Claresholm NDP

08/15/2026

Sent to federal and provincial MPs in Alberta
Subject: Climate warming
Here is my preamble:
Earth is on track to become uninhabitable, scientists say. A scientific assessment published in One Earth warns that major parts of the planet's climate system may be closer to destabilization than previously believed. These include the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, Arctic permafrost, mountain glaciers. the Amazon rainforest, and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Scientists call these "tipping elements". Once pushed past a critical threshold, they can undergo changes that become difficult or impossible to reverse.
The fossil fuel industry would have us believe that our future depends on the further development of oil, gas, and coal. IT DOES NOT. Money spent on climate destroying infrastructure could be put towards developing green power, such as wind, solar, and geothermal. A wildfire strategy is needed to prevent further losses in one of your greatest carbon sinks - our forests.
Now for my question:
I did not elect you to build pipelines. I elected you to provide a secure future for myself and my descendants. I would like to know what you are doing in regards to reducing greenhouse emissions and preventing future climate disaster. I await your response.

Response from John Barlow,
Thank you for writing and for sharing your concerns.
Conservatives believe the first way to start reducing global emissions is to export Canada’s energy and agriculture as it the most sustainable and ethical in the world. Conservatives have been calling for the Liberals to develop Canada’s resources for the world to displace “dirty energy” from places like Venezuela, Nigeria and the Middle East which do not meet the labour, environmental and health standards we do in Canada. This would not only create jobs for Canadian workers but also give our closest allies access to clean, ethical, and sustainable resources like Canadian LNG.
Instead, countries continue to rely on Russian energy funding Putin’s war machine or sign agreements with countries like Qatar and Venezuela who do not have the environmental, labour, or human rights standards as Canada.
Canada is not the problem, in fact, we should be part of the solution as we produce what the world needs including reliable, sustainable, and affordable energy and agriculture which would help to reduce global emissions and address food insecurity.
Thank you again for taking the time to write.

Response from Mike Ponting:
The Honourable Grant Hunter, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, forwarded your email about your concerns about climate issues, and I am pleased to respond.
The Government of Alberta recognizes the importance of reducing emissions and strengthening resilience to climate-related risks. Alberta’s approach is guided by the province’s climate strategy, which focuses on practical, measurable, and evidence-based actions to reduce emissions while maintaining affordable, reliable, and secure energy for Albertans, Canadians and international partners.
A central part of this work is Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction Regulation (TIER), which is the province’s industrial carbon pricing and emissions trading system. TIER requires facilities emitting 100,000 tonnes or more of carbon dioxide equivalent annually to meet emissions reduction requirements and applies across key sectors, including oil and gas, electricity, forestry, chemicals, fertilizers, minerals, food processing, and waste.
Alberta has made important progress in emissions reduction. Greenhouse gas emissions have declined by 9.8 per cent since 2015, and methane emissions from the conventional oil and gas sector have fallen by 51 per cent from 2014 levels. Alberta also exceeded the 45 per cent methane reduction target three years early.
Furthermore, the province is investing in emissions-reducing technologies, including carbon capture, utilization and storage; methane reduction; hydrogen; geothermal innovation; energy storage; energy efficiency; and industrial transformation. These efforts support emissions reductions while helping attract investment and create jobs in Alberta.
Alberta is also supporting wildfire mitigation, flood mapping, drought and flood protection, and community resilience initiatives to help prepare for and reduce the impacts of extreme weather.
Through these mechanisms, Alberta is taking practical action to reduce emissions, support innovation, and strengthen resilience for communities across the province to secure a positive future for Albertans.
Thank you for sharing your concerns.

08/14/2026

08/04/2026

Crown corp backs Meta’s data centre gas plant
The federal Crown corporation, Export Development Canada, provided between $100 million and $200 million in project financing for the fossil gas-fired plant that will power Meta's data centre in Sturgeon County, Alta., Canada's National Observer has discovered.

The gas plant is classified as a project “likely to have significant adverse environmental and social effects,” report Rory White and Darius Snieckus. It is expected to generate up to 5.65 million tonnes of CO2 per year and was not required to undergo a comprehensive impact assessment by the federal government.

08/04/2026

Consultation After the Fact? Danielle Smith's Latest Healthcare Announcement Raises Serious Questions About How Alberta Is Being Governed
Prairies Exposed
Aug 3
Premier Danielle Smith’s government has once again unveiled what it presents as another major healthcare breakthrough. This time, the UCP announced that Albertans will soon be able to self-refer and pay privately for selected diagnostic imaging services, including CT scans, MRIs, X-rays and ultrasounds.

