I have been mulling over a suggestion from Chris Brogan for a couple of days now. He selects three words each year to guide his actions and thinking rather than set New Years Resolutions. It made a lot of sense to me but I still had to figure out what concepts I was going to select to guide me. I have been doing some serious thinking and reflection over the holiday about the coming year. I have finally landed on some principles I will want to follow in for 2010 and here they are:
Citizenship: I am going to try and help Albertans, and even Canadians on some issues, to re-engage in the politics and the governance of our times. Citizens have become passive consumers of policies, programs and politics and see government as a vending machine that delivers products, goods and services to us. We citizens must revisit our role and relationship with governance and the political processes the produces power and influence in Alberta and Canada. Reboot Alberta is going to be a big part of 2010 for me in this regard.
Ownership: Albertans have become serfs when it comes to dealing with our natural resources. We have delegated all of our ownership rights and responsibilities to our politicians. As a result they political processes happen in private and even covertly behind our backs. We are merely policy takers as our government gives away our royalty rents to the companies who they decide will get to exploit them. This giveaway by our government reduces the birthright wealth creation of future generations. It limits our ability to provide long term stability for our economy, diminishes the demands to fully account for the environmental costs of resource extraction, including reclamation and puts the tenants in control. Albertans have to start thinking and acting like owners of their natural resources and making demands on returns, responsible and sustainable exploitation and new ways to add value here, not merely sending jobs and wealth down pipelines. I came to be concerned about Ownership of our resources from reading the Royalty Review Panel Report and watching the subsequent government retreat from the sound reasoning in that report.
Stewardship: Albertans have the blessing and burden of the second largest concentration of hydrocarbon energy deposits in the world. We have a set of values and a mindset as people that we must be careful and cautious about how were take advantage of this resource in an integrated economic, environmental and societal approach. We know we need to protect habitat, water, air and soil in all that we do in promoting wealth creation and progress. We are mindful of our opportunities and our responsibilities but we are way too passive in pressing our government to provide appropriate stewardship policies and protections. I have been working in the Boreal Forest for about 5 years now and most recently around mountain pine beetle infestation and helping to develop a conservation/biodiveristy offset policy for the province.
So those are going to be my guiding principles going forward for 2010. They are large conceptual baskets that will give me great flexibility. They will also force me to address them as foundational to all my activities and aspirations for myself, my family, my community, my province - and in some ways; my nation, going forward.
So, Happy New Year everybody! 2010 promises to be interesting and volatile. All the more reason to be grounded in some fundamental principles as we go forward as Albertans. Thank you for reading and sharing your comments on this blog over the past year. I look forward to more and better blogging in the year to come.
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Fellow Blogger Hits a Home Run With a Funny Bone.
Chris LaBossiere is my friend and fellow-traveler on the Reboot Alberta journey. Today he has a most interesting and entertaining blog post. He has discovered a new program that apparently turns text into "movies." The technology is pretty ridimentary (think Mario Brothers meets South Park) but it is potentially at the threshold of a new social media platform.
This is Chris' first adventure into animated political parody. His content is as focused, biting and pointed in his animation as he is in his text blog posts. His context is even better with this animation tool. He takes on the Wildrose Alliance Party political policy positions. He makes a very clear point about what they will not talk about, like donors and social policy. What they do say speaks loudly but it is mostly one-line media ready sound bites that glosses over complex environmental, economic and social concerns. His post has all the links you need to the WAP policy documents to check them out and decide for yourself.
He promises to take on Reboot Alberta next. He calls it the "Goldilocks" of Alberta politics. With a set up like that I can't wait to see what he comes up with. I don't think Chris is going to be Alberta's next Frank Kapra or Donald Cameron. But he may be well on his way to being our Trey Parker or maybe even our Jon Stewart
Well done Chris. Thanks for the laughs - but also for the information and the insights which you have presented in such a clever and entertaining way.
