Graham Thomson's 2016 Alberta politics quiz

Q.1

Who is George Clark and what did he attempt to do in 2016?

He is an NDP MLA who tried to change a line in Alberta’s official anthem from “I’m feeling free” to “I’m feeling carbon free.”
He is a Wildrose MLA who tried to change a line in Alberta’s official anthem from “This is the land of opportunity” to “This was the land of opportunity until the NDP formed government and brought in a carbon tax that is really a provincial sales tax in disguise. Fa-la-la.”
“George Clark” is the real name of the Alberta party leader but a mistake on the legislative assembly seating chart calls him “Greg Clark.” He has tried to get it corrected but everyone keeps calling him Greg.
He is an organizer of the Albertans First petition campaign — an attempted coup d’état better known as the “kudatah” protest — that tried to undermine the government by having members join the NDP and vote against Rachel Notley.

Q.2

In 2016 Rachel Notley was the first Alberta premier in a decade not to issue what to cabinet ministers?

Helmets.
Flak jackets.
Mandate letters.
None of the above. Notley has never broken with tradition

Q.3

Who had to apologize for giving the one-fingered salute to the opposition in March?

Government house leader Brian Mason who claimed he was merely shaking his fist at the Wildrose one finger at a time.
Premier Notley who said if Ralph Klein could flip the bird at environmentalists in 1990, she could do it to the opposition in 2016.
Rookie NDP MLA Michael Connolly who initially denied he had done anything of the sort.
All of the above. Alberta has a passionate governing party.

Q.4

Who said this? “Alberta is not the Alberta that they thought of a year ago, or two years ago, or three years ago.”

Wildrose leader Brian Jean bemoans the state of Alberta under the NDP.
Interim Progressive Conservative leader Ric McIver bemoans the state of Alberta under the NDP.
PC leadership candidate Jason Kenney bemoans the state of Alberta under the NDP.
Premier Rachel Notley celebrates the state of Alberta under the NDP’s climate leadership plan on a trip to Washington, D.C., in April.

Q.5

Why did officials with the Alberta Party hold an emergency general meeting in June?

They realized nobody knows what their party stands for.
They were rushing to head off a suspected takeover of their party by right-wing activists plotting to steal the “Alberta Party” name for a new conservative party.
They wanted to make sure party leader Greg Clark, one of the most able MLAs in the legislature, still wanted to be their leader.
It’s a trick question. The Alberta Party has no officials.

Q.6

Who said this in September about “chronic delays” in freedom of information requests to the justice ministry? “Access to information is a cornerstone of democracy and my role is to oversee that the access rights of Albertans are being upheld.”

Premier Notley, reiterating her stand while in opposition that she’d run an open and transparent government.
Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley, saying she will not tolerate delays.
Alberta Information and Privacy Commissioner Jill Clayton, announcing she had opened an investigation into the FOIP foot-dragging justice department.
Liberal leader David Swann — because he’s a nice guy on the cusp of retirement and I don’t mention him anywhere else in this quiz.

Q.7

When I asked Jason Kenney in July if his early campaign launch for the PC leadership was an attempt to intimidate the competition, he replied, “You might say that, I couldn’t possibly comment.” What classic British TV show was he slyly referencing?

Monty Python — because only absurdist comedy can truly capture the essence of Alberta politics.
Yes Minister — because there are times Alberta politics resembles a sitcom.
The Thick of It — because it is the best show about politics. Ever.
House of Cards — because Kenney has learned from the best.

Q.8

Who was booted from the legislative assembly on Monday, April 18? And why?

NDP MLA Shaye Anderson had shaved off his impressive beard and nobody recognized him.
Sergeant-at-Arms Brian Hodgson was caught taking on a cellphone.
PC MLA Dave Rodney demonstrated his Mount Everest summiting abilities by rappelling into question period from the public gallery.
Interim PC leader Ric McIver got into an argument with Speaker Robert Wanner and refused to sit down.

Q.9

Who declared “Beer is good” during question period?.

Speaker Wanner as he tried to get everyone’s attention so they’d quiet down.
) Press gallery president Dean Bennett just saying what everyone was thinking during the “Beer Wars” debates in November.
Finance Minister Joe Ceci was testing out a new political slogan.
Trick question. Every MLA has said that at one time or another on the floor of the assembly.

Q.10

Was this a real exchange in the legislature? If so, who was involved? Question: “For nearly 2,000 years Santa has responsibly used coal, but the NDP are demanding the phase out of this reliable and cheap source of energy. Without coal Santa will not have anything to give the naughty children except for billions of dollars of government debt. … If the oilsands emissions cap was applied to Santa, he would have to begin scaling back toy production right now. … Does the Grinch understand the devastating impact this will have on toy production?” Answer: “What the opposition doesn’t understand is that if we don’t curtail the use of coal and the emissions of CO2, the North Pole is going to melt. What will happen to toy production then?”

Of course it wasn’t real. This is from two sound technicians goofing around as they checked the microphones before question period.
No, it was not a real exchange by MLAs but by high school “MLAs” in a mock legislature Dec. 3. Those darn kids.
Yes, it was an exchange between Rudolph Rednose, MLA for Reindeer South, and Kris Kringle, minister of snow removal.
Yes, it was a real back and forth between Wildrose MLA Derek Fildebrandt and Infrastructure Minister Brian Mason on the last day of the session.