Conservative. Academic. “A monk who works is troubled by only one devil, while an idle monk is troubled by many.” St. John Cassian (Banner, Alex Norris)
Rossdale, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Joined July 2012
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Craig Monk retweeted
This is what civilisational collapse looks like. Galleries used to have patrons who needed to be respected; now they have customers who need to be catered to.
The bell tolls for National Gallery, London. Yesterday, the NG announced plans for sweeping changes. Phrases such as "taking an audience- and customercentric approach in everything we do", "removing barriers to engagement" and "reach new, more diverse visitors" will send a chill down your spine. (1/2)
Craig Monk retweeted
Today, we pause to honour the Canadians who served and sacrificed in times of war, conflict and peacekeeping, and reflect on their courage and service.
Lest we forget.
ALT Bright red poppies stand out vividly against a black-and-white blurred background of stems and sky.
Craig Monk retweeted
My extended interview with President Trump:
youtube.com/watch?v=m2aC8lAO…
Craig Monk retweeted
Just watched whole extended 60 Minutes interview of Trump. My god, @Douthat60 is good at this! The variety of tools he deployed to prevent Trump from dominating the conversation while at the same time not losing the exchange to antagonism and shouting. Trump did not at all come out of this encounter unscathed. But in the strangest way--at least to me--Douthat did more to humanize him than I can remember, while still holding him excruciatingly accountable. What a smart hire that is immediately paying off.
Craig Monk retweeted
I’m at my local Indigo, Bay and Bloor in Toronto.
Stephen Harper’s memoir is out today.
If he were a Liberal, or even an American Democrat, the staff would have his book on big display at the entrance.
I had to look all over for it.
Found it on the bottom shelf.
Craig Monk retweeted
Chancellor Gary Mar invites you to a conversation about Canada’s future.
Join #MacEwanU and @thewalrus for The Walrus Talks North of Now, featuring @CDS_Canada_CEMD General Jennie Carignan, Kluane Adamek and other leaders exploring how Edmonton can be a stronger gateway to the North.
📅 Nov. 17 | 7 p.m.
📍 Ford Hall, @RogersPlace, or online
🎟️ Free, with optional pay-what-you-can donation
Register: ow.ly/66Ym51036H8
Craig Monk retweeted
MacEwan is proud to recognize Mark Connolly, longtime host of @CBCEdmonton AM, with an honorary doctorate.
A respected broadcaster, @CBCOlympics commentator and dedicated community volunteer, Mark has spent decades connecting Edmontonians through storytelling and service. He will address the graduating class at Fall Convocation on November 10.
Read more: ow.ly/URn451036RH
#MacEwanU
Craig Monk retweeted
This article is headlined, "How progressive politics ruined Canadian literature."
But bright spots remain:
"(B.C.'s) Michelle Good, an indigenous writer, is also worth seeking out: her novel Five Little Indians is a superb, chilling dissection of the residential school system," says Alex Diggins (@AHABDiggins).
#cdnlit #cdnpoli
spectator.com/article/progre…
Craig Monk retweeted
The developed world is hurtling towards a public debt crisis, led by the United States, and almost no one is talking about it.
When I helped to launch the Canadian Taxpayers Federation in the early 90s, there was deep and growing anxiety about growing public debt here, in the US, and our peer democracies. That helped create the political conditions for Canada's hugely successful fiscal retrenchment in the mid 90s, led by Alberta, and ultimately adopted by the Chretien government.
If the developed world does not confront the growing public debt disaster, accelerated by aging populations, we will reap the whirlwind.
wsj.com/economy/fiscal-hawks…
Craig Monk retweeted
I must say that I’m more invested in the success of the incoming Doerkson government than I’ve been in any goverment in nearly a decade.
What interests me most is the potential fecundity of the premier-elect’s back-to-basics, normie conservatism. Doerkson isn’t offering political dopamine. His whole pitch is about competent government, economic growth, and public institutions that fulfill their basic purposes. The magnitude of his victory is a sign of how broadly that proposition can appeal.
The story, in a nutshell, is a guy from Williams Lake offered a recognizable conservatism that could win in Vancouver-Yaletown. His temperament helped bring together rural communities, suburban families, and urban voters around some straightforward expectations about how their province should work.
Schools should teach. The justice system should protect the public. Hospitals should treat patients. The civil service should deliver services competently and impartially. These institutions have important yet bounded missions. They should discharge them effectively and resist the temptation to become vehicles for every passing political or ideological cause.
The same practical instinct should guide economic policy: make it possible to build homes, grow businesses, develop resources, and attract investment. Give people reasons to believe that hard work and initiative can produce a better life here.
