Can We Start to Deal With Our Serious Issues in This Election?

I read the Calgary Herald story today 11 issues that will dominate the election campaign. I know Calgary is different but is it that different? Every issue item is framed as if it were a negative but the story constantly references the good stuff that is happening. Is this because Calgarians want to be grumpy and they don’t want to hear any good news? Is it all happening because a Calgarian didn't win the PC leadership? I don’t think so.

Here is my take on these issues that are said to "dominate the election campaign." First off - I don't think they will, but here goes.

Sure affordable housing is an issue but it is the beloved free market at work, right? Lots of successful folks will tell you that free market principles can solve any problem. Crime has seen $470M added for more police who are going hard after drug houses and there is new money for dealing with root causes like mental health. Good stuff. Gangs are a problem but solutions are to be found in dealing with poverty, better education, reducing family stresses and breakdowns and an enhanced sense of community and better social cohesion. Not just more and bigger jails.

The Alberta economy is terrific on all counts and is thankfully slowing down a bit so we can catch our breath. Any energy industry activity issues are about so much more than a squabble over royalty rates. The royalties continue to remain ridiculously low to my mind and that is robbing future generations of their birthright more than our debt and deficit ever did.

Education isn’t short of schools, just short of schools in the right places, and soon it will be short teachers too due to lots of pending retirements. Teachers’ Pension issues are solved and we have 5 years of labour peace. That gives us time to really focus on how we want our education system to adapt to a changing world and better prepare our students for their brave new world.

Healthcare access is a big issue and the elimination of the premiums is a done deal…the only question is how quickly should they go and do we need to replace the $1B lost revenue or do we cut back spending? There are bigger and more chronic health care problems than the elimination of premiums…but it is a good thing that they are definitely going.

With $11.3B invested by Stelmach into municipal infrastructure, that guarantees communities capacity to planning with longer timeframes and do a better job of meeting infrastructue related growth demands. Calgary is laughing all the way to the bank on the allocation of these funds. It was Edmonton that got screwed because of the carping of competing communities in the Capital Region.

Labour shortages are a concern but again – the free market is doing its magic, isn’t it? No real problem here - if we just let the free market be free. Sure some projects are going to be deferred or even shelved as uneconomic due to rising labour costs. What is wrong with that? Temp workers are not the problem and not the solution. The temp owrker problems are due to our inability to accommodate and assimilate these people so we can enable them to be permanent residents and successful citizens. The government programs are in place but the employers are not respoinding. They just seem to be focused on the immediate potholes and not keeping their eyes on the horizon in dealing with labour shortages. Short term thinking is not the way to go on resolving our labour shortages.

EUB issues are mostly about governing philosophy but it is not a life and death issue by any means. On the other hand, some rural communities have too much growth and others don’t have enough. Again that is the world changing and demanding imagination and capacity for resourcefulness and adaptability of communities to deal with the new realities. Nothing stays the same. Deal with it!

Savings are an issue but it is about intentionality, adaptability and intergenerational equity. Non-renewable resources don’t last for ever and if we screw up the planet as we exploit them, the planet will survive, but there is no guarantee that our species, and many others because of us, will continue to be a part if its future. That is the real planning for the future question. We need to move immediately to life cycle and full cost accounting and let’s also redefine progress to really tackle the serious issues we have created by our excessive consumptive lifestyles…me included.

Some of these are issues that are already resolved or in process of resolution by the Stelmach government. Other really big issues like water, GHG, landscape fragmentation and destruction habitat, climate change, preserving biodiversity, urban sprawl and geopolitical pressures on Alberta as the largest single and secure supply of energy in the world are what make me worry and wonder about our future.

How can we enhance community, enhance ecological integrity and devise more effective ways to make better decisions perplex me. We have to move beyond preserving the medieval principles and practices of adversarial power struggles contest, at the personal, family, community, state and nation state levels are amongst the significant issues I would like to see our political culture deal with – especially at election time…even this election time.

CO2 Capture and Sequestration - An Idea Whose Time Has Come in Alberta

There are some very interesting and critically important developments emerging in this election. Not the least of which is the environmental concerns over greenhouse gases in Alberta’s growing energy based economy.

The recent survey we did (Cambridge Strategies and The Policy Channel) on what are the most important values Albertans are concerned about around responsible and sustainable oil sand development had CO2 capture and wildlife habitat as the two top of mind issues for Albertans. It is an important political issue and a more important environmental issue for Alberta. You can read a report on the survey findings at Policy Channel (http://www.policychannel.com/)

Things are happening. Premier Stelmach referenced carbon capture in many of his MSM year end interviews. Carbon capture and storage was highlighted in the Throne Speech. Ed Stelmach pledged to get this issue moving and start to put the infrastructure in place in conjunction with the large emitters.

Just days before the Throne Speech the Canada/Alberta joint effort task force report on carbon capture and storage. This report advises government and industry on not only how to do this but to do it in a way that places Alberta in the global forefront on this technology and its application. It is going to be expensive but the alternatives of delay or do nothing is totally unacceptable.

