Brazil's Bolsonaro casts doubt on Biden's 2020 election win ahead of meeting him


SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday cast doubt on the 2020 election victory of U.S. President Joe Biden, just two days before they are due to meet for the first time during the Summit of the Americas.


© Reuters/ADRIANO MACHADO

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro news conference at the Planalto Palace


© Reuters/JONATHAN ERNST

U.S. President Joe Biden holds a meeting with baby formula manufacturers in Washington

Bolsonaro, an outspoken admirer of former President Donald Trump, said in a TV interview that he still harbors suspicions about Biden's victory and he again praised Trump's government.

In 2020, the Brazilian leader voiced allegations of U.S. election fraud as he backed Trump. Bolsonaro was also one of the last world leaders to recognize Biden's win.

"The American people are the ones who talk about it (election fraud). I will not discuss the sovereignty of another country. But Trump was doing really well," Bolsonaro said.

"We don't want that to happen in Brazil," he added.

Bolsonaro, who currently trails former leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in opinion polls ahead of an election in October, has frequently questioned the legitimacy of Brazil's electronic voting system.

The right wing leader is scheduled to meet Biden on Thursday at the U.S.-hosted summit in Los Angeles.

According to the White House, their first formal talks will cover a range of issues, including food insecurity, climate change and COVID-19 pandemic recovery.

Bolsonaro said in the interview he does not believe that Biden will try to "impose anything" on what he should do to reduce deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, which has increased during his tenure.

The meeting could mark a new beginning for U.S.-Brazil ties, but that would depend on how Biden acts during the talks, Bolsonaro said.

(Reporting by Eduardo Simoes; Writing by Gabriel Araujo; editing by Grant McCool)

Ensure economic development serves all, Trudeau says amid Chile's mining reforms

OTTAWA — The world is changing and all governments must fight the climate crisis and ensure economic development benefits everyone, including Indigenous Peoples, Canada's prime minister said Monday as Chile pushes ahead with reforms to its mining sector.



"You cannot grow a strong, resilient economy in the 21st century unless you are also protecting the environment, unless everyone has a chance to participate, unless you are including people who have been excluded," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said as he appeared alongside Chilean President Gabriel Boric during his visit to Ottawa.

Asked by a Spanish-speaking reporter how the mining reforms impacted Canada's view of Chile as a place for investment, Trudeau declined to comment on the specific democratic processes underway in the country.

But he said leaders and democracies must make sure they keep up with changes in the world, not just for moral reasons but also practical ones.

"That's the only way to build a strong future and a strong country."

About 10 per cent of Canada's mining assets abroad are located in Chile, according to 2019 figures from the federal Department of Natural Resources. The only country with more Canadian mining assets is the United States. In 2020, the department said Canadian mining assets in Chile amounted to 55 companies with a value of about $21 billion.

Boric, who became the youngest president in the history of Chile when he was inaugurated in March, is a left-leaning former student activist who had campaigned for greater environmental protections in a country famed for its enormous copper mines.

The two leaders answered local high school students' questions on Monday afternoon at the Museum of Nature in Ottawa.

Asked about Canadian mining companies that operated in Chile under more lax regulations in the past, Boric said some companies destroyed territory and generated massive revenues without giving enough back to the country, and some of those companies were Canadian.

"The way that we can change our development goals is convincing and forcing the private sector to work better," he said.

Boric also said he told Trudeau that Chile wants to force Canadian companies to act the same way in his country as they would on home soil, saying "there's no reason to justify that in some countries you behave in some way you wouldn't in your own country."

Trudeau said the two leaders discussed the issue during a wide-ranging bilateral meeting. He said he believes the vast majority of Canadian mining companies are responsible, but acknowledged "there are some that are not, and we have to be tougher against them."

Chile is currently undergoing reforms to its 1980 constitution, which stems from when the dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet was in power. The draft will be put to voters in September.


Last month, the assembly working on the draft approved a proposal to include a section that would require mining companies to set aside resources to address harms caused by mining activities, although it rejected plans to nationalize parts of the industry.

The assembly also greenlit a ban on mining in glaciers, areas that are vital to protecting water supplies and other protected regions.

Catherine Coumans, a research coordinator with MiningWatch Canada, said she hopes reforms in Chile will also ensure mining companies have to obtain informed consent from Indigenous peoples in that country as well.

