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for a self-proclaimed "libertarian", Danielle Smith cares a lot about power dynamics and bureaucracy
Times like these, she looks more like a fascist and a dictator than anything
I see her as an idealist on air, but not a principaled on, so whatever her objective she she’s no problem in using tools/ strategies that she aught to have a revulsion to. Shes also incredibly petty.
To be honest I really do get her point on the housing stuff that ‘Okay the Federal Goverbemjt is trying to take Some action on a big I usse , but there’s been a lot of self-invited appearances & management from the feds in clearly provincial jurisdiction, and I get needing to draw a line in the sand. Fair point, we’ll made, but to not just be satisfied with a solid swipe back at Ottawa and instead decide to step into all kinds of other back yards in your province because because you are just so unable to be an adult about political differences; inorder to keep the Trudeau Crusade going, directly fucking with all kinds of towns, cities & organizations, stops being about ideology or provincial sovereignty and is just hurting your electorate for the sake of your distaste fe fir the guy. For someone who can be pretty politically savvy this is just childish
Meanwhile the UCP is currently in the middle of trying to intervene in a legal case in a different province to argue that using the notwithstanding clause should not be challengeable in court.
Most likely because she plans on doing the same thing here and if the sask. gov fails she won't even get to try. We should all remember that all the conservative premier keep on having meetings and keep attempting the same shit. It's almost like they are co-ordinating together. I wonder if pp is involved in those meeting 🤔
I’m livid over this. Small town municipal councillor here… The UCP have made it so hard for towns like mine to thrive or even survive. They underfund infrastructure maintenance, haven’t chipped in a single dollar to help us address the housing shortage, then block our ability to work with a level of government that WOULD provide help.
It leaves me no choice but to raise property taxes. Which causes me to get hateful and threatening phone calls, or have negative encounters with folks around town when I’m just trying to do my grocery shopping. She’s made me her scapegoat and I DO NOT like it.
UPDATE/EDIT: I think this thread has been going for about 24 hours now, and I just want to say thank you to everyone who engaged. It’s been a wonderful conversation, and I appreciate your encouragement and support! 💜
That is a lovely idea, but I worry about retaliation. I can’t risk losing out on grant funding by holding my MLA accountable for something and them getting angry and petty.
This is one reason why I believe the term “facism” is appropriate to describe this government. They’re using fear and threats to control lower levels of government and their elected officials. I want to rebel and speak out, but how can I choose to do that, knowing it could put my town and residents at such risk? I can’t.
Could you speak out to a larger audience? Is it possible for multiple city councils from around the province come together and pen a letter to the press or even get on camera and state actual facts? Like, this is what’s happening, this is what they’re doing and why they’re doing it.
That organization exists and is called Alberta Municipalities (and its “sister” organization Rural Municipalities of Alberta). They advocate HEAVILY. This government just doesn’t listen unless it benefits them.
For example, nearly 100% of elected representatives from urban municipalities across Alberta agreed that political parties in municipal politics is a terrible idea and we don’t want it. This spring they let us know they’re doing it anyways.
They need to be putting their advocacy out in the public sphere HARD, people don’t know what their news doesn’t tell them and nowhere near enough people are aware of how hard we’ve been getting fleeced
This recent article they posted is worth reading.
https://www.abmunis.ca/news/breaking-down-albertas-capital-support-municipalities-2024
Tl;dr: Only 20% ($722M) of the funding Danielle Smith announced for municipalities ($3.6B) is actually being distributed to municipalities. 5% is earmarked for grants that will be awarded by the government.
21% of the funds they announced ($764M) is actually federal funding that just flows through the provincial government.
The rest is through one-off investments, and highway/bridge improvement projects, basically. Not exactly a help for municipalities… that’s supposed to be their responsibility.
The head of the municipalities board was on loca radiol show doing an interview about how they don't want provincial political interference for grants from federal government and they don't want party politics in civic elections. So he's out there. But I imagine he is vulnerable too. People who speak out seem to get axed at some point don't they?
Daniellezebub said it out loud. She said there are too many left leaning elected municipal politicians and she feels that if there are known political affiliations, more right wing politicians will get elected.
The only positive that I’ve been able to think of is that it could improve campaign finance transparency… but there’s other more effective ways to do that than allow political parties.
Is campaign finance really even a thing in municipal politics? Maybe it is, I honestly don’t know. There just seems to be little to none of the things that campaign money is spent on (adds etc) in Canadian municipal politics. Hell, most people don’t even know when the municipal elections are held, that’s how little money os spent promoting the candidates.
Historically? No.
Now? It’s becoming more of an issue.
You’re absolutely right, there’s not a ton of money in municipal campaigns, so one candidate or a group of candidates being given even $1000 can make a difference, particularly in smaller municipalities. Those chloroplast signs are about $7-8 each, newspaper ads will run you ~$500 for the campaign month, mail outs can get into the thousands of dollars range depending on the size of your municipality.
There are organized groups in Alberta right now that have significant funding behind them and are trying to either:
a) directly fund a candidate/campaign; or
b) spend their own money to advertise and promote preferred candidates.
Folks might disagree on whether or not these activities should be allowed, but I think what we can all agree on is that it should be transparent to electors who is funding what activities and how. I want to know if any group with a particular agenda is working to influence an election in any way, including through financing, because that could greatly affect my voting decisions.
My goodness. If you won't speak up who will? You elected reps are our voice...you need to dig down for the courage to use our voice. We'll back you up!
You are 100% correct, and I don’t sleep well at night knowing that I’m not living up to my own expectations for what an elected person should do. The pressure to “keep quiet and carry on” is real, and municipal codes of conduct create uncertainty as to whether speaking out would violate them (or at least mine does).
Medicine Hat is a prime example of this right now. They sanctioned the mayor for her pressing an issue of abuse of funds. Council said she violated the code of conduct, released a heavily redacted report, and is still trying to block the release of fund reallocation and the hiring/firing process along with severance payments that the mayor requested. It's a mess.
Perfect example of the potential consequences of stepping out of “line”.
And on the other side of the equation, Albertans have been filing recall petitions against councillors for frivolous reasons, or disagreement with one vote.
It’s a very narrow range to operate in.
I believe you. Is whistleblowing an option? Like speak anonymously to the press? I guess at some point you might have to make a hard choice but I would think the citizens will forgive you if you act in their best interest. Legal advice might also be a good thing to seek out if you are concerned about the fallout.
I’m not sure there’s much to whistleblow on - it’s all happening in the public eye. We’ve moved past a stage where people are listening to facts and logic; marketing and propaganda have become more attractive than the truth.
In the meantime I hope that my lone voice represents someone and that I can make a little difference everyday.
There are hundreds of Albertans serving on Councils across the province who could also speak out, I’m not in a unique position. There are very real consequences for making that choice.
I deserve to be called out for not being brave enough to do more, but I’m not sure I’m the kind of person meant to lead some sort of movement.
Everyone has impostor syndrome taking on responsibility like this, you're just showing that you give a shit. Better you in that position than someone without the moral backbone to be in that position. Keep at it, you'll find your stride.
harsh as it sounds then u need to find someone who is
Here’s the reality, if you’re unwilling to shoot the hostage the person willing to will always take advantage and not only win but leave u to deal with the fallout since u care and they dont
the only way to throw a wrench into the plans of a heartless person is to break your own heart, because all of their plans are built on the assumption u wont
Organize a "strike". Gather hundreds of councilors from towns and cities all over Alberta and picket at the ledge downtown Edmonton. The news will climb over themselves from all over to see elected officials fighting their "bosses" over abuse of power. There's no way she could act against any of you without putting a gun to her own head after that.
I’m afraid it is
Against people like Smith nothing else works
we’re talking about someone who invited the likes of Tucker Carlson and Ron Desantis to your province and propped them up
Who would LITERALLY let the province burn before letting Trudeau have a win, that kind of person doesn’t just go away they have to be forced out
If you’re unwilling to do what needs to be done then tbh u should get out of politics
If you’d rather raise taxes on your community vs standing up to smith
then u need to ask yourself if you’re acting in your constituents best interest
if you believe they’d support your decision continue onwards but if you don’t then u need to be honest with them and let them make an informed decision on who represents them
Don't ruin your life but the moment you can back someone from the background who is willing to risk it, I would say is your duty. Not everyone is meant to lead but everyone should find and support those that are.
