You can’t blame Albertans for being confused when you read the reporting on Ed Stelmach’s alleged response(s) to the CEMA letter calling for a partial moratorium on further oil sands leases so conservation issues can be addressed.
I think the Edmonton Journal front page headline repeats Stelmach from over a year ago saying “No Brakes on Oil Sands” and the Globe and Mail has Stelmach saying “Environment Trumps Economy.” I think both stories are accurate but you have to wonder at the framing of the issue and why the PC policy position is not clearer and more consistent. It can change over time and I applaud that it does. But whoda thunk Ed Stelmach was so post-modern! Well, me for one because I know a bit about the man. I know his sense of ecological stewardship and the respect he has for the free enterprise system. However the role of government is to ensure and enhance both aspects of our lives and for the greater common good, not just the accumulation of private wealth.
I have to spend some time reflecting on how to square this circle. The best I can do so far is to express my own feelings and beliefs. The environment has to trump the economy –every time. And the economy has to serve the interests of society –every time and not the other way around as it has been in Alberta as of late.
Government has a duty to regulate and protect the environment. And there are economic consequences in the government's job in exercising that stewardship responsibility. Progress is measured by building on strengths and avoiding or mitigating weaknesses. On the weakness side I want a government that first avoids and, if necessary, fixed screw ups and one that seizes opportunities that present themselves.
On the strength side I want a government who takes responsibility for those things we need to care about as a society, including the natural and social capital deficits we have in Alberta today. I want a government that takes its role of managing our resources seriously and responsibly - including collecting royalty payments owned when due.
Finally I want a government that has a leadership group, like a Cabinet, that can listen, learn and adapt – effectively, quickly and appropriately. That is the real biggie going forward. We need to enhance our ecological integrity in this province. We need to enhance our social cohesion and capacity show caring and compassion for our vulnerable citizens form children, to seniors to the disabled. We need to vastly improve our decision making procedures and capacity.
So Ed, Kevin, Brian, Paul and George, that is what I want my next government to be capable of. The rest is detail that I will trust you, as my Premier, if you are in power after Monday, to work out in a way that is open, transparent and accountable. No pressure!
I think the Edmonton Journal front page headline repeats Stelmach from over a year ago saying “No Brakes on Oil Sands” and the Globe and Mail has Stelmach saying “Environment Trumps Economy.” I think both stories are accurate but you have to wonder at the framing of the issue and why the PC policy position is not clearer and more consistent. It can change over time and I applaud that it does. But whoda thunk Ed Stelmach was so post-modern! Well, me for one because I know a bit about the man. I know his sense of ecological stewardship and the respect he has for the free enterprise system. However the role of government is to ensure and enhance both aspects of our lives and for the greater common good, not just the accumulation of private wealth.
I have to spend some time reflecting on how to square this circle. The best I can do so far is to express my own feelings and beliefs. The environment has to trump the economy –every time. And the economy has to serve the interests of society –every time and not the other way around as it has been in Alberta as of late.
Government has a duty to regulate and protect the environment. And there are economic consequences in the government's job in exercising that stewardship responsibility. Progress is measured by building on strengths and avoiding or mitigating weaknesses. On the weakness side I want a government that first avoids and, if necessary, fixed screw ups and one that seizes opportunities that present themselves.
On the strength side I want a government who takes responsibility for those things we need to care about as a society, including the natural and social capital deficits we have in Alberta today. I want a government that takes its role of managing our resources seriously and responsibly - including collecting royalty payments owned when due.
Finally I want a government that has a leadership group, like a Cabinet, that can listen, learn and adapt – effectively, quickly and appropriately. That is the real biggie going forward. We need to enhance our ecological integrity in this province. We need to enhance our social cohesion and capacity show caring and compassion for our vulnerable citizens form children, to seniors to the disabled. We need to vastly improve our decision making procedures and capacity.
So Ed, Kevin, Brian, Paul and George, that is what I want my next government to be capable of. The rest is detail that I will trust you, as my Premier, if you are in power after Monday, to work out in a way that is open, transparent and accountable. No pressure!
Both stories are accurate simply because neither says that Stelmach is actually going to *do* anything to preserve the environment.
ReplyDeleteYes, the industry is being somewhat self-serving in asking for this moratorium, hoping to restrict competition during a time of exceedingly high labor costs, but for Ed to ignore their requests "pending further study" which, at least according to the Sun and one government insider means to reject them entirely, just goes to show why people have stopped using the phrase "Honest Ed" to describe him. He plays lip service to caring about the environment, but his actions make it all too clear that it's just election spin and as soon as the vote clears, you can be sure it'll be back to business as usual -- setting Alberta up to fail when it has to deal with the serious environmental outcomes this unrestrained development will have.
I'm afraid I just don't understand why you still support these guys. I'm not saying any of the others are much better, but surely the evidence in front of you at this point should convince you that the PC party is environmentally clueless, at best.
There is a curious and very troubling aspect to Stelmach's response to the CEMA letter. Accordingly to media reports he, in response to the request that new leases not be grqanted, that the it is not the role of the government to interfere in the economy.
ReplyDeleteThat perspective completely overlooks that in Canada the minerals belong to the Province, and minerals leases are posted and issued by provincial policy. In other words, the very starting point for any function of the free market is the policy decision of whether or not to lease the provincial asset. If, as Stelmach seems to suggest, the government is bound to leases all the minerals all the time to everyone who wishes to buy, regardless of the implication for the environment or any other public policy concern, then all hope for any government guidance on the future of the province is foresaken.
It is a very discouraging prospect, and I hope the Premier will retract his statement immdiately.
Anonymous 12:11 PM,
ReplyDeleteIf you think the PC are "environmentally clueless" then square yourself with reasoning as to why someone like Leah Lawrence - who has environmental credentials that vastly outstrip David Swann (aka King of Platitudes) - would run as a PC under a Stelmach government.
In the candidates debate last week in Calgary-Mountainview, she completely outplayed Swann in the facts department. In fact, on more than one occasion, she (politely) refuted Swann's scaremongering on issues such as coal-bed methane, carbon sequestration, and watershed protection along the Bow River.
Check her out at www.leahlawrence.ca
I think you can guess who is the nervous one, when Liberal "protestors" (they had Liberal signs) wait to ambush the Premier as he goes main-streeting with candidates such as Leah (see today's Calgary Sun for detail on that ALP misadventure).
Anonymous 12:43:
ReplyDeleteOne "environmentalist" out of 83 doesn't prove anything when scores of environmental groups regularly identify the Alberta government as a prime environmental offender.
If Leah Lawrence is as much of an environmentalist as you claim, then she too is probably utterly embarrassed by Stelmach's environmental policies. However, since the PC's have been the only game in town for the last 37 years, she's going to try and change things from the inside. I for one think that's probably pretty naive, but good on her for trying, I guess.