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Edmontons Liberal Leadership Candidate

And the most Trudeau of the Liberal Leadership candidates is, according to Calgary Grit, former Edmontonian Gerard Kennedy. Kennedy started the Edmonton Food Bank one of the first in Canada.

The NDP need to be worried about Kennedy.

Brian Bechtel, who was in charge of the Edmonton Social Planning Council, proves this point as a spoiler in Edmonton Norwood when he ran for the provincial Liberals.

Kennedy can claim, as he did last Sunday at the Forum in Edmonton, to be able to speak to the West as much as he can issues in Toronto and Ontario.

Kennedy can give Layton a run for his money as a liberal social democrat.

And where the NDP have only won once in Edmonton in a federal riding, Kennedy could give a centre left leadership that would see more Liberal seats at least in Redmonton.

In the progressive politics of the centre left, Kennedy would bring back Liberal voters who supported the NDP. It would be a rare riding where the NDP would not be hurt by his leadership. Unlike the hardcore of each party, the vast majority of supporters, volunteers, etc. still support the idea of electing the best candidate or leader. As do the mass of voters.

I have seen that enthusiasm undermine many a provincial NDP campaign, as the Liberals drop in a socially progressive politico who has community links,into a provincial campaign here in Redmonton.

Bechtel did it, and so can Kennedy.

And as Pacific Tribune says; "What's stopping the NDP from getting swallowed entirely by the Federal Liberals, I'm becoming less and less sure of daily."

Kennedy is Layton sans moustache.



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NDP the New Reform Party

Reasearch just published on the results of the October Federal election shows that the new party rising in the West to challenge the Ottawa power base is the NDP. Even in Alberta, where the NDP won a seat they came in second place across the province over all. After all the original reform party of the west was the CCF; the NDP's predecesor. With a seat in Quebec and Alberta the NDP is now a national party unlike the Liberals.

Liberals ran third behind the NDP in every last western province. While New Democrats came second in 46 western ridings, Liberals came second in only 24 ridings. And, again in 24 western seats, Liberals placed fourth behind the Greens and Independents. Of 42 seats up for grabs in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Liberals won just a single seat -- belonging to veteran Grit Ralph Goodale.

SEE:
Liberals Gain Third Party Status
Populism and Producerism


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Linda Duncan, RahimJaffer, Harper, Conservatives, Cabinet, Government, politics, Edmonton, Alberta, NDP, Liberals, Redmonton, politics, , federal election, Edmonton Strathcona Jack Layton,

Sticken It To The Stickman

A 28-year-old newcomer has humbled one of Edmonton's best-known politicians

Tonight I joined Daveberta and the Don Iveson campaign for Ward 5 Councilor at the Black Dog on Whyte. What a party. The gang that ran his campaign are all young, university students. They cajoled him to run, they knocked on doors they ran his campaign and in doing so they trounced an incumbent; Mike Nickel the Stickman.

The Stickmen, were anonymous (wink, wink, nudge ,nudge, everyone in the media knew who they were) sleazy political backstabber's. Led by Nickel and a couple of other rich business pals, they attacked and slandered former Mayor Jan Reimer (Edmonton's first woman Mayor who was also an NDP mayor) with anonymous billboard campaigns that managed to get her defeated, narrowly, by their pal Conservative tire salesman and city booster Bill Smith.

Nickel aspired to be Mayor, but settled with being City Councillor last election. His claim to fame as a councilor has been as the mouthpiece for his pals in the Canadian Taxpayers Federation on city council and his biggest cheerleader is Kerry Diotte at the Edmonton Sun.

Wanna build a bigger better art gallery? Forget about such a waste of money says Nickel fix the potholes, forgetting that potholes will have to be fixed again in two years. NYC has potholes too, but nobody cares cause they go there to see the Guggenheim, MOMA, the Empire State building, edifices of culture and architecture. No one comes back from NYC and says wow their streets are paved.

City councilors gave themselves a pay raise. Nickel and his CTF pals and Diotte launched a very public campaign to have council reconsider the raises. Wow using the Sun and all their pull in the city they got a few thousand signatures. Mike gets some press and the issue dies. Oh yes and Mike accepts his raise.

