The Alberta Altruist

Welcome to Alberta

2011-12-21T13:19:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Alberta.We have now switched to Totalitarian Rule. Please adhere to the signs upon entry!! Thanks from the Premier

Cover Up?

2011-12-13T10:19:00.001-07:00

In a surprising move the Federal Government banned the Burka and Niqab while taking the oath for Canadian citizenship.
I am not so sure I would call it bizarre like Jason Kenney, but surprising definitely. I am sure that someone will play the racism card on me, but here is the way I see it. How can you possibly confirm the identity of someone you are making a citizen when their face is covered? How can you be sure they are even swearing in if you can't see them. Many people say it doesn't matter, but it does simply because it is upheld equally. We are a country of diversity, but we also have laws, rules, and tradition here. I for one am tired of catering to group after group when it comes down to these things. We are not archaic for enforcing things equally are we? Where does it end? We changed traditional clothing of the RCMP for special interest group. We allow for the kirpan and yet for every one else it is considered a concealed weapon. We are told happy holidays should replace Merry Christmas to be politically correct. I say enough. Where does this stop and let common sense come in? Drivers license was also an issue not long ago because having a photo on it went against a groups belief. Helmet laws shouldn't apply if you wear a turban.
Lets try and keep things simple, if you want to be a part of Canadian society then be a part of it. If you are so set on changing things to meet your country of origin, then stay where it is accepted. I believe we are a very accepting nation, but we can't continually change rules and tradition to accommodate special interests.
Here is an article by Paula Simons of the Edmonton Journal. The other view by Licia Corbella of the Calgary Herald.
I have stated my personal point of view, what do you think of all this?
Cnews Poll: Should Muslim women be forced to remove veils to become citizens?

Me and My Partisanship

2011-12-02T09:29:00.001-07:00

Well friends another year is almost gone and my political apathy has increased much more as you may tell by the lack of posts. I have spent the last year soul searching as far as politics has gone and the change I had hoped for in government is well....non-existent.
I have to admit I enjoy shit disturbing and one line cracks on twitter but I try to keep it lighthearted. I have been called every name in the book, and honestly I don't mind it at all. I enjoy the debate. It is no secret I supported the Wildrose Party, but what many did not stop to notice is I carried only a PC membership for quite some time. I have many friends in the PC party and some of them are elected MLA's. I also have made many friends in the Wildrose party including MLA's, not stopping there took the time to meet and talk with David Swann of the Liberals. I admit I have not met the MLA's for the NDP, but I have tried.

Where am I on the political spectrum, well I say to the right but who knows. I feel that strong oppostion is essential to our democracy with every party offering up some good points. I have very high regards for the NDP and feel when it comes to social issues they are second to none. Rachel Notley is a fierce advocate in the Legislature for social rights, and yes they are indeed important in creating balance in the house. The Liberals could have taken on a more important role, but with their lack of research and one track mind they have been failing us as an official opposition. The Wildrose and the PC parties have very similar policies. In my opinion the difference is the PC party has become stale and complacent, their only concern being to stay in power and forgetting about those who placed them there. So here I am, having to decide with a looming election where I will place my loyalties this time. With the election of a new Premier, can the PC party come around for Alberta?

Well as I see it the answer is no. I have watched the new Premier come in and though she may not be the old boys club, she is still the same old thing. Campaign promises not being adhered to, twisting what she promised to accommodate the party brass again. I watch her forcing legislation through, without listening to any opposing views. She in fact completely dismisses them and pushes on, pumping through 7 new bills in 2 weeks. Claiming she is listening to Albertans, when the only ones she has had time with are those able to afford and attend her expensive fundraisers. Albertans? Yes, but only of a certain class and political view. I have been questioning many of the new bills as a PC and I have been told by my friends, MLA's and executives in the PC party I am a blind Wildrose partisan. Hmmm...is that what it means to question and hold the governing party to account on bad decisions? Change indeed. If you have to be a member of an opposing party to simply debate the bad decisions a PC government may be making, so be it. Today I have decided to take out a Wildrose membership once again. It has become apparent if you do not go with the flow in the "NEW" PC Party you are not accepted, and me well I will not accept this style of governing.

Those friends, MLA's, and party brass that think I am some anonymous blogger with no trust factor. Well since Jason Markusoff of the Calgary Herald says my trust factor would go up by 30x times by not being anonymous, maybe I will test the theory. My name is Derrick Jacobson, not anonymous hack. Do you believe me now??

Campaign Promises

2011-11-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

Audio of Alison Redford campaign promise on Judicial Inquiries " a judicial inquiry is necessary to get to the bottom of allegations of queue jumping for politically connected Albertans and to restore confidence in the system."

Redford said she would commit to calling an election in March 2012 and every four years from that date. She said Albertans are supportive of the idea and that several other provinces already use the same model.

Wow, she delivered absolutely nothing close to what she promised.

Lets watch the others she promised within her first 90 days.
-Survey similar jurisdictions to determine fair pay for MLAs, Committee Chairs, Whips, Ministers, Party Leaders and the Premier
-Eliminate special payments for simply serving on a government committee
-Ensure severance payments to defeated or retiring MLAs is comparable with other jurisdictions
-Block payment of severance or similar payments to a former MLA who remains on the government payroll

If this is the honesty that our Premier delivers, how will voters be able to trust her at the polls?

Absolute Garbage

2011-11-23T09:47:00.000-07:00

Well we got the fall session we asked for, and I find myself wondering why the hell I wanted it. Always a hope that our government will do something meaningful, with an outcome that gets more ridiculous with every session.

Listening to the PC leadership race we listened to the same old crap about change, good government and how much better our province will be if elected. Albertans brought in Alison Redford on her campaign promises, and a hope that she would indeed be the Messiah. Well lets take a look at what our new changed government has done.

The promise of a fixed election date was made during the leadership run by Premier. What we got is better, but far from a fixed date. We got a three month window and a poor excuse of needing room for unforeseen circumstance. Why couldn't we legislate the third week of May every 4 years, with a clause for emergency that could be voted on in the leg for postponement? Easy, the flexibility for the reigning Government would evaporate, which is the point of fixed dates. Do most Albertans care about fixed dates? I don't think so, but we should care about a broken promise.

The promise of a judicial inquiry was made, what we got was the Health Quality Council continuing with the ability to appoint a judge to the panel. This one I believe does matter to the voters, a bad decision and another broken promise. Change indeed Premier. Same govt. with a different leader, non answers in QP, and a liberal that was so happy with the amount of money getting thrown away was content to run over to join the free spending Liberals in the PC party. Charlebois with a patronage post. Mar with a patronage post. The amazing appointment of Bronconnier in Washington after Premier said the province had no ability to influence the U.S. leaders. Huh?

We have also put together a bill being the controversial Bill 26. This bill was put together using input from the government lobby group MADD. Now I am all for penalizing drunk drivers, and yes WHEN they are convicted throw the book at them. We could enforce existing penalties, that fall under the current Federal laws. Essentially what this bill does is give the right to police to be judge/jury/executioner so to speak. Now the Solicitor General Jonothon Denis has claimed this does not happen as you have the right to appeal, a ridiculous claim on this unconstitutional piece of legislation. It lowers the blood alcohol level rate to 0.05% and leave the police discretion to penalize. So you get pulled over with a BAC of 0.05% police can suspend your licence indefinitely and impound you vehicle without you being found guilty until you prove your innocence. It's OK, when you can finally get into our overstressed courts you can appeal it. What if you need your licence for your job? It isn't your car? Who cares? You can deal with it in 6 months when there is room in our courts, your job can wait no? After all, your employment will wait for you until you get your license back right? Got to love a Government that presumes your guilty until you prove your innocent. Backwards to me.

Then we have the good news budget. Good grief another $3Billion plus deficit? Is this the change we can expect? What sickens me the most is the piss poor excuses our government gives us. Always blaming the oil and gas price year after year for surplus or deficit is getting ridiculous. I find it amazing how quickly oil and gas companies can adapt to price fluctuation when it is the ONLY source of revenue for them. This government year after year has no clue on how to budget or adapt with the times. A scary thought when your provincial fiscal well being is run like this.

So to wrap my rant up, we have not seen a government of change. We have saw no ideas or debate on how to eliminate waste. We have saw no ideas or debate to make things run efficient. No meaningful ideas or ways to improve health care delivery in the province. No Meaningful ideas or ways to improve education in Alberta. No discussion on living within our means or finding ways to responsibly spend the $BILLIONS of Albertans dollars while delivering quality services. What we have received is discussion of sales tax, discussion of health care premiums, discussion of increased taxes, increased spending, and legislation that takes our basic rights away. Our government treats the province like a personal ATM, and this needs to STOP! We have saw nothing that truly makes a difference in the lives of everyday Albertans, which is the change we wanted. What we have recieved is absolute garbage.

Just Another Day

2011-11-21T19:18:00.000-07:00

Well today was the day for announcements.

The Redford Tories never cease to amaze me. Today Liepert announced that the Government will again be looking at a $3.1 BILLION dollar deficit. I am sure Liepert is just biting his tongue after the PST Debacle last week. The announcement was also made by Dr. Tony Magliocco, the former director of pathology at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre, there is planned closure of the centre’s pathology lab at the end of the month. This is a move he believes will put patients at serious risk. Let's not forget Redford's controversial drunk driving legislation, which was following advice of the government lobby group MADD.

Amazingly to me, all of this great news was overshadowed by the big news Liberal MLA Bridget Pastoor would be crossing the floor to join the Redford tories/liberals????? Though for me this is of little news as floor crossing has been an acceptable part of politics for years.

The Wildrose Party announced their launch of the " Redford Files"

This is only Monday, and the legislature is just resuming. Combine this and the key campaign promises Redford backed out on last week, and this session will be (in the words of Ed Whalen R.I.P.) a ring-a-ding-dong-dandy.

Sing Me To Sleep-Lest We Forget

2011-11-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

Selective Law Enforcement

2011-11-06T16:26:00.000-07:00

While I went down to Olympic Plaza to sign the petition for the city to uphold the bylaws against the squatters that have been tenting there for a month, the embarrassing antics of our city were displayed. Cory Morgan went to collect signatures and peacefully use the same rights that Mayor Nenshi and Calgary City Council have given the Occupy Calgary Movement for the last month. When Nenshi said that constitutional rights trumped the cities bylaw, apparently he meant only for his chosen few.

As you can see Cory was not being disrespectful in any way.

After telling Cory if he failed to remove himself from his vehicle he would be charged under the criminal code, the City wasted no time in issuing him a ticket for "operate vehicle in park off park roadway" Mayor Nenshi said there is no legal way to remove people exercising their charter rights, seems it can be done hey Mayor?

Here is the sign posted in plain view at olympic plaza. So there is no vehicles, and no tenting shown. When I asked numerous CPS officers why they were only enforcing selectively, they were just as confused directing me to the Sergeant who refused to answer the question.

Here is the squatters camped right underneath the sign. How Mayor Nenshi can justify upholding the law is his issue, but I have a real problem with a council that pick and choose who they will enforce them against. Thank you Cory Morgan for showing Calgarians the absurdity of their municipal government. A sad day for democracy indeed.

Freedom to Assemble?

2011-11-06T10:25:00.000-07:00

The contemptible squatting of Occupy Calgary has outstayed it's welcome for many citizens in Calgary. Not in the fact that they are exercising their right to assemble, but in the fact that they have taken the rights of the people to enjoy Olympic Plaza away with their eyesore of a campground. Trying to manipulate the Charter to include breaking laws and vandalism.

Who is to blame for this infringement on peoples rights to enjoy this public place? I think it is Calgary City Council. Mayor Naheed Nenshi refuses to act on the illegal campground at Olympic Plaza, exclaiming the City has no right to enforce the bylaws and remove the campsites. Pardon me? Since when does freedom to assemble a campground fall under the Charter? Let me explain for you Mayor and City Council. It means people have the right to assemble themselves as people, not build campgrounds and destroy public property. It should absolutely be viewed as a slap in the face to the taxpayers of Calgary to have to cough up an extra $40,000.00 to pay for these dozen protesters. At what cost to the taxpayer will this end?

Mayor Nenshi and City Council has effectively set the precedent for future occupation of our Cities public spaces. How much lawlessness is achievable manipulating the Charter? Stampede is approaching quickly, and I along with many others don't care to pay the parking. By the logic of City Council if we assemble our fifth wheels at Olympic Plaza and make the claim of assembly under the Charter, this is now acceptable. Puts me nice and close to the Stampede Grounds. Hell maybe I will simply assemble the group in discontent that there are not full hookups for our RV in Olympic Plaza and stay parked there until they are met. Nice and close to work downtown too. I wonder if the beer tent goes too far. Nah, it is just a bylaw so he can't enforce it in my assembly, right?

Yes, I know this is ridiculous. Is it anymore so than the current camp out going on at Olympic Plaza? Not in my opinion. For the last month the kids have been camped out down there with less reason than I had pointed out for my Occupy Stampede assembly. They have made rumblings on the inequality of our society and homeless issues, but when Tim Richter and the Calgary Homeless Foundation stepped up to the plate with solutions to the homeless problems, the Occupy Calgary group quickly tried to derail helping those most in need.

So what is their demands to be met and end the camp out? Well there is none. "The moment we make a demand, is the moment we open ourselves to negotiation with the state. The moment we start negotiations with the state is the moment we claim to have ownership over the ideas that “occupy Calgary” represent. By requesting dialogue with all rather than demanding negotiations with a few, we will assure the inclusive nature of our movement."

How long is our City Council and Mayor willing to let the nonsense continue at the huge expense of taxpaying Calgarians. Without any goal, how does the city expect an outcome that is reasonable? How many laws will the Mayor allow to be broken by manipulating the charter?

My most important question to the Mayor and Calgary City Council, Can I count on fully serviced sites at the new campground by the time my Occupy Stampede assembly begins?

Ensuring Education

2011-10-25T09:54:00.000-06:00

I have had lots of debate on twitter regarding the Premiers decision to cancel the Alberta Provincial Achievement Tests (PAT's), something you can not debate in 140 characters.

As a parent with three children in the K-12 education system this has me quite upset to say the least. These tests measure the curriculum standard of our education system as a whole. By administering these tests we measure many things, from the abilities of our students to how effective a school is administering the curriculum.

Many people argue that they do not do anything except place a stress on our young students. This is a completely false claim. PAT's are administered in grade 3, 6, and 9 so I do not believe that an exam every 3 years will be a life altering event that will scar them for a lifetime. Let's discuss the stress, as in grade 3 are the students really that stressed about another exam? If they truly are, who is causing this stress? Someone has to be pressing the children on the importance of doing well on these tests in order for them to be stressful, as children do not carry much stress regarding their grade at these young ages. If it is the overall grade on these tests being held as a part of their marks, simply do not apply the results to their overall grade. Let's use them as a way to ensure the minimum curriculum standard is being met. Another solution to the stress would be to hold them randomly, with the schools having no idea when they will be administered. This will eliminate the "cramming" to get ready for a tool that is designed simply to measure the students knowledge, as we want to measure what they know already.

This also measure the capabilities of our teaching professionals. By administering a PAT we can see if there is any shortcomings with a teacher, and use this data so that they can improve in areas they are not meeting the standard. Some will say that the teachers do not want to be graded or held accountable. Well I call B.S. on this one all together. I am very involved in my children's education, and I can tell you that my child's teachers want to do nothing but supply these students with the best education possible. They are people too and trust me, they are willing to take constructive criticism to better themselves. Day in and day out they are there working to teach our children, surely you can't really think they don't want to ensure they are doing their best. We do not need to hold them accountable in the sense of firing, suspending, or disciplinary action. Let's use the tests for what they should be, a learning tool for our teachers to evaluate themselves as well.

We can also use these tests to measure the effectiveness of schools. Each school is run by different people. We can look at this the same as a business. Just because they are there, it does not mean it is always being managed properly. The school is providing a service and the same as our teaching professionals, I believe that they want to ensure they are meeting the goal of educating our students. If we can measure and show the schools where improvements can be made, you don't think they would take this information and put it to good use? I know the principal of my kids school would. She works hard every day to try and make her school the best she can for her staff and students. Sometimes an outside view can help to point out where the improvements can be made. Businesses hire consulting companies all the time to look at them and make recommendations to improve the way they do things.

These are the reasons I am such a firm believer in PAT's. Measuring education at a provincial level is a must, otherwise how would we know if we are meeting the goals for our children? What is the goal of the province when it comes to education? Are all of our students not deserving of having the same quality of education, no matter which town or school they reside in? Of course they are and it should not be an option, it should be a right.

Pandering to unions on this issue is irresponsible, and in the end we will decimate a system designed to ensure our children are educated equally. I as a taxpayer, and a parent owe it to my children as well. Please feel free to comment and discuss, this is how we make improvements.

How are our students, teachers, and schools assured they are meeting the minimum provincial standards of the curriculum without a standard tool to measure it against?

Closing the Legislature

2011-10-20T12:42:00.000-06:00

The PC government announced today that there would be a 2 day fall sitting followed by a month long break. The fall sitting ends Dec1 therefore leaving only 6 more days to sit in the Legislature.
Many people have said that it is reasonable because the party just elected a new leader to premier. For me, it's not OK. This party has governed Alberta for 40 years, so they know it would be best to finish their leadership race and be ready to govern by the time the fall session resumes. I am afraid this is a time waster as the fall sitting will accomplish nothing, and when the spring session gets ready the writ will be dropped. This ensures the spring sitting would also be cancelled, not giving a clear direction the PC party will be taking prior to the next provincial election. This is smart on the PC side of things, but as Albertans it has left us with a government without accountability for close to a year. Those looking for change, well lets just say I don't see a bit of it.
I have heard the question of how was there time. Well Redford promised in her campaign to fix election dates, this could easily be done. She promised the 107 Million back into education, could we not spend the time to figure out where the money could come from? How about the health care inquiry? Could get that on the go, couldn't we? It appears that the promises she made were too complex to actually take on in the legislature this fall, and with the likely hood of an election before June (her words) the spring sitting will be cancelled. This makes her promises certain to be unrealized by the next election, forcing Albertans to go on their gut on whether to trust her or not.

Give it Some Thought Premier Designate Redford

2011-10-05T09:41:00.000-06:00

First off Premier Designate Redford, a sincere congratulations on your win. Also may I add my deepest condolences on your loss of your mother.

I followed the PC Leadership race with great interest, but in the end could not vote for any of the final three candidates.There was nothing inspiring, new, or a way of thinking that would improve the great province we live in. Throwing the money back at education may have appeared to help in many peoples eyes, but now we have the reality of dealing with the band aid fix plus the burden of coming up with the money when the government is already running in a deficit situation is not exactly a stellar move in my eyes. Our education system overall is fine but we need it to be secular, completely public. Having two boards such as the Catholic board causes duplication and extra financial burden to manage. It is also unfair to the many other religious groups out there that feel the same entitlement. Maybe having one PUBLIC system is a way we can try and help with funding.

The main reason I couldn't place an X beside your name on the ballot is quite simple. You are too close minded at the thought of private health delivery. Yes I know it is a can of worms to open this topic, and it could possibly be political suicide, but are you there to fix things or be a populist? This is a question only you can answer. I am not saying to go to a style of U.S. health, but to give the taxpayers the service we all want and deserve. My significant other has many health issues which I pay for service out of my own pocket right here in Alberta already. I feel that my government has left us behind as far as pro-active care. Here is one example, our public system family Dr. put in an MRI request to look at the tissue damage to get to the bottom of excruciating pain. The first available time we received was 5 MONTHS wait. In the meantime she was put on many expensive prescribed medications. Aside from the money the medications did something else, damaged her liver. Nice now we have another health issue to deal with and more medications. Am I angry, well yes I am and here is why. Upon looking around I found a private wellness clinic called pro-vital. They told me there was nothing they could do to have her in any quicker but mentioned a private MRI place called Mayfair Diagnostics which is a private business offering MRI's. The wait...well 48 hours. Of course I paid the $600 to get it done. Now our family Dr. had the information required to forward her to a needed specialist, funny how that works huh. My question would have to be why my tax dollars paid to your government to support public health care is not looking out for Albertans. If there is such a backlog for these services and there are places available to expedite them, why is our public system not allowed to utilize these private clinics. I pay for the service through my taxes.

Having a closed mind to different ideas doesn't make a leader, it makes a follower. Public delivery of these private services is not wrong. If there is a waiting list of months for people suffering and you can eliminate reactive care, it simply makes sense for government to fund this and get Albertans the care they need, pay for and deserve. By not having an open mind you take away from improving a system and cost more in a long run. BTW you have an extra liver? Point made.

Change Again? It's a Circle!!

2011-10-04T12:55:00.001-06:00

Alberta has accomplished so little in the past 4 years with the PC party. In fact I wonder if we accomplished anything outside of #bill44.
Lets take a look at it. Premier Ed campaigned on raising royalties so Alberta could receive their "FAIR SHARE". Less than a year later oops lets tweak it. 6 months later oops lets tweak it some more. Within another 6months Holy Shit we better give them some incentives to come back. Hmmm full circle and then some considering our take now is less than the royalties we received under the old regime.

Then there was the cutting of the PDD in which the GOA decided to take $11M worth of funding from our most vulnerable. Oh the outcry, followed up by a decision to back peddle on this one as well.

Lets not forget the Teachers contract that was signed and agreed upon. Until of course the average weekly earnings increased too much for our GOA liking. Well yep you guessed it, another circle in backtracking.

Now we can move on. Oh maybe not so fast, the huge wage increase the GOA gave themselves seems to be back on the table yet again at election time. How timely

What about the $107 Million in cuts the Tories made in education cuts. Well it is election time and the Tories will help Albertans by restoring the funding that they personally decided to cut. Geez they deserve a huge thanks. I don't think so.

The cookie monster fiasco (Duckett) and the huge payout and decentralization of our health boards. Yikes

Bill 50, and 19 now seems to be back on the debate table again as well. This is a Government that has wasted our time and taxpayer money. They obviously have no clue on which direction they want to go. Spending years screwing up and then more time and money to fix it.

I guess in short if you want to keep in a Government that goes in circles year after year, vote for the Alberta Progressive Conservatives. This new leader that was a cabinet minister in this same messed up government claims change. Great! I don't see the difference because every decision this government makes seems to need change. How about the new changes from the "old boyz club", Redford places Hancock as party whip and Horner as deputy premier, oops right no change there. Hooray something didn't change. What a sad system of governing.

UPDATE LMAO: Seems another "change" Redford has now reconsidered her cancelling of the fall session in the Legislature. It will now be back on. Phew...this may be the post that never ends ;)

Congratulations, It's seems the same!!

2011-10-03T10:20:00.000-06:00

Well it's all over. After a gruelling 5 months of campaigning the PC party in Alberta elected it's leader, and it was not the front runner Gary Mar. Alison Redford was elected by the party to serve as premier.

I would have never guessed her in the come from behind win, but if one was to watch her strategist Stephen Carter, he has a knack for selling a candidate to full potential. Once again he showed his political brilliance, much the same as his come from behind win in electing Mayor Nenshi in the Calgary municipal vote. I will stop here on Carter so his head doesn't swell and explode if he reads this rag.

If I had to pick a turning point in the Redford campaign it would be when her mother passed.On the long drawn out campaign of politics, she had the opportunity to showcase herself as a human. With the double edged sword the timing was both great and awful, and she showed a great deal of personal strength by continuing on without stumbling. The other hot issue would be her garnering the support of the unions with her funding reinstatement for education. This one if anything should be a political hot button, spending a $100M of taxpayer money to push her over the top.

Now it's no secret I don't support Redford politically, but in all fairness I could not support Mar or mini Ed, Doug Horner.This campaign of change that they ran was a complete and utter joke. Tell me how a Cabinet Minister that has sat in cabinet and voted on the direction for the last 4 years equals change? Unfortunately there are no real records of her votes, as I would be interested to see where she stood before the "change" campaign came in. First day after being elected Redford was quick to add that she would be suspending the fall session of the legislature. So much for dealing with the issues transparently. Now we will sit until spring and have the promises made rammed down our throats debate free, and no transparency to be seen. Is this the type of change we can look forward to? One would have to guess the listening to Albertans is now done since my MLA is not allowed to speak on my behalf. A right she took away when she suspended legislature.

Politics will be interesting in the near term, especially with a provincial election looming for June of next year. One has to question the amount of support the PC party really has these days, I have seen the question asked alot of the Wildrose. Those pesky turnout numbers in the PC leadership race tell quite a tale. With 85 polling stations averaging a mere 918 votes each has to be of concern to the PC's. Alison's win was no landslide, having to go to a second ballot she won by a minuscule 19 votes per polling station. Is there really the support for her and her style of politics? Was Mar showing too well and many didn't go to the polls based on his healthy lead? Did the small "c" even bother to vote, or did they leave the party already? There were only half the amount of votes cast in comparison to the 2006 election.

So many questions to answer and June is not far away. Will we have the time to see Redford in her full capacity by the next election? Is the PC party fractured? I couldn't tell you, but politics in Alberta is interesting again.