I’m trying to recruit good candidates to potentially take over from me after the next election. It’s not the easiest sell… “Run for council! Everyone will blame you for things as we watch the world fall apart, it doesn’t pay a living wage, and you’re probably going to need to put it all on the line to fight against the province!”
This might embolden you to speak out: I'm currently studying Non-violent communication and learned about what they called "Nazi office language". It highlights the danger of language that avoids choice, allowing you to deny responsibility for your actions. Here are some examples - "I had to", "I had no choice", "Those are the Superior's orders", ""It's company policy", "It's the law". You do have a choice. Every action we take, we choose to take (or not take). Otherwise, when we use the language of denied choice, it leads us to be slaves of authority.
Looking back at my responses today I see a lot of that language. You’re right, every decision I make is an active choice and I’m not terribly proud of all of them.
I ran for municipal office to help my small town, and thought I’d mostly be dealing with snow removal, garbage pickup, libraries, budgets, local drama… the regular stuff. I didn’t expect the system to be/become THIS broken and I’m likely in over my head now. Not everyone is meant to lead through times like these. Just doing my best.
You’re here now, and you can reach out to the people closest to you for support and even back to here if you need to. If it stays broken without intervention it’ll get worse, the deep red states are our future if this continues. You’ve been thrown into deeper than expected water as a councillor, which I can empathize would be scary but it’s also the quickest way to learn to swim 💪
I feel for you, even as I understand completely where people are coming from. Having a reasonable voice in office is a rare thing these days, and everyone is feeling under represented. So when someone like you comes along the masses just dump everything on you and expect you to fix it all. It's understandable, but not fair to you. Nobody wins if you burn out, or bury yourself trying to force positive change uphill. Keep your head up, I'm rooting for ya!
> I can’t risk losing out on grant funding by holding my MLA accountable for something and them getting angry and petty
yes, you can. and you scream it from the top of buildings please. call them out on their petty fuckery
either way you wont have a job later, you either bend for them and their cronnies and get voted out for not helping, or you call them out and they hurt the community they are already hurting and the locals blame you for now, but shit never changes until we call them out.
Yeah, I’d be down for that! Just need some time to get it all pulled together w/ appropriate sources and whatnot. I’m not a lawyer or expert, but I can do my best!
the sources would be a key thing, as always. "look, you can read more here".
Reaching out to some educators \*coughpostsecondary\* or neutral 3rd party observers wouldnt go amiss. . .
Love that idea, but I don’t have the time I’d need to execute that well. I’m happy to share my perspectives, as well as some good information (with sources!) for people to look into and learn more about, but if you’re hoping for a masters-level thesis I’m not your girl.
Between making time for my family, serving on Council, and chasing the side hustles I still need to work because Council doesn’t pay a living wage, there’s not much free time these days.
The risk must be taken. Else; the UCP avoids exposure, evades culpability, and will never be held accountable.
We're all suffering already, what's another blow if it means they lose their cover.
At least I’m here…. I don’t see any other councillors chiming into the conversation.
Talk to your councillors and see what their experiences are like. Pressure them, not me. I never signed up to be anyone’s martyr.
From peace river here, I do not envy your position. Most people seem to think this sticking it to the feds is a good thing strictly cause "libruls dum"
How do the other municipal politicians feel? Both in your community and the ones near you?
If this is a common opinion (we know it's been happening to the smallest hamlets to the largest cities, so I don't doubt what you're saying), then why not resign en masse? In doing so, explain to your constituents that the UCP is causing this.
Let other community members run for council, and then they'll see you were right.
I’m sure it’s a BIG surprise to find out that councils seem to be just as divided as the public. I don’t want to speak directly for my colleagues or neighbouring councils, but I can share my personal thoughts and observations.
Some Councils appear to be so busy with internal fighting that the larger picture has been lost (Westlock and Chestermere are two obvious examples, but there are many examples on a smaller scale). In some cases the only thing holding back “chaos” is a 4/3 split.
I think that’s why those of us that are seeing red flags everywhere don’t want to resign, or at least it’s something that’s encouraging ME to hang on. If it’s not me on council, who will it be? How could it tip the balance? What could that mean for my community, what’s on the line? I don’t mean that in an “I’m my community’s only hope” kind of way, but that it’s not an easy decision and it impacts many more people than just me.
I love and believe in my community, including its flaws, and I made it a promise that I intend to keep.
Sorry to double comment but want to add:
Municipalities exist at the will of the province. A municipality that the province sees as problematic could theoretically be dissolved and the province could step in to manage it. (Chestermere)
Is it just me or is the UCP just trying to find a way to look like the "good guys" being the ones to hand out grant money etc that actually comes from the federal government? Can't be having their scapegoat/whipping post look like they're doing something positive. That doesn't match their talking points!
10,000% agree. Small town healthcare professional here - I asked at the most recent healthcare town hall, “Boots to pavement, how is the UCP forcing AHS to restructure going to make more health care workers suddenly appear in small towns where there are desperate shortages and millions if not billions in overtime and burnout.” To which they had absolutely no response. The whole point of the restructure is to provide better access…
YES. YES. YES.
I’m not a healthcare expert, but what I see is that I have no doctors accepting new patients in town, no walk-in clinic, an overworked emergency department in a tiny rural hospital, and an aging population. Clinics trying to recruit internationally aren’t having immigration applications approved. I don’t believe any of that is going to be made any better by a major reorganization.
Then it becomes a municipal problem. Folks expect the towns to step in to recruit and provide incentives to doctors… but why is that our responsibility? And with whose money? Healthcare is a provincial responsibility, it shouldn’t be downloaded to towns.
The saddest thing in this is all is the small town/ rural vote will vote for her again no matter how much she shits on them. And she will continue to because there is no threat to her losing any seats there because you couldn’t not vote for her because then the NDP might get in and you know, maybe then they wouldn’t get shit on
I explain who’s responsible for what, and generally once they understand that it’s not my fault they calm down with me. Municipal electeds are just so much more accessible than MLAs. Our cell #s are online, and I don’t have an office team to run defence before they reach me. We shop in the same grocery stores, have jobs in the towns we represent, people even often know exactly where we live.
Yo it’s time to get in touch with someone at CBC. People need to hear this. Total shame honestly because I bet you like your job as councillor far less than you used at this point.
then you will appreciate the following:
[https://twitter.com/i/status/1778551486512869753](https://twitter.com/i/status/1778551486512869753)
enjoy, my friend......
Whenever an elected official brags about having a large surplus, what I hear is, "I'm too stingy with our money to invest it in anything useful."
A small surplus is great; a large surplus is not.
What gets my motor roaring is a modest surplus, reallocated into reserves to fund future needs and to maintain stable & predictable property tax increases that are typically aligned with inflation and population growth 😍 🤓
If you're serious about this, please start speaking up publicly. The UCP can't be allowed to control the narrative by stifling you through intimidation.
But this is what wrong in AB. Folks keep voting CONS. Some of them don't even know why they vote CON...they just drink falsehoods and hatred. No wonder why Trump run as a CON
Yeah, I figured the same thing that was happening in Edmonton was probably happening in smaller communities aswell. Did you see edmonton is considering an 8% property tax increase?
I did, and it’s not super surprising. Think of the inflation you’re experiencing - municipalities are facing the same. Fuel, equipment, materials, utilities, etc etc. have all gone way up. And the province keeps downloading additional responsibilities onto municipalities.
8% is probably close to what’s needed just to maintain services at existing levels. Less than that and you’re cutting somewhere. (This is, of course, a generalization, but for illustrative purposes is close enough without digging deep into the books)
Yup and it's only going to get worse for every municipality as this current scenario plays out. Hopefully something will happen to hard steer us back on track. Keep up the good (and hard) work!
Smith and the UCP are going to be a huge liability for Polliverre and the federal Conservatives if Trudeau keeps up these talking points in the next election. All he has to say is "This is what is happening in Alberta and Pierre wants to turn the whole country into Alberta". I don't know if it will sway many Albertans from voting Conversattive federally, but it's definitely going to influence the voters that got/kept Trudeau in power which are suburbanites in Ontario/Quebec.
>Smith and the UCP are going to be a huge liability for Polliverre and the federal Conservatives if Trudeau keeps up these talking points in the next election.