Substance was never Nickel's big suit. Political opportunism, partisan politics, and cheap shot sound bites attacking his fellow councilors to get in the news are what he was all about.

And he lost tonight. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

He lost because his was the politics of protest, right wing protest. Offer no alternatives, no solutions, just bitch and complain, and say look at me.

Don Iveson and his crew of youthful activists ran a campaign of substance and one based on creating a sustainable city. They should be congratulated. No slimy anonymous billboard attacks by them. No slagging their opponents. No grandstanding. Just good old door knocking, leafleting, and getting signs on fences and lawns.

Nickel ran on his laurels, which folks in Ward 5 found lacking. He was all about the politics of Me, and not the politics of community. Which is why he is crying in his beer tonight while those of us at the Black Dog are toasting a victory.

Hey guys and gals congrats. Ya stuck it to the stick man.



SEE:

Municipal Elections

Tags
Edmonton, Alberta, Don Iveson,Mike Nickel,stickmen,Civic election, Redmonton, Ward Five,

May Day Lotta Continua

May Day the International Workers Day and the Struggle Continues (Lotta Continua)

As long as the struggle of the workers against the bourgeoisie and the ruling class continues, as long as all demands are not met, May Day will be the yearly expression of these demands. And, when better days dawn, when the working class of the world has won its deliverance then too humanity will probably celebrate May Day in honor of the bitter struggles and the many sufferings of the past. Rosa Luxemburg 1894

Nigerian workers: still searching for succour

Today, the first day of May, otherwise called Workers Day in Nigeria, no longer has any meaning to many a Nigerian worker. It is doubtful if the workers understand the significance of the day as one set aside to recognize the valour and sacrifice of the creators of the nation’s wealth. The average Nigerian worker does not see any need for the celebration of his contribution to nation building or for his efforts to ensure that the country of his birth becomes prosperous so that he can live an assured life in future. The day to him now provides the opportunity to show the world the level of his impoverishment

FOR some time now, the May Day celebration has become a day for wilful display of anger by Nigerian workers against their employers, both government and private. Nowadays, industrial unions of both the public and organized private sectors look forward to the Workers Day to publicly vent their spleen against the soulless establishments that have grounded the nation’s social machinery that would have ensured and enhanced the quality of life in the nation. As such, the venues of the Day’s celebrations across the country are usually rally grounds where the workers loudly bemoan their pitiful conditions and declaim the nation’s rulers for making the lives of Nigerian workers laborious.

THAT the venues of May Day rally have been turned into agitation ground is an indication of the virtual collapse of the nation’s social structures and the erosion of the lives of the nation’s teeming masses. The Nigerian worker has made a singsong of his pitiable social conditions. He is one of the poorly paid workers (if not the poorest) in the world. There has not been any time his take-home pay has been made adequate by his employer to give him the much needed lifeline. In spite of his resourcefulness, experience and contributions he is hardly able to live from hand to mouth.

BUT as most social scientists like Adam Smith have postulated, the real wealth of any nation is not in the tangible resources like gold, silver or crude oil. The wealth of a nation is not in the quality or arability of its land. The real wealth can only be found in the quality of its human resources. A highly cultivated human resource, in terms of good and quality education, highly enhanced salary package and functional social amenities, will, without doubt, be highly motivated and resourceful and very productive. Conversely, a workforce that is poorly remunerated will only produce a very low yield. In both cases, the society is at the receiving end. In other words, the quality (and lack of it) of any workforce will translate into the prosperity (and otherwise) of that particular society.

THE fact that Nigeria has enjoyed unqualified status among the “scum of the earth” shows the extent to which its people have been degraded and dehumanized. The nation is ranked among the poorest countries of the world in spite of its enormous natural resources; it holds an un-exalted position as one of the most corrupt nations in the world and as one of the most looted nations, looted and raped by its own citizens. What all this shows is that the nation has not invested adequately in its human resources and this has made it possible for the emergence of the uncouth and rogue leaders who raped and looted the nation’s essence and still got away with their crimes. The failure to cultivate good citizenship has made possible the collapse of the nation’s economic and social structures and led to the creation of criminals in both low and high places. The result of this is the present collapse of the nation’s social structures.