The Hypocrite Era

2011-09-23T11:02:00.000-06:00

I find myself more and more frustrated with the hypocrisy that seems to be trending in our every day life.
The oil sands for me is a perfect example. In the U.S. there is a movement going to block the keystone pipeline. Whether it's our dirty oil, the aquifer they claim may be damaged is not the issue I have. Whatever their personal reasons are they are entitled to. When you get to the organizations behind it, they attack governments and BIG OIL. Now lets take a minute to look at the reality of the situation, the U.S. and Canada burn millions of barrels of crude oil every day. We have these very so called "scientists" jet setting around the world consuming these very fuels at a significantly higher rate than any ordinary person. They make millions upon millions of dollars with their advocacy, convincing their followers that these energy companies are bad and governments corrupt. Many of them don't practice science anymore, it is more profitable to give talks and rake the cash in from their hypocrisy.Tell me please, if these "scientists" are so smart, why haven't they come up with practicable, affordable, sustainable ways to stop this? Simple, because at the point we are at, there isn't one.
Seems way easier to me to sit back and criticize than it is to actually do something. Hell I would be a professional scientist if that's all that's required. Lets look at the BIG BAD OIL companies ruining our environment and profiteering. Who really owns them? Simple, we all do. Many of our RRSP, pension funds, governments, not to mention the millions of us with stocks. When we talk BIG OIL we need not look much further than our own back yard. In Alberta in particular I watch certain people that blog or tweet about the oil and gas sector , our biggest revenue generator. Touting we should shut down the oil sands, at the same time demanding we stop cuts in education, health care, arts etc... Where the hell do you think the funding for most of these needs come from. Spin away though.
The other side of the equation for those who seem to think they aren't benefiting, which goes much further than the provincial borders, is supply and demand. Why is the sector thriving, and the oil sands continuing? Well think about it. It isn't government, it's the people, the citizens that demand this product. We drive, fly, heat our homes, run our factories, use in in everyday life every where. The very people criticizing the industry and product also use it every single day. I haven't seen any of the people I know running their homes and vehicles without the use of the fuels. I do however have many friends that are hypocrites complaining about the oil sands and energy. I though am not afraid to call them out on their bullshit, and most of them in the end are humbled and realize the stupidity of their thoughts. We want the oil and gas, not want I guess DEMAND is a better word. We want to gas up our cars, turn up the thermostat in the winter, turn the lights on.
The time has come where scientists, government, and people take ownership for the very things they criticize. The big bad oil companies we all love to hate are owned and paid for by one and the same. YOU!!!

The Winds of Change

2011-09-14T10:30:00.001-06:00

Well isn't Alberta Politics getting exciting. I thought maybe I would take a few minutes to weigh in with my arrogance using more than 140 characters.

The Alberta Liberal Party just finished their leadership race electing Dr. Raj Sherman, a former PC member, to save their flailing party. Running on the campaign that their Dr's will fix Alberta health care. Well Raj (and all of my loyal liberal readers) lets see what the facts are here. In 2008 the party elected Dr. David Swann to lead the party, vowing he could change the health care woes. At the time of the election the ALP went from 16 down to 9 seats under Taft so the good Dr. Swann did have his work cut out, although maintaining official opposition status. As of FYE 2010 the party had a net asset value of $4434.43 http://efpublic.elections.ab.ca/efFinancialStatement.cfm?ACID=7344

In short the Liberal party's only changes are which Dr. is running the party, lost Dave Taylor and gained Raj Sherman, and I would imagine by the FYE 2011 a much bigger debt load after a leadership race. Is there any fallout from a caucus changing the constitution to allow floor crossing to accommodate this ex-conservative member? Although I can see their logic that a couple of Dr's could fix health care, reality will set in. It's kinda like saying that the gas attendant at a Suncor station could run Suncor Energy, I don't think so. This remains one topic party that will lose more support if they don't get up to speed on the rest of the issues.

We also have a PC leadership race. What is interesting here is how they are all going to change the way the Alberta government is run. For weeks I have watched them all distance themselves from the PC government that just celebrated it's 40 year dynasty.Yes a change right now would be welcome. The problem is that these new potential leaders have been the PC govt. Like it or not they were the problems that they are going to fix, if it was that easy why wasn't it done when you were backing Ed?

The dark horse here will be the NDP party. Will the Jack Layton love in trickle into our provincial politics? Will the announcement of Ray Martin running again gain support from the left?

The emergence of another "Progressive" party, the Alberta Party has also came into play. I don't see them gaining enough support by the next election to be a factor. It will be interesting though to see what a third party on the left will do for the vote splitting. Yes I know AB Party members, your not left your center. Well all the party's claim that.

The Wildrose under Danielle Smith is still the competent in my opinion, and the only change I can see.

Political Corporations

2011-04-03T15:35:00.009-06:00

Well Election 41 is underway and I again get irritated with the mentality of our politicians. The Liberals rolled out their platform announcing $8 Billion dollars in additional spending. Now the wording of how they are "investing" in Canada could be nothing further from the truth. In fact the Liberal party invests absolutely nothing. Properly read it should be we will tax you further and decide where to spend your hard earned $$. He claims that he will not raise your taxes, in the same line talks of how he will raise taxes on corporations. I am not too sure when Mr. Ignatieff will figure out that corporations hold a significant amount of value to Canada. They supply jobs, prosperity and a huge addition to the federal coffers. All the while our political parties enjoy a tax free lifestyle at the expense of Canadians. We donate to their parties whether we want to or not, as they receive $$ for every vote as well as receive $$ while doling out tax receipts. Fair indeed. I would like to see our political parties lead by example, and run according to the corporate tax laws that exist in Canada, after all they are multi million dollar corporations. The big business of politics "investing" our hard earned dollars while contributing absolutely nothing to society is ridiculous. Any other business that showed that kind of income would generate thousands of well paying jobs as well as pay their share. We can't keep thinking we can tax the Corporate world all the time, as the reality is they can move their business anywhere in the world they like. We have already seen this as Canada ships out thousands of jobs to places with lower costs. Ignatieff's hair brained schemes of tax and spend have to stop. He is not giving you anything you will not be paying for. I know I can spend my $$ more effective than any government. As for the corporate tax grabs, well he claims corporations enjoy a low tax regime. Well Mr. Ignatieff if this is true run your party like the corporation it is. I want you to "ENJOY" the low taxes in Canada as well. Any excess $$ every year in your party should be retained earnings, which you should pay tax on. Parties should not receive any money from the federal coffers which is Canadians money we place in trust with the government. For once it would be nice to see Leaders lead by example, not blow smoke up my ass with my own money.

Political Thoughts

2011-03-05T09:22:00.008-07:00

Well it looks like we are in for another interesting year in Alberta's politics.

On January 25th the Premier and leader of the Alberta PC's announced after 25 years in the legislature he would be stepping down and not seeking another term. It is no secret at all what I think of Ed, but I give him credit, serving Albertans for 25 years is no easy task. So where does this leave the PC party? It all depends, with the ability to delay the election till 2013 and put the focus on their leadership race....well it may be just what they need to regroup. The announced candidates Alison Redford, Doug Griffiths, Ted Morton, and Doug Horner will take the spotlight as they try and win over Albertans. So far there has been no flair and no one saying anything of deep substance to take the reins and gain momentum. This being said I would have to throw support the younger and more energizing Griffiths, new and fresh ideas are needed, and an old cabinet won't cut it.

The Alberta Liberal Party leader David Swann also announced his decision to step down after the spring sitting of the Legislature. Announced candidate Laurie Blakeman is the only one to seek the position of party leader. The official opposition has in the past year fallen flat on it's face, with a long hard road of being a legitimate contender in the next election. If they can focus on health care as they have been doing this may be what can keep them on the radar. This party if any needs the publicity of a high profile leadership race with quality candidates. At the pace it is moving now it may be a party of one.

The Alberta NDP Party....well I see them remaining the same. With the two MLA's Rachael Notley and Brian Mason. No secret that I am no fan of either politically, I also will say there are not two more effective in opposition in the Legislature. Their topics are well researched and they hold the GOA accountable with their relentless attacks. I don't see either losing their seats, but outside of them the party will remain stagnant.

The Alberta Party was formed not too long ago in an attempt to garner the support for the left wing. Many will claim center (like every party does) is where they are, but they are not shy on where they stand which is left on the spectrum. I like the party itself and where it may go, however there is not enough time before the next election to get the name and idea's known enough to Albertans. Their sole MLA Dave Taylor left the Liberals earlier in the year and stayed as an Ind. until joining. I am not sure if Dave will be able to hold his seat after the next election, not because he is not effective at opposition, but because with the new boundaries his riding is probably the most fractured. I think in time if the Libs and Dips do not get their act together you will see them flow over to this party, setting them up as the next opposition on the left.

This brings me to the party I choose to support, the Wildrose. The last year has been an interesting one. Paul Hinman winning a seat in Calgary-Glenmore, Rob Anderson and Heather Forsyth crossing the floor, and the Ind. Guy Boutielier also joining, bringing them to 4 MLA's in the legislature. Now I realize that three of them were elected Tories and they chose to cross the floor, I don't have a problem with that. It was done well before Ed announced his resignation and did not do it for political gain. What I am concerned with though is the onslaught of high ranking PC's flocking over to the party as of late. Far be it from me to say I even come close to Danielle Smith when it comes to running a party, but I do worry about some of her choices. Many of us long time supporters had issues with the old and tired politics played in Alberta, yet the party we supported seems to be getting taken over by these same people. To be new and refreshing you can't run with the old party under a new name, it's not that easy. I hope some new blood and fresh faces are place in some high ranking positions within the party or it will be the recycled PC party.

The recent addition of Dr. Lyle Oberg has many of us upset and tested. As the architect of the "Our Fair Share Report" I am surprised to see him here. I have heard people say many times thats the Wildrose was a party of pissed off oil and gas guys, funny I don't think Oberg would be their first pick. In the end if the Wildrose is to be the NEW and exciting party of people, they must stop becoming the old PC party. They are on the outs for a reason.

PS: Please don't put Bill Hunter in the party as well or I quit. :P

Bernard Callebaut and Social Media

2010-12-09T09:38:00.004-07:00

I know this is off the topic of my normal boring political blog, but after attending the launch of Papa Chocolat, I was intrigued enough to comment on it.

As always, I was watching tweetdeck when I saw a very odd hash tag being #bernardisback. I couldn't help but notice more and more of the people I follow were raising the excitement level of it. Out of curiosity I contacted @chett12 to get the details on what exactly this was about. This is when she informed me that Master Chocolatier Bernard Callebaut was launching his new company Papa Chocolat.

Now I am far from a huge fan of chocolate, but the Callebaut name is known everywhere. After contacting Chett again, I was invited to the launch. My goal was not to go as a chocoholic, rather looking for an investment opportunity. This is where Podium Ventures comes into play. Podium is the company solicited to promote Papa Chocolat, and in my own opinion the did quite well. The most intriguing thing was the way in which they got the word out. Not only do they use the traditional forms of communication, but also had a social media team to get out the word. Now I don't know if all the hype on social media means these people will buy the product or not, but it definitely got the word out. The venue was packed and there was more media than a political convention. Did it pay off the have social media as a tool? For me yes as I plan to get in on the offering memorandum.

Now as an investment I have a different reason for doing so than the promotion Podium generates for the Papa Chocolat name. My whole reason for being there was to learn about the Callebaut's and what the plan going forward is. We all know that the last Callebaut company went into receivership and was taken over by another group of investors. I am sure many of you wonder why I would take the risk on this venture. Simply put...Passion. As I listened to Bernard speak, he was a very humble and excited man. The way he spoke of his current hardships and what he wanted to do was heart warming. Surrounded by his family he spoke from the heart about his love for making chocolate, and it was sincere and passionate while he spoke which you could see in his eyes. Once all the talking was finished, the chocolate came out and it was delicious.

Later in the evening I had the opportunity to chat with the Callebaut's. Not only are they a very genuine couple, but were completely overwhelmed by the support of fellow Calgarians. Will they succeed in business this time? I just can't see how with past experience and passion they can't!

The Fear Factor

2010-12-08T10:34:00.003-07:00

I have to admit that the partisanship in politics lately has left me without desire to blog for quite some time. This session passed however has had some interesting political shit storms.

Raj Sherman the MLA for Edmonton-Meadowlark, was suspended indefinitely from the Alberta Progressive Conservative caucus for various comments regarding the state of our AB Health. At first he assailed the premier, cabinet, and super board in which he was forgiven for speaking out. Lucky for us it didn't stop there. Dr. Sherman continued his attack on AHS and Energy Minister Ron Liepert (former health minister) calling Ron "rude and offensive" to medical workers.

Now I understand that the comments made to the premier etc.. were forgiven, but the attack on the fellow caucus member is a fair reason for discipline. Suspending him from caucus though is not the route I would have taken. Having a practicing Dr. as a parliamentary assistant is truly a blessing for any party, at least until the frustration level and knowledge that the current government can not fix it takes over. Then to add insult to injury your self professed friends call causing an investigation that may impact your medical licence. It simply stinks of a smear, intended or not, although I find it hard to believe the outcome was unknown. Still the soap opera in the ABLEG continued on with a record setting filibuster emergency health care debate, followed up by the firing of the cookie monster Duckett. Four others resigned from the board citing too much govt. interference.

While the AB PC's rolled out their 5 year plan, the Liberals and NDP were playing the fear card of privatization. Now let's get real...NO...I mean NO party would ever go to a completely privately delivered health care. I personally believe though, that it is not sustainable to keep running as we are. The NDP and Liberal plan of lets throw more money at it will not help. It is simply time to try something new and different, and a PUBLICLY FUNDED public and private health care delivery system is an excellent start. With newer technology we will be able to eliminate the wait times and reduce costs. I also believe that if we allowed private funded clinics it would also be a benefit. This could give our Dr.'s incentive and the ability to earn more $$. This would be easily done and you could legislate that they must practice a minimum of four days a week in the public sector. Yes the rich would use it, you know what...who cares! It opens that many more slots in the public system. We also may be able to attract business to Alberta to keep them busy, much the same as the Mayo Clinic in the US, after all how many AB's have already been there?

So if we are to ever have a sustainable health care system in our province, we have to get past using reforming health care to scare Albertans. We need fresh and new ideas, a government not scared to try them, and all parties to sit down and work together to make it better. Our elected MLA's were elected to represent Albertans, not play partisan politics in the ABLEG! The sooner they realize this the sooner we can make things better, after all we deserve it! For MLA's to play the fear factor is not cutting it.

Hypocrites?

2010-12-07T12:16:00.004-07:00

As a proponent for free speech, stories like this go to show how we are losing the rights to voice our opinions.

I have known Tom for a few years now, and he is probably one of the best political minds I have met. Now he is being put through the ringer for speaking his mind when asked what his thoughts were by CBC, in which Flanagan said he thought Assange "should be assassinated, actually. I think (U. S. President Barack) Obama should put out a contract and maybe use a drone or something."

Now there are those that support Wikileaks right to free speech, but try and stifle the right of Tom to do the same. The hypocrisy of free speech just never ends. Some things to consider are does Prof. Flanagan really have the political clout to have someone across the globe assassinated? Were his comments even close to hate speech? I don't believe he was trying to get Assange assassinated....good lord, give me a break. Incitement to murder? Yeah right!

Lets take a look at Assange. Refused bail for sex crimes, hmm I won't state my opinion on Assange and what I think should be done to those of his ilk. (only because I we are not permitted I guess) It is however much the same as my thoughts on Bin Laden.

When we have to worry daily about the comments we make, it makes me wonder where our freedoms really lie. Canada is obviously losing sight of it, and I hope this is fought, after all isn't that what our soldiers are dying for, our FREEDOMS?

Not only taking the time to remember those who fought for our freedom, but also the brave that continue to do so today. Thank you.

2010-11-11T10:50:00.002-07:00

Time To Legislate It!!!

2010-10-01T09:52:00.002-06:00

In the news today I came across a very disturbing article.

Granted I do not serve in the military or have a problem making it to the polls to place my vote, but I would gladly forfeit my vote for our troops. While they are placing their lives in danger protecting our democracy, we simply disregard and take theirs for granted.

Legislation needs to change. Yes they can do mail in ballots, but by the time nominations are done there is not enough time to complete this. They pay their taxes, protect our families, and fight for our freedoms every day. We can't even make a provision for them to vote online? This is sick, and it shows the value our legislators put on our troops. Being able to vote should be the most basic democratic right available to them.

How True It Is!!

2010-08-20T18:15:00.004-06:00

I came across this in an e-mail and had a good chuckle from it:

I was talking to a friend of mine's little girl, and she said she wanted to be Prime Minister some day. Both of her parents, NDP supporters, were standing there, so I asked her, 'If you were Prime Minister what would be the first thing you would do?'

She replied, 'I'd give houses to all the homeless people.'

'Wow... what a worthy goal,' I told her. 'You don't have to wait until you're Prime Minister to do that. You can come over to my house and mow the lawn, pull weeds, and sweep my yard, and I'll pay you $50. Then I'll take you over to the grocery store where a homeless guy hangs out, and you can give him the $50 to use toward a new house.'

She thought that over for a few seconds while her Mom glared at me, then she looked me straight in the eye and asked, 'Why doesn't the homeless guy come over and do the work, and you can just pay him the $50?'

And I said, 'Welcome to a real Conservative Party!!'

Her folks still aren't talking to me.

Rethink Alberta

2010-07-15T10:50:00.007-06:00

It's been a while since I have written anything in the blog, but the misinformation that Corporate Ethics has been throwing around with their Rethink Alberta Campaign has me miffed.

Although I do not think that this campaign will have anything outside of a positive effect on our tourism industry, the people they are trying to impact are the wrong ones. Alberta's oilsands are operated on a supply and demand basis in the free market, and guess what-the United States is the largest consumer of this oil. I would never be so blind as to say we can't do better, but I also am not so blind that I don't see we are doing better on the environmental side. If this campaign wanted to target the oilsands production they would try to boycott the oil and not the tourism industry. What is also odd to me is the areas they are targeting with this billboard campaign, as most people in these areas couldn't tell you where Alberta is let alone boycott it.

This is where I think the propaganda campaign is actually going to help Alberta and it's tourism industry. Most people who have never heard of us will also google Alberta, and see the natural beauty this province has. Places like:
Castle Falls , Elbow Falls, Kananaskis, and Banff to name just a few of the hundreds of places Alberta has to offer.

Much of the comments I have read seem to pit Americans against Canadians which is ridiculous. It is not the Americans or San Fransisco that are spewing this propaganda, rather a few of the environmentalist groups based there. If anything I feel sorry for the people that buy into their B.S. and miss out on a chance to see Alberta's natural beauty.

If you would like to e-mail the man behind the Anti-Alberta bullshit (which I suggest you do) his e-mail is mmarx@corpethics.org

Are We Competitive Yet?

2010-03-12T10:38:00.010-07:00

Yesterday the Government of Alberta released their findings on the competitiveness review. The project committee released the final technical report on Alberta’s Natural Gas & Conventional Oil investment competitiveness to the Alberta Department of Energy on February 16, 2010...but was this needed?

When we go back to 2007 when Ed Stelmach's tories opened this can of worms, it was done much the same way as Bill 44, Bill 50, Bill 36, and Bill 19. No consultation with anyone outside of the usual blue ribbon panels. When Ed decided he would review the royalties, he spun the report with the title of "Our Fair Share", which of course convinced many Albertans that we indeed were not collecting enough for our resources. What he failed to mention was that one of the mandates was to cool the superheated economy, which unless you read the report you would not know. Was this a success? You be the judge, thousands of jobs were lost, many businesses closed their doors, and equipment and capital fled the province. Did we collect more in royalties? From the graph below showing the lowest royalty take since 1999 I would say this also was a failure.

In 2007 the goal was to increase the take of royalties for the province. Industry was outraged, immediately telling the government that the take was too much. They warned the Stelmach regime that if the Royalties were implemented in full form they would take their investment elsewhere. Many meetings with Mel Knight and the Premier ensued with the energy companies and investment community. They scolded the government over this move, affirming they would invest their money elsewhere. The service sector of Alberta's energy industry also cried foul, telling the government this move was a bad one. When the oilfield workers went to the legislature to speak their concerns regarding the implementation of the report, they spoke of job losses, investment dollars and the amount contributed to the Alberta budget. No GOA officials were there to speak outside of the Alberta Alliance parties sole MLA Paul Hinman. Many Albertans were also outraged that the GOA had been shortchanging them by an estimated $2 Billion dollars a year on lost royalties. Claiming the energy industry and investment community was bluffing, making the simple statement of where else could they go. There at this point was no winning for Ed Stelmach, with an election soon looming he had to decide on what to do.

With the title of "Our Fair Share" on the review panels report, many Albertans felt a certain entitlement to more of a royalty take. Shortly after Ed released his version titled "New Royalty Framework" or the NRF as we now refer to it. This was a framework that took slightly less than the original recommendations, but in the eyes of industry players was unacceptable. Almost immediately capital left and 15-20 percent of the service sector lost their jobs. Equipment started moving as well with the state of the art equipment following the work to the US and neighboring provinces. Ed however maintained he was serving Albertans needs, stating he had struck the right balance. The NDP and Liberals maintaining he had sold out Albertans, and the Alliance saying this would be a disaster. The writ was dropped and an election ensued in March of 2008 in which Ed Stelmach and his tories won a staggering majority of 72 seats. The Liberals managed to hang on to 9 seats, the NDP 2 seats, and the Wildrose Alliance lost their only seat.

After the election in 2008 land sales were recording their worst ever numbers in decades. The investment for drilling oil and gas wells in Alberta had came to a crawl. B.C. and Sask. were posting some of the best numbers in their history. The provinces were enjoying the interest and activity the oil and gas sector provided, with many saying it was Ed Stelmach to thank. The government realized it needed to act after polls showed Alberta was now a bad place to invest. Over the next year and a half the Stelmach tories tinkered with royalties 6 different times to no avail. Industry had lost confidence in the government and with the constant royalty adjustments it was impossible to look at long term investments. In the meantime an economic recession had moved in, that gripped much of the world. Oil and gas pricing collapsed, and plunged Alberta into record deficit numbers, forcing them to look at draining the sustainability fund. During the recession the shale gas plays in BC and the U.S. suffered modestly, while Alberta came to a standstill. Oil prices crept up over the next year to manageable levels which help cushion the blow in Alberta's economic forecast, but natural gas remained at low levels. Wildrose won a seat in the Glenmore by-election with the platform of "Send Ed A Message". Polls were released with the Wildrose showing significant gains politically on the Stelmach tories, causing him to try and stop the bleeding support from the PC party. Two PC Mla's also crossed the floor to the Wildrose and a cabinet shuffle was done placing Ron Liepert as energy minister to try and woo back the energy players. Bill 1, or the competitiveness review was announced with the information coming out March 12, 2010. The final curves will not be released until May 2010, but with the amount of input the energy sector had in the new royalty framework, I am sure it will be satisfactory to them providing he signs it in blood.

The next question will be where does this leave the Wildrose. Were they a one trick pony, or will they continue to gain support of Albertans? Either way without them the government would not have been pushed to reevaluate themselves and the way they conducted business. In the last couple of years whether it be Health Care, Landowners, Education, or the economy, the PC party has managed to in one way or the other to have Albertans questioning their logic. For me the PC party will remain as a government in need of replacing, for steering Alberta into one of the worst positions economically it has ever saw. Much the same as the NEP brought in by the federal government years ago. So Ed, since the numbers won't be released until May, and this is the 6th to 7th round of changing royalties-Are we competitive yet??

Can I Be a Deputy Minister?

2010-03-09T15:54:00.006-07:00

Since my post on the PDD I have become increasingly interested in the amount we spend on administration in our Alberta government. There has been a lot of hype raised about MLA pay and how it is structured lately. While I agree that reform is needed in how the scale is set, I do not believe these people we elected to run our province are over compensated.

In my research I was shocked and appalled to see that the deputy ministers in fact make far more than the actual ministers themselves. Though it may not be the right way to look at this, the only way I know how is to compare it to the private sector. If I am running the corporation as president and have 196 employees that answer to me, I would be at a compensation level above all of those under me. In our GOA this is not the case, in fact the deputy minister for the executive council earned a whopping $531,587.00 in 2009 according to the FYE statements. The deputy minister in International and Intergovernmental Relations also earns over a half million at a whopping $533,812.00. Executive council must be a very important group since they spend the most. It is almost enough to make you sick to your stomach, none of the people I know in the civil sector earn close to this amount of money.

If you look at the spreadsheet there are 194 of these types of positions combined in the ministries, in which $45,807,982.00 is paid out to them. The average wage comes to a mind boggling $236,123.62 each. While the opposition is playing around, trying to chase down salaries that MLA's make to run the province, the real money is flying out right under their noses. We as Albertans deserve to know what the criteria is for these positions, who appoints them, and are they done on a partisanship basis. Hopefully a party will step up and ask these questions.

Until then, can anyone tell me how I can get hired on as a deputy minister?

An Evening With Sarah Palin

2010-03-08T09:57:00.003-07:00

On Saturday evening Sarah Palin visited Calgary, an event I decided to attend. My reasoning was simple, not because she was a devote conservative, rather to listen to her speak. With all of the media coverage in the U.S. election there was no doubt in my mind that a vice presidential candidate could not be as naive as they made her out to be.

Upon arrival I couldn't help but notice the protesters, about three young men under 20 yrs holding sign claiming Palin leads the "New World Order". Yeah whatever. Upon entrance into the event I was extremely surprised at the amount of political figures that attended from the Wildrose, PC's and MP's from the federal level. I had lot's of time to mingle with them since the event didn't get going until 6:10 and my ticket said 5:30. Finally it was time to start, I was fairly close to the back, unlike Mr. Klein who managed to get front row center stage.

