Alberta
City of Edmonton has a spending problem
From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation
Author: Kris Sims
Between 2014 and 2023, total spending at the city went from $2.2 billion to an estimated $3.4 billion, a spending increase of about 54 per cent. The population of Edmonton increased by about 17 per cent over that same period.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on Edmonton City Hall to rein in its salaries and spending splurges in the wake of its 6.6 per cent property tax hike.
“Ordinary working people didn’t get a nearly seven per cent pay increase this year, so what makes Edmonton city hall think these folks can afford this property tax hike?” asked Kris Sims, CTF Alberta Director. “The city clearly has a spending problem and it’s wasting taxpayers’ money on electric buses that don’t work.”
Edmonton city councillors passed a 6.6 per cent property tax increase at city hall Tuesday afternoon.
Budget documents show spending at Edmonton city hall has jumped.
Between 2014 and 2023, total spending at the city went from $2.2 billion to an estimated $3.4 billion, a spending increase of about 54 per cent. The population of Edmonton increased by about 17 per cent over that same period.
Meanwhile, the city has a growing list of spending issues.
Reports show Edmonton spent about $60 million on a fleet of electric buses, but about 75 per cent of them are stuck in maintenance bays, needing constant repair and adjustments. The company that manufactures parts for the electric bus fleet has since gone bankrupt.
Last year, Edmonton City Hall decided to spend $100 million on bicycle lanes, in a city that can see snow on the roads from September to May.
After taking a raise this year, Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi is paid a salary of $211,488 per year, while the city’s 12 councillors are each paid $119,484. The premier of Alberta, by comparison, is paid $186,180 per year.
“The people of Edmonton should remember they have the option of recall legislation and they can force a byelection for their city councillor if they think they’re doing a bad job,” said Sims.
Alberta
Free Alberta Strategy petition demanding PM Trudeau fire Steven Guilbeault passes 13,000 signatures
News release from Free Alberta Strategy
Are you tired of watching elected officials flout the law and disregard public concerns with impunity?
Are you frustrated by a federal government that prioritizes arrogance over accountability?
If so, you’re not alone.
Over 13,000 people have signed our petition calling on Justin Trudeau to fire Steven Guilbeault.
Once one of Greenpeace’s most disruptive forces, Guilbeault has spent enough time in an orange jumpsuit to build up a reputation for deliberately ignoring both law enforcement and the courts.
Since then, his career has been marked by a troubling disregard for both legal boundaries and public sentiment.
In 2001, Guilbeault was found guilty of mischief for scaling the CN Tower in Toronto and displaying a banner.
He received a sentence of one year’s probation, was mandated to complete 100 hours of community service in Montreal, and was ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution.
The incident incurred approximately $50,000 in costs for the tower operators.
Shortly thereafter, Guilbeault orchestrated another audacious act, leading a Greenpeace team in a demonstration at the Calgary residence of then Alberta Premier Ralph Klein and his wife, Colleen.
They erected a banner, positioned ladders against the house, and ascended to the roof to install a solar panel.
The intrusion deeply unsettled Colleen Klein, who was alone at the time and feared a home invasion – she resorted to grabbing a broom for defense.
Despite his controversial background, Justin Trudeau’s decision to appoint Guilbeault as Minister of Environment and Climate Change raised eyebrows and elicited criticism.
Jason Kenney, then premier of Alberta, accurately predicted the consequences of Guilbeault assuming a significant role in Justin Trudeau’s cabinet.
“His own personal background and track record on these issues suggests someone who is more an absolutist than a pragmatist when it comes to finding solutions,” Kenney said.
It’s perhaps no surprise then that Guilbeault’s response to legal setbacks in his political career, such as the Supreme Court’s ruling on the unconstitutionality of his Impact Assessment Act, has been dismissive, indicating a stubborn adherence to his own agenda rather than a willingness to heed judicial guidance.
Instead of accepting that he was wrong and repealing the law, Guilbeault wants to pass minor amendments and pretend like the Supreme Court ruling never happened.
Worse, the amendments – buried 552 pages into a 686-page budget implementation bill – don’t fix the problem.
Guilbeault still has the power to control projects that fall under provincial jurisdiction.
Consequently, tensions between the federal and provincial governments have escalated, with Alberta poised to immediately challenge the amended legislation in court once again.
This charade is getting old.
This pattern of defiance and disregard for legal constraints has become wearisome, eroding public trust in the integrity of federal institutions.
The rotation of headlines proclaiming federal overreach and constitutional breaches underscores a troubling trend within the governing party, where arrogance appears to have supplanted prudent governance.
Guilbeault, with his checkered past and continued ignorance of the law since becoming Minister, are crippling public confidence.
A few months ago, we launched a petition calling on Justin Trudeau to see the light, and fire his most controversial Minister.
Since then, things have only gotten worse.
If you agree, and think Guilbeault should be fired, please sign our petition today:
Then, send this petition to your friends, family, and every Albertan so that they can sign too!
Regards,
The Free Alberta Strategy Team
Alberta
Fortis et Liber: Alberta’s Future in the Canadian Federation
From the C2C Journal
By Barry Cooper, professor of political science, University of Calgary
Canada’s western lands, wrote one prominent academic, became provinces “in the Roman sense” – acquired possessions that, once vanquished, were there to be exploited. Laurentian Canada regarded the hinterlands as existing primarily to serve the interests of the heartland. And the current holders of office in Ottawa often behave as if the Constitution’s federal-provincial distribution of powers is at best advisory, if it needs to be acknowledged at all. Reviewing this history, Barry Cooper places Alberta’s widely criticized Sovereignty Act in the context of the Prairie provinces’ long struggle for due constitutional recognition and the political equality of their citizens. Canada is a federation, notes Cooper. Provinces do have rights. Constitutions do mean something. And when they are no longer working, they can be changed.
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