Keith Gerein
@keithgerein
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Columnist for the @edmontonjournal exploring the politics and peculiarities of #yeg . Formerly a fellow at @masseycollege .
Edmonton
Joined May 2010
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UCP plan seems obvious at this point. Defund cities to increase misery, blame it on the councils, restrict their ability to take recourse, tell voters that parties will fix everything, and if that fails, give yourself the power to remove councillors and revoke bylaws.
#yeg
#ableg
NEW: Edmonton mayor Amarjeet Sohi has released this statement indicating the Government of Alberta is cutting its funding for the low income transit pass program in both Edmonton and Calgary.
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Cancelling hospitals. Pushing Alberta out of the CPP. Radically changing municipal elections. Creating
mystery police forces. Can the govt point me to the part of their platform where these things are laid out? Or credible surveys that show Albertans support them?
#ableg
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Not the first to say this, but a lottery incentive to get vaccinated is inexplicable to me. Canadians have already won the lottery. The prize is the vaccine, and if residents are reluctant to claim their winnings, I’m not sure what it might take to convince them.
#covid19AB
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This is a terrible idea and the public knows it, which is why survey after survey shows a definitive lack of support. Albertans don't want it, the UCP didn't campaign on it, but hey, why let those factors get in the way?
#ableg
#yeg
#yyc
#yegcc
Alberta to introduce legislation allowing political parties on municipal ballots via
@ByMatthewBlack
#abpoli
#ableg
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As expected, several commenters are making the argument that Edmonton should just start electing conservatives if it wants a seat at the government table. Great advice. Should Albertans in general also start electing more Liberals if they want a voice in Ottawa?
#ableg
#yeg
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ICYMI: Edmonton's first new hospital in 40 years just got iced by the UCP when the system is already in a massive crisis. Imagine what this will look like in 5-10 years, and the govt has no stated plan to fix it. Edmontonians are right to be furious.
#yeg
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It is stunning to me that the premier expressed serious hope that this announcement would somehow "depoliticize" the issue. The soft tone she uses here is a poor facade for the Take Back Alberta-esque views that inform many of these policies.
#ableg
#yeg
Gender identity can be a hard thing to talk about, especially when you are involved. But this conversation is extremely important and parental involvement is critical. Kids need to know we love and support them.
My message to all Albertans:
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Municipalities do not employ public health experts. Mask wearing is absolutely an issue requiring provincial leadership. It's ridiculous that the gov't has dumped this on cities and towns.
#ableg
#yeg
#abhealth
Mid-sized mayors had a robust discussion re: mandatory masks. Super frustrated that 22 mid-sized + 2 big cities scrambling different directions on an issue that is completely outside our juristiction. Health is a provincial responsibility. Looking for leadership from GOA
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Was it always a lie, folks? Seems like the UCP never had any intention to spend the money on a new
#yeg
hospital. First step was to delay it years, then a “pause” on development and then it eventually gets cancelled, just like other Edmonton health facilities this govt torpedoed.
Alberta pauses planning on new south Edmonton hospital: LaGrange
Read More:
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It appears Michael has since deleted this tweet, but it's beyond me why he would choose to post it the first place.
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Smith wasn't running when this was recorded, but for someone even considering it, it's quite a strategy to use a Nazi reference to characterize 3/4 of Alberta voters as mindless sheep. This is also not the first time she has spoken of Albertans' gullibility. ...
#ableg
#abvote
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What. A. Story. Forget foreign-funded environmental groups. A case is building to have a public inquiry probe the increasing depravity of political strategy in Alberta. Holy hell. There has to be accountability for this behavior.
#ableg
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I can't see how this is remotely fair or politically savvy. Not a good start for our new premier to succumb to a disturbing trend that democracy only needs to be respected when it is useful to particular interests.
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"Alberta-first priorities" often means failed pipelines and exorbitant hockey arenas, rather than hospitals or social services. The lack of self-awareness of this government is boggling sometimes.
Alberta wants its per capita share of federal tax dollars…and we will ensure those dollars are spent on actual Alberta first priorities…not virtue signalling waste. Hope to see other provinces join Alberta in this effort to make the Constitution matter again.
