Premier Stelmach and the Shifting Ground of Alberta Politics

There is lots of moving ground beneath the political feet of Premier Stelmach these days. The big shift in PC party power base to the north and Edmonton from its “natural” place of Calgary and the deep south has caused great angst in Cowtown. This anxiety is "true" even though in Calgary they have three Cabinet Ministers compared to Edmonton’s one.

Budget 2007, the biggest spending budget in Alberta history was put together in 60 days and is suffering from some spotty execution. We are seeing this particularly in areas like municipal infrastructure funding coming with strings that are seen as forcing inter-municipal “co-operation.” As a result we have the Mayor of Calgary leading the charge over claims of broken promises. Even the distribution the funds using the assessment base make Counties happy and anger the Towns. The Counties gets most of the cash for the “co-operation projects” but the Towns have the infrastructure pressures. We all know the Golden Rule. He who has the gold makes the rules. This is not likely to be a winning formula for fostering any true town and county infrastructure co-operation...I could be wrong and hope I am...but time will tell.

There was too little budget bounce for what is needed to meet public service provider wage levels to stop the Diaspora of skilled workers in the disabilities sectors departing to the oil patch so they can make a living wage. For the record I am working on this issue. Staffing shortages and turn over in the disability private non-profit service sector is averaging 40% and some citizens with disabilities are going to suffer serious harm if this is not fixed and quickly.

Then there is the "minor" matter of ticking off the teachers in the Budget by tying a $25M supplement to pension fund payments as condition to labour peace. That is flying in the face of the Premier saying they would be separate issues during the leadership campaign. Expect work to rule job action from teachers this fall…and parents to be super ticked by October.

The affordable housing efforts have been sidetracked into a political football as shelter cost are soaring due to market demands and poor planning by the past regime. The environment has been given short shrift and oil sands management tie to growth is a concern. The resource royalty rates review is starting now but they are facing a monumentally complex job and have to report with recommendations by August 31.

Then we have the pure political plays. The recent Ethics Commissioner Report on the misguided scheme of the Stelmach campaign volunteers to sell access for $5k a pop to cover campaign deficits was found not to be illegal but not prudent either. The anonymous campaign contributions of leadership candidates was frowned up (to be euphemistic) by the Party membership at the recent PC Party AGM too.

Scads of public consultations are going on all over the province. They are aimed at reporting in the fall and positioning for a possible spring 2008 general election. This all add to the pressures and helps to keep the political footing tricky as the policy and political ground seems to be moving constantly.

Then we have the by-elections set for June 12. Framed as a litmus test for Stelmach’s leadership in Calgary circles it has some interesting dynamics. CalgaryGrit has an interesting take on how the story goes if the PCs drop Calgary Elbow. If the Liberals win it, that is somehow the end of the PC world. That is true if you are so Calgary centric that you think Calgary IS Alberta. It used to be the case but Alberta became a more balanced and interesting place when Stelmach won the PC leadership. Calgary obviously has some serious issues and now it will have some interesting politics. PC MLAs in Calgary will have to win seats on their own merit and not ride on the coat-tails of the leader any more. It has been that way for decades in Edmonton since Premier Getty lost his seat to a Liberal, the late Percy Wickman. It will result in better government and governance in the end.

Calgary Elbow is Ralph Klein’s old seat. Rod Love says the PC could lose it in this by-election and he is right. We lost Calgary Varsity to the Liberals in 2004 right after Murray Smith “retired” and went to Washington DC and he was a very popular Calgary PC politician. That should have been the wake up call to the Calgary PCs. The PCs in New Brunswick immediately lost former Premier Bernard Lord’s seat when he retired from politics. So it happens and yes, it could happen again. What does such a change mean in a by-election though…other than the usual chance to “send the government a message?”

Albertans in general, and Progressive Conservatives in particular, have been too complacent too long. We have been benignly presumptive that tomorrow will be an extension of yesterday so planning was seen as simply unnecessary. We seemed to believe this myth even when all the evidence we could see emerging belied those presumptions. Evidence like massive oils sands investment and development, the Edmonton-Calgary Corridor growth phenomenon and chronic labour shortages plus the implications of many other indicators were ignored.

