Daveberta Smears NDP

Daveberta the liberal blogger thinks he has found a scandal in the NDP calling for an end to corporate and union donations to political parties in Alberta. He reports in high dudgeon on his website that the NDP raised $100,000 from unions during the election campaign of 2004.

However the majority of funds raised during the campaign, as is usual with the NDP, came from individuals for a total of $180,529.35 slightly less than twice as much as raised from union contributions.

Something he fails to mention. Now why might that be?

Because unlike his former employer the Liberal Party of Alberta, the NDP gets the majority of its donations from individuals. And of course unlike the Liberals none from the big corporations in Alberta. So he has to pretend that union funding of the NDP is somehow scandalous.

Elections Alberta > Financial Disclosure > Parties > Alberta New Democrats

2005
POLITICAL PARTY
CAMPAIGN RETURN
ALBERTA NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY

SUMMARY OF CAMPAIGN PERIOD REVENUE AND EXPENDITURES
FOR THE PERIOD October 25, 2004 - January 24, 2005

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM CORPORATIONS

ALBERTA BUILDING TRADES COUNCIL INC.

EDMONTON

$7,000.00

Cash

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM TRADE UNIONS
ALBERTA & NWT REGIONAL COUNCIL OF CARPENTERS	EDMONTON	$1,000.00			Cash
ALBERTA & NWT REGIONAL COUNCIL OF CARPENTERS	EDMONTON	$2,400.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$3,400.00
AREA CNCL PAC STEELWORKERS TORONTO	TORONTO - ONTARIO		$500.00		Cash
AREA COUNCIL C E P	EDMONTON		$1,000.00		Cash
C A W CANADA			$8,000.00		Cash
C E C U	EDMONTON		$1,000.00		Cash
C E P NATIONAL	EDMONTON	$4,000.00			Cash
C E P NATIONAL	EDMONTON	$7,000.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$11,000.00
C L C	EDMONTON		$10,000.00		Cash
C M P L			$5,000.00		Cash
C S U	EDMONTON		$1,000.00		Cash
C U P E	EDMONTON		$5,000.00		Cash
CANADIAN COUNCIL A T U			$2,500.00		Cash
DISTRICT # 3 U S W A	BURNABY - B.C.		$500.00		Cash
EDMONTON FIRE FIGHTERS UNION	EDMONTON	$2,000.00			Cash
EDMONTON FIRE FIGHTERS UNION	EDMONTON	$2,000.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$4,000.00
EDMONTON LABOUR COUNCIL	EDMONTON		$750.00		Cash
IRONWORKERS LOCAL 720	EDMONTON		$3,000.00		Cash
LOCAL 1118 U F C W	RED DEER		$500.00		Cash
LOCAL 183 U N A	EDMONTON		$1,000.00		Cash
LOCAL 1900 C E P	EDMONTON		$500.00		Cash
LOCAL 569 ATU	EDMONTON		$3,000.00		Cash
LOCAL 6034 U S W A	CALGARY		$500.00		Cash
LOCAL 855 C E P	HINTON		$2,000.00		Cash
U T U	EDMONTON		$1,500.00		Cash
UNITED ASSOC OF PLUMBERS & PIPEFITTERS - LOCAL 488	EDMONTON		$14,000.00		Cash
UNITED NURSES OF ALBERTA	EDMONTON		$500.00		Cash
UNITED STEELWORKERS OF AMERICA PAC	TORONTO - ONTARIO		$500.00		Cash
WORKERS UNION TELECOMMUNICATIONS	EDMONTON	$10,000.00			Cash
WORKERS UNION TELECOMMUNICATIONS	EDMONTON	$50.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$10,050.00
YELLOWHEAD LABOUR COUNCIL	HINTON		$500.00		Cash
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATIONS
MEDICINE HAT LABOUR COUNCIL	MEDICINE HAT		$1,500.00		Cash

But what daveberta does not he tell us is how much corporations donated to his former employer the Liberal Party of Alberta during the election campaign. Count all the oil companies. Which you will not find donating to the NDP. Which of course is the whole point ain't it Dave.And note the corporate donations to the Liberals far exceed the union donations to the NDP for the same election campaign.

