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G. Thomson 539 days ago
I'm taking the next year off from writing on Alberta politics. The rest of June I'll be on vacation and getting ready for my trip back to Afghanistan for the summer. Then I'm headed to Massey College at the University of Toronto which has generously given me a journalism fellowship. That means I'll be going back to school in September for eight months. I plan to study the impact of the oilsands, unlike my first go round at university which was spent studying the impact of kegger parties. If the fates allow, I'll be back writing on Alberta politics next year. In the meantime, I'll be blogging from Afghanistan starting in July.
G. Thomson 540 days ago
The big losers under Bill 26 passed by the Alberta government are not construction unions, but construction companies that use union labour -- according to the letter below. The author says that through Bill 26 the government is meddling in open competition in the construction industry by banning MERFing (the practice of letting unions use their funds to help unionized contractors bid against non-union shops). Non-union firms say MERFing is unfair. But this writers argues the exact opposite is true. LETTER Mr. Thomson: A little more analysis is needed here. CLR is an employers’ organization. We represent contractors in their dealings with the Building Trades – collective bargaining, collective agreement administration, administrative labour law, and myriad joint initiatives with the Building Trades, government, construction owners, and others. To the extent Bill 26 was intended to punish the unions, it widely missed the mark. The victims of this bill are the contractors ...
G. Thomson 542 days ago
Here's part of an NDP news release on the government's supposed plan to build a new official residence for the province's Lt.-Gov. at a cost of $10 million. I say "supposed" because there seems to be confusion over what the government is doing. On Monday, Premier Ed Stelmach said he didn't know what the new residence would cost but added, "I fully believe this is a worthwhile investment." However, on Tuesday, Infrastructure Minister Jack Hayden said there's nothing in his budget for a $10 million construction project. So, was Stelmach mistaken? Confused? Or is there a plan to build a new residence but for less than $10 million? (Having an official residence is not a bad idea but why can't the government simply use Government House, the original residence that currently serves as a government reception hall and meeting place?) Anyway, here's what NDP leader Brian Mason released. NDP News Release -- EDMONTON – The government has quietly resurrected plans ...
G. Thomson 550 days ago
This is a letter from a former Liberal MLA talking about my column last week on Liberal Leader Kevin Taft's mid-session vacation to Greece. The letter is an interesting peek into the apparently troubled mindset of Liberals who lost their seats last election -- and a glimpse into an internal squabble over leadership where Calgary MLA Dave Taylor is said to be sniffing around Taft's job. (Just a thought on post-election thumb sucking -- Liberals might want to do more searching of souls than bashing of voters). As with all email I receive, the sender's name has been removed. Letter -- Dear Graham, I have a couple of comments/reactions to your column today, “Taft hits the beach in Greece….” My first would be to say that the conclusion I, and many others, reached after this last election is that electability is not based on performance or hard work, may be some but never a major part. Those all-nighters, the travelling and outreach and going to bat for people, ...
G. Thomson 574 days ago
Here are a couple of letters on different sides of the dead duck debate...and whether the demise of 500 birds in a Syncrude tailings pond ranks as a "tragedy" (a term used by both Prime Minister Harper and Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner). Interestingly, both writers use humour to make their point, Letter #1 I would bet that on any single night this past week in Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver there were 500 portions of pate de fois gras (pan seared) served between 6pm and 11pm. “Mmm….tragedy" -Homer Simpson To keep it all in perspective….. Letter #2 - First, start with a healthy duck, preferably one that hasn't migrated here from the east - Next, entice it to land here, using a warm, oil-soaked tailings pond of the Ft. McMurray variety (I find Syncrude works best, but any name brand tar sands pond will do) - Third, roll the duck in the oil until thoroughly soaked and no longer breathing - Next, don't tell anyone that you have a ...
