 30, 2023 - "Danielle Smith won Alberta’s general election last night, just under eight months after winning over the UCP and becoming premier.... Her win is a strong rebuke to the myriad commentators who claimed she was too 'radical,' too 'crazy,' and too 'far-right' to win over anyone but her own party’s loyal members. Throughout the campaign, the media obsessed over whose wedding she attended, which of Albertans’ concerns she’d hear out, and even what a tattoo she has really means. (I’m not joking).
"But through it all, voters saw the real Danielle Smith, who put in the time and effort to rebuild her reputation and listen to Albertans... Not only is she amiable and compassionate, but also tremendously smart. She was successful as a broadcaster and a business advocate because she was unafraid to delve into the details and try to find solutions to complicated policy problems, from healthcare to energy and beyond. When it mattered during the Covid era, Smith was a culture warrior. She stood up for religious freedom despite not being religious herself and fought against vaccine passports and mandates when her party, then led by Jason Kenney, embraced them....
"The NDP and media (a distinction often not worth making in Alberta) attempted to pluck out whatever unflattering bits of Smith’s past work they could, but it didn’t stick. I wish Smith had been firmer in standing by some of her past statements throughout the campaign, but I realize politics is often about choosing battles. (In general, conservative politicians need to choose more of them). However, while the NDP was scouring through old Facebook Lives, Smith was pitching Alberta voters on a message of hope....
"A couple of weeks ago, NDP leader Rachel Notley held a press conference to appeal to conservative voters, who she presumed hated Smith so much they’d prefer to vote NDP. (Notley’s purported desire to reach conservative voters didn’t stop her from repeatedly banning conservative journalists from her press conferences). The move was as transparent as it was arrogant: the NDP tried to paint Danielle Smith as being outside the realm of acceptability.
"Now, the joke’s on the NDP and those who so eagerly carried water for them in the media. It’s Notley who was evidently out of the realm of what Albertans found acceptable. If Notley was as eager as she claims she is to purge Alberta politics of radicals, perhaps she should have stepped down as leader last night. In electing the UCP, voters rejected the smears and proved the NDP and its media allies failed in their attempts to make Smith into an absurd caricature."
May 30, 2023 - "When Smith invoked the late Ralph Klein in referencing his 'miracle on the prairie', she wasn't drawing an unfair parallel.... When Klein took the reins of the Progressive Conservative Party in the early 1990s, the party was in serious trouble. It was polling at 20% against Lawrence Decore's Liberals, and many were declaring the Progressive Conservatives as electorally dead in the water. The elites and chattering classes dismissed Klein as an uneducated bumpkin who stumbled his way into the premiership and who would become little more than a footnote in political history. Voters felt otherwise and gave Ralph Klein a reduced majority government.... The Alberta establishment was aghast and humbled.
"Fast forward to 2022 and we saw the governing UCP polling as low as 22% under the leadership of Jason Kenney. When Kenney was replaced by Danielle Smith, the usual establishment suspects were all but confident this would be the beginning of the end of the UCP's reign.... Smith proved her detractors wrong and pulled a reduced majority win from what was the most personal and negative provincial election campaign in living memory. While she may have fewer seats than the 1993 PCs did under Klein, she has a larger segment of popular support. Klein garnered 44.5% support in 1993. Smith's UCP took 52.6% of the electorate. Her opponents can no longer claim she hasn't a mandate from Albertans....
"The election may be behind Smith now, but her opponents are far from gone. Notley is remaining as leader of the NDP for now which ensures the negative tone of opposition will continue. Legacy media is as biased against Smith as ever and they will pan every move she makes.... Unions, academics and media will all oppose Smith's every move just as they did with Klein. People within Smith's own party will get nervous as opposition to her policies mounts. She will need to ignore her opponents and reassure her allies....
"Smith has a mandate and she needs to pursue it. She can't succumb to the temptation to pull the political reform band aid off slowly through minor, incremental policy changes. For one thing, her opponents will go wild when she makes even minor changes. Secondly, that's how Jason Kenney tried to govern and look how well that turned out.
