Your "fairly useless wind power in Alberta is 3,618 MW and accounts for 12% of the total net-to-grid generation. An additional 9,100 MW of wind power are either under construction, have received approval by the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC)
The UCP has “paused” approval of new renewable projects for 6 months:
I wonder why Smith thinks they are going to run out of power, think it might be political? 
Never mind YouTube, they paid to wrap a TTC streetcar!
Another post about Quebec and McGill. Apparently Quebec also wants to make every company translate their brand name into French too. This also won’t help the economy, and won’t really expand French either.
I wonder when they’re going to ban English sounding surnames. "Your name is Smith? No, unacceptable. We’ll change it to Gagnon. You’re welcome.
The beauty of Quebec language laws is that they are so predictably repetative.
When bill 101 was introduced back in the 70s it imposed a change on business names. Eaton’s became Eaton. Tim Horton’s opted to simply become Tim Hortons everywhere.
It also changed a lot of head office postal codes from starting with H to starting with M.
Took me a couple of minutes but I figured it out. Very very nice!
McGill offered to make French courses mandatory for students and to work to better integrate graduates into Québec society. But of course, this was never what this issue was about. Québec seems to be taking the position says this does not matter - McGill and Concordia (and to a lesser degree Bishop’s) “will just have to adapt”. Like Québec may have to “adapt” to a shortage of graduating doctors, lawyers, engineers, business specialists and those who help drive industry.
I nice look at the Alberta leaving the CPP, and the problems with Alberta’s calculations.
Yes, Danielle Smith and the UCP would dearly love to have an Alberta Pension Plan (APP), instead of Albertans drawing on the CPP. Problem is that they never satisfactorily explain why they want it, nor how such an arrangement would benefit Albertans. According to them, the APP would begin with roughly $3.6 billion handed over by Canada; while Alberta economists, and the same in other provinces, point out that that sum represents about half of what the CPP fund currently is. So we’re all pretty sure that Alberta won’t be getting that if an APP goes ahead, no matter what promises Smith and the UCP (band name!) make.
And we’re seeing lots of platitudes and promises that the UCP is putting on Albertan’s TVs. Nothing solid and substantial, of course, just “Won’t life be great when we have an APP?” sort of thing.
Aside: Does anybody know how to apply for CPP? I’ve looked at the websites dealing with this, and there’s nothing I can find that says, “Step 1: Do this. Step 2: Do that. Step 3: Do this other thing.” I’ve half a mind to go into the local Service Canada centre, but I’m worried that they will direct me to a computer, and say, “Here you go, knock yourself out.” But I’ve done that runaround on my home computer. Before I go to Service Canada and get the runaround, does anybody have any hints or tips or techniques on how to minimize the runaround to get where I want to be?
Either 1) download the PDF, fill in, print, and mail or 2) login to your Service Canada account (separate from your CRA account!) and complete it electronically.
She wants to invest all of it in the Oil Patch. Forget new technologies, services, or hedging foreign investments. Oil!
Then we can watch what happens in 30 years when we are past peak oil and Alberta comes back hat in hand.
But those few who do remain will be Pure laine, which is the most important thing.
/s
Yes, that’s the rub.
If they tell the actual truth* , that would not fly with voters I think.
*IMO: “We want the Alberta Pension Plan because several of our large money backers are just hungering to get their hands on those sweet, sweet billions so they can make a lot of profit by churning stocks and siphoning off money for “expenses”. It would not benefit the average Albertan one tiny bit”
ETA: Another cool benefit for the UCP is that when the Alberta Pension Plan goes bust because it invested the whole lot in plumeting oil stocks, they can conveniently shift to blaming the Federal government because… reasons.
Thanks, @FinsToTheLeft . There are so many pages in the CPP part of the website, and I guess I couldn’t find your link. I’ll check that one out; it seems to be what I’ve been looking for. I’ll have to establish a Service Canada account, though I don’t imagine that will be too difficult.
It’s already not flying with voters. As you might know, I’m on the ground in Alberta, and among the people I know who are already drawing CPP, and those who will soon, nobody likes the idea of an APP. As I mentioned, the UCP government can give no specifics (for example, “You’ll get $600 per month under CPP, but under an APP, you’ll get $650 per month”), just generalities. Like I said: “Won’t it be great when we’re in charge of our own pension funds?” Nothing more specific than that.
And I agree that Steele will plow it all into oil. I’m not so pessimistic as to think that oil will collapse, but I believe that the best portfolio is the one that invests in a variety of things, and does not put too many eggs in one basket. Oil, sure, but also technologies, agriculture, foreign investments, manufacturing, and so on. If one sector suffers, the others can help bridge the gap.
I’m happier with the CPP, which has a proven track record; and not the proposed APP, which has no track record. And as a lifelong horseplayer, I know that the best horse to play is one that has a documented track record from which you can draw a conclusion about its readiness for today’s race.
In other words, the APP is a two-year-old who has never raced before, up against three-year-old experienced horses in a major stakes. Wonder why it’s a longshot and Albertans aren’t buying it? Ain’t it obvious?
I think they know if they bankrupt it, as you’ve described, they can pretty assuredly count on the feds to help. The Feds can’t really leave those freezing pensioners in the cold, now can they?
In Ontario they are choking money out of health care to profiteer when it’s monetized. Ditto long term care. Ditto education. Why would a pension fund fair any better?
There is nothing they won’t bankrupt/profiteer from, given a chance.
If you’re right and Albertans aren’t buying into this, than I may have underestimated their devotion to all things conservative!
Could Danielle Smith be any more obvious of her top priority?
I look forward to the cries of corruption from our stalwart guardians of virtue in the CPC. I mean this, and few things in Doug Ford’s Conservatives’ actions, would seem to be begging to be used as object lessons.
Of course, evidence has come out in the interim.
Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll still find some reason to blame this all on Justin!