Did Kenney’s War Room set this up? How much did they pay for it? Ontario couple who mailed $1,000 cheque to Alberta come forward by CTV News, April 17, 2020. Make sure to put clothes pegs on your nose if you listen to the couple.
The oil and gas industry is destroying Canada, leaving toxic leaking dregs and massive economic devatation from coast to coast to coast. It intends, and has always intended, not to clean up, no matter how many billions of dollars it is “given” from taxpayers in corporate welfare to do just that.
Comment from a rural Albertan:
I CANNOT believe that couple just send that cheque without any prompting/bribery/something…. It is just too dumb for words. And the letter seems so fake. A number of people said they should have donated to a food bank – I mean, where are their brains.
A few tweets in response to Kenney bragging about his letter & giftie on twitter:
Boy, they obviously don’t know @Alberta_UCP folks. Bad enough that y’all pick a fight with @Albertadoctors but to do it in a pandemic indicates severe obliviousness. This couple should also look at the 25,000 Albertans who lost their jobs due to you, to find the real UCP folks.
Who wants to take a bet this is a completely made up letter, from one of Kenney’s “committees”
I’ll take that bet. The letter has no fold lines
I think I want to vomit. Accepting charity after giving away $5BILLION to oil companies. After cutting healthcare and education to give away BILLIONS for NOTHING. The UCP is corrupt beyond words. #KenneyResign#KenneyResign#KenneyResign#KenneyResign#KenneyResign
I notice you carefully cropped this photo so we can’t tell who sent it, or whether they have a long history of conservative partisanship. It’s not like conservatives haven’t faked shit before.
I can’t wait until he crawls back to his mom’s basement from whence he came
…did you iron out the envelop folds first, or did this honestly arrive in a large envelop inside a protective cardboard sleeve? If you’re going to lie, at least fold it up like a proper person.
There’s not a chance that is legit in any way.
Lemme guess, signed by Pierre Poutine, right?
Pitchfork populism from the phony Kenney.
Huh. Looks like it’s never seen the inside of an envelope.
OMG I AM DED WHO DOESNT THINK TO FOLD THEIR FAKE LETTER?!?
It also seems to rather precisely follow the template used in GOA correspondence.
I call BS.
That won’t even cover Matt [Wolf]’s tab at the buffet
The letter reeks utter desperation from the the premier who posted it.
The stench of Desperation!!
According to the letter, Alberta is “a good Canadian.”
Brings tears to my eye to read……
Give it to an educational assistant laid off
How did this sucker get mailed without being folded into an envelope?
It probably came from the parents of the kid who sent him a letter about the Easter Bunny
You have single-handedly crippled this province’s education and health sector at a time that they need government most. Your singular focus on oil and gas will seal this province’s fate. You should give their money back and tell them you will do better.
I’m a citizen of Alberta and you never answer or profile my letters.
This is either a complete fabrication, or the writer is a conservative operative.
People are very gullible if they think this really happened. 
ROARING LAUGHTER!
This is the funniest thing I’ve ever read
The only people who believe this story also thought that Alberta oil would be 58 dollars a barrel.
Not only did they send a $1000 cheque, they also splurged on one of those huge, non-folding envelopes. Probably put in a piece of cardboard as well to make sure the letter didn’t get folded or creased in transit. Classy folks! AND EXTRA POSTAGE!
From Ralph Klein’s playbook -he was getting hammered in a scrum on minority school board rights- he pulled a letter in his pocket from someone in Ontario supposedly sending a $1,000. cheque to help with Alberta’s deficit reduction….is Rod Love back?
Fake letter!
Hahahaha I call bullshit
BUUUUUUUUULLLLLLLLL SSSHHHHHH@$!!!
Is that the same letter Ralph Klein claimed to have received in 1994?
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAhAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaHAAAAAAAAAAAA !! tweets below:
Don’t do it, noble Kingstonians!! He’s only going to use the money to score some (pet)coke and fill his pipe(line)!
Can we see examples of other letters you receive?
Let’s see a picture of the cheque.
I’d rather have seen that $1,000 be given to a local food bank (if this is even real).
So is this how the #wArRoOm is spending our money now? What creativity!!