This is Chris' first adventure into animated political parody. His content is as focused, biting and pointed in his animation as he is in his text blog posts. His context is even better with this animation tool. He takes on the Wildrose Alliance Party political policy positions. He makes a very clear point about what they will not talk about, like donors and social policy. What they do say speaks loudly but it is mostly one-line media ready sound bites that glosses over complex environmental, economic and social concerns. His post has all the links you need to the WAP policy documents to check them out and decide for yourself.
He promises to take on Reboot Alberta next. He calls it the "Goldilocks" of Alberta politics. With a set up like that I can't wait to see what he comes up with. I don't think Chris is going to be Alberta's next Frank Kapra or Donald Cameron. But he may be well on his way to being our Trey Parker or maybe even our Jon Stewart
Well done Chris. Thanks for the laughs - but also for the information and the insights which you have presented in such a clever and entertaining way.
Friday, January 01, 2010
Has Harper Finally Gone Too Far for Canadians in Ducking the Afghan Detainee Torture Issue?
Far and Wide: Smug
I have been mulling over what to say about the move by Prime Minister Harper to prorouge Parliament. Reading the points and comment of one of my favourite bloggers, Far and Wide, on the subject covers much of my concern.
The real reason our Prime Minister is prorouging Parliament is as yet unknown. We know the Conservative spin cycle justification but that is far from and wide of the truth (Sorry Steve, couldn't resist.) It is clearly a tactical action to delay accountability and further discovery of the facts around what the Harper government's role in the torture of Afghan detainees.
The clear deceit and denial that permeates throughout the politcial culture of the Harper government is well known and documented in so many areas be it denial of the recession to being forced into admitting it and doing stimulus investing, but still on a partisan preferential basis is one. The culture of denial about the science of climate change and the missing inaction policy position on GHGs and Copenhagen. The phony trip to Cop15 in Copenhagen by our Prime Minister Harper only because other world leaders were engaged and attending made it imperaive that he go, only to stay in his hotel rooms for a few days living off room service so he could not be asked questions.
The Harper government's indifference to the need to protect the human rights of Canadian citizens abroad like less than tepid response to the plight of the Alberta freelance journalist held hostage in Somalia. She was actually freed by her family and other citizens, some from other countries, I believe. The ultimate indifference to the human rights plight of a Canadian being held in a foreign prison is Omar Khadr the Canadian child soldier held in Gitmo for over 7 years without trial and in the face of numerous court decisions saying he should be repatriated and face Canadian justice.
Now we likely have a concern that may go right through the power structure in the Harper goverment around the political and policy role of our government in the handling of Afghan detainees and turning them over to be tourtured. The backpedaling on the facts by the Harper government is astonishing. The smoking guns on this one are everywhere, including the feeble attempts by Harper's partisan political power structure to discredit the diplomat who was sending warnings and written concerns. All of which were ignored and he was admonished for putting them on the record by his "superiors.".
The Commons Committee dealing with the concerns was starting to make serious progress at getting to the facts on detainee torture. It is my belief that they were about to uncover some other serious breaches by the Harper government around the handling of the Afghan detainee file. Harper does not want that discovered nor discussed so the easiest way is to defer and delay the working of the Committee. To avoid any such accountability, openness and responsibility, Harper shut down Parliament. He hopes Canadians will tradeoff this breach of Canadian values in enchange for hosting the Olympics? Harper's hubris and indifference to democracy allows him to kill 30 Bills in process and all of his much touted law and order agenda. He must be very afraid of what the Commons Committee was about to discover to sacrifice the law and order policy agenda that was needed to secure his right-wing political base.
Is this mostly about our Prime Minister's cowardice, indifference to democracy or something even more perverse like his pursuit of personal rule through authoritarianism? I think it is all of that and more. Canadians better wake up and resist and insist on at least good government. Peace and order already seem to be beyond the Harper regime. I think Prime Minister Harper is proving yet again that he is good at raw power politics and tactics but indifferent to and incapable of good governing. It is time for him to go. If Conservatives don't dump him soon, Canadians will dump him and many other Conservative politicians in the next election.
I have been mulling over what to say about the move by Prime Minister Harper to prorouge Parliament. Reading the points and comment of one of my favourite bloggers, Far and Wide, on the subject covers much of my concern.