Once the preamble to Sarah was done and she took her spot at the podium, I was quite shocked at how aged she looked. She started off discussing the similarities between Alaska and Canada and how both of her great grandfathers were from Canada. She also mentioned how they would cross the border to Whitehorse to receive medical treatment when they were younger. After what I felt was trying to almost sell herself as Canadian she went on to talk about Olympic Hockey and how Canada had a well deserved gold. Unlike her political run between the two U.S. parties, the U.S. should be proud of the second place finish. She up to this point was very well spoken and I looked forward to getting to a topic with some real relevance as to why I was there.

Next up was the topic of energy development. She was very well spoken on this, bringing up how if the United States continued to rely on "unfriendly regimes" it would place the U.S. in a very vulnerable position. This makes absolute sense to me, and I couldn't agree more with her. She went on to discuss how she pushed forward for the Alaskan Pipeline, and how it was awarded to a Canadian company through an open bid process, further substantiating her view on the free market, again I had to agree with her further. Where I came to disagree was on her next statement on how this pipeline was important to Alberta as well so Alaska could ship it's resources here as well. I am sure if she had done her homework she realizes that this pipeline actually would allow Alaska to compete with Alberta in supplying resources to the U.S. For those that do not understand this, she made it sound like a good thing for us as well.

She also briefly touched on environment, bringing up how the climate gate scandal had made the science of climate change seem extremely unsettled. She never spoke in depth on this topic. She also spoke on the cap and trade topic and all the negative effects that would be associated with it. Higher taxes would happen as well as numerous job losses would be the fallout. She also touched on the MSM and the role they played in the elections, stating her disappointment in the coverage. Sarah claimed they twisted what she said and unfairly attacked her family, something that was strictly off limits with the other candidates. Looking back at the coverage at the time they did make much mention of her family.

After her speech it was time for question period. I was looking forward to this and expected many good questions to be asked. This portion of the event I was hugely disappointed with. Pamela Wallin was asking the questions and there was no participation allowed for by the audience. I wouldn't even call it question period but rather a conversation with Wallin, much like watching the puffball questions tossed around the legislature by the PC party in QP. This part of the event could have been cut out for all the good it did.

All in all the event was good, well planned, and had an excellent turnout. The seating was fairly cramped, but outside of that and the fact no pictures were allowed, it was worth the money spent. What impression did she leave me with? I can say she is more well spoken than made out to be in the media. She has a good understanding of needs and democracy, conservative values, and how to build prosperity. Is she ready for a run for the presidency? I don't think so yet, however if she can keep up with speaking to public and media she will be. Advice for her would be allow questions from the floor, reporters, and critics. If she truly wants to run, she needs to answer to the critics, not puffball questions from Wallin.

Everyone has compared Danielle Smith to Sarah Palin in the past. Make no mistake that I think Danielle is not only a better speaker than Sarah, but is not afraid to be asked the hard questions. They may share some of the same views on whether the science is settled, good energy policy, and free market enterprise, but when it comes to explaining the reasoning behind these views Danielle wins hands down. I would have to say it was worth it to see Palin, and look forward to seeing Anne Coulter and Ezra Levant .

Update on Dylan

2010-02-25T16:41:00.004-07:00

Back in November I did a post on a resident of Airdrie. To no surprise no headway was ever made with Alberta Health to provide service to this young man, instead they wrote it off as depression.

I am happy to say that a doctor out of the United States agreed to do the surgery for free, and successfully operated on Dylan on the December 23, 2009. The doctors in the U.S. not only removed one tumor, but also found and removed a second one. Since getting them removed Dylan has been able to live a normal life as every teen should.

The problem comes in that our system failed so miserably in providing care to the resident. Raj Sherman had came down to discuss the issue with the family prior, to no avail. Now sadly the family is still stuck with the burden of a $100,000.00 bill for the costs incurred while in recovery. I think this is one of the things our health care should cover. Not only did our system failure cost a local teen 5 years of his life he can never get back, but humiliated the family by claiming they were mistaken and it was depression. Our system forced them to beg and go from doctor to doctor looking for help. Luckily Dylan did not die from this, and hold our system negligent, which is exactly what it was. There is some info for donating on my previous post. Also if you could write a letter to the health minister demanding help for the family, I think it is necessary for them to be held accountable.

Update: Dylan's new website is www.dylannielsen.ca For those wondering I have confirmed that his MLA (Rob Anderson) had requested a meeting with Minister Zwodesky for the Nielsens, which he has agreed to. However nothing else has been heard yet on a date.

Alberta Party "Listening to Some Albertans"

2010-02-19T14:04:00.004-07:00

Much to my amazement today I read on the merger of the Alberta Party and Renew AB.

This is quite an odd merger in the fact that it involves a right wing fringe party, as well as a left of center political movement in Renew. What I found most entertaining was this from the website " Today begins an exciting new era in Alberta politics. Our efforts to build a new political party have taken a giant leap forward: we are pleased to announce that that Renew Alberta has become part of the new Alberta Party." What? Their efforts to build a NEW political party, ha ha, Sorry guys but the Alberta Party has been around a while, and has run along with almost every right wing fringe including the Alberta Alliance, who they would have merged with if it didn't have to delist from Elections AB. Here's what they stood for:

Alberta Party Political Association
The Alberta Party was formed in 1985, initially calling itself the Alberta Alliance Political Association and running candidates in the 1993 election. It changed its name to the Alberta Party in 1998.
With a mandate to "protect Albertans from negative federal policies," many of the party's founders found a home with the newly formed Reform Party and put their provincial interests on hold.
The party has been revived over concerns about the merging of Reform's successor, the Canadian Alliance, with the federal Progressive Conservatives. According to the Alberta Party's website, "The only way that Alberta is going to change federal political institutions is through a determined push by a provincial government that understands its first responsibility to be the protection of its people and the promotion of their interests."

Now when I go to the right wing fringe website here, they claim they are listening to Albertans. Here is the background text:

The joining of these two parties demonstrated the power of conversation. Over one weekend, two very different groups of people met to explore the vision we have for our province. We started by listening to each other, and in doing so we found remarkable commonality and we overcame our doubts. This is how the future of Alberta politics will be written.
Albertans – whether young or old, urban or rural, labourers or professionals – have more in common than our current politicians give us credit for. While they would divide us along the political spectrum and pit us against one another, we refuse to ignore our shared history and our mutual values.
So where are our policies? As of today we have none. Unanimously our Board has decided to suspend our old policies and has committed to building new ones through face-to-face conversations, around the province, starting March 1st. The Alberta Party’s Big Listen is an Alberta-wide convention, with your kitchen table as its venue. By the time the next provincial election is announced, our party will reflect what your friends, your family – and you –have told us you’re looking for.
The Alberta Party has a strong legacy in Alberta and its roots run deep and wide. But we’ve never been more excited than we are today. We’re thrilled to join with the Renew Alberta movement, and we look forward to your help in getting all Albertans a better government.
We’re listening.
Edwin EricksonLeader Alberta Party Chima NkemdirimCo-Chair of Renew Alberta

Nicely put, and who wouldn't want this for Alberta? Even Daveberta is blogging on it. Now I have a few friends that are members in the Alberta Party, so I called one up to get his take on it. Big surprise no one had discussed this move with him, and was he pissed. As he has a copy of the Alberta Party constitution he has not been able to find where executive gets to set the policy. In Janes Blog her contact notes the same. Difference is the right leaning gentleman I talked to is going to pursue it and challenge their right to do so. Which brings me to the next question of what is in their constitution that the new members don't know about? Is this suspension of policies legal? I guess we will find out fairly soon, as no one will support a party that stands for nothing at all outside of talking. We do that at the coffee shop.

In the end the Alberta Party is claiming to be a party listening to Albertans, and claiming they have wiped the policy slate clean. Where will they leave their right wing supporters? How is it communicating with them and listening? Nearest I can see they must be listening to someone, and it will be interesting to see where the current members take the violation in the constitution, and try to merge in with their political opposites. Yeah a real big change from the normal..yawn. Will they end up splitting the vote on the left and center, forcing in a Wildrose majority or simply fizzle out with the infighting? Time will tell, but I am sure I have heard these lines before.

Up Yours Bed, Bath, and Beyond!!

2010-02-12T09:15:00.005-07:00

So Bed Bath and Beyond chooses to boycott Alberta's resources. Well so be it. I simply boycott Bed Bath and Beyond.

Yesterday when I learned of the boycott I was so outraged I was ready to throw a sign on my truck and go park in front of their new store at Cross Iron. I still might. This company has had no problems coming into our province and making money off of Albertans. One thing they may want to consider before the make such a ridiculous move is that our energy sector plays a very significant role in our economy. Not only do they shun Albertans with this move, but place in jeopardy their own people that invested in the franchise as well as the employees that rely on the jobs there. I wonder if the local franchises share this view.

I have no problem with these large chains wanting to show environmental stewardship, however try reducing emissions in their shipping methods. This is a move that will make a bigger impact environmentally than the showboating they try and acheive here. It is my hope that the Alberta government will stand up for it's industry that they obviously rely heavily in their back in black in three years plan. We have listened to our GOA claim they need to change the perception of the industry so here is your chance.

My family has made a decision to support busineses that will help our economy, not hurt it and would advise Albertans to really consider doing the same. This is a U.S. based company that reaps the profits while also refuses to support provinces that allow them to do so.

To Bed Bath and Beyond- if word of mouth is the best advertising, your budget is now cut!

UPDATE: Bed Bath and Beyond is backpeddling. I am sorry but the "Our intent was to encourage our ...transportation providers to be aware of the issues in the context of our attempts to decrease our own greenhouse gas impacts." does nothing for me. You are saying we wanted our transporters to be aware of "dirty oil" and the impact if they use it. MUCH BETTER-NOT

Alberta Budget 2010

2010-02-10T09:02:00.003-07:00

Yesterday the Progressive Conservative government released Alberta's budget for the 2010-2011 period. To the shock of I believe almost everyone, the slash and cut expected was not there, rather a 6% increase in spending.

As conservative as I am, I have to say this budget was far from fiscally responsible. Does this make the budget a bad move? Let me surprise you all by saying NO. Since the GOA had no plan on how to cut spending effectively I think we are much better off to ride out the storm, even though we will completely spend the sustainability fund. We have witnessed the cuts that were being proposed by the GOA in the PDD sector as well as assisted living. The GOA was not starting with cuts to the executive and bringing down the costs of administration, rather taking it from the people that rely on this funding.

You have to remember this is a budget to place the money in certain areas, and provide an idea of where the funding will go. Will the increase in health care provide better delivery or make it sustainable? Far from it, but what it does do is keep the band-aid on it until someone puts a plan forward. Since the unions contract is due in March I think much of this increase will go to cover off the increase. Paying off the deficit in health care was also a smart move, after all it is still GOA debt even if it is not on their books.

The extra money in our education system is also a key move, but again the spending is not being done wisely. We will not receive any improvements due to the increase, it will simply cover off the additional 4000 students expected to enroll.

The trimming we saw in the other areas again are not planned out, and will simply be handed over to the executives to make the cuts. I do not like this simply because executive will never voluntarily make the cuts that affect them. As shown in previous posts ridiculous amounts of money is spent, before the front line sees a dime.

Now I could go in depth in every dept. on the budget and what could be done to effectively reign in spending without affecting the services, but this is for another day. What I think the biggest question on this proposed budget to be back in black by 2012, is do they believe that in 2012 they will actually increase revenue by $6 Billion dollars and only increase their spending by $1 Billion dollars. As far as the estimates on the oil and gas price forecast I think they have made reasonable forecasts on a very volatile commodity. For their sake they better hope they hit it right, because our revenue forecast is heavily reliant on it. It is a gamble and high risk game they have chosen to play here, which could take them either way. Hero to Zero is a fine line.

We can complain that we are draining the rainy day fund, but folks it's pouring. Like it or not the world is in recession. Does this mean we need to spend until it is gone? Not in my opinion, it could however be used this year while they carefully plan out how to get our spending under control. The resources will not be there forever, so by not having any money going to a future savings account they also set us up for a future pitfall. They need to have a plan in place, and so far I see nothing of the sort. Department specific budget can be found here. The spending buffet is still open and now it includes dessert, but I wouldn't trust them to do it any other way.

The person I felt the most sympathetic for was Dr. Morton, who had to sign his name to something he never wrote. Well known as a fiscal hawk, and the perception that he was being placed in the position to reign in spending, is nothing short of a strategy. I have to say that I do not blame him for getting choked up at the end when he delivered the budget, I am sure it tore him up inside to present it.

B.C. also released their speech from the throne yesterday. Some of the most interesting points from it I find are:

"New forms of schooling will be developed to provide greater choice and diversity, centred on students' special interests and talents."
"Enable the establishment of neighbourhood preschools for four-year-olds and three-year-olds within communities over the next five years."
" A new Family with Children Property Tax Deferral Option will be provided to all B.C. families with children under the age of 18. Those families will be given the right to defer their property taxes under a new property tax deferral program similar to the one already available to seniors and those facing financial hardship."
"Voluntary, full-time kindergarten for five-year-olds will be implemented this September. It will be fully funded and in every school by September 2011."
" Innovation in health-support services, new hospitals and public-private partnerships will be introduced to give patients new choices, to reward performance in health delivery and to protect public health care for future generations."

Take from it what you will.

Official Party Status

2010-02-03T09:15:00.005-07:00

Apparently two Alberta opposition parties say they’re being shortchanged in the legislature. Stop and think about this for a minute, what are the rules regarding official party status? The last time I checked you were required to have four MLA's in the Legislature to achieve official party status.

Those of you who follow my blog know I am absolutely a supporter of the Wildrose, but I will also give the criticism when it is due. The Alberta NDP have enjoyed special status since 1997 when Ralph Klein made the provision after they dropped below the required four. Does this mean that this should continue? With all of the cuts and fiscal responsibilities being tossed around, how responsible is it to fund these two parties that simply do not meet the criteria? Ken Kowalski has been in the legislature for 30 years as a PC, do you really think he cares if you call him partisan? Is 30 years maybe enough time that everyone realizes this? Lets get to Guy Boutillier, the independent that was removed from the PC caucus for speaking out. Should he receive the funding and get special status as well? Why not, he is only one member behind the NDP, I am sure he could use the funding and research money as well. Why does he only get a question a week? Fair is fair.

It is time for the Alberta Government to get a backbone and follow the rules of the Legislative Assembly. Remove all special privilege and status, and spend our tax dollars on things they were meant to be spent on. My hope is that the Wildrose will be a different opposition party than the status quo, although with the joining of the NDP and their habitual bitching I don't know that we will be. I realize how important this funding and questions are to the Wildrose, but in party principle we need to practice what we preach and wasting more tax dollars is not the what we claim. Democratic reform is also preached so how is demanding special treatment democratic?

In short to Mr. Kowalski I would like to thank you for recognizing the Wildrose as an official party even though we are not. Thank you for being non-partisan and allowing 1-2 questions per day (time permitting) when we are only entitled to as many per week. You could have played the partisan card easily here and you rose above the fray, a reason you have been in the Legislature for the past 30 years. (Update: I know this was over the top, it was to make a point!!)

To my friends at the Wildrose please don't turn into the standard opposition party, stick to your roots. Use your time wisely to make Alberta a better place. Change the old habits of government and give us the refreshing change we expect from you, it may hurt in the short term but in the long run it will come back ten fold! By sticking to your principles now, you define the party so no one else can define it for you.

Update: Wildrose News Release

Shared Responsibility

2010-02-02T09:59:00.003-07:00

An article in the Calgary Herald today announced that Alberta's workplace deaths drop sharply in '09. This is great news, but I wonder if it is really due to safe work practices or simply the decline in activity. With the amount of job losses are employees ensuring they do things properly to ensure they do not lose their job?

Gil McGowan the president of Alberta Federation of Labour is not happy that Alberta has enjoyed a lower amount of prosecutions compared to other jurisdictions. What this has to do with the safety of workers, I have no idea. I can't reasonably believe an employer's decision whether or not to put a life in danger, would be based on fines and prosecution.

Alberta has some of the most stringent safety regulations and the companies strive on their own initiative to ensure worker safety. The COR program is a voluntary partnership which sets a high standard for safety, and is implemented by many companies. Alberta was one of the first places to implement this, and has the highest participation.

Bob Barnetson, who specializes in labour relations at Athabasca University, suggests government get tougher on companies breaking safety rules. In 2005 the Alberta government collected $5,000,000.00 in fines, which seems fairly steep to me. The problem I have, is not that government is cracking down on safety violations, rather what they classify as a safety violation. In the research I have done on the violations and prosecutions in Alberta, it would seem to me that the workers have no shared responsibility when it comes to safe work practices. There are many safety measures and equipment supplied to these workers by employers that simply are not used or followed. Workers that do no use their safety harnesses, safety glasses, steel toed boots, gloves, etc... are not liable for their actions. Companies have written policies that discuss not only what equipment is required, but also the proper care and maintenance of it. When the employee makes the decision not to use them, the employer is at fault for not ensuring workers safety.

Saying that an employer is responsible for ensuring an employee is adhering to the safety practices is not always practical. The only possible way is to have a safety officer watching each employee, which is not at all reasonable. Employees must learn that these measures are in place for their safety and take responsibility for themselves and the public as well. When an employee chooses to go their own way they place themselves in danger, and place the employer in a vulnerable spot, and as we have seen in Calgary the public as well. Is there no common sense at all to know when something may be dangerous? This decision could be the one that forces a company to close it's doors, all because of one persons stupidity. Is an employees laziness, or bad judgement reason to prosecute the employer? I realize there are companies that take shortcuts on safety, and yes these should be prosecuted to the fullest extent. What about these employees though, shouldn't they be open to the same recourse? Do employees not share safety responsibility? After ten years of doing the same job, are they really improperly trained?

If an employer needs to hold employees hands every step of the way, then they may as well do the job themselves. You will always find a way after an incident or accident that could have prevented it, however is prosecuting the company the best prevention? I think if the responsibility was shared, it would be best.

Mr. C Are You Serious?

2010-01-20T12:17:00.006-07:00

Not that I think the critics are that unreal that they do not know what the policies of the WAP really mean, but since many of the so called "Progressive" group want to buy into the David J. Climenhaga Theory which is NDP based, I will explain them from a real perspective. (although I do not know why, as the majority of Albertans get it)

Lets start with his Coded – “support ‘School Choice’ Legislation” as he puts it. Well Mr. C no code here as you would like to think. I was in on the conversations regarding this topic and it means what it means. Why shouldn't I as a parent be able to choose where my children attend school? If my daughter has an issue with other students or school staff shouldn't I be able to move her where she is comfortable? If it is truly a bad school with sub par teachers shouldn't I be able to ensure she gets a good education. Not according to my big union buddy Mr. C, in his eyes all teachers are created equally, which is simply ridiculous. What if I simply move 20 blocks and my child is to graduate next year, should they not have the right to graduate with the peers they have went to school with for the other 11 years? Of course not that wouldn't be fair to the school system according to him, in fact it would weaken it. What a load of crap. Let's look at the voucher system, I personally don't like the paperwork side but is it really that bad? Mr. C says it is a mechanism for racial segregation, wow what a bold statement that Albertans are so full of racists that we would take over whole schools, go ahead drink it up! Do I think that there is anything wrong with a taxpayer placing their kid in a private school, and the school receiving the portion of funds that are paid when the student attends public system? Not at all, they have paid the education taxes like anyone else, sure I am jealous because I can't afford it but to the point of saying they don't deserve the same funding as any other AB student is ridiculous. In a socialist view though, the rich are very bad people that should subsidize everyone elses share.

10) “Implement a timely and effective Social Assistance to work program.” Does this mean “work for welfare”? Until informed otherwise, we’d better assume it does. Oh my goodness, work for welfare- this is a horrible idea, who would dream of making someone earn their way when we have taxpayers to pay it. Not that this is what the policy means but I like the idea. I have to pass drug and alcohol tests, as well as work to get my cheque, so why not if the assistance recipient is capable of working? What it really means is to get people off the system by assisting in finding them work they are capable of doing in a reasonable time frame. Never heard the phrase "I wouldn't work for that"-and they don't. I am sure Mr. C would rather tax high income earners more and more.

9) “Expand the role of sheriffs to handle Provincial justice issues.” Does this mean getting rid of the RCMP and creating a provincial police force? Sure sounds like it. Excuse me, but I believe that the Sheriffs are our provincial police force. Why can't they deal with a wider variety of provincial issues and free the RCMP to deal with the more severe and federal issues. What's the matter are the sheriffs not part of your union? This is a great policy to give the sheriffs a route to be more effective, and help improve our crime rates. (got a grow op going on Mr. C?)

8) “Provide health care funding that will follow the service to the health care provider and approved facility of choice” – this is code for privatization of services, a guaranteed precursor to add-on fees and a two-tier health care system. I love the thought of making our health care facilities more competitive. In fact I will now drive across town because I think the staff and care are way better, yet my portion of funding goes to the one closest to me that has poor service. I think if the money followed the patient not only would service improve, but the spending by the hospitals would also become more efficient, as they would invest in equipment that is most needed and streamlines their service. In the end it is the patient that will win here. As for his two tier bogeyman tactic- surprise Mr. C we already have a four tier system.

7) “Provide less expensive and more patient-friendly alternatives to hospital care” – the streets? Your kids have to take care of you? More stupid comments Mr. C. Is it patient friendly to kick them to the streets? Maybe in your world. Alternative would be allowing doctors in clinics to do more routine procedures such as stitches or use of alternative medicines. Preventative care is also something we need to do more of, which IMHO would ease the burden on our system. I have a friend with Cystic Fibrosis that relies on protein shakes which are not covered by our system. About three to five times a year they hit the point they can not afford them and she has to be admitted to the hospital where they are then provided. Ridiculous when the alternative is to give them the shakes before they need admission. Seems more patient friendly to me and far from a kick to the curb.

6) “Deliver an annual individual statement of benefits to each resident of Alberta” – this would cost money, tie up health care staff and do no good. It’s goal? Who knows? Maybe to explain to Albertans “how much their health care costs”? Sounds like another precursor to privatization. Delivering a statement is a precursor to privatization as much as getting a pay stub is to a layoff. We did this in Alberta for a number of years and it is important for people to know what the cost of health care provided to them is. If the expense of health care needs to be open. It would not tie up health care staff, because it is already being accounted for so again more asinine comments Mr. C.

5) “Implement legislation protecting the ‘conscience rights’ of health care professionals” – is this code for restricting the right of women to abortions? No doubt that this one may have controversy. Is it designed to restrict the right of women to abortions? Of course not, but hey it's your rant. Health care professionals are there to help, not to limit care. There are however instances where it may go against the conscience of a health care professional. Since Mr. C brought up abortion, lets use it. If a doctor is against performing abortions, should we force him to perform one? Is this safe for the patient? There are hundreds of other doctors that are more than willing to perform it, so why should we force doctors to do so? How about gender reassignment, should they have to perform it? If the doctor is not comfortable doing it should we again force him when there are so many others willing to do so? As a patient I do not want a doctor performing any medical procedure on me that he is against performing, a recipe for disaster IMHO. Maybe though this doctor is better at other surgeries, and we could leave the others to doctors willing to perform it.

4) “Oppose unfair and industry specific taxation from the federal government” – in other words, fight for more tax breaks for the oil industry, which is, after all, the chief funder of the Wildrose Alliance Well Mr. C we all know how you feel about non-union industry. This is actually something the current government is looking at doing right now with Minister Morton. How would you like for, lets say health care industry, to pay higher taxes base on they are in the health care industry? Even if it was all oil industry based, what do you find so horrible about Govt. sticking up for it's core industry that has helped keep the province in a have status? Some things Mr. C are smart decisions that impact your union in a positive way, especially if they are paid with tax $$. This policy however is based on all sectors, not just the oil industry. By all means convince Albertans to give up the billions in AB this industry provides and have the taxpayer fund it, this is why the NDP is where it is, almost extinct.

3) “Allow competition to the Workers Compensation Board” – code for handing over the functions of Workers Compensation to private insurance companies. If you think WCB is bad now, just wait for this idea to become reality! This one absolutely needs to be done carefully, but none the less needs to be done. WCB is legislated by government for employers to provide for it's workers. The problem is it is not government owned, rather a private company that does operate for a profit. Now you could not just let this one go to an open market because of the nature of it and the need for it to pay on long term claims. This being said there needs to either be a choice to ensure better delivery to the claimants or have it run by Govt. Right now both employers and employees hands are tied when it comes to dealing with them, and they are free to operate within their own scope.

2) “Allow individual workers the choice to determine their membership in labour organizations” – this is code for so-called “right to work” legislation, which, as Martin Luther King observed, “provides no ‘rights’ and no ‘works.’ Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining...” ’Nuf said. Force our workers to be part of a union? How ridiculous is this one. People who do not wish to pay a union to represent them should be within their rights. There may be positives to unions, but there are also many negatives as well. People should have the right to decide if they do not wish to be part of a union, the same as members have the right to remain members. Collective bargaining is an easy out for not promoting job accountability and also does nothing to recognize those that are above average in how they do their job. This being said it is much easier to bargain collectively. The problem with the unions are that the compensation required is as much as 40% higher than the same job in the private sector. The topic of unions is a post in itself, but like it or not it should be up to the employee to decide if they wish to pay the union dues. None the less Mr. C since you are the Communications Director of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, which with more than 76,000 members is Alberta's largest union, your views do not surprise me.

1) “Withdraw from the Canada Pension Plan…” There’s a qualifier, but don’t believe it. If you want to know what it is, go read it yourself! This is a policy that would be a hard one to implement and take over, however can you be sure that there will be funds in the CPP when you need it? Alberta could have it's own Pension fund and manage it much better to provide a better payout than the current portfolio under the Canadian govt. Pretty easy to slam this one Mr. C however why don't you look at the CPP fund and see for yourself the losses it has incurred. If you look at the Ontario Teachers fund it has far exceeded the net back of the CPP.

