Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday they’re eyeing a fall 2027 start date for construction of a new bitumen pipeline to the West Coast. It’s part of a plan to accomplish the remaining steps of the landmark energy deal they signed last fall. There is to be a new scheme for carbon emissions pricing in Alberta, and a commitment from Carney to declare the pipeline as being in the national interest by October of this year.
Meanwhile behind the optics…
Canada’s Asian pipeline strategy faces significant criticism, focusing on the accelerating energy transition in Asia toward electrification, which threatens long-term demand for Canadian oil. Concerns include reliance on outdated demand projections, massive capital investment risks in a shifting market, intense environmental opposition, and the rapid rise of renewables/EVs.
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Court Painter has called upon a manual phoropter to decipher the optics of the announcement.
A special treat! Court Painter is not only a virtuoso with the brush but a steady hand with the camera. During his recent Beijing visit he was invited to attend and video President Trump and President Xi at the height of their dining experience together.Key moments of the delightful interaction and minimal monologue is captured in Court Painter’s signature easy on the eye & ear style .
The Shawinigan Handshake in Canadian folklore is considered a chokehold at a chokepoint. Former PM Chretien demonstrates the manoeuvre on a southern neighbour.
Definition: A chokepoint is a narrow, strategic passage—such as a strait, valley, or bridge—that restricts movement and forces traffic (military or commercial) to pass through a single, congested area. It serves as a bottleneck that, if controlled or blocked, can halt flow, create hazards, or provide significant tactical advantages in warfare and geopolitics.
International sea route choke points of the world
Approximately 80% of global trade by volume moves by ship, much of it passing through narrow, high-traffic waterways known as maritime chokepoints. Disruption at any of these locations—whether from conflict, accidents, or environmental factors—can cause immediate spikes in energy prices and massive delays in global supply chains. Source:Al Jazeera +4
EDMONTON — Alberta’s elections agency said Thursday,May 7/26 it believes 568 people accessed a voter list at the heart of a massive privacy breach involving a separatist group.
The group, called the Centurion Project, had made a publicly accessible database featuring the names and addresses of nearly three million Alberta voters.
A call for an independent public inquiry into the management and use of Alberta’s voters list
SOURCE: Jared Wesley is professor of political science and associate dean (Graduate) in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Alberta.
May 7th 2026
Thirty-eight (38) academics from across the province joined me in publishing this open letter earlier this morning. I invite you to read and share it widely.
As we argue:
The integrity of the voters list must be beyond reproach. In a healthy democracy, Albertans have confidence that their personal information is protected. They have assurance that elections and referendums are conducted on a level playing field. They have institutions that are, and are seen to be, independent and trustworthy.
An independent public inquiry is the most effective way to restore those conditions.
As I argued earlier, police and Elections Alberta investigations are underway. They are necessary. But they are not enough.
Court Painter & Portrait of Jared Wesley
Premier Danielle Smith seen contemplating her next move as the political fallout turns up the heat for a public inquiry into the voter database privacy.breach
Prime Minister Mark Carney has named former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour as Canada’s next governor general, picking a francophone with a long legal resumé which includes stints prosecuting war crimes in Rwanda and Yugoslavia and serving as the UN human rights commissioner.
Arbour, 79, is one of the most celebrated jurists of her time. She has received 42 honorary doctorates and is already a Companion of the Order of Canada — the country’s highest honour — in recognition of her pioneering legal work here and around the world.
Court Painter & Newly Appointed Governor General Louise Arbour
In the Court Painter studio, commissioned works have taken centre stage, despite thirteen years of unprofitable endurance sustained by relentless patience with often irascible clients. These commissions are meant to generate a substantial share of revenue, supplemented by the Court Painter’s public appearances at prestigious gallery openings, local dive bars, and art fairs. They carry the glamour, identity, and sense of purpose—and prestige—that accompany any transaction with the Court Painter brand. The potential commissioned sales draw in both the little people and the notable—celebrities, politicians—shaping the Court Painter’s self aggrandizing narratives and offering clients the promise of furthering their reputation with a pictorial treasure. Yet this unstable sales enterprise remains unpredictable, tied to taste, timing, degrees of corruption, cruelty, cupidity, avarice, greed, war-mongering, and social media presence of the subjects; their ability to pay and respond to constant invoice reminders as well as the ever-shifting moods of the art market.
Accordingly, another business plan has become necessary to steer the Court Painter juggernaut toward the elusive break-even point.
Framing—yes, a framingshop—emerges as a steady monetary income stream. It could account for a significant portion if not all of the CP enterprise’s revenue and is far more reliable. Clients return for it; margins are stronger; and frames are less vulnerable to the bane of painterly cultural whims. In studio operations where framing is monetized the balance sheet looks rosy and with framing as the primary source of income, the art sales properly assume a supporting role.
What emerges is a kind of dual economy: unpaid or speculative art commissions provide visibility and intermittent bursts of notoriety, while framing quietly sustains the operation day to day. Even with modest earnings , framing will contribute disproportionately—if not entirely—to the Court Painter’s profit. In practical terms, it is this dependable artisan craft behind the scenes that promises to keep the studio doors open and the studio bar stocked while the art on the easel continues to carry ambition, aspiration and a continuing commitment to the service of humanity through art.