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Essentially, the province is tabling a bill to create a new provincial police force, but can't say what the force is actually going to do, how big it will be, what its jurisdiction is relative to other police, and what it will cost. Does this seem backward to anyone else?
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Strong story here on the UCP’s latest attack on harm reduction. The govt’s spin is getting thinner (you can’t claim community disorder with a virtual service, can you minister?) but hard to see this as anything but ignoring evidence in favour of moral judgment.
#AbLeg
#abhealth
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This was a ridiculous bit of spin from the minister to defend his government's unpopular position on civic political parties. Apparently Calgary and Edmonton now represent 2% of Alberta. Laughable and infuriating at the same time.
#ableg
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In my rec hockey league, I'm told most of the players who were unvaccinated have decided to get the shot after they were informed they couldn't play without it. Just anecdotal evidence, but nice to see the vaccine mandate policy work in that circumstance.
#abhealth
#COVID19AB
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The absolute stubbornness with which this group refuses to learn from past mistakes is something to behold.
BREAKING: Hours after Premier Kenney, HM Copping & CMOH Hinshaw requested Albertans limit Holiday gatherings, the UCP held a Christmas party w/ over 200ppl at the Parlour Italian Kitchen & Bar in
#Edmonton
. Copping & Kenney were NOT In attendance. (1/4)
#abpoli
#ableg
#COVID19AB
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With respect to the minister and his communications staff, given what's happening in the world right now, this kind of messaging is not useful or appropriate. Politicians of all stripes need to follow the lead of the sports world, and stop their petty rivalries.
#ableg
I’m happy to explain again Bill 21 and the termination of the AMA Master Agreement. Thread 👇
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The UCP has decided to fire the new legislature clerk Merwan Saher, who displayed high levels of non-partisanship and professionalism during his years of service as the auditor general of the province. Waiting for an explanation from the UCP, but this smells awful.
#ableg
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Not showing for debates means you have something to hide
Rigging a vote means you are crooked
Hiring someone to smear your opponent
Means your a coward
Knowing these things and still rewarding them with your vote
Speaks more about you than them
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I wrote this column three months ago on the need to protect the
#ableg
independent officers. This is one "I told you so," I wish I didn't have to say. Keith Gerein: UCP's budget axe must spare Alberta's auditor, commissioners and advocates
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Not sure where to begin with this. Council has not made any move to cut police funding at this point. Also, this kind of lecture is a bit rich from a government that has tools/responsibility to help
#yeg
's crisis but has instead chosen the path of abdication and blame.
Last week, Hung Trang and Ban Phuc Hoang were murdered. Hundreds of people from Chinatown are now demanding accountability from
@CityofEdmonton
Cutting
@edmontonpolice
in the midst of a violent crime wave doesn't make sense.
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And now we're seeing reporting that it was NOT Dr. Yiu's choice to leave. Assuming this is accurate, it's hard to see this as anything but a punitive, political decision that may end up causing real harm to the health system.
#ableg
#abhealth
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Ok, so that's a new arena, LRT service to the airport and a new rail line to the mountains — major ticket items, all for Calgary — that our new premier is apparently willing to support with AB tax dollars. Can't wait to see what she has in mind for Edmonton...
#yeg
#yyc
#ableg
This morning, I sent a letter to
#YYC
Mayor
@JyotiGondek
to discuss expanding Calgary's C-Train network to provide new service to the airport and also the creation of an an additional regional rail line to Banff.
Full details below 👇
#abpoli
#ableg
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@jonnywakefield
Still no explanation as to why the suspects were naked. So bizarre. I'm not sure I've ever heard of naked kidnappers before
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@tsxir
Perhaps. Why not the same outrage over $1.3 billion wasted on a doomed pipeline project, or faulty Turkish pain medication, or a new Calgary arena that the billionaire hockey team owners could fund themselves? Or is accountability and responsibility only for municipal councils?
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Yep. Or to look at it another way, I suspect that if the UCP government started properly funding things that are in their jurisdiction -- health, housing, social services, etc. -- cities would probably be happy to take on the full cost of low-income transit passes.
UCP says they're axing because transit service isn't its jurisdiction. Neither is funding roads and utility work around an arena, but Danielle Smith will fund that. Choices.
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"Just an independent conservative reporter." Right.
