Here is the link to this months "The Right Call" column on business ethics in Alberta Venture magazine.
http://albertaventure.com/2010/04/to-lobby-or-not-to-lobby/
What do you think about lobbying and open transparent accountable honest government?
Friday, April 02, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Are Alberta's Politics Moving Past "Interesting" into Dangerous?
There is more and mounting evidence that regular Alberta citizens have to re-engage in the policy discussions and the political culture of our times and take back control of our democracy. The volatility on Alberta politics is increasing with recent developments. Things change pretty quickly in politics but until recently Alberta was the lethargic exception.
THE ACCIDENTAL PREMIER?
Premier Stelmach looked to some like he was the “accidental Premier” when he surprised everyone and won the Progressive Conservative Party leadership in 2006. He shocked us again when he won the election with a strong majority government when the mood in the province was for change. He then got a safe but not resounding endorsement for his leadership last November from the delegates at the PC Party AGM – and he promised change to respond to the undercurrents of anxiety in the PC and file from his weak public support being shown in the polls.
CHANGE BUT TOO LITTLE TOO LATE?
A quick shuffle on the Budget from the promised slash and burn approach to a more measured long term but big deficit budget to an even less significant Cabinet Shuffle and the promise of serious change went unfulfilled in the Party and public mind. But change happened anyway in the rise of the Wildrose Alliance Party’s narrow win of Calgary Glenmore’s by-election. Things got more volatile with the election of Danielle Smith as WAP leader. Then the biggie…the floor crossing of two PC MLAs, including a former Cabinet Minister, to the Wildrose Alliance.
There were rumours of another 8-10 PC MLAs ready to jump to the Wildrose but the Cabinet Shuffle Ascension of Ted Morton into the Finance and Enterprise portfolio seems to have at least delayed any more mutiny for now.
POLITICAL PARTIES ARE FRAGILE NOW TOO.
The political volatility is now showing up in the political party ranks. The Democratic Reform Movement efforts by some in the Liberal and NDP ranks pushing for some collaboration to stop vote splitting on the centre left is on-going. There is grumbling and anxiety in the Liberal caucus and the rank and file membership too. The NDP is small but the impact and influence of the labour movement on policy and internal politics is always on-going. The Green party imploded due to internal dissention and the Wildrose Alliance is going through senior level staff changes, as have the NDP and the PCs. The Wildrose is heading into an AGM in June that promises to be interesting and volatile too. The badly beaten but unbowed Social Conservatives in the WAP are seeking more policy power in the party notwithstanding, and perhaps because of how badly Smith beat them in the leadership race.
And now we have the next stage of political party volatility, the March 23 letter from the PC Party Highwood Constituency to the Premier and the Party President saying, amongst other things, they expect the Alberta electorate to show “no mercy…on Election Day.” OK so the locals are also ticked that their MLA was dumped from Cabinet and disrespectfully at that. But family members in the PC Party, or other parties, don’t usually send nasty complaint letters to the “Father” and the copy all the rest of the family. OUCH. But there is much more detail and opinions about specific complaints in the Highwood PC Constituency Board letter.
Full disclosure, last December 17th I announced that I would not be renewing my long held membership in the PC Party of Alberta and did a blog post on my reasons. Since then an amazing number of PC Party members said they would not stay active in the party either.
ALBERTANS HAVE TO TAKE CITIZENSHIP SERIOUSLY AGAIN
Our political institutions were designed for a time over a century old and they have not kept up to changes in culture, communications and complexity of the current and emerging world. I think they are serving to undermine citizen-based democracy which is itself an old but at least an evolving institution. Democracy has evolved or more to the point, democracy had “devolved” so now have 60% of eligible voters who see politics as so ugly and distant form them and their lives that can’t be bothered to vote in Alberta.
Citizens are not exercising their rights to choose representatives and grant their consent to be governed in a representative democracy at election time. Citizens are now abdicating their responsibility to be stewards of the common good by letting radical, reactionary and often fundamentalist fringe elements take over the power in declining political parties. Are any of us ready for the emergence of the Alberta equivalence of the Tea Party movement? If the social conservatives, lead by Ted Morton, don’t have their way with the Stelmach government will they bolt to the Wildrose at the strategic time in anticipation of the next election? What if the disgruntled social conservatives can’t take control the power structure of the Wildrose Alliance? I can see them all getting restless and deciding to split off and start reflect the radical and reactionary Republican sponsored Tea Party movement we see in the States now.
