Cultural Creatives Are Showing Up in the Next Alberta

I love creative people with courage to imagine and explore.  Beth Sanders is just such a person.  She is an Urban Planner who I met a few years ago when she was working in Fort McMurray in the planning department of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.

She runs her own business called Populus Community Planning Inc. and is a member of the progressive citizen's movement of Reboot Alberta.

She attended a symposium called Learning Our Way to the Next Alberta we at Cambridge Strategies co-sponsored with the ATA, Literacy Alberta and others.  As a "creative note taker, she wrote poems to capture the conversation.

Speaking of creative people, you may want to see if you are a Cultural Creative and therefore likely to be a Progressive too.  Check out the survey link "Are You a Cultural Creative?"   If you are you might want to meet like-minded Albertans at the Reboot Alberta site where you can register to the Taking Action gathering of Rebooters Nov 5-6 in Edmonton

As for Beth, the cultural creative, here is a sample of one of her symposium offerings that I offer to help make your day this crisp and cool Monday morning in our Alberta:

inspiring education

an important day

for inspiring education

listening for resonance

and build the next Alberta

with shock and awe

genuine wealth

and happiness

knowing neighbours

walking to school

in the absence of truth

myth pervades

stories

we need to talk about

conscious  of renaissance

of home

economy, ecology

in genuine well

being

resilient

spirit

care

holders

diversity heals

inner spirit

virtues, values

individual to collective

practically

measuring

happiness

when I hear the word

spirituality

I reach for my revolver

to revolt

oh, you do care

about friends, family, children

we’re not bad people

we can look here

to be happy

learning to live

together

then

literacy for efficiency, equity,

efficiency

happiness

not without

mismatched skills and jobs

but diverse interventions

for significant work

wrestling shortages

demanding literacy

to entice investment

so how to support, lead

catalyze change

continually improving complex systems

observe the time

for opening

taking, making

holding space

until then

an unusual choice for

a whole province

to aim quite high

transforming, designing, researching

choosing

commitment to

excellence, equity, value

add – ing

what is, to

what could/should be

resilience designed with talking, listening

conversation

for action

If Beth's poem resonates with you and if you want a progressive political culture in the Next Alberta register now for RebootAlberta 3.0 at www.rebootalberta.org

How Proud are You as an Albertan and Owner of the Oil Sands?

Here is a very interesting article by Simon Dyer of the Pembina Institute on the reality of government and industry actions on addressing the obvious challenges in responsible development of our oil sands.   As owners of the oil sands we Albertans have to start demanding more attention to the key issues of oil sands development beyond getting rich quick.

We need to ensure we realize the wealth from this resource for the development of Alberta and to respect the birthright of future generations of Albertans.  This has to be done through a realistic royalty regime.  We had a modest increase in royalties recommended by an independent review but the current government retreated from the recommendations 7 times so far.  We now get lower revenues from royalties with $75 oil that we did at $40 oil.  Go figure.

We need to ensure and be assured that the development is done with the best evidence and science based eco-conscious extraction techniques.  We need to ensure that there is more benefit to Albertans coming out of the oil sands than investment and jobs, important as those are.  We need to ensure the pace of growth, the commitment to reclamation is real and that land, water and air as well as wildlife habitat are monitored, and damaged mitigated, fixed and aggressively protected.

If these questions are of interest to you go to www.cambridgestrategies.com and do the Are You a Cultural Creative survey.  If you are, you should consider coming to RebootAlberta 3.0 and become part of the design, development and delivery of a more progressive political culture in our Alberta.

If you want a progressive political culture in the Next Alberta register now for RebootAlberta 3.0

RebootAlberta 3.0 is Coming and all About "Taking Action"

Reboot Alberta is hosting its third gathering of progressive thinking Albertans (RebootAlberta 3.0) in Edmonton November 5 and 6, 2010 at the Delta South hotel and focused on what needs to be done to get a progressive political alternative for Alberta.

The agenda will be about Taking Action and will be a call to action for Progressives who are hungry for the Next Alberta.  If you agree that politics and democracy Alberta is broken and we need to take a different path forward then RebootAlberta 3.0 is where you want to be.   