Any partisan change in the by-elections on June 12 will only be meaningful if the voter participation rates exceed 50%. If people stay home and do not show up we may well see some changes. They will be based on local campaign dynamics and by-election realities, but they do not necessarily make a trend. Any local by-election change in party representation will be a wake up call for the PCs particularly if they lose Calgary Elbow to the Liberals and Drumheller-Stettler to the Alliance. All politics are local and by-elections are the epitome of that truism.

In the meantime Premier Stelmach has some refocusing and serious short term fixing to do based on sound principles of good government and long term planning not just the short game of partisan politics. He is very capable but he best get at it. Change is in the air...his election as Progressive Conservative leader has already proven that...but that was just the beginning. No doubt there are lots more changes yet to come so it is time to get ahead of the curve and design the changes - or sit back and be devoured by them.

PM Harper Claims Parliamentary Immunity in a Law Suit Against Him as Conservative Party Leader!

OK this is going too far! Prime Minister Harper has crossed the line and thrown his personal responsibility and reputation for accountability and transparency out the window. The irony of the circumstances under which “our” Prime Minister is using this device is as breathtaking as is the arrogance of the Right Honourable man’s actions in the first place and in the trial tactics.

The Globe and Mail is reporting that Prime Minister Harper, the leader of our nation, has invoked parliamentary immunity to “extricate (himself) from the matter.” The “matter” is a “tangle of court cases” brought against him and the Cons over an “agreement” (the existence of which is in dispute) that saw Ottawa South nominated candidate Alan Riddell “step aside” in exchange for the Harper Cons repayment of his “election expenses” (the payment of which is apparently still outstanding)

Why was Riddell sidelined you ask? Well so the Cons could replace him with the Adscam poster-boy, Gomery whistle blower and the epitome of how the Cons were going to be cleaning up corruption in government, Mr. Alan Cutler. Cutler lost. Too bad!

The PM’s parliamentary privilege is being invoked in a personal libel action against Stephen Harper and a Con Party President NOT the Prime Minister. The tactics being used by the Cons are somewhere between Monty Python and the Sopranos for ridiculousness, especially if you are Canada’s New Government. You know them as the new kids on the block who are all about the Accountability and the cleaning up of government corruption guys. Spare us the histrionics and hypocrisy Mr. Prime Minister.

There is a culture that has emerged in the CPC. It is not only from this incident. There were similar pay offs in the nominations of Stockwell Day, and the replacement of Ezra Levant, the former self-styled “Stockaholic” fan of the former leader of the Alliance Party. He “volunteered” to step aside for expenses so the newly minded party leader, Stephen Harper, could run in 2002 in Calgary Southwest. Then we have the courts setting aside the Conservative nomination of Rob Anders in Calgary West – twice - for breaches of its own processes and rules.

The RCMP recently decided that certain “new evidence” uncovered in the Day nomination fiasco was not new after all. They said had it all along and decided not to investigate further if this payment scheme was evidence of a Criminal Code violation. You ready for more irony gentle reader. Minister Day is currently the RCMP’s boss. You would have thought that the Mounties would have had another police service conduct the further investigation under the circumstances right? Dreamer! Who needs the appearance of justice when you are the corruption killers? When you are the Cons?


There is a place for privilege and immunity but that goes to the Office of Prime Minister not to the Leader of a political party, as appears to be the case here. The G&M story quotes Mr. Riddell’s lawyer saying if the immunity is applicable to Harper in this case, the legal actions can’t proceed “…until the government fall and an election is called – or possibly until parliament is prorogued.”

I will follow this matter carefully and post on it as it develops. In the meantime let’s hope for principles of democracy and fairness and transparency and accountability will be honoured by the Harper government. And lets watch this carefully since it is an opportunity for citizens to judge the quality of character and capacity for governance of the current minority government and its leader…and our pro tem Prime Minister.