Will the renewal and refocus of the Alberta Party get some money, manpower and motivation to rise to the occasion and start to offer a philosophically progressive alternative in time? Stating from a stand still may begin to make the Alberta Party look pretty good if all the conventional parties continue to be going in reverse. That is no solution to the real problems we face with our democratic and political deficits in Alberta these days. A more rational and responsible and comprehensive approach to reforming the Alberta poliltical culture must be taken by someone and very soon.
REBOOT ALBERTA MAY HAVE TO STEP UP ITS GAME.
All this makes me reflect on just shows important the Reboot Alberta progressive citizen’s movement is going to be to the future of Alberta’s democracy. I guess we will have to pick up the pace, get focused and start getting activist and into some serious deliberative and deliberate democratic reforms and right away. There is a yearning for change by progressive Albertans but change to what for what, how and when are the open questions that need some serous attention. We konw some of those answers form the recent survey done on progressive values of Albertans. That may be the basis for us to start to change things in Alberta's politics an organized and effective fashion.
THE ACCIDENTAL PREMIER?
Premier Stelmach looked to some like he was the “accidental Premier” when he surprised everyone and won the Progressive Conservative Party leadership in 2006. He shocked us again when he won the election with a strong majority government when the mood in the province was for change. He then got a safe but not resounding endorsement for his leadership last November from the delegates at the PC Party AGM – and he promised change to respond to the undercurrents of anxiety in the PC and file from his weak public support being shown in the polls.
CHANGE BUT TOO LITTLE TOO LATE?
A quick shuffle on the Budget from the promised slash and burn approach to a more measured long term but big deficit budget to an even less significant Cabinet Shuffle and the promise of serious change went unfulfilled in the Party and public mind. But change happened anyway in the rise of the Wildrose Alliance Party’s narrow win of Calgary Glenmore’s by-election. Things got more volatile with the election of Danielle Smith as WAP leader. Then the biggie…the floor crossing of two PC MLAs, including a former Cabinet Minister, to the Wildrose Alliance.
There were rumours of another 8-10 PC MLAs ready to jump to the Wildrose but the Cabinet Shuffle Ascension of Ted Morton into the Finance and Enterprise portfolio seems to have at least delayed any more mutiny for now.
POLITICAL PARTIES ARE FRAGILE NOW TOO.
The political volatility is now showing up in the political party ranks. The Democratic Reform Movement efforts by some in the Liberal and NDP ranks pushing for some collaboration to stop vote splitting on the centre left is on-going. There is grumbling and anxiety in the Liberal caucus and the rank and file membership too. The NDP is small but the impact and influence of the labour movement on policy and internal politics is always on-going. The Green party imploded due to internal dissention and the Wildrose Alliance is going through senior level staff changes, as have the NDP and the PCs. The Wildrose is heading into an AGM in June that promises to be interesting and volatile too. The badly beaten but unbowed Social Conservatives in the WAP are seeking more policy power in the party notwithstanding, and perhaps because of how badly Smith beat them in the leadership race.
And now we have the next stage of political party volatility, the March 23 letter from the PC Party Highwood Constituency to the Premier and the Party President saying, amongst other things, they expect the Alberta electorate to show “no mercy…on Election Day.” OK so the locals are also ticked that their MLA was dumped from Cabinet and disrespectfully at that. But family members in the PC Party, or other parties, don’t usually send nasty complaint letters to the “Father” and the copy all the rest of the family. OUCH. But there is much more detail and opinions about specific complaints in the Highwood PC Constituency Board letter.
Full disclosure, last December 17th I announced that I would not be renewing my long held membership in the PC Party of Alberta and did a blog post on my reasons. Since then an amazing number of PC Party members said they would not stay active in the party either.