The announcement was packaged as another example of the government increasing choice, reducing wait times and delivering on its promise to fix Alberta’s struggling healthcare system.

Yet almost immediately after the announcement, one of the very professions responsible for delivering these services publicly challenged the government’s approach. In a strongly worded statement, the Alberta branch of the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (CAMRT-AB), which represents nearly 3,000 Medical Radiation Technologists across the province, revealed that the profession HAD NOT BEEN DIRECTLY ENGAGED IN DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE OPERATIONAL IMPACT OF THE CHANGES.
Surprise!

That admission should concern every Albertan.

Medical Radiation Technologists are not outside observers commenting from the sidelines. They are the healthcare professionals who operate MRI scanners, perform CT scans, conduct X-rays and deliver many of the diagnostic imaging services patients depend upon every day. Without them, diagnostic imaging simply cannot function. If the people expected to implement this new policy were not consulted beforehand, it raises an obvious question: who exactly was?

CAMRT-AB’s concerns go far beyond the issue of consultation. The organization warns that Alberta’s medical imaging system is already operating under enormous pressure. Workforce shortages, increasing imaging volumes, growing wait lists, an aging population and limited training capacity are already stretching the system to its limits. Alberta is also competing with other provinces for a finite number of qualified technologists, making recruitment and retention increasingly difficult.

Those realities are not matters of political opinion. They are operational facts identified by the professionals working inside the healthcare system every day.

The government’s announcement appears to assume that expanding access to privately paid imaging will naturally improve healthcare. However, CAMRT argues that expanding demand without first addressing workforce shortages risks placing even greater pressure on an already overburdened system. More patients seeking scans does not create more qualified technologists. There remains only one workforce, and both the public and private sectors will inevitably compete for the same limited pool of professionals.

08/02/2026

Will Alberta's data centre boom lower electricity bills — or drive them up?

Data centres are expected to add major demand to Alberta's power grid, while electricity companies are already warning of higher prices ahead.

Discover what's behind the crunch, why new gas generation may not arrive as quickly as expected, and how renewables and energy storage can help meet growing demand at lower cost.

Read “Alberta electricity industry expects tripling of power prices from data centres” in Canada’s National Observer.

07/28/2026

Advice from south of the border:
The biggest question I get from random strangers
And my answer
Robert Reich
Jul 28

Friends,

It happened to me twice today. A stranger came up and asked: “How do you stay sane?” (or some variation on the same question, such as “How do you keep your head from exploding?”)

Here’s what I say back:

We’re all trying to stay sane in this insanity.

How?

Well, here’s what doesn’t work: avoiding the news. It will hit you anyway because a friend or loved one will mention Trump’s latest outrage. Plus, you need to know so you can fight back.

Another thing that doesn’t work is telling yourself it doesn’t matter. It does matter. Trump’s forever war in the Middle East and his bonkers tariffs are driving up the prices of everything you buy. So are his pro-monopoly moves. His domestic police state is making life hell for many of your neighbors, if not for you and your family. His subsidies for Big Oil and rejection of wind and solar energy are making the planet unlivable. His bigotry is inviting cruelty against the most vulnerable. And so on.

A third thing that doesn’t work is pretending there’s nothing that can be done about it — that there’s no point in even trying because we’re all f*cked. That kind of cynicism is exactly what Trump’s billionaire backers and odious oligarchs want — so we give up and let them take it all.

So, what does work? What am I doing?

You should know that it’s not easy for me, either. I have my moments of sorrow and fear. But I’m trying to do three things.

First, I’m channeling my fury into as much active resistance as this old professor can muster. I’m writing you at least once a day on this Substack and doing videos and movies and podcasts — all to give you tools you may find useful.

Second, I’m staying in close touch with young activists who are brimming with energy and hope. Their commitment to democracy and social justice is infectious. They give me energy and hope.

Third, I practice gratitude.

07/28/2026

Help influence the future of land use in northern Alberta! Every voice matters 🌲

Draft sub-regional plans for the Caribou Mountains and Red Earth areas are now open for public feedback. These plans guide how land is used and protected, from roads and forestry to oil and gas, recreation, and Indigenous traditional land use.

📝 Surveys close October 26, 2026
🗓️ Virtual info sessions available in August and September

👉 Caribou Mountains: https://www.alberta.ca/caribou-mountains-sub-regional-plan-engagement
👉 Red Earth: https://www.alberta.ca/red-earth-sub-regional-plan-engagement

See all sub-regional planning engagements underway across the province: https://www.alberta.ca/sub-regional-planning-engagements