"Albertans are willing to embrace positive political changes even when it comes to the healthcare system and the pension plan. Smith needs to bring about reforms quickly and to offer no quarter to opponents to her work. Changes need to be made in her first two years in power so positive results can be measured before she faces the electorate again. She can't let civil servants, union heads or her own advisors slow-roll her mandate. Hesitation would be her undoing."
April 21, 2023 - "CBC’s recent spat with Twitter over a 'government funded media' label [see video] has many Canadians paying attention to the broadcaster’s political bias. True North has compiled seven times the CBC’s bias against conservative politicians and causes was on full display in recent years.
A prime example of the state broadcaster’s left-wing bias and attempt to silence its critics on the right was when the CBC decided to sue the Conservative Party during the 2019 election. The CBC alleged that the party’s use of excerpts from its programs infringed on the so-called ‘moral rights’ of two of its employees.... Two years ago, a federal court dismissed the CBC’s frivolous lawsuit. Federal Court Justice Michael Phelan ruled that the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) did not violate CBC’s copyright when it used excerpts from the broadcaster’s footage in an online ad and tweets.... 'There was no evidence presented that a broadcaster’s segment disclosed in a partisan setting reflected adversely on the broadcaster,' ruled Phelan....
"In Jan. 2022, ... [d]uring a Power & Politics segment, a CBC anchor baselessly suggested that Russia was involved in organizing the Freedom Convoy.... 'Given Canada’s support of Ukraine in this current crisis with Russia, I don’t know if it is far-fetched to ask, but there is concern that Russian actors could be continuing to fuel things as this protest grows, perhaps even instigating it from the outside?' asked Nil Köksal.... [T]he CBC Ombudsman called out their bias saying ... 'It was not clear to viewers whether anyone was offering evidence that Russia was involved in the convoy – or why they would have such a concern. Asking the question in this way left room for people to surmise that CBC believed such evidence existed\....
"The CBC gave more coverage to American Democrat vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris as the “first woman of colour to compete on a major party’s presidential ticket” thanthey did the Canadian Conservative leadership candidate Leslyn Lewis – despite Lewis being the first black woman to run to lead the party. According to a True North review of articles from the time, Harris received 500% more headlines from the CBC mentioning her name than Lewis.... By law, the CBC is required to 'be predominantly and distinctively Canadian, reflect Canada and its regions to national and regional audiences, while serving the special needs of those regions.'
"Also during the 2020 Conservative leadership race, the CBC was caught ... selectively editing candidate Erin O’Toole’s comments on defunding the public broadcaster. During the interview on CBC’s The House, guest host David Cochrane asked O’Toole about his plan to defund the outlet. His response and the question were entirely removed from the interview that was broadcast across Canada despite not removing any other portion of the interview.... [T]he CBC claimed they edited that part of the interview 'for time'....
"At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the CBC failed to report on important conflicts of interest when it came to the push for vaccination of 5-11-year-olds. The CBC and other media outlets have failed to disclose nearly $2 million in funding from Pfizer Pharmaceuticals received by pediatrician Dr. Jim Kellner who was cited as an expert in articles by the broadcaster.... A search on the outlet’s website turned up Kellner’s name over 41 times....
"Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took the drastic measure of triggering the Emergencies Act to quash the Freedom Convoy last year based on misleading and biased analysis from the CBC.... 'The importance of this measure is highlighted by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s recent reporting about the crowdfunding website, GiveSendGo.com, which indicated that the majority of the donations to the protests were made by donors outside of Canada,' claimed evidence submitted by the federal government. Testimony by GiveSendGo executives and debunked CBC’s claims that a majority of the donations came from outside of Canada, saying that 63% of the donations were from Canadian sources....
"CBC News’ political bias came through most recently when it refused to retract its story that accuses Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s office of meddling with Crown prosecutors over Coutts border blockades cases. Although it printed the story based on anonymous sources and emails it had not seen, the CBC has stuck by the article, risking a lawsuit with Smith. Not only has Smith called the article “defamatory,” [but] its ...claims were debunked by the civil service and Crown prosecutors."
