The Press Gallery: Inside Alberta politics

Investigations into the 2017 UCP leadership race continued to make headlines in Alberta politics this week, with the elections commissioner slapping one-time candidate Jeff Callaway with $70,000 in fines for his campaign.

The Journal also revealed two more UCP MLAs interviewed by police in the RCMP investigation into alleged voting irregularities in the 2017 race.

Join Press Gallery host Emma Graney with guests Clare Clancy, Keith Gerein and Sarah O'Donnell to talk about those developments.

The team also delves into the syphilis outbreak declared this week in Alberta, and developments in the Persons with Developmental Disabilities file.

Good Stuff from the Gallery Keith's pick: This deep dive explainer in Maclean's about the Jeff Callaway campaign donations.

Clare's pick: A fun recommendation from Clare this week is the podcast The Moment, from Wondery. It's a podcast about love. Clare particularly recommends the Taylor Swift episode.

Emma's pick: Emma recommends the book 'Minding the Public Purse.' It's by Janice MacKinnon, the former finance minister currently reviewing Alberta's finances. Oh, and check out the highlights from the cricket world cup final, too.

Sarah's pick: Sarah has a whole series from the Toronto Star she'd love you to read. They all dive into the highest-billing doctors in Ontario. You can find them here, here and here.

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Yahoo, another set of politicians played dress up at Calgary Stampede this week ahead of the premiers meeting in Saskatoon.

Join host Emma Graney with guests Clare Clancy, Keith Gerein and Dave Breakenridge to discuss everything pancake-related, and what Premier Jason Kenney brought to the table when premiers hung out in Calgary and later in Saskatchewan.

The team also takes a look at the latest in pre-election stumping by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and People's Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier, and gives a rundown of what happened in the spring session.

Good Stuff from the Gallery Clare's pick: An astounding read from HuffPost about how more young women want to become Catholic nuns.

Keith's pick: This excellent long read called Searching for Keith (no, not our Keith, but a guy who went missing off a sailing vessel).

Emma's pick: This intriguing read from BBC News about how Norway's approach to jails and criminals is reducing recidivism at an impressive rate.

Dave's pick: This story about the Bowie classic Space Oddity, about how the song became a cultural icon.

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Hating on oil? Premier Jason Kenney will not be putting up with that, thank you very much, announcing this week his government will conduct an inquiry into alleged foreign-funded attacks on Alberta's energy industry.

Join Press Gallery host Emma Graney with guests Keith Gerein, Clare Clancy and Dave Breakenridge to delve into why that inquiry is happening and what it means for Alberta.

The team also takes a look at Alberta's longest-ever sitting day via NDP concerns with education Bill 8 (or "Bill H8," as the opposition likes to call it), the kerfuffle over the true state of Alberta's finances and what's happening with Kenney's promised 10 per cent pay cut.

Good Stuff from the Gallery Keith's pick: Keith has two interesting reads for you this week. The first is from Macleans, about the recent Hong Kong protests. The other piece is a gobsmacking read from the Washington Post about Florida's iguana infestation.

Clare's pick: This super interesting read in the New Yorker about what medical science is doing to try and cure phantom itches.

Emma's pick: The fascinating Netflix documentary called Sour Grapes, about a high-priced wine scam.

Dave's pick: The excellent album Lux Prima.

 

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Premier Jason Kenney wants Albertans to elect their senators again, no matter what the federal government thinks. Join Press Gallery host Emma Graney with guests Clare Clancy, Keioth Gerein and Dave Breakridge to chat about what that means and why it's a whole... thing.

The team also takes on the Western Premiers' meeting and changes to the oil industry this week.

Good Stuff from the Gallery

Clare's pick: This awesome episode of the excellent podcast Reply All, called Dark Pattern, about the invisible maze, designed to trick millions of people out of their money.

Keith's pick: This fascinating read about a massive nuclear waste site being developed in Finland.

Emma's pick: This fantastic documentary about the Australian cricket ball-tempering scandal, called Crossing the Line.

Dave's pick: The disturbing podcast about the Golden State Killer called Man in the Window.

