News

As you probably now know, the managers of the Canada Pension Plan - the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board - are coming to Alberta this week to tell Albertans how amazing the CPP is.

The CPP has been spending god-knows-how-much money advertising the CPP on TV, radio, online, and more, and now they're coming to Calgary tomorrow and Edmonton on Wednesday to do the same.

We've been encouraging our supporters to attend the event since the events were first announced, but we've been stymied by a series of interesting "coincidences".

As the Liberals' electoral prospects plummet, their insistence on downplaying the impact of their proposed emissions cap becomes increasingly untenable. 

But rationality seems to have left Ottawa long ago. 

Surprise, surprise.

Late last month, we had the privilege of hosting an event with Éric Duhaime, the leader of Quebec's Conservative Party. 

During the course of the evening, it became evident that Alberta and Quebec share common ground in our collective fight against federal overreach. 

The concept of provincial jurisdiction lies at the heart of Canadian democracy, ensuring that diverse regions with unique aspirations have a voice in governance.

Alberta needs more power.

On Saturday, the coldest night Albertans have experienced in decades, a critical emergency alert was issued by the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) - cautioning Albertans about potential rotating power outages due to high power demand, and urging them to reduce their electricity usage.

As we hurtle towards the New Year, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for your unwavering support and engagement throughout the last year. 

If you read our email from last week, you know it was a long one.

But that's because we accomplished a lot!

We faced challenges together.

We celebrated victories together.

We initiated conversations and helped shift the window of what is politically possible.

We showed resilience.

When I sat down to write our 2023 Year in Review, I thought it was going to be a walk in the park.

But, early in the process, it became glaringly obvious that this was going to be a much bigger job than I'd originally planned.

That's because once you put it all down on paper, it's actually insane how much we’ve done this year.

We were in the trenches, fighting for every inch.

We had some wins.

We moved the ball.

However, as Winston Churchill once said:

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts."

And continue we shall.

With the United Nations’s 28th Climate Change Conference in Dubai generating headlines, we all knew it was only a matter of time before Canada’s radical eco-activist Environment Minister did something stupid.

And here it is, from Steven Guilbeault himself:

"The Government of Canada's plan to cap and reduce emissions from Canada's largest emitting sector is ambitious, but practical. It considers the global demand for oil and gas — and the importance of the sector in Canada's economy — and sets a limit that is strict, but achievable."

That’s right, folks - the Oil and Gas emissions/production cap is finally upon us.

Over the weekend, the Canada Strong and Free Network organized its annual networking conference in Red Deer, during which I participated in a panel on the merits of establishing an Alberta Pension Plan.

Joined by University of Calgary Economics professor Trevor Tombe and Cory Morgan from the Western Standard, and moderated by the CFSN Chair, Michael Binnion, I debated several different aspects of the plan, and thought it would be useful to share my insights with you.

This morning, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the Impact Assessment Act is unconstitutional.

Commonly known as the “No More Pipelines Law”, the law was passed by the federal Liberals in 2019 but, as we've outlined ever since, the law was actually much worse than even its nickname suggests.

On Thursday, Canada’s Environment Minister, Steven Guilbeault, released the draft Clean Electricity Regulations - otherwise known as the much anticipated, incredibly expensive, and entirely unconstitutional net-zero 2035 electricity generation targets.

Ottawa is even threatening punitive measures for those who don't comply, with Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson announcing that billions of dollars in tax credits and grants will be tied to a province's plan to reach net-zero.

Saskatchewan and Alberta have both pushed back strongly against the regulations already.

In a press conference yesterday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith reiterated that Alberta “will never allow these regulations to be implemented here - full stop.”

This dispute, though, is almost certainly heading to court over constitutional jurisdiction.