You will get a chance to help decide what changes we need, what needs to be done to make those changes happen and what you as an informed and engaged citizen can do to make a difference.  The times in Alberta are about a power struggle between Libertarians who would isolate individuals from the needs of the larger society and our status quo politics that is more interested in sustaining political power than serving a greater and inclusive vision of Alberta. 

If you are bored with apathy and disengagement and see a chance to co-create the next Alberta as a progressive forward thinking, inclusive, prosperous, ecologically responsible and sustainable real democracy then come to RebootAlberta 3.0.  RebootAlberta 3.0 is not just a call for action – it will be action.  At RebootAlberta 3.0 you will get to share your sense of the preferred future for our province, find a way to get personally active and become effectively involved in achieving that future with other like-minded progressive Albertans.

RebootAlberta 1.0 enabled progressives to discover that they are not alone and many other Albertans thought like them and shared concerns about where Alberta was going as a society, economically and in our duty to the environment.  RebootAlberta 2.0 was focused on the values and priority issues progressives shared in common.  RebootAlberta 3.0 will be about determining what needs to be done to make Alberta reflect progressive values and then Taking Action to make it happen.

The next provincial election may be sooner than March 2012, in any event, the work of informed and engaged citizenship has to start now if we aspire to get a progressive political agenda ready to present to the people of Alberta as well as to the political parties and leaders who will seek our consent to govern.

Good government starts with citizens taking personal responsibility for ourselves, our families, our communities and others who need our help, especially children and vulnerable people in our society.  We also have to be aggressive in asserting our citizenship responsibility as the ownership of our natural resources and insisting on the highest quality of environmental stewardship now and for future generations.  It is about honest, open, accountable, transparent and fiscally responsible government that serves the greater good with integrity.  

Those are the primary values of progressive Albertans and we do not believe they are being provided by the current political power structure.  There is plenty of blame to go around for this including the lack of informed, engaged and active citizenry who have been too compliant and content with the democratic deficit and the lack-lustre political leadership of the status quo.

RebootAlberta 3.0 will be a place to change all that and take back control of our democracy, create more effective alternatives to the status quo governance and to rid ourselves of out-dated and ill-conceived political philosophies that do more harm than good to life in our province as well as on our planet.

Citizenship is more than “What’s in it for me?”  It is also about figuring what you are in Alberta for and then taking personal responsibility for the longer term greater good as well as you own self interest.  With all the potential and promise that is Alberta we ought to aspire beyond the boosterism of being “the best place in the world” and try and be “the best for the world!” 

If this makes sense to you come to RebootAlberta 3.0 and start to co-create a better Alberta.  You can register here and the first 75 get an early bird discount.  Click here to register

Progressive Albertans Taking Political Action - the Essence of RebootAlberta 3.0

I have been busy in out of town activities and summer time and remiss in keeping current with blog posts.  That will change starting now.  That is because I have signed the contract for the hotel to hold RebootAlberta 3.0, the next gathering of Alberta progressives will focus on what needs to be changed in order to put Alberta on a different more integrated social, political, economic and environmental trajectory.

RebootAlberta 3.0 will be in Edmonton November 5-6 at the Delta South hotel and registration will be open tomorrow.  Mark you calendar and register early, this event, like all past RebootAlberta events, will sell out quickly. I will post the link for registration on this blog in the morning along with another blog post.

RebootAlberta 3.0 will be citizens getting together deciding what most needs doing to get Alberta on a more progressive path.  It will see people making a commitment to take personal action to renew democracy, review our governance and make a difference on any issue or concern they may have as individual Albertans.  They will find other link-minded Albertans who will get with them to make a difference.

The goal is not to be the bland boosterism you hear who have a goal of making Alberta the best place in the world.  There is a much greater potential for this province if we the people dare to push ourselves and capitalize on our skills, blessings and capacities.  We can be the best for the world and perhaps with our enormous hydrocarbon energy assets we have a duty to strive for such an audacious goal.  But we need to renew our democracy, revise our institutional governance models and revive our sense of citizenship before any of this can happen.