The Cons ought to be providing a full public disclosure as a matter of course just so we ordinary little-people citizens can come to an informed decision if we can trust these people to represent and govern us.

I am ready for an election. I have at least made up my mind of who not to vote for at least. I will be watching for the evidence the true character and the capacity for governance of the other political options very carefully.

Duceppe is a Duffus and More Monday Miscellanea

Welcome Home Gilles
So Gilles Duceppe is wasted and wounded and taking that long walk back “home” to the Bloc. The Bloc head has had a tough time as of late. After he did his pre-emptive strike to oust Boisclair he made an even for presumptive blunder to think he was automatically the man for all of the separatists seasons. Wrong! The actual pending new leader of the PQ, Pauline Marois is now saying that her leadership would be about good government before it talks separation. Fat chance of that happening. That would mean program and spending cuts and more self reliance for Quebec and less dependency on Canada. That is nothing even close to the culture of the separatist movement.

Hurray for Shane and Shame on the MPs
Shane Doan and Team Canada wins Gold and rubs the noses of the Canadian Parliamentarians in it. Another misadventure lead by the bumbling Bloc head Gilles Duceppe. Now we need to be sure the MPs are “House Broken” and don’t take another “dump” on the floor of the House. I think the entire team should be flown to Ottawa, and be invited to the Gallery. Then the entire cadre of MPs should stand up and publicly apologize to Shane and the rest of the team for their bad behaviour. I bet if they asked their mother’s what to do – that would be the end result.

Water Water Everywhere?
Semi-secret talks by think tanks are happening over water exports and the Harper Cons are letting them continue. Canada is apparently “water rich” with an estimated 7% of world supply and only .05% of population. We have a high domestic use, export pressures and climate change influences that will impact supplies but no one now just how or now much. We also don’t know much about our ground water supplies and some 30% of Canadians depend on those sources. Water is a very big political issue within Alberta as we see glaciers receding and industry and agriculture demanding more access. Folks are going to be moving north to where the water is and leaving the south of the province as it turns into an area as arid as present day Arizona due to climate change.

Illegal Cigarettes Taste Like S**t.
More than 177 million cartons of illegal cigarettes from China, Korea and India have been seized in B.C. between 2003 and 2006. RCMP and medical office officials in Vancouver are reporting these counterfeit cigarettes are “knock off” brands and contain such exotica as insect eggs, dead flies, mould and human feces. Officials say if you are buying “street smokes” it is like buying “street drugs” – you just don’t know what you are getting.

Live Long and Prosper - Quit Smoking!
More smoking data from Japan provided empirical evidence on life expectancy due to smoking. The Shinga University Medical School study of 10,000 men and women with an average age of 50 underwent medical check ups in 1980 and 62% of the men were found to be smokers. Their smoking habits were recorded and they were traced until 1999. A total of about 2000 of the people had died in the 20 years of the study. The males who were 40 years old and who smoked in 1980 were found to be expected to live 3.5 years less than the average of those who did not smoke. If the habit was 2 packs a day you could cut off another 6 months off your life on average.

Researchers say the differences in life expectancy between smokers and on-smokers may be greater. Some participants would have quit smoking during the study time frame and they were found to live longer than chronic smokers. According to the researches, this confirms that quitting can prolong life expectancy.

Hollywood "R" Rating Movies With Smoking Content

I was doing some background research for my work with the Campaign for a Smoke Free Alberta today. I was astonished to see an LA Times newspaper piece announcing that the Motion Picture Association of America pick up on the social issues and health risks associated with smoking and will now consider it as a factor in movie ratings.

Smoking is now associated on the “Silver Screen” right up there with violence, language, nudity and drug abuse in ranking criteria. The MPAA brass are quoted saying “ There is a broad awareness of smoking as a unique public health concern due to nicotine’s highly addictive nature and no parent want their child to take up the habit.”

Apparently studies prove depictions of smoking in the movies have made children more likely to try cigarettes. The Attorneys General in 32 States have publicly called on the MPAA to put “R” ratings on movies containing scenes involving smoking.