The real reason our Prime Minister is prorouging Parliament is as yet unknown. We know the Conservative spin cycle justification but that is far from and wide of the truth (Sorry Steve, couldn't resist.) It is clearly a tactical action to delay accountability and further discovery of the facts around what the Harper government's role in the torture of Afghan detainees.
The clear deceit and denial that permeates throughout the politcial culture of the Harper government is well known and documented in so many areas be it denial of the recession to being forced into admitting it and doing stimulus investing, but still on a partisan preferential basis is one. The culture of denial about the science of climate change and the missing inaction policy position on GHGs and Copenhagen. The phony trip to Cop15 in Copenhagen by our Prime Minister Harper only because other world leaders were engaged and attending made it imperaive that he go, only to stay in his hotel rooms for a few days living off room service so he could not be asked questions.
The Harper government's indifference to the need to protect the human rights of Canadian citizens abroad like less than tepid response to the plight of the Alberta freelance journalist held hostage in Somalia. She was actually freed by her family and other citizens, some from other countries, I believe. The ultimate indifference to the human rights plight of a Canadian being held in a foreign prison is Omar Khadr the Canadian child soldier held in Gitmo for over 7 years without trial and in the face of numerous court decisions saying he should be repatriated and face Canadian justice.
Now we likely have a concern that may go right through the power structure in the Harper goverment around the political and policy role of our government in the handling of Afghan detainees and turning them over to be tourtured. The backpedaling on the facts by the Harper government is astonishing. The smoking guns on this one are everywhere, including the feeble attempts by Harper's partisan political power structure to discredit the diplomat who was sending warnings and written concerns. All of which were ignored and he was admonished for putting them on the record by his "superiors.".
The Commons Committee dealing with the concerns was starting to make serious progress at getting to the facts on detainee torture. It is my belief that they were about to uncover some other serious breaches by the Harper government around the handling of the Afghan detainee file. Harper does not want that discovered nor discussed so the easiest way is to defer and delay the working of the Committee. To avoid any such accountability, openness and responsibility, Harper shut down Parliament. He hopes Canadians will tradeoff this breach of Canadian values in enchange for hosting the Olympics? Harper's hubris and indifference to democracy allows him to kill 30 Bills in process and all of his much touted law and order agenda. He must be very afraid of what the Commons Committee was about to discover to sacrifice the law and order policy agenda that was needed to secure his right-wing political base.
Is this mostly about our Prime Minister's cowardice, indifference to democracy or something even more perverse like his pursuit of personal rule through authoritarianism? I think it is all of that and more. Canadians better wake up and resist and insist on at least good government. Peace and order already seem to be beyond the Harper regime. I think Prime Minister Harper is proving yet again that he is good at raw power politics and tactics but indifferent to and incapable of good governing. It is time for him to go. If Conservatives don't dump him soon, Canadians will dump him and many other Conservative politicians in the next election.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Why Are We Giving Away More Royalty Rents?
The most critical decision Premier Stelmach has had to face since winning the PC leadership will be the pending Cabinet shuffle expected around January 11. Now we have the added opportunity to give away more royalty rents to the energy sector.
The writing on the wall, based on past reactions, is the Stelmach brain trust will make Cabinet recommendations that will move the government more to the right to respond to the rising Wildrose influence. The loss of Ron Stevens as Deputy Premier and the run of royalty retreats has not appeased the Calgary oil patch. Stelmach can't even buy love in Cowtown...using taxpayer money to boot.
Now we see even more royalty giveaways and industry subsidies be contemplated by the Stelmach government. An Energy Department lead review of natural gas royalties that is driven by anticipation of US shale gas extraction providing competition for Alberta gas supplies.
Here is a key quote for the Calgary Herald story today: "Premier Ed Stelmach has vowed his government will make further changes to energy royalties -- hinting major restructuring is coming on the natural gas side -- something battered producers and the man overseeing part of the review said is desperately needed.
"There's a whole bunch of stu will have to be addressed," said former Nexen Inc. vice-president Roger Thomas, who is heading the fiscal side of the study with former Royal Bank of Canada investment banker Chris Fong.