And in an ironic twist of fate the original Lotta Continua in Italy were the subject of a political witch hunt in the Seventies and Eighties. Like the Strega of Old.

LOTTA CONTINUA

Italy has always had a particularly active political Left and in the late '60s and early '70s an extraparliamentary faction that descended into propagandist violence. In the so-called Hot Autumn of 1969, a bomb exploded in the Agricultural Bank in Milan, killing 16 people. An anarchist railway man, Giuseppe Pinelli, was taken in for questioning by the police. Three days later, Pinelli (immortalized in Dario Fo's play The Accidental Death of an Anarchist) fell to his death from the window of the police commissioner Luigi Calabresi's office. The police claimed suicide but the Left accused them of murder. In 1972 Calabresi was shot dead in front of his home. The far-left Lotta Continua claimed it was an act of proletarian justice but many think right-wing extremists were involved. After almost 16 years of silence, an ex-militant of Lotta, riven with guilt, gave himself up, claiming responsibility for the murder. Leonardo Marino then implicated the leadership of Lotta in the affair.

Carlo Ginzburg, a noted and respected historian, draws on his work on witchcraft trials in the 16th and 17th centuries to dissect the state's case in this late-20th-century show trial. He has written a provocative and passionate book that casts a detailed look at the facts of the case, facts that when presented here cast serious doubt on the judgments reached in Italy early in 1999.

Judge and the Historian: Marginal Notes on a Late-Twentieth-Century Miscarriage of Justice. Translated by Antony Shugaar. New York: Verso, 1999. There is a sort of general democratic interest in showing how a concrete trial functions. --Carlo Ginzburg, Liberation (October 9, 1997) Social conflict in Italy during the late 1960s and early 1970s had a particular breadth and impact. Radical-left movements like Lotta Continua championed factory occupations and large demonstrations and saw the Communist Party and labor unions as stifling the workers' revolutionary project. ^1 Elements within the state responded with "the strategy of tension": exceptional police brutality and an instrumental approach to extreme-right violence (the cause of more deaths than extreme-left violence), often carried out sub rosa in conjunction with state secret services and intended by some to destabilize the state and create the basis for an authoritarian regime. In the mid-1970s, Italy promulgated a series of exceptional laws that bolstered police powers at the expense of individual rights and gave a special place to informers; increased the time an individual could be held in preventive detention; and made individuals of the same group liable for the same sentence despite differences in individuals' actions. ^2 Faced with declining expectations for revolution, factions [End Page 135] of the extreme left turned to vanguard party terrorism.

Ginzburg regards the convictions in the Calabresi case as the 20th century equivalent of the witchcraft and heresy convictions under the Inquisition. The contemporary Italian courts, he says, cared just as little for the evidence as the 16th and 17th century Catholic ones: Suspects could affirm their crimes, deny all or remain silent, and all these possible responses were regarded as evidence of their guilt. The Calabresi judges ended up believing the informer, Leonardo Marino, despite the dozens of problems Ginzburg cites with his story, any one of which, he says, should have created more than the shadow of a doubt and led to acquittal.

Ginzburg, a specialist in probing sixteenth-century inquisitorial records and
writing micro histories of the victims, uses court documents to scrutinise the
notorious May 1990 conviction of his friend of thirty years, the journalist Adriano
Sofri. Founder and leader of the radical left-wing group Lotta Continua from the
1960s until its dissolution in 1976, Sofri, along with his two co-defendants, was
pronounced guilty of the 17 May 1972 murder of the police superintendent Luigi
Calabresi, widely believed to be responsible for the death under interrogation of an
accused suspect three years earlier. Almost the entire case against Sofri rested on the testimony of one former Lotta Continua militant, Leonardo Marino. After a second career as an armed robber, Marino confessed in 1987 to a parish priest and in 1988 to three carabinieri offices his role as the driver in Calabresi’s assassination; he also named his former Lotta comrade Ovidio Bompressi as the murderer and two others, Sofri and Giorgio Pietrostafani, as the authors of the deed (pp. 8–11). Despite his long-delayed declaration of guilt as well as important errors and inconsistencies in his testimony, Marino’s accusations were never seriously challenged.

