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The Alberta NDP Thread

185K views 4K replies 27 participants last post by  FeXL 
#1 ·
Thought I'd put up a thread to keep track of the pinko commie bastards. ;) (For easy access & future referral...)

Oh, look who Rachel hired to be Chief of Staff for our Energy Minister!

Ezra Levant: Meet Alberta’s new colonial chiefs

A Toronto anti-oilsands activist – still registered as an anti-oil lobbyist – is now running Alberta’s energy department.
What could possibly go wrong?

Not only that, but:

There are twelve ministers in the Alberta cabinet, including Notley herself, each with a chief of staff. And ten of those chiefs are, like Mitchell, NDP activists from other provinces, many of whom will commute each week to Alberta from Vancouver, Toronto, or elsewhere.
M'bold.

Nice. First off, any guesses who foots the travel bill?

Second:

There is something weirdly colonial about non-residents being sent in to run a province to which they have few or no ties. It feels as if the NDP believes Alberta lacks people with talent and judgment to govern themselves. It feels nepotistic – highly paid consolation prizes for failed NDP activists from other campaigns.

Like Nathan Rotman. He worked on Olivia Chow’s unsuccessful campaign for Toronto mayor. Now he’s the chief of staff to Alberta’s Finance Minister.

Was there no-one in Alberta with any financial background? No socially conscious businessman, or even an NDP-friendly professor or think tank economist? Four million Albertans, but not one who understands Alberta’s fiscal situation better than an Olivia Chow door-knocker?
M'bold.

Yep...

Further:

Wildrose charges NDP energy minister's top staffer was anti-pipeline lobbyist

The Wildrose Party says it’s a troubling sign that the NDP energy minister’s top staffer was registered as a federal lobbyist for an organization opposed to pipeline projects proposed to ship Alberta oilsands crude.
 
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#868 ·
Again, I don't work for Edmonton Catholic, never said I did, but teacher salaries in Alberta today top out between $90,000 and $100,000, depending on education and experience. And they should; it's a very specialized job. If it was easy, anybody would go into it.

The problem is not the wage; I have never complained about how much teachers make in Alberta. It's the forced contract by the Redford gov't for the last four years whereby there was no negotiation and no wage increase to keep up with the cost of living. And this is exactly what you anti-public sector types wanted and got under the PC regime: balance the books on the backs of public sector workers, while at the same time proclaiming that "we're all in this together."

Well, if we REALLY are all in this together, then a wage freeze for everyone (including MLA's, who gave themselves a 71% wage increase between 2010 and 2015) or a tax that hits everyone would be a fair way to go. I'm not big on more taxes, but I'll be damned if my wages have to be cut back again in order to make your tax burden easier.


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#871 ·
This is unbelievable. What an amateur:

Ceci almost floored me, to be honest, when he said in an interview on Monday that the loss of Alberta’s Triple A credit rating wouldn’t cost the province more, because lenders have already been factoring in the state of the economy, and charging more.

“The (finance department) officials have said repeatedly that the market has already priced that into our borrowing going forward,” he said. “So it’s not as big as critics would talk about.”
 
#877 ·
Notley deserves credit over Bill 6

As an agricultural producer, I was appalled at the anti-Bill 6 demonstrations at the legislature, the lineups of expensive machinery and especially the death threats made against Premier Rachel Notley, her cabinet ministers and other NDP members.

Once fully implemented, this bill would protect the rights and safety concerns of farm employees. This should have been in place years ago; after all, it is a human rights law. Agriculture was the only industry in Alberta that did not have this protection, and Alberta the only province that did not do so.

Although I have never voted NDP, I applaud Notley and her party for their initiative. Regardless of party affiliation, recognize her progressive advance in agriculture and let her party know your positive feelings on this important bill.

Maurice L. Parrent, Clyde
From the December 22 Edmonton Journal. There are a lot more supporters of Bill 6 than many people realize, particularly people who frequent this forum who look for any opportunity to criticize the Alberta government.
 
#881 ·
Methinks the ladies doth protest too much. That's a lot of backlash from one little farmer's letter to the editor.
 