"You don't want to give the farm away, but you've got to be positioning yourself with like companies to remain competitive. Ultimately, you've got to be at the top of the list of competitive jurisdictions," said Thomas.
This is more political squandering of a non-renewable resource rents and perfecting the past instead of ploanning for the future. Natural gas prices were soft in 2009 falling form a January high of $6.07 per million BTUs to $2.51 in September and averaging about $4 over the year. Market conditions should dictate here, pure and simple. A foregone royalty now cannot be recovered later and it is a waste of the birthright of future generations to allow our government to forego a fair rent. Prices came off extreme peaks as the recession reduced demand, there was lots of inventory supply and service costs were high and out of cntrol coming out of the overheated market of the prior years.
Cost have come down about 30% off the peak but is that enough to comply with market realities? What are costs now compared to say 2004 and 2005 before the spike in gas commodity prices? Those were hardly hardship years for the energy sector. My bet is they are still out of line.
Natural gas prices today are in the $6 range and that is not shabby. Things are improving and that again is the magic of the supply and demand interplay of the free markeplace. Sharper industry pencils on costs and a reasonable rate of return, not windfalls, are acceptable. Albertans already have given over $2B of royalty relief last year, and that is too much to my mind.
The writing on the wall, based on past reactions, is the Stelmach brain trust will make Cabinet recommendations that will move the government more to the right to respond to the rising Wildrose influence. The loss of Ron Stevens as Deputy Premier and the run of royalty retreats has not appeased the Calgary oil patch. Stelmach can't even buy love in Cowtown...using taxpayer money to boot.
Now we see even more royalty giveaways and industry subsidies be contemplated by the Stelmach government. An Energy Department lead review of natural gas royalties that is driven by anticipation of US shale gas extraction providing competition for Alberta gas supplies.
Here is a key quote for the Calgary Herald story today: "Premier Ed Stelmach has vowed his government will make further changes to energy royalties -- hinting major restructuring is coming on the natural gas side -- something battered producers and the man overseeing part of the review said is desperately needed.
"There's a whole bunch of stu will have to be addressed," said former Nexen Inc. vice-president Roger Thomas, who is heading the fiscal side of the study with former Royal Bank of Canada investment banker Chris Fong.
"You don't want to give the farm away, but you've got to be positioning yourself with like companies to remain competitive. Ultimately, you've got to be at the top of the list of competitive jurisdictions," said Thomas.
This is more political squandering of a non-renewable resource rents and perfecting the past instead of ploanning for the future. Natural gas prices were soft in 2009 falling form a January high of $6.07 per million BTUs to $2.51 in September and averaging about $4 over the year. Market conditions should dictate here, pure and simple. A foregone royalty now cannot be recovered later and it is a waste of the birthright of future generations to allow our government to forego a fair rent. Prices came off extreme peaks as the recession reduced demand, there was lots of inventory supply and service costs were high and out of cntrol coming out of the overheated market of the prior years.
Cost have come down about 30% off the peak but is that enough to comply with market realities? What are costs now compared to say 2004 and 2005 before the spike in gas commodity prices? Those were hardly hardship years for the energy sector. My bet is they are still out of line.
Natural gas prices today are in the $6 range and that is not shabby. Things are improving and that again is the magic of the supply and demand interplay of the free markeplace. Sharper industry pencils on costs and a reasonable rate of return, not windfalls, are acceptable. Albertans already have given over $2B of royalty relief last year, and that is too much to my mind.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Where is Reboot Alberta & How to Get Involved.
I have spent some of the holiday time thinking about the next steps for Reboot Alberta. It is launched and getting some traction and momentum as a community of progressive-minded Albertans. Coming out of the first gathering in late November was a request that some time and effort be spent framing the concept of what it meant to be a Progressive in the context of a 21st century Alberta. That work is well underway.
A number of people have shared their thoughts on the “What is a Progressive” link at www.rebootalberta.org website. I encourage you to read and comment on the contributions so far.
