Chris

15 Nov 2024

The Skip Is Chris Bluesky pictures-I-took thread starts now. Alberta skies cannot be beat. Go wide or go home.

Today, I’m taking my Alberta flag back. I’m tired of seeing it claimed by a separatist movement I do not support. If Alberta is your home, it’s your flag too. I want Alberta’s future to be in Canada. Fiercely Albertan. Proudly Canadian. #ableg #abpoli 1/2

map.elections.ab.caWhere To Vote - Elections Alberta

If you haven’t already voted, please vote today. For the love of Pete and everything that is holy. Please. If you’re unsure your special ballot arrived, check with Elections Alberta. Polls: 9 a.m.–8 p.m. Find your assigned location: map.elections.ab.ca #ableg #abpoli 2/2

Some of you may remember “The Wrecking Ball Part 1” and “The Wrecking Ball Part 2.” Both began here as threads. This is Part 3: what happens after the law passes, the vote is counted, and somebody has to make the machinery work? #ableg #abpoli 1/53

This thread follows the record through September 30, 2026: spring laws, health restructuring, petitions, voter-list rules and the October 19 referendum. The connection is a question about government, not evidence that these events were one coordinated project. 4/53

A bill passes. The press conference ends. Then the machinery has to run on Monday morning. The Legislature can authorize change; regulations, administrators, institutions and people still have to make it work. 5/53

A vote can authorize a direction. A law can authorize a change. Neither tells us, by itself, whether the machinery will work afterward. That is the question I keep coming back to in Alberta: what, exactly, are we being asked to authorize? 2/53

chrissturwold.substack.comThe Danielle Smith Legislative Ledger — “The Wrecking Ball” Part 3Authorization and Operation

Those first two threads have since been reworked as essays. “Authorization and Operation” is Part 3. The full essay has all 60 notes and source links. Read on Substack: chrissturwold.substack.com/p/the-daniel... 3/53

@stevericketts.bsky.social

YES!!!

Senator Paula Simons 🇨🇦@senatorpaulasimons.bsky.social

I keep meeting smart informed Albertans who tell me they do not intend to vote, because they don’t want to legitimize the process, or because they know the premier is not bound by the results. But what if making us give up on voting is the whole point? My argument to vote - no matter the absurdity.

Chris reposted

Steve Ricketts

this 👇 everyone, esp the separatists, are twisting the wording to suit their purpose. don't fall for it

Chris@skipischris.bsky.social

I’m tired. Not of disagreement. Disagreement is fine. I’m tired of watching people rewrite this referendum into something more comfortable than what is actually on the ballot. The Order in Council is attached. Read it. #ableg #abpoli 1/9

The ballot says “remain a province of Canada.” Others hear “I’m happy with everything Ottawa does.” Neither is what the ballot says. Maybe the hardest thing in politics is reading the question in front of us instead of the question we wish we’d been asked. 8/9

Apparently I’m going to keep saying this until October 19: Read the ballot. Not the sales pitch. And don’t tell somebody else what their vote “really” means when the words are sitting right there in front of all of us. #ableg #abpoli 9/9

I want Alberta to defend its jurisdiction, negotiate hard, challenge Ottawa when necessary and use its influence to help build a stronger Canada. I don’t believe we need to threaten to dismantle the country Alberta helped build in order to demand better from it. 6/9

This keeps bringing me back to goal-protective reasoning. Once we want an outcome badly enough, we can start bending the evidence around it. The ballot says “binding referendum on separation.” Some people hear “leverage.” 7/9

There is nothing there about “leverage.” Nothing about “sending Ottawa a message.” And please stop telling people why they’re voting Option 1. I’m not choosing Option 1 because I’m happy with the status quo. Quite the opposite. 4/9

Part of the Alberta status quo I’m exhausted by is grievance politics itself. Every fight with Ottawa becomes proof Confederation is broken. Every disagreement becomes another reason to threaten separation. I want better than that. 5/9

Lately I keep hearing two things: “Option 2 is leverage.” And now, increasingly: “Quebec did it.” Maybe those arguments have simply caught on. Fine. But neither changes what Question 10 actually says. 2/9

Option 1 says Alberta should remain a province of Canada. Option 2 says the Alberta government should begin the legal process required to hold a binding referendum on whether Alberta should separate from Canada. That’s the choice. 3/9

Thank you for reading and answering my question tonight, @carterab.bsky.social. I got in just under the wire. Cheers!

