RDTravis

Husband and Father of Central Alberta, looking to better my community. Opinions are my own and do not represent any organization. He/Him

[RDTravis @BetterAlberta]

@CDNPolicyHawk Agreed they go too far but I do think we could budget a little on this to help with recruitment. Make the military more present, accessible, visible and even "cool".

[RDTravis @BetterAlberta]

@MadelnCanada Myers looks like his dad dragged him there and he would rather be playing video games.

[Michael Shanks @MichaelShanks]

#savestargate

[Larry Dallas @BartFurley]

Did you guys know that Calgary and Edmonton send equalization payments to the rural towns in Alberta?

Jeromy Farkas is making this a great argument.

No more equalization payments to Caroline, Alberta.

Why should my property taxes pay for Caroline to have health services?

[RDTravis @BetterAlberta]

@aGuyOnMyPhone You spelled rise of Skywalker wrong.

[RDTravis @BetterAlberta]

Since fucking when?
Sci-fib is overwhelming progressive in its ideals of the future or puts a lens to the issues of the day.
Also why I get confused when right wing nut jobs try to say sci-fi or comics went Woke. They were always Woke.

[RDTravis @BetterAlberta]

Lol Fuck Russia

[CTV News @CTVNews]

#BREAKING: Russia calls Canada a ‘warmonger’ for new drone deal with Ukraine https://t.co/v0aODrLSTo

[RDTravis @BetterAlberta]

I would be gone.

[Cory Morgan @CoryBMorgan]

I call bullshit

[RDTravis @BetterAlberta]

@tresidosfancinc @KittenByKitten It is good by itself, but in the context of all the other movies it is the worst one.

[Seth @fiercepatricks]

Friendly reminder that Pride isn't about turning your straight kids into gay kids. It's about not turning gay kids into dead kids.

[RDTravis @BetterAlberta]

Why the fuck are we making Oil our entire personality?

[Danielle Smith @ABDanielleSmith]

One Card. That’s it.

Starting July 2, Albertans can get a new driver’s licence or ID card that includes their healthcare number and proof of citizenship, all on one secure card at no additional cost.

No more flimsy paper cards. No more carrying multiple pieces of ID. Just a common-sense change that makes life easier.

[RDTravis @BetterAlberta]

This is satire right?

[YEGWAVE @yegwave]

NEW: Alberta is replacing its driver’s licences and provincial ID cards with a redesigned three-in-one card beginning July 2, 2026.

The updated cards can carry a person’s Personal Health Number on the back, ending the long-standing reliance on paper health cards, and will display a Canadian citizenship marker for eligible residents. Albertans must bring their existing health card to add the PHN and show proof of legal status for the citizenship designation, though neither is mandatory.

The new design replaces the dinosaur fossil on Alberta IDs since 2018 with an oil pumpjack, the provincial wild rose, and the words “Alberta Strong and Free” on the back. The card has 54 security features, and the province says linking health numbers to photo ID will reduce fraud. Card fees are unchanged.

[🇨🇦 Policy Hawk @CDNPolicyHawk]

Oh, boy... long story...

When the Harper government announced they were purchasing the F-35 in 2010, they thought its cost was a political liability and tried to downplay it. In this effort, they screwed up around information they were required to provide to Parliament (either providing false info, or failing to provide required info) and by 2011 they were about to be found in contempt of Parliament.

The opposition parties then passed a non-confidence vote, forcing an election. Because it was the cause of the election, the F-35 featured prominently and, politics being what politics is, the issue became simplified to parties being pro-F-35 (Conservatives) or anti-F-35 (everyone else).

The Conservatives won the 2011 election, and were initially going to proceed with the F-35 purchase until 2012 when some new information came to light effectively showing that the cost information they provided about the F-35 really was false.

To try and defuse the issue, the Conservatives announced that the F-35 purchase (which had only ever been a handshake deal) was off... they were going to start a new competition... but, also, they were still definitely going to buy the F-35. It was all very confused, but what actually happened is that the entire procurement sat in limbo for 3 years with no further progress made.

Then the 2015 election arrived, and the Liberals (initially not expecting to win) just recycled their anti-F-35 talking points from 2011.

Then they did win. And they were faced with the issue that they were legally required to run an open competition for the next fighter and couldn't legally bar the F-35 from that competition - meaning it could win, despite their campaign promise not to buy it.

Their solution was to invent a need for an "interim fighter capability", which they could just select a fighter for... which, in turn, would give that fighter a leg up in the full competition since Canada would already be operating it. In early 2017, they selected the Super Hornet for this, as the most politically easy fighter to acquire, and started negotiating a purchase with Boeing.

Then, while that negotiation was happening, Boeing lobbied the US Government to block the sale of the Canadian made C-Series passenger jet in the US. And the US government imposed a 300% duty to do just that on the pretext that the C-Series violated anti-dumping laws.

Eventually, the WTO decided this was a false pretext. But not before the C-Series manufacturer, Bombardier (which was hemorrhaging money) effectively gave the C-Series to AirBus, where it became the A220.

Canadians were pissed, and it was no longer politically palatable to hand Boeing a single source contract for the Super Hornet, so that was scuppered and Canada got some second hand F-18s from Australia instead.

Canada then launched its main fighter competition, with some additional criteria which were designed to work against companies that were working against Canada's economic interests.

Originally 5 planes participated (F-35, Gripen, Super Hornet, Eurofighter, and Rafale), but the latter two dropped out saying (interestingly) that the criteria (mainly set by the RCAF, who always wanted the F-35) were rigged for the F-35.

In late 2021, the Super Hornet was down selected out of the competition on grounds that it didn't meet Canada's requirements. No additional information on why was ever released.

The remaining Gripen and F-35 were both deemed to meet Canada's requirements, with the Gripen proposal being understood to have performed better in economic criteria and the F-35 on performance criteria.

The F-35 was selected in 2022, and that purchase moved ahead smoothly until Trump's second election when he launched a trade war against Canada and Mark Carney decided to review if such a large contract should go to the US under those circumstances.

That review is still on-going today.

[RDTravis @BetterAlberta]

@BCHL_Alberta @jengerson @alexcerne And puerto rico

[RDTravis @BetterAlberta]

@dom_patriot @jengerson Puerto Rico...

[RDTravis @BetterAlberta]

@mattgurney Yes, the get in on a loyal wing man program and a 6th Gen program and we are talking.

[RDTravis @BetterAlberta]

More like a spoiled child that screams when they dont get enough toys at Christmas.

[Terry Newman @terrynewman]

Alberta is like an abused spouse that everyone blames for wanting to leave

[RDTravis @BetterAlberta]

@jengerson We also want crying.

[RDTravis @BetterAlberta]

@KristinRaworth Same. I will defend it and fight to keep Alberta in Canada but if it goes the other way I am going to gtfo and will never step foot in Alberta again.

[RDTravis @BetterAlberta]

@jengerson If it looks like separation is going to happen, I am just hoping to sell my house before the value tanks.