#885 ·
When Conservatives claim the Alberta election wasn't really a vote for the NDP, show them this photo. Product Chair Coat Entertainment Fan
 
#911 ·
#914 ·
Meet the REAL Rachel Notley, unionist to the core:

Alberta’s NDP, Unions, and the Minimum Wage

When analyzing public policy, one must typically ignore stated goals and understand the economic incentives that make groups favor certain forms of economic intervention.

Unions, as a group, tend to favor market restrictions that prop up their higher wage rates.

Alberta’s NDP, led by Rachel Notley, favors unions.


This an important factor in the NDP arguing for a 50% increase to Alberta’s minimum wage, despite protests from the business community and anyone with an understanding of basic economic law. NDP goal to hike minimum wage has nothing to do with helping less productive workers make more income, regardless of what their stated objectives are.

Minimum wage laws are a classic form of monopolistic grants of privilege that benefit some groups at the expense of others. Despite the proclaimed objective of minimum wage laws, which is to increase incomes of the most marginal workers, the actual effect is the exact opposite — it makes them unemployable because they are not sufficiently productive to be employed at the legal wage rates. This means that minimum wages will always cause more unemployment than otherwise — any economist who denies this is either a liar or a fool who doesn’t even understand the basic principles of price controls.
Alberta’s NDP, Unions, and the Minimum Wage | CANADIAN MARKET REVIEW
 
#929 ·
#931 ·
#930 ·



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#934 ·
Business confidence in Alberta plummets under the Dippers, just one more indicator of the anti-business policies they are imposing on the province. Why are we not surprised?

Rough year in small business confidence ends on lowest note

Toronto, December 31, 2015 – Canada’s small business confidence dropped to 55.7 in December, its weakest month in its weakest year since the 2008-09 financial crisis.
“The year is ending with more of a thud than with a whimper as Alberta’s ongoing struggles continue to be felt throughout the country,” said Ted Mallett, Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) chief economist. “Industry confidence remains weak across most sectors and opinions on the general state of business’ health have moved towards the negative.”

On a scale between 0 and 100, an index above 50 means owners expecting their business’ performance to be stronger in the next year outnumber those expecting weaker performance. One normally sees an index level of between 65 and 70 when the economy is growing at its potential.

Optimism dropped a point to 65.9 in British Columbia. Alberta set an all-time record low for the second time in four months, plummeting to 33.1, and remains by far the weakest in the country and the only province below the national average. Saskatchewan rose to 56.3, while Manitoba fell two points to 66.4. Ontario dropped to 59.9, just edging out Quebec, which saw a three point climb to 59.6. Newfoundland and Labrador’s business confidence bounced back from last month, climbing to 64.8. Nova Scotia picked up four points to reach 71.0, the highest mark in the country. New Brunswick’s confidence made a small jump to 61.8. Prince Edward Island fell two points to 61.1.

The natural resources sector remains the weakest, followed by agriculture, manufacturing and construction. There are no offsetting signs of strength among other industries, with none scoring higher than a sluggish 61.0.

Short-term employment plans are weak compared to Decembers in 2014 and 2013, with 15 per cent of business owners expecting to cut staff levels in the next few months versus 19 per cent who are expecting to add.

December, 2015 findings are based on 759 responses, collected from a stratified random sample of CFIB members, to a controlled-access web survey. Data reflect responses received through December 14. Findings are considered accurate to +\- 3.6 per cent 19 times in 20.
Rough year in small business confidence ends on lowest note
 
#937 ·

It certainly does, at least here in Alberta, and especially since 1971 or so. Your point? Seems to me this fact is why we should have diversified WHEN TIMES WERE GOOD, rather than wait until another recession before we consider the downside of roller coaster budgeting. During the booms we spend like drunken sailors, only to discover just how broke we really are when times are tough. And all of this under Conservative money management, I might add. Extra money to help out the horse racing industry, anyone?