ALBERTANS HAVE TO TAKE CITIZENSHIP SERIOUSLY AGAIN
Our political institutions were designed for a time over a century old and they have not kept up to changes in culture, communications and complexity of the current and emerging world. I think they are serving to undermine citizen-based democracy which is itself an old but at least an evolving institution. Democracy has evolved or more to the point, democracy had “devolved” so now have 60% of eligible voters who see politics as so ugly and distant form them and their lives that can’t be bothered to vote in Alberta.
Citizens are not exercising their rights to choose representatives and grant their consent to be governed in a representative democracy at election time. Citizens are now abdicating their responsibility to be stewards of the common good by letting radical, reactionary and often fundamentalist fringe elements take over the power in declining political parties. Are any of us ready for the emergence of the Alberta equivalence of the Tea Party movement? If the social conservatives, lead by Ted Morton, don’t have their way with the Stelmach government will they bolt to the Wildrose at the strategic time in anticipation of the next election? What if the disgruntled social conservatives can’t take control the power structure of the Wildrose Alliance? I can see them all getting restless and deciding to split off and start reflect the radical and reactionary Republican sponsored Tea Party movement we see in the States now.
Will the renewal and refocus of the Alberta Party get some money, manpower and motivation to rise to the occasion and start to offer a philosophically progressive alternative in time? Stating from a stand still may begin to make the Alberta Party look pretty good if all the conventional parties continue to be going in reverse. That is no solution to the real problems we face with our democratic and political deficits in Alberta these days. A more rational and responsible and comprehensive approach to reforming the Alberta poliltical culture must be taken by someone and very soon.
REBOOT ALBERTA MAY HAVE TO STEP UP ITS GAME.
All this makes me reflect on just shows important the Reboot Alberta progressive citizen’s movement is going to be to the future of Alberta’s democracy. I guess we will have to pick up the pace, get focused and start getting activist and into some serious deliberative and deliberate democratic reforms and right away. There is a yearning for change by progressive Albertans but change to what for what, how and when are the open questions that need some serous attention. We konw some of those answers form the recent survey done on progressive values of Albertans. That may be the basis for us to start to change things in Alberta's politics an organized and effective fashion.
Canada at 150 On-Line Interviews With Ignatieff, Guilbeault and Das
Here is a 14 minute clip of streamed interviews done by the Canada at 150 on-line host Randy Boissenault with Michael Ignatieff, Steven Guilbeault and Satya Das.
http://can150.ca/day-2-randy-interviews-michael-ignatieff-steven-guilbeault-and-satya-das/
This is the kind of new media communications that can be done that speaks directly to citizens, interests groups and party members. These interviews are a combination of traditional media interview techniques but directly to an online audience that can be real time but also archived and accessed later - or shared within others by redistributed linking like I am doing here.
All this enhances connectivity, authentic communications directly with citizens so they can engage at their conveience. The chance to comment and share the information further on Twitter and Facebook means that more people will have access and becasue of a personal recommendation, they are more likely to become part of the Netizen approach to modern democratic participation.
If you don't have 14 minutes to watch this now, bookmark this blog post and come back to it. Of course I would appreciate your comments on the content directly on this blog. It is all part of the emerging political and public policy conversation around how Canadians better understand the challenges we are facing.
Conversations are game changers. We all know we need to change politics to be less about games and more about change...in both Canada and Alberta
http://can150.ca/day-2-randy-interviews-michael-ignatieff-steven-guilbeault-and-satya-das/
This is the kind of new media communications that can be done that speaks directly to citizens, interests groups and party members. These interviews are a combination of traditional media interview techniques but directly to an online audience that can be real time but also archived and accessed later - or shared within others by redistributed linking like I am doing here.
All this enhances connectivity, authentic communications directly with citizens so they can engage at their conveience. The chance to comment and share the information further on Twitter and Facebook means that more people will have access and becasue of a personal recommendation, they are more likely to become part of the Netizen approach to modern democratic participation.
If you don't have 14 minutes to watch this now, bookmark this blog post and come back to it. Of course I would appreciate your comments on the content directly on this blog. It is all part of the emerging political and public policy conversation around how Canadians better understand the challenges we are facing.
