http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/alberta/ en-us Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:39:41 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2414113/posts Really, if you could live in Calgary with its fairly mild winters, closeness to the Rocky Mountains, professional hockey team, and citizens who shower, who the hell would choose to live in Toronto? The Moderate Separatist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2414113/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:39:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413350/posts A policy that would have seen toiletries and snacks taken away from mental health patients at Alberta Hospital is being reversed by the Alberta government just days after it became public. The policy was part of an implementation plan to standardize supplies across the province and was supposed to save Alberta Health Services $70,000 a year. CTV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413350/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:05:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2409740/posts In being witness to the plight Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach has found himself in, I cannot help but recall the final year or so of the Bush administration. The Moderate Separatist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2409740/posts#comment Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:16:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2403855/posts Politicians and their advisors are frantically trying to decide if the public mood has changed and by how much, and even more critically trying to balance the appeasement of the people and the appeasement of the still pro-environment business community (aka: their real friend$.) The Moderate Separatist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2403855/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 18:03:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2375882/posts A report by two environmental groups and financed by Toronto-Dominion Bank finds that Canada can meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets only by limiting economic growth in the oil-rich provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The report, from the Pembina Institute and the David Suzuki Foundation, broadly concludes that Canada can lower greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent compared with 1990 levels by 2020 while maintaining a “strong, growing economy, a quality of life higher than Canadians enjoy today, and continued steady job creation across the country.” But the study, which relies on an economic model from M.K. Jaccard and Associates,... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2375882/posts#comment Sun, 1 Nov 2009 15:38:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2376191/posts As the kids display symptoms of post-Halloween MSIH (Massive Sugar Intake High) on this first night of November, I thought I'd take the opportunity to get a head start on this years Christmas list. The Moderate Separatist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2376191/posts#comment Mon, 2 Nov 2009 01:38:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2372298/posts We promise to keep French on our cereal boxes if we don’t have to subject our children to the joys of ‘French immersion’ programs in our schools. And no Celine Dion. Ever. The Moderate Separatist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2372298/posts#comment Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:53:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2367930/posts Police are negotiating with a gunman reported to be holding as many as nine hostages in the Workers' Compensation Board building in downtown Edmonton. Edmonton police spokesman Jeff Wuite said authorities received a report Wednesday of a man armed with a hunting rifle inside the building, which is close to the legislature for the western Canadian province. "Now that we have communication with the suspect, we feel good that we can move forward to resolving it," Wuite said. "We want to find out what this guy wants and what we can do to end this peacefully." StarTribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2367930/posts#comment Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:19:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2365787/posts The Alberta Human Rights Commission has accepted a complaint brought against an Edmonton-area Catholic school board by a substitute teacher who was let go after she announced she was 'becoming' a man. Janet Buterman, 39, had been employed by the Greater St. Albert Catholic School Board for about four months when, in June 2008, she informed deputy superintendent Steve Bayus that she was undergoing a 'sex change' and now wished to be treated as a man. The following October, Mr. Bayus responded with a letter indicating that Buterman had been removed from the substitute teacher list because the procedures she... Lifesitenews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2365787/posts#comment Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:11:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2358893/posts A random sampling of the best by the best. The Moderate Separatist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2358893/posts#comment Fri, 9 Oct 2009 19:33:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2333687/posts It could be all that fresh mountain air. Or maybe it's the altitude, a different time zone or even jet lag. Otherwise there's no excuse for what makes tourists ask the dumbest questions. There are some real gems, and it happens all the time. Just ask the patient and good-natured folks who make a living showing tourists around Banff National Park. "We get a broader range of people (in summer)," says Daymon Miller, general manager of Discover Banff Tours. "They're coming from a broad range of urban centres with generally no concept of the wilderness." When the speak-before-thinking zinger is... Calgary Herald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2333687/posts#comment Mon, 7 Sep 2009 02:52:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2330189/posts CALGARY - Canada will apply existing foreign ownership laws to PetroChina’s bid to buy Canadian oilsands assets but will not introduce further barriers to investing in the country, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Tuesday. PetroChina, the world’s most valuable oil company, is set to pay $1.9 billion for a 60 per cent stake in two planned Canadian oilsands projects. It’s the biggest Chinese investment yet in Canada’s oilsands, which have reserves second only to Saudi Arabia, and a test of the Canadian government’s bid to thaw once-frosty relations with Beijing. Harper said he recognized that PetroChina’s plans were controversial, but... Calgary Herald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2330189/posts#comment Wed, 2 Sep 2009 11:21:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2329879/posts Energy: We balk at importing "dirty" oil from Canada, but others aren't so reluctant. Exempt as a "developing" nation from Kyoto-like agreements, China has decided to help Canada develop its energy-rich oil sands.The Financial Post reports that PetroChina International