"All I am Saying is Give Ed a Chance."

UPDATE March 2/08 - THE STRATEGIC VOTING SECOND GUESSING HAS STARTED IN CALGARY. CHECK OUT LICIA CORBELLA IN THE CALGARY HERALD.

This weekend in Alberta has been eerily quiet and anxiety raising for the hard-core partisan campaigners off all political stripes who have been working hard for local candidates and their leaders in this election. This is because no one really knows what will happen tomorrow at the polling booth.

The opinion polls are all over the map. The undecided is high, there are 300,000 new Albertans since the last election and they are a wild card. The old political "order of things" in the power structure of Alberta is changing too.

Personally I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic…I am fatalistic. Que sera sera is how I see it. The citizens of Alberta who show up and vote will decide our future and I trust their wisdom. Albertans are quitely reflecting this weekend and struggling to make up their minds about how they will vote. They hold the future of the province in their collective hands and they are weighing the alternative choices before them and considering the consequences.

There are many regional differences and issues in play all over the provionce. Indications are that Ed’s rural vote is holding and Edmonton is firming up behind Ed where polls say he can expect more seats. The deep south is in play in some places and there are some other intereting local campaigns to watch too. And then there is the Calgary factor.

In Calgary it is all about choosing between being pissed with Ed Stelmach (because he is not one of them) or being practical and pragmatic about their continuing place in Alberta’s political power structure. This choice is made especially problematic for Calgary’s power brokers if Edmonton goes to Ed this time and he ends up with a comfortable majority. Sending message to Ed by voting RED is one thing but losing influence to Edmonton - that would be too much to bear.

There is an interesting and telling comment in the Edmonton Journal today that quotes a U of C political scientist who said “Calgary’s not used to being ignored.” Calgary has not been ignored by Stelmach since he won the PC leadership, and particularly since he called this election campaign. But Alberta has changed and it is no longer “Ralph’s World.” In Ralph’s World , Klein did not so much "own" Calgary as the Calgary elites "owned" Ralph. They had Klein's ear and he pretty much did what they whispered into it.

But now there is a new man in charge and he comes from northern and rural Alberta. He is definitely not from Calgary...and that is disquieting for the Calgaty old-boys who firmly believed what was good for Calgary was defacto good for the rest of Alberta. Ed is not in the pockets of these energy elites nor is he beholden to them. As a result the old energy sector power players don’t know how to respond to him except to be personally condescendingly at times, brashly aggressive at other time, especially over royalties, and a tad defensively too, from time to time.

The energy elites in Calgary are used to being “The Loop” not merely in the loop. The Calgary energy elite angst is made more complicated as they wonder and weigh what will be their future influence in Alberta politics if they go RED and Ed wins a comfortable majority particularly because of a strong “EDmonton” showing. The Edmonton outcome is still uncertain but that does not make the Calgary power-broker-voter decision any easier as they try and figure out how they can stay “in control and in charge of Alberta.”

In any event, sometime tomorrow night we will know the outcomes of this election. There will be many different outcomes depending on your perspectives and aspirations for the province - and your place in it. By Tuesday, the past will just be the past and Alberta will be moving on in one way or another, in one direction or another and with a new government with a new mandate.

I just hope the election results are clear and conclusive and not vague and variable. If the latter happens we will waste a lot more of our precious time fumbling around trying to get our political act together trying to get our future directions and destinations defined, designed and delivered. We have already lollygagged for 8 years at the end of Ralph’s World.” Alberta can’t afford 2 or 3 more years of wondering, wandering and squandering our future opportunities and potential.

Harper Should Immediately Call for an Inquiry Over the Cadman-Con Affair.

Adam at 9:19 on the previous post in the Blog commented as follows:

1. Chuck Cadman himself publicly said he was not offered anything.

2. Dona Cadman is now running for the Conservatives and indicated that there was nothing unbecoming.

3. The Liberals fear saying anything outside the House because they will be immediately slapped with a defamation lawsuit.

4. Finally, there is no insurance company in the world that would ever give a $1 million policy to someone who is terminally ill. Only an idiot would think that can happen.

It is sad that you say federal politics is boring until the federal liberals decide to sling mud. Your party is neutered and losing credibility - harping on "character" is not going to help the Liberals.


Adam - your Comment points beg for rebuttal AND a post if its own...so here goes.

#1 - Cadman said in media scrums and comment that he was not offered anything by Martin or Harper...however he was not asked by the media about offers from Mr. Harper’s operatives. In fact Mr. Harper says on tape in an interview for the book that he knew his operatives were making Cadman “a financial offer” allegedly to offset his cost of a pending election!!! Mr. Cadman was near death at the time and not going to be a candidate in an election caused by the non confidence vote. Mr. Cadman passed away two months after the vote. HOW stupid is that representation as a defense to the allegations at hand?