If you have 10 minutes (and I encourage you to make the time) take a look at this video and get some context about what I am talking about.  It is from the United Kingdom but it travels well into the current Alberta context. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql3Jp3ydfE8&playnext=1&videos=hGdSiM4qY_A

If you wonder if you are a progressive go to the Cambridge Strategies website and do the "Are You a Cultural Creative" survey.  That will give you an indication and then come to RebootAlberta and find your tribe.


 

Who Can Albertans Trust to Tell the Truth About Their Oil Sands?

Interesting columns and commentary around the ENGOs, industry and government efforts to influence public opinion around oil sands development.  Our recent values based research along with some ordinary opinion polling is feeding the conversation.

The manic messaging is becoming more important to the self interests of the various combatants rather than any fidelity to the facts in the public interest.  The public is at a loss of who to believe and what to believe about the reality of oil sands development with all the over heated hype coming from the various camps.

The credibility of all the players in this puffed up PR game is eroding rapidly.  The game being played around the oil sands is not focused on the facts and helping Albertans as the owners of the oil sands to be more informed, aware, interested and engaged on the issues and seeking solutions.  It is more about special interests being more concerned with protecting institutional reputations as opposed to doing the real work on the ground to fix the problems first.

Who Can We Trust?
Who is the everyday Albertan supposed to believe and trust anymore?  This is not a superficial question for government and industry and even activist environmental groups.  They of these self-interests all depend on the public trust and confidence to be able to do their work and to do their jobs, presuming that is to serve the public interest.  That is the key foundational question that is emerging in the minds of many Albertans. Who is representing the public interest and who are we to believe when all we see are stunts, glossy advertising and questionable content and selective information presented as facts.  Where is the adult conversation happening about the complexity, opportunity and responsibility around oil sands development?

The media, including pundits, commentators and bloggers, are also subject to suspicion.  We are as much part of the problem as anyone else. Where is the wider lens we need to better deal with the complexity of the oil sands from an integrated economic, environmental, social, and public policy approach.  Where is the wisdom we need to actually properly and responsibly develop the oil sands on a rational, integrated and long term trustworthy perspective?

What Do Albertans Value?
We have recently done another conjoint survey on values research on what values Albertans want politicians and policy makers to apply when making public policy and political decisions that impact our lives.  It is apparent that Albertans do not feel they are getting these values addressed these days.  The most important attributes for government to make decisions from everyday Albertans were Accountability, Integrity, Fiscal Responsibility, Honesty and Transparency.

If these are the most important public policy values of Albertans then anyone trying to influence opinions or resonate with our hearts and minds better be sure to demonstrate in actions - not just words - that they are authentically meeting these higher standards of behaviour that citizens expect.

What I see happening now is an attitude or political autism that is all spin and PR.  The combatants seem to be unable to read the social cues of their audiences.  As a result Albertans will dismiss for a number of reasons, including suspicion over motives that are seen as exploitative and naive self-interest, a lack of competence and judgment, a lack of respect for other points of view, ideology being more important than creating informed opinion and a default to hostility towards opponents instead of being helpful to the public interest.

We All Know Oil Sands Are Important
There are 89% of Albertans who see the oil sands as a very or extremely important element in our future prosperity.  Anyone in government or industry who fails to address this in a broader, integrated and more authentic context than we are seeing now is risking political power and their business investment.

There is a serious and growing credibility gap in what is being said to citizens, what citizens consider important and perceptions about what is actually happening in the areas of concern.  This is a recipe for disaster and extremes.  There are major gaps between existing legal and policy frameworks and actual delivery of results.  There even bigger gaps between aspirations and perceptions of reality and actual performance in many areas of concern to Albertans around oil sands development.  I call these differences "The Big Betrayal Factor" once citizens see the disconnect between what they believe to be happening and what is actually going on in their name around oil sands development. 

It is just as likely that Albertans will turn off and tune out of politics and public policy processes even more because they are so angry and resentful of the conventional way things are done.  The other possibility is there will be an electoral revolution where Albertans will say they have had enough and throw out all the conventional power hungry types for something entirely different.  One thing for sure we can't continue in the status quo and hope to realize our potential as a province and as a people.  Change, Change  Change it what I hope for.