(PS, this is typically referred to as the “layering” stage of money laundering, fyi)
The #UCPcorruption is positively inspirational.
Also, do these kind folk get a tax receipt?
Hoax
I laughed mighty loud and long reading your letter! Congrats Brittney! What an Honour!
And somehow, Quebec got $650 of this cheque to Alberta. WTF?!?!?
I mean since the cheque is clearly a lie, I guess we could lie some more and say Quebec got some money too…
Question: who did they make the cheque out to?
They made it out to Ralph Klein
Yeaaah this is totally real I believe you
Thought this was your resignation letter, damn. Got me again you wiley ol’ buffalo, you
The odds of this being truth are pretty much zero
Oh gag. I know when I’m being manipulated.
lol, this never happened
I think a lot of people don’t believe this is real
Liar
Wow. That is amazing, @JKenney. So if one wanted to send a thank you card to these extraordinarily generous folks, is there an address to which one could send that?
Since these fine folks are admittedly not in the top 1% of income earners, I hope you sent the cheque back to them with a note that pointed out Alberta’s largesse in donating $4.5B to oilsands CEOs.
A letter with no folds – try harder!
WTF!? Ontario people have an extra $1K to send to a province? I’m moving!
I didn’t know you had relatives in Ontario
You have to be kidding me.. there are people that brainwashed out there? I’m ashamed of being a Canadian with this sort of radical government in place. I thought Jason as a kitten when compared to Doug Ford boy was I wrong. There’s a special place for conservatives like this
I laughed out loud at this BS. Grasping at straws are we UCP?
Please resign.
Literally no human being would write this unless they were writing a prompted PR release
… who knows where it will end up. Can we get a break down on where it’s goes???
Sad, if true.
Now do education and healthcare. Oh wait we don’t need those things anymore unless Shamdro gets rich from it.
They sent it unfolded?
did you personally iron that paper flat (letter folds) before taking the photo?…. attention to detail there!
You need to apologize to Dr. Tam now!
Somehow the brazenness of this lie makes me less angry about it? Like, it’s all nonsense you fabricated, but well done taking such a big swing!
My girlfriend is real she just goes to another school!
I’d like to see the post mark on the envelope.
Interesting how the only other time this ever happened was to Klein in March/ 94.
The letter was good enough send the cheque back with a case of Alberta beer!
Only complete rubes would believe this is real.
Yours truly Kason and Jenney
Would like to what relationship you have with these people.
FAKE NEWS!!!
This tweet and the letter are the most cringeworthy bit of politicking I’ve seen in months.
Of all the things that actually happened, this was definitely not one of them.
Did you write this yourself?
Probably relatives
Funny how nobody in Alberta feels this way…
Are you getting desperate or something, Jason? Making up letters now?
Here’s some advice for you: transition away from fossil fuels and institute a provincial sales tax. Wtf’s wrong with you?
Did they send this letter in a very large envelope? Because it has no fold creases….
This is just really sad, man.
This absolutely did not happen.
Per usual form, @jkenney describes letters with cheques in them as “moving”.
Why didn’t they just send the cheque directly to big oil, that’s where that money will go anyways. Cut out the middle man, isnt @jkenney and @Alberta_UCP all about efficiency?
If you have a moral fiber anywhere in that body don’t cash that check.
Cool story bro.
Caught, in fraud, again.
***
DAMN! THAT WAS FUN reading how many do not believe Kenney!
THAT GOOFY LETTER FROM KINGSTON TO JASON KENNEY — PROMISE MADE, PROMISE KEPT, OR WHAT? by David Climenhaga, April 15, 2020, Alberta Politics
Now, about that goofy letter from Kingston, the one wherein the generous author or authors sent Alberta Premier Jason Kenney $1,000 to help out the Alberta treasury, I have a contrarian point of view.
To wit: My opinion is that it’s totally legit, the real McCoy, it actually happened, the cheque came in a proper extra-large envelope with the correct postage and everything.
The letter from Ontario (Image: Kenney’s, but really Harper’s?, Twitter As I was copying the best responses to Kenney, the thread froze me out).
