A veritable smogasboard of topics on the table for Primetime this week: A city councillor chooses vacation over work, while another is asked to resign over an unpaid bill, proving the earth is flat and is the Keystone XL pipeline a done deal?
- First up, TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline project got the go-ahead by regulators in Nebraska after a tight vote. There was a wrinkle though; regulators approved an alternate route for the pipeline.Environmentalists and Indigenous groups vow to continue their fight against the project.
- Calgary city councillor Diane Colley-Urquhart is being criticized for being absent during multiple important discussions and debates at city hall. She is currently on vacation in Antarctica.She missed a debate on a motion to stop work on the southwest BRT despite being a co-sponsor of the motion. Colley-Urquhart is also expected to miss budget deliberations.
- Sabrina Powers, a recently elected town councillor in Beaumont, was asked to resign after it was discovered she owed the city for an unpaid utility bill. According to the Municipal Elections Act, it should’ve been done before nomination in September. The Act states someone cannot run for office if they owe money to a municipality. She's resigned, but is that the whole story?
- Californian Mike Hughes spent several years and $20,000 to build his own rocket as part of a bid to prove the earth is actually flat. He'll blast off from a mobile home he bought to convert into a launcher. Hughes thinks people believe the earth is round because of an astronaut conspiracy. He is planning another trip to take a photo from space to show the flatness of the earth. If Hughes survives the launch, he plans to run for governor of California. (UPDATE: Lack of federal permits and mechanical difficulties with his motorhome/rocket launchr forced Hughes to delay the lanch).
Our panel guess include: Dan Taylor, comic and pastor at Disciples Church in Edmonton; Catherine Ford, freelance journalis and Jeremy Klaszus, editor of The Sprawl.