Alberta premier Danielle Smith has penned an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asking him to meet with her to discuss his "Just Transition" program, which she warns faces "irrepressible opposition" in her province.
January 26, 2023 - "Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is proposing a sustainable jobs alternative to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s 'Just Transition' proposal, which she says would face 'irrepressible opposition' from Alberta. The federal government has yet to table 'Just Transition' legislation, but Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said it would be a priority this spring.
"In an open letter, Smith said the leaders have reached a crossroads in Alberta’s relationship with the Federal Government. 'We can continue with the endless court challenges, legislation to protect jurisdictional rights and inflammatory media coverage over our disagreements,' she wrote. 'Or, as is my strong preference, Alberta and Ottawa can work in partnership on a plan that will signal to all Canadians and investors from around the world that our governments have cooperatively designed a series of incentives and initiatives.'
"Those initiatives, the premier wrote, would seek to achieve objectives of substantially decreasing Canada’s and Alberta’s net emissions and accelerating private and public investment in infrastructure that utilizes and develops Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage, Bitumen Beyond Combustion, Geothermal technology, petrochemicals, hydrogen, lithium, helium, zero-emissions vehicles and nuclear technologies. They would also seek to attract a larger skilled workforce to positions in the conventional energy sector and emerging industries and increase LNG exports and other responsibly developed conventional oil and natural gas resources to Europe, Asia, and the United States, she said.
"'Prime Minister, all of the above objectives need to be clearly articulated and integrated into any Federal legislation or policies your government seeks to implement in the coming months, or that legislation will face irrepressible opposition from Alberta,” Smith wrote. 'I genuinely do not want to see that happen,' she added, inviting the prime minister to meet with her in February to discuss the matter....
"Last week, Blacklock’s Reporter uncovered a June 1 briefing note to Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson which said ... more than 2.7 million Canadians face 'significant' disruptions in sectors that will be affected by climate change programs. 'The transition to a low carbon economy will have an uneven impact across sectors, occupations and regions and create significant labour market disruptions,' it reads....
"Smith has said 'Just Transition' is a social justice term meant to phase out the coal industry. 'To use that terminology, they’re virtue signaling to an extreme base that is openly advocating to shut down oil or natural gas,' she said last week. In her letter, she also implored Trudeau to drop the name 'Just Transition'....
'Vow that all provisions of any forthcoming legislation will be designed to incentivize investment and job growth in both the conventional energy sector as well as in emerging industries,' she wrote. 'Demonstrate that no provision of the Act will be designed to phase out or reduce Alberta’s conventional oil and natural gas sector and workforce.'
"The federal government has yet to respond to Smith’s letter."
November 17, 2022 - "Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has made good on her promise to rehaul Alberta Health Services’ (AHS) leadership and has fired 11 members of the department’s board. On Thursday afternoon, Smith announced the board was replaced with administrator Dr. John Cowell, a role he’s held before....
Cowell has been charged with reducing ambulance, emergency room and surgical wait times and developing long-term reforms through consultations with front-line workers.
"Smith said he will be a full-time administrator and will report directly to her and Health Minister Jason Copping.
"Cowell said the public may be skeptical, but urged that he hopes to contribute to a better healthcare experience. 'I am ready to get to work on behalf of Albertans, building a better system to support patients needing care. I look forward to working with the AHS team, and taking tangible actions to drive much-needed change,' he said....
"Health Minister Jason Copping said the government must act quickly. He said the government wants to provide all scheduled surgeries within a reasonable time, but it will likely need until 2024 to get back on track....
"A June survey from the Alberta Medical Association found that 84% of respondents believe wait times in Alberta emergency departments are 'fairly' or 'very' long. Respondents reported waiting up to five hours for care....
"On Monday, the government announced that Dr. Deena Hinshaw had been fired as Alberta’s chief medical health officer and replaced with Dr. Mark Joffe.
