Alberta's Tobacco Reduction Strategy is in Trouble

There is lots of good news coming out of the Budget Update. The surplus is up and the spending in under control. Stelmach has brought some much needed fiscal discipline back to this government in the short 3 month he has taken over the leadership.

Some serious concerns on the revenue side are being reported. Not that the revenues are down, they are not. The concern is the increase in tobacco tax revenue of some $40M over budget.

Indications are, according to Action on Smoking and Health this increase is due to higher sales volumes that are in fact caused by price discounting by manufacturers.

Alberta as a Tobacco Reduction Strategy that called for a 50% reduction in tobacco shipments between 2001 and 2011 but only a 15% reduction has occurred since 2001 and there have been repeated sales increases since 2003. The performance success on this health indicator is in serious jeopardy. Stats show that tobacco is the leading avoidable cause of 3,400 premature deaths in Alberta every year.

For the last several years, tobacco revenues have been repeatedly underestimated by Alberta Finance and these increases are a disturbing reminder that the Alberta Tobacco Reduction Strategy is not meeting its stated objectives. The performance measure for tobacco shipments is 2528 million cigarettes for FY2011 (four years from now). The total shipments for FY2006 were 4380 million cigarettes. This means that tobacco shipments need to decline by over 40% within the next four years in order to achieve the ATRS 10-year performance target. This reduction would require a Herculean effort by the Alberta government.

Dave Hancock, the Minister of Health and Wellness is calling for a total ban on smoking in workplaces and public places, something that was tied many times before but never got passed Ralph Klein, the former Premier.

Here is hoping this is an idea whose time has come under a new Premier.

Peter Russell Weighs in on Judicial Appointments

Peter Russell is one of the most respected authorities on judicial appointments and the process. Everyone who values democracy and ther personal freedom and fear political ideology replacing the statesmanship role of the Prime Minister's office needs to read his Globe and Mail Op-Ed today.

If you are not a G&M subscriber - buy today's edition - this Opinion Piece alone is worth the cost.

"I Read the News Today - Oh Boy!"

Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper announces $200 million for Afghanistan for infrastructure development over 10 years.

Alberta’s Premier Ed Stelmach announces $400 million for Fort McMurray for infrastructure development over 3 years.

Hey Prime Minister Harper - are you serious about solving the problem in Afghanistan or are you just into PR?

Stelmach Will Release Minister's and EA's Expenses Accounts

March 1, 2007 UPDATE: Alberta Government confirms that Ministerial and Executive Assistant expenses are being disclosed.


Premier Stelmach was in fine form at a fundraising breakfast for a number of Edmonton constituencies today. One of the important but subtle messages that he sent was about a new way of doing politics. It was centred on his principle of governing with integrity and transparency.

He said he was going to release the monthly expense reports of Cabinet Minister’s and their Executive Assistants. This is not doubt driven by the recent Auditor General review and pending report of an expense claim made by a Klein era Ministerial Executive Assistant who charged some Las Vegas bachelor expenses to a government credit card.

He has already made a step in the right direction by making public by posting on a government website, every month, the entire manifests of who uses the provincial government airplanes, when, where and why.

This, and a Lobbyist and Contractor Registry Act as Bill 1 in the Spring Session set a new tone for integrity and transparency. It is a sure sign that Stelmach is differentiating his government from the Klein regime.

Now if he would only get his messaging clearer and straight on the economy and the environment relationship.

Al Gore Wins an Oscar - Will a Nobel Be Next?

Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth” just won the Oscar for Best Documentary. I predicted this in an earlier posting. At that time I said he would win the Nobel Peace Prize too. I should start taking bets…anyone out there prepared to give me odds?

There are a growing number of Progressive websites in the United States with petitions and pushes to draft Gore to run for President in 2008. That effort should be heating up a bit now.