I know there have been a lot of conspiracy theories in the past few hours among people who generally agree with the stuff we have to say on this blog. Mostly, they boil down to the idea that this letter makes no sense at all, on any level, no sane person would send 1,000 free-floating Canadian Loonies to the taxman in another province, let alone the lowest-taxed province in the Dominion, and therefore something must be up.
Now, I admit, there are several reasons to be suspicious of this epistle — not least among them the fact Premier Kenney has, shall we say, a somewhat casual relationship with the truth. And the sentiment expressed is, by any reasonable standard, basically bonkers.
“Every time we pass the gas pumps in Kingston, we are reminded that the economy in Alberta is hurting badly,” say the signatories of the letter, their illegible signatures partly obscured and their identities redacted by Mr. Kenney or one of his minions when the decision was made to post it on social media with some enthusiastic commentary for all to see and thereby be encouraged.
The authors kindly reminded their readers here in Wild Rose Country that “we appreciate how Alberta has contributed to the financial health of Canada for years and years” (equalization!), thanking the province for its generosity and wishing it well in the fight against COVID-19 (those N95s!).
“We are not politicians nor are we among the top 1% of Canadian income earners,” the authors wrote with apparent earnestness. “Nevertheless, we would like to express our support for Albertans in a manner in a manner that goes a bit beyond lip service.
“To this end, we have enclosed a cheque for $1,000. Please put this to use in a way that helps the people of Alberta in some small way.”
“I often tell Albertans that other Canadians have got our back,” Mr. Kenney chirped on Twitter. “This gesture is wonderful proof.” Perhaps he is hopeful the idea will catch on in Ontario. OMG! FUNNY!
Now, I admit, some might think it is mildly suspicious the authors stick so closely in their missive to United Conservative Party talking points.
And while many writers of this kind of letter might have been tempted to send Mr. Kenny or his party a political donation, these ones seem to be cognizant of the current restrictions on out-of-province donations in Alberta political financing law. Well, as politically alert Ontarians, presumably they were aware of the difficulties experienced by Mr. Kenney when he donated $399 to Doug Ford’s provincial campaign in 2018, which in fact should have been no problem at all since Mr. Kenney was a resident of Ottawa at the time … Oh! Wait!
Much has also been made of the fact that the letter appears not to have been folded, as one would normally expect of something that came in an envelope with a cheque. I have already dealt with this question: it obviously came in a large envelope, or, failing that, was photocopied by a device that cleaned up a few stray fold lines. Whatever.
Also raised by suspicious minds, the fact Kingston is a college town, doubtless chock full o’ lockdown-defying young Conservative members of the Ayn Rand Reading Society looking for a way to impress a fellow like Mr. Kenney. This in no way detracts from the balance of probabilities.
And finally, to the point that no normal person would do this, we are none of us normal, and we all get strange ideas on occasion. Moreover, there is a precedent, as several tweeters pointed out.
Premier Ralph Klein once got up on his hind legs in the Legislature and informed the astounded honourable members gathered therein that “just yesterday, I received a letter in the mail. A gentleman wrote from Ontario. Basically, to paraphrase the letter — I don’t have it here — he said that he appreciated the courage of this government, that he appreciated the resolve of this government, and that he would like to know the mechanism to make a donation not to the PC Party, but to the Provincial Treasury.”
The date was March 22, 1994. Hansard does not reveal whether or not that donation was ever received. If it was, I expect Ralphie drank it quickly up.
But perhaps every quarter century or so, spring comes and someone in Ontario is moved to make a donation to Alberta’s provincial treasury without actually bothering to move here. There’s a reason they call it March Madness.
Or perhaps the letter Mr. Kenney received, dated March 24, was from the same gentleman, finally getting around to keeping his promise. As we say here in Alberta, all too often: “Promise made, promise kept.”
Who knows? The truth is often stranger than fiction. Why shouldn’t that be the case this time?