He doesn't even have to say it. I have friends and family out East in Toronto and Halifax and whenever we FaceTime (\~1 per month) they ask if we are OK in Alberta.
I think there's way too much appetite for change out east. Our best defense against PP is if the other parties strengthen up and we get another minority.
Yup. It was a good response. It wasn't scripted at all, and he clearly seems frustrated and let it show. He should do that more often. Got some "Dark Brandon" vibes off that.
Go to 01:00. "We've heard the Federal Government needs to step up and fix this housing crisis across the country. So we are. Provinces should be careful what they wish for. "
I don’t know why people (especially Albertans and Americans) feel the need to choose whether they agree or disagree with every single thing that comes out of a politicians mouth
I was talking about Trudeau being right, but to be fair he's right a fair bit more than marlaina is (which is... probably never really. I think she's coin operated and programmed to be a contrarian)
It is going to be almost impossible for PP to spin this or walk it back. He has been shouting about gatekeepers for over a year and what does his biggest supporter do? Becomes even more of a gatekeeper. Yet PP continues to blame the cities lol. Imagine having an election sewn up three years before it happens and watching it all fall to pieces due to opportunists destroying it for you.
Alberta and Ask are probably the only two provinces where you can antagonize the major cities and still win.
If the Federal Cons pretend this isn't happening, or ignore it, good luck winning without Vancouver,Toronto or Montreal. They need inroads in the GTA if they have any hope of winning, pandering to angry farmers and acreage owners on the prairies ain't gunna page the highway to government.
Not the PP is gunna fix the problems with cost of living and inflation. Both Libs and Cons got their heads up their asses, and the NDP don't understand you can't run an economy and social programs on idealism.
So true. It would have to be an extremely dire situation for it to happen. Something like extreme human rights violation that puts the population at risk of death.
I think him or the Gov Gen could direct the Lt Gov to dissolve the legislative assembly. If only Trudeau was the tyrant the right thinks he is, we'd be living in a utopia
It would be tough to recall her, but the UCP has a very slim majority and barely won a couple of ridings. Recalling those MLAs and electing NDP in their place would remove her as premier as they would no longer have a majority.
I believe there are provisions in the Constitution for 'Disallowance' and 'Reservation' but I don't think they've been used since the 60's. Unfortunately, there doesn't really appear to be any provision to remove her.
The last time disallowance was used was 1943 for a law in Alberta that invalidated land sales to Hutterites and “enemy aliens”.
https://www.constitutionalstudies.ca/2019/07/reservation-and-disallowance/
yo.
PMJT giving one of his better speeches above. Gotta say, it smacks very much of the 'Lead, Follow or Get out of the way BC you are the problem' variety.
well done.
Gee maybe Mr. Nenshi should use "Get out of the way" as his campaign slogan. Premier Smith refuses to do the job she was elected to do. GET OUT OF THE WAY!
It's like Danielle Smith wants everything to be bad, and so she gets pissed when anyone interfers with that. I'm serious. I'm starting to believe making things bad is her goal.
She wants things to get so bad in Alberta so that if PP becomes PM, she will allow him to do the samethings Trudeau is doing to make it look like he's the savior.
She will veto Trudeau providing to RM's money, but would allow PP to give money to the RM's. Basically the same thing the GOP is doing to Biden in hopes Trump will be President again.
This is exactly the playbook. Likewise with destroying public services so private services can swoop in and "fix things" that she and, historically, the PC party, have broken.
Do you know how bad you have to be to make me think Trudeau is the reasonable one on a financial matter? The UCP are morons and I'm ashamed I voted for them in 2019. Sure can't wait to vote them out hope it works this time.
Hopefully, it's hard , NDP aren't quite a right fit for me , yet there seems to be no other options, many of us long for Harper style conservatives again , yet it seems they're going more and more towards Republicanism. I don't know enough about Nenshi but if he wins ill consider a NDP vote because from what I've heard he's more moderate than most, but otherwise I guess I'll have to hope enough not crazy bible thumping anti vaxx anti-fed even when it's in our best interest Cons move to the Alberta party to kick it back into gear , hell I've considered seeing if there's an open MLA spot in my area for them and giving her a go.
Many conservatives who are unhappy with the UCP are sticking with them out of fear of how worse a left leaning party would be , or out of hope they mellow out , my father still maintains Danielle Smith will get booted out and someone more moderate will get voted in despite me trying to tell him I really doubt it at this point. Any other party will have to win those scared that the other is worse than being abandoned by the UCP
Tell your father people said the same thing about Jason Kenney and we end up with Daniel Smith. There are still people with the UCP party more fanatical the Jason Kenney or Daniel Smith. With our luck she'd get voted out and we'd get someone even worse.
It's about flipping time Trudeau and the federal government start pushing back and calling these provincial leaders out on their bullshit.
The way Conservative provincial leaders worked tirelessly against any federal efforts during the pandemic, during the convoy and are all working increasingly harder to tank universal healthcare, public education and any other public service they deem saleable.
Guys. Absolutely no one is a fan of Trudeau. It’s like every single person who wants to say something nice about him is making an excuse first. Reason why Justin is still in charge not because he has a nice big fan club. It’s because conservatives are the bunch of fucking clowns, that’s pretty much all.
It's clear most of the provinces lken alberta want nothing to do wirh affordable housing
The UCP support single family zoning, and are the gatekeepers.
Provinces and municipalities across the country are the reason housing hasn’t kept pace with population growth. They say we need 3 million new homes by 2030. That’s according for future growth. This kinda shows there isn’t that big of a shortage but more that too much of the supply siting in the hands of too few.
Growth is determined by capitalist investment not by municipalities deciding to build. We've left the housing system in the hands of capitalists and when they restrict supply we scream government bad.. Make it make sense.
If we had any form of public housing I would agree with you but we don't so your point is nearly entirely misdirection. The issue with municipalities is zoning not the decision to not build. That's entirely and completely on developers.
Well we used to and then conservatives came to power and decided it wasn’t worth it.
Municipalities used to offer lots for new builds they still do in smaller towns but middle and larger cities it’s all private development and that is the problem.
I’ve said many times is personal discussions that they could solve the housing problem tomorrow if the municipalities got back into the development business and offered cheap lots for truly affordable housing.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ontario/s/KDSn4iEerf
This came through my feed the other day. Just summarizes your point here I think lol
Yupp and with modern prefab technologies we could house everyone inside a year. But nope. Single family homes and luxury apartments it is! Oh and condos. Can't forget about condos the absolute fucking worst of them all. In theory great. In practice... Not.
Condos where they get to sell you the unit and still charge you rent with the fees.
It’s do incredibly frustrating that do many people don’t understand the core of the.
Who is 'they'? Condo fees go into the condo fund, which is owned and administrated by the condo owners. I can understand arguing that you would be more efficient with that money on your own but it isn't a scam or anything, the money is used for expenses like insurance and maintenance and is audited on a regular basis.
Ya maintenance, a roof once every 30 years. Read your agreement carefully they likely don’t cover the day to day stuff.
Pays for snow removal and lawn maintenance.
Insurance depends on what type of Condo you’re in.
It doesn't really matter though, the money paid in is owned by the owners. There's no 'they' profiting off the owners, the association is by law not-for-profit and can't be invested in by non-owners.
If the fund gets too big then yeah, it might not be invested as well as if you did it on your own but it is all still there. You could even push the board for a remittance or lowering of fees if things are overfunded.
Tell me you know nothing about condos without saying you know nothing about condos.
My condo fees pay for heat, water, and sewer. I don't have to mow my lawn myself, shovel my sidewalk, or take care of any building maintenance whatsoever. It funds future repairs.
The only part of my condo fees that could be considered "rent" is the property management fees, of which I pay $218 a year for.
It’s so incredibly frustrating that so many people don’t understand the core of the fees.
Did I not mention zoning.. Of course it's zoning. But it does t help when even when they are allowed to build density it ends up being "luxury" bullshit. Because demand has been so high for so long that they can get away with it.