November 10, 2022 -"Senior civil servants from Alberta and Ontario left the impression at a public inquiry Thursday that Ottawa was not keen to come to their aid to deal with protest blockades last winter.... Neither of the bureaucrats from those provinces felt the use of the [Emergencies Act] was necessary, and in Alberta, the inquiry heard, the legislation wasn't useful at all.... The public inquiry is tasked with determining whether the federal government was justified in triggering the legislation for the first time since it became law in 1988.
"A convoy of 1,000 vehicles of all types drove to Coutts, Alta., on Jan. 29 to protest provincial and federal COVID-19 health restrictions, blocking the highway in both directions and halting the movement of trade. The Liberal government invoked the Emergencies Act on Feb. 14, the same day RCMP in Alberta moved in to arrest protesters in Coutts. The prime minister ... Justin Trudeau held a consultation with premiers before invoking the act, and notes taken by political staffers and submitted to the public inquiry detail their comments and concerns. Handwritten notes taken by aides in the Prime Minister's Office and Saskatchewan government say former Alberta premier Jason Kenney worried that triggering the emergency legislation would be a 'very serious provocation' and a 'net negative'....
"Marlin Degrand, the assistant deputy minister in the Alberta solicitor general's office, told the commission earlier Thursday that RCMP had the power to clear the convoy from the border, but it didn't have the co-operation it needed to get the job done.... Alberta looked all over the province, in British Columbia and Saskatchewan and even the United States, but tow companies refused to help.... The province opted against declaring a state of emergency to try and force tow operators to help, and instead asked for federal help in a formal letter on Feb. 5.
"The Liberal government never officially responded to that request, but did draft a letter to turn Alberta down on Feb. 12, the commission learned. The undelivered letter said the province had all the legal authority it needed to deal with the protest. Degrand said he would agree that Alberta didn't need any more legal authority; what it lacked were the tow trucks....
"On Feb. 21, [federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill] Blair texted [Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Rick] McIver to tell him that the Emergencies Act was effective at addressing the tow truck issue. 'You were too late and did the wrong thing,' McIver responded, telling the minister that by the time the state of emergency was invoked the Coutts blockade was already over."
Oct 24, 2022 - "Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she is cancelling a health consulting agreement involving the World Economic Forum — an agency at the centre of global domination conspiracy theories — because she won't work with a group that talks about controlling governments.
"'I find it distasteful when billionaires brag about how much control they have over political leaders,' Smith said at a news conference Monday after her new cabinet was sworn in. 'That is offensive…the people who should be directing government are the people who vote for them. Quite frankly, until that organization stops bragging about how much control they have over political leaders, I have no interest in being involved with them.'
"The United Conservative Party premier said she is in lockstep with federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who has stated he and his caucus will having nothing to do with the World Economic Forum.
"The deal with Alberta Health Services sees the province share ideas with health researchers at Harvard University and the Mayo Clinic under the forum's umbrella. The high-profile conference of global political and business leaders has been the focus of conspiracy theories from both sides of the political spectrum. A decade ago, it was accused by the left-wing of conspiring to cut pensions and slash environmental programs. It became the focus of attacks from the right during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it promoted a 'great reset,' calling for ideas on how to better organize global society post pandemic....
"Smith, on a livestream interview Friday, announced the deal was ending but didn't say why. At a news conference Saturday, she declined to respond to two questions on the forum. The premier was asked by a reporter Monday if she has concerns about the forum 'because you accept the online conspiracy theory that WEF is a front for a global cabal of world leaders bent on using the pandemic to destroy capitalism and install a socialist dysfunctional dystopia.'
"Smith declined to answer. 'I think it makes sense to make health decisions based on health experts,' she said. 'The group [WEF] and the person at the helm of it [Klaus Schwab] — I don't think he's a medical doctor. I don't think he's a nurse, and I don't think he's a paramedic and I don't think he's a health professional. I am going to be taking advice from our front-line nurses, doctors, paramedics and health professionals to fix the local problems that we have.'
"NDP health critic Shannon Phillips said in a statement said Danielle Smith's 'bizarre fixation' on the World Economic Forum does nothing to repair health care, create jobs or lower the cost of living for Alberta families."
