This is the scrum with Brandon Lunty and reporters today in the Alberta legislature. He’s the UCP MLA tasked with overseeing the Alberta government’s re-do of the Electoral Boundaries commission report, with the help of a new panel.

Alberta government takes aim at Globe reporter Carrie Tait over coverage of procurement scandal. UCP House Leader compares Globe reporting to "dietary advice from Jabba the Hutt." //by me @theglobeandmail.com #ableg www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alber...

Shooting the messenger: Alberta government takes aim at Globe reporter Carrie Tait over coverage of procurement scandal. UCP House Leader compares Globe reporting to ‘dietary advice from Jabba the Hutt,’ by @mattscace.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alber... via @theglobeandmail.com

Alberta govt takes aim at Globe reporter over coverage of procurement controversy: www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alber... By @mattscace.bsky.social

NEW: A court has issued a stay in any certification of petition results or making referral to the Justice Minister until the court has ruled on applications by ACFN/Blackfoot nations. Decision does not impact the continued collection of signatures for the sovereignty petition

SCOOP: Alberta Justice Minister Mickey Amery curtailed Elections Alberta's power to penalize when Sam Mraiche was under investigation. www.theglobeandmail.com/appview/cana... w @tomcardoso.bsky.social

Alberta separatists making alternative plans to force referendum if they lose court challenge www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... Find out more at nationalnewswatch.com

NEW: Alberta premier and education minister had private meeting with groups behind push to ‘conservatize’ Alberta school boards and ban LGBTQ books theijf.org/article/albe...

The Alberta government will restrict access to books in public libraries that it deems sexually explicit in a bid to shield children from what it calls “pornographic material paid for by the taxpayer.” //re-upping this, by me #ableg #cdnpoli www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alber...

Alberta is making it a crime to interfere with the inspector in charge of banning library books. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alber... via @mattscace.bsky.social

Alberta plans to regulate employers seeking to hire TFWs and give itself more control over which employees are welcomed into the province. It is Premier Danielle Smith’s first move toward asserting greater autonomy on immigration. //by me #ableg www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alber...

I asked Minister Jason Nixon if he thought the committee he sits on could finish the work of the Lukaszuk committee in ten sitting days. Nixon: "I am very, very confident that we will be able to complete our work." He did not answer a chorus of "but when?" www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/prairies_bc/...

After projecting a $4.1B deficit for the current fisc just one month ago, high oil prices are expected to cut that number in half when Alberta reaches year-end on Tuesday. #ableg #abpoli www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alber...

New rules are now in effect in the Alberta legislature that one opposition member has warned will effectively allow Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative government to duck some queries for years. //by pal @reportrix.bsky.social #ableg #abpoli globalnews.ca/news/1174288...

SCOOP: RCMP search accounting firm owned by appointee of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, police attend home of former AHS procurement official www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... w @tomcardoso.bsky.social @mattscace.bsky.social @janapruden.bsky.social @alannasmith.bsky.social

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith defends her government following RCMP searches tied to the province's health care procurement controversy: www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... w @mattscace.bsky.social @tomcardoso.bsky.social

SCOOP: Two companies involved in building some of Alberta's addiction recovery centres are mired in litigation, including accusations of forgery on one side and allegations of intimidation involving Sam Mraiche, of MHCare www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic... By @tomcardoso.bsky.social and friend

An Ontario judge has thrown out a lawsuit launched against The Globe and Mail by a former Ontario provincial Liberal cabinet minister, ruling there is an important public interest in protecting an investigative journalist’s use of confidential sources. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

Spoke w/ a Tumbler Ridge mom whose kid received psychiatric care alongside shooter in Prince George. She described Tumbler prior to the shooting as a "mental health desert," where access to supports are often long waits and hundreds of kms away. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

From me last week: Smith pins Alberta deficit on Ottawa’s immigration policies, but the budget doesn’t #ableg #abpoli www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alber...

Alberta immigration trends and Danielle Smith's rhetoric: a visual timeline.

Premier Danielle Smith said she doesn't know how much newcomers cost Alberta’s health care and education systems, despite scheduling a referendum to ask whether social services to those residents shd be limited b/c of cost www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alber... By @mattscace.bsky.social and friend

Last week, I learned an adjudicator had sided with me in 5 inquiries re: the province refusing to release results of its Alberta Next surveys GOA published the multiple choice results in Dec but has been ordered to give me 213 pages of open-answer replies that haven't yet been shared #ableg #abpoli

SCOOP: Alberta Health Services destroyed roughly half of the children's medication imported from Turkey, paying $718,000 to dispose of the hazardous waste. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alber...

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has mused about cutting or limiting public services for temporary residents. It turns out that already happened last month with public health insurance www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... #AbLeg #AbHealth

The Alberta government didn't volunteer a timeline for its ultimatum, released today but sent more than a week ago, and the federal justice ministry's statement focused almost entirely on the general importance of an independent judiciary. From me today: www.thecanadianpressnews.ca/prairies_bc/...

In which colleague Dave Ebner notes that Albertans have been named to the Supreme Court in five of the past seven openings for Western Canada. And more— #ableg #abpoli

A premature baby in Alberta who contracted #measles in utero – the province’s only death linked to the current outbreak – died last July, but health officials did not make the public aware until October, documents obtained by @theglobeandmail.com show. #ableg

Be wary of the notion that Alberta's independence movement is growing. But due to changes by the UCP gov't, a referendum might happen anyway, activating a full-fledged independence campaign. My dispatch on the separatists' divorce pitch: #ableg #cdnpoli www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alber...

The Alberta government is asking the court to dismiss a lawsuit that challenged the province’s opioid-prescribing rules on the basis of Charter violations. #ableg #abpoli

I never met Catherine O’Hara. I have no charming Catherine O’Hara anecdote. I can’t even explain why the news of her death hit me so hard. But I know her memory will be a blessing to all who knew and loved her work, and the joy she brought to Canada and the world.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford asking Alberta Premier Danielle Smith "to stand up and say enough is enough" to those leading Alberta's sovereignty movement as they meet with U.S. officials, saying you're either with Canada or not with Canada.

Worth noting: A court representative said the statement was constructed of several weeks. Though the Premier's "direct" remarks were her most recent, this follows months of statements by Ms. Smith aimed at the courts. #ableg #abpoli www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alber...

From @mattscace.bsky.social today: www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alber...

listen to the whole clip - where he says also that the consequences of speaking all that’s on his mind would be too great for him as a foreigner living in the United States right now

The Globe's editorial this morning is a list of all the Canadian military personnel who died in Afghanistan. www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/edit...

I can't stress enough how important it is to not become inured to this. But also, in service of that, take care of yourself.

"The remarks hit many of us at the Herald like a physical punch. Our dear friend Michelle Lang, a wonderful person and one of the best reporters ever to walk into that newsroom, was killed in Afghanistan by a roadside bomb on Dec. 20, 2009." calgaryherald.com/opinion/colu...

Bessent pushes Albertan independence from Canada: "Albertans are very independent people. There's a rumor they may have a referendum on whether they want to stay in Canada or not. People are talking. People want sovereignty. They want what the US has got."

Prime Minister Mark Carney says middle powers must stop pretending the rules-based international order is still functioning, and instead build coalitions to survive in a new era where great powers prey on smaller countries to take what they want. www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...

Always love joining our amazing Decibel team! On today's episode, we chat about why this flu season has been so intense. @theglobeandmail.com #cdnhealth

At least six preventable deaths and more than 30 “near-misses” occurred in Alberta emergency departments since the beginning of the year because of overcrowding, according to documents obtained by @theglobeandmail.com. #ableg #abpoli