"Trudeau needs to get Canada's house in order by implementing human rights due diligence legislation ... that will require Canadian companies to respect human rights in their operations overseas and offer those harmed access to Canadian courts to get access to remedy," she said in an email.

Meanwhile, Boric praised Canada's freeze on importing, buying, selling or otherwise transferring handguns, which the Liberals made a central feature of firearm-control legislation introduced last week.

He said he wants to introduce legislation of his own that would prohibit gun ownership by all.

The goal of Chile's government is to eliminate firearms from criminal groups, and it does not want firearms to be within civil society, Boric said in Spanish.

It is not enough to have regulations inside of a country, but international regulations are also needed to stop the cross-border flow of guns, he added.

Trudeau also said Canada and Chile have committed to co-sponsoring the Americas for the Protection of the Ocean Declaration, which aims to protect the Pacific Ocean.

"Canada and Chile are both ocean countries," he said.

"We know healthy oceans are critical for jobs for communities and for fighting climate change. Today's announcement is about how we keep the Pacific Ocean healthy from protecting migratory routes for sea animals to preserving delicate coastal ecosystems," he said.

Canada and Chile also signed an agreement to advance gender equality and women's empowerment in both countries. Gender Equality Minister Marci Ien said the agreement seeks to set up a framework for the two governments to co-operate on public policies to promote women's empowerment.

She said both countries plan to support each other’s goals to remove socio-economic, cultural and institutional barriers that prevent women from participating in the economy and public life.

Trudeau said Canada and Chile have had a long-standing, positive relationship, and at a time when authoritarian states are rising and democracies are backsliding, it's important to welcome a "strong, progressive voice" on the world stage.

"It is great news for Chile, it is great news for Canada, to have such a strong partner at the end of the continent."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2022.

———

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

Erika Ibrahim, The Canadian Press

B.C. man turns himself in after allegedly hitting 4 people on residential school walk

MISSION, BRITISH COLUMBIA — Mounties say the driver of a truck has turned himself in after allegedly hitting four people who were marching in Mission, B.C., to draw attention to residential schools over the weekend.




Garett Dan, captain of the British Columbia chapter of the Crazy Indians Brotherhood, which organized the Recognition for Residential Schools march on Saturday, said that before the incident a driver had been goading the group, yelling at them to take his picture and to make him famous.

Dan alleged the man said he could "drive through any one of them, anybody that was in his way, he would hit them".

Mission RCMP said in a news release Monday that a 77-year-old man came forward to police after learning through news reports and social media that they wanted to speak to him.

The driver, who is not in custody and has not been charged, is co-operating with investigators, Mounties said, and his truck has been seized for examination.

Two people suffered minor injuries, police said.

The marchers had been walking to the site of the former St. Mary's residential school and were calling for ground-penetrating radar to search for unmarked graves around the site.

Christopher Robertson was at the head of the march, drumming and singing, when he was told about an encounter involving a marcher near the back of the group and the driver of a truck.

Robertson said he started encouraging people to move more quickly to a side road to the school site.

He said when he saw the truck, it moved toward him, and he tried to get out of the way, but didn't make it in time.

“Hit my knee and (it) spun me right around,” Robertson said.

Another marcher jumped and ended up on the hood of the truck before rolling off, while a third marcher was hit by the vehicle's mirror, Robertson said.

Robertson said it was disappointing to see at a march about residential schools.


“We just want truth, not violence,” he said.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Dan, who said he had heard of abuse at the institution his parents attended, said the march was emotional. He drove with his grandfather in a truck following the group, carrying supplies and water.

The marchers temporarily blocked the only eastbound lane of the Lougheed Highway, Mounties said.

When marchers were nearing the turn to the residential school, Dan said the driver of a truck got out of his vehicle and started to yell at demonstrators.

Dan said the man then got back in his truck, drove forward, and hit four people.

“If he would have waited 10 minutes we would have been off the highway," Dan said.

Const. Harrison Mohr of Mission RCMP said Monday that investigators were seeking more witnesses to what he called a “traumatizing event.”

"Like any criminal investigation, we need to let the evidence guide the investigation, and that’s why we’re continuing to ask for more witnesses to come forward," he said.

