Longtime Conservative MP Deepak Obhrai has passed away 

The United Conservative Party (UCP) appears to be preparing for a fight for increased autonomy with the Trudeau government.

In their first annual meeting, members voted on through informal straw polls on a series of issues aimed at getting a “fair deal” from the Trudeau government.

From the province’s potential tax collection agency to the police force, trade relationships, pension plan, and firearms watchdog, members voted in large groups to support autonomy and further pull away from Ottawa.

A panel weighing those ideas is to complete its report by March 31.

“We are not seeking a special deal. We are simply seeking a fair deal,” Premier Jason Kenney told party faithful.

While not backing the secession movement, Wexit, the move to fight for autonomy is not surprising. Polls have placed Alberta’s desire to potentially declare independence close to if not higher than the separatist-prone province of Quebec.

A female conservative journalist has been assaulted in Calgary by a left-wing protestor outside the United Conservative Party’s Annual General Meeting in Calgary.

According to a post made by the company’s main Twitter profile, Sheila Gunn Reid was assaulted while attempting to cover the protestors outside the event.

The event involved speeches by the NDP and included members from the Federation of Labour.

In response to the attack, Rebel Media has put out a $1,000 reward for anyone who can identify the assailant.

This is not the first time a journalist in Canada has been assaulted for their work. In 2018, a Toronto Sun photographer was assaulted by antifa members for doing his job. In 2017, Gunn Reid herself was assaulted, leading to a conviction and civil suit.

The Post Millennial reached out to Gunn Read, who said, “No one attempted to help me, in fact, the protesters continued to chant at us that we were Nazis after we were assaulted. CTV had a news truck sitting on the street running right beside where it all happened. It is evident in our footage from the incident. 

This is the second time that this sort of thing has happened to me in an NDP protest and no NDP politician has ever renounced the violence against me. The NDP needs to dial down their rhetoric before somebody is seriously hurt.” 

Bill Peters has resigned as the head coach of the NHL’s Calgary Flames after former player, Akim Aliu, accused him on racism on social media, according to Sportsnet.

The Calgary Flames’s general manager, Brad Treliving, made these comments during a press conference. During this, he also stated that Geoff Ward would take over as the interim coach.

Aliu accused Peters on Twitter of directing a racial slur towards the player “several times” when they were both in the AHL. Peters was Aliu’s coach during his time at the Rockford IceHogs.

After Aliu’s tweets, Peter’s released an apology, although he did not direct it specifically to Aliu.

The leader of the Parti Quebecois, Pascal Berube, has attacked Jason Kenney and his UCP in an opinion piece in the Calgary Herald. 

In the article, Berube declared that Kenney was lying to Albertans about Albertan taxes paying for Quebec’s social infrastructure. Berube claimed that Kenney’s statements were “simply not true.” 

Berube also took time to rebut Kenney’s indignation over equalization payments—an issue that Kenney will put to a referendum. Berube said that equalization payments were calculated based on the province’s ability to generate tax revenue, and thus “Albertans should not complain about paying for any of Quebec’s social programs. It simply is not true.” 

Berube went on to say that “Alberta is a bigger spender than its leaders would like you to believe … Alberta is not some libertarian’s dream, as some would like you to believe. The province is a perfect example of ‘big government.’” 

By saying this, Berube has labeled Kenney and the UCP as hypocritical and manipulative.  

What was more piercing, however, was when Berube attacked Kenney directly, suggesting that Kenney was “looking for someone or something to blame for his gigantic fiscal deficit.” 

Berube went on to say that “Albertans need to realize that their leaders have let them down … he will seal his place as the proud heir of past leaders who drove Alberta to the brink of the fiscal precipice where it now finds itself.” 

Berube’s attack is the latest incident in a war of words between the two provinces. Previously, Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet and CAQ leader Francois Legault had criticized Kenney and the Wexit movement. Blanchet, for example, has also disputed Kenney’s equalization claims, declaring that Alberta doesn’t “send a cheque to Quebec.” 

Blanchet has also ridiculed the broad sentiment of alienation in the western province, stating that “the desire to do whatever they want with their oil might not be a sufficient reason to fuel a desire to become a country.”