This is a senior member of the premier's staff, folks, who knows better but is happy to make an outrageous false equivalency about the media. It's disingenuous, it's dangerous, but hey, politics, so anything goes.
This is insane - he’s just an independent conservative reporter trying to ask a question. UCP aren’t big fans of the CBC but we don’t ask police to haul out
@markusoff
from press conferences and charge him with whatever. Who’s next Rachel? Global? Western Standard? Scary stuff.
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This is a mischaracterization of how safe supply is commonly approached, and such rhetoric suggests the new panel announced by the UCP to study the issue already has its marching orders. Why we are still playing politics with the opioid crisis is beyond me.
#ableg
#abhealth
Activists propose that users should be able to take these drugs and use them recreationally, with no restrictions and no accountability. This approach is concerning as it is widely accepted that the opioid crisis as we know it today was started by the OxyContin epidemic.
#ableg
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There are many stunning things here -- the weird conditional donation the Oilers made in the first place, the decision to try to reneg on what's essentially peanuts to them, the choice to take a charity to court knowing the unflattering parts of the dispute would become public.
This is stunning - Katz Group (owner of the Edmonton Oilers) launches court battle with Edmonton homeless organization over $5M donation because they allege the shelter "didn't try hard enough to fundraise on its own" From
@paigeeparsons
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Final point. I'm sure I don't know all the math or cash flow logistics or layers of bureaucracy, but given the monstrous prices the Oilers are charging for playoff tickets right now (seriously Daryl), I gotta think finding an extra $5M to help a charity can't be that hard.
#yeg
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It always works out so well when political zealots micromanage public health decisions. This is insanity.
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Glad the province is finally interested in community safety in
#yeg
, seeing as that govt's policies directly contributed to the crisis. But instead of taking responsibility, the minister orders the city to respond alone, which, of course, they already doing. Ridiculous.
#ableg
As the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General, I have invoked Section 30(1) of the Police Act directing that a public safety plan be developed within two weeks to respond to the violent crime wave in downtown Edmonton. 1/4
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We shouldn't be fooled into thinking the UCP government had a change of approach. Going after SCS sites in all their forms was always the goal from political leaders who could never get past their moral objections, no matter the evidence put in front of them.
#ableg
#yeg
#yyc
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Tricia is right, especially in this day and age of enhanced threats against public figures. Whether intentional or not, no party should be enabling potential conflicts between political officials and opponents. An incident was certainly foreseeable here.
4/ The NDP instigated this. After fear mongering non-stop, they tweeted the location and time of the avail. This is dangerous. They, unfortunately, know what it's like to have threats made against their leader, but I don't believe Notley was ever pulled off a podium by security.
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This is one heck of a story from Bob Weber. Stellar reporting. Documents reveal doubts on Alberta plans to close, deregulate parks.
#ableg
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I now know how film reviewers feel when studios take one complimentary line from an otherwise critical review to help promote their movies. Here's my full column if you're interested in, you know, context.
#ableg
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This is quite a statement from Jason Kenney, doubling down on his staff filming the comings and goings at a legislature office, and altering the footage to make it look more ominous. The NDP are hardly angels. But how does this add up to "respectful" discourse?
#ableg
Update on this video kerfuffle/fiasco/whatever it is. Postmedia reporter
@vincemcdermott
had a chance to ask UCP Leader Jason Kenney about it. Kenney accused Prab Gill of channeling attacks from the NDP, calling it "dirty politics at its worst."
#ableg
#abpoli
@edmontonjournal
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I get there are a variety of reasons behind vaccine hesitancy/opposition. And I applaud trying to be creative. But for those so entitled they can’t see how fortunate we are, I’m skeptical that a remote chance of winning $1 million is going to make a difference.
#covid19AB
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Council votes 13-0 to approve an
@AmarjeetSohiYEG
motion requesting an emergency meeting with the province on the shelter situation. This comes after council agreed to dip $7.5M into its reserves to pay for another 209-bed shelter that will hopefully open in a month.