So all of my critics that dislike extreme right wing nut views, you don't like the way things are. You want more and more, without taking the cuts. You want to drive businesses and wealthy people from the province, along with their jobs and capital. You want low taxes, but expect people more well off than you to cover more of your share. It would be an interesting thing, and not one I would be part of, to watch you exist without businesses and investment money, the oil industry, or the jobs provided by these people you loathe. Forcing you to pay for all the services you currently enjoy with their money. Go ahead and drive them out, you will pay in the end.

Can't be both ways, either things change or they stay the same, but you believe you can have your cake and eat it too. Classic indeed.

The Power of Twitter

2010-01-19T12:19:00.011-07:00

As fun as it is to sit and talk politics, a more important and devastating tragedy struck Haiti. Now tragedy strikes everywhere in the world daily, but what makes this different is the amount of people affected by it. Canada has been very quick to jump on providing aid and we should be proud of how our government has reacted.

Locally there is also a group that deserves some recognition.

Camilla Di Giuseppe, Alex Ruiz, and Angela MacIsaac, have spearheaded a team to mobilize the city's social-media and business communities to raise funds for the victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti called YYC4HAITI.

The news has been flying around twitter and many signing up to help the cause, including an interesting interview 20 minutes in, with one of the media that warp my fragile little mind, Rob Breakenridge.

Many of us sit by a computer far too much, but this group has found a way to make it worthwhile. If you are considering donating to Haiti relief I suggest having a little fun while you are at it, which what this promises to be at Flames Central on the 28th of this month.

Donations are being made for the silent/live auctions and can be made to Julie at citybrokers@telus.net and I encourage all Calgary corporations to do your part.

Thank you to these three lovely ladies for showing the generosity Calgary offers, and doing their part in making a positive change while supplying one big bash. You can follow them on twitter at #yyc4Haiti under @C_DIG @alex_ruiz and @that_angela . Don't forget to get your twibbon at http://twibbon.com/join/YYC4Haiti

Politics-Social Media or MSM?

2010-01-15T15:07:00.005-07:00

Today the Edmonton Journal's Capital Notebook held a live chat to talk about the cabinet shuffle. In my opinion there was a very good response when I look at the amount of questions and comments that were posted after moderation.

I have come to rely on social media more than the MSM for my daily intake of newsworthy events. Maybe I shouldn't say more than MSM rather delivery of it, as I still read the media publications. This brings me to the question of how effective is the social media? My blog is definitely an opinion based, biased blog that I hope raises the debate level up another notch, in a way the MSM shouldn't. Do blogs such as this one, Daveberta, Enlightened Savage, Calgary Rants, Chris Labossiere, or Ken Chapman to name a few really have any influence over the people that read them? Does Twitter, Facebook, etc.. have influential power on some of the topics they cover? Recently RenewAB was launched to form a party for the disenfranchised Progressives to call home, and a quick twitter with Naheed Nenshi we discussed the fact that there were 500 supporters online. This is pretty good for a movement that just started over a month ago, but the question is are these people that will move away from the comforts of their computer, go get the needed signatures, raise funds and develop policies? Some I am sure are although I believe it will be a small amount of them.

So as I question the social media and the influence it has, this question was raised on the live chat regarding the MSM and the ability to report unbiased information and answered quite fairly by Mr. McLean:

Q-"Since communication seems to be Premier's downfall in his opinion, do you as MSM believe that the media has been biased in it's reporting (joining the public outcry) or do you think the hundreds of communications staff in the Leg. are not doing their job proper? I know its a loaded question but really want MSM perspective. "

A- "I can't speak for the entire MSM, but we try to reflect both the public mood and the government's perspective in our reporting. We fail sometimes, but that's the idea.Two quick points though:- The premier has got a much rougher ride in Calgary than Edmonton. That reflects a geographical bias, but also the public mood in Calgary, whihc is more distrustful and angry at the premier- Some ministries do a much better job with communications than others. I don't mean to pile on Janis Tarchuk, but she's an example of a minister who clearly hated dealing with the media. Fine, we're difficult sometimes, but we have stories to write and need comment from the person in charge."

I don't know if the media is really being difficult, rather the poor communication by people trying to beat around the bush with their answers. If no straight answer is given, the member leaves themselves open to an interpretation, which could go either way. When we get into MSM, some of my favorite opinions such as Don Braid, Rob Breakenridge, Dave Breakenridge, and Paula Simons, I ask are they any different than the blogger's, outside of they are toned down a touch? I don't know, but it doesn't seem so. I can't see that they have better research as some of the blogger's have some fairly amazing stuff.

Our Alberta Government has in the last year been quick to blame the media for all their woes. Now as reasonable as that may sound, it is far from the truth. As mentioned by Archie McLean they can only report what they are told. If ministers refuse to speak openly to reporters, how can they fairly cover a story that isn't a little speculation based? At the PC AGM the premier stated the fact they needed to communicate better to get their message across and started to use social media as a tool. Twitter, Facebook, blogs and you tube (#asked) were attempted, but miserably failed as most weren't really the premier, or his answers to questions were vetted or scripted, but credit for trying. The Wildrose also has not grasped social media, except for Danielle Smith who does actually run her own twitter account, which should be IMAO a tool they need to develop. If there is one party that has done well utilizing social media it is the Alberta Liberals. They have done you tube, twitter, websites, and blogs by the leader and most of it's members. Good for them for trying to break into the new era.

So comes the question with so many Internet users, in Alberta politics how effective is social media and the blogs?

The Big Bottle Drive Rally

2010-01-14T09:44:00.002-07:00

After checking my e-mails yesterday I was quite surprised and delighted on comments regarding the piece I did on the PDD claw back from the Stelmach government. It was also a call for help to communicate for their efforts via social media which I gladly will help with, and encourage all to assist with. Here is some media coverage.

The rally held tonight (Thurs, Jan 14th) in Edmonton will be held at the McDougall United Church at 10025-101 Street and will run from 7:00PM until 8:00PM. Now the goal of course isn't to raise the $2.8 Million dollars in claw backs, it is to raise awareness of what this will do to these vulnerable Albertans. I know there is absolutely many things that can be implemented to increase efficiency in spending and service in this sector, but you have to be realistic in the time frame to accomplish such a feat, and help to offer assistance to do so. The ignorance of the government to expect this to be done with no notice is simply irresponsible and unacceptable.

I urge anyone who is available to attend this rally and show support for those who truly need these programs. I believe the cuts need to be top down and with the government contracts with executive, the only cuts will be front line.

The (yawn) Shuffle

2010-01-13T14:42:00.003-07:00

Today Premier Ed Stelmach announced his new cabinet.

Not much to say outside of welcome Jonathan Denis. The rest is well...much of the same.

I am very disappointed Ed didn't grab the chance to make sweeping changes and bring up some fresh faces. I guess he is loyal to no end, and confident on the direction he is taking his party.

Democracy Hypocrisy

2010-01-11T09:23:00.005-07:00

Many questions have been raised on the democracy of crossing the floor. Funny how hypocritical people can be when it is not to their party of choice.

Over the years there have been numerous floor crossings in Canadian politics. This would also include the Honourable Gene Zwozdesky crossing from the Alberta Liberals to the Alberta PC party. This strikes me as a smart move for him leaving to a party in power and obtaining a cabinet position in the process. Rob and Heather however left a party in power to join a fledgling party that offers a place to freely provide a voice for their constituents. Seems far from an opportunistic move IMHO.

The PC party continues to try and control Albertans with the latest from Thomas Lukasyzuk. "I acknowledge the fact that I am being a hypocrite when I say that because we as government have accepted members crossing over... that doesn't make it right either," he said. So to get this straight he acknowledges there have been crosses to his party, it doesn't make it right, and now that they left HIS party he feels the need to stop it from happening any further. This reasoning is that they were elected by the constituents as a representative of the PC party, not as a individual. Hmm good theory, but what about Guy Boutillier, wasn't he elected by the constituents to represent his riding? How do the Tories have the right to remove him if this is the case, shouldn't it be up to the constituents? No because again that's different, and the decision was made by Blah blah blah....

Gene they claim did it right because he sat as an independent first, again nobody in the riding elected him as an independent, he was a representative of the Liberals. "I surveyed my constituents, I bought a whole page ad, I asked people what they wanted me to do," he said.
Zwozdesky says he got 2,000 respondents to that ad and more than 95 per cent wanted him to join the Tories. Could the respondents be the 2000 that vote PC and wanted that party in? I am sure it wouldn't be if we asked the PC party.

For those that elect to be represented by a political party we really do not need to have people run in elections. We could just have the party on the ballot and vote for the party. Then the winner could appoint the individual. Thankfully this is not the system we have in place and we do indeed vote for the individual. Many questions whether the CA for the Wildrose was asked prior to the announcement. I am a board member and I can tell you that indeed the call was placed requesting approval.

This weekend Rob Anderson held a open house in Balzac for constituency members to attend and be addressed, and the support was overwhelming with many members of his PC board requesting to be members of the board at the Wildrose, so I think that the majority of his board were approached prior to the cross. Janice Harrington was also there though not vocal like at the presser last week, but I am fairly confident she was not one the people to buy a membership.

The problem I have with calling a by election besides the money is that the support is there for his decision. Also if a by election was called, the members would not receive a pay cheque for up to the six months Ed Stelmach could have before actually holding it. Rob is young and has a young family and like most Albertans could not go six months without receiving a cheque of some sorts. He has already given up his law practice, a huge portion of his pay for committee work, and left a fairly comfy spot in the governing party. Now me personally if I was with the PC party thinking of joining the Wildrose I would raise my voice enough to be kicked out of caucus like Guy and then join the party, because apparently no one has a problem with a political party removing it's members. VERY democratic!

The other thing that was noted recently brought to my attention is the different party policies. The Wildrose policies can be found here, the PC platform is found here, This is also outdated for such an established party, as one of the things on its plan is to eliminate the Alberta Health care Premium. The Alberta Liberals here and the NDP here. I would advise anyone that wants to truly discuss policy to actually take a look and show me where the other parties offer anything more than the Wildrose in these. Doesn't matter which party I read, outside of NDP which are to far out for me, the policies say basically the same thing. These are written mainstream by every party, however as we all know the implementation methods should worry us. The way the PC party has shoved various bills down our throat without consultation or much thought should show that involving the public is much more important.

Those that oppose the Wildrose can keep criticizing whether they are democratic or not, but a word of advice clean up your own back yard before you worry about mine.

@RobBreakenridge Asks The Question

2010-01-06T22:03:00.005-07:00

As a regular listener of 770 CHQR I have my favorite talk show hosts. Dave Rutherford in the morning and my dose of Rob Breakenridge from 7-9 in the evening.

As a filler last night Rob brought up the Wildrose and asked the question everyone considering voting for the party should answer to themselves. What makes the Wildrose different and what does it stand for? Now if the polls are accurate the majority of Albertans need to decide for themselves what this party means to them. We could have the party or Danielle Smith define what it stands for, but I believe it means different things to different people and in the end "Good Government". Rob brought up a blog post from DJ Kelly which I felt was a well written piece discussing the Wildrose, and quite relevant in the discussion. In a word I think "change" is what Albertans want.

The Wildrose may mean many different things to each member, but for me it means a MLA can truly represent me. We have all heard the term caucus mentioned over and over, but if everything is decided in caucus is not really democratic. I believe that an MLA should vote on behalf of their constituents in the legislature, where we can see how they vote on the issues. This behind the closed door voting is a farce, and when I look at a bill voted like bill 50 I have to wonder why all members were not there for their constituents. My take is if they disagree with caucus they simply don't show, which I consider not doing their job. The Wildrose states in their policies that MLA's will have a free vote in the legislature, which one would think is a no brainer. Caucus does have to exist in order to accomplish work and provide a place to discuss the issues to debate them, but at the end of the day the MLA is obligated to vote on his constituents behalf.

This is far from the only reason I support the Wildrose, as far as policy goes it varies little from the PC outside of a few items are a little more right of the spectrum, but definitely not extreme. The fear mongering from the Liberal party was brought up by Rob as well, questioning where the radical policies are, a question I have asked since my support started. I think maybe the Liberals are simply feeling a little left out and need to resort to the boogie-man tactics, almost begging for some attention. Mr. Swann rise above this and promote your party, you are only hurting yourself.

I feel this party is going to give me the fiscally responsible government that will ensure my tax dollars receive the most value. The current government has had the pleasure of surpluses in the $billions for years, not spending the money we give them in trust wisely. When we look at the numbers we spend more per capita than most of Canada. This is not due to a lack of funding, it is a lack of management, we all have heard the we don't have a revenue problem we have a spending problem phrase. Now in the policies the PC party says they are fiscally responsible, take a look at the ridiculous spending increases over the past years and you will see different.

With the health care reform I believe the party will actually implement a sustainable, well delivered system that all Albertans will have access to for many years to come. All parties promise this every election, yet nothing is delivered, better, nor is it sustainable. I think the reason is existing parties quite simply are scared of losing popularity by addressing it. These parties are right in their thinking, Albertans will be upset, but think about it for a minute we're upset now! It is no secret to anyone who follows our provincial health care the way it is now is simply not sustainable. Hard choices will need to be made whether it be a increase in revenues or a decrease in services, but you can't take blood from a stone. This is a top priority for the Wildrose and they have and will continue to work on their plan, ensuring it is ready and right by the next election. This is important to me and my family so another reason I support them.

The economy is one thing I know the Wildrose will get back on track. Oil and gas may be the backbone right now, but there needs to be a plan to diversify. The PC government has failed in achieving this so we do need to ensure we are prosperous until we have achieved this. Right now we have lost investor confidence and show Alberta as a unstable place to do business. If there are any policies that the party has developed it is in this area, and rightfully so. If our economy is not doing well the province will not either, it is important to keep money coming in to fund the services we enjoy as Albertans today. The PC parties plans to cut does not improve the economy, it simply deteriorates our services and I believe that is not acceptable. You can not make last minute cuts without having a plan. When you hand the knife to executives, I can guarantee the cuts run down hill to the front line. Some times you have to be the boss.

The party may have much further to go with policy, but the policies they have so far I have no real problems with. Sure they can be tweaked some, but overall fairly mainstream. I look forward to the next AGM and the two years running up to the next election to see and vote what new ideas are brought into policy. This being said most policies in the PC party have been ignored so I hope this party will hold to them. I don't believe most voters take policy into account when they vote though, if you ask around most people couldn't name one policy in any party, with the exception of what has made it into the media.

While it is all fine to question why this new party is getting the popularity it is, and wonder what it stands for I think this needs to go further. What exactly does the PC party stand for, as it certainly differs from what they claim. The Liberals and NDP- I am not too sure if they stand for anything outside of opposing government, a direction I can only hope the Wildrose doesn't get caught up in. Breakenridge also laid out the question of why the Wildrose would want Heather and Rob after they crossed the floor, and what do they receive from the Wildrose. Great questions although the answer is quite simplistic.

For the Wildrose the crossing brings many important things:

It brings the party ahead of the NDP in the Legislature and hopefully party status, this will give the party the much needed funding for research and running caucus. It also will give them more questions in QP, an area I hope we utilize to the fullest potential.
Media coverage. It is important between elections to try and maintain some media spotlight. If you are not able to remain in voters minds, you have too much work to do at election time for recognition.
Heather Forsyth was a good Solicitor General with many achievements in the Klein government. She brings the Wildrose much needed experience and knowledge, as well as name recognition. These are not needed for the PC party, but for the Wildrose it is essential.
Rob Anderson brings his knowledge of policy and fiscal understanding. He is well liked by his constituents, works extremely hard, and has a common sense approach to issues. His pit bull mentality will help to drive the party forward. This was a huge loss to the PC's, and he will handily win this riding.
Legitimacy- by having two members cross the floor it will make the party legitimate in the voters eyes. Funding will come easier and attracting a higher quality of candidates will also be easier.

What each of these members gain is a party they can feel comfortable in. They have the freedom to speak for the constituents, and if the Wildrose is the Cinderella story they will receive overwhelming support from their riding. We have all heard the media reasons for each of them leaving, but I think it comes down to feeling you are making a difference, appreciated and respected. Money is not the driver since they have given money up to cross, and the party can offer them nothing in cabinet.

These are my thoughts on the issues. Why most voters will vote Wildrose is simple, because the are angry with the PC's. Here is a quote from a lifelong respected PC "The dumbest thing the PCs could have done was to keep Stelmach last fall. No provincial government has damaged Alberta more. Their ongoing meltdown is richly deserved and a pleasure to watch." This may not be the best reason to switch loyalties, but it is their vote and they have the right to exercise it this way. Alberta has been conservative for years, the Liberals are not working hard to win voters over, and the NDP simply doesn't resonate with the majority of Albertans. What other options do they have?

Is a By-Election the Best Answer?

2010-01-05T18:17:00.003-07:00

After the crossing of Rob Anderson and Heather Forsyth the question of should a by election be called has been brought up.

I have trouble deciding on this one. Floor crossing has been a part of our parliamentary system. Winston Churchill crossed the floor twice nearly 100 years ago, and he to this day is well known and respected. On the other hand, for those who opt to elect a party rather than the candidate floor crossing can seem very undemocratic. I believe in democracy, but I also believe in fixed election dates so what to do here? Recall is the best route in my opinion, which is done by the right percentage of eligible voters petitioning the elected official. The voters are the ones that would call the by-election.

The Calgary-Glenmore by election, in which Paul Hinman crushed the Tories, had a price tag of $185,635.73 attached to it. As taxpayers we are responsible to pay for this so when 2 cross if we had to call a by election the price tag would be nearly $400,000.00 which would not be an issue if the constituents truly wanted one. The question is did Rob and Heather have support of the constituents as they claim. I believe they did however this is only my opinion and I was wrong once before.(although never since)

I have listened intently the last couple days to Janice Harrington, Jonothan Denis, and Doug Elniski calling for a by-election and questioning these two members principles. I refuse to believe that any of the 83 members of the Legislature don't have Albertans best interest in mind. The direction of getting there however varies by a huge amount when comparing the four parties and the independent that make it up. Which one is right depends on your personal beliefs of what you think our province should look like. Demanding a by election I don't think will make one difference. Would you rather they stand up for the constituents and fight until caucus finally kicks them out? Then is it OK to cross to another party or should a by election be called here as well?

The other issue I have with the PC's that demand a by-election is that they have been making ridiculous cuts to our social programs because of a lack of money. After announcing they would be willing to take back $70K from basic living for term care patients, I am shocked they would be willing to spend $400K on trying to boost their seat numbers. As if the 68 they currently hold is not enough to run government efficiently, think again, it's a huge majority. Recall would also give us an option to get rid of some of the dead weight in our GOA should we decide it is needed. The Wildrose, Rob Anderson and Heather Forsyth all believe in recall so many are asking why not a by election then, like there is no difference between the two. I think that if you were to petition them with 30%of the eligible voters in their riding's calling for a by election, they would call it. They believe in recall because right now we can only get rid of a bad choice every four years, which should be good but I think alot of damage could be done.

Brian Mason and his NDP party also called for a by election. This parties reasoning is self preservation plain and simple. If the PC government denies funding to the Wildrose and continues with the NDP they risk losing more credibility with the population. Personally neither of them should receive it until they meet the criteria set out in the legislation, although the NDP has had special status for some time now.

As for the Alberta Liberals I take their outcry with a grain of salt. They surely have the Wildrose on their Christmas list hoping for a split of the conservative vote. If you take all the riding's and split them down the middle the best they could gain is 6-7 more seats. Hardly enough to topple government, sorry Mr. Morton I quit buying this one long time ago and Calgary-Glenmore proved this further. To my friends at Alberta Liberals I understand you will try and soak up any media attention you can.

From an MLA standpoint what if you bought into the hollow promises of a party when you ran for them only to find out they do not hold up to their end of a bargain? Should they have to remain with that party until the next election? I don't think so, I have the option to quit my job if I do not like management. They are employed by Albertans so I think we need to be entitled to decide how they will be held accountable.

And Then There Were Three!!

2010-01-04T11:25:00.004-07:00

A new year has rung in and Alberta politics has promised to be interesting.

Today the announcement was made that Heather Forsyth and Rob Anderson would be crossing the floor over to the Wildrose from the PC's. Game changer? Not at all, the Stelmach government has had a declining support for some time now. Is the Wildrose all of a sudden governing the province? Of course not. What is significant is that in the history of the PC party governing there has never been anyone cross the floor away from it.

There will be many opinions on whether or not MLA's should cross the floor to another party since they were elected as representatives of their respective party. Is it any worse for a MLA to cross and be an independent or cross to another party? Who knows, the voters will let them know at the next election. I understand why they would take the option to join another party, especially a small party they can help implement good policies in.

Heather Forsyth is no newcomer to Alberta Politics. She served 5 terms as a PC MLA and was Solicitor General for the Klein government. For her to leave the party after this long has to be one of the most difficult decisions in her political career. I question the final straw for leaving the party, whether it was being left out of cabinet or a true displeasure with the direction the party was headed. What can not be undermined is her valuable experience from her time. This will be important to the Wildrose moving forward. If you read her accomplishments on her website she has done much for our province.

Rob Anderson on the other hand is a newcomer to Alberta politics and also happens to be my MLA. I have had numerous discussions with Rob on many issues and have to admit I am quite shocked at his decision to cross over. From knowing him as well as I do I know his intentions are to better represent his constituents and advocate for positive change. I have asked him on numerous occasions to consider crossing in which he replied he felt he would be more effective in the Legislature with the PC party. He was a very loyal Party member and believed he could make changes from within so I will be quite interested to find out what changed his attitude towards this. I have been long opposed to Bill 44 and Rob was pushing hard to have this bill passed so I will hammer away to get a commitment to eliminate section 9 of it. Since Rob supports eliminating section 3 of the HRC, I do not think it would take much convincing, if any, to address this portion of the bill. In fairness you can't make everyone happy with all of the decisions. I will welcome Rob to the party and work hard for him moving forward as he has sacrificed pay and a shot at advancement in the government for at least the next two years, and if the Wildrose does not form the next government may end his political career. Only time will tell.

I have mentioned I am not too big on floor crossing which still holds true, as I think recall is the best route for change midstream. Another option would have been a by-election, but in these tough economic times I doubt anyone would appreciate the huge expense of this, especially when making cuts to our services. The only other route would have been to cross over as an independent, which in my opinion is not any different than crossing to another party. You still leave the party you were elected with. The publicity gained from this event for the Wildrose will be huge, since the leadership race and by-election the Wildrose has not garnered a lot of attention. Some ask why not stagger the two? Good question, or have they done some staggering that we don't know about? The Wildrose needs four mla's to recieve official party status, and I don't think special privilege should be given. I also believe that the NDP should be stripped of their status. Being recognized as an official party means tax dollars will be given to the parties, with the deficit spending that is already in place the parties should have to earn the status, with out special privilege.

2010 is looking to be another interesting year in Alberta politics, and I am looking forward to everything going on. All of the engagement going on whether it is ChangeCamp, Civic Camp, RebootAB, Renew AB, or the onslaught of support the Wildrose has received, is a sign that Albertans are no longer happy with the status quo. The direction we Albertans decide to take it will be an interesting thing to see.

Political Posturing

2009-12-30T10:04:00.004-07:00

Some things will never cease to amaze me. Today the announcement was made that Hon. Ken Kowalski has demanded the Alberta Liberals take down the website " LiepertMustGo.ca ". What amazes me isn't that Kowalski finds it a personal attack as I think he is one of the few honorable members in the legislature, rather that everything in the legislature seems to surround personal attacks so why is this different? If this is the kind of nonsense the Alberta Liberals believe Albertans want their tax dollars spent on, leave them to it as they will need to answer for it.

Not so long ago Premier Stelmach engaged a personal attack on Brian Mason with his comments of he would take the word of a nurse before a bus driver any day. Seems personal to me. In my opinion we have a huge amount of jackasses in our Legislature posturing only for political gain instead of representing the constituents, the only real commitment in my opinion. If you have ever taken time to watch question period I see very little that is intelligent as far as questions or answers, although I have to say the arrogance of our ministers by far exceeds the opposition.

The opposition are not the only ones that seem to get attacked for taking a position on certain issues. Kyle Fawcett was shut down immediately for his criticism of the premier and the job he was doing. Unfortunately Kyle backed down and apologized, although I am not sure what for. Rob Anderson questioned Lloyd Snelgrove on some of the budget numbers and whether we could control our spending to inflation and population growth. Snelgrove gave Anderson an embarrassing shellacking with his responses basically telling him to sit down and shut up. I know that Anderson's constituents put this policy proposal in place for the AGM, so this must have been a humiliating experience for him as well as demean his constituents in the riding.

The opposition every once in a while will pose some intelligent question only to be met with snarky, demeaning responses. In all fairness the majority of the time they are criticisms rather than questions, something the Wildrose party's MLA Paul Hinman has yet to grasp as well. I support this party but do believe we can be so much more effective. I wonder if MLA's used the respect Grant Notley did when he was with the NDP if the ministerial responses would still be arrogant. I hold our MLA's to a higher standard than what is provided to us, as they need to come up with solutions. Our opposition is not there to simply oppose everything, rather offer up alternative solutions and provide another viewpoint on issues pertaining to Albertans. I am fairly confident that the views of Albertans do not change from riding to riding that much.

