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Please Advise! Are Alberta Politics Worthy of Shakespeare? – TheTyee.ca

Published

3 years ago

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[Editor’s note: Steve Burgess is an accredited spin doctor with a PhD in Centrifugal Rhetoric from the University of SASE, situated on the lovely campus of PO Box 7650, Cayman Islands. In this space he dispenses PR advice to politicians, the rich and famous, the troubled and well-heeled, the wealthy and gullible.]

Dear Dr. Steve,

Former Wildrose Party leader Brian Jean just won an Alberta provincial byelection in Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche. Although he ran as a United Conservative Party candidate, his platform focused on dumping UCP Premier Jason Kenney.

Is this a problem for Kenney?

Signed,

Red Deer

Dear Deer,

Is it a problem? Imagine a wedding where the bride says “I do” to the best man. Or an anniversary celebration where your partner books a cozy table for two in a lawyer’s office. Problem, you think?

The March 16 Fort McMurray-Lac La Biche byelection may one day be cited as evidence that the Ides of March are not strictly a one-day event. At any rate a man named Kenney ought to have enjoyed St. Patrick’s Day more than he probably did.

Poor Jason ought to be raising a celebratory Guinness or two this week. He may even try to do so. After all, his party’s candidate won. The NDP, leading in the polls and supposedly a shoo-in to form the next government, was beaten handily. That’s good news for the UCP. Unfortunately for the premier the byelection suggests that what’s good for the UCP is no longer necessarily good for Jason Kenney.

It’s not so much the byelection result itself that bodes ill for Kenney. Jean is a hometown candidate in Fort McMurray, a reliably conservative region, so the victory was not unexpected. It’s the UCP’s nomination of Jean to begin with that ought to produce a few beads of sweat on Alberta’s First Brow. In 2017 Jean ran against Kenney for the leadership of the newly-created UCP and resigned his seat not long after losing the race. This time he has been upfront about his belief that Kenney should be ousted as party leader, but that did not prevent him from capturing the UCP nomination. Kenney is like a king who yells “Seize him!” only to have the palace guard respond, “Seize him? Bit harsh, don’t you think? Can we buy him a drink instead? Seems like a nice fellow.”

If this is trouble for Kenney it’s a bit awkward for Jean as well. Back in 2015 Jean took over leadership of the Wildrose Party after former leader Danielle Smith led 17 breakaway Wildrose MPs over to the Conservatives. At the time Jean declared that the party was his family and said, “I don’t believe in stabbing your family in the back.”

Oops. Well, people change. And every family has that one really annoying uncle, right? Frankly, a complete prohibition on stabbing family members seems a little inflexible.

The UCP leadership review is set for April 9. Kenney will surely have some cards to play. In fact if the brief and eventful history of the party holds true this will be an occasion worthy of a company picnic with the Medicis and Borgias.

True to Alberta’s resource-based economy, Kenney too has proved to be highly, shall we say, resourceful. His 2017 victory over Jean for the party leadership raised more questions than a six-year-old at a planetarium. Allegations of fraud were reported on by the CBC and resulted in an ongoing investigation by the RCMP.

Never mind masks — mandated protection for the April 9 conference should include Kevlar vests.

Kenney is not the only leader who be on tenterhooks awaiting the results of the UCP leadership review. Rachel Notley too could have cause to be nervous. Until recently she and the NDP have had solid leads in provincial polls. But a new poll reported by the Toronto Star shows the UCP making a solid comeback. Notley maintains a comfortable lead over Kenney in personal approval. But would that lead hold up against a new UCP leader?

The Kenney campaign was accused of casting fraudulent votes in 2017. But if Notley somehow casts a vote for Kenney next month, it will probably be legit. She has a vested interest in keeping the premier around until next year’s provincial election. As for the UCP, they may well decide that they are Kim Kardashian to Kenney’s Kanye West. Breakups can be messy but sometimes you’ve just got to make the move.

Dr. Steve has been at the advice game for quite a spell. Long, long ago Dr. Steve advised Macbeth that everything would be cool until Birnam Wood came to Dunsinane. His expert assessment for Kenney now? Trees on the horizon, premier. [Tyee]

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RFK Jr. says Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water. ‘It’s possible,’ Trump says

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13 hours ago

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November 4, 2024

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PHOENIX (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent proponent of debunked public health claims whom Donald Trump has promised to put in charge of health initiatives, said Saturday that Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office if elected president.

Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.

Kennedy made the declaration Saturday on the social media platform X alongside a variety of claims about the heath effects of fluoride.

“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S​. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” Kennedy wrote. Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, “want to Make America Healthy Again,” he added, repeating a phrase Trump often uses and links to Kennedy.

Trump told NBC News on Sunday that he had not spoken to Kennedy about fluoride yet, “but it sounds OK to me. You know it’s possible.”

The former president declined to say whether he would seek a Cabinet role for Kennedy, a job that would require Senate confirmation, but added, “He’s going to have a big role in the administration.”