#yegcc
#yeg
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It certainly raises the question of whether Smith really understands the values of the majority of the people she seeks to govern
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Just back from the news conference on this, and have a few impressions. Though Boyle Street denies they are being evicted by the Oilers, that's what it feels like to me. They are having to leave before they are ready... 1/
#yeg
#yegcc
#ygdt
Boyle Street to alter services ahead of Edmonton Oilers-led development. More details to come Tuesday. via
@edmontonjournal
#yeg
#yegdt
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Imagine being a resident of Malawi, Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan or some 70 other countries where vaccination rates are still below 5 per cent. Countries that may have to wait two years to reach Canada’s level of immunization.
#covid19AB
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@JeffCallaway
This is about as bad a take as it gets. I actually wondered for a moment whether it was an attempt at satire.
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Very good to see a return to sanity here from the UCP government. Public pressure worked in this case to get the right result. Still, the question remains, why was it necessary?
#ableg
#yeg
#yegtransit
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This is well done.
Let’s talk about the facts.
Not conspiracies, not false myths spread on social media – facts.
Danielle Smith’s policy targeting trans and gender-diverse youth is an attack on a vulnerable group of youth and on thousands of Albertans. It is a massive overstep into private health
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It appears Jason Kenney has some serious explaining to do. Story: 'Belongs on House of Cards': NDP slams Kenney in wake of document reveal
#ableg
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Important fact check. Kenney claims he was the victim of collusion in the PC leadership far worse than the "normal" collaboration he had with the "kamikaze" Callaway campaign.
@EmmalGraney
asked for proof. The UCP couldn't provide it.
Story:
#abvote
#ableg
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Hard to believe, but this absolutely stupid predicament got even worse today. Doubtful this move will stand up to a constitutional challenge, but regardless, going to such extremes seems pretty desperate. At what point is getting your way no longer worth the damage?
#abhealth
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Frankly, there seems to be -- at least occasionally -- a wall in this leader's mind that just can't comprehend it when the majority of society sees the world differently than she does.
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It seems to be getting to the point where someone in the government may need to have a Twitter intervention with the justice minister.
#ableg
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Among the most angry at the province was Coun. Michael Janz, who said “I am not willing to capitulate and carry water for them.” This earned a bit of a rebuke from Mayor
@AmarjeetSohiYEG
#yeg
#yegcc
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Boyle Street’s boss Jordan Reiniger says Ottawa’s funding “removes any doubt” about the completion of the project and will allow the organization to realize is original vision. Total raised for the project is $45 million, he said.
#yeg
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@UniteAlberta
@RachelNotley
Um... You may want to check your history. It's not even close to accurate to call her her the first one-term premier. That list includes Charles Stewart, Herbert Greenfield, Richard Gavin Reid, Harry Strom, Alison Redford and Jim Prentice.
#ableg
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One of the best yet from
@jengerson
OPINION | Hey Alberta, how is it going so far? | CBC News
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Compare that to our situation, living in a country that is among the world leaders in vaccine availably. Where there has been a choice of free vaccines. Where we don’t have to worry about paying a bribe or getting a counterfeit vaccine.
#covid19AB
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Sobering comments here from the St. Albert mayor. If Edmonton's council thinks their bizarre decision to cancel the regional transit project won't have effects on regional collaboration, they are deluding themselves. This is one of the worst decisions this
#yegcc
has made.
#yeg
Grant, I am heartbroken. Approx 8 years of my life working on this. We entered into agreements in good faith and lack of understanding of the long term benefits was its downfall.
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@DuaneBratt
@DeanBennettCP
@DeanBennettCP
is very, very good at this. Albertans have benefitted a great deal from his "suffer no fools" approach to covering
#ableg
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This is … something. And apparently the premier is oblivious that she is creating her own discrimination.
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Some context is needed here because $200M is a bit misleading. That figure was the highest of a range of estimates AHS suggested might be needed to upgrade its laundry facilities. Other estimates have been considerably lower ($54M to $100M).
#ableg
#abhealth
The decision to soak the taxpayer to the tune of $200 million by building government laundry centres was another example of NDP ideology at its worst.
The UCP will wash Albertans’ hands of this deal so that taxpayers aren’t put through the wringer.
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The minister says the new building at 107 Avenue and 101 Street will be 99% emissions free. Not entirely sure what that means, but it sounds good. The project has not previously had govt funding and relations have not been good lately with its primary funder, the Oilers.
#yeg
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