"We want to ensure that we present the best evidence possible for charge assessment by Crown counsel."

Mission RCMP had said in a news release on Sunday that they were called after an "impatient" driver tried to get around the march, striking four people.

It said there was "no indication that this incident was targeted, or that the driver's actions had anything specifically to do with the people marching or their cause."

That news release can no longer be seen on the Mission RCMP website.

In Monday’s news release, Mounties say a bystander called when it appeared as though a fight was about to break out, and police only learned upon arrival that the pickup truck had driven through the group of demonstrators.

Investigators particularly want to speak to the driver of a dump truck or semi truck that was behind the pickup involved in the incident, Mounties say.

Dan said the incident reminded him of what his parents went through when they walked similar paths to attend the residential school.

People didn't want to be inconvenienced by the injustices at the schools, he said, and they rushed to drive by. "Everyone just wanted to see through them,” Dan said.

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation records 21 student deaths at St. Mary's residential school but Dan said elders and survivors believed there could have been more.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 6, 2022.

The Canadian Press

Canada's Olympic champion women's team making sure its voice is heard in battle with Canada Soccer

Shireen Ahmed - 

This past Sunday, more than 20,000 fans were preparing to gather at B.C. Place in Vancouver to watch the Canadian men's soccer team (CANMNT) play Panama in an international friendly.


© Tiziana Fabi/Getty Images

Canada's women's soccer team pose with their gold medals during the victory ceremony at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021.

But the players did not take to the pitch and the match was cancelled a few hours before the whistle. Why? Because of a contract dispute. The players, as first reported by TSN's Rick Westhead, released a letter explaining their position.

They had questions and concerns with respect to their own pay and the payout by FIFA for qualifying for the World Cup — approximately $10 million. According to the letter, the players are asking for 40 per cent of the monies as well as compensation for their families to attend the tournament in Qatar later this year.

Since July last year, the Canadian women's and men's national teams have bolted to the top of an Olympic podium and finished first in World Cup qualifying, respectively. The men's side has qualified for this year's men's World Cup — something not accomplished since 1986. The momentum is booming and the cheers from the fans are loud.

Thanks to the continued success of the women's side, Canada has always been a soccer nation and the men's performance has only reaffirmed this. But while excitement among players and fans is palpable, there have been a series of missteps at the hands of Canada Soccer executives.

Last week, a planned match between CANMNT and Iran was cancelled after public outcry, including a rebuke from the Prime Minister. Although the opportunity to play against a higher-ranked FIFA team made sense from a pure competition perspective, the social implications of playing Iran are unfavourable. Two years ago, a passenger plane was shot down by Iranian forces killing all 176 people on board, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents. That Canada Soccer was not able to identify the opponent as a potential problem raises questions about the leadership. Our athletes deserve better.

That the men's contract is not already settled mere months before the World Cup is also not a good look.

In their letter, the players said they had been "disrespected" and said their relationship with their employer "has been strained for years." The language used is intentional and important to note.

They also asked questions regarding the transparency of Canada Soccer's financials, including a deal it made with the Canadian Soccer Business (CSB) the players claim "handcuffs" the organization.

Truth be told, this is not the first time that one of Canada's national teams has had questions about contracts or payment. The Canadian Women's National Team (CANWNT) has been in negotiations on their contract since January. They have their own World Cup qualifying matches beginning in July and as the defending Olympic gold medallists, will be expected to perform well.

But the CANWNT has told us before and warned us that the Canada Soccer is not living up to their standards and needs. Diana Matheson, a former team captain now retired, has been very public about how the organization needs to step up and create better earning opportunities and financial support for the women's side.

After winning gold in Tokyo, team stars Christine Sinclair and Steph Labbé went on CBC to talk about the need for domestic leagues and support for women's soccer in Canada.

While the CANMNT did call for "an equitable structure" with the women's team, the CANWNT players responded with their own letter to clarify some of their issues. It is unclear whether the CANMNT consulted the women's team before issuing their statement, but the inclusion and recognition of the women's side are important. Arguably, it is not something that Canadian soccer has seen before: the men's team supporting the women so publicly.

The CANWNT want not just FIFA percentages to be equal with the men, but also the actual salaries, benefits and social supports. They have also been public advocates for survivors of abuse at the hands of the federation. I broke that story in October 2021.