Conversations are game changers. We all know we need to change politics to be less about games and more about change...in both Canada and Alberta
Big Business Calls for Tax Increases to Pay for Harper's Budget Deficits
The Globe and Mail Report on Business top story today is about “Balancing the Books” and quotes a recent survey of corporate executives in Canada where most of them say it is time to raise taxes if the federal government is to balance its books.
Conservatives are fond of their ideological mantra that Klein used often. That was “The only way taxes are going is down.” Well Harper’s promise of deficit budgets through to 2015 and using borrowed funds to do it are just tax increases by other means and they are imposed on our children who will have to pay for the deficits in a time of anticipated extended flat or low economic growth. Hardly the stuff of prudent fiscal management that is the myth of conservative governments and the Harper hypocrisy is showing.
Almost 60% of the Canadian senior executives in the Gandalf poll done for the Globe and Mail said it will be necessary for the federal government to get back into fiscal balance of the public purse. Harper has another plan however. He wants to cut government to the point where it is incapable of doing the public service jobs we expect of a progressive, caring, productive and innovative society.
Harper wants a more Libertarian social and fiscal regime where government’s role is shrunk and stifled. He sees the world as best served where individuals are totally personally responsible for their own well being in a Darwinian law of the jungle kind of competition not only for success but for survival. The poor, infirm, elderly and disabled just have to pull up their socks…if they have them.
Harper has a tentative and tepid toe in the policy pool of fiscal prudence going forward and that is not impressing big business. Half of them think Harper is doing a “poor job of reducing the deficit and 2/3 think it is bad policy to continue to run deficits through to 2015 as the recent Budget says.
So our Ayn Rand wanna be Prime Minister will cut and kill social, cultural, education, aid and support programs instead of raising taxes. This is because Harpers governing philosophy is to diminish and demolish the capacity of government to be an enabler and a partner with society and citizens.
Nobody likes taxes but we all know we need services provided as a society that individuals can’t do themselves. That is one of the fundamental roles and responsibilities of progressive governing and public policy. Business now knows that Harpers slash, trash and burn approach to public policy in social and environmental areas is going to harm Canada’s productivity and capacity to grow in the future and stifle and constrain them as well.
The market place is not the total answer nor is government as nanny state but finding the balance between them is the key. We need governments to help build educated, safe, secure, healthy, diverse, inclusive, innovative, adaptive, resilient and respectful societies where a person can achieve their potential for their own benefit and contribute to the common good at the same time.
None of these concepts are in the Harper play book of grinding down government’s role regardless of the toll it takes on vulnerable people. Business leaders get it but Harper and his callous caucus could care less. We need an election in Canada to have an adult conversation about what kind of government we want and then to see who is prepared to provide it.
Citizens can’t presume cynicism will be ok and we will sustain democracy. That is not the obvious democratic default position when we are governed by social libertarians using fiscal foolishness as a trick to destroy our capacity to be caring and compassionate as a society, to grow our capacity and economy and be assiduous in how we must learn to live in and part of the planet.
Conservatives are fond of their ideological mantra that Klein used often. That was “The only way taxes are going is down.” Well Harper’s promise of deficit budgets through to 2015 and using borrowed funds to do it are just tax increases by other means and they are imposed on our children who will have to pay for the deficits in a time of anticipated extended flat or low economic growth. Hardly the stuff of prudent fiscal management that is the myth of conservative governments and the Harper hypocrisy is showing.
Almost 60% of the Canadian senior executives in the Gandalf poll done for the Globe and Mail said it will be necessary for the federal government to get back into fiscal balance of the public purse. Harper has another plan however. He wants to cut government to the point where it is incapable of doing the public service jobs we expect of a progressive, caring, productive and innovative society.
Harper wants a more Libertarian social and fiscal regime where government’s role is shrunk and stifled. He sees the world as best served where individuals are totally personally responsible for their own well being in a Darwinian law of the jungle kind of competition not only for success but for survival. The poor, infirm, elderly and disabled just have to pull up their socks…if they have them.
Harper has a tentative and tepid toe in the policy pool of fiscal prudence going forward and that is not impressing big business. Half of them think Harper is doing a “poor job of reducing the deficit and 2/3 think it is bad policy to continue to run deficits through to 2015 as the recent Budget says.