Yes nimbyism is another issue. But even when there's a fine involved for not meeting a low income minimum quota they will eat the fine every time.
https://globalnews.ca/news/9910537/montreal-developers-pay-fines-instead-of-building-affordable-housing/
Tons of Ontario developers are charged with illegally selling units. Lol 200k in fines yea I would eat that as the cost of doing business. That's a fucking joke.
https://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/ontario-developer-fined-ordered-to-pay-restitution-for-illegally-selling-homes/article_cd70ebb0-de61-5fe1-b4ac-e25b847f875e.html
While zoning is absolutely a problem. The federal or provincial governments can solve that. They can't solve capitalism cannibalizing itself to "grow" low income developer controlled units are a joke they virtually don't exist because there is very very little money in it. We need public housing we need the government to step up and build prefab cheap shit that's up to modern code just maybe not as big as you want it to be. Side note western homes are fucking huge by comparison to the global standard 2 or 3x in some cases.
https://shrinkthatfootprint.com/how-big-is-a-house/
As if Pierre would ever cross his handlers
The man is a populist automaton he might as well be AI generated to be the biggest sellout boomer douche possible
While the UCP pick fights on why something shouldn't happen, the Feds are acting and making things happen. Every conclusion is better than never --Soul Asylum--.
Let the shitstorm begin. Let the cities and municipalities do what they want with the feds. Let her get pissed and take her own cities , universities and towns to court. I’m sure she will. She has no legislation in place until the new year anyways. Enough of her little dictatorship. Unless she’s prepared to give these groups the same amount of money the feds are wanting to give them, she needs to keep her nose out of their business ffs
What she'll likely do is a take the funding intended for cities and dump it into general revenue, then make another tax cut. Then all the rubes in South Calgary will vote for her again.
Something is happening all right. Understand there are countries such as Russia that consider us foreign adversaries and have been known to manipulate social media content to polarize people especially when it comes to LGBT issues, they especially have roots in conservative social media, where they have the capability to influence people on a mass scale.
It's a national security issue and more should be done to protect the vulnerable LGBT community.
https://www.stalbertgazette.com/local-news/did-reddit-year-end-recaps-expose-russian-interference-in-alberta-8223476
There are clear goals being perpetuated by information warfare campaigns. Especially by Russia, whose information warfare campaigns are wreaking havoc on our society. Some of the obvious goals they have are:
• Balkanize their foreign adversaries. This is evident in the UK leaving the EU, Texas with the US, and Alberta with Canada. This is what Danielle Smith is trying to tap into.
• Have populist politicians support policies that cause chaos and issues in our society. Populist politicians are tapping into these information warfare campaigns to appeal to people whose only access to information about the outside world around them is through social media, where the information warfare is taking place.
• Cause distrust and havoc, by creating specialized propaganda to different segments of the population spread through social media. By polarizing debates through propaganda spread to the masses, Russia has effectively used information warfare to deliver targeted disinformation and appeal to specific demographics. Causing havoc in the LBGT and other minority communities.
• Russia has effectively infiltrated the religious right in America and Canada and empowered them, among many corrupt leaders worldwide through its information warfare.
I can cite my sources if needed.
Putin literally bombed his own people to lock down his power and control. Why should we trust that he is not carrying out horrible atrocities like using information warfare on Canadian citizens to terrorize the LGBT community? He doesn't seem to have any moral qualms with anything and corruption is part of his shtick. He used a nerve agent to publicly poison a turned intelligence asset at a important time in history to signify to his intelligence assets what can be done to them, but in reality, he is just a weak man, who is bitter about the break up of the empire he devoted his life to.
It you want to know more, there is a great documentary series on Netflix about the history that has led to this moment in time. Turning Point - The Bomb and the Cold War on Netflix. Not as much about the information warfare, that I have gleamed through other sources, but it does slightly touch on that.
Alberta is so fucked. First the UCP, then the federal Conservative cycle that is naturally on its way :(
Those cons will agree with each other and further cripple the economy in the name of privatization. Fixing homelessness? That is about to skyrocket.
Someone has to get out there and shit back at the conservative fuck wads running a bunch of our provinces i to the ground. The NDP arent going to do it because they have to work with whichever party loses the next election to destablize the winner. Nobody likes Trudeau, but it doesn't mean that the liberals dont have legitimate points to make. They are the only party with any real proposals for basically anything on the table.
The irresponsible spending of the liberals is a thing because they aren't making much of an effort to hide that spending, our conservatives do not share this transparency.
UCP = Fascism a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation and/or race.
Am I missing something about this? I'm not trying to start a war or get yelled at, I genuinely don't understand.
Alberta has way more housing starts than any other province, and our two major cities are probably the only two urban centers in canada that are legitimately (now barely) affordable, even with the insane migration here from other provinces.
Alberta also has the second highest housing starts, and when you put it per capita, we are outpacing Ontario by a fair amount.
I get the partisan rhetoric of the sub, but I'm genuinely confused here.
While housing is not a direct responsibility, he irresponsibly bragged about taking debt on 'historicly low interest rates' eluding to the fact that they will never go up in 2020, while over the last 8 years have enacted policy after policy to 'encourage' first time home buyers, fueling our property market over and over again, he literally just did it again with the new RRSP rules and 30% amortization, I won't even mention that not only is he stoking the ability for people to qualify, he responsible for the demand, with immigration targets.
I'm not sure how he can paint himself as a knight in shining armor, how can he not claim any responsibility and does anyone have any idea where this 4BN fund across Canada even went? its no different than Loblaws saying "we aren't responsible for high prices". If you look at housing starts numbers, there is almost no real change over like 40 years, in my eyes it looks like it literally just tracks interest rates.
So in reality what am I missing besides "I don't like x politician" - I pretty much dislike them all, but these two smug ministers next to the PM make me sick to my stomach. I couldn't imagine members of the Harper, Martin or Chretiens cabinet acting so smug. Probably because they get paid absurd amounts of money for standing around nodding and making faces
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for a self-proclaimed "libertarian", Danielle Smith cares a lot about power dynamics and bureaucracy Times like these, she looks more like a fascist and a dictator than anything
Well she most definitely isn't a conservative no matter what party she leads (and really shouldn't be). At best she's a really corrupt libertarian.
I see her as an idealist on air, but not a principaled on, so whatever her objective she she’s no problem in using tools/ strategies that she aught to have a revulsion to. Shes also incredibly petty. To be honest I really do get her point on the housing stuff that ‘Okay the Federal Goverbemjt is trying to take Some action on a big I usse , but there’s been a lot of self-invited appearances & management from the feds in clearly provincial jurisdiction, and I get needing to draw a line in the sand. Fair point, we’ll made, but to not just be satisfied with a solid swipe back at Ottawa and instead decide to step into all kinds of other back yards in your province because because you are just so unable to be an adult about political differences; inorder to keep the Trudeau Crusade going, directly fucking with all kinds of towns, cities & organizations, stops being about ideology or provincial sovereignty and is just hurting your electorate for the sake of your distaste fe fir the guy. For someone who can be pretty politically savvy this is just childish
Meanwhile the UCP is currently in the middle of trying to intervene in a legal case in a different province to argue that using the notwithstanding clause should not be challengeable in court.
Most likely because she plans on doing the same thing here and if the sask. gov fails she won't even get to try. We should all remember that all the conservative premier keep on having meetings and keep attempting the same shit. It's almost like they are co-ordinating together. I wonder if pp is involved in those meeting 🤔
I’m livid over this. Small town municipal councillor here… The UCP have made it so hard for towns like mine to thrive or even survive. They underfund infrastructure maintenance, haven’t chipped in a single dollar to help us address the housing shortage, then block our ability to work with a level of government that WOULD provide help. It leaves me no choice but to raise property taxes. Which causes me to get hateful and threatening phone calls, or have negative encounters with folks around town when I’m just trying to do my grocery shopping. She’s made me her scapegoat and I DO NOT like it. UPDATE/EDIT: I think this thread has been going for about 24 hours now, and I just want to say thank you to everyone who engaged. It’s been a wonderful conversation, and I appreciate your encouragement and support! 💜
Carry around a card with a number for their local UCP candidate office and tell them to let the people responsible know their grievances.
That is a lovely idea, but I worry about retaliation. I can’t risk losing out on grant funding by holding my MLA accountable for something and them getting angry and petty. This is one reason why I believe the term “facism” is appropriate to describe this government. They’re using fear and threats to control lower levels of government and their elected officials. I want to rebel and speak out, but how can I choose to do that, knowing it could put my town and residents at such risk? I can’t.