The U.S. Women's National Team recently won a lawsuit that resulted in a landmark contract negotiation. Key to that victory was Cindy Parlow Cone, a former USWNT player and current president of the U.S. Soccer Federation, and perhaps that is just the type of leader required for Canada Soccer. Someone who understands the needs of the players, and the culture around the teams. A leader who can communicate and is intentional with their actions. Perhaps the old boys in the boardroom are not what's needed for elite teams that have brought Canadian soccer to the world's stage in an unprecedented manner.

There are a few issues at play with the Canadian federation, among them a souring relationship with sports media, whose job it is to ask questions and create some public accountability. I spoke with colleagues who attended a press conference after Sunday's game was cancelled. Canada Soccer president Nick Bontis was flanked by Earl Cochrane, the deputy secretary-general. Bontis defended CSB agreement, but also stopped the press conference abruptly and did not take questions. It left the impression with many that Canada Soccer is in over its head.

If the leaders can't rise to the occasion and advocate for and have good relationships with the players they represent — some of whom are top players in the world — then what good are they to soccer in Canada? If they can't properly leverage the marketability of their teams to fund soccer in Canada, what good are they? The responsibility to amplify and support women's soccer is the national federation's. To ensure that matches aren't cancelled or protests don't ensue is its responsibility.

Late Sunday night, Canada Soccer and the men's players agreed on a temporary solution and the men's team resumed its training and will play their next scheduled game Thursday against Curacao in B.C. But the fact that we are less than six months away from a World Cup appearance and witnessing squabbles over preventable issues is not building faith in the leadership.

Between the distrust fostering from the men's side, and the lack of actions from the executive board, it leaves one to wonder how effective they and their leadership is in not only keeping things running smoothly, but in implementing a vision for soccer in Canada.

If Soccer Canada comes to an agreement with the players, that is a step forward after taking five steps back. It cannot function like this and maintain a respectful status and worthy reputation in the global game.

Elections watchdog says it should be illegal to spread misinformation about voting

Canada's chief electoral officer has issued a wide-ranging report on the last two federal elections that calls for action to crack down on hate groups, improved regulation of third parties and new laws to make it illegal to spread disinformation about elections and voting.


© Fred Chartrand/The Canadian Press

Canada's chief electoral officer Stéphane Perrault has made a number of recommendations to change how elections are run in Canada.

"This report … is the beginning of an important conversation with parliamentarians and Canadians on ways to improve our electoral process," Stéphane Perrault said Tuesday. "It is a critical exercise that we must periodically undertake to ensure the vitality of our democracy in the face of evolving circumstances, challenges and aspirations."

Perrault's report calls for an amendment to the Canada Elections Act to make it illegal to spread information that disrupts an election or undermines its legitimacy.

Specifically, the report says "prohibit a person or entity, including foreign persons and entities, from knowingly making false statements about the voting process, including about voting and counting procedures, in order to disrupt the conduct of the election or to undermine the legitimacy of the election or its results."

The report is not calling for the policing of policy messages from candidates or parties. It says action must be taken now because the continued spread of disinformation could "jeopardize trust in the entire electoral system on which democracies rest."

"To me this is about drawing a line in the sand on a matter of principle," Perrault said. "It is not OK to deliberately undermine our electoral process by spreading information a person knows to be false and to do that for the purpose of undermining the process."

The report calls on online platforms to publish policies explaining how they will address the spread of disinformation "that inaccurately depicts election-related procedures during the election period."

The report also calls for stronger transparency in political messages from political parties, candidates and third parties, arguing there are drawbacks to regulating only those messages defined as advertising when social media and other online platforms are able to spread political messages that do not meet that definition.

Perrault said he wants the rule that requires ads by political actors to identify who authorized the message to be simplified and extended to text messages, YouTube videos and other social media messages that may now be spread anonymously.

All political messages must disclose their authors and tell voters how they can get more information about those behind the messages, the report said


To get there, Perrault recommends that websites operated by political entities — such as political parties, candidates and third parties — be required to link to a searchable registry of paid digital communications to improve transparency.

Policing hate groups

To crack down on hate groups seeking to register as political parties, Perrault wants to allow voters to ask a court to determine whether the primary purpose of an organization seeking to register as a political party is the promotion of hate against an identifiable group.

