This Week In AB

Andre Gagne joins me again for an update on what’s been going on in Canada with the Christian Right and what this means for the Canadian election. We talk about the West Coast Christian Accord, Conservative Party of Canada leader Andrew Scheer and People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier. Honurable mentions to the Christian Heritage Party, Reform Party, and Canadian Alliance. Super-honourable mention to the merger of the latter two to become Canadian Reform Alliance Party, or CRAP, for short. Find Professor Gagne on Twitter @profagagne and YouTube Find me, generally, on Twitter: @Mitchell_AB

Jason Kenney’s new … Kenney should be a relief for a lot of people but why would he be trying to placate people who didn’t vote for him?  Navigator has been talking with focus groups and for some reason, they are expecting Campaign Kenney. Shocking, I know.  For more Alberta Election 2019 insight, check out the Political RnD podcast that Robbie and I recorded on Tuesday night and watch for the Agree or Disagree podcast with Kevin Olenick and Kristin Raworth that we recorded Wednesday night.  Let’s face it, we’re all just waiting for this government to get to work. Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean contact: dmaclean@countersign.ca Twitter: @Mitchell_AB for all the commentary, @thisweekinAB for posts

This weekend saw some surprises, like the numbers from advanced polling, and also some late signs of pleas for support from UCP in Calgary who are now trying to earn back the voters with progressive leanings that they successfully purged from the “true conservative” party they created less than two years ago. The NDP are also attempting the same strategy but at least they didn’t brag about alienating anyone to begin with. Also, my morning giggle comes from the fact that people receiving robocalls from Stephen Harper thought it was actually Stephen Mandel; not because that’s funny but that the “greatest PM to ever come from Alberta” may have less name recognition outside of Calgary than the UCP thought. L-O-L. Tomorrow is the big day but I don’t feel as if we’re going to know who forms government tomorrow night; I will still be glued to the TV, radio and twitter and I’m still full of anticipation…. Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean con

“Stuff” keeps coming up about the UCP candidates and there’s news on the leadership vote as well. But what we really want to talk about is the economy. People are beginning to question Jason Kenney’s strategy for getting the pipeline approved. His plan to remove every environmental consideration that helped with the approval could put Trudeau in a nasty spot. How would he claim that Alberta is doing its part? How can he stand up for a pipeline from a province that is giving him, the environment, and the rest of Canada the finger? It may be part of Kenney’s own plan to make Trudeau choose between Alberta and everyone else but are Albertans willing to be pawns in Kenney’s personal vendetta? Stay tuned. Thanks for being a subscriber – I couldn’t do this without your support. Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean dmaclean@countersign.ca Twitter: @Mitchell_AB for full commentary @thisweekinAB for posts

Scandal and … more scandal. Press Progress released some insight to the investigation into the leadership vote scandal after speaking with some individuals who have been interviewed by police in recent weeks. Jason Nixon is apparently in some hot water, but his record seems pretty squeaky clean so far, in terms of existing charges – or does it? Martin Long joins the growing list of anti-LGBTQ candidates in the UCP and .. shouldn’t that be all? Subscribers get the full episode delivered to their inbox. Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean dmaclean@countersign.ca Twitter: @Mitchell_AB for full commentary @thisweekinAB for posts

We talk about social issues and the economy and how I think those go hand in hand when looking at our future investment climate. Jason Kenney made a bold announcement about bringing back oil and gas jobs with a policy platform that is misaligned with what oil and gas companies are doing.  Bold indeed. We also hear from Spencer who has been door knocking with the UCP in Edmonton and Spruce Grove area and do some fact checking on the many varied reasons why oil and gas investment has not seen the “boom” that Texas did.  Thanks for being a subscriber – your support is greatly appreciated. Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean dmaclean@countersign.ca Twitter: @Mitchell_AB (for all the commentary) and @thisweekinAB (for just the posts)

Today’s episode covers the economy and social issues. After listening to the excerpt from Mark Smith’s 2013 sermon, I have come to the conclusion that our economic climate may not be getting any better in the immediate or even intermediate future because Alberta is looking like a backwater haven rather than a forward-thinking, innovative province where ingenuity and new ideas are going to prosper. A reminder that subscribers can access the full 30 minute episode from their inbox. Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean dmaclean@countersign.ca Twitter: @Mitchell_AB (for lots of commentary) and @thisweekinAB for posts only.

This is the half hour version of the morning kick start with part of an interview I had with Emma May. Emma was working in Jim Prentice’s office from September 2014 until the May election and had a great view of what was going on, and coming, for Alberta’s economy.  She offers some great insight into what was expected and what we’ve seen, and also some thoughts about our future (which begins between two and six weeks from now).  If you have been on the doors and would like to share your stories, please contact me dmaclean@countersign.ca or @Mitchell_AB on Twitter.  We also look at my take from the Callaway hearing (and see @emmamci on twitter for her thread), what I’m seeing from the platform releases and how that looks to affect us after election day. 