Elections Alberta > Financial Disclosure > Parties > Alberta Liberal Party

2005
POLITICAL PARTY
CAMPAIGN RETURN
ALBERTA LIBERAL PARTY

SUMMARY OF CAMPAIGN PERIOD REVENUE AND EXPENDITURES
FOR THE PERIOD October 25, 2004 - January 24, 2005

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM CORPORATIONS
ALBERTA VIEWS	CALGARY		$15,000.00		Cash
ALL WEATHER WINDOWS LTD	EDMONTON		$500.00		Cash
AMEC INC	OAKVILLE - ONTARIO		$2,500.00		Cash
ATCO GROUP	CALGARY		$5,000.00		Cash
BELL WEST	CALGARY		$3,000.00		Cash
BREWSTER TRANSPORTATION AND TOURS	BANFF		$500.00		Cash
CANADIAN NATIONAL	MONTREAL - QUEBEC		$3,000.00		Cash
CIBC	TORONTO - ONTARIO		$5,000.00		Cash
COHOS EVAMY	CALGARY		$1,000.00		Cash
DAVID B. ROSS PROF CORP	EDMONTON		$500.00		Cash
DAVIS & COMPANY	EDMONTON		$1,000.00		Cash
DON WHEATON LTD	EDMONTON		$5,000.00		Cash
DOW CHEMICAL CANADA INC	SARNIA - ONTARIO		$5,000.00		Cash
EDCO FINANCIAL HOLDINGS LTD	CALGARY		$2,500.00		Cash
ENBRIDGE PIPELINES INC	EDMONTON		$6,000.00		Cash
ENCANA CORPORATION	CALGARY		$5,000.00		Cash
ESPRIT EXPLORATION LTD	CALGARY		$1,000.00		Cash
FIELD MANAGEMENT SERVICES	EDMONTON		$2,500.00		Cash
HOLE'S GREENHOUSES AND GARDENS LTD	ST. ALBERT		$883.00		Valued
HUSKY OIL OPERATIONS LTD	CALGARY		$1,000.00		Cash
JAMES A. BUTLIN PROFESSIONAL CORP	CALGARY		$750.00		Cash
KATARINA O. STERLIND	VANCOUVER - B.C.		$1,000.00		Cash
LAFARGE CANADA INC.	CALGARY		$500.00		Cash
LOVINK MEDIA INC	CALGARY		$3,300.00		Valued
MADACALO INVESTMENTS LTD	CALGARY		$1,000.00		Cash
MANCAL PROPERTIES DEVELOPMENT INC	CALGARY		$2,500.00		Cash
MANCAL PROPERTY VENTURES INC	CALGARY		$2,500.00		Cash
MCDANIEL COMPANY INC.	CALGARY		$500.00		Cash
MCNALLY CUMING RAYMAKER	CALGARY		$2,000.00		Cash
NEXEN INC	CALGARY		$5,000.00		Cash
NOVA CHEMICALS CORPORATION	CALGARY		$3,000.00		Cash
OCTAGON CAPITAL CORPORATION	CALGARY		$2,500.00		Cash
P.J. PERRY	EDMONTON		$500.00		Valued
PETROVERA RESOURCES	CALGARY		$5,000.00		Cash
PHS HOLDINGS	EDMONTON		$500.00		Cash
PRECISION DRILLING CORPORATION	CALGARY		$2,500.00		Cash
PRICE WATERHOUSE COOPERS LTD	CALGARY		$1,000.00		Cash
RBC CAPITAL MARKETS	CALGARY	$5,000.00			Cash
RBC CAPITAL MARKETS	CALGARY	$5,000.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$10,000.00
READ JONES CHRISTOFFERSEN LTD	CALGARY		$500.00		Cash
REIMER LAW OFFICE	CALGARY		$500.00		Cash
ROCKWELL SERVICING PARTNERSHIP	CALGARY		$2,500.00		Cash
SCOTIABANK	TORONTO - ONTARIO		$4,000.00		Cash
SUNCOR ENERGY INC	CALGARY		$3,000.00		Cash
TD SECURITIES INC	TORONTO - ONTARIO		$1,000.00		Cash
TORONTO DOMINION BANK	TORONTO - ONTARIO		$1,600.00		Cash
TRANSALTA UTILITIES CORPORATION	CALGARY		$2,000.00		Cash
TRANSCANADA PIPE LINES	CALGARY		$5,000.00		Cash
WESTERN FINANCIAL GROUP INC	HIGH RIVER		$1,000.00		Cash
WEYERHAEUSER COMPANY LIMITED	VANCOUVER - B.C.		$2,000.00		Cash
WILL CALL OILFIELD SERVICES LTD	SPRUCE GROVE		$500.00		Cash

Total: 99 Receipts

$206,496.74

Total Campaign Period Revenue $241,438.34

Corporate donations to the Liberals were twice as much as union donations to the NDP for the election campaign in 2004! Something dave forgot to mention.

During that campaign individual donations to the Alberta Liberals totaled $34,941.6 Ouch. Not even close to the individual donations the NDP raised, and this is the real reason for daveberta's faux outrage.

His party and former employer, relies heavily on corporate funding for their election campaigns. Unlike the NDP. And so his attempt to do a bit of political slight of hand, look over there NDP gets union donations. The reality is that if the NDP policy of no corporate or union donations was the law, it would hurt the Liberals more than the NDP. And it is a policy the NDP has adopted as provincial governments across Canada.

Daveberta was outraged that Ray Martin wrote a letter last fall soliciting funding from unions for this pending election campaign. However what he does not tell his readers is that the Liberals on an annual basis raise more funds from unions than the NDP does.

Here is the 2004 corporate donations the Liberals received, during their regular operational year. And lo and behold you will find unions donating to them. Including the Building Trades Council Inc. who donated more to the Liberals than they did to the NDP. And AUPE the provincial government union which did not donate at all to the NDP. And even personal donations from the Alberta Teachers Association president Frank Bruseker who was once a Liberal MLA.

BRUSEKER, FRANK	AIRDRIE	$500.00			Cash
BRUSEKER, FRANK	AIRDRIE	$100.00			Cash
BRUSEKER, FRANK	AIRDRIE	$20.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$620.00

Total donations from unions to the Liberals for the operating year 2004 was $47,675, while total union donations to the NDP was $14,000. So sorry no the NDP are not being hypocrites, they are calling for legislation that daveberta and his Liberal pals fear because it would limit their corporate fund raising including from their pals in the union movement. If any party benefits from union donations more than the NDP it's the Liberals. Because they lack the NDP's financial support which is based on individual contributions.

Mind you the NDP benefits from more unions donating to it, while the Liberals rely on their pals in the Building Trades, ATA, and AUPE to support them. These are unions and associations aligned politically to the Liberals as their donations show.

