Judges — who wants to be a rapporteur?.Apparently, qualified people who have a reputation and who have also seen what happened to former governor general, David Johnston, are not lining up to lead a resumed enquiry into foreign electoral interference on behalf of the Liberal government. As a result, says Public Safety Minister, Dominic LeBlanc, they’re looking for a sitting judge..Thing is, the federal Liberals — having as they do a tendency to judge others by themselves — would be uncomfortable handing this job to a judge appointed by a Conservative government. After all, there’s nothing likely to come of this that’s going to make the government look good so the goal here is not to get to the truth, but to remove the issue from public attention in the two-year run up to the 2025 election..On the other hand, Canadians likely to have an opinion about this also know the majority of judges are Liberal appointees — the great majority of whom made themselves noticed by their donations to the party prior to their judicial appointment..This, unfortunately, is the way things go and the likelihood of Canadians knowing much about how the Chinese did or did not interfere with Canadian elections, are about the same as the prime minister getting through unprepared remarks without saying — "uh" — .Changing their tune on nukes.Twenty years ago, it was seriously mooted in Alberta that small nuclear generating plants should power the oilsands. The benefit was no more process natural gas, hence emissions-free oil production. But of course, the save-the-planet pushback was that this was an outrageous idea, ‘what would you do with all the nuclear waste, we’re all going to die?’. Small Modular ReactorArtist's impression of a small modular reactor. .Yet today, small nuclear generating plants are touted as the green solution that would make it possible for Alberta to decommission its efficient natural-gas plants, without entering a world of energy uncertainty. Because if we keep burning natural gas, 'OMG!' we’re all going to die..Does science have any place at all in the way the green/environmentalist lobby thinks? Or must we just trust the pure hearts of these better people and learn to live with the inconsistencies?.For the record, the spent nuclear fuel problem, while by no means a frivolous concern, was never the problem it was made out to be. According to the US government, commercial reactors generate a fifth of US electricity and have since the 1950s produced about 90,000 metric tons of spent fuel. If all of it were able to be stacked together, it could fit today on a single football field at a depth of less than 10 yards..For what Alberta would likely produce, we should be able to handle it. On the other hand, if spent fuel is so bad, why have any? Just stay with the natural gas.The biggest problem with nuclear in Alberta however, is not what to do with the waste, anyway. It’s going to be getting the approvals in place for the plants and the transmission lines to be built, to have something in place this century, never mind by 2035..Driving too fast?.Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland gets a ticket in Peace River, Alberta for driving too fast. Almost 90 mph, in fact: 142 kph. (She says 132 kph, and she's paid the ticket.).There are two lessons to be drawn here.. Litte Red Car .First is, that not owning a car, as she has enthusiastically claimed in the past, means that when you do get your hands on a rental, could mean the temptation to see what this baby will do can be more than flesh and blood can endure. The risk of hypocrisy, I suppose..Second, this is exactly why senior elected officials are supposed to order up an Escalade from the car pool..Schadenfreude in Peace River. But Ms. Freeland has hitherto seemed unredeemed by a single vice. Now at last, I can relate to her, if not her politics. Which is why I’m saying, “Big deal. So what?”.Just don't lecture me about how wonderful it is to not own a car. Clearly, we both enjoy the open road..Give me liberty, or give me death. Melanie BegalkaMelanie Begalka .Apparently things are this bad in Vancouver, that three men have asked for their jail sentences to be extended because in jail at least, they have three meals a day, a place to sleep and less exposure to drugs..This, on the testimony of their criminal defence lawyer, one Melania Begalka. Tweeting on X, formerly known as Twitter, she writes, “The extreme housing crisis, fear of dangerous drugs on the street and general lack of resources, it’s all real. And a terrible indictment of society when the best people can do is jail.”.Well, agreed..But, it’s also a terrible indictment of human nature. Whatever the peculiar circumstances of these three individuals, you don’t have to be an incarcerated criminal to favour security over freedom. Politicians, unfortunately, are all too damned aware of that and act accordingly..This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall. Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.
