Media Release - For immediate release Oct 27, 2005

Aliens have landed in the Peace Country

Alien is a new play opening on Nov 4th in Grande Prairie. It is a comedy about a family's discovery that aliens have indeed landed near Grande Prairie. In fact, they walk among us. Sometimes, we even call them family. What its really about, says playwright Terry Scerbak, is parents, teenagers, menopause, in-laws, and the way our families manage to survive despite driving us crazy.

Directed by Cliff Mitchell, the play is being produced as a fundraiser for three local charities including Sunrise House, a youth emergency shelter. Were very excited about this project, says Mitchell. Our sponsors have covered our costs so every dime from the $25 admission charge, which includes a dessert buffet, will go towards worthy causes. With 6 performances over the course of the first and third weekends in Nov and the first weekend in Dec, up to $30,000 could be divided among the charities.

We are thrilled that Terry wrote this play for us, says Erna Moon, executive director of Catholic Family Services, which is involved in the project along with Voice for Life. Cliff had looked a long time for a script before he approached Terry to see if she could help us. Scerbak wrote the pantomime Cinderella that Grande Prairie Live Theatre produced in Dec 2003 as well as three plays for the drama students at Alexander Forbes School during the 2003-2004 school year. GPLT is also producing her pantomime script of Aladdin this Christmas.

I love writing comedies, says Scerbak. People relax when they laugh, and at least for a short time, the cares of the world are forgotten. To order tickets, phone 532-9381.

Contacts:
Terry Scerbak, (780) 814-7410, cell (780) 512-4251, tscerbak@telus.net
Cliff Mitchell, (780) 532-1231, mitchcj@telusplanet.net 
For a digital format of this release or photos, email tscerbak@telus.net

 
Feds cloud real plan - Toxic change targets Alberta and lets Ontario go free Mon. Sept. 26, 2005, Ezra Levant, Calgary Sun

"Carbon dioxide is not a toxic chemical in science or in common sense, so what's going on? In the same official notice, the explanation was provided: It's the way Ottawa plans to get jurisdiction over the oil patch to implement their Kyoto taxes." Details ->

"It's erroneous to say Albertans want to separate. The Liberals are just hiking our rent so much they are determined to make it impossible for us to stay in Canada." Details ->

"OTTAWA -- A committee of MPs is high-tailing back to Ottawa to carry out an "urgent probe" of the summer's sudden spike in gas prices.

The committee will look at everything from oil refinery capacity, to regional pricing variations, to the impact of soaring prices on Canada's transportation network and the economy. After hearing from industry stakeholders, consumers and experts, MPs will compile a report with recommendations to government..." Details ->

"The business executive with long family ties to The Rock pushed back his breakfast plate, leaned forward to avoid being overheard and informed me the first province out of Confederation would not be Quebec. Or Alberta. Or B.C. He paused, relishing the perplexed look across the table. Details in the SPA membership email newsletter

"The way we chose senators has become a symbol of discontent, says Murdoch Davis" Details ->

"At the moment, Alberta has an embarrassment of riches.

That doesn't mean we have to let our riches embarrass us.

But that is what will happen unless someone takes the helm of an apparently rudderless provincial government and sails it out of muddled waters.

It has been a year since Albertans witnessed "Kleinfeld -- the campaign about nothing." That was the embarrassing run-up to last fall's election.

Premier Ralph Klein was running for his fourth and final term in office -- his last hurrah. After announcing Alberta's debt was paid off, Ralph decided to rest on his laurels.

Instead of offering an inspirational vision of what his government would do with the money that now didn't have to go to pay off the debt and interest, he clammed up.

Voters weren't impressed with the silent treatment and gave the Tories a spanking at the polls. A repentant Ralph promised to pull up his socks.

Since then, we've had little more than a series of confusing announcements on everything from health care to tax cuts.

We've all heard about the famous, "Third Way," for health care, but no one really knows what it means.

We've heard rumblings that the government is considering tax cuts, but that is thin gruel for Albertans struggling to feed, house and educate their families.

We've had promises of lots of money to improve the care available to elderly Albertans, but thus far, not much of a plan. Ditto with a pledge to make post-secondary education the most affordable in the country.