#2 Yes I understand that Mrs. Cadman is running for the Cons and that must be very awkward for you guys. You will likely end up paying her off or even refuse to sign her nomination papers under the circumstance. Your party has a history of treating nominee you don’t very like badly – forcing some to even sue you to honour the “expense deals” made to get them out of the way.

This is potentially a much bigger deal and could be a matter of influence peddling - a criminal offence. Mrs. Cadman is not, as far as I know, a lawyer, nor familiar with the law in this area or the influence peddling provisions of the Criminal Code. So it is not likely we can rely on her as one to adequately judge if the offer was "unbecoming" or not. We have police investigations, prosecutors and the courts to make those determinations for our society.

#3 - Why should any parliamentarian say anything outside the Commons about this matter? It is not their allegations and questionable behaviours that are at issue here. Besides it is all in a book and on tape and all over the media. If you Cons want to sue, you can sue the media coverage of the story if it is over the line. You can sue the author and maybe you will want to burn his books while you are at it. You can sue Mr. Cadman's wife and his daughter who are confirming the allegation in the book, apparently from first hand conversations with Mr. Cadman. These individuals are all outside the protection of parliamentary privilege. Go for it boys. If you want a legal action you have it against those actually making the allegations, not parliamentarians who are just doing their job on behalf of Canadians.

#4 Correct, there is no insurance company in the world who would issue a policy on Mr. Cadman's life given his terminal illness. Unless of course someone was prepared to lie or mislead on insurance application...but I am not accusing anyone of that…heaven forbid. Besides – it never happened because Mr. Cadman is reported to have thrown Mr. Harper’s operatives out of his office at the suggestion of such a scam.

Speaking of misleading scams, how gullible do you Cons think we Canadians are? We are being asked to accept that there was no offer of a $1m insurance policy to Mr. Cadman in exchange for his vote, even when the allegations are confirmed by two primary sources, Mr. Cadman’s wife and his daughter. They have nothing to gain by being misleading on these issues. In fact, Mrs. Cadman may have something to lose. She will likely have to face some concerns and reservations by the CPC as to her continuation as a candidate in light of her comments and her confirmation of these alleged events.

Instead, we are being asked to believe Mr. Harper’s version of events. He says that so far as he knew, the “financial offer” his operatives were making to Mr. Cadman was an offer to pick up his election costs. That presumes Mr. Cadman's candidacy in the election that would result from his support of the Cons in the pending non-confidence vote. That makes no more and no less sense than the possibility of a $1m insurance policy offer allegation. Perhaps both offers were made. Who knows but that does not matter in the larger scheme of things going on here.

The facts about Mr. Cadman' health were well known to all of Canada at the time of these incidences and allegations. And the facts were that, Mr. Cadman was in the final stages of his life at the time the non-confidence vote was being initiated by the Cons. That vote, given Mr. Cadman’s support, the Cons would be able to defeat the Martin government and trigger an election which Mr. Harper desperately wanted. The political stakes were high for the Harper Cons at the time the operatives were allegedly making certain “financial offers” to Mr. Cadman in exchange for his vote.

The allegations that are being made, if they are proven to be influence pedaling, will result in the potential for some high stakes and dire consequences for individuals involved. It will also have dire consequences about the respectability, the credibility and the suitability of Mr. Harper and his party to be worthy of the consent of the citizens of Canada to govern.

The stories the Cons are trying to spin about this is incredible and insulting. They are looking more and more like a cross between the Keystone Kops and Rasputin with all the efforts at obfuscation and the mockery and mocking defenses. They are now backpedaling on earlier positions in the face of the new facts that are coming out. The new facts are becoming a growing litany that are already well beyond the Cons traditional and trademark damage control and issues management techniques.

None of your points hold water adam. It is time to come clean boys. You should immediately implore your leader to call a judicial inquiry into this embarrassing and debasing Con-induced mess. Do it out of decency, for the good of the country and out of respect for the Office of the Prime Minister...if nothing else.

The Con-Cadman Affair Goes to the Character of the Conservative Party

I am up to my ears in the Alberta election BUT one can’t help but wonder at the goings on around the Con-Cadman Affair. Next week I will have more time to get into it but in the meantime check out this post from DustMyBrooom – it will make you “bristle.”

Emporer Harper and his minions have some 'splaining to do...perhaps to the RCMP?

When You Woke Up This Morning Alberta - What Was On Your Mind?

Great Debate is a Week Old - Do You Remember Anything That Was Said?
It is one week since the Leader’s Debate. Does anyone have a strong memory of anything that was said by any of the leaders? Waht was the "take-away" message for you from the debate? Did it make a difference in the minds of Alberta voters and will impact the end results? Nope and Nope!

Well here are some of the issues I think we Albertans ought to be insisting our government start attending to and getting in front of immediately after this election.

