Opinion

Power to the people, pedal style

The recent proposal to build more power lines in Alberta is an example of the wrong-headed consumptive thinking that is destroying our planet. The only difference is that this time we are talking about something we can’t see — electrical power.

Outcome in Mulroney-Schreiber case hazy

In a court of law, Justice Jeffrey Oliphant would likely dismiss a case against Brian Mulroney at this juncture.

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Control lake projects

The price of autonomous decision making by lakeshore municipalities in Central Alberta may be too high.

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Mercy essential to justice

The federal government has floated a proposal to eliminate the faint-hope clause for killers.

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Syncrude’s about-face

When one of Canada’s pre-eminent corporate citizens publicly apologizes for the deaths of hundreds of ducks, then months later mulls mounting a constitutional challenge to charges related to those deaths, what are we to think?

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Angel rescues a family

To the mystery man who appeared out of nowhere, handed a needy family of wad of cash, then disappeared just as fast.

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Letter writers are right

Sometimes it’s the escape of the first few drops of water that signals the eventual collapse of a dike.

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Looking good in leopard-print pants

When it comes to getting married, they say surviving the bachelor party is half the battle.

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Assistant fails minister

What crosses your mind when a federal minister gets into hot water for misplacing a sensitive government document in one week, and then the next is unknowingly reported to be caught on a recording, commenting on the performance of a fellow minister?

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Ottawa mismanaging auto sector and CWB

In February 2007, I wrote in this space about how even a modest downturn in new car sales would almost certainly lead to a massive government intervention in the auto industry, and that the resulting mismanagement would inevitably lead to even more financial problems for car makers and taxpayers alike.

MacIgnitor considered to be an industry leader

The early 1980s were very tough times economically in Central Alberta. New federal energy policies, followed by a sharp decline in world petroleum prices, sent the all-important oil and gas sector into a sudden and deep recession.

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A no-risk investment

Sometimes, even when you win, you can’t win. The Lavesta Group, the landowners and others opposed to the building of a major power line through their property overcame huge hurdles when they quashed an application for a line to be built.

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Wildrose offers change

Alberta’s Conservatives have governed this province since 1971. At times, such as when Peter Lougheed headed up the party, they provided pretty good government.

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Who’s really blocking PM in Quebec?

In a just-published book titled Open & Shut: Why America Has Barack Obama and Canada Has Stephen Harper, columnist John Ibbitson of The Globe and Mail has a suggestion for the many Canadians who, like him, dream of a day when the House of Commons will be free of the Bloc Quebecois.

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We need more degrees

Although educational attainment in Western Canada has been rising in recent years, it still has a long way to go to catch up with other parts of Canada and some of our international competitors

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Beef up wildlife ranks

To the West Country slobs, venturing from their city dens on the long weekends into the pristine wilderness of the Eastern Slopes, then leaving behind a mini-landfill of garbage and devastation to sensitive wildlife habitat in their wake.

Tienanmen lives on

It would be child’s play to take out North Korea’s nuclear facilities in a single coordinated strike. The North Korean air force is not modern enough to stop US or Russian or even Chinese strike aircraft.

The lessons of having power

Conservatives and Canadians are clinging to steep learning curves. Three years into power, Conservatives are just getting the hang of government and Canadians are getting the lowdown on Conservatives.

Advice for deficit avoidance

The next time a politician casually mentions borrowing a billion dollars – or $50 billion for that matter – ask yourself this question: what would my family do?

Green jobs often require government subsidies

Some time ago, even before my mother-in-law was a baby, the so-called knowledge-based economy was born. It likely happened somewhere out on the sub-glacial Asian steppes, when some Pleistocene-era hunter became so skilled at making stone spear points that he was able to give up hunting, and instead swapped stone tools for all the mammoth steaks and sabertooth tiger rugs he could handle.