Today and tomorrow, the Tory caucus will head into a retreat to hash out these and other issues.

The premier admits Alberta's riches have made governing a tougher proposition than in the old days. Everyone wants to spend.

As Ralph knows, merely throwing dough at problems doesn't necessarily solve them. Sometimes it causes more problems and at the very least, it creates unsustainable expectations.

The premier says he has every intention of staying on for the next couple of years, but if he does, he must steer this adrift regime back on course.

We need a plan for our oil riches that includes saving, spending and giving some back to taxpayers. Ralph has promised to emerge from the caucus with just such a plan for the future.

We can hardly wait."

"The 'one big happy family' concept of Confederation doesn't work. Why? Because nobody knows who's responsible for what, and everyone feels entitled to a free ride." Details ->

Veteran Conservative MP Bill Casey of Truro, Nova Scotia, advocates for western rights and "he's fed up with the way Ottawa routinely discriminates against westerners when it comes to filling vacancies in the public service."
Details ->

"After a successful century in the Canadian confederation, is Alberta about to seriously contemplate going it alone?" Details ->

"Not only would another raid on Alberta's treasury by Ottawa on behalf of the rest of the country have devestating conequences for national unity, it would be unjustified. The gap in incomes between "have" and "have-not" provinces has almost vanished. With the exception of Alberta, the per capita provincial GDPs of the other nine provinces all cluster between 92 per cent and 105 per cent of the national average -- a spread of just 13 percentage points. As recently as 1990, that same nine-province gap was 47 points. The have-not provinces' economies are all now above the cut-off line set when the scheme was first implemented in 1957. When Alberta was cut off in 1964, its economy was at the level Newfoundland's is at now ..." [emphasis added - Web Editor] Details ->

MONTREAL — "Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe has joined the NDP's Jack Layton in calling on the federal government to do more to regulate skyrocketing oil prices.

Ottawa should convene the Standing Committee on Industry as early as this week in order to devise a plan to deal with high oil prices, Duceppe said Saturday.

A spokesperson for the party confirmed that Bloc members of the committee are trying to persuade representatives from the other parties to agree to meet earlier.

If a majority of the members agree, the committee can meet even though Parliament is not sitting.

Duceppe made his comments at a news conference at his riding office in Montreal while listing several measures the federal government should take to help those hardest hit by higher fuel costs.

Duceppe wants Ottawa to make a $250 tax credit available to low-income households to offset the rising prices of oil products. He said a similar tax credit should be made available to those whose jobs require the use of a vehicle, such as taxi drivers.

He proposed financing the plan by increasing the taxes levied on large oil companies, a move Duceppe said could put as much as $500 million in federal coffers.

Fuel prices have been rising steadily recently, with even more severe increases coming in the wake of hurricane Katrina's impact on oil production and refining in the Gulf of Mexico.

On Friday, the price of regular gas in St. John's, N.L., hit $1.48 per litre.

The Bloc leader also rejected the idea of nationalizing Canada's oil industry, saying it would be too costly and would infringe on provincial jurisdiction.

"Natural resources belong to the provinces, and to (nationalize oil) you would have to go over Alberta's head and if we go over Alberta's head it opens the door to bypassing Quebec on hydroelectricity, which as clean energy is an energy of the future,'' Duceppe said.

Duceppe added that Ottawa should create an office with the explicit purpose of monitoring the oil industry and ensuring that real competition is taking place.

Last month, Layton demanded the government launch an inquiry to look into whether multinational oil companies are colluding with each other.

"We effectively have a monopoly in the sector, a very small number of very large companies that are setting the prices,'' Layton said at the time.

During the last session of parliament, the NDP sponsored a bill aimed at creating a permanent commission to deal with energy prices."

TORONTO -- "Ontario's premier wants a national commission to re-examine how Ottawa and the provinces exchange funds.

Dalton McGuinty is calling on the prime minister to set up a commission to see if there are fairer ways to distribute federal funds to the provinces.

The premier has repeatedly argued to the federal government that Ontario pays far more to Ottawa in transfer payments than it receives in return for federal services.

McGuinty says such as review ... could take 18 months to complete." Details and from Globe and Mail, Murray Campbell