While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from Gillian Steward.
Danielle Smith was flying high last Thursday as she and Mark Carney signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Calgary. Interesting that it was called an MOU and not an agreement, although most of the news media, and Smith herself, talked about it in those terms. So now Carney and Smith have an “understanding” that an oil pipeline may be...
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s move to help the western Canadian canola industry fell flat on Thursday as he announced a significant package for Ontario’s auto industry but little in the way of relief for canola farmers. And no doubt it fell flat with cost conscious Canadians who want EVs at reasonable prices. We could have had those from China but...
You might have seen those bright yellow fields reaching toward the horizon under a clear blue sky — fields of canola spread across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, bringing in billions of dollars each year for farmers and their families. Now the annual harvest is in danger: one of Canada’s biggest customers, China, has slapped a 76 per cent tariff on...
We don’t often get a look at a potential prime minister’s detailed policy proposals. But in 2021 Mark Carney published a book that laid it all out for us. ”Values: Building a Better World for All,” states in no uncertain, and often very complicated, terms what we must do to build a better world. But one of the key themes...
It’s a bit of a stretch from his former riding in Ottawa. It’s in Alberta, mostly rural, spread out over 52,000 square kilometres — and a far cry from the nation’s capital and his digs at Stornoway. But this is the riding that Pierre Poilievre, leader of the official opposition, chose to make a comeback after losing his seat in...
Ontario Premier Doug Ford came to Calgary last week and turned Canada upside down. He was here to loudly promote more oil and gas pipelines to the west, north and east. And beside him, grinning like a Cheshire Cat, was Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
Last week Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said that Albertans’ desire to go their own way and separate from the rest of Canada has never been higher. That’s a strange thing to proclaim when only two days before the separatist party got a shellacking in three by-elections, one of them in the heartland of what used to be the independence movement...
It didn’t take long for the Alberta government to follow in the footsteps of the U.S. health secretary, anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., by making it more difficult — and more expensive — to get a COVID-19 shot. At the end of May, Kennedy announced that the COVID-19 vaccine will no longer be among the recommended vaccines for pregnant women...
The next year in Alberta promises to be a hot one. Premier Danielle Smith’s last minute move to amend legislation that makes it so much easier to collect enough signatures for a referendum has lit the match. And what would that referendum be about? Separation from the rest of Canada.
Is Alberta heading for separation? Well, no. The numbers just aren’t there.
Alberta premier Danielle Smith attacked her own public health care system last week accusing it of outright resistance to her plans to expand the role of private surgical clinics. ”It’s clear they would rather keep all surgeries in hospitals operated by Alberta Health Services … we will not be intimidated by AHS (Alberta Health Services) management,” Smith said.
He isn’t even president yet but Donald Trump has been mocking Canadians with ridiculous taunts; the demented ramblings of an old man. I don’t know about you but I would prefer if Canadians weren’t so polite about all the insults coming our way from south of the border. How about we hurl a few insults back at Trump? Like: Most...
In less than two weeks Danielle Smith will subject herself to a leadership review at the annual AGM of the United Conservative Party. She will likely get enough votes to continue on as premier so no danger there
Three wildfire tragedies in 13 years: Slave Lake, Fort McMurray and now Jasper. Alberta has seen wildfire engulf and almost destroy these places and chase out the people who live there. No wonder; we are the biggest laggard when it comes to fighting climate change.
If you are old enough to remember when smoking was allowed in theatres, airplanes and restaurants you might also remember the tobacco industry’s advertising campaigns. Some ads claimed smoking could actually be good for a person. There were even ads claiming pregnant women “craved” cigarettes; that doctors preferred Camels. No mention of lung cancer or heart disease, even though the...
It’s now glaringly obvious that Danielle Smith is willing to go to extraordinary lengths to put Alberta’s public health care system under her thumb; retribution for vaccine promotion and other public health measures adopted during the pandemic. Her rural base abhorred vaccines, vaccine passports, restaurant closures and masks and they blamed Alberta Health Services for imposing them. They denounced Chief...
So what’s next? Removing books from university libraries because they challenge Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s right wing ideology? Or is her UCP government going to establish its own university? Judging from what Smith has said over the past week it’s clear that she craves the authority to not only oversee Alberta’s universities but to determine exactly what they teach, research...
There’s no question that Pierre Poilievre’s incessant call to “axe the tax” has hit home with Canadians who believe the carbon tax is the reason that everything from groceries to gasoline costs more. Never mind that most people are refunded more than they pay in carbon taxes. “Axe the tax” has a ring to it that captures the frustration of...
The Alberta NDP leadership race got a much-needed shot of adrenalin today when former Calgary mayor, Naheed Nenshi, confirmed all the rumours and announced that he is in to win. A three-term mayor and a formidable opponent to anyone who takes him on, Nenshi hasn’t exactly been known as a leftist, in fact he used to pride himself on being...
Family physicians in Alberta, as in many parts of Canada, are not happy. They are so unhappy that a survey conducted in mid-January by the Alberta Medical Association found 60 per cent of respondents are considering early retirement or moving to another province. If they follow through that would not only be devastating for patients but for Alberta’s entire public...
This time last year we were on the verge of seeing the end of the COVID-19 crisis. By May the World Health Organization declared the emergency over. Canadians started to breathe easy again and get back to socializing and attending large gatherings such as weddings and concerts. But while the harsh waves of the immediate crisis had broken, COVID-19 never...
Retired Canadians and those about to retire will be glad to hear that Alberta’s plan to pull out of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), a move that could reduce their payments, seems to be stuck in a deep snow bank of opposition. Albertans just don’t seem to like the idea of an Alberta Pension Plan (APP) despite the UCP government...
You could almost hear many Albertans heaving a sigh of relief last week when the Ontario government stepped into the fray and raised hard questions about the proposed Alberta Pension Plan (APP). Most Albertans don’t want to give up their Canada Pension Plan benefits for a risky Alberta alternative. So for them, the more opposition, the better, even it comes...