11 h. ago Lorne Gunter: Edmonton city council refuses to live within taxpayers’ means

Well, that didn’t take long. Tuesday was just the 44th day since the current city council was elected in October’s municipal election. And already the majority on council (who are the same lefties who were on the previous council) had already warmly welcomed a recommendation from city administration for a 6.4 per cent property tax […]

Economics

35 h. ago Lorne Gunter: Alberta's refusal to enforce federal gun buyback program logical, sensible

It’s not just Alberta that is refusing to aid the federal government in its useless gun buyback program. After the UCP government introduced a motion Tuesday that would advise all police forces in the province (including the RCMP) not to make arrests under the federal act and direct Crown prosecutors not to bring charges, there […]

Events

58 h. ago Lorne Gunter: Canada faces massive internal roadblocks to pipeline, 'nation

Want to know why nothing of significance ever gets built in this country? Consider the allegations levelled by NDP leadership contender Avi Lewis against pipelines, mines and other “nation-building projects” proposed by Prime Minister Mark Carney and others such as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. At his party’s French-language leadership debate last week, Lewis insisted the […]

Events

3 d. ago Lorne Gunter: Making shopping decisions for you: Edmonton approves infill without parking requirements

Call it the big-box conundrum. Say you like to — need to — shop at big-box stores to buy in bulk and save money from your stressed family budget. People who claim you don’t “need” three dozen of something (and therefore don’t “need” to shop at a big-box) will never understand how important it is […]

Events

6 d. ago Lorne Gunter: Premier Smith needs to control hardcore UCPers to advance in Edmonton, Calgary

Danielle Smith and her UCP will not do better in Edmonton and even Calgary until the premier gets the hardcore of her party under control. The highwire Smith is walking was very evident at her party’s AGM this weekend at Edmonton’s Expo Centre. Smith said she wanted to make a breakthrough in Edmonton where the […]

Events

6 d. ago Lorne Gunter: MOU's hurdles make chances of a new pipeline to Pacific coast slim

The resignation of Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet (but not the Liberal caucus) on Thursday, after Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to build an oil and bitumen pipeline to the Pacific coast, has made the agreement look like a bigger win for Alberta […]

Events

8 d. ago Lorne Gunter: Highlight of Carney/Smith MOU is departure of Guilbeault from Liberal cabinet

Ding dong the witch is dead. The biggest win for Alberta as a result of Thursday’s memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the province and the federal government over a West Coast pipeline has to be the resignation of the detested Steven Guilbeault from the Liberal cabinet. When he was Justin Trudeau’s environment minister, Guilbeault was […]

Events

8 d. ago Lorne Gunter: Count on Knack's city council to continue high

Edmonton’s new mayor must have abnormally sharp vision — maybe 20/10 or even 20/5. While discussing the upcoming fall budget deliberations, Mayor Andrew Knack said he could see an end to the “pendulum” approach to city taxes. That’s why I think Knack must have super vision, because for the life of me, I can’t see […]

Events

9 d. ago LIBERAL SHELL GAME: Carney’s pipeline offer to Alberta not what it seems

WATCH: Sun political columnist Lorne Gunter on how the Liberal’s  want to defeat pipelines without being the bad guy. What do YOU think? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below or send us a Letter to the Editor for possible publication to torsun.editor@sunmedia.ca.  Letters must be 250 words or less and signed. And […]

Transport

9 d. ago Lorne Gunter: Despite MOU, Carney sets up West Coast pipeline push to fail

There is every indication that Carney is as anti-oil as his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, despite all his talk of building an energy superpower

Events

1 week ago Lorne Gunter: Nutrien's U.S. port project shows Carney's MPO more about politics than results

Potash is a key component in agricultural fertilizer, and demand is on the rise worldwide. Farms in places such as China, India and Japan are consuming ever larger quantities. Canada is the largest potash producer in the world (about one-third of the total). Our annual potash exports are valued at around $9 billion to $11 […]

Politics

1 week ago Letters: Alberta’s use of notwithstanding clause subverts debate

Does Alberta need more teachers? Vote in our daily poll! What a steaming heap of political posturing/fence-sitting Lorne Gunter delivered in his column today regarding Smith’s use of the notwithstanding clause. While he isn’t “completely in line” with the UCP on transgender laws, he’s “not vehemently opposed” to them either. That much wriggling while sitting […]

Other

2 w. ago Lorne Gunter: Feds’ treatment of Alberta versus Quebec clearly uneven

Presently, Quebec’s legislature, the National Assembly, is debating a new provincial constitution that would declare Quebec a “free national State,” known as the State of Quebec, “fully sovereign” from the rest of Canada. The new constitution would assert that the province may appoint its own superior court judges (a power now reserved to Ottawa), conduct […]

Events

2 w. ago Lorne Gunter: Smith government's use of notwithstanding clause is within the spirit of the Charter

Maybe the Charter of Rights and Freedom’s notwithstanding clause went unused so long that constitution “experts” told themselves a lot of fables about it, include one I heard Wednesday. On Monday, the provincial government tabled legislation invoking the notwithstanding clause to stop courts from overturning a trio of bills affecting transgender youth. On Wednesday, a […]

Politics

2 w. ago Lorne Gunter: Interim PBO's refreshing frankness unlikely to win him full

If you want to know whether the Carney government is serious about trimming the federal budget and being transparent, keep an eye on what happens to Jason Jacques. Who is Jacques? Is he a senior economist whose advice everyone respects? A cunning investor whose every market move is mimicked by lesser investors? An opposition MP […]

Events

2 w. ago Lorne Gunter: Great idea won't work to cut Edmonton property tax increases

Ward Dene Coun. Aaron Paquette has a good idea to fund annual property tax increases. Rather than jacking up taxes on city residents year after year, Paquette wants to grow the Ed Tel Endowment Fund to $6 billion from $1 billion over the next decade or decade-and-a-half, then use the annual interest to offset increases […]

Economics

2 w. ago Lorne Gunter: Carney's major projects more PR than 'nation building'

Since none of the 10 projects Carney has announced has a similar capacity to expand GDP and raise government revenues, it’s a puzzle why a pipeline has not been announced

Politics

2 w. ago Lorne Gunter: Alberta's proposal to increase certain highway speed limits not reckless

Once when I was a young reporter, I had occasion to interview the head of the Montana Highway Patrol. The state had just given up its unlimited (“reasonable and prudent”) speed limit and adopted the 55-m.p.h. limit demanded by Washington in return for $400 million annually in highway construction funds. I asked about enforcement. His […]

Events

3 w. ago Lorne Gunter: Smith sticks to ‘sensitive negotiations’ with Carney on major projects

I don’t know what Prime Minister Mark Carney is telling Premier Danielle Smith about pipelines, but it must be damned convincing. On Thursday at Terrace, B.C., near Prince Rupert, Carney announced another five “nation-building” projects his government will fast-track. And just like with the first five, there is no pipeline and no major project in […]

Politics

3 w. ago Lorne Gunter: Liberals’ hatred of Alberta and oil obvious in major projects snub

Could it be that Alberta’s oil and gas are being deliberately targeted?

Politics