Judges — who wants to be a rapporteur?.Apparently, qualified people who have a reputation and who have also seen what happened to former governor general, David Johnston, are not lining up to lead a resumed enquiry into foreign electoral interference on behalf of the Liberal government. As a result, says Public Safety Minister, Dominic LeBlanc, they’re looking for a sitting judge..Thing is, the federal Liberals — having as they do a tendency to judge others by themselves — would be uncomfortable handing this job to a judge appointed by a Conservative government. After all, there’s nothing likely to come of this that’s going to make the government look good so the goal here is not to get to the truth, but to remove the issue from public attention in the two-year run up to the 2025 election..On the other hand, Canadians likely to have an opinion about this also know the majority of judges are Liberal appointees — the great majority of whom made themselves noticed by their donations to the party prior to their judicial appointment..This, unfortunately, is the way things go and the likelihood of Canadians knowing much about how the Chinese did or did not interfere with Canadian elections, are about the same as the prime minister getting through unprepared remarks without saying — "uh" — .Changing their tune on nukes.Twenty years ago, it was seriously mooted in Alberta that small nuclear generating plants should power the oilsands. The benefit was no more process natural gas, hence emissions-free oil production. But of course, the save-the-planet pushback was that this was an outrageous idea, ‘what would you do with all the nuclear waste, we’re all going to die?’. Small Modular ReactorArtist's impression of a small modular reactor. .Yet today, small nuclear generating plants are touted as the green solution that would make it possible for Alberta to decommission its efficient natural-gas plants, without entering a world of energy uncertainty. Because if we keep burning natural gas, 'OMG!' we’re all going to die..Does science have any place at all in the way the green/environmentalist lobby thinks? Or must we just trust the pure hearts of these better people and learn to live with the inconsistencies?.For the record, the spent nuclear fuel problem, while by no means a frivolous concern, was never the problem it was made out to be. According to the US government, commercial reactors generate a fifth of US electricity and have since the 1950s produced about 90,000 metric tons of spent fuel. If all of it were able to be stacked together, it could fit today on a single football field at a depth of less than 10 yards..For what Alberta would likely produce, we should be able to handle it. On the other hand, if spent fuel is so bad, why have any? Just stay with the natural gas.The biggest problem with nuclear in Alberta however, is not what to do with the waste, anyway. It’s going to be getting the approvals in place for the plants and the transmission lines to be built, to have something in place this century, never mind by 2035..Driving too fast?.Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland gets a ticket in Peace River, Alberta for driving too fast. Almost 90 mph, in fact: 142 kph. (She says 132 kph, and she's paid the ticket.).There are two lessons to be drawn here.. Litte Red Car .First is, that not owning a car, as she has enthusiastically claimed in the past, means that when you do get your hands on a rental, could mean the temptation to see what this baby will do can be more than flesh and blood can endure. The risk of hypocrisy, I suppose..Second, this is exactly why senior elected officials are supposed to order up an Escalade from the car pool..Schadenfreude in Peace River. But Ms. Freeland has hitherto seemed unredeemed by a single vice. Now at last, I can relate to her, if not her politics. Which is why I’m saying, “Big deal. So what?”.Just don't lecture me about how wonderful it is to not own a car. Clearly, we both enjoy the open road..Give me liberty, or give me death. Melanie BegalkaMelanie Begalka .Apparently things are this bad in Vancouver, that three men have asked for their jail sentences to be extended because in jail at least, they have three meals a day, a place to sleep and less exposure to drugs..This, on the testimony of their criminal defence lawyer, one Melania Begalka. Tweeting on X, formerly known as Twitter, she writes, “The extreme housing crisis, fear of dangerous drugs on the street and general lack of resources, it’s all real. And a terrible indictment of society when the best people can do is jail.”.Well, agreed..But, it’s also a terrible indictment of human nature. Whatever the peculiar circumstances of these three individuals, you don’t have to be an incarcerated criminal to favour security over freedom. Politicians, unfortunately, are all too damned aware of that and act accordingly..This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall. Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.
