Reboot Alberta

Friday, June 29, 2007

Wildrose Party States Its View of Alberta in Canada

Link Byfield, the Chief Cook and Bottle Washer, of the new Wildrose Party of Alberta had some interesting observations yesterday on his Citizen’s Centre for Freedom and Democracy weekly Commentary. He has graciously given me permission to “post any or all of it.”

As we approach Canada Day it is appropriate that we think of how this country works and how Alberta fits in it. And we Albertans have to have that political conversation. In that spirit, here is most, but not all, of Link’s comments.

Link’s reasons for a new Alberta based right-wing party are interesting. They say “…federal change must come from the provinces not Ottawa, and that Alberta is the province best positioned to force that change. It has become obvious that Alberta’s traditional parties will never stand up to Ottawa, and that a new party must be formed to do it. The change of command from Ralph Klein to Ed Stelmach has left a large void in Alberta’s provincial politics.”

They see the Firewall Letter approach to isolate Alberta as key to the future of Alberta in Canada and he says, “…thinking people have realized that the Reform Party vision of Canada can only be implemented by provincial governments. The small alternatives of the past were not broadly based, and focused on the wrong things. They offered either separation or more right-wing government. Most Albertans have never wanted either, and still don’t.”

He goes on to make some other interesting comments on the state of Alberta, relations with the Harper government and our place in Canada. “Besides, as long as Ralph Klein was premier, the Tories were unbeatable. Politically speaking, Ralph put the whole province happily to sleep.”

I agree with this statement.

“Now that he’s gone, Albertans are waking up fast to the eternal reality that they are sitting ducks to federal aggression. Any fond hope in the Harper Conservatives vanished when they flip-flopped on Kyoto, taxed income trusts, and blatantly pandered to the “Quebecois nation” on equalization.

It’s quickly dawning on Albertans that it is not the job of the country’s prime minister to defend Alberta, much as they wish he would. It’s the job of the premier of Alberta.
Klein never did it. Stelmach isn’t doing it. And nobody thinks Liberal leader Kevin Taft will do it either.


The most striking thing about Alberta’s political scene since Ralph left is that while the Tories are steadily collapsing, the Liberals are not rising. Nobody is.

Besides, as long as Ralph Klein was premier, the Tories were unbeatable. Politically speaking, Ralph put the whole province happily to sleep.

Now that he’s gone, Albertans are waking up fast to the eternal reality that they are sitting ducks to federal aggression. Any fond hope in the Harper Conservatives vanished when they flip-flopped on Kyoto, taxed income trusts, and blatantly pandered to the “Quebecois nation” on equalization.

It’s quickly dawning on Albertans that it is not the job of the country’s prime minister to defend Alberta, much as they wish he would. It’s the job of the premier of Alberta.

Klein never did it. Stelmach isn’t doing it. And nobody thinks Liberal leader Kevin Taft will do it either.

The most striking thing about Alberta’s political scene since Ralph left is that while the Tories are steadily collapsing, the Liberals are not rising. Nobody is.”

I disagree often with Link Byfield but I have say he always makes me think!

Happy Canada Day!

8 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:38 pm

    Hi Ken

    On another subject I see that the EUB has decided NOT to reimburse the Regional Municipality of Woodbuffalo the 600,000 it costs them to intervene in the recent hearings.Do you feel this is justifiable on EUB's behalf thereby acknowledging the frivilous status of a Municipality or do you feel a Municipality has a right to intervene and therefor should be entitled to reimbursments???

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  2. I seriously doubt the RMWB Intervention cost anything close to $600K - do you have evidence to suport that representation?

    I followed it rather closely and note the Mayor read the intervention...I expect it was prepare by the administration with help of counsel but it was not lead by legal counsel.

    Yes the EUB must accept municipalities as intervenors and the issue of costs is a discretionary matter and that is as it ought to be.

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  3. Anonymous11:07 pm

    It must cost as least as much to appear at an EUB hearing as it does to defend a defamer like Stockwell Day.

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  4. Not even close to do what the RMWB did. It took no experts or depths of researhc tht wa not already done in the 2005 RMWB Business Case as to the impication of oil sands development onf the region. We helped with that document and it is on the Cambridge Strategies website.

    My firm also did the review of risk management systems in the GOA after the Day libel defence to see how a million bucks was spent that could have been (should have been) settled as a $10K defamation.

    The report we did is also on the Cambridge Strategies website if you are interested.

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  5. Anonymous9:28 am

    There have drastic and radical changes in Alberta politics in the past.

    Better it be a new conservative party rather than liberals!

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  6. Anonymous8:19 am

    With the Alberta PCs polling at 39% (and the Liberals failing to pick up much of the PC decline), maybe it is time for a party with true conservative roots: http://www.canada.com/topics/news/politics/story.html?id=4bb1d45e-63ce-4a78-bfe5-24b0dbd6c38a&k=20419

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  7. Anonymous8:57 am

    The Alberta PCs have done a very effective job of getting Albertans to hate Liberals. Now it may come back to bite them. Link is not out of line with the old Reform Party and it was wildly successful in Alberta.

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  8. Anonymous11:23 am

    This blather about "true conservatives" and who is, or who isn't a conservative is eerily reminiscent about what is going on with another faith: Islam.

    I hope we conservatives (PC and otherwise) have better success at reconciling differences.

    If by true conservative roots, we mean another party of disaffected old white guys grumbling about Quebec and other special interest groups, well, we have been there before federally. And would have sat in Opposition unto the end of time until MacKay and Harper brought the two factions together.

    I sometimes think that we in the West are better about setting up new parties than we are about running existing ones. Kind of like the guy who starts a new home improvement project every week, before the last one has been completed.

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