alberta politics notes 2/24/2010

- As Bill 1, the Alberta Competitiveness Act is this sessions flagship piece of government legislation. With all the focus on "competitiveness," has anyone wondered what happened to the Premier's Economic Strategy Committee that was announced last summer? (their website has not been updated since July 2009) The committee included former Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, former MP David Emerson, and former Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge.
- Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier announced that he will not be seeking re-election in October. Bronconnier was first elected as Mayor in 2001. Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel has yet to make his electoral intentions public.
- Alberta could hold its fourth Senate election since 1989 along-side the municipal elections this October.
- Edmonton City Council approved the Municipal Development Plan this week. Councillor Don Iveson has posted some remarks on his blog.
- Lethbridge-East MLA Bridget Pastoor scored a win for the Liberal Opposition this week when the Assembly approved her motion to "...urge the Government to establish an independent Commission to review the current salaries and benefits for Members of the Legislative Assembly..." It is important to note that as this was a Private Member's Motion, it is non-binding.
- Facing charges of cocaine-possession and drunk-driving, former Edmonton-Strathcona Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer is expected to plea-bargain when his case reconvenes in March.
- In my previous post, I mentioned the low-voter turnout in the 2008 provincial election. Here is a map showing voter turnout in ridings across the province (only 4 out of 83 ridings had a turnout larger than 50%).