Elections Alberta > Financial Disclosure > Parties > Alberta Liberal Party

2004
POLITICAL PARTY
ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT
ALBERTA LIBERAL PARTY

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM CORPORATIONS
AINSWORTH LUMBER CO LTD	GRANDE PRAIRIE		$3,000.00		Cash
ALBERTA BLUE CROSS	EDMONTON		$550.00		Cash
ALBERTA BUILDING TRADES COUNCIL INC.	EDMONTON	$2,200.00			Cash
ALBERTA BUILDING TRADES COUNCIL INC.	EDMONTON	$12,000.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$14,200.00
ALBERTA FOREST PRODUCTS ASSOC INC	EDMONTON		$550.00		Cash
ALBERTA MOTOR ASSOCIATION	EDMONTON		$550.00		Cash
ALBERTA ROADBUILDERS & HEAVY CONST.	EDMONTON		$550.00		Cash
ALBERTA VIEWS	CALGARY		$15,000.00		Cash
ALLIANCE PIPELINE LIMITED	CALGARY		$875.00		Cash
ALTAGAS SERVICES INC	CALGARY		$525.00		Cash
AON REED STENHOUSE INC	EDMONTON		$550.00		Cash
APEGGA	EDMONTON		$550.00		Cash
ARTTEC ADVERTISING INC	EDMONTON		$550.00		Cash
ASSOCIATED ENGINEERING ALBERTA LTD	EDMONTON		$500.00		Cash
BOMBAY PALACE RESTAURANT	EDMONTON		$500.00		Cash
BREWSTER TRANSPORTATION AND TOURS	BANFF		$500.00		Cash
BURLINGTON RESOURCES CANADA LTD	CALGARY		$1,200.00		Cash
CANACCORD CAPITAL CORPORATION	VANCOUVER - B.C.		$1,750.00		Cash
CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF OILWELL DRI	CALGARY		$1,100.00		Cash
CANADIAN ENERGY PIPELINE ASSOCIATION	CALGARY		$875.00		Cash
CANADIAN NATURAL RESOURCES LTD	CALGARY		$1,100.00		Cash
CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY COMPANY	CALGARY		$550.00		Cash
CANADIAN SALT COMPANY LIMITED	POINTE CLAIRE - QUEBEC		$1,000.00		Cash
CAPITAL PACKERS INC	EDMONTON	$500.00			Cash
CAPITAL PACKERS INC	EDMONTON	$100.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$600.00
CARLYLE & ASSOCIATES	EDMONTON		$550.00		Cash
CARMA DEVELOPERS LTD.	EDMONTON	$550.00			Cash
CARMA DEVELOPERS LTD.	CALGARY	$200.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$750.00
COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS	EDMONTON	$275.00			Cash
COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS	EDMONTON	$525.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$800.00
CORIL HOLDINGS LTD	CALGARY		$2,000.00		Cash
DOUGLAS A. LYNASS PROF CORP	EDMONTON	$550.00			Cash
DOUGLAS A. LYNASS PROF CORP	EDMONTON	$350.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$900.00
DRAGICH DESIGN	EDMONTON		$850.00		Valued
DYNACARE KASPER MEDICAL LABORATORIES	EDMONTON		$1,000.00		Cash
ENBRIDGE PIPELINES INC	EDMONTON	$2,200.00			Cash
ENBRIDGE PIPELINES INC	EDMONTON	$1,000.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$3,200.00
ENER-WEST PROJECTS LTD	CALGARY		$550.00		Cash
FIELD ATKINSON PERRATON MANAGEMENT	EDMONTON		$2,200.00		Cash
FIRSTENERGY CAPITAL CORP	CALGARY		$1,000.00		Cash
FWD STEP RESOURCES	CALGARY	$500.00			Cash
FWD STEP RESOURCES	CALGARY	$25.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$525.00
GENERAL ELECTRIC CANADA INC	MISSISSAUGA - ONTARIO		$1,000.00		Cash
GRAHAM GROUP LTD	CALGARY		$1,000.00		Cash
HAMILTON HALL SOYES/RAY & BERNDTSON INC	CALGARY		$1,000.00		Cash
HEMISPHERE ENGINEERING INC.	EDMONTON		$550.00		Cash
HOLE'S GREENHOUSES AND GARDENS LTD	ST. ALBERT	$836.74			Cash
HOLE'S GREENHOUSES AND GARDENS LTD	ST. ALBERT	$50.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$886.74
HUSKY OIL OPERATIONS LTD	CALGARY		$2,000.00		Cash
IMPERIAL OIL LIMITED	CALGARY		$3,500.00		Cash
IMPERIAL OIL RESOURCES LTD	CALGARY		$3,500.00		Cash
INLAND LEHIGH CEMENT LIMITED	EDMONTON	$2,200.00			Cash
INLAND LEHIGH CEMENT LIMITED	EDMONTON	$1,000.00			Cash
INLAND LEHIGH CEMENT LIMITED	EDMONTON	$500.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$3,700.00
J.E. (BUD) MILLER CONSULTING LTD	KITSCOTY		$500.00		Cash
JAMES A. BUTLIN PROFESSIONAL CORP	CALGARY	$275.00			Cash
JAMES A. BUTLIN PROFESSIONAL CORP	CALGARY	$500.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$775.00
K P ACCOUNTING & TAX SERVICES	EDMONTON		$1,000.00		Cash
K P M G	EDMONTON		$550.00		Cash
LOCAL #8 SHEETMETAL BENEVOLENT FUN	EDMONTON		$750.00		Cash
LUSCAR LTD	EDMONTON		$3,000.00		Cash
LUTHRA LAW OFFICE	EDMONTON		$500.00		Cash
MANSELL PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSULTING SE	EDMONTON		$500.00		Cash
MCDANIEL & ASSOCIATES CONSULTANTS LTD	CALGARY		$500.00		Cash
MCNALLY VALUATIONS INC	EDMONTON	$550.00			Cash
MCNALLY VALUATIONS INC	EDMONTON	$350.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$900.00
NEXEN INC	CALGARY	$550.00			Cash
NEXEN INC	CALGARY	$2,200.00			Cash
NEXEN INC	CALGARY	$12,000.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$14,750.00
NICHOLAS PERELES PROF CORP	CALGARY	$1,000.00			Cash
NICHOLAS PERELES PROF CORP	CALGARY	$350.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$1,350.00
NORTHLANDS PARK	EDMONTON		$550.00		Cash
PARKER FORD & MACKAY SPECIALTY OPT	EDMONTON		$550.00		Cash
PAUL ZIFF & CO NATURAL GAS CONSULT	CALGARY	$275.00			Cash
PAUL ZIFF & CO NATURAL GAS CONSULT	CALGARY	$250.00			Cash
PAUL ZIFF & CO NATURAL GAS CONSULT	CALGARY	$250.00			Cash
PAUL ZIFF & CO NATURAL GAS CONSULT	CALGARY	$500.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$1,275.00
PCL CONSTRUCTION GROUP INC	EDMONTON		$5,000.00		Cash
PETERS & CO. LIMITED	CALGARY		$1,000.00		Cash
PHARMACISTS ASSOCIATION OF ALBERTA	EDMONTON		$550.00		Cash
PIPELLA AND COMPANY BARRISTERS AND SOLICITORS	CALGARY	$550.00			Cash
PIPELLA AND COMPANY BARRISTERS AND SOLICITORS	CALGARY	$350.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$900.00
QUALICO DEVELOPMENTS WEST LTD	EDMONTON		$550.00		Cash
ROYAL BANK OF CANADA	EDMONTON	$1,100.00			Cash
ROYAL BANK OF CANADA	EDMONTON	$2,000.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$3,100.00
SCHUMACHER & ASSOCIATES	WETASKIWIN		$825.00		Cash
SCOTIABANK	TORONTO - ONTARIO		$2,000.00		Cash
SECURITY LIFE AND INVESTMENT	CALGARY		$400.00		Cash
SHAW COMMUNICATIONS INC	CALGARY		$550.00		Cash
SHELLY'S ENTERPRISE LTD	EDMONTON		$1,000.00		Cash
SUNCOR ENERGY INC	CALGARY		$6,500.00		Cash
T. BOWEN & A. ROBERTS PROF CORP	CALGARY	$275.00			Cash
T. BOWEN & A. ROBERTS PROF CORP	CALGARY	$175.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$450.00
TALISMAN ENERGY INC	CALGARY	$550.00			Cash
TALISMAN ENERGY INC	CALGARY	$5,000.00			Cash
TALISMAN ENERGY INC	CALGARY	$1,000.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$6,550.00
TAURUS INVESTMENTS LTD	EDMONTON	$825.00			Cash
TAURUS INVESTMENTS LTD	EDMONTON	$1,000.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$1,825.00
TECHNA-WEST ENGINEERING LTD	EDMONTON		$550.00		Cash
TELUS	EDMONTON	$2,200.00			Cash
TELUS	EDMONTON	$2,200.00			Cash
TELUS	EDMONTON	$700.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$5,100.00
TERASEN PIPELINES INC	CALGARY		$1,225.00		Cash
THE COHOS EVAMY	CALGARY	$275.00			Cash
THE COHOS EVAMY	CALGARY	$275.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$550.00
THE TORONTO DOMINION BANK	EDMONTON		$2,200.00		Cash
THURBER ENGINEERING LTD	EDMONTON		$550.00		Cash
TRARION RESOURCES LTD	STONY PLAIN		$500.00		Cash
VINTERRA PROPERTIES INC	EDMONTON	$1,100.00			Cash
VINTERRA PROPERTIES INC	EDMONTON	$50.00			Cash
VINTERRA PROPERTIES INC	EDMONTON	$750.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$1,900.00
WEYERHAEUSER COMPANY LTD	EDMONTON		$550.00		Cash
WILL CALL OILFIELD SERVICES LTD	SPRUCE GROVE		$550.00		Cash
WILLIAM E. SEVICK PROFESSIONAL CORP	EDMONTON	$550.00			Cash
WILLIAM E. SEVICK PROFESSIONAL CORP	EDMONTON	$500.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$1,050.00
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM TRADE UNIONS
ALBERT & NWT REGIONAL COUNCIL OF CARPENTERS AND ALLIED WORKERS	EDMONTON	$1,000.00			Cash
ALBERT & NWT REGIONAL COUNCIL OF CARPENTERS AND ALLIED WORKERS	EDMONTON	$275.00			Cash
ALBERT & NWT REGIONAL COUNCIL OF CARPENTERS AND ALLIED WORKERS	EDMONTON	$1,000.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$2,275.00
AUPE LOCAL 50	EDMONTON		$2,000.00		Cash
AUPE LOCAL 9	EDMONTON	$500.00			Cash
AUPE LOCAL 9	EDMONTON	$200.00			Cash
AUPE LOCAL 9	EDMONTON	$10,500.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$11,200.00
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF BOILERMAKERS IRON SHIP BUILERS	EDMONTON		$15,000.00		Cash
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMST	CALGARY		$500.00		Cash
INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING EN	EDMONTON	$3,000.00			Cash
INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING EN	EDMONTON	$750.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$3,750.00