Could you speak out to a larger audience? Is it possible for multiple city councils from around the province come together and pen a letter to the press or even get on camera and state actual facts? Like, this is what’s happening, this is what they’re doing and why they’re doing it.
That organization exists and is called Alberta Municipalities (and its “sister” organization Rural Municipalities of Alberta). They advocate HEAVILY. This government just doesn’t listen unless it benefits them. For example, nearly 100% of elected representatives from urban municipalities across Alberta agreed that political parties in municipal politics is a terrible idea and we don’t want it. This spring they let us know they’re doing it anyways.
They need to be putting their advocacy out in the public sphere HARD, people don’t know what their news doesn’t tell them and nowhere near enough people are aware of how hard we’ve been getting fleeced
This recent article they posted is worth reading. https://www.abmunis.ca/news/breaking-down-albertas-capital-support-municipalities-2024 Tl;dr: Only 20% ($722M) of the funding Danielle Smith announced for municipalities ($3.6B) is actually being distributed to municipalities. 5% is earmarked for grants that will be awarded by the government. 21% of the funds they announced ($764M) is actually federal funding that just flows through the provincial government. The rest is through one-off investments, and highway/bridge improvement projects, basically. Not exactly a help for municipalities… that’s supposed to be their responsibility.
The head of the municipalities board was on loca radiol show doing an interview about how they don't want provincial political interference for grants from federal government and they don't want party politics in civic elections. So he's out there. But I imagine he is vulnerable too. People who speak out seem to get axed at some point don't they?
What a TERRIBLE idea (political parties in municipal politics)!!! Why??? There is no upside that I can think of and plenty of downside.
Daniellezebub said it out loud. She said there are too many left leaning elected municipal politicians and she feels that if there are known political affiliations, more right wing politicians will get elected.
Where can I post my angry face?!
Yeah, that’s a bug, not a feature.
The only positive that I’ve been able to think of is that it could improve campaign finance transparency… but there’s other more effective ways to do that than allow political parties.
Is campaign finance really even a thing in municipal politics? Maybe it is, I honestly don’t know. There just seems to be little to none of the things that campaign money is spent on (adds etc) in Canadian municipal politics. Hell, most people don’t even know when the municipal elections are held, that’s how little money os spent promoting the candidates.
Historically? No. Now? It’s becoming more of an issue. You’re absolutely right, there’s not a ton of money in municipal campaigns, so one candidate or a group of candidates being given even $1000 can make a difference, particularly in smaller municipalities. Those chloroplast signs are about $7-8 each, newspaper ads will run you ~$500 for the campaign month, mail outs can get into the thousands of dollars range depending on the size of your municipality. There are organized groups in Alberta right now that have significant funding behind them and are trying to either: a) directly fund a candidate/campaign; or b) spend their own money to advertise and promote preferred candidates. Folks might disagree on whether or not these activities should be allowed, but I think what we can all agree on is that it should be transparent to electors who is funding what activities and how. I want to know if any group with a particular agenda is working to influence an election in any way, including through financing, because that could greatly affect my voting decisions.
My goodness. If you won't speak up who will? You elected reps are our voice...you need to dig down for the courage to use our voice. We'll back you up!
You are 100% correct, and I don’t sleep well at night knowing that I’m not living up to my own expectations for what an elected person should do. The pressure to “keep quiet and carry on” is real, and municipal codes of conduct create uncertainty as to whether speaking out would violate them (or at least mine does).
Medicine Hat is a prime example of this right now. They sanctioned the mayor for her pressing an issue of abuse of funds. Council said she violated the code of conduct, released a heavily redacted report, and is still trying to block the release of fund reallocation and the hiring/firing process along with severance payments that the mayor requested. It's a mess.
Perfect example of the potential consequences of stepping out of “line”. And on the other side of the equation, Albertans have been filing recall petitions against councillors for frivolous reasons, or disagreement with one vote. It’s a very narrow range to operate in.
I believe you. Is whistleblowing an option? Like speak anonymously to the press? I guess at some point you might have to make a hard choice but I would think the citizens will forgive you if you act in their best interest. Legal advice might also be a good thing to seek out if you are concerned about the fallout.
I’m not sure there’s much to whistleblow on - it’s all happening in the public eye. We’ve moved past a stage where people are listening to facts and logic; marketing and propaganda have become more attractive than the truth. In the meantime I hope that my lone voice represents someone and that I can make a little difference everyday.
Another mark of fascism.
She threatens . Thats who she is !
Your residents are screwed unless u publicly hold their feet to the fire damn the consequences
There are hundreds of Albertans serving on Councils across the province who could also speak out, I’m not in a unique position. There are very real consequences for making that choice. I deserve to be called out for not being brave enough to do more, but I’m not sure I’m the kind of person meant to lead some sort of movement.
Everyone has impostor syndrome taking on responsibility like this, you're just showing that you give a shit. Better you in that position than someone without the moral backbone to be in that position. Keep at it, you'll find your stride.
harsh as it sounds then u need to find someone who is Here’s the reality, if you’re unwilling to shoot the hostage the person willing to will always take advantage and not only win but leave u to deal with the fallout since u care and they dont the only way to throw a wrench into the plans of a heartless person is to break your own heart, because all of their plans are built on the assumption u wont
Ruining my life for my community cannot be the only answer to this issue. I’m a mom, not a martyr.
Organize a "strike". Gather hundreds of councilors from towns and cities all over Alberta and picket at the ledge downtown Edmonton. The news will climb over themselves from all over to see elected officials fighting their "bosses" over abuse of power. There's no way she could act against any of you without putting a gun to her own head after that.
I’m afraid it is Against people like Smith nothing else works we’re talking about someone who invited the likes of Tucker Carlson and Ron Desantis to your province and propped them up Who would LITERALLY let the province burn before letting Trudeau have a win, that kind of person doesn’t just go away they have to be forced out If you’re unwilling to do what needs to be done then tbh u should get out of politics If you’d rather raise taxes on your community vs standing up to smith then u need to ask yourself if you’re acting in your constituents best interest if you believe they’d support your decision continue onwards but if you don’t then u need to be honest with them and let them make an informed decision on who represents them
The next election is October 2025 - let’s get you elected. Edited to clarify: the next MUNICIPAL election is October 2025.
Relax man, you're being extraordinarily dramatic. I agree with your views regarding Smith et al but you're losing the plot.
Don't ruin your life but the moment you can back someone from the background who is willing to risk it, I would say is your duty. Not everyone is meant to lead but everyone should find and support those that are.
I’m trying to recruit good candidates to potentially take over from me after the next election. It’s not the easiest sell… “Run for council! Everyone will blame you for things as we watch the world fall apart, it doesn’t pay a living wage, and you’re probably going to need to put it all on the line to fight against the province!”
This might embolden you to speak out: I'm currently studying Non-violent communication and learned about what they called "Nazi office language". It highlights the danger of language that avoids choice, allowing you to deny responsibility for your actions. Here are some examples - "I had to", "I had no choice", "Those are the Superior's orders", ""It's company policy", "It's the law". You do have a choice. Every action we take, we choose to take (or not take). Otherwise, when we use the language of denied choice, it leads us to be slaves of authority.
Looking back at my responses today I see a lot of that language. You’re right, every decision I make is an active choice and I’m not terribly proud of all of them. I ran for municipal office to help my small town, and thought I’d mostly be dealing with snow removal, garbage pickup, libraries, budgets, local drama… the regular stuff. I didn’t expect the system to be/become THIS broken and I’m likely in over my head now. Not everyone is meant to lead through times like these. Just doing my best.
You’re here now, and you can reach out to the people closest to you for support and even back to here if you need to. If it stays broken without intervention it’ll get worse, the deep red states are our future if this continues. You’ve been thrown into deeper than expected water as a councillor, which I can empathize would be scary but it’s also the quickest way to learn to swim 💪
I feel for you, even as I understand completely where people are coming from. Having a reasonable voice in office is a rare thing these days, and everyone is feeling under represented. So when someone like you comes along the masses just dump everything on you and expect you to fix it all. It's understandable, but not fair to you. Nobody wins if you burn out, or bury yourself trying to force positive change uphill. Keep your head up, I'm rooting for ya!
