Come on CBC - You're Too Good for This Tripe

I am intrigued by the CBC report on “issue framing” around Mr. Ron Wood, the retired and former press secretary of former and retired Preston Manning, former leader of the former and retired federal Reform Party.

I have no problem with "retired" folks, and "former" folks expressing opinions or voting however they wish. But to suggest the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta under the new leadership of Ed Stelmach is “tired, old and complacent and need some time in exile” is just too rich and wantonly rhetorical. It just does not reflect any reasonable sense of reality!!!

If the Stelmach government is “tired, old and complacent” then how do you account for Stelmach’s considerable political and policy accomplishments of the past year? His new accomplishment and the fixing of the old mess left behind were so numerous and so significant that they outstripped the entire policy program and performance of the last 8 years of the Klein regime - substantially.

To suggest the PC Caucus that is tired, old and complacent, if it holds any truth, which I reject; it is mostly because of those MLAs who have announced their retirement. No doubt many are retiring as a result of the change in leadership and that is a normal renewal process. Not everyone who is retiring fits the description of tired, old and complacent but some do. But that has nothing to do with Stelmach’s capacity for good governing.

I have no problem with Mr. Wood publicly supporting a Liberal candidate. That is his right. I have done it myself, federally, with Anne McLellan. To suggest a federal Reform Party operative who is voting Liberal provincially is not shifting allegiances. For one reason, it is not just different parties but entirely different jurisdictions.

There is no affiliation between the federal Reform Party and the provincial PCs so how is this endorsment a shift of allegiances? Voting PC, or for any other party, is hardly enough to conclude that a citizen has declared an allegiance to a political party. Voting is nothing more than a right of citizenship – it is not a declaration of party allegiance.

There is no indication from the CBC piece that Mr. Wood was ever active in the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party either. To assume his retired and former role in the former Reform Party is equivalent to an allegiance to the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party is misleading. They have nothing to do with each other.

It would be equally misleading if the Wood story were framed by the CBC in such a way to claim that he has shifted his allegiance away from Stephen Harper’s federal Conservatives because he is voting Liberal in an Alberta provincial election. That would also be pure balderdash.

Mr. Wood can vote for whomever he likes and for what ever reasons he chooses. But to characterize his vote from Federal Reform to provincial Liberal as a shift of allegiance is a stretch beyond any measure of reasonableness. Mr. Wood's other gratuitous comments accusing Stelmach of leading a "tired, old and complacent" government is equally unreasonable and belied by the facts.

There are serious issues in this election and there are serious candidates from all parties putting forth their ideas on how to address those issues. There are real stories out there people - not this fluff! Can’t we focus our coverage efforts in this campaign on actually trying to identify the impact and import of those issues and ideas? Can’t we put some rigour into our media commentary and talk about the effectiveness of the various ideas and try to bring some clarity to complex issues. Can't we focus on exploring the implications the real issues and stories may hold for the future of Alberta?

Being tedious, trite, misleading and truly irrelevant like the voting choices story of Mr. Wood are a waste of CBC time and talent. CBC may not be the only MSM to “cover” this but I am a big fan of Mother Corp. When I see them decline to this level of political "coverage" I don’t just despair, I get disappointed.

Daveberta Cleans UP at 2007 Canadian Blog Awards

Daveberta has won the Canadian Blog awards…CORRECTION. Daveberta has cleaned up at the 2007 Canadian Blog awards. He has been voted the 2007 Best Progressive Blogger, the Best Political Blogger and the Best Blogosphere Citizen.

Dave is a talented and quality guy and has a devilish sense of humour. Just ask the Premier's Office. I can’t help thinking that in spite of it all those personal and blogger qualities, that Dave owes a bunch of this Canadian Blog Awards success to EdStelmach.ca -whoever he is :~}.

Ralph Klein once made Kevin Taft as best selling author over one of his book length policy pamphlets. Klein sold a truck load of Taft’s books by calling Dr. T a Communist. “Plus change…etc.”

Congratulations Dave – well deserved.

Now get ready my friend. I understand you and I get to politically rumble on the CityTV Breakfast Show a few times in this election. Watch this space to dates and times.

All Party Campaigns Open With More "Oops" Than Opportunities

None of the big three political parties are off to a very auspicious campaign start.

The Stelmach Doctor deal had a harsh reality check of what is actually do-able versus what is electorally announce-able! The dancing and adjusting done between the Edmonton and Calgary announcements is embarrassing.

The Alberta Liberals have had to dump a candidate who is facing drug and bribery charges. That too is embarrassing.

The Dippers are on the Dave Rutherford radio program apologizing to the Chair of the “Our Fair Share” Royalty Review for a very public misrepresentation of some private email exchanges. More embarrassments.

It can’t be stage fright or novice actors forgetting their lines. It is just the stuff that happens in elections where time pressures, campaign exuberance and human error hype too often trumps considered wisdom and thoughtfulness.

No big deal on these issues…but Alberta has some enormous challenges and opportunities gong forwards. We need political leaders of all parties to be able to anticipate and avoid screw ups and to not miss opportunities. We also need political leaders who can clearly communicate what they care about and what they are personally very committed to. We need to see their demonstrated capabilities to assume the array and weight of the responsibilities of the office of Premier.

Finally we need to give our politicians enough slack so they can learn, adapt and change – quickly and correctly as required. They need this permission to be flexible without being seen as indecisive, weak or “flip flopping.”

God I hate that term. It is such a stupid characterization that actually impedes open, accountable, necessary and effective change. It stifles good governance and good decision making too. If the next Premier leaves the job as the same person they where when they came to the office that means they are incompetent or they held Alberta back from realizing its full potential or both.

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.