Dan Furst

The Case for Alberta Staying in Canada open.substack.com/pub/duanebra...

Alberta seeks more input on picking judges Premier Danielle Smith says her government will withhold funding for new judicial appointments in Alberta until Ottawa allows the province to provide input on who is picked. In a letter to Prime Minis...

This is a monumentally irresponsible move. Whoever advised the premier should resign or be fired.

Smith shouldn't just withdraw the threat. She should apologize for threatening to cut off Albertans' access to their own justice system.

Tomorrow.

edmonton.citynews.ca/2026/02/03/a...

2 WEEKS AGO: Great news, Google will use AI to help manage your inbox!
TODAY: The Gmail spam filter that's worked fine for 19 years is broken

How Trump’s regulatory cuts threaten Canada’s safety Trump’s dismantling of U.S. science agencies puts Canadians at risk. Canada must boost regulatory capacity to protect health and food safety.

Canada has relied on U.S. science for decades - for health info, drug review, food safety, weather monitoring, and more.

As the US dismantles its science ecosystem @ntusikov.bsky.social argues Canada’s civil service cuts will put public heath at greater risk.

policyoptions.irpp.org/2025/12/trum...

Beguiling

Most people haven't realized it, but we are still in the "it's toasted" phase of AI chatbot regulation.

The CBC has just posted a transcript of my recent As it Happens interview about X and Grok. I’m posting a couple of screen shots here - since they are a bit too long for alt text, I’ll post the link to the full transcript below. #cdnpoli #X #Grok #yeg #CSAM

Danielle Smith's separatism games are coming at a dangerous moment Alberta's premier loves to talk about standing up for her province. Will she ever show the same enthusiasm when it comes to Canada?

Danielle Smith's willingness to cater to Alberta separatists was always a dangerous game.

Now, in the wake of America's attack on Venezuela and its covetous advances on Greenland, she's effectively risking Canada's future in order to save her own. #cdnpoli

www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/08/o...

Let’s “put aside our habitual self-deprecation and stand up for the country we love—and reject the idea of a sovereign Alberta whose founding principles seem to be miserliness, xenophobia and transphobia… I will not allow hatemongers and traitors and bitter quitters to speak for me” #abpoli #ableg

Literally a publication for eight-year olds 40 years ago

Funny how experts of all stripes keep saying, in polite language, that the Alberta government is run by dishonest kooks

YouTube video by Global News Albertans likely to face separation referendum in 2026

Danielle Smith, if you insist on having this divisive and economically damaging referendum on Alberta’s unquestionable place in Canada, bring it on, but make sure to ask the first approved question, condoned by nearly half million #ForeverCanadian Albertans.

youtu.be/M51Rsv8U6Zc

another robot highlight for 2025: man wearing humanoid mocap suit kicks himself in the balls

Most people have memory-holed 2020-2022, but we experienced generational trauma on a global scale and at some point that kind of thing bubbles up to the collective consciousness.

Then and only then will we realize the extent to which grief and loss looms over every decision we have made ever since

What Can We Do? A Holiday Plan for Restoring Alberta’s Democracy

The UCP has made 2025 one of the darkest years for Alberta’s democracy.

Albertans can turn on the lights in 2026.

By simply being Albertan.

Let me explain. 🧵 open.substack.com/pub/drjaredw...

The CAVI team is asking for your proposals and ideas to reach additional people through an expansion project across Canada. Our priorities remain the same, the sharing, learning and citizen science that has so inspired us so far. (4/5)

CAVI is pleased to share that our Canadian Library CO2 monitor project is now complete. CAVI and other donors have contributed over 400 high quality CO2 monitors to libraries across Canada, reaching over 30% of the Canadian population. (1/5)

Chairman of vaccine committee leaves for new HHS job The head of the CDC's vaccine advisory committee is leaving to take a leadership role within the Department of Health and Human Services.

Appalling. Martin Kulldorff, who was a lead author of the Great Barrington declaration which promoted mass infection with COVID and spread disinformation about vaccines, has been appointed HHS Chief science officer.

So what does two-tier care actually “solve”?

Not the bottleneck. Not wait times overall.

It mostly changes who waits and who can buy their way to the front – while public queues risk getting slower, not faster.

Once again, Alberta’s UCP Government plans to suspend Charter Rights of Albertans.

First to attack teachers’ rights, now trans youth.

The Justice Minister proudly said his voice is the final voice on this matter.

It is not. The voice of the people is the final voice.

Plz RT

#abpoli #ableg #yyc

Screenshot from the announcement, at the url included in the post. It reads "November 19, 2025—Auditor General Doug Wylie’s An Examination of Community Laboratory Services (Contract with DynaLIFE) found issues across governance and oversight, financial management, and procurement, which contributed to the following: non-value-add expenditure of taxpayer dollars ($125 million between 2013-2023) disrupted services adverse impacts on patients and staff “Based on sworn testimony and an examination of documents and communications, our work identifies notable breakdowns in due diligence, risk assessment, and financial analysis,” said Auditor General Doug Wylie. “Decisions about how public funds are spent on health care can have far-reaching consequences. When procurement processes are guided by evidence and strong governance, they protect taxpayer dollars and ensure services meet the needs of Albertans.” "

re: DynaLIFE - A new auditor general report says Alberta taxpayers were hit with over $100 million in unnecessary costs, along with service disruptions such as delays and lab mistakes.

www.oag.ab.ca/auditor-gene...

Full report (PDF, 48 pages): www.oag.ab.ca/wp-content/u...

#Alberta #abpoli

Let’s be clear on this: Danielle Smith is ripping up the Charter of Rights & Freedoms to take away rights from the most vulnerable people in Alberta. And she’s doing it to protect herself from the militant wing of her own party, nothing more. Hope it’s all she’s ever remembered for in the long run

After the $100M privatization boondoggle...

"...AHS took over provincial laboratory testing and returned Alberta to a fully public model. By December, 2023, patient waiting times were reduced by 76%."

The same day as this report is released, UCP announced more privatization.

Tomorrow, the Auditor General will release his report into the UCP's Dynalife fiasco.

They're hoping to flood the zone this week with citizenship markers and anti-trans legislation.

Keep your focus on the targets.
And the broader pattern.

The UCP is shifting Alberta away from liberal democracy.

Keeping up with the UCP government's democratic transgressions can be difficult.

But not impossible.

Here’s a running list since Danielle Smith became premier. 🧵👇

One thing about tilting to the right, no matter how you get there, is it turns you into a disordered weirdo. In Canada, look specifically at the OneBC folks as an example. They're unhinged.

If the govt can just dictate the terms of a contract—skipping past binding arbitration and legislating away recourse rights—and the public accepts that, well, then what reason would govt have to bargain in good faith with any public sector employees going forward?

Dark day indeed. Not acceptable.

I'm the next few days, it would be a mistake to:
❌️ limit the resistance to the teachers' demands or saving public education
❌️ make labour/workers/unions the only faces of opposition

The UCP's pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause is much broader than one strike or one set of rights.

Where's the premier while MLAs rush through an all-night debate on stripping Albertans of their Charter rights?

An airport lounge, waiting for a flight to Saudi Arabia. She didn't even bother to show up for the vote.

I remember when conservatives turfed premiers for this level of hubris.

It will be interesting to see how overriding charter rights, forcing a rejected labour deal on workers, and threatening substantial fines will impact Alberta's plan to add and recruit 3,000 new teachers over the next 3 years.