All in all the Liberal site is simply political posturing and does not help our health care system in the least. If the Liberal party truly wants to improve things use some courtesy and provide an alternative solution to problems. If the Stelmach government doesn't listen and get into trouble like with the H1N1 offer another solution at the time to improve service as the public will see that you are a party that knows what it takes to make the improvements Albertans expect. If you truly believe you are looking after Albertans to the best of your ability with the site, so be it.

To the PC government- quit with the arrogance-you need all the help you can get. Demeaning your own backbenchers and opposition is not only getting old, it is getting noticed. You can't look after Alberta's needs if you are not open to criticism and other ideas. You have much more to be concerned with than the Liberal's website.

The PC Damage Control Starts

2009-12-29T11:05:00.004-07:00

After 30 years of governing Alberta it should come as a surprise to no one that the PC party will kick their damage control into high gear. After a year of blunders, bad polling, a by-election loss, and a dismal attempt at communicating it would be expected.

The Wildrose Alliance launched a MLA pay and perks panel to evaluate the pay for MLA's and try and bring it out into the open. Shortly after the PC party launched a review of their own, unfortunately they did not get it right. There was no more transparency than before the review which made it a waste of time and money.

The royalty competitiveness review is also a new damage control effort being thrown out by the Stelmach government that the Wildrose launched a task force on. I am not too sure a review is required again as the ridiculous amount of changes in the royalties since the NRF was implemented proves, beyond a doubt, the Stelmach regime did not get it right. The other parties contended the NRF did not go far enough, and the Alberta Alliance at the time was the only party that heeded the warnings of our energy sector. Since then Alberta's economic engine stalled and pushed investment money elsewhere, and I am not sure with the current government the level of trust required to draw it back will be possible.

A cabinet shuffle has also been rumoured after a number of poor decisions made by the ministers. Whether we look at our children's and youth services, health and wellness, seniors and community supports, energy, environment, all the way to culture and community spirit the GOA has successfully managed to miss pissing off no one in Alberta. Earlier this year Ed made a number of Calgary appointments as assistants to ministries in an attempt to stop the bleeding of support.

Ed Stelmach's tories may not be able to repair the parties fall in popularity by the 2012 election. In an interesting article by Don Braid today he brings up the question of defectors again to the Wildrose Alliance and the ability of Stelmach to keep his backbenchers happy. Personally I do not think the Wildrose would be wise to allow floor crossing, unless the MLA's truly believe they would be looking after the constituents best interests by doing so.

Albertans main concern is our health care system. Ron Liepert has had to bungle his way through with this portfolio and I am sure once all the cuts to it are made he will be replaced as minister. I think there will be further wage freezes and cuts before we see a shuffle here happen, then when Liepert is replaced the Stelmach tories will try to make themselves out as heroes by doing so. I would imagine with the deficit we will see Iris Evans position change as well.

The Alberta PC party knows it has serious problems and absolutely need to make changes if they intend to remain in power. 2012 is not that far off and they have a huge amount of work to be done to re-establish themselves as trustworthy. I do not underestimate their ability to do so or they would not have remained in power as long as they have, the question I think is can they do it with Premier Stelmach?

Merry Christmas

2009-12-23T16:46:00.003-07:00

I would like to take the time to wish my readers a Very Merry Christmas and holiday season. Best wishes for a happy and prosperous new year!

In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it 'Christmas' and went to church; the Jews called it 'Hanukkah' and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank.

People passing each other on the street would say 'Merry Christmas!' or 'Happy Hanukkah!' or (to the atheists) 'Look out for the wall!'
~Dave Barry

Cutting The PDD

2009-12-21T11:21:00.008-07:00

Sorry for the poor quality of photos, a skill I need to work on.

Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) budget cuts were announced last week by about 11 million dollars. Minister Mary Anne Jablonski is in charge of this and decided to post a blog here. The cuts may be warrented in this portfolio when you look at the fact that we increased spending by 20% to support an increase in need of only >2%. The problem however is the fact that no notice was given to the these groups that rely on the budgeted numbers.

The budget claimed was for $600 million dollars for PDD and since cuts may be necessary I have to wonder where we should make these $11 million dollars in cuts. Of course as always our GOA will look to the front line and disabled to absorb these costs, I wanted to dig a little deeper into how much is spent on boards alone. I was a little surprised when looking around at the amount we pay our deputy ministers etc.. in this department shown below:

Sorry I couldn't make this clearer but it says that it pays one deputy minister and three assistant deputy ministers a total of $1.09 million dollars. Who says the civil sector doesn't pay. After looking a little further I discovered that each region receives its PDD money and distributes it from there. I happened to stumble across Calgary regions pay for their executives which is another $720,000.00 alone as broken down below:

Now I am no accountant by any means, but in my spreadsheet below the province takes $38.9 million dollars before it is even distributed to the regions. The regional executive boards take $4.124 million in pay which seems ridiculous in a taxpayer funded duty, which is shown on the far right column. Private corporations may get away with this, but come on.

In $600 million funding to this, it appears about $43 million dollars is paid out between the province and the PDD regional executive boards. I could dive very deep into the reports and find areas to cut spending without affecting the front line, but what for, that is the job of the highly paid ministry. Near as I can tell they need look no further than their own back yard.

The Annual report can be found here.

Renew AB Liberally

2009-12-14T10:10:00.002-07:00

Thanks to members of my last posting for informing me that Reboot AB and Renew AB were two very different causes. Renew AB is a new political movement trying to form a party. It is being toted as a progressive movement, however if you look a little deeper into who is behind it you may wonder if it is an offshoot of the Alberta Liberal Party.

Chima Nkemdirim, co-chair for Renew AB, has a much different view on what kind of Alberta than I would like to see. I definitely have have different views of who I would have in power in AB. Chima worked under Kent Hehr in buffalo for the Alberta Liberals. This wasn't the shock to me rather the statement he made Calgary-based lawyer Chima Nkemdirim: “Kevin Taft is the one leader who recognizes the unmatched potential of this province and has an action plan for reaching that potential. I’m convinced that Kevin Taft and the Alberta Liberals are ready to govern.” Yikes!

Many of the people that have chosen to support this cause have made statements on what they believe the Wildrose stands for, complained on the lack of policy, and questioned the intentions of it's leader. While the Wildrose can not pass any new policies until the next AGM their policies are not vague in comparison to Renew AB, really what party could not come up with these. It is unclear who is behind this movement and what they stand for, but from where I see things so far, the Liberal deserters have started to move. I would caution anyone looking to really take a hard look at what the agenda behind this really is. A vague policy, no openness on who is behind it, and who chairs it is enough to scare me away. They want to be ready for the next election, good luck.

Reboot-More of the same.

2009-12-11T15:53:00.003-07:00

Todays poll results are talk of the social media today. Discontent with the Stelmach led Tories is more evident than ever, and a real option outside of the Wildrose obviously is not there.

This doesn't shock me at all, however what does shock me is the direction of the Reboot/Renew movement Ken has formed. I thought maybe new, although a more left movement would try and differentiate itself from what exists. When I look at the definition of what being a progressive person is through his eyes, this is seeming far from that type of movement.

Here is what it claims to be about, and I quote "This is not the place to debate right versus left perceptions of politics. This is not the place to personally slag politicians or personalities. This site might break news but it will undoubtedly make news." Sounds good eh. Not so fast lets look at the most recent post from Mr. Chapman. Couple of contradictions here:

"So much more needs to be known and understood about the Wildrose Alliance and in particular their social and environmental policies, principles and values."
and then:
"...WAP forms the next government you will be delegating decisions to fundamentalist, traditionalist and social conservative values throw-backs of a bygone era."

I do not think that Danielle Smith and the Wildrose Alliance has branded itself as of yet, other than we are building a fiscally responsible government. I support this fully. The Wildrose of the past is what it is, Past. The new Wildrose which has went from 1000 active members to over 14000 active members will define the party at the next AGM. This has to wait until then due to the Party bylaws binding it's policies to be set by it's members. Using the last election platform is ridiculous. Calling us a bunch of So-cons is hilarious considering who won the leadership and her stance on divisive issues, beating out both of the socially conservative hopefuls by 7 to 1.

Seems to me Mr. Chapman thinks he knows and understands it all. The Wildrose is nothing what Ken cracks it up to be and undermines Albertans that are engaging and getting involved in a party that they will have a place in forming. Kind of confirming that the people that are supporting the Wildrose at the moment are not welcome in this progressive party. A very unwise move. I do hope that the Reboot AB takes off, gets it's 8000 signatures, develops sound policy, and defines itself. It is a very long hard road that will require huge amounts of money to implement. People such as the ones criticizing the Wildrose will also criticize this new formation, make no mistake about it. Will it be so bold as to decline it's corporate donation side if and oil company name is on the cheque? Will it accept only "Green Money"? Will it stop people at the door from joining if they are too conservative for it's liking? How many will be allowed to join if their views are not "towing the line"? All questions regarding the Wildrose will also be pointed to Reboot so remember that as you move forward.

I am not slamming Ken and the Reboot movement, in fact quite the opposite. I feel anyone willing to step up and stand up for what they believe is a great thing to be commended. There has been good discussion and new ideas brought forward, there is also much discussion that is left to be desired. This will happen in anything political where if you intend to form government, you will have a diverse group with a different view on the best way forward. These are important considerations to make if a new movement is planned-Remember you are branding your party now before you have members. Good luck to you all-I do wish you the best in your movement.

From where I stand right now Reboot is more of the same.

PC Kool-Aid Anyone?

2009-12-09T09:17:00.003-07:00

Yesterday in the Herald, the Wildrose and it's leader stirred up some more controversy regarding what role Alberta and Canada should play at Copenhagen. Criticism by all of the other party's in the Legislature followed quickly, not too surprising. What I took out of this was not whether Wildrose is right or wrong on global warming, but the fact they were not willing to commit to anything without having concrete facts to base them on. Is a made in AB solution really a bad thing to implement, after all we need to be part of the solution. The other parties seem to think we simply sign on a binding deal, with no clue on what the impacts are that come with it.

We already committed $2B to CCS to our government preferred companies in Alberta, why not look at other options such as eliminating coal generated power and using our abundant supply of natural gas, it is cleaner burning and has a way smaller environmental footprint than a mine. The reason we do not have more generation going this route is simple, it is not cost effective in comparison. I touched on this with Mel Knight at the PC AGM this year, which he confirmed coal was cheaper by far. When I pointed out the difference in royalties between coal and natural gas, and if the royalties charged for power generation were equal, it would be comparable in cost. Pretty simple way to clean up pollutants at no cost to our government, because the royalties would be the same as if they burnt coal. Mel said it would simply never happen. Oilsand producers are working frantically to clean up their emissions, as much as the public thinks they don't care, they understand the importance of emissions as well as the public relations that come along with it. Micro generation, geo-thermal, and the many other new technologies available can also make AB a leader in the world stage for environmental improvements. Allowing our fate to be held in the hands of Global leaders for me is not an option.

Danielle Smith, thank you for looking out for us. This move not only differentiates your party from the same old thing, but show that you are a confident leader willing to put the province above your own political gain. Health care once you decide to roll out your platform is another of the subjects political parties are afraid to tackle. Lets face it the minute a party mentions Health Care Reform, we as Albertans go on the defence claiming any changes will wreck our system. Well everyone I hate to burst your bubble, but our health care is not adequate nor is it sustainable. I hope for once a party will stand up and make the difficult but necessary changes to improve our system and ensure it will be available for many years to come, the same old tired PC tinkering is killing it.

The PC party is pulling out all the stops to try and stop the bleeding form their party. Release of the "Fiscal Four" now grown to the "Save the Party Seven" is simply a stunt. All of a sudden the PC party comes up with 10% of their party that disagree with the direction? Hahaha, how stupid do you think Albertans are? These are not new MLA's that have come into the party with a goal of improving things, thay are the same members that have been there since the last election. The same members that voted on the fiscal bills, Bill 44, Bill 19, Bill 50, bill 36, horribly ran the children's and youth services, failed on the H1N1 roll out, made AB an unfavorable place to invest, changed laws to enable deficits, gave themselves huge pay raises, pay themselves for caucus meetings, and run a record deficit! If they think that by not showing up to vote on the issues as with Bill 50 it makes them hold the GOA accountable, they are wrong. The media may like the idea of these tactics, some of the public may buy in as well, but most Albertans see through your job saving measures.

I for one am tired of these games the PC Government plays, and you? PC Kool-Aid anyone?

Schindlers List

2009-12-08T17:34:00.004-07:00

Recently an independent report, which Dr. Schindler was part of, was released regarding what impact the oilsands were playing on the watershed. The PNAS report author compared the amount of fallout to an annual oil spill. Talk about exaggerating a point.

There is surely no denying there is an environmental impact to whatever we as humans do, but to what degree is what we need to figure out. The time frame that this science was compiled in is not enough to convince me of the real numbers a science should generate, however after climate gate our scientist will receive alot more skepticism. Being that the oilsands are a surface oil, there was not testing done prior to development, and a short time frame for tests leave me less than convinced at the degree of impact they have.

This brings me to the next topic being the Copenhagen talks. The main focus is on global warming and the GHG emissions. We as a country are expected to commit to reducing them, based on what is what I would like to know. If we are to believe Dr. Schindler on his Oilsands report, should we also not trust his judgement on GHG and global warming? Here is his comment " everyone knows global temp has been flat for 10 yrs" on Rutherford on Dec 8. So what is the intended goal? CO2 is necessary for life, is there too much? After all greenhouses pump it in because it makes the plants thrive. We use it in Cola, sandwich and meat packaging, etc.. Would I sign a binding agreement based on this unproven theory? Never, and I hope our government doesn't either until we have proper information, agreed upon by proof, not a bunch of people looking for funds for their universities gain.

Once again Mason and Dr. Swann are quick to jump to conclusions . Mason alleging Smith is a denier of climate change, Dr. Swann wanting to ensure we follow the lead of the Obama government doesn't show much leadership to me.

"The science isn't settled," Smith said. "If we're going to embark on this path, we've got to be darn sure that the science makes sense." Forward looking is something that has lacked in our GOA for far too long.

Financial Planning & Fighting with the Wife

2009-12-02T15:14:00.003-07:00

Dan was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the family business.

When he found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided he needed a wife with which to share his fortune. One evening at an investment meeting he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his breath away. "I may look like just an ordinary man," he said to her, but in just a few years, my father will die, and I'll inherit $200 million."

Impressed, the woman obtained his business card and three days later, she became his stepmother. Women are so much better at financial planning than men.

My wife and I were sitting at a table at my high school reunion, and I kept staring at a drunken lady swigging her drink as she sat alone at a nearby table.

My wife asked, 'Do you know her?'

'Yes,' I sighed, 'She's my old girlfriend. I understand she took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear she hasn't been sober since.'

'MyGod!' says my wife, 'Who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?'

And then the fight started.....

My Thoughts on the #RebootAB Movement

2009-11-30T10:04:00.005-07:00

Over the weekend a progressive group assembled in Red Deer, AB for a meeting of the minds on how to make AB a better place. I did not attend but here is my take on it from what I have read, by all means I hope the many that attended can correct me on my perception.

First I will start off by explaining why I did not attend the meeting. I felt that the views of what progressive means outlined prior to the meeting were a) WAP members were not progressive b) if you are conservative you can not be progressive c) you need to buy into the green oil kool-aid and d) need to believe there is no other options available. None of this was said or confirmed, just my feelings on it as it was rolled out as I fell into much of the criticized categories.

Many of the bloggers I admire and respect were in attendance, which when compared to them I am somewhat of a political hack. There was huge support for another upstart party with a progressive movement that will listen to the people. Geez, I have never heard that before, kind of sounds like the same thing every political party has said since the beginning of time. This time will be different though I am sure. Some of the members have already excluded many that may have followed a movement like this, so for me I think it will remain a stalled movement. Many of the bloggers that I have followed over the years have so much to offer in terms of ideas and knowledge, but it is much easier to be a pundit than to run a province with such a diverse set of views. Bill 44 was a huge part of the push for a few of the attendants of Reboot, however it would be quite interesting to see how many Albertans actually support this bill (as we all know I am not one).

I do hope a political party is formed out of this, as I for one think we need a balance of all types. The ALP has not been an effective opposition and the NDP simply protests all ideas good or bad. The Wildrose Alliance has so much work yet to be completed to become a government in waiting, they have yet to be recognized. Progressiveness is linked to being socially liberal, but I believe in simply being socially responsible with little interference in Albertans lives. The more bills and laws that keep coming forward restrict our freedoms and add a huge amount of cost as well. Maybe with a progressive group working hard on the left/center and a party working on right centre we could force good government in the end, who knows.

What Reboot AB has done for me is confirm I am on the right path to bring about political change to our province. I will continue working with the Wildrose Alliance. We have all listened to the attacks from these same members that criticize the Wildrose for having no substance on their policy. We also know that the Wildrose Policies are set by it's members. The party in June of this year had 1200 active members which has swelled to 14,000. We have a leader that is a remarkable speaker and media savvy. We have the perfect set for bringing change into Alberta politics, and here is why I believe this:

Since it is agreed our policy lacks substance and is set by it's members, by having a diverse group of members we will put forward common sense policy. We as a party can easily elaborate on the policies to include members of all political leanings much easier than trying to start up a party that concentrates only on a progressive view.
We still have the opportunity to brand ourselves, before we are branded by everyone else as we roll out our policy platform.
We are already an established political party recognized a a serious political threat, growing in strength by bringing in even more diverse membership base.
A strong leader with a remarkable memory for policy and ability to speak without putting her feet in her mouth.

As I mentioned I think the Reboot movement is a great progressive movement, however in our province you will never form a government without being big tent. This is proven when we look at the history of politics in our province. The ALP and the NDP were never able to gain traction because of the choice to be left. The PC party remained because they were known to be fiscally conservative and socially progressive, unfortunately I don't see that they stand for either any longer, staying in power is the only goal.

My option for the Wildrose is simple and the party could use people from the progressive movement to help set up good policy. The same from all poltical stripes. There is a huge opportunity to brand this party as simply responsible both fiscally and socially. The membership in the party is still small enough to grow big tent and decide policy to include the majority of Albertans and not limit itself to conservative, progressive, liberal, etc... In the end I see the Wildrose party as being what was presented at reboot AB only on an all inclusive scale. The DJ Kelly post had a significant part in changing my thoughts, showing how common sense politics can be. Thanks to all involved at RebootAB as you have brought on a change in my way of thinking as well. I have spent far too long criticizing a party we all see the problems with. I will be blogging on the strengths of the Wildrose, discussing the policies and what can be bettered, bring them forward at the AGM, and work hard to bring in a variety of members to ensure the party indeed is "Big Tent" with a variety of ideas. I see this as the fastest and easiest way to bring change about. I don't think Alberta needs to re-boot, maybe simply an update. ;) Look forward to your comments Rebooters.

Is Lindsay Blackett Racist? Don't be Ridiculous.

2009-11-25T13:38:00.011-07:00

I came across an opinion column in the Sherwood Park -Strathcona County News that was well...utterly the worst informed article I have ever read. People that read this will lose brain cells, so be careful. I think the timing of Catherine Griwkowsky's opinion may be to take advantage of the Stephan Carter blunder, with a very narrow view of basic human rights, the HRC or law in general. Obvious is that she may be better as a ranting blogger than a columnist.

I am not too sure if anyone can remember Lindsay Blacketts interview with Rick Bell in the Sun, but his views on the AHRC were right in line with the Wildrose Alliance. Do these comments by Mr. Blackett mean he would like to have a KKK meeting on his block as mentioned by this ranter?

"People have the right to say what they believe and Albertans strongly believe in that right," says Lindsay.
"We've got to try and find what was the purpose of the human rights commission to start with back in 1972."
"For me, it's back to the future and the simplicity of what the human rights commissions is supposed to be. It was originally just intended to provide protection against discrimination on grounds of race, colour, creed, religion and so on with respect to employment, accommodation and access to services. That's it."
"It wasn't about hurt feelings. The reason a lot of human rights commissions are disrespected across the country is because they've forgotten that.
"We want the commission to be a quasi-judicial body that has some teeth, that has some credibility but doesn't operate like a kangaroo court."
..."People shouldn't feel they can't come to Canada, like a university professor who talks about a subject matter and then there are reprisals," says the cabinet minister.
"They should have the ability to say what they say and somebody should have their ability to have the counter argument. That is what a free and open society does. Let's get away from trying to mediate everybody's feelings."
Lindsay talks about being turned down by a girl at a school dance with all his pals watching.
"You feel about two inches tall. I guess maybe I should have taken her to the Human Rights Commission because I had hurt feelings. Where does it end?"
"We haven't talked about it at caucus or cabinet yet, but I've already gone through a few steps. Generally there's support, the support to make a change and do something and not just sit back and say because it's a tough subject we should stay away from it.
"I don't think provisions for more freedom of speech are a problem. I think people on both sides of the political spectrum appreciate it."

No of course not. Maybe she would like to insinuate Mr. Blackett thinks South Africa had the right idea with signs demanding racial segregation in public areas were the right idea. I doubt this too.

The reasoning for getting rid of section three is simple. It is the grey area open to interpretation and the abuse of the system. As Lindsay Blackett referred to AHRC and it "operating as a kangaroo court." We have laws in place already, the duplication and above the law view by the AHRC is unnecessary. Debate can only happen if one person disagrees or is offended by a statement, and we should not be scared of such. Section three has had negative effects on both media and personal beliefs. We could look at Ezra Levant or Rev. Boissoin.

Randy Hillier, along with fellow PC MPP Lisa Macleod, have been leading the charge to reform Ontario's HRCs. Hillier made the abolition of Ontario's human rights commission part of his campaign platform. Didn't stop at a certain section, Damn Racists? Give it up.

Catherine Griwkowsky it is obvious you know nothing about the HRC or its abuse of power. Maybe try to raise your bar of journalism before you write by doing even the slightest of research on a topic. As for the paper I am shock at the level of idiocy you allow in your publications. If you take the time to complete your research (or start it) you will find that we already have laws in place to protect us from what you refer to, but again you have done no research. What a shame.

For more information on the HRC, their bullying, and censorship I suggest reading the material at Ezra Levants website.

As Voltaire reputedly said, “I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

Update: Johnathon Denis as well?

Motion 518

2009-11-25T10:44:00.003-07:00

It would appear that Mr. Greg Weadick, MLA for Lethbridge-West, put forward motion 518 in the legislature. The bill is:

"Be it resolved that the Legislative Assembly urge the Government to consider exempting seniors from paying the education portion of property taxes." The motion was agreed to on November 23, 2009 in the legislature.

For sure now I will be confusing Lethbridge east and west for which party is represented.

I realize that the senior citizens in Alberta have paid and continue to pay their dues in our province. This being said they also continue to use the many services provided by the province, including health care. With our provincial population aging this should not be a motion we want to put forward. I will be a senior here one day and will gladly pay my part in keeping our health care and education intact. The education tax portion of our property taxes are thrown into general revenues, and only make up for 20% +- of our education budget. We are looking at massive cuts to the education system in the province and dissolving more revenues is not realistic. How many more cuts can our GOA expect our education system to make.

Not too long ago we eliminated the fees paid into our health care system, and to no surprise the coverage in our province changed. Many have said they would have preferred to keep the premiums and not make the cuts to the system. We are now running huge deficits in the system. Education is the backbone of Alberta's future, so I do have concerns when it comes to affecting the outcomes of this system.

Seniors in Alberta have many things subsidized by the province, and we are looking towards more in terms of assisted living etc.. I won't disagree as a province we have an obligation to do so. However the theory that dues have been paid in full is a misleading comment by this MLA. Seniors also enjoy the improvements made in Alberta on a daily basis, should they be exempt from paying? The claim that those in assisted living do not have to pay this tax is not quite true. If they pay the taxes are included in the fees charged to our seniors. To be fair then should a single person or couple with no children pay this tax? Should I have to cover my share in seniors health care costs? Of course, taxes should be a level playing field regardless of age, race, religion etc... up to and including usage.

I believe that this motion is simply a vote buying measure in the legislature. What MLA would not agree on this from fear of losing the seniors votes? This is at the cost of our youth which will be paying the tab for years to come as our population ages. The government underestimating the importance of Education in our province needs to stop.

Right now much of the youth may not be taking the time to cast a ballot, remember this will change.

Tweeting Da Premier

2009-11-23T09:30:00.003-07:00

On Friday it seems Danielle Smiths senior advisor, Stephan Carter made these comments on twitter:
"Just saw da premier making a speech. Dat was quite a speech. Dem media better report it right,"
"Getting ready for press conference. Dem media better be ready for Danielle. Dey better get da story right!"

It appears the office of the premier thought they were offensive so Stephan called the premier's office and apologized as well as took them down. I would guess immediately the premiers office placed the following twitter:
"My press office has accepted an apology from Danielle Smith's chief of staff over an offensive Twitter post."

Well if an apology to the premier's office amounts to this I am thinking Stephan should have just let it ride. The media and twitter were in a frenzy over the tweets that had no comments made until after the premier's office released it had accepted an apology. The noble indeed. Only an issue after an apology. Why? This is quite simple, no one thought it was offensive until Tom Olsen put the spin on it. His ridiculous claims of this being a slur against the Ukrainian culture or rural people. To me Mr. Olsen is the one who was being discriminatory, I took it for what it was, a slam on Ed Stelmach and his inability to speak. This however is the way of Alberta politics now, and realistically any other party(including the WRA) may have done the same.