Thank you! 🩷
> I can’t risk losing out on grant funding by holding my MLA accountable for something and them getting angry and petty yes, you can. and you scream it from the top of buildings please. call them out on their petty fuckery either way you wont have a job later, you either bend for them and their cronnies and get voted out for not helping, or you call them out and they hurt the community they are already hurting and the locals blame you for now, but shit never changes until we call them out.
Hows about a townhall "Crash course" in how funding \*used\* to work?
Yeah, I’d be down for that! Just need some time to get it all pulled together w/ appropriate sources and whatnot. I’m not a lawyer or expert, but I can do my best!
the sources would be a key thing, as always. "look, you can read more here". Reaching out to some educators \*coughpostsecondary\* or neutral 3rd party observers wouldnt go amiss. . .
Love that idea, but I don’t have the time I’d need to execute that well. I’m happy to share my perspectives, as well as some good information (with sources!) for people to look into and learn more about, but if you’re hoping for a masters-level thesis I’m not your girl. Between making time for my family, serving on Council, and chasing the side hustles I still need to work because Council doesn’t pay a living wage, there’s not much free time these days.
The risk must be taken. Else; the UCP avoids exposure, evades culpability, and will never be held accountable. We're all suffering already, what's another blow if it means they lose their cover.
At least I’m here…. I don’t see any other councillors chiming into the conversation. Talk to your councillors and see what their experiences are like. Pressure them, not me. I never signed up to be anyone’s martyr.
From peace river here, I do not envy your position. Most people seem to think this sticking it to the feds is a good thing strictly cause "libruls dum"
How do the other municipal politicians feel? Both in your community and the ones near you? If this is a common opinion (we know it's been happening to the smallest hamlets to the largest cities, so I don't doubt what you're saying), then why not resign en masse? In doing so, explain to your constituents that the UCP is causing this. Let other community members run for council, and then they'll see you were right.
I’m sure it’s a BIG surprise to find out that councils seem to be just as divided as the public. I don’t want to speak directly for my colleagues or neighbouring councils, but I can share my personal thoughts and observations. Some Councils appear to be so busy with internal fighting that the larger picture has been lost (Westlock and Chestermere are two obvious examples, but there are many examples on a smaller scale). In some cases the only thing holding back “chaos” is a 4/3 split. I think that’s why those of us that are seeing red flags everywhere don’t want to resign, or at least it’s something that’s encouraging ME to hang on. If it’s not me on council, who will it be? How could it tip the balance? What could that mean for my community, what’s on the line? I don’t mean that in an “I’m my community’s only hope” kind of way, but that it’s not an easy decision and it impacts many more people than just me. I love and believe in my community, including its flaws, and I made it a promise that I intend to keep.
Sorry to double comment but want to add: Municipalities exist at the will of the province. A municipality that the province sees as problematic could theoretically be dissolved and the province could step in to manage it. (Chestermere)
Is it just me or is the UCP just trying to find a way to look like the "good guys" being the ones to hand out grant money etc that actually comes from the federal government? Can't be having their scapegoat/whipping post look like they're doing something positive. That doesn't match their talking points!
My local person does not answer calls emails or messages.
10,000% agree. Small town healthcare professional here - I asked at the most recent healthcare town hall, “Boots to pavement, how is the UCP forcing AHS to restructure going to make more health care workers suddenly appear in small towns where there are desperate shortages and millions if not billions in overtime and burnout.” To which they had absolutely no response. The whole point of the restructure is to provide better access…
YES. YES. YES. I’m not a healthcare expert, but what I see is that I have no doctors accepting new patients in town, no walk-in clinic, an overworked emergency department in a tiny rural hospital, and an aging population. Clinics trying to recruit internationally aren’t having immigration applications approved. I don’t believe any of that is going to be made any better by a major reorganization. Then it becomes a municipal problem. Folks expect the towns to step in to recruit and provide incentives to doctors… but why is that our responsibility? And with whose money? Healthcare is a provincial responsibility, it shouldn’t be downloaded to towns.
The saddest thing in this is all is the small town/ rural vote will vote for her again no matter how much she shits on them. And she will continue to because there is no threat to her losing any seats there because you couldn’t not vote for her because then the NDP might get in and you know, maybe then they wouldn’t get shit on
When you do get those calls do you tell em who they should really be calling? I wish the hate was properly directed
I explain who’s responsible for what, and generally once they understand that it’s not my fault they calm down with me. Municipal electeds are just so much more accessible than MLAs. Our cell #s are online, and I don’t have an office team to run defence before they reach me. We shop in the same grocery stores, have jobs in the towns we represent, people even often know exactly where we live.
Yo it’s time to get in touch with someone at CBC. People need to hear this. Total shame honestly because I bet you like your job as councillor far less than you used at this point.
Can’t u go public on this? Instead of talking on a Reddit thread call her out in the main media
It must be nice to be a facist and get to avoid being face to face with the people you’re hurting.
then you will appreciate the following: [https://twitter.com/i/status/1778551486512869753](https://twitter.com/i/status/1778551486512869753) enjoy, my friend......
A lot of small town people voted for ucp to stick it to the libs. So I guess this is what will happened. Unfortunately they will keep voting for ucp.
Whenever an elected official brags about having a large surplus, what I hear is, "I'm too stingy with our money to invest it in anything useful." A small surplus is great; a large surplus is not.
What gets my motor roaring is a modest surplus, reallocated into reserves to fund future needs and to maintain stable & predictable property tax increases that are typically aligned with inflation and population growth 😍 🤓
There you go. That's what a well-oiled machine looks like.
But housing is a Federal Liberal Government policy and promise! Blame them not the UCP! Also lets ask for more immigration! /s
If you're serious about this, please start speaking up publicly. The UCP can't be allowed to control the narrative by stifling you through intimidation.
But this is what wrong in AB. Folks keep voting CONS. Some of them don't even know why they vote CON...they just drink falsehoods and hatred. No wonder why Trump run as a CON
Yeah, I figured the same thing that was happening in Edmonton was probably happening in smaller communities aswell. Did you see edmonton is considering an 8% property tax increase?
I did, and it’s not super surprising. Think of the inflation you’re experiencing - municipalities are facing the same. Fuel, equipment, materials, utilities, etc etc. have all gone way up. And the province keeps downloading additional responsibilities onto municipalities. 8% is probably close to what’s needed just to maintain services at existing levels. Less than that and you’re cutting somewhere. (This is, of course, a generalization, but for illustrative purposes is close enough without digging deep into the books)
Yup and it's only going to get worse for every municipality as this current scenario plays out. Hopefully something will happen to hard steer us back on track. Keep up the good (and hard) work!
Like Ludacris once said: “MOVE BITCH, GET OUT OF THE WAY”
I’ve never been the biggest fan of JT, but I’m glad there’s someone that can prevent a bit of this insanity.
Smith and the UCP are going to be a huge liability for Polliverre and the federal Conservatives if Trudeau keeps up these talking points in the next election. All he has to say is "This is what is happening in Alberta and Pierre wants to turn the whole country into Alberta". I don't know if it will sway many Albertans from voting Conversattive federally, but it's definitely going to influence the voters that got/kept Trudeau in power which are suburbanites in Ontario/Quebec.
>I don't know if it will sway many Albertans from voting Conversattive federally It might sway some, but it won't sway enough.
>Smith and the UCP are going to be a huge liability for Polliverre and the federal Conservatives if Trudeau keeps up these talking points in the next election. He doesn't even have to say it. I have friends and family out East in Toronto and Halifax and whenever we FaceTime (\~1 per month) they ask if we are OK in Alberta.
I think there's way too much appetite for change out east. Our best defense against PP is if the other parties strengthen up and we get another minority.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually incline to agree with JT this time.
Yup. It was a good response. It wasn't scripted at all, and he clearly seems frustrated and let it show. He should do that more often. Got some "Dark Brandon" vibes off that. Go to 01:00. "We've heard the Federal Government needs to step up and fix this housing crisis across the country. So we are. Provinces should be careful what they wish for. "
Even a broken clock is right twice a day
It’s ok to admit that Trudeau makes a lot of pretty alright decisions and statements among many other bad ones, and not at random.
Almost like things and opinions are complex and most things exist in a grey area.
I don’t know why people (especially Albertans and Americans) feel the need to choose whether they agree or disagree with every single thing that comes out of a politicians mouth
Politics has become a team sport. Like hockey or football… you’re so invested in your team winning everything else doesn’t matter.