We’re going to start a daily podcast during the final two weeks of the election as it’s impossible to keep on top of what’s going on with only one per week. I worked out a few kinks today so that will help me have tomorrow’s ready in the early morning rather than mid-morning.  The morning kick start offers brief commentary to keep up to date with how fast things change in Alberta politics.  The full half hour is also available for download in the next post so you can get a glimpse of what will be available to subscribers.  Today’s episode gives a quick run down on the Callaway hearing and the glaring issue of a UCP and an NDP government both being around the same amount in debt at the end of another four years.  Will Albertans decide to cut off someone else’s nose to make themselves feel better about the future? Less than two weeks (or however long it takes to sift through ballots and get them to their rightful home ridings) until we know for sure.  If you want to share your stories from the doors, please contact me and we’ll get those on the air dmaclean@countersign.ca

My guests today, Troy Wason, former Executive Director of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, and Vitor Marciano, former Senior Advisor to Danielle Smith and Brian Jean in the Wildrose Party, come together to talk about 2015 to UCP and the inevitable Alberta election. Would you be surprised to learn that unity was being considered right after the 2015 election? Is the UCP just a junior league for the Conservative Party of Canada? Should anyone be asking questions about the Progressive Conservative Leadership vote? I think we talk to the point of admitting there’s no place for vastly different ideologies in one single party because “no one knows what they’ll get” if that Party forms government – but you decide. For my own amusement, I asked them both to put on their political campaign manager hats and tell me what they would be advising Rachel Notley about the Alberta Election. If you enjoy hearing the stories behind the stories, please consider subscribing or donating on the website. And don’t forget to give us a rating wherever you’re listening to put This Week in AB at least on the radar for political podcasts You can find us on twitter @vitormarciano, @imparo, @Mitchell_AB and @thisweekinAB

This episode I get to ask Trevor Tombe, an economist from the University of Calgary, to help me make sense of taxes in the face of political messaging. What is the point of the carbon tax? Should Alberta flirt with a PST as a means to reduce static taxes like income and corporate taxes? Should Alberta be looking to cut taxes in the face of the very real deficit between revenue and expenses we’re facing over the next twenty years? What are our options?  Find us on twitter: Trevor Tombe @trevortombe and myself @Mitchell_AB  Give us a rating wherever you’re listening from and help us cause a blip on the radar of Alberta Politics podcasts  

Stephen Carter joins me again to talk about Alberta politics. This episode was supposed to be edited down but I enjoyed listening to it as much as I enjoyed recording it. I have other issues as well. Should the NDP be campaigning? Is Jody Wilson-Raybould the beginning of the end of a Trudeau government? Find out what some people think… And while you’re here; I have a request… I have given 48 hours for a #MoreCarter contest. I said that it matters how many retweets or likes your post gets but I will reward those who work – I have some collector’s item buttons that I cannot wait to give away – I will watch for #MoreCarter on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and wherever else you can use hashtags and I will send you some amazing buttons for playing… but you have to work for it. Tag @Mitchell_AB, tag @Carter_AB, and @thisweekinAB, and I will connect with you after 48 hours to get your address. Enjoy!!

What happened between the unite the right movement and those who were left behind? Richard Starke, the last PC MLA joins me to talk about his experience as the lone Progressive Conservative defender. Subscribers help keep us writing, finding guests for and producing the podcast as well as getting us to events to deliver the in-person view we provide to our readers. Become a subscriber today. You will receive early access to posts and an opportunity to see the guest schedule of the podcast to ask questions.

Maybe you’ve heard of John Carpay and his Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms. Perhaps you’ve followed the Parents for Choice in Education group or their joint effort in challenging the constitutionality of Bill 24, the Act to Strengthen Gay-Straight Alliances.  The common threads between these groups are many but the foundation is religious rights and freedoms. Groups such as these in Alberta have become more of a focus as their political ties and party affiliations come under scrutiny.  They are not new but they are growing.  What does that mean for those who also want to protect their freedom from religion?  It may depend on who your government is, and what they support. Andre Gagne, Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director in the Department of Theological Studies at Concordia University in Montreal has been researching the rise of the religious right in Canada.  Consider this a primer on what we are beginning to see more of as these groups gain both attention and support. Some may say electing politicians or political parties with close ties to special interest groups is simply fear-mongering.  After all, when has a political party with a hidden agenda and favours owed for their electoral success ever been an issue in Alberta? Additional Resources: https://theconversation.com/from-america-to-ontario-the-political-impact-of-the-christian-right-107400 Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms https://www.parentchoice.ca/ Subscribers help keep us writing, finding guests for and producing the podcast as well as getting us to events to deliver the in-person view we provide to our readers. Become a subscriber today. You will receive early access to posts and an opportunity to see the guest schedule of the podcast to ask questions.