Elections Alberta > Financial Disclosure > Parties > Alberta New Democrats

2004
POLITICAL PARTY
ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT
ALBERTA NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM CORPORATIONS
629075 ALBERTA LTD	EDMONTON		$400.00		Cash
ALBERTA BUILDING TRADES COUNCIL INC.	EDMONTON		$4,000.00		Cash
ALL WRIGHT INFOTECH	EDMONTON		$600.00		Valued
LYLE S R KANEE PROF CORP	EDMONTON		$420.00		Cash
P GILL CNC INDUSTRIES LTD	EDMONTON		$500.00		Cash
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM TRADE UNIONS
AREA COUNCIL C E P	EDMONTON		$4,000.00		Cash
C E P NATIONAL	EDMONTON	$1,000.00			Cash
C E P NATIONAL	EDMONTON	$5,000.00			Cash
C E P NATIONAL	EDMONTON	$4,000.00			Cash
		Subtotal:	$10,000.00

So nice try dave, guess all those blogging awards and the ensuing publicity you get now as a political blogger have gone to your head. Next time you try a drive by smear full of righteous indignation get your facts straight. And before making allegations about union influence over political parties look in your own back yard.



SEE:

Diotte Endorses Mason and NDP


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Calgary committee endorses climate emergency declaration

By Adam MacVicar & Adam Toy Global News
Posted November 9, 2021 

The City of Calgary is one step closer to declaring a climate emergency after a unanimous vote by a city committee on Tuesday. As Adam MacVicar reports, council hopes the symbolic gesture will open up more investment opportunities.

An effort to declare a climate emergency in Calgary cleared its first hurdle Tuesday.

Meeting for the first time this term, the city’s executive committee voted unanimously to have the notice of motion debated at council as a whole, including a final vote.

The notice of motion from Ward 5 Coun. Raj Dhaliwal calls for the City of Calgary to declare a climate emergency and adjust the city’s emissions reduction targets to net-zero by 2050. The current goal within the City of Calgary is to reduce 80 per cent of 2005 emissions in the same timeframe.