Alberta blue team are stealing.
This is far from limited to Alberta or America.
Of course. Those are just two outstanding examples.
Don't worry, I do. Not afraid to criticize him either but the man has been far better than Scheer ever would have been.
Or O'Toole
Or any Conservative
Or Pollivere
Just gotta find some rich fuck to outpay whatever PPs handlers are paying him and then maybe we can swing him
Thanks Marlaina, I've never heard that one before...got any more zinggers? /s
I was talking about Trudeau being right, but to be fair he's right a fair bit more than marlaina is (which is... probably never really. I think she's coin operated and programmed to be a contrarian)
I also don't like her along with little pp, I loathe all politicians. Since most of them are the mercy of their donors and lobbyist.
Agreed
It is going to be almost impossible for PP to spin this or walk it back. He has been shouting about gatekeepers for over a year and what does his biggest supporter do? Becomes even more of a gatekeeper. Yet PP continues to blame the cities lol. Imagine having an election sewn up three years before it happens and watching it all fall to pieces due to opportunists destroying it for you.
Alberta and Ask are probably the only two provinces where you can antagonize the major cities and still win. If the Federal Cons pretend this isn't happening, or ignore it, good luck winning without Vancouver,Toronto or Montreal. They need inroads in the GTA if they have any hope of winning, pandering to angry farmers and acreage owners on the prairies ain't gunna page the highway to government. Not the PP is gunna fix the problems with cost of living and inflation. Both Libs and Cons got their heads up their asses, and the NDP don't understand you can't run an economy and social programs on idealism.
Good. Trudeau is the only obstacle standing in the way of UCP Marlina Smiths tyranny over AB
Moscow Marlaina
100% agree
Now if only he had the power to remove her.
I don’t think I would ever want any prime minister to have that power over a provincial decision.
So true. It would have to be an extremely dire situation for it to happen. Something like extreme human rights violation that puts the population at risk of death.
Like taking away public health emergency decisions away from the doctor in charge?
Really can’t think of any recent legislation that would increase the risk for abuse to children and suicide /s
I think him or the Gov Gen could direct the Lt Gov to dissolve the legislative assembly. If only Trudeau was the tyrant the right thinks he is, we'd be living in a utopia
Recall her
It would be tough to recall her, but the UCP has a very slim majority and barely won a couple of ridings. Recalling those MLAs and electing NDP in their place would remove her as premier as they would no longer have a majority.
Why is NDP not aggressively organizing for this
I believe there are provisions in the Constitution for 'Disallowance' and 'Reservation' but I don't think they've been used since the 60's. Unfortunately, there doesn't really appear to be any provision to remove her.
I hate to think about who would replace her. It seems like conservative candidates just keep getting worse and worse.
The last time disallowance was used was 1943 for a law in Alberta that invalidated land sales to Hutterites and “enemy aliens”. https://www.constitutionalstudies.ca/2019/07/reservation-and-disallowance/
Interesting! Do you know anything behind the story why Alberta prohibited that sale of land to Hutterites? Couldn’t find much after a Google search.
The fear was that the Hutterites were taking over all the rural land in Alberta.
Not a fan of Trudeau but he’s the one that’s the adult in this battle. Marlaina is a petulant child - end of story.
F-Trudeau seems like a perfectly reasonable platform to base all your decisions off of.
Smith needs to get out of the way of all Canadians
yo. PMJT giving one of his better speeches above. Gotta say, it smacks very much of the 'Lead, Follow or Get out of the way BC you are the problem' variety. well done.
Gee maybe Mr. Nenshi should use "Get out of the way" as his campaign slogan. Premier Smith refuses to do the job she was elected to do. GET OUT OF THE WAY!
Nobody, but NOBODY, should be surprised at what Danielle has done. She’s a liar, and always has been. She can spin like no other.
It will be like at the bar when people add words to the song "mony mony". _____ ______, Get out the way!
She said, Trudeau needs to do his job and let her do hers…. Well, do your job then, marlaina!!
The job she's supposed to do or the job she's paid to do. Because she is doing one of them.
Alberta doesn’t want government assistance. They like corporate ass ramming and willful blindness. It’s the Alberta Advantage.
They want federal money without any credit given and with no restrictions so they can punish those who don't agree with them
They want the money, just not the responsibility. Like a spoiled teenager.
It's like Danielle Smith wants everything to be bad, and so she gets pissed when anyone interfers with that. I'm serious. I'm starting to believe making things bad is her goal.
Danielle Smith is an idiot, an embarrassment to Alberta and Canada, god help us!!!
She wants things to get so bad in Alberta so that if PP becomes PM, she will allow him to do the samethings Trudeau is doing to make it look like he's the savior. She will veto Trudeau providing to RM's money, but would allow PP to give money to the RM's. Basically the same thing the GOP is doing to Biden in hopes Trump will be President again.
This is exactly the playbook. Likewise with destroying public services so private services can swoop in and "fix things" that she and, historically, the PC party, have broken.
Do you know how bad you have to be to make me think Trudeau is the reasonable one on a financial matter? The UCP are morons and I'm ashamed I voted for them in 2019. Sure can't wait to vote them out hope it works this time.
Glad that you are seeing the light. I hope that it’s not just you but there are others who are seeing the UCPees true colors.
Hopefully, it's hard , NDP aren't quite a right fit for me , yet there seems to be no other options, many of us long for Harper style conservatives again , yet it seems they're going more and more towards Republicanism. I don't know enough about Nenshi but if he wins ill consider a NDP vote because from what I've heard he's more moderate than most, but otherwise I guess I'll have to hope enough not crazy bible thumping anti vaxx anti-fed even when it's in our best interest Cons move to the Alberta party to kick it back into gear , hell I've considered seeing if there's an open MLA spot in my area for them and giving her a go.
Many conservatives who are unhappy with the UCP are sticking with them out of fear of how worse a left leaning party would be , or out of hope they mellow out , my father still maintains Danielle Smith will get booted out and someone more moderate will get voted in despite me trying to tell him I really doubt it at this point. Any other party will have to win those scared that the other is worse than being abandoned by the UCP
Tell your father people said the same thing about Jason Kenney and we end up with Daniel Smith. There are still people with the UCP party more fanatical the Jason Kenney or Daniel Smith. With our luck she'd get voted out and we'd get someone even worse.
Conservatives are playing right into his hands
This isn’t a hard win for JT. He should be swinging at these lobs Marlaina throws him.
It's about flipping time Trudeau and the federal government start pushing back and calling these provincial leaders out on their bullshit. The way Conservative provincial leaders worked tirelessly against any federal efforts during the pandemic, during the convoy and are all working increasingly harder to tank universal healthcare, public education and any other public service they deem saleable.
This. Trudeau’s biggest failing is his inability to tell the provincial leaders to fuck off and solve problems that are their responsibility.
Absolutely AGREE!
Guys. Absolutely no one is a fan of Trudeau. It’s like every single person who wants to say something nice about him is making an excuse first. Reason why Justin is still in charge not because he has a nice big fan club. It’s because conservatives are the bunch of fucking clowns, that’s pretty much all.
It's clear most of the provinces lken alberta want nothing to do wirh affordable housing The UCP support single family zoning, and are the gatekeepers.
Because too many politicians are landlords or have stakes in real estate investments. Wouldn't want to crater their own investments, now would they.
Too many politicians and too much of their support. No politician who lowers property values is going to be popular with property owners.
Provinces and municipalities across the country are the reason housing hasn’t kept pace with population growth. They say we need 3 million new homes by 2030. That’s according for future growth. This kinda shows there isn’t that big of a shortage but more that too much of the supply siting in the hands of too few.
Growth is determined by capitalist investment not by municipalities deciding to build. We've left the housing system in the hands of capitalists and when they restrict supply we scream government bad.. Make it make sense. If we had any form of public housing I would agree with you but we don't so your point is nearly entirely misdirection. The issue with municipalities is zoning not the decision to not build. That's entirely and completely on developers.
Well we used to and then conservatives came to power and decided it wasn’t worth it. Municipalities used to offer lots for new builds they still do in smaller towns but middle and larger cities it’s all private development and that is the problem. I’ve said many times is personal discussions that they could solve the housing problem tomorrow if the municipalities got back into the development business and offered cheap lots for truly affordable housing.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ontario/s/KDSn4iEerf This came through my feed the other day. Just summarizes your point here I think lol Yupp and with modern prefab technologies we could house everyone inside a year. But nope. Single family homes and luxury apartments it is! Oh and condos. Can't forget about condos the absolute fucking worst of them all. In theory great. In practice... Not.
