West of Centre

The Supreme Court has decided the federal government overstepped with its controversial Bill C-69. It’s known as the Impact Assessment Act, but Alberta has called it unconstitutional. On Friday, the top court largely agreed with that assessment. Host Kathleen Petty is joined by a panel of political and academic experts to break down the court’s decision.

Alberta businesses were in Ottawa this week to tell the feds “Alberta is not what you think it is.” How well did that pitch land? And what comes next? Plus, host Kathleen Petty dives into brand new polling on how the country feels about Alberta taking a pension plan solo.

Critical failure and criminal consequences. That’s the way Alberta’s electricity operator describes the stakes of net-zero targets from the federal government. What does it all mean for politics, policy, business and affordability in the province? Kathleen Petty hosts a panel discussion to answer those questions.

The long-awaited report on taking Alberta pensions solo is here. In it, a pitch to take more than half of the national assets. We dive into what an Alberta Pension Plan could look like, plus recap the other big stories of the week with our panel including CBC analysis writer Jason Markusoff, the Globe and Mail’s Kelly Cryderman and Lisa Young from the University of Calgary.

Welcome back to a new season of West of Centre. This week, we’re speaking with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith about the future of energy and climate targets, plus the current E. coli crisis impacting so many children in the province. And we ask what her vision is for Alberta by the end of her first term.

On our last podcast of the season, we tackle the UCP fed bashing strategy, the hiring and unhiring of Dr. Deena Hinshaw and the record number of opioid deaths in Alberta . Host Kathleen Petty is joined by Zain Velji, Jason Markusoff and Elise von Scheel.

Again this week, Alberta pushed back against Ottawa’s emissions targets . And, The Canada Energy Regulator released several scenarios on what a net-zero world could look like for our province in the years to come. On West of Centre, host Kathleen Petty and guests Andrew Leach, Kelly Cryderman and Sara Hastings-Simon make it clear that finding zero is no easy task.

Rachel Notley is pondering her role as leader of the NDP. It’s unclear how long that will take and what her post-mortem means to the party . Host Kathleen Petty and her guests take a closer look at where Alberta’s New Democrats go from here and how they can strengthen their brand for the future.

The team is now in place. Premier Danielle Smith, with a fresh mandate from the voters, has unveiled her new cabinet. Most of Calgary’s MLA’s made the cut as did a few from what’s known as the donut around Edmonton. West of Centre host Kathleen Petty and guests break down the choices, what they mean and whether the balancing act worked.

The UCP lost seats, but won the prize. The New Democrats will have to settle for forming the largest opposition in the history of the province. So, now what? How does Danielle Smith bridge the gap between the big cities and the rest of Alberta? And how does she choose a cabinet? To sort it all out , West of Centre host Kathleen Petty is joined by three bleary-eyed election commentators.