Industry is stepping up on the concerns over CO2 emissions too. The industry consortium with major industry players like Enbridge, EnCana and TransCanada Corp are seriously into the issue from both a capture and sequestration perspective. Another Alberta based group ICO2N has just formed and will also look at the pipeline needs of carbon capture and sequestration. City of Edmonton owned Epcor Power LP is a big player in this initiative.

The retrograde consciousness of climate change deniers is long since past its political "best before date."(even though some deniers are still bleating and belching about it.). This is a complex policy area but the technology exists and is being used in other countries. It is even being used in Canada today but only to a moderate degree so far.

Our survey showed that current public perceptions in Alberta are that much more is being done on carbon capture that is the reality today. Perception is reality in politics and just because it is a cliche does not mean it is not true. But perception is not necessarily reality when it comes to assesssing the actual public policy processes, practices and their outcomes...particularly around how much actual CO2 capture and sequestration is really going on in Alberta. Not much - YET!

There is danger for both government and industry if citizen’s perceptions, expectations and, in particular, their aspirations are not being met on high value driver and critical issues like carbon capture and sequestration.

CO2 capture and sequestration is no longer a distant or emerging issue. Our survey shows that it is a current concern of most Albertans and they have a keen sense of its importance and urgency. The key players of industry and government are now engaged. The political will and economic muscle from leaders like Premier Stelmach and TransAlta’s CEO Steve Snyder (who chaired the Fed/Prov task force) has to be encouraged, sustained and enhanced to get this done right - and right away.

Former Prime Minister Kim Campbell famously said to the effect that elections are no time to deal with complex issues. When she said that, back in the day, it may have been true for her times. Today the reality is different due to the inter-related and highly integrated world has complexity everywhere all the time. This Alberta election is just the time to deal with a complex issue like CO2 capture and sequestration.

I am pleased that Premier Stelmach has put it on the political agenda for discussion in this election. Now Albertans have to inform themselves on what is happening around CO2 capture and sequestration and then they can help turn up the political heat on this initiative and turn it into a reality.

If GHG’s and climate change are important to you and you agree CO2 is a crucial part of the solution, one way I see to make it happen is to support Ed Stelmach’s Progressive Conservatives in this election. Ed has a good start but we all know he can do better. So encourage him and insist that he get this job done once his government re-elected.

Enlightened Savage Strikes Again!

The Enlightened Savage strikes again with a thorough analysis of the Throne Speech from his POV. Insightful as always and always worth a read!

Who Says Goodbye After Super Tuesday?

So Super Tuesday is finally here. Some friends and I are going to get together to watch this event - the Super Bowl for Policy Wonks.

McCain comes out with an impressive lead and momentum and the Republican royalty finally behind him. Huckabee is fading fast and repositioning for a VP gig on a McCain ticket but Lieberman has the inside track. Romney is too “rich” for any true red Republican and has tried to buy the nomination. Where Giuliani was too little to late, Romney has been too much (as in money) too soon. Ron Paul is done too but get immortalized as the Libertarian anti-Ralph Nader to his cult following.

Obama and Clinton are neck and neck at the end of the day. Obama has the MO and Clinton and the Democratic royalty behind her. The outcome is unknown here and will be up to and including the convention in August. Too back Edwards pulled out when he did! He could have picked the winner with an endorsement in August is he had hung in.

The Dems have to choose between town competing liberal principles. Do they want a black or a woman for their President? Too bad Oprah wasn’t the running – they could get both.

It's Election Time in Alberta and the Future is the Issue.

I always enjoy the Edmonton Journal’s Paula Simons’ perspective on things. We mostly align but not always. Well her column today is almost a total overlap as how I see the transition between Klein and Stelmach. It is worth a read.

Stelmach is too much of a gentleman to run against Klein. I do recall Klein ran against the Getty record rather successfully back in the day. The “messes” of the past are being addressed by Stelmach and he is putting his own stamp on how his government will operate and his more inclusive and integrated policy focus. Stelmach is a change and shift away from the old days. He is thoughtful, reflective, caring and capable - and a refreshing change as we now focus on the planning and positioning of the province for the future.

This blog will focus mostly on the election with posts from an Albertan with a Progressive and Conservative perspective. I intend to explore and engage on a wide range of issues and events through out the campaign. I am hoping to encourage more citizen engagement and some serious commitment of time and energy so folks can see a reason to return to politics as a positive part of their lives.

My focus is to try and get a better government that is progressive and conservative and to help readers/citizens/voters understand how that vital and effective combination of principles can be the best way to go forward as a province. I expect contrarian and complementary comments but I also expect civility as the basis for the conversations too.

I am also working professionally on some issues for clients and will be careful to advise when a comment or a post is about a client’s activities and objectives too.

Elections are about choices and changes. They are about getting on with determining the destination and directions for the new Alberta. Apathy is boring and not an option if you value your democratic freedoms. So this time – in this election - get engaged Alberta – it is our future that is at stake.