@thebreakdownab.bsky.social

3 Sept

🚨 My Alberta referendum mail ballot arrived. It contained ONE of 10 ballots. I called Elections Alberta. The rep confirmed this wasn't the first complaint and said a third-party contractor handling ballots “messed up on their side too.” Check your package. #ableg #abpoli

Chris reposted

The Breakdown AB

31 Aug

“I’m voting for the Alberta I want to live in.” “An Alberta that attracts people, protects democracy, respects independent courts and understands that being part of a federation occasionally means compromise.” #abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli thebreakdownab.substack.com/p/how-im-vot...

Chris reposted

Tod Maffin 🇨🇦

@todmaffin.com

2 Sept

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youtube.com📣 Announcing: "Unplug America" — our free guide to ditching American tech in favour of Canadian📣 Announcing: "Unplug America" — our free guide to ditching American tech in favour of Canadian options 📰 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦𝗟𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥: newsletter.todmaffin.com 👕 𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗖𝗛: shop.todmaffin.com 🎙️ 𝗣𝗢𝗗𝗖𝗔𝗦𝗧: mirrorfalls.com ☕ Help support my work: support.todmaffin.com 🔗 Follow me on social: links.todmaffin.com ✉️ Contact my team: contact.todmaffin.com

"Educate yourselves." Ok. Let's go. Alberta has 10 referendum ballots on Oct. 19. I went through every one. I love Alberta. I love Canada. I don't believe those things conflict. Here's how I'm voting, and why. 🧵 #ableg #abpoli 1/31

🍁 BALLOT 1 — Q10 Should Alberta remain a province of Canada, or should the Government of Alberta commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada? 3/31

Option 1: Alberta should remain a province of Canada. Option 2: Begin the legal process required to hold a binding provincial referendum on separation. I'm selecting OPTION 1. I'm an Albertan and a Canadian. I reject the idea that I have to choose between the two. 4/31

One quick note before we start: Elections Alberta calls the separation question Question 10, but it will be handed to voters first. So I'm calling it Ballot 1 and then following the order voters will receive them. The questions below use the official wording. 2/31

cbc.caANALYSIS | A guide to the (many) groups running Alberta's separatist and remain camps | CBC NewsPoliticians may take back seat as a jumble of groups on both sides angle for voters' attention (and sometimes clash).

31 May

There are multiple groups, multiple leaders, multiple strategies, and, frankly, multiple endgames. Which is why, when someone says they support separation, my first question now is: which version? #ableg

Jason Markusoff@markusoff.bsky.social

Separationland Who’s Who: A wrote a field guide to the confusing jumble of groups cropping up on both the leave and stay sides. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... You’re welcome.

31 May

Jason Markusoff’s CBC piece is worth reading because it lays out something important: There isn’t one Alberta separation movement. #ableg

youtu.beLet's talk about Alberta separatismYouTube video by Corey Hogan

29 May

Classic Alberta politics: ten ballots, hand counts, and somehow still not enough clarity to fill a pothole. #ableg

Chris reposted

Corey Hogan 🇨🇦

@coreyhogan.ca

14 May

In the last few weeks, Alberta separatism has dominated headlines. Whether we like it or not, this debate is here, it's getting louder - and the pro-Canada side needs to show up. Let's talk about why and how we push back against Alberta separatism and fight for Canada. 🇨🇦

29 Mar

If the UCP were a book, would it survive the UCP’s own book ban? I’d say no. #ableg

28 Mar

“Bad governments love two things: winning, and pretending the rules are neutral while they tinker with them.” #ableg

Chris@skipischris.bsky.social

The Danielle Smith Legislative Ledger – “The Wrecking Ball” Part 2 – Who Wants A Notwithstanding Clause? I’m baaaack. Last time we mapped the pattern. This time we follow where it leads. Fall 2025. The hammer dropped, and a government tested how far power can stretch. #ableg

cbc.caBoundary commission chair questions motives of UCP-picked panelists in final riding report | CBC NewsAlberta’s electoral boundaries commission issued a final report Thursday that proposed removing two rural seats from Alberta’s political map, but it was accompanied by a starkly different “minority re...

27 Mar

“It is about saying that if this government insists on governing with a crowbar, then somebody had better keep measuring the dents in the wall.” #ableg

Chris@skipischris.bsky.social

Chris reposted

Jason Markusoff

@markusoff.bsky.social

27 Mar

The UCP-appointed fmr judge who led Alberta Boundaries Commission warned MLAs against “minority” proposal for splicing several city ridings with rural areas. Unconstitutional, US-style maneuvring, he wrote: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/electoral-boundary-commission-dallas-miller-9.7143937

26 Mar

“That is how democratic damage settles in. Not all at once. Gradually. Repeatedly. Until extraordinary things start sounding ordinary.” #ableg

Chris@skipischris.bsky.social

25 Mar

“That is not a healthy democracy protecting itself. That is a government retraining the public not to flinch.” #ableg

Chris@skipischris.bsky.social