Alberta government introduces ‘turn-off-the-taps’ legislation to counter pipeline opposition

The Alberta government has introduced a revamped version of legislation that had given the province the power to restrict and control shipments of its energy exports as a means to “fight back” against other Canadian jurisdictions that oppose pipeline projects or otherwise block the province’s oil and natural gas.

The old legislation, which contained a sunset clause, expired last month with nothing immediately lined up to replace it – even though proclaiming the law was a key campaign promise of the governing United Conservative Party. The new version of the province’s “turn-off-the-taps” law will exclude refined products such as gasoline and diesel in a bid to shield it from future Constitutional challenges.

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Alberta government plan to use drones to monitor campers on Crown lands abruptly cancelled

Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon said in a statement Tuesday that as soon as he became aware of it, he instructed his department to suspend the call for bids.

“This request was not reviewed or approved by me or my office before it was posted. These devices should not and will not be used to monitor visitors while they recreate in our parks or public lands. I have been clear with my department, that while drones are an effective and cost-effective tool for wildfire monitoring and search and rescue assistance, they must never be used to encroach on privacy,” he said.

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Two MLAs kicked out of Alberta UCP caucus hours after call for Premier Jason Kenney to resign

EDMONTON — Hours after Todd Loewen, a northern Alberta United Conservative, called on Premier Jason Kenney to resign, his colleagues ejected him from the caucus, along with Drew Barnes, another maverick MLA, from Medicine Hat.

The drama began in the early hours Thursday, when Loewen, a veteran backbencher, posted a letter to Facebook that argued “many Albertans, including myself, no longer have confidence in your (Kenney’s) leadership.”

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Internal dissent boils over into open call for Alberta Premier Jason Kenney to resign

Internal dissent boils over into open call for Alberta Premier Jason Kenney to resign

Simmering internal discontent within Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s United Conservative Party caucus has boiled over into an open challenge to his leadership.

Senior backbench member Todd Loewen, in a letter posted on Facebook early Thursday, called on Kenney to resign, saying he no longer has confidence in his leadership.

Loewen accuses Kenney and his government of weak dealings with Ottawa, ignoring caucus members, delivering contradictory messages, and botching critical issues such as negotiations with doctors and controversy over coal mining on the eastern slopes of the Rockies.

I once thought him an able successor to Harper.

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Dr. Dennis Modry Urges Peaceful Civil Disobedience to Combat Unjustified Lockdowns

Not that long ago one of Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s key advisors and supporters was the celebrated Alberta surgeon Dr. Dennis Modry. However, this relationship came to a crashing halt when Kenney chose ever-stricter lockdown restrictions as his preferred solution to the Covid-19 predicament.

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‘Aliens are coming’: Alberta RCMP 911 dispatchers fielding more calls about UFO sightings

A blinding flash of light, something unidentified overhead or aliens at the door. Somewhere the truth is out there.

Canadians appear to be seeing more “out there” while scanning the night skies in increasing numbers. The COVID-19 pandemic has people spending more time outdoors, which has led to a growing interest in astronomy and unusual calls to RCMP 911 dispatchers.

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De-Alienating the West

The Andrew Lawton Show is taking an in-depth look at western alienation and the growing push for independence in Alberta. Andrew sits down with Alberta activist Danny Hozak, People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier and Wildrose Independence Party interim leader Paul Hinman to talk about Alberta’s upcoming referendum, the state of the province, and what independence might look like.

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Carson Jerema: Why Canada is rigged against Alberta — and any province that isn’t Ontario or Quebec

Carson Jerema: Why Canada is rigged against Alberta — and any province that isn’t Ontario or Quebec

The Supreme Court’s ruling upholding the federal carbon tax doesn’t rewrite the Constitution, as dissenting judges argued, so much as it reaffirms how Canada has always worked: Ottawa will interfere with natural resources as it pleases, even if it is damaging to the West. That Ontario was one of the losing plaintiffs matters little. Institutions that make up this country are faulty to their core, biased in their makeup towards the Central provinces. It’s a wonder that Canada works at all.

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