Premier of Alberta. Forced out conservative leader Jason Kenney last year as he wasn’t cruel and anti science enough for the new breed of MAGA wanna be Western Canadian ‘conservatives’.
Her and her cronies have been blustering with their bullshit “Alberta Sovereignty Act”, their targeting of public education and healthcare (with privatization benefiting companies her and her buddies just happen to have financial interest in) and preening and ridiculousnees of their evangelist, home schooled flat earther anti vax culture.
This though, this is just flat out evil cruelty. Fuck you, you evil creep.
May I also mention, as a retired Canadian but not an Albertan, that this fucker also plotted to destroy the Canada Pension Plan. As part of the traitorous “sovereignty” plan, she wanted Alberta to take over “their share” of the national plan. According to her lunatic calculations, Alberta’s share somehow came out to 60% of the plan’s roughly $550 billion in assets, which she demanded be paid out to her government.
Oh, and not incidentally, she had also declared Alberta’s right to ignore federal laws and any rulings she didn’t like from the Supreme Court of Canada.
I have many, many reasons for hating this traitor, but her attempt to destroy the CPP – a major source of my retirement income – which would have thrown me into poverty, certainly did not endear me to her. Fortunately, from what I’ve been able to tell, even her fellow conservatives reacted to this plan with some variant of, “are you crazy?”. The question was of course purely rhetorical since we all know the answer.
But hey. We’re assured that they will bring about lower electricity prices through the magic of … something something mumble, so that will be good, right?
In the meantime, most folks will just ignore the Trump-copying bullshit of ignoring medical professionals and meddling in private lives because it will get them more votes with the mouth-breathing bigoted troglodytes.
It is amazingly sad how this part of American politics made to Canada, and sadder that there are so many willing to go along with it. Is her motto “Make Alberta Great Again”?
This thread is disturbing to me, because I know someone by that name, and, well, let’s just say that she isn’t a heartless, ignorant, self-serving asshole.
Of all the wingnut things she has done since becoming premier (and there are many), this one had me floored. Of all people to meet up with, this was the best idea?
She is intent on setting fire to everything she touches.
Please. In deference to the policymakers and the desires of the Party of Hate (lake of fire, feces in food), refer to the leader of said party by the name assigned to her at birth. Marlaina. It’s the only decent thing to do.
I’ll start by saying that Smith follows the Trumpian playbook: tell the voters what they want to hear, regardless of what you can actually deliver. Trump says he’s got a great new healthcare plan to replace Obamacare, but he never actually does; Smith tells voters that she will outlaw abortion, though she actually can’t. Trump tells his supporters that he’s going to build a big wall, and make Mexico pay for it; Smith tells her supporters that she’s going to loosen gun control measures, but she can’t. Problem is, that Smith’s rubes, like Trump’s, fall for her BS. Those of us who are actually intelligent and educated, don’t.
Most Albertans—I believe the number is between 60% and 70%—don’t want an APP. They know they’ve got a good deal with the CPP, and as always, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Again, the intelligent and educated know that Smith’s figures are BS, there is no way that Alberta is owed 60% of the current CPP fund. Her claims of roses and sunshine and rainbows and unicorns if we can get an APP, as (believe it or not) we’ve seen on TV commercials are not resonating with Albertans in general.
Then, there’s Smith’s and the UCP’s insistence on oil and gas as the solution to all our problems. While it is well known that the federal government hates oil and gas energy, Smith and the UCP act like whatever the federal government hates, they must love; so they embrace it, and never consider anything else. During the recent severe cold snap, there was talk of rotating blackouts, due to not being able to generate enough electricity from petro (oil, gas, coal, whatever) sources. Jeez, Danielle, yeah, we’ve got a little wind and a little solar, but what the everloving _____ is wrong with looking at nuclear?
That’s enough for now. I won’t get started on Smith and her gender policies. Well, maybe later; right now, I might bust a blood vessel. But there are a few comments from an Albertan, for you folks to chew on.
I would venture that there are two problems, both of them entirely political. The first is, as you just implied, that oil and gas is her constituency, and that of the UCP and the far-right, and that climate change denial is central to their core beliefs the same way that belief in Jesus Christ is central to Christianity. Any deprecation of fossil fuels is unthinkable heresy.
The second problem with nuclear is that it requires an enormous investment and a long lead time. This is completely contrary to how right-wing politics works, where ignorant troglodytes understand nothing except lower taxes and instant gratification, and their political “leadership” has zero interest in anything that will bear fruit after they’re out of office, because staying in power is what it’s all about. Not ever in any way do these frauds have any interest in the long-term welfare of their constituents.
See, for example, the Alberta Conservative tradition of pissing away oil revenues in good times and then acting surprised in bad times. Repeat over and over. Diversify the economy? Heresy! Let’s build an economy on the unassailable premise that oil prices will NEVER go down.
Actually, I’d suggest that the Alberta economy is built on three legs: oil and gas, tourism, and agriculture. The biggest, and most important to Alberta, is oil and gas. Tourism (mainly, the mountain parks and skiing), and agriculture (beef and wheat and other things like potatoes and sugar beets) are important, but both lag behind oil and gas. There is some manufacturing, but it’s mostly to support the oil and gas sector. And outside of everyday needs (e.g. supermarkets, education, retail, etc.) that’s about it.
But I agree with @wolfpup’s post. It’s all about the immediacy, not long-term planning. That sells well to native Albertans, who have only ever known an oil and gas economy. It doesn’t sell well to those of us who come from other provinces (I’m originally from Toronto, Ontario) and elsewhere, where economies are more diversified.
I’m well aware that nuclear reactors can’t be put up in a day, but what galls me as a native Ontarian, is that Ontario, despite having plenty of hydroelectric plants, anticipated its energy needs for the future, made plans to build reactors (e.g. Pickering), built reactors, and put them online when they were ready. Alberta would never look forward like that.
I like living in Alberta—it’s nice to be within driving distance of real mountains (not the lumps we called mountains in Ontario), and I’ve got additional education here at a well-regarded university, and I’ve got a nice house and plenty of friends. I just wish that our provincial government looked to more than just oil and gas.
Oh, yeah? And yo momma … wait! I remember in a previous life when I was doing a lot of traveling being suddenly summoned to attend an event in Kananaskis. I threw some clothes into a suitcase and off I went.
OMG!!! The scenery was so fantastic that it took my breath away. I cursed myself for not bringing a camera (this was well before the era of ubiquitious cell phones and the like) and actually drove into town to buy a cheap camera just to capture the experience.
I love my country, its great beauty, and its compassionate culture. I despise the assholes who are trying to destroy it.
I’m with you. Tell you what, if you make it out here, I’ll be happy to take you down to Waterton Lakes National Park (I call it “Banff without the tourists”), and buy you lunch and a couple of beers before we get into the mountains. Or maybe we’ll explore the mountains first, then lunch. Your choice; it’ll be on me.
But Canada is a beautiful country. If you add up all the drives I’ve made, I’ve driven from St. John’s, Nfld to Victoria, BC. And so much to see from the ground. Migosh, I’ve been many places overseas, and few compare to what I’ve seen here in Canada.
Enough of the hijack. Let’s get back to Danielle Smith and her gender policies.