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#939 ·
I have quite a few members of my family living in Alberta, and it has always been feast or famine. As fjn has pointed out, during the good times it's spending like drunken sailors, then comes the fall and its hand wringing. Alberta has a resource mentality when it comes to its economy: oil, coal, wood, even horses and cattle. So I think what we have here is a government who is riding into the way.......time will tell if it will catch it for the ride back.
 
#940 ·
Agriculture remains strong and energy as a percentage of the economy holds a much smaller stake than in previous decades.

However, oil is unlikely to meet any rosy NDP targets anytime soon, and they are decimating that same industry as time passes. It will get really ugly for Notley.
 
#955 ·
And why can't Sidhu, from Alberta, be a good ol' boy? Is he a refugee terrorist? Are you calling attention to his last name for some reason? Is "assualtive and combative" behaviour acceptable if it's aimed at a premier you don't like? And for what it's worth, India, the flight's destination, is not known to be a Muslim country.


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#956 ·


Perhaps today's PC party needs to focus more on the P and less on the C.


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#957 ·
Perhaps today's PC party needs to focus more on the P and less on the C.
[/quote]

Perhaps you might want to focus on the reality of today's oil price meltdown and recognize the NDP are attacking an industry already on its knees. Not to mention increasing the minimum wage by 50% and the business tax by 20% in the middle of the largest recession the province has seen in many long years. Did I mention over 100,000 job losses they are ignoring as well? The Dippers simply don't have the experience to govern and it shows.
 
#968 ·
Good lord. You know nothing about statistics (or math either, apparently). Numbers can be presented in any way you want to make them look bigger or smaller. Do you deny that businesses who used to keep 90% of their profits will now only keep 88% when moving from a 10% to 12% tax rate?

Your fictional business that formerly kept $900,000 of their profits (not revenue) on each million dollars of profits (not revenue) before now keeps $880,000 of their profits (not revenue). That is in no way, shape or form a 20% loss in profits, let alone revenue. If times are tough and there are no profits to be made, they would pay NOTHING. Give your head a shake. All day long.

It's no wonder students have a tough time with math when their grandparents can't even figure it out.


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#970 ·
I think what we have here is, as stated in Cool Hand Luke, a failure to communicate. Frank, you are correct and so is Sinc. The issue that I see is the 20% increase in business tax, it doesn't matter if the move was from 10 to 12% that 2% rise is a 2O% increase. So you both can spin it as you like.

Just one small other point, revenue is not profit.
 
#971 ·
I think what we have here is, as stated in Cool Hand Luke, a failure to communicate. Frank, you are correct and so is Sinc. The issue that I see is the 20% increase in business tax, it doesn't matter if the move was from 10 to 12% that 2% rise is a 2O% increase. So you both can spin it as you like.



Just one small other point, revenue is not profit.

Exactly. Or as the French would say, exactement.


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#979 ·
#980 ·
#981 ·
"Conservatives in Alberta are loud, well-connected and well-funded, but they are not the majority. Progressives are. The myth of Alberta as this great conservative heartland needs to be put to bed.

Compared to the rest of Canada, Alberta is a demographic anomaly. The 18- to 35-year-old demographic is simply massive here compared to the over-55 set. According to the poll, more than two-thirds of Albertans age 18-29 identify as progressive. Alberta has twice the university graduates it had in 1991. More than two-thirds of university graduates identify as progressive."

http://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/0106-oped-kinney


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#985 ·
I remember that from university. Took a couple of years for those starry eyed kids to lose their "progressive" unicorn horns. I was actually normal to begin with, so no hard adjustment for me.

"Conservatives in Alberta are loud, well-connected and well-funded, but they are not the majority. Progressives are. The myth of Alberta as this great conservative heartland needs to be put to bed.

Compared to the rest of Canada, Alberta is a demographic anomaly. The 18- to 35-year-old demographic is simply massive here compared to the over-55 set. According to the poll, more than two-thirds of Albertans age 18-29 identify as progressive. Alberta has twice the university graduates it had in 1991. More than two-thirds of university graduates identify as progressive."

Opinion: Alberta — More progressive than you think | Edmonton Journal


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