Another Poll Shows the Political Sweet Spot in Alberta is the Environment:
Another poll from Leger for CanWest covered in the Herald and Journal for the past two days shows Albertans are way ahead of the politicians about concerns over the consequences of overheated oil sands development. They are calling for a greater pubic policy commitment and an active government response to GHG controls. Our oil sands survey showed the same results last November. NDs and Libs are on the case but with no credibility of being able to deliver. The issue seems to be a blind spot for the PCs…we better get up to speed on this issue and into the game if we want to continue to have the respect and confidence of the Alberta voter.

Stats Can Says Alberta Energy Investment is Bigger that Manufacturing Investment in ALL of Canada!
Oil sands investment in 2004 was $6.3B and zoomed to $16Bin 2007 and a 23% surge expected this year. Total investment in Alberta for 2008 is pegged at $83.8B, way ahead of Quebec at $60B and closing in on Ontario at $106.B. In fact Alberta is likely to catch Ontario in 2009 if current trends continue. Stats Can says “…in one more year at current rates of growth the oilsands will be bigger than everything: Utilities, transportation and conventional oil and gas.” Is Alberta ready to handle this rate of growth and can our political leadership get out in front of this and deal with the consequences? The environment and the economy are not a zero-sum game - they are the same game. And yes Ed Stelmach - you are right - the environment has to trump the economy and leadership trumps issues.

NAFTA and the Next American President:
Every viable candidate for the next US President is anti-NAFTA because they are either protectionist Democrats or a fear mongering Republican as they fall into recession. The environmental standards in a Democratic House, Senate and White House will compel Alberta to get smarter, greener and more strategic in diversifying our energy upgrading and other markets to reduce US dependency. Alberta needs to get in front of the NAFTA renegotiation – if it happens, the eco-integrity and standards issues and enhancing our capacity to maximize the long term value added benefits of our special position as a reliable, stable assured energy supplier.

Change, Change, Change – Fine, I Get it BUT Will it Happen?
I want political leadership with courage and wisdom and the personal capacity to think things through quickly and comprehensively and then to have the wit and wisdom to execute any plan that emerges effectively and efficiently. Albertans know there are sacrifices to be made to change the consciousness to a more holistic and integrated approach that modern governance demands in a globalized and interdependent world-wide reality. We Albertan are already making the wrong kind of “sacrifices” because of the poor planning and a passive policy culture of the past 7-8 years before the PC Party forced a leadership change.

Apathy is Boring - AND Dangerous!

Time to get focused Alberta and to figure out why you are voting, what you are voting for and then who is the closest to you concerns. The world is run by those who show up and Alberta is no different. Don’t vote – Don’t bitch. Get out and vote and not only can you bitch but you can also stay engaged as a duty of citizenship to get the changes you want. The option to stay passive as the proverbial frog in the boiling water and you only get to self-justify the obvious dire consequences but they will be as much your fault as much as anybody elses.

Hancock Supports a Health and Wellness Foundation for Albertans

One of the ways to measure the level of engagement in an election campaign is the number of organizations that put out party position questionnaires and candidate surveys and how groups co-ordinate their efforts and use the results.

One group I have been following is Health Vision 2020. They are a coalition of 15 prominent health organizations in Alberta. Their mission is to get political support for the creation of a dedicated health promotion foundation that has as its goal to have Albertans as the healthiest people in Canada by 2020. This is the kind of transformational thinking that has been lacking in this campaign from the main line parties. Nice to see it coming from engaged groups of citizens in this election.

The potential for this idea is that we can have improved quality of life outcomes. It will enhance our economy and reduce further demands on the healthcare system. The Mazankowski Report, released in 2002, has this wellness foundation idea as Job 1 in its recommendations…and the time to get on it is now.

The aging population in Alberta will make enormous demands on the healthcare system going forward in time. If we what a sustainable system the secret to that end is not just putting more money into the system but for Albertans to get healthy and to stay healthy and to make that a societal value goal of all Albertans.

So many of the proponents of such ideas only focus on the outcomes but tend to omit to consider what it would cost to achieve the goal and how it could be paid for. Health Vision 2020 is not like most groups in this regard. They propose the double benefit of a modest tax increase on tobacco and alcohol to offset the foundations costs and perhaps reduce the consumption of these products too.

A poll done in 2005 for the Canadian Cancer Society showed 77% of Albertans supported a wellness fund aimed at promoting healthy living in the province. There were 75% of Alberta who would funds for this idea from an increase in tobacco taxes and 69% supported an increased alcohol tax for this project as well.

I see my good friend and Minister of Health and Wellness, Dave Hancock, supports the Health Vision 2020 concept, because he said so in direct reply to another survey that included this idea from the Canadian Mental Health Association. Hancock is a big political champion of a wellness and prevention focus for health care. Well he is not as “big” a champion he once was. I say that because Dave has walked the talk on wellness and disease prevention. I mean that literally as he has dropped over 75 pounds in his own efforts at wellness and prevention.

I applaud the Health Vision 2020 folks and the CMHA for presenting and pushing this transformative idea. Hey Dave, tell Premier Stelmach this idea would be great candidate for Bill #1 after this election.