democracy – andrewng.media

February 13, 2026March 2, 2026

Everyone needs to take a Canadian law class, especially Danielle Smith

An introduction to Canadian law should be a compulsory high school credit in every province. In the past, I would have said it’s important for kids growing up to understand their basic rights, especially if they’re ever confronted by police.

But now it seems like we need to make sure someone who aspires to be the head of government has taken some Law 101 before they assume such a position. Like Alberta’s Danielle Smith, who recently suggested her provincial government would not provide supplemental administrative funding for Alberta’s justice system unless Prime Minister Mark Carney and the federal government gives Alberta more of a say in who will be appointed as judges.

December 5, 2025February 13, 2026

You are probably not a fiscal conservative

Very few people want a government that’s fiscally conservative. Most people actually want a government that’s fiscally responsible. Yes, even in Alberta! Those two things aren’t the same.

It took me a while to figure out how to best articulate this but a conversation with a new acquaintance sparked these thoughts. He described himself as “socially progressive and fiscally conservative.” By that he means he believes our elected officials should more or less pay their own way. They shouldn’t be expensing office supplies, coffees, meals, travel costs or basically anything a politician might spend their publicly funded constituency budget to do their work on a day to day basis. He called this nickel and diming the taxpayer, reimbursing little things that someone should be willing to pay out of their pocket with the salary they earn.

He had a point and I agree with him to an extent. But I wouldn’t call that being fiscally conservative. That’s being fiscally responsible. Or even simpler, just being a good steward of the budget you’re given.

October 12, 2025October 31, 2025

Calgary Needs Ranked Ballots for Better Elections

We’re one week from election day, various polls are showing a very close race for mayor and people are freaking out about the low turnout so far after advance voting week.

About the only outcome you can predict at this point is that almost every candidate will win without picking up a clear majority of the votes cast.

This will happen because of a known bug in the Canadian electoral system. It’s the person who gets the most votes who wins, not the person who crosses the majority-has-spoken threshold.

This is why a candidate – whether for mayor or council – should include election reform on their platform and set themselves apart from their opponents.