Ginzburg, although a renowned investigator of non-elites under pressure from
forces from above, was uninterested in Marino or his astrologer companion Antonia Bistolfi. While deftly demolishing Marino’s testimony, Ginzburg neglected to examine the bases of the ex-thief’s repentance, which had so powerful an impact
on the court.

Instead, Ginzburg’s main subject is the presiding judge Antonio Lombardi, who
‘with a clear conscience’ and ‘absolutely no doubt’ pronounced the ‘complete
reliability [of] Marino’s statements’ (p. 103). Although acknowledging that historians and judges share the practice of contextualising their evidence, Ginzburg demands a far higher threshold of proof from the figure handing out sentences and berates Lombardi for his reckless and illogical leap in validating Marino’s questionable story and condemning Sofri (pp. 110–18).

Unlike the Papon trial, where prominent historians gave contrasting views of the Vichy past, the Sofri trial was dominated by the judge’s and the prosecutor’s shared trauma of a decade of violence. Thus, The suspect, a railway worker named Giuseppe Pinelli, either fell, jumped or was pushed out the window of Calabresi’s office while under questioning about the bomb blast on 12 Dec. 1969 in the Banca dell’Agricoltura in Milan that had killed seventeen people and injured eighty-eight others. The subsequent official investigation showed that right-wing extremists, aided by the Italian secret services, had set the bomb.

Donald Reid, ‘The Historian and the Judges’, Radical History Review 80 (Spring 2001), p. 144, n. 4. Lotta Continua immediately denounced Calabresi for the murder; the incident was the subject of Nobel Prize-winner Dario Fo’s play, The Accidental Death of an Anarchist. Marino gave the wrong color of the stolen car and incorrectly described the assassination route (pp. 22–5, 72–97). ‘I do not know what pushed Marino to lie. The psychological motivations . . . seem . . . wholly irrelevant.’ (p. 97). according to Ginzburg, much like the earlier inquisitors, they were all too ready to accept even the most defective confirmatory evidence.

To be sure, in writing as an advocate for the defence Carlo Ginzburg appears
to have suspended his own critical judgement. Not only are most witnesses in
criminal trials unreliable, forgetful and self-contradictory, particularly sixteen years after the event, but also key evidence is often missing.25 Nonetheless, The Judge and the Historian is itself an important historical document. Underlying Ginzburg’s approach is a spirited defence of old-fashioned historical inquiry against the postmodern challenge, as well as a strong assertion of the existence of proof and of truth (pp. 16–17).26 Moreover, a century after another flawed trial, Ginzburg’s J’accuse not only demonstrates how those in power continue to rewrite history (in this case holding Lotta Continua responsible for ‘the years of lead’) but also suggests disquieting links with Italy’s Fascist past (pp. 119–20)

A H/T to Terry Glavin


Also See:

May Week in Redmonton

Tax Time and Walpurgisnacht

The Origins and Traditions of May Day

Anarchist Mayor of Milan

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libertarian, Italy, Fo, autonomous, marxism, anarchist, anarchism, Milan

Rahim Worried

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?

Signs Lyrics by Five Man Electrical Band

Week one of the hottest election contest in Edmonton. I am speaking of course of my riding Edmonton Strathcona where Linda Duncan of the NDP is running again against the incumbent Rahim (dolittle) Jaffer.

And is Rahim worried? You bet. In the past Rahim has waited to put up signs in front of houses, relying instead on his landlord business pals to put up big signs on their buildings.
But last week, he was out with lawn signs, as was Linda.

If the battle of the signs is any indication, this will be a close race.
Though as an old pal of mine once said; boulevards don't vote, belittling the impact of lawn signs in public space rather than in front of houses. A message that seems lost on the Liberal candidate Claudette Roy who has few lawn signs up in front of homes relying instead on littering the 99th St. hill with her signs.



