One could be forgiven for assuming that Alberta's minister of culture would have some semblance of the arts and the province's arts community, but by all accounts, that's not the case. If there were any doubts, this recent interview in the Globe and Mail should remove them. The fact that Maureen Kubinec hasn't seen a live performance … Continue reading Alberta’s uncultured minister
Alberta legislature
Out(road)rageous: $5 billion could go a long way
We seem destined to always talk about transportation. Public transit, including the long-sought southeast LRT line and the nuances of where to put the north-central line; the mess that is Calgary’s taxi system; bike lanes; pedestrian safety improvements; two-way roads through the Beltline; and now the revelation that the southwest portion of the ring road … Continue reading Out(road)rageous: $5 billion could go a long way
City of Calgary to tackle affordable housing crisis
There is at least one thing that almost everybody agrees on: there is a housing crisis in Calgary and we need more affordable housing. The devil, as they say, is in the details. The mayor has made the issue a priority and now the city is taking its first tentative steps towards creating an affordable … Continue reading City of Calgary to tackle affordable housing crisis
Cut the public affairs bureau
The latest provincial budget comes out on March 6 and the opposition is already circling, with Wildrose leading the charge. On February 25, Alberta’s other right wing released its budget recommendations. No surprise, there were lots of savings to be found in the bullet points (see, it’s easy!). It was bullet number 4 that, as … Continue reading Cut the public affairs bureau
Citizens on the backburner: it’s all about the oil in Alberta
Imagine if you could run roughshod over the laws and be comfortable in the knowledge that you’d only get in trouble about one per cent of the time, and when you did, it amounted to a miniscule fine. What would you do? You’d probably behave like the oil companies operating within Alberta. In a recent … Continue reading Citizens on the backburner: it’s all about the oil in Alberta
Alberta’s craft brewers in war of words with importers
It could be labelled as an ideological battle, but that might be too exteme. Is it a story of the hometown hero versus the outsider? Is it about fairness? Selection? Consumer choice? Well, this battle of the beers is technically about all of those things. Alberta’s small brewers are trying to pressure the provincial government … Continue reading Alberta’s craft brewers in war of words with importers
A two-pronged attack on creativity
If you want to see the kind of mind that supports closing arts programs, in this case at Mount Royal University, have a look at two recent opinion articles. One by the Calgary Sun ’s Ian Robinson is a barely coherent demonstration of ignorance and simple-mindedness. The other, by the Calgary Herald ’s Karin Klassen, … Continue reading A two-pronged attack on creativity
Government closes program, blames Mount Royal College
According to an email circulated to Mount Royal University staff by president David Docherty, and obtained by Fast Forward Weekly, the university was forced to close two centres that evaluated internationally educated nurses in Edmonton and Calgary, despite recent claims by minister of health Fred Horne. In an interview with the CBC, Horne said the … Continue reading Government closes program, blames Mount Royal College
Big ideas we’d like to see
When compiling this list, we asked ourselves: what kind of city, province and country do we want? What ideas would help get us there? This list is by no means comprehensive, but intended to start a discussion about where we’re going and where we should go. Have you got your own big ideas? Let us … Continue reading Big ideas we’d like to see
Staunching the flow: As Alberta reviews its pipelines, critics cry foul
On Thursday, June 7, approximately 475,000 litres of oil started pouring into the Red Deer River from a ruptured pipeline owned by Plains Midstream Canada. By the next day, Premier Alison Redford was on scene, eager to show she cares. Just over a month later, a coalition of 54 groups penned an open letter to … Continue reading Staunching the flow: As Alberta reviews its pipelines, critics cry foul
Drew Anderson 