So our Ayn Rand wanna be Prime Minister will cut and kill social, cultural, education, aid and support programs instead of raising taxes. This is because Harpers governing philosophy is to diminish and demolish the capacity of government to be an enabler and a partner with society and citizens.
Nobody likes taxes but we all know we need services provided as a society that individuals can’t do themselves. That is one of the fundamental roles and responsibilities of progressive governing and public policy. Business now knows that Harpers slash, trash and burn approach to public policy in social and environmental areas is going to harm Canada’s productivity and capacity to grow in the future and stifle and constrain them as well.
The market place is not the total answer nor is government as nanny state but finding the balance between them is the key. We need governments to help build educated, safe, secure, healthy, diverse, inclusive, innovative, adaptive, resilient and respectful societies where a person can achieve their potential for their own benefit and contribute to the common good at the same time.
None of these concepts are in the Harper play book of grinding down government’s role regardless of the toll it takes on vulnerable people. Business leaders get it but Harper and his callous caucus could care less. We need an election in Canada to have an adult conversation about what kind of government we want and then to see who is prepared to provide it.
Citizens can’t presume cynicism will be ok and we will sustain democracy. That is not the obvious democratic default position when we are governed by social libertarians using fiscal foolishness as a trick to destroy our capacity to be caring and compassionate as a society, to grow our capacity and economy and be assiduous in how we must learn to live in and part of the planet.
Liberal Party Scores Big With Canada at 150 Thinkers Conference.
Sayta and I are back from a very successful and effective thinkers conference convened by the Liberal Pary of Canada this weekend in Montreal. There was a very full and frank discussion from the event. Here is a clip of Satya Das' comments on CTV about the event.
That success of citizen engagement and shaing ideas and comments was reflected further in the social media space set up for Canadians to follow and particpiate in the conference too. The successful use of social media by the Liberal Party at the Canada at 150 conference showed them that they can reach thoughtful Canadians from all over the country directly and engage them in meaningful conversations.
Now the challenge is for the Liberals to use this new found insight into social media in a way that delivers a positive political purpose. There is a chance for authentic (no spin) communications directly with those citizens in all kinds of local communities and communities of interests in personal thoughtful and effective sharing of ideas through the Internet. This must be one of the central on-going efforts to capitalize on the success of this past weekend. All parties are behind in understanding how social media works and how to use it effectively. The Liberal Party of Canada got a taste of it this weekend and are starting to get it.
There is archived presentations being set up at the conference website at http://www.can150.ca/. I strongly suggest a number of visits and revisits by anyone interested in citizen engagement and looking for "adult conversations" about public policy in Canada. They got that from speaker after speaker at this weekend's conference.
I will be doing a series of blog posts in the next few days on my reactions to the presentations I heard. Conversations are game changers and my sense is the "game" of politics changed this past weekend and become more of an "adult converstion," the kind that David Dodge called for at Canada at 150 in his presentation.
That success of citizen engagement and shaing ideas and comments was reflected further in the social media space set up for Canadians to follow and particpiate in the conference too. The successful use of social media by the Liberal Party at the Canada at 150 conference showed them that they can reach thoughtful Canadians from all over the country directly and engage them in meaningful conversations.
Now the challenge is for the Liberals to use this new found insight into social media in a way that delivers a positive political purpose. There is a chance for authentic (no spin) communications directly with those citizens in all kinds of local communities and communities of interests in personal thoughtful and effective sharing of ideas through the Internet. This must be one of the central on-going efforts to capitalize on the success of this past weekend. All parties are behind in understanding how social media works and how to use it effectively. The Liberal Party of Canada got a taste of it this weekend and are starting to get it.
There is archived presentations being set up at the conference website at http://www.can150.ca/. I strongly suggest a number of visits and revisits by anyone interested in citizen engagement and looking for "adult conversations" about public policy in Canada. They got that from speaker after speaker at this weekend's conference.
I will be doing a series of blog posts in the next few days on my reactions to the presentations I heard. Conversations are game changers and my sense is the "game" of politics changed this past weekend and become more of an "adult converstion," the kind that David Dodge called for at Canada at 150 in his presentation.
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