Feb 14 2020 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — Alberta is considering new rules to stop sex offenders from being legally allowed to change their names. Nate Glubish, the minister for Service Alberta, says he wants to make sure communities in Alberta are safe. "I don't want these convicted sex offenders to be able to hide in our communities, hide from Alberta families. […]
Feb 9 2020 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — The head of the United Nurses of Alberta says she has not seen such regressive contract demands from the province since the strike year of 1988, and says some nurses are wondering if history is set for a repeat. "The last time I saw the magnitude of rollbacks tabled by an employer with us […]
Feb 9 2020 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — Premier Jason Kenney says Alberta's new Montreal trade office will be just one part of a renewed push in the coming months to strengthen ties and find common ground with Quebec. "We need to understand that Quebec has a very strong preoccupation with environmental issues, and we need to communicate in those terms," Kenney said […]
Feb 7 2020 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — Alberta is asking about 24,000 government staff, including sheriffs and social workers, to take a pay cut in their next contract — something their union says is being done out of spite. The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees says the province's opening proposal is for a one per cent wage cut in the first year followed by a three-year […]
Feb 4 2020 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Jason Kenney applauded a court decision Tuesday clearing another legal hurdle in the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project and offered some kind words for the prime minister. Kenney acknowledged he has locked horns with Justin Trudeau on many energy issues, but said the prime minister had been as good as his word on the Trans […]
Jan 26 2020 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — Alberta's economic development minister says she is open to extending the deadline for a looming benchmark panel report on growing the high-tech sector, but says she wants to start taking action no later than the end of spring. Tanya Fir calls the report the natural evolutionary next step to building the economy, but the opposition NDP […]
Jan 16 2020 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — Alberta's advanced education minister says post-secondary schools are going over budget and he's urging them to immediately freeze hiring and stop spending on travel and hosting. "We're not seeing a reduction in expenditures. That's what we're most interested in," Demetrios Nicolaides said in an interview Thursday. "We're asking them to redouble their efforts in […]
Jan 15 2020 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — Alberta's Opposition is urging the province not to force patients on certain drugs for rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes and Crohn's disease to switch medications. NDP health critic David Shepherd says it's the best, safest way to make sure they don't suffer crippling complications or setbacks. "I understand the fear and uncertainty is real, that's there's a […]
Jan 10 2020 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — New numbers confirm that many Alberta drivers are getting hit with rate hikes, and even some sharp spikes, in their auto insurance. The Automobile Insurance Rate Board says that 27 insurers operating in Alberta were granted rate hikes in recent months, ranging from less than one per cent to almost 30 per cent […]
Jan 9 2020 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — Alberta doctors say they haven't ruled out a court challenge to the province's billing rule changes that physicians say could profoundly affect patient care. Dr. Christine Molnar, head of the Alberta Medical Association, says the court route is not preferred, but all options need to be kept open during ongoing negotiations with the United Conservative government. […]
Jan 7 2020 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — Alberta's energy minister says the United Nations is an unelected, unaccountable body that has no business criticizing Canada's energy megaprojects. Sonya Savage, in a statement, says that it's the job of elected leaders, not the UN, to make decisions on how best to govern people and economies. The UN's Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has […]
Jan 6 2020 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — The Opposition in Alberta says the government's $30-million energy war room has been a cavalcade of flubs and mistakes and it's too late to fix a disastrous first impression. NDP energy critic Irfan Sabir says his party's caucus supports promoting the message of oil and gas development, but it's time to shut down the war […]
Dec 30 2019 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — Alberta's medical system is getting prepped for some major surgery in 2020, and Health Minister Tyler Shandro says it starts in about two weeks with the release of a report expected to be the blueprint for change. "We committed to getting wait times down, so now we've got to figure out a way to […]
Dec 29 2019 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — In 2019, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney made good on his promise to take a blowtorch to core policies enacted by the former NDP government. In 2020, the goal of the United Conservative Party leader will be to get traction on his signature promises to bring in more jobs, boost the economy, get more pipelines going […]
Dec 29 2019 — Dean Bennett — EDMONTON — In the last five years, Rachel Notley has gone from third-party leader, to government leader to Opposition leader, but says she will try again for Alberta's top job in 2023. The reason, she says, grows from the steady drip of broken promises, half-truths, no-truths, gaslighting and self-dealing from Premier Jason Kenney and the […]