Vote for an Independent Conservative. Vote for Jim Ford May 2

OK - it will come as a surprise to many that I am endorsing a conservative candidate in the May 2 federal election.  Well I am.  It is my strong recommendation (for what it is worth) that the good citizens in the Edmonton Sherwood Park Fort Saskatchewan riding vote for Independent Conservative Jim Ford .

I have known Jim Ford for decades.  We were both active in the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta.  We were in different parts of that "big tent." He was Reform leaning and I was Red Tory as they come.  We could always  share ideas, address concerns and have real and respectful conversations about issues that mattered.  That is not the case in the current opposition hating hyper-partisan Harper hegemony and that is not good enough.

There is a difference between a thinking independent conservative like Jim Ford and the herd of Harper compliant conservative candidates we see hunkered down and running scared across the country.  We rarely hear from the individual Conservative candidates in this election. When we do it is all just speaking points. This election it is all Harper all the time and he is only talking about the most simplistic, shallow and short-sighted of his own speaking points.  They are used to keep his half-hearted fiscal conservative and disheartened social conservative base happy since he has does so much to betray all of their trust since coming to power.

In conversations with Jim Ford over the years we knew we could thrive on our differences.  We never had to fear each other or deride each other for having another point of view. Jim was always about gathering the collective wisdom of people.  I expect he still is all about that.  That is only part of why I want to endorse his candidacy, again.

We Albertans need to send the Harper Conservatives a message, not the least of which is he should no longer take the support of Alberta for granted. Canada is a representative democracy not a "friendly dictatorship" as Mr. Harper sees it as he rules rough shod over HIS caucus and HIS cabinet in the HARPER government.  If Harper wins a majority  government he will reign and rule over the rest of us and we will all suffer from the natural consequences of such absolute power. 

Chuck Cadman knew that first hand about how Harper uses political power when he was ousted  from the CPC nomination in favour of a Harper loyalists.  After serving many years as a Reform and later Alliance MP Cadman was unceremoniously pushed out of the CPC nomination. Cadman was offended by the tactics used in the nomination process and decided to run anyway.  He won as an independent Conservative - and the Harper preferred candidate came in 4th.  Cadman heard about his 2004 election victory from his hospital bed.  He had terminal cancer at the time but was still the overwhelming choice of his constituents.  Canadians, and especially Albertan, need to take that same rebellious independent spirit that elected Cadman and do it again in ridings all over the country and all over Alberta.

Cadman made a huge difference and a positive personal contribution to good governance in Canada.  Some of you will recall the scandal that erupted when it was alleged that key advisers to Harper were accused of offering a bribe to Cadman to secure his vote against the Martin Budget in May 2005. Cadman apparently refused and in fact, while in chemotherapy,  he flew from his riding in BC to Ottawa specifically to vote for the Martin Budget.  The Budget vote was a tie and the Speaker broke the tie voting with Cadman and the Martin government on the obvious non-confidence motion.

There is so much more to the Cadman story on Wikipedia and other sources if you are interested.  You should be interested,  It is a fascinating story that has been forgotten in the perpetual partial attention world of modern politics.  Cadman was a man of courage, principle and public service.  He had values that he lived by.  He was caring, and conscientious and responsible.  His ethics were not situational and selective as we see in so much of the Harper approach that is often an abuse of his political power.

The Jim Ford I know is an independent thinker - much like Chuck Cadman - and I expect he shares many of the other admirable Cadman qualities.  Jim Ford is a guy worthy of our consent to govern. I strongly recommend the citizens of Edmonton Sherwood Park Fort Saskatchewan.send Jim to Ottawa for your own good, for the good of Alberta and yes, even for the good of the country.



 

Alberta in a Global Perspective Partly Because of Oil Sands

The oil sands have put Alberta on the world stage in many ways.  The size of the reserves is enough to turn heads.  The size of the capital investment for development in billions of dollars is another attention grabber.  Then we have the negatives of a branding of "dirty oil" and climate change implications that have become part of the international Alberta "brand" as a result of oil sands.

There is much more to the oil sands and their implications beyond these macro issues including the social impacts of rapid development in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, aboriginal relationships and the impact rest of the province and benefits for future generations.  Add the issues of water usage, habitat protection, conservation offsets and reclamation issues, especially around tailings ponds and you get a more complex but still incomplete picture.

Then consider Alberta's emerging as an international energy force and our opportunities beyond continental North America in places like China and India.  Then the narrative becomes even more interesting and complex.  The Institute for Public Policy at the University of Alberta Department of Economics is sponsoring an event in Edmonton May 9-10 to address the opportunities for Alberta in the light of the power shift to China and India.  My business partner Satya Das is chairing one of the panels as part of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada initiative known as the "National Conversation on Asia."

This conference will look at the trade opportunities for Alberta with China and India in raw materials, manufactured goods, technology, education and business services.  Can a middle power and multi-cultural country like Canada and a resource rich province like Alberta exploit the opportunities in these "burgeoning markets?

Topics include the Economies and the Financial systems, Innovative Partnerships, Energy and the Environment, Agriculture, Business Opportunities in Alberta .  Satya's Chairing the Energy and Environment session with participation from the Canadian Centre for Clean Coal/Carbon and Mineral Processing Technologies, the Centre for Economic Studies at Jawaharal Nehru University, the Research Centre for Sustainable Development, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Joe Doucet, the Enbridge Professor of Energy Policy at the U of A School of Business.

