So another shoe drops on the heads of Alberta PC government with two Progressive Conservative MLA defections to the Wildrose Alliance Party today. My guess is this is just the start and we can expect some more MLAs to be evaluating their future with the current government.
Rob Anderson is a social conservative and has been pushing buttons in the government for a while now. His head and heart is more aligned to a far right political philosophy. He was a big proponent of the Bill 44 that was push through in spite of protestations of progressive Albertans. The raw political power push to pass that draconian social conservative legislation was a tipping point event for progressive Albertan’s attitude about “their” government. It made many progressives in the PC party realizes they were no longer being listened to, including me.
I was surprised that Heather Forsyth being one of the early defections. I know and respect Heather and know her to be a quality person and conscientious MLA. She is a political realist too. From listening to her reason to cross today, there was the usual stuff about representing her constituency but there was more. She listed a lot of serious issues and concerns about the Stelmach government’s approach to many social and economic concerns she has been dealing with at the door steps. She said the “government has lost its way” and commented that “Albertans need to feel proud of their province” again. I think she is right and those realities resonate.
These decisions are never easy. Both of these MLAs have to be taken seriously and I respect their decisions. But I sense this is just a beginning not the end of Stelmach’s woes with the Wildrose Alliance. I would not be surprised if more PC MLA defections are in the Wildrose plan but don’t expect anything until after the Cabinet Shuffle.
Reality in politics is about perception and just because that’s a cliché does not mean it is not true. Perceptions come from stories and narratives more than facts. The emerging narrative is that the PCs are in disarray. They are scrambling for relevance and respect and squandering what they have left of both qualities. The WAP is getting organized and has been an effective place to park ones protect about the PCs.
Today the narrative changed – dramatically. Today the cracks in the brain trust of the Stelmach leadership are being discussed by disaffected former party and government loyalists like Heather Forsyth. The light is shining in and what we are seeing is not helping the plight of the PC government or its leadership. The defector’s new conference comments today about the Stelmach government being undemocratic, authoritarian, intimidating and bullying inside the caucus reflects badly on the government. These same innuendos and coercion tactics have been happening from the government about many vulnerable but courageous people outside politics too. I know this from direct experience and reports from the not-for-profit community based social service sectors, most recently in the Persons with Developmental Disabilities area.
Here is another narrative that is totally speculative but as plausible as any other in the volatile and variable world that Alberta politics in now all about. Consider this story line. What if Ted Morton is not happy with his Cabinet position in the coming shuffle? Why would he stay in the Stelmach government? I don’t think he will cross the floor however. He will resign and return to the University of Calgary. His leave of absence from the U of C must be running out and if he does not return could he lose his tenure? He is not going to be Premier via the PCs or the WAP route so why stay in politics? He resigns and causes a by-election just outside of Calgary that Danielle Smith wins. She owes Morton big time as a result and he can then become anything he wants to be in advising and directing the future of the WAP.
Even the plausibility of this narrative will smoke out the rest of the disenchanted social conservatives in the PC caucus to jump to the WAP in the coming weeks. The internal politics will preoccupy and destabilize the government for some time to come. The more serious question is what will Stelmach do in response?
That is fodder for another blog post at another time. For now I think Albertans will be watching for big internal changes in the Premier’s office and in the Cabinet as well as with the fiscal, social and environmental policy agenda this month. Realistically, I see no scenario emerging today that would see a rebalance of the PC government towards a fiscally conservative and socially progressive and a resource stewardship and conservation mindset. That was the hallmark of the glory days of the PC party in Premier Lougheed’s day. To my mind we need to restore that kind of political culture so we Albertans can be proud of our province once again.
Monday, January 04, 2010
Greener Oil Sands, Greener Planet and Alberta's Role.
The op-ed in today’s Globe and Mail “Greener Oil Sands, Greener Planet” by my business partner Satya Das is a perfect example of how to integrate the guiding principles I set for myself in 2010. Those were, citizenship, ownership and stewardship, especially in an Alberta context.
We clearly need to get serious about a low-carbon future and it is Alberta with the best opportunity and duty to lead the way in Canada and the world for that matter. We have a $15 trillion concentration of hydrocarbon based wealth in the oil sands. That wealth is a key to an effective transition to alternative energy and cleaner greener hydrocarbons too.
Alberta is also the best place for ethical investors to place their energy, and innovation investments, especially when compared to the uncertainty and corruption of other large energy providers in regimes like Saudi Arabia, Iran or Iraq.
Albertans have to exercise their citizenship right and responsibilities and as owners of the oil sands to ensure they are developed sustainably and responsibly. We also have to ensure we get the best value from the resource for the benefit of current and future generations of Albertans and yes – Canadians too.
Stewardship is about the environment and preserving biodiversity. But it is also part of policy and programs to encourage Albertans to personally adapt and adopt new and greener practices in our personal and community lives. That includes investment in capturing the wealth of the oil sands. One way is to have a Natural Resources Severance Tax that would fund the transition and new technologies necessary for a carbon neutral future for oil sands development.
Here is the link to Satya’s Globe and Mail op-ed piece. Here is a link to his book Green Oil too.
Finally if you are also an Albertan interested and concerned about you citizenship, your resource ownership and stewardship you may want ot join in the movement known as Reboot Alberta. That where you will find like-minded people who are gathering together and starting to get actively engaged in these and other aspects of our democracy in Alberta.
We clearly need to get serious about a low-carbon future and it is Alberta with the best opportunity and duty to lead the way in Canada and the world for that matter. We have a $15 trillion concentration of hydrocarbon based wealth in the oil sands. That wealth is a key to an effective transition to alternative energy and cleaner greener hydrocarbons too.
Alberta is also the best place for ethical investors to place their energy, and innovation investments, especially when compared to the uncertainty and corruption of other large energy providers in regimes like Saudi Arabia, Iran or Iraq.
Albertans have to exercise their citizenship right and responsibilities and as owners of the oil sands to ensure they are developed sustainably and responsibly. We also have to ensure we get the best value from the resource for the benefit of current and future generations of Albertans and yes – Canadians too.
Stewardship is about the environment and preserving biodiversity. But it is also part of policy and programs to encourage Albertans to personally adapt and adopt new and greener practices in our personal and community lives. That includes investment in capturing the wealth of the oil sands. One way is to have a Natural Resources Severance Tax that would fund the transition and new technologies necessary for a carbon neutral future for oil sands development.
Here is the link to Satya’s Globe and Mail op-ed piece. Here is a link to his book Green Oil too.
Finally if you are also an Albertan interested and concerned about you citizenship, your resource ownership and stewardship you may want ot join in the movement known as Reboot Alberta. That where you will find like-minded people who are gathering together and starting to get actively engaged in these and other aspects of our democracy in Alberta.
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Some Guiding Principles I Intend to Follow for 2010
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.
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.
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.
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