Investment Co. has struck a deal to buy a 60% interest in Athabasca Oil Sands Corp.'s McKay River and Dover projects for $1.9 billion. China has been establishing energy beachheads around the world in its quest to keep its growing economy fueled. With possible conflict brewing between Israel and Iran, Beijing recognizes the need for reliable suppliers like Canada in an... IBD Editorials http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2329879/posts#comment Wed, 2 Sep 2009 00:03:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2328757/posts CALGARY -- China has used its significant financial firepower to once again wiggle its way into Canada's oil sands, home to the largest source of crude outside Saudi Arabia. PetroChina International Investment Company Ltd. has struck a deal to buy a 60% working interest in Athabasca Oil Sands Corp.'s MacKay River and Dover oil sands projects for $1.9-billion, as well as "certain financing arrangements" for AOSC. "Oil sands projects are very capital-intensive long-term investments and difficult to fully finance in the traditional equity market," said Bill Gallacher, AOSC's chairman said in a statement. "AOSC therefore decided to look for joint... Financial Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2328757/posts#comment Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:46:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2318161/posts The people are becoming restless and, more potentially damaging to Stelmach, they are beginning to lose faith. Descriptions like ‘aloof’ and ‘the Les Nessman of Alberta politics’ are replacing ‘nice guy’ regarding Ed. Notice: at no time do you hear the Premier described as ‘leader’. The Moderate Separatist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2318161/posts#comment Mon, 17 Aug 2009 20:43:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2302525/posts Anytime a fresh political movement begins to gain momentum and begins to enjoy a higher level of credibility in the critical eye of the media, not to mention the public, there grows a danger of attracting the more controversial members of society. The Moderate Separatist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2302525/posts#comment Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:25:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2297645/posts If the most difficult aspect of democracy is finding yourself having to make a choice from a group of sub-par and undeserving candidates, then deciding who to vote for between two exceptional candidates has to be considered a very close second. The Moderate Separatist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2297645/posts#comment Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:50:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2279398/posts Alberta’s Energy guru Mel Knight made yet another Energy sector-friendly ‘incentive’ announcement today, bringing the number of similar updates/boosts/don’t-admit-we-screwed-up-…royally announcements to at least three. Do you hear the sound of kissing lips every time Knight holds a presser, or is it just me? The Moderate Separatist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2279398/posts#comment Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:36:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2257055/posts Talk about a good gig – every once in a while you throw a referendum (French for ‘tantrum’) that you never intend on winning, thereby ensuring another decade or two of pandering and bigger cheques from Ottawa. Crafty, them Quebecers. The Moderate Separatist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2257055/posts#comment Sat, 23 May 2009 21:32:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2242885/posts OTTAWA — The Canadian Press has learned federal officials are set to announce the swine flu virus is believed to have infected pigs in Alberta. A government source says the animals were thought to be infected by a farm worker who had recently been to Mexico and fell ill upon his return. This may be the first time this particular swine flu virus has been found in pigs. The H1N1 virus, which is made up of swine flu genes, is believed to have jumped to humans some time back and has been passing person to person. The World Health Organization... theglobeandmail.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2242885/posts#comment Sat, 2 May 2009 21:29:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2234840/posts Ironically, the very things Morgan was accused of saying – questioning of Hinman had the ‘charisma’ to attract voters – is something I had brought up before. The Moderate Separatist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2234840/posts#comment Wed, 22 Apr 2009 01:48:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2226168/posts Then Evans made what could be regarded in the future as The Exact Moment Her Career Died when she did not rule out the idea of a provincial sales tax. For the uninitiated in the Alberta culture, let me explain: we are the only province that does not have a sales tax. The very idea is so poisonous, so distasteful, so completely unacceptable under any circumstances, it has been responsible for the deaths of an astronomical number of political dreams. Simply put: we will not have it. The Moderate Separatist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2226168/posts#comment Fri, 10 Apr 2009 06:33:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2219888/posts But my party – my government – lied to me. The party I have supported since becoming politically aware has destroyed my trust in them. I find myself as many Albertans do today, wondering if the next sound bite or government statement is the truth or another ‘its in the courts’ untruth. The Moderate Separatist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2219888/posts#comment Wed, 1 Apr 2009 16:21:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2203459/posts EDMONTON -- Alberta appears ready to give up its bragging rights as a debt-free province as the government adjusts to a new economic reality. Premier Ed Stelmach is musing about using Alberta's gold-plated credit rating to borrow money at low interest rates to catch up with road, school and hospital building projects. This would be a major policy switch for Alberta's Progressive Conservative government, which shunned debt and borrowing for years when Ralph Klein was premier. "The province of Alberta has a triple-A credit rating," Mr. Stelmach told the legislature yesterday. "We also have $6-billion cash in the bank to... The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Ontario http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2203459/posts#comment Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:34:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2196312/posts Complete with what has been described as ‘stark’ photos of tailing ponds, made famous by the discovery of about 500 dead ducks that caused every leftwing granola eaters head to explode, the article itself is said to contain the fair and balanced description of the scene – smoke stacks and mills chugging away – as ‘dark’ and, I’m not kidding here, ‘satanic’. The Moderate Separatist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2196312/posts#comment Sat, 28 Feb 2009 20:23:45 GMT