"There is currently no mechanism in place right now to address this issue," Perrault said. "If there is a hate group that wishes to register right now as a party, it could do so and in so doing would gain access to a number of benefits."

Among those benefits, he said, are access to lists of registered voters, free television air time and tax credits on contributions which hate groups should not enjoy.

Perrault said that voters should challenge such organizations in the courts because it's not appropriate for him or the commissioner of Canada Elections to have a role in choosing which political parties should be registered.

 
Third party financing

In order to ensure that foreign entities are not funding third-party advertisers in an election, Perrault's report says that any third party that claims to be self-funded should prove that it gets no more than 10 per cent of its funding from donations.

Perrault said a distinction should be made between third parties — such as corporate entities and labour unions — that use revenue raised in Canada to fund political communications and smaller third parties that rely partly on donations to survive.

He said that there is no way currently for Canada's chief electoral officer to track where smaller groups are getting their money from, and that's a problem.

"What I am proposing is a mechanism to make sure that only contributions of Canadian citizens or permanent residents would go in terms of financing third parties," he said.

The report also calls for the regulation of "issue-based" communications that do not name a party or candidate but "can reasonably be seen as having the purpose of promoting or opposing a party or candidate during the election and pre-election periods."

The report also calls for a number of other changes, including:

Allowing candidates to register earlier to permit Elections Canada to better manage its communications regulations.

Enhancing the protection of voters' personal information by granting them the right to opt out of receiving electoral communications.

Extending the minimum number of days in a non-fixed election from 36 to 44 days to allow Elections Canada to reduce the number of late ballots.

Allowing voters to register for a special ballot 45 days before voting day.

Permitting special ballots to be marked with just a political party name rather than a candidate name.

Requiring the head of Elections Canada to recommend an election date that does not interfere with religious or cultural days of significance.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
Ex-Quebec construction boss Accurso free on bail awaiting appeal before Supreme Court

MONTREAL — A Quebec Court of Appeal judge is allowing ex-construction boss Tony Accurso to remain free on bail while he appeals his fraud conviction to the Supreme Court of Canada.


Ex-Quebec construction boss Accurso

Accurso received a four-year prison term in 2018 in connection with what a Quebec court judge called one of the worst examples of municipal corruption to come before a Canadian court.

His conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeal last month, and he was ordered to report to prison by June 1.

However, Court of Appeal Justice Manon Savard concluded it would not harm public trust in the justice system if Accurso stayed free during his appeal to the high court.

Accurso would be eligible for release after serving one-sixth of this sentence — eight months — which she says would likely occur before the Supreme Court hears his case.

Accurso must pay $125,000 bail, two other people will pay $50,000 on his behalf and he is not permitted to leave Quebec.

A jury convicted Accurso on five fraud-related charges tied to a kickback scheme that saw companies receive lucrative public contracts in exchange for bribes to elected officials, including Gilles Vaillancourt, the former mayor of Laval, Que.

The kickback and fraud scheme lasted between 1996 and 2010 and was run by Vaillancourt, who pleaded guilty to fraud-related charges and received a six-year sentence.

In a separate case in October 2020, Accurso and several companies tied to him were ordered to pay a total of $4.2 million after pleading guilty to tax fraud.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2022.

The Canadian Press

How are Albertans likely to be Affected by the recent UCP Leadership Review?

Streamed live on Jun 2, 2022



Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs

The United Conservative Party (UCP) members voted by mail-in ballots from April 9 to May 11 whether or not they have confidence in their leader and on May 18, 2022, the result was scheduled to be announced. 

Originally, a special general meeting was planned to be an in-person voting event in Red Deer, but because of soaring attendee numbers, it was decided by the provincial UCP board to move the vote to a mail-in ballot over a five-week period. 

Plenty of questions have surrounded the leadership of Premier Jason Kenney and his UCP government since being elected in 2019 and even before, in 2017, when Kenney won the UCP leadership race ahead of Brian Jean in a contest still being investigated by the RCMP. 

The speaker will look back on the past few years of notable controversies involving Kenney before the leadership review and as well, analyze how the result of such, may affect the UCP, Albertans and Alberta politics.