This is the politics of normalcy in practice. And even if its rhetoric is moderate, its ambitions are considerable. Restoring focus and competence to institutions that have lost them will require conviction, persistence, and capable people.
That’s another reason for optimism: the quality of the candidates and potential front bench, along with the talented people Doerkson’s leadership drew to the campaign. @gavindew is someone to watch in particular. His interest in both economic growth and making government more productive—including through AI—could make him an important contributor to this governing agenda.
The test now is governing. There will be hard choices and inevitable disappointments along the way. But this is a conservatism that I want to see succeed—and an unusually promising opportunity to show what it can accomplish.
Craig Monk retweeted
Progressives blaming Eby’s defeat in the election timing are totally missing the point. The whole purpose of the early election was to try to overcome the government’s unpopularity rooted in its poor outcomes.
The real problem was the cumulative cost of Eby’s ideological agenda. His government was the last holdout of the failures of Trudeauian progressivism: a subordination of economic growth in favour of deficit financed welfare spending, a dogmatic commitment to climate change and its anti-development effects, excessive identity politics and an overly self critical posture towards Canadian history, and its radical experiment with the harm reduction model.
Election timing and campaign choices didn’t defeat the Eby government. A broad cross-section of British Columbians—from rural parts of the province to downtown Vancouver—rejected it based on the self-evident failure of its ideas.
Craig Monk retweeted
B.C.’s premier-designate says supporting new pipeline is first order of business ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article…
Craig Monk retweeted
“Canada has become a progressive country, Alberta is not a progressive province.” Why some disgruntled conservatives are moving to Alberta as a refuge from a country they no longer recognize. Alberta has led the country in interprovincial migration. thefp.com/p/this-week-in-can…
Craig Monk retweeted
Today I learned about the All Souls examination, which is reputed to be the hardest exam in the world.
To even be considered, you need to have a degree from, or be a current graduate student of Oxford.
Hundreds of people sit and only two people pass every year.
Attached is last year's general exam.
Before I saw it, I wondered, how hard could it be.
Well, it turns out…it's "Defend ghosting.", "Does a pope matter?", and "Is body language a language?" hard:
Craig Monk retweeted
“Nobody has a right to freeze a neighbourhood in time.”
Not even the residents? Why not?
If by “freeze” we mean “don’t radically change its character, flow, and feel in a matter of a few years” and instead let it develope gradually and organically, that is the definition of what makes attractive old neighbourhoods attractive.
Instead of a Plan Voisin for every heritage neighbhourhood, why not build more future heritage neighbourhoods like Garrison Woods in Calgary or Clamart near Paris?
Edmonton needs more housing. But more density and better planning are not necessarily the same thing.
I live in Glenora. Behind our home, neighbours are challenging a proposed eightplex on a street originally built for single-family homes. Elsewhere in Edmonton, residents have described a single residential property being subdivided to accommodate two eightplexes. Sixteen units where one home once stood.
Where do the vehicles park? Can the streets and alleys accommodate the additional traffic? What about waste collection, drainage, privacy, mature trees and the impact on neighbouring property values?
These aren’t objections to growth. They’re fundamental planning questions.
And then there’s the question of public trust.
Before Council approved Edmonton’s sweeping 2023 zoning overhaul, a Pollara survey of 300 residents found that 62% had never heard of the proposed changes. Only 3% felt capable of explaining them.
Yes, the City conducted public consultations. But consultation and meaningful public understanding are not the same thing.
Every Edmonton homeowner pays property taxes based substantially on assessed property value. Whether someone owns a modest bungalow or a multimillion-dollar home, shouldn’t they reasonably expect the City to consider the financial consequences of fundamentally changing the planning rules around them?
Nobody has a right to freeze a neighbourhood in time. But residents should be able to expect thoughtful planning, transparent decisions and respect for the investments they’ve made in their communities.
I’m not opposed to infill. Next door stands a remarkable 1958 Modernist home that was facing redevelopment. I spoke with the developer, who listened, and the property was subsequently offered for preservation through renovation rather than demolition.
That’s what constructive engagement can accomplish.
Edmonton needs more homes, more investment and more opportunities for people to live in established neighbourhoods. We can pursue those goals while respecting architectural heritage, neighbourhood character and existing residents.
These objectives are not mutually exclusive.
Council had the authority to change the zoning rules. That doesn’t settle whether it exercised that authority wisely.
Good planning considers not just how many units can fit on a lot, but the long-term consequences for the people, infrastructure and communities around it.
Edmontonians deserve growth that makes the whole city stronger.
AI helped me research (I was lazy but still mad tonight) and sharpen this post. The views are mine. The real work belongs to the dedicated Edmontonians fighting to be heard. Credit where it’s due. #yegcc #yeginfill