This also turned into an issue with the Wildrose Alliance Party. The PC faithful were quick to jump on the bandwagon, blaming the party and continuously trying to put the spin on it. Danielle made these statements to the Calgary Herald:

“It’s really unacceptable," Smith added. "I think we want to try to bring a higher level of discussion to politics and that’s certainly not the kind of discussion that I tolerate or that I would expect to see from people who work for me. He understands that. It’s been made clear, and I’m glad that he responded as swiftly as he did.”

Asked whether there will be any repercussions for his job with the Wildrose Alliance, Smith noted Carter is her strategist and on contract until the end of the year. She said he was interim chief of staff for a few weeks, but has been a strategist since early November. The chief of staff position is vacant.

“Obviously I’ll have to gauge that,” she said. “His quick reaction and his quick acknowledgment that he made a mistake, I think that to me that’s enough at the moment.”

In short I guess the PC's can dish it but can't take it. Stelmach attacked Mason on his career as a bus driver in the legislature. Elniski made very distasteful comments about 12 year old children (female) washing cars for a fundraiser. Iris Evans slammed and insulted families that out of necessity with the cost of living in Alberta, required both parents work in order to make ends meet. Luke Oulette was in contempt of court with the children and youth services. Ron Liepert failed miserably in his bid to roll out the H1N1 vaccine. A ridiculous deficit....and so on.

An advisor to Smith mocking the Premier and his ability to speak may be distasteful, but I will take it to these. In all fairness the Wildrose has had much good publicity, this is not an attack by the media, they are simply treating the Party the same as any other. I would put money that Ed Stelmach doesn't even know he was offended, unless your naive enough to believe he does his own social media.

The high road would have been better for sure, but it nice to see we are on the PC radar.

WRA Task Force

2009-11-20T10:32:00.007-07:00

Yesterday the Wildrose Alliance Party released another task force the MLA Pay and Perks. Last month the release of the Energy Task Force.

Anyone who reads my blog knows I have been supporting the Wildrose and believe they are the party to bring Albertans the change we desire. The inclusiveness of the members will remain to be the most important issue for input. These task forces are a great step for members to have an inside view of what needs to be done.

These new task forces are very important going forward to set up policy for the members to review, scrutinize and change if required at the next AGM. I question the choice of the policies we are working on first, as for most Albertans these are not the priorities. Are these the first implemented because the panels were easy to put together? My areas of main concern are health care delivery and education, as I believe most Albertans are as well. This is a question I will be asking her in the next couple of weeks. I do have to wonder if these are the more important though as Ed also is looking into MLA wages and perks, after Danielle released her new task force.

What I do like about these task forces is that they are appointing industry people to review and put forward the ideas for good policy. We as members may or may not agree with them, but to see the WRA putting the effort in to design a set of policies by the industry experts is an approach that will propel the party in the coming years. I would like to see where they go with the micro-generation and green technologies that are rapidly gaining traction in many other places.

It will be most interesting when they release the health task force and the education task force to see who will be heading them up. The party has many members from the education and health fields that would be excellent for developing policy, so I will chomp at the bit until these are set up.

The party is not fizzling and dying as many expected after the leadership campaign, in fact it is picking up steam. We have been setting up numerous constituency associations, I attended the one set up last night in my constituency signing up new members as well. If Danielle can keep her foot on the gas we will be ready for the election in 2012, our dedicated members are working double time to ensure this. I hope that the PC party remains arrogant and dismissive of the WRA, underestimating that Albertans want change. The only thing Ed and company seem to see as a problem is the media, blaming them at nearly every event.

Fiscal Follies

2009-11-19T09:35:00.003-07:00

Yesterday it was announced that the deficit will now be closer to the update in April. Ummm.. YAY?

When each fiscal update has been announced the GOA seems to fluctuate by a couple of billion dollars each time. Close enough for you? Not me, the problem is not the revenues with our budgets, as many like to believe, rather the uncontrolled spending. Don't get me wrong I am not one who would like to see the slash and cut method of getting things in order. The thing that bothers me is how did we hit this point. The government puts together a budget every year to decide our income also where and how much we will spend of the monies.(held in trust on behalf of the taxpayers.)

In the years past no one has questioned the government and their ability to forecast where Alberta is financially. For years they have enjoyed the benefit of being out on their numbers, sometimes to the tune of over $6 Billion. We never said a word and accepted it as a bonus. Realistically we should have been asking the hard question such as how can we be so far out. If it is based solely on our Oil and Gas industry, relying on the volatile prices then the province better diversify.

Back to the spending, it strikes me as odd that all of a sudden we can cut deals with drug manufacturers, consolidate and improve our health system for a far less cost, and lower our overall costs. Wow all of these things with no infringement on our services. If this is the case then why did they let the spending get this out of control? The only reason I can see is they didn't care because they were swimming in cash. If we had limited our spending to the inflation and population growth years ago then when these tough times came we would not be having the discussions on cuts and where they need to be made. The sustainability fund was designed for this, but we have a $4-$10 billion dollar deficit depending on what numbers they use that day. If this fund is to sustain the level of service why do we have to cut? Bill 50 is on the table for our power upgrade to the tune of $16 Billion, did this just happen overnight or maybe we could have budgeted for this over the last many years.

To sum it up our GOA for so many years has lacked the foresight to plan the infrastructure for our province. They have no clue on budgeting, no plan going forward, no new ideas when it comes to health care and education, and a need to be replaced. Spending the money we have put in trust with them foolishly, well I no longer trust them.

A Plea for Help.

2009-11-18T09:14:00.003-07:00

I received a direct letter asking for any help I could raise for this family. It is a sad story of a family who's tried reaching out to our GOA health system with no luck. This article was also posted in the local paper. Luckily a US doctor has volunteered to cover the surgery itself, however the other costs associated with it need to be funded. If you could spare some money to donate, or some time to spread the word it would help this family out. Here is the letter.

November 07 /2009

We are reaching out and telling our story in hopes of raising enough money to get brain surgery that our son so desperately needs. Our Goal is to help our son resume the life he once had. He has been very ill for nearly five years now and we don’t know how much longer he has without getting help. We have had no help from Alberta Healthcare. Though our family Doctor has been very helpful in our struggles all of the neurologists here dismissed his problems as being likely depression or made up. We cannot imagine any teenage child making up being sick for five years.

As a mother you know when something is wrong with your child and I refused to listen to these doctors, so we took up the search on our own to save our son. We have spent the past four years searching for answers to help our son. It has meant spending thousands of dollars of our own money for different medical expenses, tests, and scans in Canada and the United States. We live on a single income, as there has to be someone with our son at all times. As parents we would do anything for our son.

Our perseverance has finally paid off; we recently found out that a Pineal Cystic tumour in Dylan’s brain needs to be removed. We knew about the cystic tumour, but all of the neurologists here refused to acknowledge that it could cause any problems. One of the many difficulties this has caused for Dylan includes extreme sensitivity to any light, which causes him to become disorientated and unable to even speak at times, as well as go into full on grand mal seizures. This has meant that he must take high doses of anti-seizure medications 4 times per day and stay in the dark as much as possible. He spends most all day light hours in his darkened room to avoid as much light as possible. Though we keep all the blinds in the house closed and as many lights as possible off, Dylan is still unable to come out of his room for any length of time. This cyst also causes him to have debilitating headaches, extreme fatigue, vision problems, lack of short-term memory, insomnia, and many other problems. Dylan has also not been able to go to school for the last four years nor is he able to do home schooling. In our research we have discovered that left untreated this May be fatal.

Prior to Dylan getting sick he was a vibrant young boy who loved to ride his dirt bike, Paint Ball, Snowboard, Swim, was on the school rugby and track teams, Played in the school band, was learning to play electric guitar, and game to try anything. Dylan was always an excellent student had many academic awards; he loves math and science especially. He placed 1st all the way to the regional science fair two years in a row. His teachers always commented about “what a pleasure he was to have in their class.” And how quickly he seemed to make friends, and was somewhat of a leader that the other kids were drawn to. Dylan had chronic ear infections for most of his life and his teachers always commented that though he missed quite a bit of school as a result of this he never had any problems catching up when he returned. With all that he has been through these last few years, though he is becoming frustrated he still has a drive to succeed and has not given up on himself.

We have watched our son go from having an extremely active and rewarding life to now spending his days suffering in the dark. It is as though he is being held in solitary confinement enduring punishment for a crime he did not commit. Dylan still has a zest for life and would like nothing more than to be able to return to school and learn and get on with life. This has been very stressful for our whole family to go through. We are sure that some of you can imagine the pain we go through as parents when we are unable to help our children.
We have exhausted all avenues available here to help his life return too normal. It is our wish that you will help us to give him a chance at a normal life that he so greatly deserves, by helping us raise the money to take him to the Skull Base institute in Los Angeles California. USA. So that he can have this cyst removed.

To watch your child in so much suffering and pain and to see each day of his life slip away before you, never to get them back, this has been one of the most agonizing and emotional experiences a parent can go through. We have all missed out on doing many of the normal family activities that most people take for granted. Dylan so looks forward to a normal life without all of the limitations and sickness that this cyst has put on him.

The surgeon has already graciously donated his surgery fees, we still need $150'000 to cover hospital fees, medical staff, anaesthesia and some travel expenses etc. While this amount seems over whelming to one family or individual it would only take 1500 people to donate $100 each and we would have the money necessary to save our sons life. Our attempts to have our story told in mass media have fallen on deaf ears due to the fact that our family doctor though he agrees that this is an urgent situation has been told that he is not allowed to speak out on our behalf.

These two links are to two different people in the United States that have gone through this surgery and have since recovered fully to a normal life.
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2007/aug/23/a-tough-choice-suquamish-woman-chooses-surgical/
http://www.skullbaseinstitute.com/video-nbc-pineal-tumor.htm

Donations can be made at ANY Alberta Treasury Branch location, just ask to donate to the trust fund set up for Dylan Nielsen.

In Calgary people can also donate to a trust account set up at
Servus Credit Union Bowness Branch
6404 Bowness Road NW
Calgary AB T3B 0E7

Or our Mailing Address is
Box 10295
Airdrie Alberta
T4A 0H6
And cheques can be made out to Tyler or Penny Nielsen

Thank you for your generous gift, we are extremely grateful and never will your kindness be forgotten.

Sincerely yours
Tyler, Penny & Dylan Nielsen

Get Real!

2009-11-17T09:02:00.006-07:00

I have really gotten into the social media this year and there has been no lack of opinions out there. The discussions regarding politics and our energy sector has uninformed information being tossed all over the Internet, I for one think a blog should contain some facts.

Lot's of comparisons are being tossed around regarding the royalty take on producing oil wells. Well dynamics play a huge part in deciding factors on where to spend investment money. We all hear of how Alberta is one of the safest places to invest, I however would not be scared to invest in Norway and Alaska. They are pretty safe.

Take a simple look at the amount of oil on average produced per well in conventional oil. Alberta is at the bottom of the pack with an average well producing 16 barrels per day. The same well in Norway produces 2,723 barrels per day. Take a 50% royalty rate on $80bbl. This would leave an Alberta producer with 8bbl per day for the well for a revenue of $640 per day before costs. In Norway it would leave the producer with 1,361bbl per day for the well with a revenue of $108,880.00 per day. Needless to say I would gladly pay the royalty and more in Norway compared to my well being located in Alberta, especially as an investor only. This is not rocket science this is reality.

The idea behind the NRF (New Royalty Framework) was to slow down the economy in the superheated Oil and Gas sector, produce an example from anywhere in the world where government raised taxes to slow down the economy for our own good. We voted the government in on this ridiculous policy. The greed and sense of entitlement that has been projected by some people are the same people who do not understand the industry. I am fairly confident that these people could not calculate a royalty and if you can by all means show me where I am wrong. BTW you won't BS me on the calcs as I do know this one :)

The other big misconception is that the only effect that the NRF would have was on the Oil and Gas producing companies. No one took the time to look at the other Alberta based businesses that relied on this sector for their financial well being. The service and supply companies in our energy sector spent in excess of $6 billion dollars ramping up to drill and complete 20,000 wells per year. Most of this side consisted of small businesses employing tens of thousands of Albertans, providing them with above average wages and the government with a substantial amount of tax dollars on both the personal and business side.

The construction market has also been severely impacted as the amount of money being spent by this industry has declined dramatically. Accommodation and food services in our rural towns have suffered the most, relying on the business coming to them. They can not simply pack up their business and relocate it and follow the work. Our service and supply sector however can and have already shipped some of our most efficient equipment and crews out of the province. This has pushed Alberta back about 7-10 years from what used to be a world leader in the energy technology.

Couple this all with the recession and the collapse of pricing in the natural gas sector and things are not looking great in our industry. The Enhanced Oil Recovery projects or oilsands as many call them is an entirely different industry and clarification on the two is needed. I have seen the blogs tossing around the incentives that were introduced and basing them on the oilsands. Please show me the wells Syncrude drills in Ft. McMurry to receive the royalty credits. Syncrude alone has over 5000 employees. The development group estimates for every direct job at Syncrude another 6 Albertans are employed. Add all the other oilsand jobs in and this would equate to 166000 jobs in Alberta's labor force in this sector alone. If you want to average a family of three is provided for by each job they would look after 498,000 Albertans. Go ahead and keep your criticizing though, by all means.

Since 1977 this sector has worked from providing 31% of our provincial GDP to 42% of our GDP. So why is there all the misinformation swirling around? Simple it is industry and their failure to communicate. When media calls on industry to comment they mumble away about donating this or doing that, say they are too busy and gotta go. The critics on the other hand have made the time to communicate ridiculous claims, saying what they like without any challenge, indulging in the spotlight.

The Wildrose Alliance has assembled a policy task force consisting of David Yager and David Gray. Both of these men have a great understanding of the industry and how to ensure Alberta will get the most out of our energy sector. I attended an AGM at which David Yager put forward a motion to compensate landowners with a royalty as well to include them as a partner in our resource development. This was retracted by him as he did not have time to present completed policies regarding this issue. I for one know he is not out for Big Oil's best interest, but Alberta's as a whole. It is critical to have someone who understands industry to develop policy, and I give Danielle and the Wildrose Alliance an "A" for understanding how critical this industry is to Alberta. However the party politics is for another day.

Those that think it was a wise move and feel you are not getting your "Fair Share" please show me where your entitlement is. I as an Albertan own part of the QE2 and I would like to collect my fair share on it, so the user should pay me for it. Ridiculous. Maybe show me what donations you make to your community and I could dig up the millions Encana spends in communities across the province. The amount of time and money Devon spends on social issues including the tons of food they gather each year for the food banks. How many of the critics do the same, not so many or there would be no issue. Many expect the government to fund it all and yet leave their taxes alone. Smart indeed. How much is enough for you critics, at what point does keeping Alberta employed matter, please though keep speaking on something you do not understand.
If you do understand this sector give a detailed topic and we can debate it on fact, not simply saying there are worse places to invest and we deserve more.

The Ant and the Grasshopper

2009-11-16T17:16:00.003-07:00

CLASSIC VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks he's a fool, and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The shivering grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

THE CANADIAN VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks he's a fool, and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.

So far, so good, eh?

The shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others less fortunate, like him, are cold and starving.

The CBC shows up to provide live coverage of the shivering grasshopper, with cuts to a video of the ant in his comfortable warm home with a table laden with food. Canadians are stunned that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so while others have plenty.

The NDP, the CAW and the Coalition Against Poverty demonstrate in front of the ant's house. The CBC, interrupting an Inuit cultural festival special from Nunavut with breaking news, broadcasts them singing "We Shall Overcome."

Jack Layton grants in an interview with Mike Duffy that the ant has gotten rich off the backs of grasshoppers, and calls for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his "fair share".

In response to polls, the Liberal's draft the Economic Equity and Grasshopper Anti-Discrimination Act, retroactive to the beginning of the summer.

The ant's taxes are reassessed, and he is also fined for failing to hire grasshoppers as helpers. Without enough money to pay both the fine and his newly imposed retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government.

The ant moves to the US and starts a successful agribiz company. The CBC later shows the now fat grasshopper finishing up the last of the ant's food, though spring is still months away, while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he hasn't bothered to maintain it. Inadequate government funding is blamed, Bob Rae is appointed to head a commission of enquiry that will cost $10,000,000.

The grasshopper is soon dead of a drug overdose, the TorontoStar blames it on the obvious failure of government to address the root causes of despair arising from social inequity.

The abandoned house is taken over by a gang of immigrant spiders, praised by the government for enriching Canada's multicultural diversity, who promptly set up a marijuana grow op and terrorize the community.

THE END

PC AGM Wrap Up

2009-11-12T11:16:00.003-07:00

After the economy resolutions I decided to head outside where I ran into Hector Goudreau. I have had discussions with Hector about reforming our EI for Alberta. In May this year I provided about a 20 page report showing how much extra we as a province contribute to the system, and at the time had the least amount of returns. In June I received a response that the Premier was working on it, which I was sure to point out the ball had been dropped.

We dived into a discussion about the employment numbers released a day prior showing the unemployed rate of 7.4% in Alberta. I don't believe these are accurate number because of the amount of self employed and contractors in our province. Hector is a very personable guy, although I am not too sure he takes the position of employment minister serious enough. Returning back inside I bumped into Rob Anderson who didn't look overly impressed and made the comment we would talk later.

The day was almost done and time to sit for the meal. Going through the sponsor lists I had to question in the back of my mind if there are really favours done by our government in return. There were a few groups that came to mind right away.

With the backtracking on the liquor tax but not the tobacco tax these were questionable in the back of my mind: Labatts, Molson Coors, Big Rock Brewery, and the Liquor Depot.
With Bill 50 I wondered on TransAlta and the Capital Power Corp.
Farmer subsidies? Alberta Egg Producers, Alberta Chicken Producers, Alberta Turkey Producers, Alberta Hatching Egg Producers and Alberta Milk.
The Oil and Gas sector was down to Imperial Oil, Enbridge, and DOW.
The others listed were WestJet, Capri Centre, Manning Diversified Forest Products, Telus and Willson Audio Visual.

As the tables started to fill up much talk of the numbers for leadership was flowing. When the number of 77.4% support was released Ed received a very loud standing ovation from the crowd. I am sure there was much relief with the number coming in where it did. It was above the 70% benchmark set by Ralph, but not so high to say the party had no recognition of the problems. A 72- 75% may have served the Party better, however this was a significant number they received. Another question that came to mind was the other 300+ that did not vote. I personally did not see anyone from the GOC there, and wondered of the ones that stayed away which way they would vote. Once the numbers wee released Ed gave a reasonable speech taking of how they are on the right path, contradicting with the important changes he would make on his schedule. The appointments were announced and I enjoyed a great Prime rib dinner.

All in all the PC AGM was a well put together event. The people were great and MLA's made themselves available. Some of the meeting rooms were small and the Resources only being available in a small room one time was a disappointment, but there was plenty of room on the others. Ed, I would say, gave some of his best speeches ever and even managed to stay on topic. The party faithful have spoken and Ed is the man to lead the party, dissent in the party ranks was over rated. I wish Ed and his party all the best in the future, but with the stay the course decision I have to work on the other options. Thats a WRAP!

@dennyholmwood Heres your five minutes.

2009-11-12T08:57:00.003-07:00

Mr. Holmwood,

On your blog located here you felt entitled to state your thoughts regarding my twitter post. Lets get some clarification for you. When I lived in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan I lived with a large group of reserves, which since have been posted all over the place. Some of these heroes have sustained life long injuries a person like you could not even begin to imagine. They have lost friends, had to comfort families, and lost lives themselves. Why you ask, to protect the very freedoms you used to express yourself yesterday.

Remembrance Day is a very emotional time for many families and friends of our military, which it is obvious you do not have face. The user @albertaliberals posted: " Dave Taylor on Bill 50. Watch the video http://bit.ly/2eh2u9 " at precisely 11:00am. Yes before and after they did post messages on Remembrance so the user was well aware of the day, however he must not have a clock on his computer or took the time to reflect himself (or her not too sure). To me this added to the disrespect, however an apology was dm'd to me immediately, not that I was the one entitled to it. You seemed to think there is a political twist, well my friend you are sadly mistaken. When our soldiers defend us, they do not choose only those of certain political stripes. There are all political and nationality stripes in our military, and the Alberta Liberals as a political party needs to also respect these members. Over reaction you say, I say not at all.

You say " Sure, someone is probably going to tell me that I'm being disrespectful by saying that I don't think this is that big a deal, but they're likely the same people who say that since I don't "support the troops" because I'd rather not see them dying in Afghanistan. "

I say you are entitled to your opinion, but ironically our soldiers have provided this freedom you enjoy with no recognition from you. Here are some of my views:

I do not have to support a war, I will however support our troops.
I would rather stand behind our troops than in front of them.
I will pay my respects to the fallen and existing troops and teach my children to do the same.
I believe it is a "big deal", as you put it, for these people to put their lives on the line for me
Remembrance day is also to honor our veterans, many which lost their lives fighting for our freedoms, your reference to Afghanistan shows how little knowledge you have on what this day means
I believe you are entitled to your opinion as is everyone else.

In short Mr. Holmwood I will hold any political party showing disrespect accountable whether you agree or not. It is sad that a young man as yourself has not been taught to appreciate what is provided by others to you. I have to assume it is not your fault and this is the way you were brought up. Thanks for your opinions, too bad you speak of what you do not know. But still here are your five minutes.

This is a Day of Remembrance

2009-11-11T10:23:00.004-07:00

Today is not a day of politics, just a day off work, or a time to worry about our own bitches and gripes. Today is a time to pay tribute to our fallen soldiers as well as our current soldiers who protect the very freedoms we enjoy daily. Whether you agree with the battles we chose or not, here are the many brave men and women who put their lives on the line that we must acknowledge. They leave behind their families and friends to ensure our nation is safe and secure, giving us the lives so many of us take for granted. For these people I ask you to set aside some time at the 11th hour and pay your respect, certainly you have the time.

I will not post any further blog today and this will be the one day I will moderate comments. Any kind words for our soldiers will be posted, any thing else deleted.

Remembrance Day Poem

The sound of guns,
The path of tears
I can’t even imagine
All of their fears

They had no choice,
They had to fight,
But only because
They knew what was right

With bodies’ around them
Of people they knew,
And the thought in their head
‘It could be you’

They needed to win,
And end this war
And the thought of giving in
Seemed closer than before

But still they went on
Fighting strong and proud
Knowing one day
It’d be celebrated out aloud

They gave up their lives,
And suffered long
Just to know that one day
Canada would be this strong

By: Kaitlin Jefferson

My Weekend At The PC AGM (part 2)

2009-11-10T09:38:00.004-07:00

I will get back to my views on the AGM shortly first I would like to address the latest from the PC juggernaut.

Jonathon Denis, Kyle Fawcett, Doug Griffiths, and Rob Anderson have came out and openly expressed their concern with the short and long term implications of the GOA fiscal planning. One of these gentlemen is my MLA who I have beat up for over two years to come out and state the concerns we have. They deserve a huge round of applause for not drinking the kool-aid any more. They are not leaving the party or crossing the floor, they are simply addressing the concerns that matter to their constituents, something they needed to start long ago. A positive step for the PC party even if it is only a select few.

For every good though the leadership needs to throw in the bad. It seems that even with a communications staff that exceeds the amount of MLA's in Alberta that the mainstream media is the fall of the PC government. I touched on this in yesterdays post about the whining about media, but did not realize they had the power to topple the Government. This is simple because they can't. The leader of this party makes it more and more obvious how out of touch with reality he really is. As taxpayers we funded a prime time spot at a cost of over $140,000.00 for Ed to get his uninterrupted message out. He may as well of set up a kool-aid stand for the amount of people that drank it. Either Ed is out of touch or he needs to surround himself with a better advisory panel, fire and restructure the communications dept., and concentrate on the issues that are important to the voters(that's me and you). I doubt he earned any points with the mainstream media and now to expect no bias from them would be foolhardy. Anyway back to the AGM.

This was the first time I had met with Ron Liepert face to face and I had formed my opinion of him quite some time ago. I had thought him to be a cocky and arrogant man watching him in the Legislature and when talking to the media so having him at the table was of no excitement to me. While we listened to the lunchtime Q and A with the premier I made a wisecrack asking him if he was missing the spotlight. A quick roll of the eyes was the only response I received. When another at the table brought up some of the H1N1 concerns he was quick to mention the media twist had much of the credit. I am not too sure if he was wanting to listen to Ed or if he simply did not want a discussion but his communication was short and chippy. I had to ask about the requests in the legislature asking for him to step down, and with a arrogant tone said I have no reason to worry about job security, no one else wants it. At this time he excused himself from the table to head over to the Black Knight Inn to chair the meeting on Health in Alberta. My opinion of Ron Liepert has not changed, I find him arrogant and cocky still. This being said I would also think you need a certain amount of thick skin and self esteem to run this portfolio, however giving attitude when questioned is not the way to go. Lunch had finished so we thought we would head over to the Blackknight Inn and listen to the spiel on health care.

When we arrived the room was already fairly full and Ron and a panel consisting of Dr. Raj Sherman, Fred Horne, and the other I think was Tony Vandermeer, though I never caught the name. Ron chaired the meeting and we hit the open mike portion. There were many good questions tossed and a couple of people representing the pharmacists questioned the minister on compensation for the new roles they would play in the health system. No solid answers were given outside of the GOA would work with them and they did not foresee any problems arising. A young student in nursing stepped up to the mike and mention wellness starts with prevention in the first place. He asked minister Liepert what the GOA is doing to promote the healthy lifestyle needed to prevent needing the system in the first place. IMAO this was an excellent question. I don't think Liepert understood the question at all and danced around rambling about another issue all together. The young gentlemen listened and when Ron was finished asked him if he could answer his question and repeated it. I think Ron was embarrassed and made light of it before Fred Horne came up to the mike and addressed the question reasonably well. Listening to the presentation I almost began to think that they may have the system figured out. Fred Horne was by far the best speaker present and seemed to have done his homework on the issues, I was quite impressed. Then Ron Liepert took the mike and brought me back to reality with the comment that our health care system was not broken. He claimed the problem was wait times and Dr. Duckett had a plan being implemented to fix it. HUH! Our system is fine it's just delivery? So much for my sense of security. Too many times I have heard the party would fix this system, so to hear it again would be something I ignored completely. It was getting close to time to vote on the resolutions for the economy so I made my way back to the Capri. While leaving the health forum I couldn't help but notice how many were waiting to get in. Again much too small a room for the amount of people.