 Speaker: Dr. Duane Bratt 

Duane Bratt is a political science Professor in the Department of Economics, Justice, and Policy Studies at Mount Royal University (Calgary, Alberta). He was educated at the Universities of Windsor (BA 1991, MA 1992) and Alberta (Ph.D. 1996). He teaches in the area of international relations and Canadian public policy. His primary research interest is in the area of Canadian nuclear policy. 

Recent publications include: co-editor, Orange Chinook: Politics in the New Alberta (University of Calgary Press, 2018), co-editor, Readings in Canadian Foreign Policy: Classic Debates and New Ideas 3rd edition (Oxford University Press, 2015) and author of Canada, the Provinces, and the Global Nuclear Revival (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2012). Current projects include the risk assessment of Canada’s nuclear waste site selection process. 

Duane is also a regular commentator on political events. 

Date and time: Thursday, June 2, 2022 from 12 noon to 1 pm MDT 

In order to ask questions of our speaker in the chat feature of YouTube, you must have a YouTube account and be signed in. Please do so well ahead of the scheduled start time, so you’ll be ready. Go the YouTube Live link provided in this session flyer and on the top right of your browser click the “sign in” button. If you have Google or Gmail accounts, they can be used to sign in. If you don’t, click “Create Account” and follow along. Once you are signed in, you can return to the live stream and use the chat feature to ask your questions of the speaker. You can only participate in the chat feature while we are livestreaming. For further info visit the SACPA website: http://www.sacpa.ca

Bell: Aheer runs for UCP leader, insiders insist they're for change

Rick Bell - CALGARY SUN

She’s in and the political temperature goes up a few more degrees.


© Provided by Calgary Sun

MLA Leela Aheer speaks with media at McDougall Centre in Calgary before a UCP caucus meeting on Thursday, May 19, 2022. The UCP were meeting following Premier Jason Kenney's announcement Wednesday night that he will be resigning as leader.

It will get warmer in the days ahead as more join the fray.

Leela Aheer, the MLA from Chestermere, is expected to announce Tuesday she’s entering the race to replace Premier Jason Kenney as UCP leader and leader of the province.

She knows all about Travis Toews, Kenney’s budget boss, announcing last week he is in the race.

She knows all about the 23 UCP members of the legislature, including several from the premier’s inner circle, backing Toews.

She knows all about the show of strength this past weekend in Calgary where Toews was surrounded with plenty of UCP politicians and other somebodies in the party and they were most enthused.

Aheer isn’t bowled over.

The outspoken MLA, no stranger to being in Kenney’s bad books, says she very much respects Toews as a human being.

But …

“Nothing has changed,” says Aheer, of Toews and his considerable team.

“If there was an agent of change then where were those views when things needed to be changed?”

“When there was an opportunity to fix, to change and alter and take away pain and fear from our people, where was that voice?”

“Where was the standing up for the people when fingers were being wagged at particular groups and organizations?”

“If they’re an agent of change, where was it? Where was it until now? I sure didn’t see it.”

“How can you be an agent of change when you weren’t willing to try and make change when you had the opportunity?”

“There were many, many opportunities to gracefully and with compelling argument make change whilst we were in the previous situation and that did not happen.”

For Aheer, a former cabinet minister punted by Kenney because she took on the big guy, change requires empathy.

“Empathy has not been there. Had we led with that we might be in a very different discussion today.”

Aheer adds she spoke up because things weren’t fixed internally and “you know that corruption is happening.”

Then why is the group who didn’t utter a peep before the May 18 leadership vote now casting themselves as agents of change?

“I think because that’s the only way the people of Alberta could accept somebody in leadership, particularly coming from the premier’s team. But I think the average Albertan will see it is too little too late for that.”

Toews plainly does not agree. In Calgary his pitch was not meant to set the world on fire and it didn’t.

He cast himself as the stable and responsible candidate who was a straight shooter and didn’t like political drama.


© Ed Kaiser/Postmedia

UCP leader hopeful Travis Toews during a news conference in Edmonton.

Toews did mention leading with humility and listening and did point out how some Albertans were wrongly characterized and needed to be heard and needed to have a voice.

He took questions from newshounds.

He said he and the premier were very different people and he was not a career politician .

He didn’t elaborate much further.

He was asked by one newshound, not yours truly, about whether having so many of the premier’s inner circle on board was a help or a hindrance, baggage he had to carry.

