Hoping to regain lost popularity, Kenney pitches a summer reset

When Alberta Premier Jason Kenney unveiled a giant “Open for Summer July 1” sign at an outdoor news conference in Edmonton last week, he could barely contain his excitement. “We did it!” he declared as the province hit its goal of getting the first dose of COVID vaccines into 70 per cent of Albertans. “You did it,” Kenney added, giving…

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Kenney hoping a back-to-normal summer will help Albertans forget the far-from-normal spring

There is something oddly fitting, even symbolic, about the Alberta government offering exotic vacation packages as part of its vaccine lottery. After all, almost 10 per cent of United Conservative caucus members jetted off to hotspots during the Christmas break.

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OPINION/Pipelines, pandemics and partisan infighting: Kenney trying to put troubles behind him

We knew we were about to get run over by a bus. We could see it coming. We even knew its number. But that didn’t make it any easier or less painful when it finally hit. Thus, when the Alberta government formally announced Wednesday it was “terminating its involvement” in the defunct Keystone XL pipeline project, Albertan taxpayers had every…

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OPINION/Jason Kenney puts hubris ahead of humility

It should have been a nothing burger, but Alberta Premier Jason Kenney turned it into a political smorgasbord. And he was the main course. Opposition MLAs, as well as members of Kenney’s own caucus, have spent the past week taking giant bites out of Kenney’s credibility because of a COVID-violating dinner on June 1. Not that Kenney’s emaciated credibility would…

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OPINION/Missing Answers: When Politicians duck scrutiny

On February 23, 2021, something amazing happened—almost a miracle, as far as I’m concerned. I got to ask Premier Jason Kenney a question during a news conference (about the upcoming legislative sitting). Before that, the last time I’d been called on to ask a question was December 18, 2020—67 days previously.

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