Alberta in a new epoch

• May 6, 2015

Yes, I know I’ve been quiet lately. For really good reasons, unfortunately. And it isn’t over quite yet. The days of having literally thousands of readers has passed me for right now. I’m preoccupied with much more important issues to me personally. So I’m a little surprised when I’m asked - from multiple people - why I haven’t blogged on the Alberta 2015 election. First off, it’s true that I stepped back a little bit for now. Read More

Lift the Hat. Lift the Stigma.

• January 10, 2015

Hey Mack, I never knew you personally, but I’m learning a lot about you in snippets of stories. There’s no doubt that I like you a lot. We have a lot in common, I’m sure we’d be great friends. Let’s start with the hat. I started wearing a hat to stop my ears from getting sunburnt all the time. I love wearing a hat now. You loved yours, I get it! Read More

GSAs in Alberta, Bill 202 is better than Bill 10

• December 6, 2014

I’m a pretty ordinary guy. I love my kids, I work pretty hard, I try to do one thing every day to make Calgary a better place. Yesterday that thing was to take half an hour at lunch, meet up with friends new and old, and attend Mike Morrison’s gathering in front of the MacDougal Centre to support LGTBQ youth. A celebration indeed. I’ve read dozens of blogs better spoken than this one, better informed than this one. Read More

politicalmatch.ca

• March 31, 2014

Some time in the early 90’s I became dissatisfied with the provincial government. I wasn’t really thrilled with 5 percent cuts across the board. I was definitely unhappy with the direction post-secondary education was taking at the time. The thing that really upset me the most was when I heard over and over again that the government was talking with ordinary Albertans. “Well,” I thought to myself, “They haven’t been talking to me. Read More

Holding Higher Expectations

• March 16, 2014

How can you not be sucked into the circus that is the Government of Alberta this week? I keep waiting for the Keystone Kops to scamper across the stage flailing billy clubs and rubber hoses. The title for this post was originally going to be “The Good Old Give and Take” which was meant to allude to the lame predictability of an austerity budget, followed by a fudgy number budget, followed with a good news budget and finally - just in time for the election - a break open the piggy bank budget. Read More

Cycle Tracks: An open letter to the Calgary Eyeopener

• March 12, 2014

Dear Eyeopener, Earlier today Michael Stark did a opinion piece on why bicycles should not get separated bike lanes. It started poorly and went downhill from there. I cycle. I drive. I ride the bus. I walk. I commute back and forth to work, but also move around and about my neighbourhood a number of ways even when I’m not commuting back and forth to work. The point of travelling using multiple means of transportation is not to give an air of authenticity to my argument, it’s very much to emphasize getting around is much easier when I can travel in the most appropriate way possible. Read More

Bigger than a plane ride

• March 4, 2014

Well, this has certainly been shaping up to be an interesting week in Alberta politics. On Monday, Premier Redford’s bad polling numbers were released and they were a shock even to me. Now, I personally have not been a fan of Ms. Redford and I have lost faith in the PC party years ago, but I was still surprised to see such bad numbers in Alberta of all places. We’re long famous for political dynasties and turning on a dime, but this feels different to me. Read More

A funny thing happened on the way to the nomination...

• January 20, 2014

At the end of 2013 I really enjoyed reading an interview Jason Markusoff published with Naheed Nenshi. (Full disclosure, I love Jason Markusoff mostly because a) his last name starts with “Mark”, b) he covers Calgary City Hall so I read his column regularly and c) he attended the Jane’s Walk I hosted.) My favourite part of the interview was this exchange: CH: Is there a dream job out there for you, though? Read More

Positive change is far overdue in Alberta's child welfare system

• January 10, 2014

When Karen Kleiss and Darcy Henton wrote their Fatal Care series, I felt devastated, sad and very angry. I knew I had to write about my feelings over it, I had no idea what to say or even how to go about saying it. Now there are further details of deaths outside of the parameters of the Fatal Care series. The deaths of 741 Albertans troubles me deeply. I’m appalled they were children or young adults. Read More

Canada's Worst Driver Ever? Canada's Best Lesson Ever.

• December 16, 2013

I absolutely adore Canada’s Worst Driver. Often I hear, “But you hate reality TV. How can you watch that?” Or sometimes “I can’t stand that show. I can’t stand when they make fun of people like that.“ Or even, “I can’t watch the show, it terrifies me that people like that are on the road.” Yes, it terrifies me that there are drivers out there like that. It particularly frightens me when I’m cycling beside some of those people. Read More