Ed TV

Tonight, Ed Stelmach makes his much anticipated TV address to Albertans. Oil companies have been anticipating this for weeks, fearing a raise in royalties. The media have been anticipating this for months, since it finally allows them to break out the "Ed TV" pun they've been itching to use since Stelmach was elected Premier last December. Insomniacs have been anticipating it for reasons anyone who has heard Mr. Ed speak will understand.

On Tuesday, Kevin Taft announced that the Alberta Liberals are standing behind the royalty review recommendations and the Auditor General's report. While this might seem like an obvious course of action, this was actually a very courageous stand. The ALP is still in debt and has been doing quite well with corporate donations recently - this effectively means that they've kissed away any oil company donations from now until election day. You can watch Taft's explanation here:



Now we just wait and see if Stelmach is willing to do likewise or if he'll cave and resort to half measures and grandfathering changes. Unfortunately, I won't have a chance to watch Ed TV tonight, but I have obtained a leaked copy of Stelmach's team prepping him for how to answer the big question:

Wednesday Round Up

Municipal: On the municipal election front, things are heating up. Imagine my surprise when my Tuesday night joindave newsletter had veiled references directed towards the Go Alnoor campaign not once, but twice. The first was a response to Dave's proposal for six new taxes that Dave now says are not a "priority" [note to Love & co: How hard is it to just say no?]. The second was Dave explaining why he is losing the sign war.

On the policy front, Alnoor has released his 24 page platform. It's quite possibly the most detailed policy platform ever released for a civic election in Calgary and I'd encourage all potential voters to read it. Hell, even if you're not a Calgarian, for policy geeks, it'll be more exciting than Maxim.


Provincial: While I wish I had time to read through the 192 pages of the AG's report (and that's just volume one), it continues to draw headlines. Daveberta gives a detailed run down of Stelmach's refusal to fire his ministers. The same ministers who gave the auditor general the run around and didn't see anything wrong with deceiving Albertans.


Federal: I've got to tell you, I'm kind of digging the fact that no matter how much the Liberals screw up, they're still in a statistical tie with Harper. And bBringing in David Smith and John Rae to help with the next campaign is a step in the right direction for the grits.

Meanwhile, the man Smith and Rae helped win time and time again is recovering from heart surgery. Here's hoping he's up and running for the book tour.


And... for those who missed it, be sure to take a look at Conrad Black's Rick Mercer Report appearance from last night.