Once I was back to the Capri I bumped into Rob Anderson who wanted to ensure I would be voting on the economy resolutions, trying to garner support for the conservative voice. Once inside Ted Morton sat at the table, I like Ted and have tremendous respect for his views on fiscal responsibility. To my surprise he looked around the room before the first vote and leaned into his wife and said I don't feel like being here let's go. Odd. I absolutely agreed with the first motion set forth by Airdrie-Chestermere constituency of limiting Government spending to growth plus inflation. This was the first one up on the list and I thought it would be a shoe in since Ed had said they were looking to do the same thing during his speech the night before. The call for the vote came and to my surprise it was voted down. Wow, was I shocked. Next was spending more on government communications, something we spend a massive amount on already. I voted against, but of course this passed easily. A couple of buffer resolutions went by as well as a withdraw from Edmonton Castles Downs. When we hit the resolution for Grande Prairie Wapiti in which the call was made to drain the sustainability fund and borrow money because of the low cost of borrowing I had to speak my 2 cents worth. Not only will we be using a large portion of the sustainability fund for this years deficit already, draining the remainder and borrowing to boot would be foolhardy. We have not contributed to the heritage fund for some time which was designed to leave revenue for future generations once the energy revenues were diminished. To my disgust the resolution passed easily, so at this time I made a few choice words at my table and left the meeting. It was obvious the fiscally conservative were not here. By this point I was fuming and considered leaving to go home, however I stayed.

My Weekend At The PC AGM (part 1)

2009-11-09T12:09:00.004-07:00

Friday I couldn't attend the festivities, but from what I was told the nightlife was the highlight of the day. I will have to break this into a couple of separate posts as I don't have time today to do it all at once.

Saturday morning I ensured I was there bright and early, arriving at 7:00 am to register and mingle. I had decided to keep a completely open mind at the AGM and try to bring a positive change to the party with the votes I placed at the resolutions. The first thing I noticed was all of the support Ed posters from the Cardston-Taber-Warner constituency, I guess with such a tight race between Paul and Broyce in 2008, the premier probably had influence on the outcome. The first one to come and greet me was Jim Campbell and I was ushered to the registration table. Once registered I was quickly moved across the room to pick up a ballot for the leadership. I put it in my notebook and a gentlemen behind the table said there was not point waiting to cast the ballot. I told him in good time I would, he was not amused and said "You are already here you may as well get it done". I continued walking away to find a seat to view what the package included, but so far I was not off to a very comfortable start.

While reading the package I was completely amazed at the I support Ed buttons people at the convention were wearing.(sorry no luck, I declined) Immediately beside the entrance when you walk in was the table set up to purchase the items bearing the PC brand. Coffee had yet to be set out so I decided it would be a good time to wander down the hall and buy one from the restaurant. By this time a few people were showing up and ballots were quickly being cast on whether or not to hold a leadership vote. I talked with Dave Hancock, who was with his daughters, briefly and decided to make my way over to the morning plenary. There were probably around 300 members here at this time and I grabbed a table. The majority of the discussion for this revolved around communication methods and ideas for the party to communicate. No suggestions for blogs that I recall. The younger crowd wanted e-mail and face book as the means of communication because they wouldn't answer their cells with an unknown number, the older folks argued traditional mail was the way to go because they were not computer savvy, and some just wanted to leave it as telephone. This conversation circled around for the better part of the meeting before a meaningful comment regarding communication came up. The member mentioned that when sending letters in asking for clarification on issues, the party replied with the most generic mail you could imagine. He was then told that they are working to get the infrastructure in place to address all concerns not being answered. Yeahhh... Then the wonderful topic on how Ed would be trying to use social media to communicate was brought up, a member quickly pointed out that if it is not genuine from the premier not to waste the time as people could see through it. Myself- Ed actually on twitter, facebook, and e-mailing members is well-probably not in the best interests of the party.

You think your bored with this post so far, you needed to be with me at the AGM at this point. While looking around I noticed Cormac MacSweeny from 660 news had shown up, as I know him well I thought I would greet him and chat for a few. After yakking a while he asked if he could interview me, I told him that out of respect for my MLA I was keeping a low profile. By now it was close to 9:20 so I wandered out to the lobby for coffee. All around the coffee pots were the sponsorship signs for coffee from DOW chemicals and Enbridge. Guess there is still a bit of oil patch funding for this. By now there were many members showing up and the foyer was full. My next meeting I planned to attend was on resource and environment resolutions at 10 so I figured I would mingle some more. Lindsay Blackett was wandering around and Guy B. had shown up but quickly went into one of the restaurants. I was approached by a very chatty person by this time and notice it was almost 10. I quickly made my way over to the Palermo Room to vote on the resolutions. Wouldn't you know it-no room. All of the other resolutions had sessions in the afternoon and morning-Resources had only the one, and in the smallest meeting room to boot. How convenient, my open mind was leaving quickly. I decided to cast my ballot on the leadership at this point. I went to the table by the ballot box the place my X. Much to my surprise the wording on the balot was along the line whether or not to vote on a leadership convention There was no privacy at all, and the ballots had numbers and were initialled which I overheard some complaining about, me I could have cared less who knew how I voted.

I thought I would wander over to the seniors care room and was approached by Wayne Cao the MLA for Calgary-Fort, great. Don't get me wrong Wayne is the most genuine, happy, and pleasant MLA I have ever met, but can he ever talk. After about 20 minutes I was rescued by another fellow I know and we proceeded outside to pay some sin tax. By now the morning sessions were about wrapped up so we went back to the foyer where we bumped into Mel Knight. My friend knew Mel and also knew of the past between Mel and myself regarding the royalty issues, so being a smart ass he said hi and proceeded to ask Mel if he had met me yet. Mel insincerely said it was nice to see me again, we quickly went to the topic of Bill 50 and power generation. Mel was not comfortable with the conversation at all and I could tell I was trying his patience with my questions. Once I asked about whether or not building natural gas power generation stations closer to the larger centres rather than spending it all on transmission lines could be a reasonable solution he curtly responded for me to build them then. Once I had calmed him down a bit he informed me natural gas electricity was too expensive and that's why the coal were still being used. I must not have been enjoying the conversation either because I made the mistake of pointing out the royalties paid on coal, the emissions from coal, and the abundance of gas which made him scoff and off he stomped. Another usual discussion with Mel for me.

Lunch time was approaching so I went to the trade centre and grabbed a table with my friend. We were joined by a lady that lobbied the GOA for education and her husband who was a strategist. While we were engaged in a conversation regarding health care over dinner wouldn't you know it another group joined my table. I was not overly happy about this since it was... Ron Liepert.

H1N1 My Thoughts

2009-10-29T18:07:00.004-06:00

With all of the hype in the media, social networks, and the legislature as well I have about had enough on the topic of H1N1.

The bottom line of it is the GOA could have done much better on the administering of the H1N1 vaccinations. It also could have been much worse. Not knowing how the turnout will be for a mass inoculation the GOA erred on the side of caution and set up too few clinics. I live in a town of over 12000 and have to drive to the city for the shot, to me it is ridiculous but then again it puts me out so of course I would say that. Is the wait in the lines too long? I couldn't say as I remember waiting much longer to make sure my daughter could receive a Wii for Christmas not too long ago, certainly this shot is more important. Is the flu as bad as they say or predict it will be? Who knows, I know the shot is no charge and is safe so I am sure we will get it done.

The things I think could have been improved on is that the GOA say the youth are most at risk, so why not supply the shot in the schools. If there is K-5 in a school it would cover from roughly 5 yrs to 10yrs age groups. If they implemented this there would be a lot less children standing in the cold and probably many that are not high risk waiting to receive the shot. If I have to wait to have the kids done I am sure going to get mine while I am there. Many pharmacists give the normal flu shot, so make this available to them as well. Pregnant women should be able to go to their family doctors and gynecologists to receive the shot, they already are there to receive the treatment. Just some of the random thoughts that have gone through my head on the issue. There are so many other avenues available to us.

As for the skeptics, why criticize them? If they do not want the shot, oh well, it harms only them and their families if the pandemic is as bad as they claim. I would say that the fear mongering by the media and opposition parties is getting to the point of ridiculous, I would be interested if the media did a comparison on the number of deaths this year on H1N1 vs the seasonal flu. I think the numbers would be similar. I personally am skeptical of how much of a pandemic this is, however I will treat it as the worst case scenario. If something were to happen to my children because of my personal skepticism, it would be a burden I wouldn't want to carry.

In the end our GOA took a short cut and it bit them in the ass. The rate they are giving the shot it would take 100 days to administer, providing they did not run out of medication. This would take us out of the flu season. Nurses have been run off their feet to accomodate this. They claim they did not think this many people would be wanting it so soon. This many? As of yesterday I believe that 3% of the city had received the shot. What number did you expect? You have been telling us the importance of the shot for well over a month. I agree this was all poorly planned out, no consideration given to seniors, children, and pregnant women as far as the line ups were concerned. They have been out in the elements, no facilities or places to sit, but hey we will provide a shot for every Albertan. According to Liepert this is what counts.

Watching Ron Liepert dance around the questions at the Leg has been enjoyable though, as some very well thought out questions have been tossed his way. His arrogance is evident with the responses he has (or doesn't more so). The GOA needs to be held accountable for the lack of preparation and consideration on this, and you Mr. Liepert are the man. Your arrogance confirms how out of sync you are with Albertans and the questions they have. The opposition may ask them but we all want to know the answers. Keep doing your dance Minister, your time is limited.

UPDATE:
Ron Liepert was on Rutherford today stating the most at risk are under 5 years of age and pregnant women. If these are the at risk groups they should be the first to get the vaccine but only after our front line health workers and essential service employees receive it. Mr. Liepert says that the GOA will not decide who can and can not receive the vaccine first, it is assinine comments like this that prove that he has no clue. Liepert admits there is limited doses available which makes his inaction on ensuring the most at risk are first to the point of liable IMAO. Our government's job is to ensure the safety of Albertans, and if those who are not high risk get pissed because they are not first in line, oh well. The GOA has to stop their practice of trying to please everyone, and do the job of making the hard choices that need to be made. The WHO released brifing note 14 on the pandemic today with this stat I found interesting:
" Globally, teenagers and young adults continue to account for the majority of cases, with rates of hospitalization highest in very young children. Between 1% to 10% of patients with clinical illness require hospitalization.
Of hospitalized patients, from 10% to 25% require admission to an intensive care unit, and from 2% to 9% have a fatal outcome.
Overall, from 7% to 10% of all hospitalized patients are pregnant women in their second or third trimester of pregnancy. Pregnant women are ten times more likely to need care in an intensive care unit when compared with the general population."

The full report can be found here.

I'm A PC and I'm a WAP

2009-10-27T12:10:00.005-06:00

(thanks to Altapo for the idea)
In my usual cruise around the blogworld and twitter I couldn't help but notice the discontent of even the most supportive of PC bloggers.

When the by-election in Calgary took place a couple of these bloggers threw their unquestionable support behind Diane Colley-Urquhart, going as far as working on her campaign. I say good for them as they at least are involved in the process of trying to achieve good government. We may differ in the views of which party is capable of taking us there, but we do agree change is a must. Calgary Rants has a very good analysis of the PC party leadership review as well as a list of potentials that may jump in the race should a new leader be warranted. Is a new leader required? Well that for sure is a matter of opinion, I however think the party has more problems than this alone. Make no mistake I held a membership and supported this party for my whole life, so it's failure is not something I initially set out to attack. When I look at the past few years I supported the party the consistent failures are what had me wanting a new and refreshed political choice. The failure of this powerhouse is that in the 35 years of being in power, they seemed to have forgot how they ended up here. When the party was formed it was grassroots members that ensured its success.

The PC party has managed to offend a large group of Albertans in the last year and a half, as well as drive the investment community away. Whether it be the seniors and health care, landowners and property rights, power and bill 50, teachers contracts, nurses and their cutbacks, students, the CCS program, and so on... people are genuinely pissed off this time and I do not believe it will simply blow over this time. We have told them time and time again what the issues are and yet they can't seem to hear, which is why I have continued my support in the Wildrose Alliance. Enlightened Savage is a huge supporter of the PC brand, but lately I can sense the frustration he has with the party. I personally love his blog as he is partisan, but has very good ideas on how to improve things. If the PC's went back to their roots and listened to these types of members or Albertans would be more fair to call them, they would not be criticized so harshly. Albertans elected them to represent them, not dictate partisanship in hopes of the next election. I would give my vote to Joey, but only in a party that allows free speech or as an independent.

Partisan politics are quickly becoming a hot topic in Alberta today. Ken Chapman, Dave Cournoyer, and DJ Kelly are just a few that have been floating the Reboot Alberta theory putting aside any partisan views in AB politics. To quote also from Daveberta "Evolving across the province - ChangeCamp Edmonton, CivicCamp Calgary, and even out at lunch - I have witnessed engaged citizens congregating to flesh out the next big out-of-the-box ideas to drive Alberta into the future." I personally have to give kudos for the work they are doing to try and inspire Albertans to be engaged in how our province is run.

The Wildrose Alliance gets this. I laugh at the people that claim the members are extreme, I don't know where this stereotype started but from being involved in the party I can't find them. True the majority of us are fiscal conservatives, remember though many of us are or were PC members. I hold a PC membership, have delegate status, and will vote on the leadership in Red Deer at the PC AGM. I also hold a Wildrose Alliance membership and attended the leadership convention and voted on the leader there as well. I am far from caring what party is in power rather which will provide good government, something the PC's have failed in. In my opinion the party that represents Albertans views decided at a grassroots level is probably the smartest choice thus far. Having free votes in the legislature based on the constituents is crucial to keep people engaged in the political circle, the dictatorship role the PC party has taken on has voters staying at home.

Many have claimed I am partisan, well so what. I have spent many hours with my PC MLA discussing topics, but I support a party that is inclusive in policy and speaks for the constituents in the legislature, not only in caucus. At this time it is the Wildrose Alliance, with a new exciting leader that gives me hope for a better Alberta. That however has not stopped me from trying to bring about change with a tired PC party that has run out of ideas and for some reason distances themselves from the very people that elect them. I have concluded changing them out is likely easier than changing them. It is time to bring the PC party back to reality and elect another party bring in new ideas and let its stakeholders (Albertans) decide what is best for them.

The Wildrose Alliance Party has brought excitement and change already in Alberta politics. IMAO they have already won, no matter on how many seats they do or do not hold in the Legislative Assembly.

The Half Time Show

2009-10-23T10:13:00.005-06:00

The Wildrose Alliance has had its fun in the media for now and I would think the new news will surround the Alberta PC Party and the leadership review next month.

The Premier (Ed Stelmach) led the party to a undisputed majority in the last provincial election. In 2007 he vowed to bring Albertans their fair share of royalty revenues, an idea supported by the majority of Albertans at the time. Opposition outside of WAP claimed he did not go far enough and shortchanged the province of their money, a statement I have never heard any opposing parties publicly change their views on. Outside of this topic nothing new was brought into the following election.

When the election was called in 2008 the Wildrose Alliance was a newly formed party consisting of the Alberta Alliance and the Wildrose party merged into one. If you have followed my blog at all, I am a huge supporter of the Wildrose, but realistically there were very few candidates in the last election I would have given my vote to. Surprisingly even with the candidates that run for the WAP we had garnered a significant amount of votes. Ed is easily discounted by people, but I found him very intelligent when he dropped the "Vote Split" bomb. Genius! This took all wind out of the sails of the fledgling party.

It has only been a short time frame since the 2008 election and Ed has managed to fumble big time, however if we put the time frame into a football game scenario we are only in the second quarter. There is still a half time show and a full second half to go. The PC party has not remained champions for this long by luck alone, so when they hit the locker room you can expect some screaming and a new game plan. I am not sure any of the other players listed (refer to Calgary Rants) would appeal to the team and fans in the PC party so benching your star quarterback this early in the game may not be the answer. This being said if you can't get your players to play for the QB, a change is needed but at what point of the game do you make the change? Who knows maybe they will throw in the towel, but I expect they will come out and play hard.

So what will the PC's have to do to get back into the game? First they will have to come up with some new plays, the play of vote splitting has been over done and the opposing team will counter it easily. The quality of players in the WAP are much higher and the fan base is growing. I have noticed in the PC coaches are stealing from the WAP playbook, which may help out if they can get the team to buy in.

Having a new team show up and compete with you only makes for a good game, the underdog teams of the past have many not showing up to watch. In sports fans usually will pump up a team assisting in the win, so whatever team can attract the 60% of fans that have tickets but don't show up at the game will have the advantage. Hopefully more fans show up for the second half.

My team has been through tremendous changes in the last year and a half. We have a new star quarterback. With the renewed strength in the team it will be easy to convince even more capable players to join . The fan base has been growing and as more star players are joining the team. Ticket sales have increased this year over last year by 10X, but have yet to win the game. Coming out of the second half we have momentum on our side, but if we drop the ball it could cost us . To our advantage the other team underestimates us and is playing poorly so if we can capitalize on it...well you know.

Go Defence!

2009-10-21T09:45:00.004-06:00

With Danielle Smith taking leadership of the Wildrose Alliance it seems she has put political parties of all stripes on the defence.

What I find laughable is the Alberta Liberals stating the policies will be too extreme for most Albertans, the PC conservatives say there is no substance, and the NDP just want her donors list. Far from being a PC fan I will give them the credit of knowing the policies are vague. The Liberals and their claim of extreme tells me that they have not even viewed them, then again they have rarely looked at much in depth. The NDP party has stalled in the last couple of years and taken on a role that completely deters mainstream Alberta, maybe they need to look at the parties in M.B. and N.S. to see how their party can move.

Since Danielle won leadership the PC party has looked foolish with their defensive stance, actually giving more traction the the Wildrose Alliance. Ed Stelmach shows his desperation trying to bring up the vote split once again, didn't happen in Calgary-Glenmore now did it. He claims that he refuses to split the right, which he can't since his tired party stopped being conservative many years ago. Peter Lougheed stepped in to endorse Ed and try and stop the bleeding from the party, however I am not too sure how effective endorsements are. Preston Manning got involved too, saying the Wildrose Alliance has some ingredients that could provoke an upheaval in provincial politics. Hector Goudreau, our employment minister, also commented on the WAP policies being weak, sure they are, but a PC party of 35 yrs stalled with no new ideas does not show strength. Minister Goudreau, show me what you have done for unemployment, when I approached you with pages of information and ideas you simply stated the premier is working with the GOC on them. This was almost a year ago, still nothing is done. Then we have Ron Liepert spouting off his usual rhetoric, this is a man I have little respect for. Attacking the ex-Tory supporters, media for their coverage, and the WAP will certainly play into Danielle's favour. By criticizing those who may have supported the PC party for many years for supporting the WAP, he essentially ensures many will not return. Is the PC government scared of the WAP? Not according to them but many professors see different. "I think (Stelmach) is hearing the footsteps," said Taras, professor at the University of Calgary. "This is the politics of fear."

The Liberal Party of Alberta has also failed miserably to gain traction with the mainstream Albertans. As I mentioned before I do not believe they take the time to have an educated stance on many fronts. In 2007 the royalty issue they were very quick to jump on stating the GOA shortchanged Alberta. Earlier this year I was contacted to discuss royalties with Dr. Swann, when I asked what portion he liked or disliked his response was he had not had time to look at it. Needless to say the meeting ended rather quickly, if a political leader of a party knows nothing about the main economic engine of a province he has no business in attempting to run it. Even on health care it surprises me how little understanding he has considering his profession, when I talked to him on this there was little passion and a spend more money attitude that in the end offered no plan. I would ask that any person considering to vote for this party simply make an appointment with Dr. Swann, and ask the questions on what concerns you. You may be surprised at the answers, I am still in shock. This being said I will say Dr. Swann is a good listener and has an open door policy that most politicians lack, maybe he will learn fast enough to contend in the next election, but I doubt it.

As far as the NDP led by Brian Mason, I think I have the right leader but Rachel Notley seems to have the role unofficially, seem to be stalling out. I will give Notley credit for her hard work regarding the exposure of the Children's Services incompetence. I wonder if she knows to be a good leader you need more substance than simple attacks though. Her father, RIP, was a very well respected politician for many reasons. I would say the reason was for his willingness to work respectfully with government to make good changes, not criticizing everything, but putting forward intelligent ideas. If she could pull some pages from this book I believe she has what it takes to be just as well respected. This is not the path she is choosing however. Immediately after the leadership win attacking Danielle Smith for not disclosing her donor list, surely she can do better than this. I also believe in an open and accountable government, however I also think it is important to keep your word. If from the beginning donors were told their names would not be disclosed, she is correct to keep her word. Rachel will not have to disclose her donor list because the party will simply be handed over to her. Is there any other leader in Alberta politics that has handed the list over?

While it should be easy to attack an upstart party and their newly elected leader, it has been quite the opposite. People are tired of the same old thing in Alberta politics and are excited to have an opportunity to be involved at a grassroots level. The Wildrose Alliance has the opportunity to engage the 50% plus not voting in the last election as well as take substantial members form all other parties. By having their policies set forward by members will ensure that any Albertan can be comfortable in this party. Danielle would be wise to concentrate on membership, constituency associations, and engaging those affected by voter apathy and then work on the policies. As far as defending herself form the ilks of Ed, David and Mason/Notley- let their actions speak for themselves as right now, they are her best allies.

Wildrose Leadership Convention

2009-10-19T14:44:00.005-06:00

Congratulations Danielle! The Leadership race has finally come to an end, where will our renewal take us?

I was privileged enough be able to attend the Wildrose Alliance Leadership results in Edmonton on Saturday. When we discuss the grassroots of this party I would be hard pressed to find a better group of individuals.

First off I think it has been overlooked how well the administration of the Wildrose Alliance manage throughout the leadership race. I have heard the criticism of how much better things could have been done regarding the members and the ballots. For this there are many points that need to be considered. In June at the AGM there were only about 1000 members registered with the party, by the end of the leadership race we had a total of over 11,600. With being a member in the party since 2007, I know that there were only two people on staff in the office not too long ago being Jane and Heather. If they worked only on the new members they would process 126 members per day, five day week, however this was not all there was to work on. The Calgary-Glenmore by election got thrown into the mix. Naturally all efforts were shifted to winning this riding with Jane working in Pauls office well into the morning on many days. I am fairly comfortable in placing roughly a month of her time here. Then there were countless forums that needed to be organized and attended by the office. It is fairly easy to sit back and criticize the way things were done, however I see the countless hours put in here from our office staff. Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication, you are a vital part of this party.

I arrived at the convention at about 08:30 and was surprised at the number of members already in attendance. Upon walking into the room I was met by Craig Chandler who made the comment many of the Dyrholm supporters, 500 was the number he threw, had not received there ballots and what would happen if they lost by under that number. Well Craig I don't think this was an issue judging by Danielle's commanding numbers. I had the chance to meet and talk to the other bloggers in attendance being Ken Chapman, Travis Chase, and Brian Dell but unfortunately I did not see Jane Morgan and Chris LaBossiere. I mingled until just after 09:00 with the many new faces as well as the old. I have to admit I was a little bored as most of the speakers I have heard many times before. Nadeem Esmail with the Frasier Institute always peaks the crowds interest when he speaks of our health care system and how we could fix it. Ken Chapman and his presentation on social media was new and interesting although I am still surprised he chose to attend, so thank you Ken.
Lunch time hit and I have to say they put on a good spread. After walking around outside for a while I noticed a lone protester on the road by the hotel. I walked out to see what was being protested and to my surprise it was the party. His signs had Stop Hate and Homophobia is a Choice, and when I asked what he meant by them it became apparent he was not running on all cylinders and did little to satisfy my curiosity. Media was also not too hard to come by, rather hard to avoid. Don Braid had to be one of my favorites as he is one of the most opinionated columns I read, so the reporting could go either way depending on his mood. I met hundreds of new people and I without a doubt can say that mainstream is what the members are.

After lunch seemed to drag a bit partly because I had been up since 4 and also wanting to see the leader crowned. While wandering the outside I notice many very prominent political figures wandering also including Rob Anders. When the huge throw of media surrounded one I had never heard of I asked the gentleman from 630 CHED who he was, his response was "obviously your from the south", so unfortunately I can't give a name here. I was also surprised to see former legislature Sergeant-at-Arms Oscar Lacombe and Ernie Isley in attendance. Finally it was getting close to the end of the day and Jeff Calaway announced that the results would be at 4:00 pm. Mark Dyrholm was the first to arrive on stage along with his wife. Jeff cracked a joke or two while waiting for Paul Hinman and Danielle Smith to arrive.

Mark Dyrholm was the first to take the mike. I have tried to be fair with Mark on my blog even though I thought Danielle to be the right choice for leader, but I have to say wow. His concession speech was fabulous with his confidence and loyalty to the party not leaving any question. Referring to Danielle as his leader and his commitment to continue working hard for her was very genuine and believe he will be a key part in proposing policy. Throughout his speech he had the crowd at their feet applauding many times.