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, Linda Duncan, RahimJaffer, Harper, Conservatives, Cabinet, Government, politics, Edmonton, Alberta, NDP, Liberals, Redmonton

Canadian Labour Blogging

Uncorrected Proofs has a three part article on the Labour Movement in Canada and Quebec and its response, or lack of response, to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Disorganized Labour: Unions and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms - Part One

Disorganized Labour: Unions and the Chater of Rights and Freedoms - Part Two

Disorganized Labour: Unions and the Chater of Rights and Freedoms - Part Three

Relentlessly Progressive Economics reports on Buzz Hargrove's take on Kyoto; and comments on the conflict between Small Business and Unions; Why small independent businesses should be pro union


Daily Dissidence reports on the six month long Credit Union workers strike in Ontario; COPE 343 Strike Update

Ken Chapman addresses the issue of safety on the job in Alberta, or lack thereof...Workplace Deaths Increasing in Alberta - Improved Literacy is Part of the Solution.

And since today is May Day check out these Posts at Progressive Bloggers.


See:

Happy May Day

Day of Mourning

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May Week in Redmonton

What is the May Week Labour Arts Festival?

The Edmonton May Week Labour Arts Festival brings together the labour movement, workers and artists to celebrate the achievements of people’s struggles for social and economic justice through visual arts, music, film, poetry and theatre. Through the many artistic disciplines of the festival, May Week provides people with the information, education and inspiration to make positive change in our local and global communities.

The May Week festival is built around May Day (May 1st), which is recognized as the International Workers’ Holiday, chosen over 100 years ago to commemorate the struggles and gains of workers and the Labour Movement. May 1st is also a significant date in the fight for the eight-hour workday, and is tied to the infamous Haymarket Tragedy. May Day is important not only for its historical significance, but also as a time to organize and speak out around issues that are impacting working-class people today.

Monday, April 30, 2007

Global Visions Film Festival

Time: 7:00 pm
May Week teams up with the Global Visions Film Festival to bring you an evening of short labour films, featuring the Canadian release of “Mother Jones: Americas Most Dangerous Woman”. Directed by Laura Vasquez and Rosemary Feurer, this short documentary celebrates the life and times of this revolutionary labour organizer and activist.

Also showing by the same directors is Lockout 484, which profiles the 2005 struggle of workers in Meredosia, Illinois, against a global conglomerate, the Celanese Corporation. Workers were locked out when they refused to take 33% wage cuts and eliminate whole divisions. The film illustrates their belief in and commitment to the union, and the effect of the lockout on their community.

Sponsored by Chivers Carpenter Lawyers.

Event Location: Metro Theater, Zeidler Hall - main floor of the Citadel Theatre Complex (9828-101A Avenue)

Event Admission: $10

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

May Day March

Time: 5:30 pm
May 1st is a day chosen by workers to acknowledge the struggles and celebrate the gains workers have made throughout history. Each year, workers around the world take to the streets to let the bosses, corporations and governments know that workers will continue to fight for fairness, justice and respect in the workplace as well as celebrate our well-fought gains. Join us!

Gather at 5:30pm at Tipton Park (108 St. and 81 Ave), march via Whyte Avenue to End of Steel park (look for caboose near Saskatchewan Drive and 87 Avenue).

Rally at End of Steel Park to follow the march, featuring the performances of Guy Smith, Notre Dame des Bananes, Lex and the People's Poets!

Event Location: Gather at 5:30pm at Tipton Park (108 St. and 81 Ave). Rally at End of Steel Park at 6:30pm.

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

IWW Panel and Pub Night

Time: 6:30 pm

Solidarity Unionism: Theory and Practice. A Tale from a New York Barista.

Join the Industrial Workers of the World for an evening of drinks and dialogue. This discussion will feature a short film on the IWW Starbucks Barista Union, highlighting the history of their New York drive, as well as a Starbucks Organizer from the Big Apple. Along with this presentation there will be a question and answer session, discussing solidarity unionism and other non-traditional organizing methods. Anyone interested in the current state of labour organizing is encouraged to attend.

Event Location: The Underdog (The basement of the Black Dog), 10425 - 82 Ave.
More Information: Edmonton IWW

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Accessing Justice Panel

Time: 6:30 pm
Do you know your rights?