READ MORE: Climate emergency declaration could have Calgary aiming for net zero by 2050

According to experts, that is the base target around the globe to limit warming of the climate to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek helped the novice councillor write the notice of motion and a number of other councillors, including Ward 9’s Gian-Carlo Carra and Ward 12’s Evan Spencer, were among those named co-signatories to the declaration.

Dhaliwal, who worked in the energy sector prior to running for public office, said climate change was an issue he heard about during the campaign following the hailstorm in the city’s northeast, with many of his constituents still waiting for repairs following the billion-dollar hailstorm in 2020. Dhaliwal said he heard “one simple question” while campaigning.

“Why isn’t city doing more on climate change? Why are we kicking the can down the street?” Dhaliwal told the committee. “My kids or their kids, they don’t want to see this again in their lifetime.”

“They were telling me they want to see robust plans that will protect not only us but future generations and make the city more resilient in a way.”

According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, Calgary and Alberta have been subject to at least six of the top 10 most-costly years on record from severe weather. The 2020 hailstorm resulted in more than $! billion in insured damages.

READ MORE: Majority support Trudeau’s climate policy pitches made at COP26, poll suggests

The climate emergency declaration aims to make climate change “a strategic priority” and calls on administration to develop strategic business plans and budgets across each city department to invest in and implement emissions-reduction and climate risk-reduction projects.

Proponents said the declaration would unlock opportunities for investment dollars to come into the city.

READ MORE: Calgary election: The future of the city with a changed climate

“There are numerous business advantages. There are investment opportunities that we are missing out on,” Ward 14 Coun. Peter Demong said. “The entrepreneurial spirit here in Calgary will take this and run with it. So I’m looking forward to it.”

Demong added investment drawn to Calgary as a result of the declaration could help lift the city from a pandemic-induced recession.

“What it does is it helps position the City of Calgary in terms of the language of the globe,” head of Alberta Eco Trust Climate Fund Mike Mellross told Global News.

“The rest of the globe is very interested in low-carbon solutions and transitioning the economy to low-carbon pathways.

“A climate emergency helps to signal that to various entities that might want to invest in Calgary and that actually can help attract talent.”
Skepticism shows

Ward 10 Coun. Andre Chabot hoped to move some of the language in the motion to make net zero a goal rather than an active process. Dick Ebersohn, the city manager leading climate change and environment policy planning, said the language in the motion is standard across worldwide cities who have also declared climate emergencies.

Chabot challenged the idea of human-induced climate change, citing “different presentations” he’s listened to.

“There’s been some that would suggest that the rise in the earth’s temperature actually preceded the rise in the CO2 levels,” Chabot said.

READ MORE: Alberta economy to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2022; Calgary mayor sets stage for city’s recovery

Gondek quickly noted that Chabot should hold his debate until the Nov. 15 city council meeting, as Tuesday’s committee meeting was more a matter of technical review of the proposed motion.

Amendments to the notice of motion also call for the implementation of a carbon budget as well as advocacy for funding to reduce climate risk to public infrastructure including upstream flood and drought mitigation on the Bow River.

It also calls for the City of Calgary to work with civic partners and subsidiaries to get aligned with the net-zero-by-2050 target.

2:19 Alberta’s economy looks to transition to renewable energy – Nov 1, 2021

“When we start looking at our relationship with how we move around the city — whether it be transit, active mobility, accessibility lanes and so on — that’s one huge way of us changing our culture of convenience and our lifestyle to creating a future-friendly, climate-resilient city,” Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott said.

“How we build, our land use, the strategies that we employ at a city level to create those changes are going to be some of the most impactful shifts that the city will have a hand in.”

According to Ebersohn, work is underway to provide Calgarians an incentive to retrofit their homes with more sustainable materials and energy sources like solar panels.

Ebersohn also told Global News a strategy is underway to transition the city’s fleet of vehicles to help towards emissions-reduction targets.

“Commercial and residential sectors are key sectors for us to intervene in,” Ebersohn said. “It’s the buildings and the transportation sector that are the key contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, and that’s what we need to focus on.”

Reports into these initiatives and strategies are expected next year which will include more details as well as a better idea of costs for the city and taxpayers.
New time, new council

The federal government and the cities of Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal have all declared climate emergencies, most in 2019, leaving Calgary as a laggard.

Whether the past city councillors would have been as favourable of such a declaration was speculation Carra would not engage in on Tuesday.

But asked whether it was the current time the city is living in or the new members of council that led to the endorsement for the declaration of a climate emergency, the Ward 9 representative said “yes.”

1:45 Climate change action top of mind for Calgarians: poll – Sep 8, 2021

“I suspect the climate emergency motion would not have passed in the last council, and I think that declaring a climate emergency is a declaration that we’re doing things differently and we are responding to the will of the electorate in terms of addressing the challenges facing our city right now,” Carra said.

Demong — one of four returning members of council — was also unsure of whether city council would have passed such a declaration before 2021.

“If it did, it would have been tight, but I try not to guess what council’s going to do or should, would have or should have done.”

The motion to declare a climate emergency in Calgary goes to the next meeting of city council on Nov. 15.

Braid: Climate emergency declaration boosts Calgary's economic recovery

At this crucial stage, Calgary must not seem lukewarm about the climate action investors want

Author of the article: Don Braid • Calgary Herald
Publishing date:Nov 09, 2021

Mayor Jyoti Gondek speaks at an orientation outlining the 2022 Adjustments to the One Calgary Service Plans and Budgets report at Calgary Municipal Building on Monday, November 8, 2021. PHOTO BY AZIN GHAFFARI/POSTMEDIA
Article content

Mayor Jyoti Gondek’s declaration of climate emergency won’t face much trouble from her new council. It’s likely to pass by 12-3 or better when the vote comes Nov. 15.

About time, too. More than 500 Canadian cities, towns, hamlets and the federal Parliament have already passed this resolution. Edmonton did so in 2019.

By failing to sign on, Calgary risks looking like a climate change denier. That would harm the city’s reputation — and economy.