Readers are encouraged to advise AlbertaPolitics.ca through the comments section how the $1,000 ought to be spent. DJC
11 COMMENTS TO: THAT GOOFY LETTER FROM KINGSTON TO JASON KENNEY — PROMISE MADE, PROMISE KEPT, OR WHAT?
JUST ME APRIL 15TH, 2020
The on going comedy of the UCP government is beginning to consider going back to the future to improve its public image. Pulling Ralph Klein’s weird stunt is one thing, but to replay it nearly word for word is not only the height of lazy, it’s just a plain stupid thing to do. Who on earth would voluntarily write a cheque to a provincial government? Some kind of a lunatic? This no different than the weird stunt that Presto Manning used to pull during one of his Refooooorrrm rallies back in the day. Manning would pull out a letter from an well worn envelop that he claimed was written by a struggling housewife and mother. She her tale of struggling to keep hearth and home together, with success, and wondered why government could never get itself together as she got her own home together? Manning would ramble on and on about the letter until he put it away because he seemed – surprise – bored from reading the damn thing again to another crowd of morons who actually believed it was real. Since the Klein years are such a templet for the Kenney years, maybe Kenney could throw in trashing a homeless shelter in a drunken rage for dramatic effect?
DAVID CLIMENHAGA APRIL 15TH, 2020
No doubt Mr. Manning was inspired by “the Man from Mars.” DJC
EXPAT ALBERTAN APRIL 15TH, 2020
Another point of suspicion is the fact that Kenney was once head of the Alberta branch of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, an organization known for media stunts designed as a form of ideological communication (debt counter, anyone?). But whatever…my suggestion for the $1000 – buy some PPE for medical personnel.
Then we can all thank Ontario for helping Alberta’s beleaguered medical staff.
DEREK APRIL 15TH, 2020
I think we should send the 1000 buck to the Saudi’s for investing in Babylon. The app has been a great help to us is this time of need.
TOM APRIL 15TH, 2020
I admire your courage, Dave. Bill 10 expressly prohibits the employment of irony, unless it’s inadvertent.
KANG APRIL 15TH, 2020
What to do with a thousand Ontario smakers?
That could buy a very fancy medical diploma for Kenney to hang on his wall as a prop when he is giving medical advice to Health Canada. Roaring laughter! Never have I seen a dumber more ego overloaded politician than KKKenney (even more so than Trumpskie and Scheerski). I think rural Albertans and Republican Americans vote for dumb politicians because having dumb leaders makes them feel smart and good about themselves.
How about a forged university degree from the religious school he dropped out of? Better yet, how about a Bishop’s hat and robe for attending press conferences and the Legislature? Lord Tubby used to favor that costume, so maybe Jason could get a family discount? The Premier could even bring a Censer to spread some real smoke around. As all right thinking Christian Capitalists from the 15th century know, smoke from a blessed Censer wards off evil spirits and the miasma that causes disease. Cheaper and safer than malaria drugs and smells better to.
ATHABASCAN APRIL 15TH, 2020
Is this what it’s come to? Kenney is sending letters to himself from a fictitious person living supposedly in Kingston? Where does that stop? More letters to come? Goebbels would be proud.
MURPHY APRIL 15TH, 2020
Is Tailgunner Jay back to the old Reform-Alliance-Herbalife stunting? Logan Day and Rob Anders and maybe Rahim cooking up pranks for the cognitively-challenged?
KEITH MCCLARY APRIL 15TH, 2020
When your auntie in Ontario sends you a cheque, isn’t it basic courtesy to send a thank-you letter saying what you spent it on? I don’t think it would be polite to say “We just tossed it in General Revenue”. Wouldn’t the donors want Albertans to know how we are benefiting from their generosity?
___________________________What is the code “SHOOP” in the date stamp? (Internet slang for photoshop.)
LUNGTA APRIL 15TH, 2020
i looked up shoop
it is as advertised …. photo shop
i’m betting it is the best work of the war room so far
propaganda in the time of war
tho i would have like to have read the harsh notes to putin and the saudies
hmmm
trying to spend 1000 imaginary dollars
might line you up to write next years budget
DAVE APRIL 15TH, 2020
I don’t doubt the veracity of this either. There is a saying about fools and their money and it is a free country, people make questionable choices with money all the time. I suppose it shows the “we are poor” message put out by Alberta governments over the last while has resonated with at least one Ontarian. Of course, if Alberta had Ontario levels of tax we wouldn’t have much of a deficit, or any at all.
