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Alberta

These are the key people Jason Kenney will be leaning on to help him lead the province

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From the United Conservative Party

Premier Designate names senior staff

Premier Designate Jason Kenney announced the senior staff that will serve in the Office of the Premier and lead his transition team.“This group of talented, passionate individuals has the right mix of public and private-sector experience. Each will be a tremendous asset as we begin to action our ambitious, jobs-focused agenda,” said Kenney. “I have no doubt that together, this team will help to deliver on our promise to get Alberta back to work.”

Team members include:

  •  Jamie Huckabay, Chief of Staff to the Premier: Born and raised in Lethbridge, Jamie was Chief of Staff to the Opposition Leader and UCP Caucus. Prior to this role, Jamie was a key member for Jason Kenney’s PC Leadership Campaign leading convention operations. Jamie has considerable private and public sector experience. He was previously Director at mobile technology firm Taplytics and Vice President at Gerson Lehrman Group. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Lethbridge, Masters in International Relations and Economics from Johns Hopkins University and an MBA from Oxford University. As the Chief administrator, Jamie will oversee political operations and implementation of the Premier’s agenda and priorities.
  • Howard Anglin, Principal Secretary: Howard is a lawyer who served in the former federal Conservative government as Chief of Staff to the Premier Designate in his role as Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and as Deputy Chief of Staff to former Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He has degrees from McGill University and New York University, worked as a lawyer in private practice at international law firms in New York, London, and Washington, DC, and was most recently a constitutional lawyer running a national legal charity in Calgary. As the administration’s most senior political advisor, Howard will provide expert advice and direction to the Premier and Executive Council.
  • Katy Merrifield, Executive Director of Communication and Planning: Katy is a long-time senior political aide from British Columbia. She served a variety of roles in the BC government including Chief of Staff to the Minister of Health and Jobs, Tourism and Economic Development, culminating as the Director of Communications to former B.C. Premier Christy Clark. She is also the first woman and youngest person to win a provincial leadership campaign in BC with the successful election of Andrew Wilkinson as current Leader of the Opposition. Katy will lead and execute the agenda for political communications and policy announcements.
  • Christine Myatt, Deputy Director of Communications and Press Secretary:Christine is a long-time political aide from Alberta, having served in multiple senior communications roles in previous Alberta governments and most recently as Director of Strategic Communications for the Official Opposition. As Deputy Communications Director, Christine will be the primary contact for media relations.
  • David Knight Legg, Head of Transition: David moved back to Alberta last year to advise the Premier Designate’s team on trade and finance. He originally hails from Lethbridge, where he received his undergraduate degree. David also has a Masters in Public Administration from Queens University, a PhD from Yale and a law degree from Oxford University. His professional background includes McKinsey and Company, Managing Director for Europe and Asia for the Gerson Lehrman Group and Global Head of Strategy at Commonwealth Bank. As Head of Transition, David is overseeing an orderly and seamless transition into government for the incoming administration.

After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

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Alberta

Alberta official reveals ‘almost all’ wildfires in province this year have been started by humans

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From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

Alberta Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen said his department estimates that most of the province’s wildfires this year are man-made and not caused by ‘climate change.’

Alberta officials have announced that almost all fires in 2024 are believed to have been caused by humans despite ongoing claims that “climate change” is to blame.

On April 24, Alberta Minister of Forestry and Parks Todd Loewen revealed that his department estimates that most of the province’s wildfires this year are man-made and not caused by “climate change” as claimed by mainstream media and politicians.

“We expect that almost all of the wildfires we’ve experienced so far this year are human caused, given the point we’re at in the season and the types of weather we’re seeing,” Loewen stated.

 Already, Alberta has put out 172 wildfires this year, and 63 are actively burning. However, Loewen did not seem overly alarmed, instead warning Albertans to watch their local fire bans and restrictions to reduce the high number of man-made wildfires.  

“I urge you to assess your property for wildfire danger and take any preventive action you can to address these risks,” he said.