I wanted to do a year in review but guests like Stephen Carter have so much history with which to provide context that it’s difficult to keep on track.  My condolences to Zain Velji who managed to successfully herd that cat for almost a year (so many puns).  Stephen and I talk about December (spoiler alert, stocking horse candidates don’t make him sweat) and we take some small steps into other happenings this year as well; doesn’t it seem like Fildebrandt has been out of the UCP for a lot longer than 10 months?  And who would have guessed that Stelmach might be to blame for the current oversupply simply because he allowed new projects to go ahead?   And with a nod to my favourite former UCP communications director, Stephen and I also talk about how Notley should not drop the writ until shovels are in the ground.  Always interesting to have someone with Stephen’s history on the show and looking forward to an exciting, and likely exhausting 2019.  Many thanks to everyone who listens, comments, and also to those who have donated their time to sit with me and talk about politics.   All the best,  Deirdre  Subscribers help keep us writing, finding guests for and producing the podcast as well as getting us to events to deliver the in-person view we provide to our readers. Become a subscriber today. You will receive early access to posts and an opportunity to see the guest schedule of the podcast to ask questions.

“How did we get here?” is a question often asked and I wanted to put that to Minister Jansen.  I wanted to know when she became interested in politics and how she came to make certain decisions like who to support, why did she run and what the heck happened after 2015. It was political engagement that stoked her interested in journalism.  It was journalism that made her grateful not to be a politician and it wasn’t actually politics that led her to join the NDP. Find us on Twitter: @Mitchell_AB @SandraYYCNW Subscribers help keep us writing, finding guests for and producing the podcast as well as getting us to events to deliver the in-person view we provide to our readers. Become a subscriber today. You will receive early access to posts and an opportunity to see the guest schedule of the podcast to ask questions.

Bill 206, the Societies (Preventing the Promotion of Hate) Amendment Act went through its second reading in the Alberta Legislature yesterday and was unanimously supported.  In today’s episode, I talk with Irfan Chaudry who started an initiative called Stop Hate AB back in February 2017.  Stop Hate AB is a site that gathers data on non-criminal incidents of possible hate-related crime in Alberta and shares the data with local and provincial authorities.  We also talk about how reporting is verified before being added to the data. Find us on Twitter: @irfanYEG @Mitchell_AB #StopHateAB Subscribers help keep us writing, finding guests for and producing the podcast as well as getting us to events to deliver the in-person view we provide to our readers. Become a subscriber today. You will receive early access to posts and an opportunity to see the guest schedule of the podcast to ask questions.

The Alberta curriculum has been used as a political football and many thought it was for no good reason other than to score some points.  I sat down with Dr. Lindsay Gibson, an Assistant Professor at the University of Alberta, who was part of the Social Studies Working Group from 2016 until earlier this week.  Dr. Gibson went into detail about why he felt he needed to resign and asked an important question: Who’s writing the Alberta curriculum? Find us on Twitter: @ls_gibson @Mitchell_AB If you have more to add to this story, please contact me: dmaclean@countersign.ca   Subscribers help keep us writing, finding guests for and producing the podcast as well as getting us to events to deliver the in-person view we provide to our readers. Become a subscriber today. You will receive early access to posts and an opportunity to see the guest schedule of the podcast to ask questions.

This is the first episode of a new series that will be added to as guests come up or the topic is especially relevant.  Today my guest is Luke Fevin who started APUPIL (Albertan Parents for Unbiased, Inclusive Learning) about 7 years ago.  Luke and I discuss what started APUPIL, whether Alberta’s exceptionally generous funding model deters religious groups from advocating for religious privilege to match that of Catholic schools and how the laws, and parent advocacy, have affected public education as we know it today. Find us on Twitter: @According2Luke @Mitchell_AB and Facebook APUPIL and This Week in AB There are a few groups that I know of who advocate for change or improvements to the way we offer education in Alberta and I will have upcoming episodes featuring Together for Students as well as Support Our Students.  Feel free to recommend others who are working to open conversations in education   Subscribers help keep us writing, finding guests for and producing the podcast as well as getting us to events to deliver the in-person view we provide to our readers. Become a subscriber today. You will receive early access to posts and an opportunity to see the guest schedule of the podcast to ask questions.

Mark Taylor is back again to discuss populism, which was a popular topic for the week.  Stephen Harper sat with Ben Shapiro on Sunday to talk about his conservatism which Continue Reading