Trevor Scott Howell

Writer/Researcher, Former journo (Torstar, Calgary Herald, FFWD)

[Matthew Scace @mattscace67]

How 'bout those dots. #ableg

https://t.co/35UKKsc7eH

[Trevor Scott Howell @TSHowell]

@rupasubramanya Nor should we forget that Alberta's own premier entertained these same separatists and changed referendum laws in ways that benefited their cause.

The Americans weren't the only morons taking them seriously.

[Sisu van Hellberta @sisuvanhell]

@TSHowell Mitch told Chris back in June that he was off the APP board/never officially on the APP board. I kept a clip from a live Chris did with Berta Proud Dad to talk about it. https://t.co/W1JDqqPMad

[Trevor Scott Howell @TSHowell]

@Rorschached99 Only if Nathan Fielder directs.

[Trevor Scott Howell @TSHowell]

OK. Here's a summary of tonight's Alberta Prosperity Project meeting, with Mitch Sylvestre doing most of the talking.

Sylvestre denies he and Jeff Rath were fired from the organization, claiming Tanya Clemens and Chris Scott lacked the authority to remove them.

He accused Danielle Smith of betraying separatists and warned that alienating independence supporters could hand the next election to the NDP.

He's aiming to mobilize 1,000 independence supporters for the upcoming UCP AGM in Calgary, with plans to elect four or five sympathetic provincial board members who could help trigger a leadership review.

Another organizer noted three UCP constituency associations have already passed motions calling for a leadership review. She alleged UCP president Rob Smith was working behind the scenes to get constituency associations to pass letters supporting the premier.

APP supporters are being encouraged to buy UCP memberships, attend constituency association meetings and seek positions on local boards.

Sylvestre didn't ruled out forming a new political party if independence supporters are pushed out of the UCP. He also flatly rejected suggestions that his efforts could split the UCP and help elect the NDP.

"Who split this party up? Danielle Smith split this party up. Period. End of conversation."

And perhaps the most revealing statement of the evening came when Sylvestre explained why separatists should join the UCP:

"If you're buying a UCP membership, you are not buying it to support the UCP. You are buying it to support our cause for independence."

#abpoli #cdnpoli

[Trevor Scott Howell @TSHowell]

@djclimenhaga @calgaryrants Mitch just told hundreds of APP supporters on a Zoom meeting this evening.

[Trevor Scott Howell @TSHowell]

Mitch Sylvestre just told supporters he and Rath were not dismissed. He's miffed by the attack by Smith and those within the movement.

Sylvestre claimed approximately 6,900 people had registered for the upcoming UCP AGM because the party feared a large turnout of separatist supporters.

He specifically highlighted the power of the UCP provincial board: "70% of the provincial board can call a leadership review. That's why they're afraid of that."

He says the APP will try to subsidize supporters to attend the UCP AGM.

"Danielle Smith has put us in a really tough position, much tougher position than I ever thought we would ever be in.

"Her statements yesterday at their press conference are, as far as I'm concerned, irresponsible and dangerous. She knows that purging the UCP of independence supporters will not only guarantee the NDP will win.

"Now digest that for a minute, that they will win the next election, but she is setting up half of her membership to take the blame. There's no other way to look at this."

[Trevor Scott Howell @TSHowell]

The Alberta Prosperity Project says it fired Jeff Rath and Mitch Sylvestre, removed both from its board, then deliberately kept the whole thing quiet until after the referendum because it didn’t want to distract from the vote.

Most failed states wait until after independence to start falling apart.

#abpoli #cdnpoli

[Trevor Scott Howell @TSHowell]

UPDATE: In a APP Zoom meeting, Mitch Sylvestre says Tanya Clemens and Chris Scott are not board members and don't have authority to dismiss anyone.

"The fact that they're saying that they dismissed anybody from the APS board, they had no authority to do it. They cannot do it, and I'm really concerned with the timing of that."

#abpoli #cdnpoli

[Trevor Scott Howell @TSHowell]

The Alberta Prosperity Project says it fired Jeff Rath and Mitch Sylvestre, removed both from its board, then deliberately kept the whole thing quiet until after the referendum because it didn’t want to distract from the vote.

Most failed states wait until after independence to start falling apart.

#abpoli #cdnpoli

[Trevor Scott Howell @TSHowell]

@LiamKMcKeever Recommended reading: https://t.co/vK7EzpfGSM

[James Finkbeiner @JimmyBianchi]

No sir, I am with Carrie on this one. It's insane that reporters can't scrum at press conferences anymore and can't get questions answered. Every level of government in Canada has gone insanely opaque. It's extremely disappointing. Canadians deserve answers and accountability from our elected officials. I personally think journalists should stop being polite and stop following the made up rules. Go to the phones first if outlets that aren't in the room want to stick to two questions, but the reporters in the room should scrum as they see fit. All this system is doing is weakening Canadians' faith in public institutions and allowing conspiracy theories to flourish.

[Fred Stenson @fstenson]

So UCP loses AB-funded costly referendum (as polls told them they would ) and they move on to gerrymandering riding boundaries to try and cheat their way to another mandate. If you want to know what UCP will do next, just check what Trump and GOP are doing or have just done.

[Shannon Phillips 🇨🇦 @SPhillipsAB]

Naheed Nenshi is 100% correct about this.

[Andrew Leach 🇨🇦 @andrew_leach]

It's fun to watch...

[Esmahan @esmahanyyc]

How many MLAs in her caucus voted for option 2? When will we finally be told?

[Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean 🇨🇦 @Mitchell_AB]

A reminder that the law initially said two questions asking essentially the same thing could not be asked within five years. Then the Premier changed the legislation to get her preferred question about separating.
She does that for separatists.

[Trevor Scott Howell @TSHowell]

“I do actually believe as premier I should follow the law.” Indeed. And bookmarked. 😉

[Scott Robertson @sarobertson_]

Danielle Smith throws Forever Canada under the bus, blaming them for the referendum: "If somebody doesn't want to put a vote forward, then they shouldn't start a petition campaign. If they're going to do that, then they have to understand that there are consequences to it."

[Ken Boessenkool @KenBoessenkool]

She could have done this six months ago and spared us the referendum, which taught us nothing that we didn’t know before.

[Dan Arnold @calgarygrit]

True leadership by Smith here in waiting until after the referendum results and then deciding she's on Team Canada.

Can't wait for her announcement in two weeks that she's a huge Brewers/Rays fan.