The other outcome of the Reboot Alberta launch was the emergence of four identifiable theme streams for Progressives to use going forward as they press for change in Alberta politics, policy and democracy. The two themes with the most participation were to start a new political party with a different approach to politics, namely public service not just getting or retaining power as the focus. The other strong theme, based on participation levels, was the civil society approach to pressing for change. This theme sees using existing the power and influence of existing organizations and institutions as a means to make the major changes needed to put a progressive policy approach and political agenda forward for Alberta.
The other two themes had a smaller numbers of Reboot Alberta participants but no less enthusiasm for the cause. Some people who wanted to use their membership and influence in existing political parties to bring a more progressive approach to Alberta politics. Others saw themselves as ordinary citizens who wanted to make their progressive voices heard in the policy development of the province but were not interested in typical political organizations of partisanship as the way for them to press for change.
All four theme streams are alive, well and growing within the progressive Reboot Alberta community.
There was another overarching feeling I got from listening at the launch of Reboot Alberta is that the existing political and policy development system is not working and may even be broken. The cynicism and indifference posture of past progressive thinking in Alberta is no longer an option. In fact it is dangerous to the wellbeing of the province given the political options we are being offered are a far-rightwing or an even farther rightwing alternative. The general dissatisfaction with the other conventional opposition parties is almost unconscious but they are simply not seen as viable governing solutions.
One thing every politically active or reactive Albertan seems to agree on now is that Alberta’s politics are volatile and vibrant…for the first time in a long time. For those of us who what to press for progressive political and democratic change, that is a good thing.
So what is next for Reboot Alberta and progressives in light of all of this flux? At the base is an emerging movement for a re-engaged and reinvigorated sense of citizenship by progressives. Now progressives are starting to find each other, starting to connect, share and collaborate about creating common causes and reaching common goals. The website at www.rebootalberta.org is where this emerging progressive political community in Alberta is congregating.
While the virtual community is forming, Renew Alberta is moving forward in establishing a new political party. It is likely this new party will be influenced and informed by the efforts of the civil society theme stream within Reboot Alberta. This input will be vital as Renew Alberta works out what it stands for, what it wants to achieve, how will it be different from the status quo parties and what issues will it see as in need of political/ policy attention and change.
From some of the reading I have been doing on Paul Ray’s work on the New Political Compass, I see a strong correlation between the Cultural Creatives and the New Progressives, as he calls them (us?). This correlation is growing into political subculture based on values with concerns around certain central issues. Issues like resilient and vibrant communities, the ecological health of the planet, concerns over social cohesion as the rich get richer and even the working poor get poorer. There is a rejection of the old adversarial thinking based on “us versus them” approach particularly relating to social differences and in personal relationship. There is a grave and growing concern amongst Progressives about what kind of future are we leaving our children. And a deepening distrust of effectiveness of conventional partisan culture conflict of Left versus Right.
If these thoughts resonate with you I encourage you to take some personal action. Go to this link and see if you are a Cultural Creative. If so, then explore the writings at the new website for progressive Albertan at www.rebootalberta.org. I recommend you read and follow the offerings in the blog roll posts at the Reboot website. Spend some time reading the contributions to “What is a Progressive” as well.
If after all that, if you think you too might want to dust off your citizenship and start to revive those rights and responsibilities you have, then become part this progressive movement. You can make a contribution to help change Alberta’s politics and reform our democracy to become a more progressive political culture. You can register on the Reboot Alberta site and send me an email (ken@cambridgestrategies.com) and ask to be put on the “In-the-Loop” email list. Plan to attend the next face-to-face gathering of the progressive Alberta community, Reboot Alberta 2.0. It is happening at the Delta Lodge in Kananaskis Feb 26-28. More details on that event will be coming out next week here and on the Reboot Alberta website.
Dissatisfaction and disillusionment do not generate hope or change. However, reviving your sense of responsible citizenship and re-engaging in the political culture of Alberta can create hope and change. It is vital that Alberta’s progressives start showing up and making their voices heard about our aspirations for the future of this province. The world is run by those who show up. In a democracy we always get the government we deserve. That is especially true now when we are at a threshold of enormous political change in our Alberta.
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