Alberta still has much higher than national average levels of wages, a cost of living that is not too high and at least until recently a fairly high labour participation rate, so I am not sure claims of poverty are accurate. Perhaps the latest oil price problems will put a big dent in all that and we will, oh the horror … fall closer to the Canadian averages on these things.
I’ve always noticed that feeling poor is a relative thing. First we compare ourselves to our own past and second to those around us, so the billionaire having to get rid of his yacht or private jet for financial reasons is probably just as unhappy about it as someone having to trade in their Mercedes for a Dodge Minivan or someone having to eat KD instead of steak.
I probably shouldn’t begrudge the generosity of this anonymous Ontarian, perhaps he is well enough off, perhaps he has heard too many stories in the national media about the terrible state of the economy here. Yes, it is bad, but not everyone is destitute. Also, he probably hasn’t paid close attention to the complicated financial discourse in Alberta over the years, like what happened to our Heritage Trust Fund and was it really a good idea to keep taxes so low by using oil revenues to subsidize that for years.
In any event the Kenney team knows or has learned how to find a good PR victory wherever they can these day. This guy comes from Ontario and Alberta really needs some goodwill and support in Ontario now, given the hostility to Conservatives and their agenda in many parts of BC and Quebec. Well, they got it from at least one guy. Lastly, what to do with this bit of a windfall? Mr. Kenney, please do not start think of PAID IN FULL signs like Ralph Klein. You are no Ralph, and we are not even on the same economic planet as that , now. I suppose Kenney could turn it into a crowd funding campaign to pay for doctors and nurses or something similar, that might be timely and helpful. Whatever happens, hopefully the Premier will update us on whatever use these funds have been put to, good or otherwise.
***
Subject: REALLY WHERE DOES THE KENNEY INVESTIGATION STAND???????
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2020 12:32:48 -0600
From: Stewart Shields email hidden; JavaScript is required
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More and More Albertans are questioning Kenney’s judgement and attitudes in attempting to holds Alberta in a place to be respected?? And loosing this desire every time he opens his mouth!
To start with —it appears the “K” division of the RCMP have all got Covid 19 or have lost their voice in another manner as we have heard nothing on their progress about their investigation into Kenney behaviour prior to the UCP leadership in 2017? Do we still have a nameless official from Ontario overseeing Kenney’s investigation? Have the RCMP actually ignored the mountain of evidence against Kenney—and put these matters to bed —without telling the Alberta public??
I’m certain the Alberta Public deserve a far better effort to be kept informed than the “K” division has provided on a very very serious matter with a mountain of evidence to back up presumptions?? Has their performance in this matter cost the “ K” Division and indeed the entire RCMP a degree of respect for their behaviour on this very public matter?
All Conservatives around the world have been a disaster with respect to this war—trying to switch their public’s attention to China who have won their war—or our own Canadian Health Officials with the gift of hindsight is plain cowardice in action— and should be seen as such!!
Who was around to warn China of the danger they faced??
Kenney is very lucky that Alberta went through a very terrible fire season under Notley who decided our preparedness with safety gear was not satisfactory a did something so we would see no repeats of this fault!!
The federal Conservatives use a pile of ink to ensure Trudeau would not bring down the “Emergency Act” and as promised have brought a halt to important legislation being passed—surprise—surprise!!
If this is a War as many have suggested—then we have every right to bring in the “Emergency Act” to keep the same pace of progress going foreword! Never again should a Canadian Leader have to put up with the “gong show” that was the SNC Lavalin affair!!
Stewart Shields, Lacombe Alberta
Kenney is letting his opinions about PM cloud his judgment by Barry Johns, Sylvan Lake, April 16, 2020, Red Deer Advocate
Shame on Premier Jason Kenney for his revisionist, Trumpian history.
His public criticism of Dr. Theresa Tam shows that he is incapable of leading this province. His hatred of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is clouding his judgment. Tam, like all public health officials, follows the science. Kenney’s desire to politicize this pandemic is shameful.
What does it accomplish to solve this situation we find ourselves in? Name calling and hatred do nothing other than to reflect the true personality of the speaker.
Kenney’s desire to score political points is humiliating for all Albertans. Alberta can do much better with leadership than what we have today.
Refer also to:
Nasty selfish oil patch polluted Alberta: Some things never change