Asked whether banning certain vaccines would be on the table, Trump said he would talk to Kennedy and others about that. Trump described Kennedy as “a very talented guy and has strong views.”

The sudden and unexpected weekend social media post evoked the chaotic policymaking that defined Trump’s White House tenure, when he would issue policy declarations on Twitter at virtually all hours. It also underscored the concerns many experts have about Kennedy, who has long promoted debunked theories about vaccine safety, having influence over U.S. public health.

In 1950, federal officials endorsed water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, and continued to promote it even after fluoride toothpaste brands hit the market several years later. Though fluoride can come from a number of sources, drinking water is the main source for Americans, researchers say.

Officials lowered their recommendation for drinking water fluoride levels in 2015 to address a tooth condition called fluorosis, that can cause splotches on teeth and was becoming more common in U.S. kids.

In August, a federal agency determined “with moderate confidence” that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in kids. The National Toxicology Program based its conclusion on studies involving fluoride levels at about twice the recommended limit for drinking water.

A federal judge later cited that study in ordering the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to further regulate fluoride in drinking water. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen cautioned that it’s not certain that the amount of fluoride typically added to water is causing lower IQ in kids, but he concluded that mounting research points to an unreasonable risk that it could be. He ordered the EPA to take steps to lower that risk, but didn’t say what those measures should be.

In his X post Saturday, Kennedy tagged Michael Connett, the lead attorney representing the plaintiff in that lawsuit, the environmental advocacy group Food & Water Watch.

Kennedy’s anti-vaccine organization has a lawsuit pending against news organizations including The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy is on leave from the group but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.

What role Kennedy might hold if Trump wins on Tuesday remains unclear. Kennedy recently told NewsNation that Trump asked him to “reorganize” agencies including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and some agencies under the Department of Agriculture.

But for now, the former independent presidential candidate has become one of Trump’s top surrogates. Trump frequently mentions having the support of Kennedy, a scion of a Democratic dynasty and the son of former Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy.

Kennedy traveled with Trump Friday and spoke at his rallies in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Trump said Saturday that he told Kennedy: “You can work on food, you can work on anything you want” except oil policy.

“He wants health, he wants women’s health, he wants men’s health, he wants kids, he wants everything,” Trump added.

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Danielle Smith receives overwhelming support at United Conservative Party convention

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13 hours ago

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November 4, 2024

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Danielle Smith receives overwhelming support at United Conservative Party convention

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America’s Election: What it Means to Canadians

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2 days ago

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November 2, 2024

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Americans and Canadians are cousins that is true. Allies today but long ago people were at loggerheads mostly because of the British Empire and American ambitions.

Canadians appreciate our cousins down south enough to visit them many millions of times over the year. America is Canada’s largest and most important trading partner. As a manufacturer, I can attest to this personally. My American clients have allowed our firm to grow and prosper over the past few decades. There is a problem we have been seeing, a problem where nationalism, both political and economic has been creating a roadblock to our trade relationship.

Both Democrats and Republicans have shown a willingness to play the “buy only American Made product” card, a sounding board for all things isolationist, nationalistic and small-mindedness. We all live on this small planet, and purchase items made from all over the world. Preferences as to what to buy and where it is made are personal choices, never should they become a platform of national pride and thuggery. This has brought fear into the hearts of many Canadians who manufacture for and service the American Economy in some way. This fear will be apparent when the election is over next week.

Canadians are not enemies of America, but allies and friends with a long tradition of supporting our cousins back when bad sh*t happens. We have had enough of the American claim that they want free trade, only to realize that they do so long as it is to their benefit. Tariffs, and undue regulations applied to exporters into America are applied, yet American industry complains when other nations do the very same to them. Seriously! Democrats have said they would place a preference upon doing business with American firms before foreign ones, and Republicans wish to tariff many foreign nations into oblivion. Rhetoric perhaps, but we need to take these threats seriously. As to you the repercussions that will come should America close its doors to us.

Tit for tat neighbors. Tariff for tariff, true selfish competition with no fear of the American Giant. Do you want to build homes in America? Over 33% of all wood comes from Canada. Tit for tat. Canada’s mineral wealth can be sold to others and place preference upon the highest bidder always. You know who will win there don’t you America, the deep-pocketed Chinese.

Reshaping our alliances with others. If America responds as has been threatened, Canadians will find ways to entertain themselves elsewhere. Imagine no Canadian dollars flowing into the Northern States, Florida or California? The Big Apple without its friendly Maple Syrup dip. Canadians will realize just how significant their spending is to America and use it to our benefit, not theirs.

Clearly we will know if you prefer Canadian friendship to Donald Trumps Bravado.

China, Saudi Arabia & Russia are not your friends in America. Canada, Japan, Taiwan the EU and many other nations most definitely are. Stop playing politics, and carry out business in an unethical fashion. Treat allies as they should be treated.

Steven Kaszab
Bradford, Ontario
skaszab@yahoo.ca

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