More Harper Contempt? This Time is it for the Law?

The picture is getting clearer every day about of just how bad the Harper government is (sic) and what a danger he has become to our democracy and in his indifference to his governance responsibility to Canadians.  

Now we have reports of a "damning audit of G8 spending by the federal Conservatives" from Auditor General Sheila Fraser.  However, Fraser, ever the consummate professional, will not release the report because under her enabling legislation she can only release reports when Parliament is sitting.  Where is the whistle blower who might leak this vital information for Canadians to have and help us judge the quality and capacity of the Harper Cons to govern?  BTW, where is the Harper promise of legislation to protect whistle blowers when he came to office five years ago?

Media reports quote Fraser as saying an early draft, not the final report, "...may have been released by someone outside our Office."  One can only hope.  We need a change in the law so the AG can release any report she wants to at any time she wants to whether it is preliminary or final. This arcane restriction that such material can only be released when Parliament is sitting is a relic of a bye-gone era of command and control of communications was possible and preferable.  Not the case today.

Apparently every party has agreed to the release of her damning audit of G8 expenses but only when it is done properly and according to the law.  Harper in his best dog-in-a-manger mood called on Fraser to release the final report anyway, knowing she could not do so legally.  What height of hubris would motivate a holder of the highest office in the country to make such a statement.  Actually inviting the Auditor General to break the law.  

Spare me the half-hearted homage to open accountable honest and transparent governing Mr. Prime Minister.  We are talking about allegations of misspending and illegality of some of  the $1.2billion of taxpayer money we had to borrow "to put a good face on Canada" at the G8 and to give "...the rest of the fund (as) a gift to the region.  This is money Harper borrowed on our behalf to upgrade parks and revitalize small town down towns in communities that allegedly had nothing to do with G8 activities but sure seemed aimed at helping out hapless Tony Clement, the Cons MP from the area.

Why should thoughtful Canadian citizen have the slightest respect for a Prime Minister who openly suggests the Auditor General break the law?  This is pure political posturing at best to mislead the media and the public about the truth.  At worst it is counselling an Officer of Parliament to break the law.  That is irresponsible governing but typical of Prime Minister Harper who has shown less and less respect for the non-political duties of his office.  Makes one see just how easily it was for this PM to have a five time convicted fraudster working in his office without any serious concern for the possible consequences.

John Baird, bless his partisan heart, said the "inflammatory language" in the first report is not in the final draft.  That does little to diffuse allegations of serious wrong-doing  or reassure Canadians that these guys are still worthy of our consent to govern.  Besides, what is Baird doing commenting on the content of the still secret Auditor General report and why is he doing it in public before the author can legally talk about the contents herself?  Who made him above the law? That behaviour is further evidence of contempt for Parliament and disrespect for the rule of law by the "Harper government."

This election Canadians have to realize that they are electing their own government, not Harper's government as he likes to have us refer to him.  We have to ensure in this election that the words "Harper" and "government" are never again in the same sentence except to describe a bad time in the history of our democracy.  When Brian Mulroney of all people, is prepared to "...show his unease with Harper's Tories" it is time to defeat them at the ballot box.

Imagine No Harper

This link came from an anonymous comment on another post on this blog.  It is a little bit of satire you can spare 3 mins or so to enjoy and reflect on.
 
I know its anonymous and everyone know how much I detest anonymous comments.  But OMG if they used their real names they would be thrown out of public political rallies by Harper henchmen as Harper ducks and weaves to avoid answering questions.

There here is the link - enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWI9GHIBusM

More Curiosity About Alberta Party

Here is a link to an interesting article in FFWD out of Calgary that will give you a sense of the recent history and amazing growth of the Alberta Party.  The Alberta Party is doing everything at once.  They have set up constituency organizations (44 in five months). They are gathering membership, over 1300 in five months.  They are setting policy ideas in place on a citizen engagement model.  Add to that the leadership search to find the right blend of practical political experience but with a leadership style that is inclusive and community based that will keep the shared sense of the purpose of the Alberta Party progressing.

This fledging revived and renewed political party morphed out of the desire of a group of progressive thinking Albertan who gathered in a citizen's movement called Reboot Alberta.  People who wanted to start a new political party found each other at Reboot Alberta and the Alberta Party was born.

One of those progressive thinking Albertans at Reboot Alberta was Glenn Taylor, the three time Mayor of Hinton.  He has now stepped up to run for the leadership of the Alberta Party and I am delighted to be working with him on achieving that goal. I encourage you to learn more about Glenn Taylor and see what a breadth and depth of elected political experience he has.  He also has a realistic world view from a rich and diverse set of practical life experiences too.  I believe he has much to offer to Alberta through the Alberta Party goal of doing politics differently.

You can also keep in touch with Glenn on Twitter @glenntalyr and on Facebook by searching GlennTaylorAlberta.  Check out those opportunities to engage with and get to know Glenn too.

I hope you have also come to realize that we need a new political culture in Alberta.  We need a government that reflects our true selves and not the mistaken myths and condescending caricatures that are imposed on Alberta these days.

We can change all that through a young vibrant enthusiastic political movement that is caring, compassionate and ready to take responsibility for more open, transparent, honest and accountable governance.  This is all now emerging and getting ready to offer a serious viable progressive political alternative in the next election.  It is called the Alberta Party.  Join us and be the change you want to see in and for Alberta.