Danielle Smith was next to speak and it took some time for the applause to die down for her to speak. She spoke with a passion and confidence while she delivered her speech. The one part I did not care for was the repetition of the phrase a "Party of Winners", but then again I seem to catch things after the first time.The rest of the speech was very well done with my favorite quotes being:

"While we may be given a term as official opposition, we will not run as an opposition party in 2012. We must be ready to govern. Albertans do not vote for oppositions. They elect governments."
"Perhaps understandably, we've been doing a lot of cringing and ducking to avoid being labeled "extremist." We should now stop. It's undignified. Our grassroots party is about common sense ideas, timeless ideas that reflect the mainstream values of average Albertans."
"But we must be constructive, not destructive. We do not disrespect the Tories - most of us may have voted for the Tories in the past. We do not impugn the motives and character of Ed Stelmach. He is a decent man overwhelmed by the conflicting demands of a new economy and an exhausted party - a once-great party whose time is over. It's time to leave the past behind and move on."
"Ed Stelmach, you haven't even begun to imagine what's about to hit you. We are going to give Albertans back their province. We will give Albertans back their pride."

I personally am very happy with the choice of leader for this party as she will attract the members from across the political spectrum that are looking for good governance. When you have a grassroots party building policies from the common sense of it's members you are sure to appeal to most Albertans. What about the bad policies? I believe that from what I saw at the last AGM the ones that are not in line with mainstream Albertans will be quickly thrown out by it's members. The party has a unquestionable amount of work to do before it is ready to form a government of any type, however if the last six months are any indication of whether it can pull it off or not I would say it is possible.

Where the party goes now in my opinion is up to its members. We are off to a running start and if the foot gets taken off the gas for one minute the drop in momentum may cause a stall. The Tory leadership is coming up fast and the decision the members make will also play a huge part in the Wildrose. There is still a couple years before the next election and much can happen between now and then, but with Danielle's win, Alberta Politics is alot more interesting.

The Perfect Storm

2009-10-08T09:24:00.005-06:00

The latest polls have Alberta politics abuzz with the Wildrose Alliance in second place according to the poll conducted by the University of Lethbridge.

The numbers are very impressive for the Wildrose Alliance, multiplying their membership by over 6 times since June of this year. The question that remains is whether or not this is just the first of nine innings or a sign of things to come. Make no mistake that the PC party has not remained in power for the past 35 years by chance. Their damage control will first and foremost be in favour for the party, Ed Stelmach will take second place to them and risk management will decide the party fate at the leadership convention. If Ed is replaced as leader will this renew the PC party enough to swing the voters back in their favor, or are people just plain tired of the status quo? He will have to prove beyond a doubt he is a capable leader and I am not too sure that no matter what he does he will be able to accomplish it. Wonder what the television address will hit on.

I am sure the recession will be brought into play as it has had an impact on the financial status in the province. This was beyond the PC parties control however the ridiculous bonuses, wage increases, and free spending we have observed over the past years is their control. The deficits could have been avoided easily if the spending was kept in check with inflation and growth. Any party could manage the budgets with the endless supply of cash they were dealt. I find it ridiculous that they did not deal with the issues of health care and education when we had the funds and time to. Now we will deal with massive cuts with no plan to ensure our quality of service from the GOA is at a minimum maintained. The bills 44, 50, 19 and 36 will not exactly play in their favour either since they are controversial bills the public is split on. Improve the core services and balance the budget, you win the next election hands down.

Adding to the storm for the PC party is the much publicized Wildrose Alliance leadership race. Two candidates remain being Mark Dyrholm and Danielle Smith. What is interesting is I believe that the outcome of this race will decide the fate of both the PC party and the WAP. While both of the candidates are fiscally conservative, Mark Dyrholm is socially conservative and Danielle Smith being the social moderate. The opinions of what best represents Alberta vary by team. My opinion is that socially most Albertans are more center socially which makes Danielle more appealing to the majority, however I would not count out Mark Dyrholm. Craig Chandler and the PGIB, as well as the members of the WBTA, and the religious right have backed Mark and ran a very organized campaign. I personally do not like the open attacks they use to try and discredit Danielle, but lets face it they also want to win. Either way the outcome will determine where the WAP and PC party will stand in the minds of Albertans. It has been said if Danielle Smith wins there are MLA's ready to cross the floor and she will bring in members from across the political spectrum. It has also been said if Mark wins the party will go the way of the dinosaur. Are either true, couldn't tell you but after the 17th we will see from the level of party support whether our choice was right or wrong.

The next couple of months will keep Alberta politics interesting, and again when the next fiscal update is announced. I am sure the numbers will be shocking causing yet again another storm for the PC risk management team to assess.

Did I miss anything?
PC 38.4% WAP 21.5% Lib 20.8% NDP 10.7% other 8.5%

In Review

2009-10-02T10:31:00.011-06:00

There has definitely been no lack of topics to blog on this month. Just some opinion, highlights, and links to view.

To start of with is the 2010 Olympic Logo designed by the HBC bears too striking of a resemblance to the CPC Logo opposition politicians charge. Why is it that the Liberal Party of Canada has to drag our countries athlete's for the 2010 Olympics into this. I am pretty sure our athletes are not there to represent partisan politics. Could this be that the LPC have run out of legitimate issues to chase down and need to now attack this? If this is the best you have my advice to you Mr. Ignatieff is don't push for an election, you may find it is given to you in more ways than one!

The Wildrose Alliance Party had alot of media attention with the swirling rumors of 10 MLA's crossing the floor should Danielle Smith be elected leader. Even as a party supporter I don't buy this as any more than gossip, but I have been wrong many times before. The deadline for buying memberships to vote for the new leader is today. Two leadership hopefuls Danielle Smith and Mark Dyrholm will be battling it out until the votes are counted on the 17th in Edmonton. Calgary Rants has a list of endorsements for the candidates and I also wonder if they hold any merit.

Ralph Klein, the former premier, wrote that Stelmach should resign if he doesn't receive at least 70% support at the provincial Tories' Nov. 7 AGM in Red Deer. Stelmach was pretty quick to write this off and many thought Klein was being vindictive. Each to their own on this one.

Alberta's Electoral Boundaries Commission is continuing it's hearings. It looks to increase our MLA count to 87 members. I do not agree with the increase in members, maybe just redraw the lines for representation. If you really want to read up on it Daveberta has posted most of the available information on his site in one of his many posts on this topic.

Ed Stelmach has got to be rethinking holding on to the position after getting mugged at every corner. Here is a list of the hurdles he has had to jump in the last month:

Sorry I don't want to spend years providing links so you will have to get the hint.

Greenpeace was up to the same old tactics once again. After their criminal act of break and enter the radicals trespassed onto private property and took over the conveyor belt at Ft. McMurray's oilsands plant Suncor. After ten hours of occupying it they were finally arrested. Myself I say turn the conveyor on after they chain themselves to it. They do not have any right to be on private property tampering with equipment. A peaceful and legal protest would have served them better at the gates. I am not too sure what they hope to accomplish, when asked for comments they offered nothing. Suncor has offered meetings to discuss their concerns many times but to no avail, apparently Greenpeace is not open to discussion, only opinions. My advice to you Greenpeace, don't try this stunt in Venezuela!

Have a great weekend! Imagine what the news will be like once the fall session starts in the Leg.

How Far Down Does the Wasteful Spending Go?

2009-09-29T17:56:00.003-06:00

Been a while since I posted on this blog as I have been kept busy volunteering.

While building a playground in the Town of Chestermere I was amazed at the amount of red tape involved for such a simple project. While most of the code was common sense to ensure safety of our children I was amazed at the BS that rode along with it.

While the GOA had confirmed a grant in writing for $28000.00 for their portion, the cheque showed up at the last minute. I am not kidding it was made out for $25,000.00, now this may not seem like a huge amount of money when you raise the remaining $98000.00 through donations this is a huge amount at the last minute to try and raise. Thank you Lions Club for bailing us out.

As we continued to plug along the pea gravel showed up. To my surprise it had been hauled all the way from Ft. McLeod so of course I had to inquire. Apparently the Rocky View School District was adamant this was the only approved vendor. When I approached the council on this wasteful spending I was made aware that the Town had offered their pea gravel for $16/yard. The RVS would have no part of this so we spent $58/yard to bring it in from Ft. McLeod, put quite simply this alone raised the cost of the project by over 5%. Kickbacks anyone?

Once we finished the park I offered my service to plan and build the kindergarten tot lot, thinking I would nip some of these items in the butt. To my surprise we have already been denied the right to build, apparently they will not have an inspector available to inspect it.

Ridiculous. We will see, the Mayor of Chestermere has committed to give access to their inspectors although I am sure it is unacceptable to RVS. On a positive note we are allowed to install a couple of benches and garbage cans. I bet this would be just as good in the kindergarten classes eyes as the tot lot, what do you think?

Why Poltical Apathy Exists

2009-09-21T15:24:00.004-06:00

We have heard many comments over the last couple of years about voter apathy.

If only we could figure out why there is no motivation for people to get involved politically the problem could be fixed. Could the reason be as the picture suggests? Any good reasons you can think of?

Liepert and Duckett Discuss Seniors Home Costs

2009-09-19T23:08:00.004-06:00

Scary Thought

ED Take 5 And Listen!!

2009-09-18T09:40:00.003-06:00

Maybe the message sent in the Calgary-Glenmore by election should have been clarified for Ed. This is not a message sent by the Wildrose Alliance this is a message sent by the residents, so Ed take five and maybe I can help.

When the voters elected Paul Hinman they did not say they need you to move further to the right, they said you need to run our province responsibly. The deficit was definitely a hot topic, but the Liberal party also has told you it is ridiculous and they garnered more support than your party. Drop the labels and listen to the people, 75% in the by election were against you. The reason your support switched to the WAP is because we demand a responsible government both fiscally and socially.

It scares me to think we must endure at least a couple of more years under your control. You need to realize simply cutting the core services to Albertans' without a plan does not make you fiscally responsible, in fact you will lose more votes with your way of thinking. I hope you will take five and listen closely to what we are saying before you screw Alberta up any further. This is what the message from me is:

Health care is the most important issue to us. Sensible reforms need to be made in order to sustain and improve it. In Calgary you have two new hospital wings built, and yet they will not be opened. Then you are cutting 300 acute care beds, and moving the patients to a less costly seniors housing options. It is estimated only 40 of these will be kept in service, placing up to 240 beds out of service as well. Think about it, hundreds of millions spent on new wings you had no intentions of opening, now adding an additional 240 existing beds you will have sitting empty while wait times are the worst in the country. Ridiculous severance has been paid out as well. Cutting the funding is not what is needed, stop this wasteful spending, start updating the equipment for non surgical procedures, and have the money follow the patient! These three things alone could optimise our health care by up to 30% bringing the costs down, then the funding requirements would drop. The other option carry on with your cuts, without offering a solution, forcing an even less efficient system.
Education is also an important issue. While we have many beautiful schools built in our province, we waste millions of dollars on the cosmetic appeal, is this more important than having a couple more teachers? Your policy of social promotion is ridiculous, we want our children to learn not be passed into the next grade simply to keep them with their peers! What possible good are you doing for the children with this policy? When you have a contract signed honour it, if teachers (or any other employee) feel appreciated they will be more likely to increase their worth instead of having to fight with you over your broken deals! Your decision to fund the the teachers unfunded liability fund has cost the GOA an amazing $8.6 billion, maybe this is one you could have negotiated better at the time?
Provincial finances is important, but it has two sides one being income and the other costs. Small business in Alberta is the main employer, which is where we get our taxes from employers and the residents. Alberta is resource driven and you have failed in diversifying into other markets. Since you were elected Alberta is no longer viewed as a good place in Canada to invest in (behind China, the Philippines, and Brazil) . Without the additional income resulting from the investment community our province can not sustain the economy. Thousands of jobs and many small businesses have now been eliminated in our province due to your mismanagement of our energy sector. We need to bring back the Alberta Advantage and restore the trust to bring the money back to our province, as well as diversify into other markets, something that should have been done long ago.

These are the core services our province demands you improve, and I am confident that Albertans' would prefer these are looked after before we worry about another 4 MLA's, the CCS, the ridiculous wage increases you felt entitled to after being elected. You need to be pro-active for a change, stop being surprised, and work with all 83 elected MLA's to make our province better.

These are only my views, there are a couple million more Albertans you can ask if you need help with understanding where you failed. Or you could leave it as you interpreted the message "Albertans want us to move further to the right." Take five its your choice!

How The Alberta Budget Was Calculated.

2009-09-17T16:15:00.003-06:00

A quick video of the GOA calculating the fiscal budget, or was it royalties? Same math.

I know it resembles Iris and Ed, but this is only a spoof for fun.

Ed Didn't Get The Message. Big Surprise...

2009-09-15T09:31:00.007-06:00

Well the by election is done, and I will have to admit we had a much better showing than what I anticipated. We did not split the conservative vote we took it, and a huge congratulations to Paul, as well as all the volunteers, and most important the people who took the time to vote.

This by election was a referendum on Ed plain and simple. The WAP currently has no leader, sold no other platform than to send Ed a message, and ran against what I consider a strong PC candidate. While the win was necessary, it is not time to gloat the win (maybe for a day or two:). This was a major step for the party in the fact we took the win from the right, and beat out the Libs which in my mind is the other political powerhouse, but we are far from being a government or strong opposition for that matter. This being said, we can be.

The leadership race now will have the much needed publicity to show we are a viable option. The outcome of this will tell the tale of how far our party will progress. Jeff Willerton is a non issue leaving it between Mark Dyrholm and Danielle Smith. Both the candidates are fiscally conservative, with Mark Dyrholm representing the social conservatives and Danielle Smith the social moderate (socially responsible is her terminology). It would appear the media favors Danielle for the win, although Mark and his team have pulled in a huge amount of members which will play a factor in the race. My view is Albertans in general are not as socially conservative as in the past, and we will have to be careful not to go too far right socially. Overall our policies are mainstream, but we still have much work to be done on them by the next provincial election. If we fail to make a strong presence north of Red Deer, and mend the north/ south division there is no possible way to take the next election. The other important issue will be allowing the members to retain free vote, from grassroots level up .

Diane had the comment of three conservative parties to split the vote, obviously she does not see the only conservative party was the WAP. The spending and deficit proves the PC party is not fiscally conservative. The reality is two fiscally liberal parties-one conservative.

Ed Stelmach showed very little class with his press release from the GOA. This stinks of flying the party banner with no acknowledgement of Paul Hinman. How he could use taxpayer money to give thanks to Diane and assure the residents of Calgary-Glenmore that the other city MLA's will continue to represent them is simply wrong. This statement should be on the PC website, not the GOA. Paul is the representation of these voters, as they have decided. Undermining their decision shows his sheer ignorance of what the message is the voters in this riding are sending. People are sick and tired of the way he is running the province, and if he won't address the problems the Wildrose Alliance will.

The message has been sent, once again Ed won't listen which will bite him and his MLA's.

Calgary Glenmore Forum!

2009-09-11T10:16:00.005-06:00

Unfortunately I couldn't make the forum last night, but from what I understand it wasn't a good night for Diane Colley-Urquhart.

Two videos have surfaced from the forum I wanted to share with every one. The first was from Cory Morgan showing Diane stating she will tow the party line. I am not too sure this was a wise move when a voter questions you, proving she is another PC seal if elected. The second is an exclusive.

Here is an exclusive video of Avalon Roberts with our PC Seal Diane Colley-Urquhart at the forum. It would appear Avalon had a goal in mind.

Here is Jane Morgans view of Paul Hinman in the forum:

Paul responded to the questions asked, of course I think he did a good job. He got some great chuckles from the crowd when he read a quote from Ed Stelmach using Hinmans’ campaign slogan.
“When Stelmach was asked if it would be a reflection of his government if Conservative candidate Diane Colley-Urquhart loses the byelection, he said without speculating they would wait to see the results. If she loses, we’ll look at the results of the election and see what the message is."

This is the final weekend before the vote on Monday to send Ed a message. All hands are needed and appreciated for the final push. This one will be tight.

WRA Leadership Race.

2009-09-08T13:04:00.004-06:00

I haven't been covering much on the leadership race as of late, as the by election is more important and decided shortly. This being said the leadership race for the WRA is also coming up fast and will be an important part of carrying the party momentum forward. I was happy to hear both the Mark Dyrholm and Danielle Smith campaign teams have been helping campaign in the by election. I made many different comments on each candidate some good, some bad, but in the end my opinion means ZERO and each candidate will have to appeal to a very diverse group. Hopefully no matter who wins leadership, the members as well as candidates can put away the "my guy didn't win" view and continue to build the party.

Danielle Smith seems to be appealing to the fiscal conservative and the socially moderate group. Many criticized her social stance as liberal, but in the discussions I have had of what the label actually means it holds little value in AB politics today. Danielle has many benefits on her side some being well liked by the media, well spoken, attractive, well run campaign, excellent understanding of how government works, public policy, and has name recognition.

Mark Dyrholm seems to be appealing to the fiscally and socially conservative (small "c"). Some have criticized the PGIB and WTBA which are backing Mark. In reality this poses little problem as their team has been crucial to his campaign, and this target group. Marks views are in line with the ways of the Reform party. Mark has many benefits on his side with some being a well funded and well run campaign, previous ties and experience with the PC and Reform party, small business background, well spoken, clean appearance, and is very strong and open with his policies.

Jeff Willerton is also appealing to the fiscally and socially conservative (large "C"). Jeff is criticized by many for leaning too far right and lacking the social skills to appeal to the average Albertan. Jeff has been very vocal on his nonnegotiable stance on both abortion and gay rights. Jeff appeals to the older age group of Albertans where a strong social conservative view is represented (these are also the people who go to the polls). Jeff has the benefits of running in past elections, well known writer, personable, clean cut, well spoken, and an understanding of public policy.

There is much debate on who the front runner is at this point. I have no idea on what the support numbers really are. I will however say that I believe it is between Danielle Smith and Mark Dyrholm who have been making themselves very public through the course of the leadership race. The reason I feel Jeff is a non-issue is he has failed to accomplish this and wonder how many of the votes that would otherwise go to Mark he could take, though it is probably a non issue. In the end it is who can GOTV, and these teams are working very hard to accomplish this. It is possible I underestimate Jeff, these are only my opinions with no data to back them. The town halls over the next few weeks will prove interesting and hopefully the party members will be able to take them in and make informed decisions when voting for a new leader. Whether Mark or Danielle win the leadership of the party, it will only benefit it. I look forward to listening to all the candidates speak.

Deficit to Grow?

2009-09-04T11:36:00.007-06:00

We were told recovery was on the way, unfortunately I disagree. The fiscal update has many flaws in it may I pointed out previously:

$4.00/gjl gas needed to meet the budget update. I am not sure if they know we are only at half of that price right now. Our storage is at capacity and all produced gas will need to be sold on the spot market driving the prices down further yet. There will be no price recovery until the surplus is spent, with all the prolific wells brought on this will not be near term.
Land sale income will be near non-existent even when the Oil and Gas pricing returns. Punitive royalties have eliminated drilling in our depleting basins, as oil companies will be looking to develop newer basins.
Have not adjusted the budget for corporate income tax collected in Alberta. With the slowdown and layoffs, this shows businesses are hurting. Most businesses will post losses this fiscal year erasing government income, as well as carry them forward into the next year.
Personal taxes will be way lower than predicted as we are still bleeding jobs at an alarming rate. Take Calgary alone this past couple weeks 1000 jobs at Suncor, 600 jobs at Haworth Inc. There are many more layoffs happening daily, but here is 1600 well paying jobs vanishing.

The AECO spot price which is the price Alberta producers receive when they sell their natural gas. Yesterday GAS was down another 10% to $2.04/mcf. The YTD average for natural gas is currently at $3.84. The budget update called for $4.00. Ziff Energy predicts gas will hit $1 this year. Royalties will drop dramatically as producers are shutting in gas production already. This week alone I know of 340 gas well shut ins, if they are not producing - they are not paying royalties.

While predicting the commodity prices is difficult it is not impossible. Storage levels are to be maxed out by Oct 15, at this point whatever can not be sold on the spot market will be shut in. The other side of this is the gas prices at this point will be virtually nothing, with companies giving the gas away just to put it somewhere. The U.S. has continued drilling, with prolific wells producing substantial amounts of natural gas for the U.S. This is not good as we export 60% here. Oil prices are starting to stabilize at a favorable price. Unfortunately when we compare to Sask. our royalty formula is not as favorable so the producers have flocked to the Bakken fields to drill for oil. While other areas in Canada are showing recovery our unemployment rate is going up, recovery here is not happening, at best we may level out soon.

The other question I would have would be in the last FYE for March 2009 the sustainability fund shows it at 9.84 Billion dollars. 16 billion was the number thrown out that was in there, are they adding the capital fund of 6.97 billion to it to get their number? If you know the answer to this please leave a comment, I for one am curious. Possibly through the downturn we managed to add a billion dollars a month to it since March, but I don't believe it. So how much is there?

The news in our province has been grim, recovery is still not a light at the end of the tunnel, and we're stuck with government that is not accountable. As a province we are still overdependent on Oil and Gas and have not diversified enough. From my perspective the deficit is set to grow.

Update: Friday Natural Gas closed $1.86. Dropping fast

Putting the "ED" into Education

2009-09-03T09:33:00.007-06:00

Well it's all said and done after today. Mount Royal College will be named Alberta's fifth public University.

Overall from what I have heard and read people are not generally happy with this move. Many people have said that simply being labeled a university does not make the grade. Once the graduates are out in the work force name recognition of a university is critical. Alberta Universities for the most part, at least UofA and Uof C, were starting to gain the credibility and respect required. Being allowed into a University with a "C" average for me does not cut the grade. If anything the two most credible Universities should receive the funding required to improve their standing. In the end this is not helpful for the Alberta University graduates, in fact it will hurt their chances of securing top end jobs. Nothing could be worse than a college being called a University before it has the proper requirements to give it credit..

The reason behind the timing of the announcement is also political. Pushing it ahead now was of importance to the PC party because of the Calgary-Glenmore by election. Giving Calgary two Universities before Edmonton will (he's hoping) show that his government is not north-south divided. The controversy surrounding Diane Colley-Urquhart regarding the attempt to restore health care premiums, the failure of the GOA running a balance budget, compiled with the other political shit storms over the last couple of years, he had to do something here to prop up the parties unpopularity as of late. Not only is this ridiculous, but once again fails our education system using it for political gain.

There is unfortunately more failure to our education system lately as well. It seems that the GOA has felt the need to continuously undermine the Alberta Teachers Association. Teachers work harder than most people could see, with many hours put in after the students are done for the day. The ATA plays an important role in representing the teachers as a group ensuring they can maintain a standard of education and mitigate the interference with the GOA, as well as the collective bargaining.

Everyone probably has read somewhere in my blogs I am far from a Union fan, at the same time they are in place and working with them is mandatory. The GOA signed a five year peace deal with the Alberta Teachers Association, which included a 5.99% wage increase. Since the new budget was released the contract is essentially torn up by cutting the increase to 4.82%. It is not a debate on whether or not the raise is adequate, but the fact that the GOA has not acted in good faith. By not honouring the contracts in place they have showed a complete disregard for our valued teachers that are moulding our next generation. This is simply wrong and shows the GOA has no value placed in education.

Another issue is Bill 44. This opens up our education system for a round of problems with the AHRC. The ATA should have been involved in section 9 right off the get go. Parents also should have been involved in this, although I am not too sure an uninformed public is the best way to go about bringing in a bill like this. The delay in proposing the bill makes me wonder if the GOA has a realization of the need for better human values than those put forth in Bill 44. Somehow I don't have the faith that they do, this is strictly political posturing, selling the bill without all the facts. Parents have always had, and always will have the right to pull their children from classes. Why people would want their children to be ignorant to the facts I am not too sure. My three children will need to be educated on these topics as they are an everyday fact of life. I will do my part to teach them, but I don't think it needs to be limited to the home. From some of the comments I read on blog sites, there are many of students who will rely on an intelligent person to teach them, because the parents can not come to grips with today's reality. Comments of the "Nanny State" raising our children are ridiculous, our teachers are not the state and one day I hope our GOA can realize how crucial they are to our childrens lives.

I personally am not liking the ED in education these days.
Update: Here is a link explaining the two numbers from the ATA:
http://www.teachers.ab.ca/Features/2008-09/Pages/20090828.aspx

Ed's In Town, Stop By And Give Him A Hug!!

2009-09-01T22:07:00.004-06:00

Hearing Ed would be back in Calgary had to make me chuckle to myself.

It reminded me of my favorite post and the ridiculous thinking he had regarding the NRF. Unfortunately one of the links is no longer working.

"We've had to make some very difficult but important decisions as a government," he says. "But Albertans own the resource. There's no question about it. I spend a lot of time in Calgary. The people -- the people, not some commentator, but the people -- will come up and give you a hug on this issue. Or they'll say thanks. Or they may say, well, on this one issue, I may disagree with you, but I know the direction you have to take."

So I suggest everyone run to Diane's rally with the premier Thursday and pass along your hugs to him and thank him for the joy the NRF has brought you, I know he will appreciate it. His statement will amuse me for years to come, as well as fall under I can't believe he said that. Unfortunately I will be busy that day.

BTW: I didn't give him a hug, say thanks, mention the direction he had to take. I did however say my piece to Mel & Ed, however it would not be an appropriate post....