Democracy

"But for some, Edmonton's relative inexperience with P3s still weighs heavily, and some public interest groups have expressed their concern over how the situation has been dealt with. Bill Moore-Kilgannon, executive director of Public Interest Alberta, says they too have examined P3s in Canada, and have serious concerns about allowing the private sector to be in charge of the maintenance and operation aspects of the line."

"Who gives [politicians] this money? To what extent are corporations and unions involved? What do contributors expect in return? What are the limits on contributions? Are citizens made aware of who gave money to which candidates? To what extent does money have the potential to distort election results? For people who value democracy, these are all good questions. Unfortunately, because of the weak campaign-finance legislation in our city and province, the answers require a lot of digging—much more than should be the case.

Find out who benefits most from Alberta's flat tax. in a new video from a Community Service Learning Volunteer, Flat Tax Jeopardy. (The answer may surprise you…)

"With 1 in 4 Albertans still struggling to pay for basic needs, is increasing the minimum wage enough? Or should the province adopt a living wage standard instead?" [VIDEO]

A tour of Calgary's richest school and poorest school, published by Operation Maple. [VIDEO]

"'Water is sacred.' Those are the words that filled a rain-dampened rally that saw demonstrators make their way from Canada Place in downtown Edmonton to the Alberta Legislature on May 24. 'Our treaty says we have a right to water. We have to protect that,' said Shannon Houle, addressing about 150 people on the steps of the Legislature. Houle, from Saddle Lake Cree Nation and a co-founder of the Idle No More movement, raised her voice along with such organizations as Keepers of the Athabasca, Public Interest Alberta and Council of Canadians to warn Albertans about what the groups view as the provincial government’s plans to push through legislation that would see water become a commodity and sold through licences."

"While 450 members of the Alberta Conservative Party gathered at an Edmonton hotel on Saturday, hundreds rallied outside to voice their own grievances with Alison Redford’s Progressive Conservative party."

"As Progressive Conservatives from across Alberta talked policy inside a south Edmonton hotel Saturday, Tim Kabarchuk willingly faced off outside against a large, inflatable mallet. As one of about 500 protesters who came to the “Block the Party” event organized by Public Interest Alberta, the Alberta Union of Provincial Employee and other groups, Kabarchuk volunteered for a human version of Whack-A-Mole under a painted Whack-A-Broken Promise banner."

EDMONTON–Albertans from all over the province will gather outside the PC policy convention today from noon to 2 p.m. for a block party rally at 45 Ave between Gateway Blvd and Calgary Trail in Edmonton to protest the Redford government’s devastating March budget cuts. Media are invited to attend.

"A bulk donation from the Katz Group to the Redford PCs has been declared legal according to our province’s election financing laws. Does that make it right? There’s no doubt money talks—but does its voice hold too much sway in Alberta’s political arena?"Larry Booi, President of the Board of Public Interest Alberta, and Rod Love, Political Consultant debate the issues.