“This includes breaking up fuel sources that could ignite a structure, removing trees in close proximity to your home, and properly maintaining your gutters and roofs to rid the materials that could easily ignite such as leaves and dry needles,” Loewen added.

Loewen’s announcement comes just weeks after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith promised that arsonists who ignite wildfires in Alberta will be held accountable for their crimes.

“As we approach the wildfire season, it is important to understand that 67% of wildfires in Alberta are started by people,” she explained.

“If you start a wildfire, you can be charged, fined, and held liable for all costs associated with fighting the wildfire,” Smith added.

“All I know is in my province we have 650 fires and 500 of them were human caused,” she said, “so we have to make sure that when people know that when it’s dry out there and we get into forest fire season that they’re being a lot more careful because anytime you end up with an ignition that happens it can have devastating consequences.”

The Alberta government has also created an ad campaign highlighting the fact that most fires are caused by humans and not “climate change,” as many left-leaning politicians claim.

As reported by LifeSiteNews last year, Smith ordered arson investigators to look into why some of the wildfires that raged across the vast expanse of the province had “no known cause” shortly after they spread.

Indeed, despite claims that wildfires have drastically increased due to “climate change,” 2023 research revealed that wildfires have decreased globally while media coverage has spiked 400 percent.

Furthermore, many of the fires last spring and summer were discovered to be caused by arsonists and not “climate change.”

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) have arrested arsonists who have been charged with lighting fires across the country, including in the YukonBritish Columbia, and Alberta.

In Quebec, satellite footage also showed the mysterious simultaneous eruption of several blazes across the province, sparking concerns that the fires were a coordinated effort by arsonists.

Despite the overwhelming evidence, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and mainstream media continue to claim that the fires are unprecedentedly dangerous and caused by “climate change” in an attempt to pass further regulations on natural resources.

The reduction and eventual elimination of the use of so-called “fossil fuels” and a transition to unreliable “green” energy has also been pushed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) – the globalist group behind the socialist “Great Reset” agenda – an organization with which Trudeau and some in his cabinet are involved.

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Alberta

Alberta rejects unconstitutional cap on plastic production

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Minister of Environment and Protected Areas Rebecca Schulz issued the following statement:

“Every modern convenience and necessity is either made from or contains plastic, from surgical gloves to your iPhone. Despite this, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada Steven Guilbeault has announced that he intends to cap the production of plastics in Canada.

“This unilateral announcement is a slap in the face to Alberta and our province’s petrochemical industry, and the thousands of Albertans who work in it.

“Plastics production is a growing part of Alberta’s economy, and we are positioned to lead the world for decades to come in the production of carbon neutral plastics.

“Minister Guilbeault’s proposal would throw all of that into jeopardy and risk billions of dollars in investments. This includes projects like Dow Chemical’s net-zero petrochemical plant in Fort Saskatchewan, a $9-billion dollar project that will create thousands of jobs.

“His proposal will also fail to reduce plastic production. If the federal government limits plastic production in Canada, other counties like China will just produce more. The only outcome that this federal government will achieve will be fewer jobs in Canada.

“Last year, the Federal Court ruled that Minister Guilbeault’s decision to classify plastics as ‘toxic’ was both ‘unconstitutional and unreasonable’.

“Minister Guilbeault’s decision to cap production is even more egregious and is equally unconstitutional. Under no circumstances will Alberta permit any limit on our ability to produce and export plastic products.

“Instead of wasting everyone’s time, the federal government would be better served by taking a page out of Alberta’s plan, which diverts plastics from landfills and turns used plastics into new products. This is the promise of Alberta’s plan to create a Plastics Circular Economy, a modern miracle in which, through chemistry, we can have all of life’s conveniences and necessities while protecting our environment and reducing plastic waste.

“If the federal government refuses to abide by the constitution, we will take them to court again to defend our jurisdiction and the thousands of Albertans who work in the petrochemical sector.”

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