Premier Jason Kenney, exercising his knee-jerk reflex to almost anything coming out of Calgary council, scolded Gondek when she announced her intention.

“In a city that has been suffering from near double-digit unemployment, that has gone through five years of deep economic adversity, I find that a peculiar priority,” Kenney said.

“I would have thought that the mayor of Calgary’s top priority would be getting Calgarians back to work,” he said. “That’s certainly my top priority.”

But this climate declaration is very much about jobs. It’s a signal to the country and the world that the city is open to investment in technology and innovation, as well as the oil and gas industry’s transition to net-zero emissions.

That 2019 declaration sure didn’t hurt Edmonton. Although times are far from easy there, the capital has done much better than Calgary.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

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There has been massive investment in petrochemicals and now hydrogen on Edmonton’s eastern frontier. The province approved and backed projects with no worry about the local council’s climate 

Largely due to COVID-19, Edmonton lost 12,700 jobs in the past two years, according to a Calgary report on post-pandemic recovery.

But Calgary lost 26,100 jobs in the same period. Our unemployment rate is consistently higher than Edmonton’s, running at 9.3 per cent since 2019.

If a climate emergency declaration can be linked to jobs, as Kenney seems determined to do, there’s an argument that Edmonton is doing better because it passed one.

Now Calgary has scored Amazon Web Service’s (AWS) second hub in Canada, after Montreal, which declared a climate emergency in 2019. There will be 900 jobs and $4 billion in spending, including construction of three sites in Calgary.

Amazon won’t be offended by council’s climate declaration. The vast overall company is committed to net-zero carbon emissions across all its operations by 2040

The Calgary win is called “transformational,” and for once that’s no exaggeration.

It signals that Calgary is a top-tier international magnet for investment. Other companies cluster near Amazon sites like iron filings around a magnet.

Calgary beat out Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver, says Patrick Mattern, vice-president of business development for Calgary Economic Development. There were many factors, including real estate costs and tax rates.

It was a stunning sunrise as clouds glow over the downtown Calgary skyline on Wednesday, November 3, 2021.

PHOTO BY GAVIN YOUNG/POSTMEDIA

Although Mattern can’t say for sure if there’s a connection, Calgary’s aggressive bid for Amazon’s second headquarters (HQ2) probably helped.

The city failed to make the final cut in early 2018 — Toronto was the only Canadian city on the list of 20 — but still made an impression. A site in Virginia was the eventual winner.

In 2017, Amazon located a fulfilment centre at Balzac. That has since been followed by a sorting facility.

The region was already well-known to Amazon when talks began in 2019 with AWS, the most profitable unit of Amazon, supplier of cloud computing, storage, networking and a lot more.

Only a day after the Amazon news came out, a business support company called Plug and Play announced location of a headquarters in Calgary.

Jobs Minister Doug Schweitzer noted that in the past two years, the number of tech companies in the province has jumped from 1,800 to 3,000.

After six tough years and too many empty buildings, Calgary’s economic future is taking shape.

It’s a mix of digital companies, health sciences, AI and energy companies that branch into new areas while cutting emissions from production.

At this crucial stage, Calgary must not seem lukewarm about the climate action investors want.

So, get it over with. Pass that resolution.

Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Herald

Twitter: @DonBraid

Braid: Kenney shuffle cements Calgary's complete dominance of cabinet

Don Braid, Calgary Herald 

In parts of rural Alberta, the UCP government is known as the United Calgary Party.

© Provided by Calgary Herald Premier Jason Kenney speaks alongside new cabinet members after a swearing in ceremony at Government House in Edmonton, on Thursday, July 8, 2021.

There’s good reason.

Premier Jason Kenney’s cabinet now has 26 members, including 20 full ministers, five associates and the premier himself.

Seventeen are from Calgary ridings.

This is the most geographically lopsided cabinet ever.

Calgary is clearly the power centre not just in numbers, but in influence.

MLAs from the city hold most key ministries, including Health, Energy, Municipal Affairs, Infrastructure, Transportation, Jobs and Innovation, Social Services, Seniors and Advanced Education.

And there’s the premier himself, who represents Calgary-Lougheed.

That riding is named for former premier Peter Lougheed. He would never have allowed this concentration of power. Lougheed was always sensitive to regional balance — one reason the Progressive Conservative regime lasted for 43 years.

Brian Jean, the former Wildrose leader who has called on Kenney to resign, said Thursday on Facebook: “Alberta now has one minister from everywhere north of Morinville (35 km north of Edmonton) and zero ministers from everywhere south of Calgary.”

The sole northerner is Finance Minister Travis Toews, from Grande Prairie-Wapiti.

In the south, there is no minister from Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Brooks, Fort Macleod, Cardston or Pincher Creek — all places represented by UCP MLAs, but not one of them in cabinet.

In the north, Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo has nobody in cabinet — the most glaring omission of all, perhaps, given the region’s enormous economic importance.

All of northeastern Alberta is without a cabinet member.

There are 23 UCP MLAs in the city of Calgary. With 17 in cabinet, the odds of getting a spot are nearly 74 per cent.

The UCP has 38 members outside Calgary and Edmonton. That group supplies eight ministers. Rate of cabinet success: 21 per cent.

The only reason Edmontonians don’t shriek with rage is that they voted NDP in every riding but one, Edmonton-South West. It went to Kaycee Madu, the justice minister. He holds the safest cabinet post in Alberta.

But there’s no good reason for the imbalance between Calgary and the rest of the province. It became even more striking with Thursday’s cabinet shuffle.

Kenney kicked out a full minister, Leela Aheer from Chestermere-Strathmore, and an associate, Grant Hunter from Taber-Warner.

© Ian Kucerak Tanya Fir is sworn in as the Associate Minister of Red Tape Reduction during a cabinet appointment ceremony at Government House in Edmonton, on Thursday, July 8, 2021.

The premier replaced Hunter with Tanya Fir from Calgary-Peigan. Aheer’s role was broken into three pieces, two of which went to Calgarians: Muhammad Yaseen (Calgary-North) and Whitney Issik (Calgary-Glenmore.)