Panelists from various organizations will speak on the resources and services they provide:

Edmonton Centre for Equal Justice - Offers free legal information, advice and representation for people living with low income in the Edmonton area.
Alberta Union of Provincial Employees - You can take an important step toward protecting your job security and enhancing your dignity on the job through workplace organizing.
Action for Healthy Communities - Fostering citizenship participation to improve community health and well being in central Edmonton.

Event Location: Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers, #101, 10010 - 107 A Avenue

Friday, May 04, 2007

Anarchist Bookfair Collective Panel and Discussion - the Radical History of May Day

Time: 6:30 pm
From the anarchist-organized events surrounding May 1st, 1886, such as the Haymarket Massacre, to the Worker's Revolt of 1919, to the May Day celebrations and marches of today, anarchists and the radical working class have played a vital role in May Day.

Join the Edmonton Anarchist Bookfair Collective for a discussion of the radical history of May Day.

You can also visit their blog.

Event Location: Remedy Cafe, 8631-109 Street, upstairs

SEE:

MayDay

Day of Mourning

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Mike Nickel's Retirement Home

Rumour has it that defeated right wing City Councilor and Stickman Mike Nickel has a new retirement villa where he has hunkered down to lick his wounds.

A 10-by-13-metre concrete box lies under this half-century-old shed.
It is the city bomb shelter.

Meanwhile his 'progressive' replacement at city hall has taken over Nickel's old office.....

If Iveson's fashion is a work in progress, his politics remain unclear yet, as well. As he escorts me down the councillor's wing to his office, he provides a possible clue.

"First door on the left," he says with a chuckle. Yet as he points out, it's the same office used by conservative Mike Nickel last term -- the same Nickel that Iveson toppled to many people's amazement on Oct. 15.

Theories were that Nickel cooked his own goose by being such a council contrarian last term. Conspiracy theorists blamed The Journal, or an underground left-wing movement. The most credible theory, though, is that Nickel's campaign was outworked by the youth and energy of Iveson's.

SEE:

Sticken It To The Stickman

Municipal Elections

Tags
Edmonton, Alberta, Don Iveson,Mike Nickel,stickmen,Civic election, Redmonton, Ward Five,

Support Public Radio

CJSR is winding up its Fund Drive as CKUA launches there's.
And Both give you TAX Receipts for your $$$$$$$.

And they both offer you swag and prizes over and above that!!

And as an added incentive both the Alberta and Federal governments will top up them donations. So support YOUR radio. Public Radio for the People.

You can listen to both stations online via your computer so donations can come from anywhere in Alberta, Canada, around the world (no tax reciept for you though, bwaa)

FunDrive is on!

Just 23 hours and 52 minutes till Fundrive is over!
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• Campaign Starts Tomorrow!
• Calgary Dances the Night Away!

Campaign Starts Tomorrow!

Are you ready? We are!! A fantastic new phone system is in place, excellent volunteers are anxious for your calls, and all CKUA staff are ready to make this the BEST campaign yet!

The fun begins tomorrow at 6 AM! Make your pledge online or call in to speak to one of our awesome volunteers. While you are here - online, I mean - be sure to check out the fabulous prize line up...which do you want to win??

We wish you all the best of luck and thank you in advance for showing your support, and celebrating this amazing 80 year old radio station with us. With your support, we look forward to celebrating the next 80 years.

"Thank you so much for what you do. I love that I can listen to Canada (home) and the whole world on CKUA via the internet...you enrich and enliven me every day."
Connie - Eugene, Oregon

SEE:

CKUA: Ten Years After The Privatization Putsch

The End of Public ACCESS

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REDMONTON
‘One protest just isn't going to cut it’: hundreds march against police brutality in Edmonton
 
© Ian Kucerak Demonstrators speak out against police brutality against Black people in Canada and worldwide during the Silence the Sirens march in Edmonton, on Friday, June 12, 2020. Photo by Ian Kucerak/Postmedia

After the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, and following last week’s Fight for Equity demonstration in Edmonton, co-organizers Sarah Ross, 26, and Betty Abebayehu, 23, said they felt frustrated and compelled to take action.