Some research by the Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta is also showing that we are seeing an increase in smoking in movies from the late 1990s to where in 2002 it was at the same level as in 1950. Not a good sign.

The Stelmach government has introduced Bill 37 to raise the tobacco taxes and it has passed First Reading. The banning of smoking in public and workplaces and discontinuing sales in pharmacies is working it w way through the policy development process in the provincial government as we “speak.”

Reports back from the Premier Stelmach’s meeting in the Edmonton Meadowlark constituency thins week is he commented on this initiative proceeding and sees it as a good thing. A legislated ban has failed 4 times before…with new leadership and a concern over health and wellness emerging - maybe it will finally become the law of the land EVEN IN Alberta…one of the last hold out provinces!

Tragic Death Restores Some Faith

We are hard pressed these days to identify a single one of our public institutions that has not let us down or betrayed our trust in one way or another. The RCMP and the Air India Inquiry, their pension fiasco and the Maher Arar case are all disappointing examples. The churches and our government betrayal of our values over treatment of children and families in Residential Schools and you can go back to the tainted blood scandal and the Sponsorship Scandal just to name a few high profile cases.

Cover ups, legal manoeuvrings, political manipulations, withholding evidence, abuse of power and authority along with many other tricks and techniques result in breaches and abuses of our trust and undermines public confidence in our institutions.

Then in a very recent and sad personal tragedy we get a ray of hope. The recent death Denise Melanson, an Alberta woman who was mistakenly given an excess of chemotherapy drugs is just such an example. Again we unfortunately see the institutional culture that initially misses the mark on earning our trust because a policy for public protection and service was not followed. Investigations into the death show that the family did not get notice of the error for five days and senior management was not advised of the error for 18 days. All this was in spite of a policy requiring immediate notice is to be given in each instance. This has become the typical kind of "response" we have come to expect from too many of our institutions these days.

Then we have the hope that results from the responsible reaction of the people and professionals involved who showed quality character and leadership. They have given us personal examples of how things should be handled, and can be handled, when good people step up and deal with bad situations properly.

Let me outline some facts to show what I mean. There was a swift, confidential and satisfactory settlement of liability and an assessment of damages that was done with out legal manoeuvring or posturing. That is a tribute to the Melanson family and their lawyer Rosanna Saccomani. Accolades go to the hospital, the Cross Cancer Institute too for how they handled this aspect of the consequences of the error as well.

Then we have Denise Melanson’s personal courage and character in how she responded to this terrible situation. She is reported to have had no ill will towards the nurses who administered the mistaken dosage that caused her death. Her family also took steps to reassure people of the care, compassion and treatment she received at The Cross. Sadness and sorrow and the suffering of a great personal loss did not distort their perspective and judgement either.

Then we have the example of quality leadership from Dr. Tony Fields, Vice President of the Alberta Cancer Board. Field’s approach was to be open, transparent, forthright and responsive to the mistake. The quality of his leadership was also shown by taking full responsibility up front and swiftly instead of the usual secrecy, delay and denial reactions we see so often in such circumstances.

Investigations have revealed some changes in procedures need to be made and they are being undertaken. We found that this kind of tragedy is not an isolated incident. Dr. Fields is reported have said “One of the hardest things to hear was that this mistake had been made elsewhere and resulted in deaths elsewhere. We were not able to learn from the mistakes of other, but we’ll ensure others can learn from ours.”

Tony and Rosanna likely did not know each other before this incident. For the record, I am proud to say Tony and Rosanna are both friends of mine. I would not be surprised if they became friends of each other as they worked through their professional roles and responsibilities both trying to do the right thing in these difficult circumstances.

I want thank them for giving us all a shining example of how such devastating, difficult and sad circumstances ought to be dealt with. We have an institution like The Cross Cancer Clinic, and people like Denise and her family, and professionals like Tony and Rosanna who each responded appropriately to this tragedy in their own way. The result was better service of the public interest and better outcomes for the greater good. That is all too rare a result these days.