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In the fourth and final chapter of our special series on the Alberta election, Emma explains how Jason Kenney was able to win so convincingly.

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The federal government approved the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (again) this week, but Premier Jason Kenney was not jumping for joy.

Join Press Gallery host Emma Graney and guests Keith Gerein, Janet French and Dave Breakenridge to talk about why.

The team also takes a look at this week's passage of Bill 9 and why the government didn't want to hear about it (very literally), and a new immigration office announced by the UCP.

Good Stuff from the Gallery

Keith's pick: Keith's digging on another John Ivison column this week, this time on the Scheer climate plan giving voters expressions of concern with no actual cost.

Janet's pick: This fascinating article on Toronto's Stronach family and their $500-million family feud.

Emma's pick: Getting far away from Alberta politics, Emma recommends the YA novel Cinder by Marissa Meyer — a retelling of Cinderella featuring cyborgs, robots and a handsome prince.

Dave's pick: This gob-smacking read in The Atlantic, What Really Happened to Malaysia’s Missing Airplane.

 

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Money, money, money was on the mind of the Alberta legislature this week as the United Conservative government introduced its interim supply bill.

Join host Emma Graney with guests Clare Clancy, Keith Gerein and Dave Breakenridge to talk numbers and go over exactly why unions are unimpressed with the government this week.

The team also takes a look at a couple of backbencher bills and the committee that oversees them.

Good Stuff from the Gallery Clare's pick: This project from the LA Times called The man in the window, about the golden state serial killer.

Keith's pick: This piece from John Ivison in the National Post about some of the exciting goings-on in Ottawa.

Emma's pick: This fascinating read in Washingtonian magazine by a mom whose 13-year-old son joined the alt-right movement.

Dave's pick: This heartbreaking piece from the New York Times, The Day the Music Burned, about the biggest disaster in the history of the music business — the 2008 Universal fire.

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The Alberta legislature broke a record for the longest Wednesday sitting in provincial history this week, and Press Gallery host Emma Graney was there watching... for some of it, anyway.

Join Graney and guests Clare Clancy, Janet French and Sarah O'Donnell to discuss why on earth Alberta MLAs were in the house for a full 24 hours.

The team also dives into changes around the Education Act and what the report on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls means for Alberta.

Good Stuff from the Gallery

Clare's pick: Season 4 of the awesome podcast series called Ear Hustle, which is recorded in prison.

Janet's pick: This fascinating piece from The Star on something called atmospheric rivers, and how they're changing .

Emma's pick: This book by former Obama advisor Dan Pfeiffer called Yes we (still) can, about journalism and social media in the age of Trump.

Sarah's pick: This series on sexual violence and policing in remote Alaska, called Lawless. It's a partnership between ProPublica and Anchorage Daily News.

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Jason Kenney was elected premier of Alberta on April 16 after a bitterly fought campaign. But the journey started nearly three years ago.

This special series from the Press Gallery, the Edmonton Journal’s long-running politics podcast, will give listeners a deep dive into Alberta’s 2019 election.

Chapter 3 focuses on the NDP campaign and whether or not the election was lost before the writ was even dropped.

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As the wildfire situation in Northern Alberta worsens, the United Conservative Party is fighting political fires of its own.

Join Press Gallery host Emma Graney with guests Janet French, Keith Gerein and Dave Breakenridge to take a dive into the appointment of a special prosecutor in the RCMP investigation into the UCP leadership race, and the new elections commissioner investigation facing UCP MLA Peter Singh.

The team also looks at the fires Health Minister Tyler Shandro tried to put out this week — and why the phrase "In due course" was trending on Twitter.

Good Stuff from the Gallery

Janet's pick: The wonderful children's book series about families (comes with bonus magic tricks!) called Magic misfits, by Neil Patrick Harris.

Keith's pick: This piece in the Globe and Mail by economist Trevor Tombe, about why Alberta's carbon tax is not, in fact, dead.

Emma's pick: Not at all political, this Netflix documentary about body building, called Generation Iron 3.

Dave's pick: This awesome new podcast called Defence Watch, which takes us behind the curtain of Canada’s special forces.

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