“We just know that there’s a lot more work that needs to be done. One protest just isn’t going to cut it,” said Ross before the march, dubbed Silence the Sirens, began. The goal is to educate people and unify the black community and its allies with a positive, peaceful protest, they said.

It’s about getting policing officials to recognize the trauma experienced by black people, Indigenous people and racialized communities, Abebayehu said.

And, Edmontonians should expect to see continuous protest and other forms of political action for change, including the lobbying of city council, they said.

Police need to acknowledge there is a racism problem so that they can work towards addressing it, said Ross.

“We’re going to need them to open their eyes,” she said.

On Monday, Deputy RCMP Commissioner Curtis Zablocki was speaking at a news conference after Alberta’s police watchdog announced charges against two officers involved in a deadly 2018 shooting in Whitecourt. He said he didn’t “believe that racism is systemic through Canadian policing, I don’t believe it’s systemic through policing in Alberta.”

Earlier Friday afternoon, Zablocki walked back the comments . Also Friday, a group representing over 200 Alberta defence lawyers called for his resignation.  
© Ian Kucerak Demonstrators speak out against police brutality against Black people in Canada and worldwide during the Silence the Sirens march in Edmonton, on Friday, June 12, 2020. Photo by Ian Kucerak/Postmedia

Attendees at the march Friday evening chanted “black lives matter” and “no justice, no peace” as they made their way from 109 St. and Jasper Ave., across the the High Level Bridge. The route took the march back north across the river to end at Churchill Square.

Abebayehu encouraged those who have the privilege to stand up for those who are vulnerable without facing any physical or political consequences to do so. That includes educating family members and co-workers and pressuring public officials for change.

Organizers acknowledged public health restrictions and safety concerns due to COVID-19, and encouraged attendees to wear masks.

“If the people of Minneapolis failed to stand up, worried about COVID-19,” Abebayehu began, “there would be no justice,” Ross said.
 
© Ian Kucerak Demonstrators speak out against police brutality against Black people in Canada and worldwide while crossing the High Level Bridge during the Silence the Sirens march in Edmonton, on Friday, June 12, 2020. Photo by Ian Kucerak/Postmedia
lijohnson@postmedia.com

REDMONTON THE NDP BASTION IN KENNEY'S BACKYARD

Federal government announces $14.9M to build affordable housing units in Edmonton

The federal government is committing $14.9 million to build dozens of new permanent, affordable housing units in Edmonton.

Caley Ramsay 1

© Global News Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Ahmed Hussen and Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson make an affordable housing announcement Tuesday, July 6, 2021.

Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, made the announcement in Edmonton on Tuesday morning.


"Every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. But far too many Canadians are put in the impossible position of having to choose between paying for their groceries and paying for their rent," Hussen said, adding the past 14 months during the COVID-19 pandemic have been particularly challenging on the most vulnerable populations.

Read more: 80 supportive housing units to be built in 2 Edmonton neighbourhoods by end of 2021

The $14.9 million in funding to support housing projects in Edmonton comes through the city stream of the federal Rapid Housing Initiative. Earlier this year, 250 affordable housing units were announced for Edmonton through this initiative.

The new funding will support the rapid creation of over 68 new permanent, affordable housing units in Edmonton, which Hussen said will be built within the next 12 months.

"This will help people in precarious housing situations," the minister said. "These targeted investments will not only stimulate the local economy but they will create good middle-class jobs when they are needed the most. Simply put, this is great news for everyone.

"Housing matters. That's the key takeaway. Housing matters now more than ever because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As we've asked people to shelter at home to control and curb COVID-19, our homes have become places of sanctuary, refuge and safety. Imagine if you're being told to shelter at home but you have no home?"

Read more: $1.5M Edmonton housing grant aims to turn problem properties into affordable housing

Mayor Don Iveson said the funding allows the city to make further strides in its efforts to end chronic homelessness in Edmonton, while reducing stress on the health, justice and law enforcement systems.

Iveson stressed that a minimum of 68 units will be created, putting the city's supportive housing total at 468 units.