Of the five new associates appointed, four are Calgarians.

Mike Ellis of Calgary-West was promoted to associate for mental health and addictions.

The former occupant, Jason Luan of Calgary-Foothills, got the full portfolio of Community and Social Services

.

© Ian Kucerak Jason Luan shakes Premier Jason Kenney’s hand after being sworn in as Minister of Community and Social Services during a cabinet appointment ceremony at Government House in Edmonton, on Thursday, July 8, 2021. Photo by Ian Kucerak

And that job opened up because Rajan Sawhney of Calgary-North East moved to Transportation, leaving Ric McIver (Calgary-Hays) with only one senior job, Municipal Affairs.

Most of the shuffling, in fact, was among Calgarians moving in and up.

Only two small city/rural politicians advanced. Ron Orr (Lacombe-Ponoka) replaced Aheer in Culture. Nate Horner, from Drumheller-Stettler, got the new associate post for Rural Economic Development.

Horner’s appointment was a real gain for Albertans outside the big cities — but the only one.

Many rural conservatives are upset.

“This is not proper representation,” says Todd Loewen from Central Peace-Notley, who was kicked out of the UCP caucus for sending Kenney a public letter telling him to resign.

“It’s not right to consolidate power by regionally excluding large numbers of Albertans from having representation at the cabinet table.”

The huge cabinet contingent shows that Calgary is the obvious battleground in the next election. It may also be true that UCP strategists feel there’s no harm in bulking up Calgary because they can’t possibly lose rural Alberta.

If so, this is a dangerous strategy for the UCP. It runs against how premiers have always constructed their cabinets, with the goal of rough equity among the two big cities and the rest of the province.

Edmonton voted itself out of this formula, but virtually all of rural and small-city Alberta backed the UCP, without any idea it would come to look like the United Calgary Party.

Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Calgary Herald.

dbraid@postmedia.com

Twitter: @DonBraid

Facebook: Don Braid Politics

Global tech accelerator Plug and Play announces headquarters in Calgary

'We want to be the bridge between Calgary, Edmonton and Silicon Valley to connect the dots,' said Saeed Amidi, CEO and founder of Plug and Play

Author of the article: Brittany Gervais
Publishing date: Nov 09, 2021 • 

Saeed Amidi, founder and CEO of Plug and Play, poses for a photo at Platform Calgary on Tuesday, November 9, 2021.

 PHOTO BY AZIN GHAFFARI/POSTMEDIA

Global business accelerator Plug and Play announced a new headquarters in Calgary as the city’s $100-million investment fund pledged to support its efforts to connect local tech startups to international corporations.

The Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund (OCIF) pledged $7 million over five years to Plug and Play Alberta to support Calgary-based startups in the program.

In return, Plug and Play will open a new headquarters in the city to deliver accelerator programs in digital health, sustainable clean resources and AI, connecting local startups to corporate partners.

“This is an outcome that will have lasting impacts on the city of Calgary,” Mark Blackwell, executive chair with OCIF, said during a news conference in the city’s southwest.

“Quite frankly, we’re too small of a city, too small of a province, for us to go alone. And we have to do this to attract the best in the world to Calgary and Alberta.”

Headquartered in Silicon Valley, the global tech investor and accelerator firm has a network of more than 500 corporations and 30,000 startups, as well as hundreds of venture capital firms, universities and government agencies.

“We want to be the bridge between Calgary, Edmonton and Silicon Valley to connect the dots,” said Saeed Amidi, CEO and founder of Plug and Play.

“If we utilize the connectivity with that database, we could make Calgary and Alberta the centre of innovation for digital health, remote health. It really could create magic.”

Corporations including Walmart, Cargill, Mercedes, Ford and McDonalds look to Plug and Play for emerging digital technologies, said Amidi. In Calgary, Plug and Play will focus on clean resources, digital health and general acceleration for AI.

But startups are the bread and butter of the global tech accelerator. Plug and Play invests in more than 200 startups per year globally, Amidi said, with plans to invest in 80 startups per year in Calgary.

“Forty of those 80 startups will get additional funding, and they will have clients through our corporate partners,” Amidi said.

In the health tech sector alone, Plug and Play is connected to about 40 pharmaceutical companies and hospital groups that look to them for diagnostic technology, he said.

“We’re going to show them a lot of great startups from Calgary.”

Plug and Play will be supported by a funding consortium led by Alberta Innovates, an Alberta government Crown corporation.

Three orders of government are investing approximately $35 million for the Alberta Scaleup and Growth Accelerators Program , which aims to create 20,000 jobs and $5 billion in technology firm revenue by 2030.

This includes funding from Alberta’s Department of Jobs, Economy and Innovation to Alberta Innovates to manage the program, and from the federal government through Prairies Economic Development Canada (PrairiesCan) to expand funds available to not-for-profit business accelerators. The initiative also includes Innovate Edmonton and the OCIF at the municipal level.

Downtown Calgary was photographed on Wednesday, October 27, 2021.

 PHOTO BY AZIN GHAFFARI/POSTMEDIA

Major indicators of growth

Jobs and Economy Minister Doug Schweitzer said Plug and Play’s presence in Alberta will fast-track the province’s “emerging and maturing technology sector.”

More than 3,000 tech companies are now located in the province, up from 1,200 in 2018, Schweitzer said.

“We’re even having companies get to that unicorn status here recently with Benevity,” he said, referring to the Calgary-based software company’s $1.1-billion deal with British-based Hg Capital LLP last December.

Other major indicators of growth were seen as recently as this week.

On Monday, Amazon Web Services announced a new cloud computing hub in Calgary, bringing more than $4 billion in investment with it over time — and creating more than 950 full-time jobs across Canada.

And in July, RBC announced plans for 300 tech hires over the next three years at the company’s new Calgary Innovation Hub.

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“It’s encouraging to see where this industry is growing in our province, and I think it’s another indication that Alberta is on the rebound and has a very bright future ahead,” Schweitzer said.