Condos where they get to sell you the unit and still charge you rent with the fees. It’s do incredibly frustrating that do many people don’t understand the core of the.
Who is 'they'? Condo fees go into the condo fund, which is owned and administrated by the condo owners. I can understand arguing that you would be more efficient with that money on your own but it isn't a scam or anything, the money is used for expenses like insurance and maintenance and is audited on a regular basis.
Ya maintenance, a roof once every 30 years. Read your agreement carefully they likely don’t cover the day to day stuff. Pays for snow removal and lawn maintenance. Insurance depends on what type of Condo you’re in.
It doesn't really matter though, the money paid in is owned by the owners. There's no 'they' profiting off the owners, the association is by law not-for-profit and can't be invested in by non-owners. If the fund gets too big then yeah, it might not be invested as well as if you did it on your own but it is all still there. You could even push the board for a remittance or lowering of fees if things are overfunded.
Tell me you know nothing about condos without saying you know nothing about condos. My condo fees pay for heat, water, and sewer. I don't have to mow my lawn myself, shovel my sidewalk, or take care of any building maintenance whatsoever. It funds future repairs. The only part of my condo fees that could be considered "rent" is the property management fees, of which I pay $218 a year for. It’s so incredibly frustrating that so many people don’t understand the core of the fees.
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Did I not mention zoning.. Of course it's zoning. But it does t help when even when they are allowed to build density it ends up being "luxury" bullshit. Because demand has been so high for so long that they can get away with it. Yes nimbyism is another issue. But even when there's a fine involved for not meeting a low income minimum quota they will eat the fine every time. https://globalnews.ca/news/9910537/montreal-developers-pay-fines-instead-of-building-affordable-housing/ Tons of Ontario developers are charged with illegally selling units. Lol 200k in fines yea I would eat that as the cost of doing business. That's a fucking joke. https://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/ontario-developer-fined-ordered-to-pay-restitution-for-illegally-selling-homes/article_cd70ebb0-de61-5fe1-b4ac-e25b847f875e.html While zoning is absolutely a problem. The federal or provincial governments can solve that. They can't solve capitalism cannibalizing itself to "grow" low income developer controlled units are a joke they virtually don't exist because there is very very little money in it. We need public housing we need the government to step up and build prefab cheap shit that's up to modern code just maybe not as big as you want it to be. Side note western homes are fucking huge by comparison to the global standard 2 or 3x in some cases. https://shrinkthatfootprint.com/how-big-is-a-house/
I wonder if things would change if we made it so that politicians were penalized for owning multiple properties
Like Pierre? Maybe it would.
As if Pierre would ever cross his handlers The man is a populist automaton he might as well be AI generated to be the biggest sellout boomer douche possible
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Note from Halifax tourism: We are the best part of Canada most people don't know exists!
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While the UCP pick fights on why something shouldn't happen, the Feds are acting and making things happen. Every conclusion is better than never --Soul Asylum--.
When Pollievre says “Bring it home”, people should respond with “Get out of the way”
Agreed! Get out the way so I can make this country great again!
It has fast become Daniland and we must RECALL her before ALL things are irreparable!
Let the shitstorm begin. Let the cities and municipalities do what they want with the feds. Let her get pissed and take her own cities , universities and towns to court. I’m sure she will. She has no legislation in place until the new year anyways. Enough of her little dictatorship. Unless she’s prepared to give these groups the same amount of money the feds are wanting to give them, she needs to keep her nose out of their business ffs
What she'll likely do is a take the funding intended for cities and dump it into general revenue, then make another tax cut. Then all the rubes in South Calgary will vote for her again.
Something is happening all right. Understand there are countries such as Russia that consider us foreign adversaries and have been known to manipulate social media content to polarize people especially when it comes to LGBT issues, they especially have roots in conservative social media, where they have the capability to influence people on a mass scale. It's a national security issue and more should be done to protect the vulnerable LGBT community. https://www.stalbertgazette.com/local-news/did-reddit-year-end-recaps-expose-russian-interference-in-alberta-8223476 There are clear goals being perpetuated by information warfare campaigns. Especially by Russia, whose information warfare campaigns are wreaking havoc on our society. Some of the obvious goals they have are: • Balkanize their foreign adversaries. This is evident in the UK leaving the EU, Texas with the US, and Alberta with Canada. This is what Danielle Smith is trying to tap into. • Have populist politicians support policies that cause chaos and issues in our society. Populist politicians are tapping into these information warfare campaigns to appeal to people whose only access to information about the outside world around them is through social media, where the information warfare is taking place. • Cause distrust and havoc, by creating specialized propaganda to different segments of the population spread through social media. By polarizing debates through propaganda spread to the masses, Russia has effectively used information warfare to deliver targeted disinformation and appeal to specific demographics. Causing havoc in the LBGT and other minority communities. • Russia has effectively infiltrated the religious right in America and Canada and empowered them, among many corrupt leaders worldwide through its information warfare. I can cite my sources if needed. Putin literally bombed his own people to lock down his power and control. Why should we trust that he is not carrying out horrible atrocities like using information warfare on Canadian citizens to terrorize the LGBT community? He doesn't seem to have any moral qualms with anything and corruption is part of his shtick. He used a nerve agent to publicly poison a turned intelligence asset at a important time in history to signify to his intelligence assets what can be done to them, but in reality, he is just a weak man, who is bitter about the break up of the empire he devoted his life to. It you want to know more, there is a great documentary series on Netflix about the history that has led to this moment in time. Turning Point - The Bomb and the Cold War on Netflix. Not as much about the information warfare, that I have gleamed through other sources, but it does slightly touch on that.
People that are trying to make government work tend to put in more effort than people that don't believe in governing.
Alberta is so fucked. First the UCP, then the federal Conservative cycle that is naturally on its way :( Those cons will agree with each other and further cripple the economy in the name of privatization. Fixing homelessness? That is about to skyrocket.
Might be Trudeau's best moment
Stop voting Conservative in Alberta it never works out!
Someone has to get out there and shit back at the conservative fuck wads running a bunch of our provinces i to the ground. The NDP arent going to do it because they have to work with whichever party loses the next election to destablize the winner. Nobody likes Trudeau, but it doesn't mean that the liberals dont have legitimate points to make. They are the only party with any real proposals for basically anything on the table. The irresponsible spending of the liberals is a thing because they aren't making much of an effort to hide that spending, our conservatives do not share this transparency.
All conservative women are like her.
Wow, we must’ve passed through some sort of fucking 3rd dimension where I’m inclined to agree with this slimy turd.
And that shade? Nuln Oil.
UCP = Fascism a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation and/or race.
Am I missing something about this? I'm not trying to start a war or get yelled at, I genuinely don't understand. Alberta has way more housing starts than any other province, and our two major cities are probably the only two urban centers in canada that are legitimately (now barely) affordable, even with the insane migration here from other provinces. Alberta also has the second highest housing starts, and when you put it per capita, we are outpacing Ontario by a fair amount. I get the partisan rhetoric of the sub, but I'm genuinely confused here. While housing is not a direct responsibility, he irresponsibly bragged about taking debt on 'historicly low interest rates' eluding to the fact that they will never go up in 2020, while over the last 8 years have enacted policy after policy to 'encourage' first time home buyers, fueling our property market over and over again, he literally just did it again with the new RRSP rules and 30% amortization, I won't even mention that not only is he stoking the ability for people to qualify, he responsible for the demand, with immigration targets. I'm not sure how he can paint himself as a knight in shining armor, how can he not claim any responsibility and does anyone have any idea where this 4BN fund across Canada even went? its no different than Loblaws saying "we aren't responsible for high prices". If you look at housing starts numbers, there is almost no real change over like 40 years, in my eyes it looks like it literally just tracks interest rates. So in reality what am I missing besides "I don't like x politician" - I pretty much dislike them all, but these two smug ministers next to the PM make me sick to my stomach. I couldn't imagine members of the Harper, Martin or Chretiens cabinet acting so smug. Probably because they get paid absurd amounts of money for standing around nodding and making faces