"We'll see how much we can stretch that but each one of those units brings us closer to our goal of the 600 units of supportive housing we were aiming to build by next year," Iveson said.

"(We're) well on our way, but still not at our target and the need has grown on account of COVID-19. So there's still a gap here that we need to work together to fill, but this does move us closer in closing that gap."


VIDEO Edmonton mayor continues to advocate for affordable housing amid COVID-19

Iveson said he is still calling on the provincial government to step up to ensure these units have the embedded on-site operating support they need to ensure people remain housed. He is asking for $7.8 million in funding from the province for on-site supportive housing services, which fall under the jurisdiction of the provincial government.

"There's still a role for the provincial government here and we await their support," he said.

"Solving chronic homelessness is not just about four walls and a roof, it's also about treating the issues that have contributed to and led to that homelessness in the first place."

Iveson said he will be sending another letter to the provincial government outlining the city's need.

In a statement, the press secretary for Alberta's department of Community and Social Services said the provincial government needs "a concrete plan from the City of Edmonton that will allow us to work collaboratively to ensure unhoused Edmontonians have access to housing."

"We look forward to reviewing mayor Iveson's letter and finding an innovative approach to ensure we are supporting these folks," Rob Williams said.

Alberta NDP seniors and housing critic Lori Sigurdson said she was disappointed to see no UCP representation at the announcement.

"I echo the calls of Mayor Don Iveson to the UCP that operational funds are necessary to ensure Albertans who need wraparound services in affordable housing are supported," Sigurdson said.

Read more: 247 supportive, seniors’ housing units receive full federal funding as Edmonton mayor calls on province to step up

Hussen said the federal government is in talks with the provincial government to ensure supportive services are available to accompany the funding for housing.

It's not yet known where the new units will be built in Edmonton. The city said a report will be brought to council, likely in August, to approve a recommended approach on specific housing projects.

According to Homeward Trust, there are more than 2,500 people experiencing homelessness in Edmonton.

0+0=0

The right wing rump parties which really are political zeros in Alberta, except in their own minds, have declared their intention to merge. These parties have no real base, and in fact the only reason the Alberta Alliance has even a modicum of publicity is that it's leader Paul Hinman is an one seat wonder as the only AA MLA (see comments below). AA get it. Its the seven step program for Alberta's wannabe Republicans.

The question is will the new party, tentatively to be called the Wild Rose Alliance, be offering a home to Craig Chandler? If so this collections of zero's could end up as less than zero; -1.

Alberta Alliance Party & Wildrose Party to Unite

Two Alberta right-wing parties propose merger for anticipated spring vote

Wildrose, Alliance parties seek merger

SEE:

Wild Rose Party In and Out Scheme

Rent A Crowd

More Shills For Big Oil

Link Byfield's New Party

Link Byfield Goes AA

Where's The NDP?

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Premier Taft?

Picture this; Kevin Taft,



Alberta's Next Premier

Werner doesn't think so, and it appears neither do some other Liberals now that they see their chance at grabbing the brass ring. Though with leadership like his perhaps it is time for a change.

"Have (Calgary voters) stampeded to the Alberta Liberals? "No, they haven't, but a change is beginning to open up," said Taft.

And a careful read of voting patterns show that long-time Tories haven't switched wholesale to the Alberta Liberals (who suffer their own growing rump of doubters in the abilities of leader Kevin Taft) as much as they have simply stayed home.

Rod Love, former chief of staff to Klein and once nicknamed "Ralph's brain," offered some other context.

"Lest your viewers think the Liberals are about to sweep the province, the Liberal vote in Calgary Elbow went down by 100 votes," he told MDL. "The story is the Conservative vote went down 3,000 votes. It's a good thing they didn't go across the street, as we say, or Mr. Taft would have been a much happier guy."

The Tories now hold 61 of the legislature's 83 seats. The Liberals are second with 16. The NDP have four and the Alliance had one. There is one Independent.

Love noted the Liberals won 32 seats to the Tories' 51 in the 1993 provincial election, Klein's first as leader. "To us, that was an earthquake, and we won."

That was the Liberals under former Redmonton Mayor Laurence Decore and Taft ain't no Decore.

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