Plug and Play Alberta was selected for OCIF support after putting out a request for proposals (RFP) in March for business incubators to address a ‘scale-up gap’ for local tech companies in Calgary.

According to Alberta Innovates, half of all startups in the province survive more than five years but only 0.1 per cent of small firms become mid-sized. Only two per cent of mid-sized firms grow to become large companies.

The OCIF was launched by the City of Calgary in 2018 to support investments that spur growth and create jobs in strategic sectors. Plug and Play is the 17th organization to be approved for funding.

Significant number of women, people of colour elected in Alberta municipal elections

CALGARY — The next mayor of Calgary says the diversity of the city's incoming council will bring "strength to decision-making" at a time when a significant number of women and people of colour were elected to municipal offices across Alberta.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Jyoti Gondek, the first woman to hold the city's top job in its history, will lead a council filled with rookies after only three incumbents held on to their seats during Monday's municipal elections.

The unofficial results show one-third of the city's 15 seats will be held by women and up to six will be held by people of colour.

"We have finally demonstrated that women and people of colour can be in leadership positions. I hope we have normalized this now," said Gondek. "I hope people will see that Calgary truly is a city that is inclusive and that, if you prepare yourself well, you can take on leadership roles."

Calgary wasn't the only Alberta city to make history Monday. Grande Prairie and Medicine Hat will also swear in their first female mayors after Jackie Clayton and Linnsie Clark won their respective seats.

Edmonton is also celebrating its first person of colour to become mayor.

Former federal cabinet minister Amarjeet Sohi, a Sikh immigrant from India, will lead the capital's most diverse council with eight of 13 seats to be held by women and four by people of colour.

"For too long, diverse voices have not been on the table," Sohi said during a Tuesday interview on the Real Talk online show with host Ryan Jespersen.

"Diversity means people bringing their real, lived experience … and that perspective — and then clashing of those ideas in a constructive way — allows us to be more innovative and more creative."

He said Edmontonians are facing "daunting" challenges, such as economic recovery and the COVID-19 pandemic, and having varied perspectives on city council will help to address those in worthwhile ways.

D.A. Dirks, a professor at Calgary's Mount Royal University who specializes in gender and sexuality studies, said more visibly diverse city councils are a hopeful sign but only if they result in meaningful change for the communities they represent.

"Visibility is important but it’s not the end (in terms of) encouraging folks who are not the usual suspects in politics to think of themselves as being potentially able to run," said Dirks.

"You have to change the structures that have been in place to impede more diverse representation in politics."

There are still far too few Indigenous, Black and sexually-diverse people in elected city roles, Dirks added, and that can inhibit meaningful work toward decolonization and inclusivity.

Voting results will be official on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2021.

Alanna Smith, The Canadian Press

Jyoti Gondek

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Jyoti Gondek
Mayor-elect of Calgary
Assuming office October 25, 2021
Succeeding	Naheed Nenshi
City of Calgary Councillor
In office 2017–2021
Preceded by	Jim Stevenson
Succeeded by	Jasmine Mian
Constituency	Ward 3
Personal details
Born	1969 (age 51–52)[1][2] London, England, United Kingdom
Nationality	Canadian
Spouse(s)	Todd Gondek   ​ (m. 1996)​ [3]
Residence	Calgary, Alberta
Alma mater	University of Calgary
Website	www.jyotigondek.ca/meet-jyoti.html

The Mayor-elect of Calgary Jyoti Gondek delivering a victory speech at her campaign headquarters

Prabjhote Kaur "Jyoti" Gondek^[4][5] (born 1969) is a Canadian politician, currently the mayor-elect of Calgary, Alberta.^[6][7] She was elected Calgary's 37th, and first female mayor on October 18, 2021.^[8] She was previously councillor for Ward 3, which includes the communities of Country Hills, Country Hills Village, Coventry Hills, Harvest Hills and Panorama Hills,^[9] since 2017.^[6] She will be sworn in along with the incoming city council on October 25, 2021.^[10]

Born in London, England,^[11] Gondek is the daughter of Punjabi parents Jasdev Singh Grewal, a lawyer, and Surjit Kaur Grewal.^[12] She immigrated to Canada with her parents in the early 1970s, initially settling in Manitoba.^[3] She was awarded a Ph.D. in urban sociology from the University of Calgary ^[13]. Gondek also holds a bachelor's degree in criminology/sociology from the University of British Columbia, and a master's degree in organizational sociology from the University of Manitoba.^[11][1]

References[edit]

1. ^ Jump up to:^a b White, Ryan (October 1, 2021). "Meet Calgary's mayoral candidates". CTV News Calgary. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
2. ^ "Theses Canada". Library and Archives Canada. OCLC 56963849. Retrieved October 19, 2021. Gondek, Prabhjote Kaur,1969-
3. ^ Jump up to:^a b "Meet Calgary's new mayor-elect, Jyoti Gondek". CBC News. October 9, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
4. ^ Dippel, Scott (March 25, 2018). "Five Calgary city councillors talk about their real names". CBC News. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
5. ^ "Outstanding Graduating Sociology Student Award - Canadian Sociological Association". www.csa-scs.ca.
6. ^ Jump up to:^a b About Councillor Jyoti Gondek. City of Calgary. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
7. ^ "Jyoti Gondek elected as Calgary's first female mayor". CTV News Calgary. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
8. ^ Meet Calgary's Mayoral Candidates. CTV News October 7, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
9. ^ "Ward 3 communities". Retrieved October 8, 2021.
10. ^ Toy, Adam (October 18, 2021). "Jyoti Gondek becomes 1st woman to serve as Calgary mayor". Global News. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
11. ^ Jump up to:^a b Hagenaars, Stephanie (June 18, 2021). "Jyoti Gondek weighs in on why she moved from volunteering to becoming a city councillor". Calgary Journal. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
12. ^ "GREWAL JASDEV - Obituaries - Winnipeg Free Press Passages". passages.winnipegfreepress.com.
13. ^ Gondek, Jyoti. Twitterhttps://twitter.com/jyotigondek/status/1011454383526047744. Missing or empty |title= (help)