He didn’t really take that one head-on.

But Toews does believe in a code of conduct for government politicians and he pledges that code would be enforced.

He also talked a lot about unity among conservatives.

Just for the record, your scribbler was treated very well, unlike in those days where the survival of the premier was at stake.

More than a few in the Toews crowd even acknowledged much of the criticism of the premier was on the mark.

Some may have believed it for some time but didn’t have the guts to come forward.

Maybe, for others, when push came to shove they could finally see the writing on the wall.

There was no advantage in defending an attitude in government clearly turning off most Albertans.

The folks at the Toews love-in insisted their guy would be different. He would be change. Just you wait and see.

We will wait and see. It is a long campaign.

Meanwhile, Aheer says her voice will be heard.

She makes a statement all leadership hopefuls ignore at their peril.

When it was ignored by the PCs in 2015 their one-party rule going back to 1971 ended.

“We’re here because there is a need to change the status quo. Arrogance will never win. Albertans will never, ever be able to be ruled by arrogance.”

rbell@postmedia.com

Former minister Leela Aheer joins UCP leadership race

UCP MLA for Chestermere-Strathmore and former culture, multiculturalism and status of women minister Leela Aheer has joined the race to become UCP leader and replace Premier Jason Kenney.


Chestermere-Rocky View MLA Leela Aheer speaks with media at McDougall Centre in Calgary before a UCP caucus meeting on Thursday, May 19, 2022. The UCP were meeting following Premier Jason Kenney's announcement Wednesday night that he will be resigning as leader. Gavin Young/Postmedia

Ashley Joannou - Edmonton Journal

Aheer made the announcement Tuesday morning on Real Talk with Ryan Jespersen. She said she wants to give back to the province.

“The entire leadership race for me is about regaining Albertans’ trust. We owe that to people. We owe them the opportunity to be able to get in front of them and explain to them who we are, and to be able to be truthful about the mistakes that have been made, because there’s been plenty. I think that happens with any party,” she said.

Aheer was first elected under the Wildrose Party banner in 2015. After winning a second term in 2019, this time with the newly-created United Conservative Party, she was named Alberta’s minister of culture, multiculturalism, and status of women.

Aheer was shuffled out of her cabinet post in 2021 not long after openly criticizing Kenney for a dinner he held on a patio linked to a government office space in Edmonton known as the Sky Palace which violated COVID-19 restrictions.


When asked Tuesday about the government’s strained relationship with health care workers Aheer said Alberta needs to increase spaces in universities, attract international professionals and that Alberta’s doctors and nurses are owed a “huge apology.”

“I think I’ve spent the last two years talking to doctors and nurses and frontline workers across the province just explaining my deep gratitude because of the way that we proceeded and how they felt as a result of the direction that we have gone,” she said.

“There’s not enough apology in the world. There’s not enough that we can say in order for those incredible people that understand how grateful we are.”

Aheer joins a leadership race that already includes former UCP finance minister Travis Toews, independent MLA for Central Peace-Notley Todd Loewen, former Wildrose Party leaders Danielle Smith and Brian Jean, and Amisk Mayor Bill Rock.

The party has yet to release details of how the leadership race will run or when election day will be.

More to come
ajoannou@postmedia.com
twitter.com/ashleyjoannou

Jamil Jivani: Corporations have more freedom than their employees

In this NP Comment video, Jamil Jivani discusses how many corporations display rainbow logos during Pride month in the West, but not in countries such as Saudi Arabia. Watch the full video below and subscribe to the Post’s YouTube channel here .

© Provided by National Post

THE PEOPLE VS UCP

Council in Alberta mountain town to appeal development order by provincial tribunal


CANMORE, Alta. — Town council in a popular Alberta mountain community will appeal a decision by a provincial tribunal to allow two major developments to proceed.



The proposed Three Sisters Village and Smith Creek projects in Canmore, west of Calgary, would double the town's population in the coming decades.

The two proposals include about 80 per cent of the town's remaining developable land.

Council rejected both proposals last year, but the Land and Property Rights Tribunal of Alberta ruled in May that the two developments could go ahead.

It ordered the town to adopt both the Three Sisters and Smith Creek proposals.

Council decided today it would appeal the decision to the Alberta Court of Appeal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 7, 2022.