Alberta Makes World News with 1600 Dead Ducks, New York to Cull 170,000 Birds Goes Unnoticed.

New York State is thinking of culling 170,000 Canada Geese from the estimated state goose population of 250,000.    News reports say this is "five times the amount that most people would find socially acceptable."

This is apparently a "one-of-a-kind plan" according to media reports and part of a large Canada Goose cull of about 500,000 birds in 17 Atlantic states.  It is alleged that some state plans "do not include all the scientific background."  The New York plan is to capture the geese, crate them, transport them to a "secure location" to be euthanized and buried.

Critics are saying it is not clear that there are really five times as many Canada gees as there should be and calling the plan "a little extreme."  DUH!

The motivation for this cull seems to be a result of the Hudson river crash landing in January 2009 when geese flew into the engines of the jet.  This is hardly a fool proof solution since another bird killing spree near New York La Guardia is reported to have reduced birds hitting airplanes by 80%.  Hardly a reassuring statistic that says air traffic is safe enough die to bird kills.  We don't know how big the La Guardia bird problem was, how big the cull was and what metrics were used to determine success.  Not very helpful really

I sure do not condone the proven negligence of Syncrude in the loss of 1600 ducks in their tailings ponds two years ago but it pales in comparison to what New York state is proposing to do intentionally, not negligently.
We know from our research going back to 2005 that one of the dominant and consistent values preferences for Albertans in resource development is wildlife habitat protection.

Resource development is not the same as urban airline safety but the respect for biodiversity and for our species becoming more integrated in the natural balance and flow of nature is a major human value that is becoming a  more important public policy issue.  As a result New York should be looking for a more humane, integrated and adaptive approach to bird control around airports rather that euthanizing 170,000 birds of inconvenience.

Albertans Want a More Comprehensive & Integrated Approach to Oil Sands Development

The narrative being promoted about the oil sands is not enough of the story to gain the public confidence.  Here is the news release from the Government of Alberta indicating the emphasis they will take to the other provincial Premier's in meetings in Winnipeg this week.   

This message is like water is to soup.  Essential but insufficient.  I say that as a result of a recent conjoint study on values associated with responsible and sustainable development by Albertans on their oil sands.

Albertans overwhelmingly (89%) recognize the importance of the oil sands in term of economic prosperity.  I expect people in other provinces, like Newfoundland especially, feel much the same way about the economic importance of the oil sands.  So talking up the oil sand contribution to Canada's GDP, the job creating and the secure source of North American continental energy supply is important it is not the entire message that Albertans (and others ?) want to hear.

According to our study Albertans also want to know what is happening around reclamation, wildlife habitat protection efforts and what is being done about ecological monitoring of oil sands development.  They are concerned about CO2 and greenhouse gases as well as water usage in oil sands development.  What is government and industry doing in these areas are just as vital to Albertans as the pure economic elements when they consider oil sands development.

The oil sands debate, such as it is, is polarized where government and industry seem to avoid talking about the stewardship duties of oil sands development and hard line environmentalists do the same by overlooking the economic and energy security aspects of this vital resource.  This is just not helpful in the long run for anyone, and the public confidence in particular.

I think the public is smarter than that and is longing for an adult conversation about the oil sands.  Question is how much more is the public losing confidence in government, industry and ENGOs to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth on oil sands development?  Albertans clearly want their oil sands resources developed and to benefit from the wealth and opportunity they create.  Albertans are even more concerned these days that the development is being done with the highest levels of stewardship possible.  We want to benefit and be proud of how our oil sands are development.  Those are not mutually exclusive aspirations of the people of Alberta.

What Do Albertans Expect as Owners of the Oil Sands?

There is a PR and spin battle going on for the hearts and minds of the public over oil sands.  The battle is between the Government of Alberta the oil sands industry and some segments of the ENGOs (Environmental Non-government Organizations.)

The prime targets are Albertans, Canadians, businesses outside of Alberta who benefit from oil sand development and key American politicians who are fixated on a “dirty oil” message around the oil sands. The tactics being used to various degrees by all contestants are paid advertising and PR spin. 

We see the ENGO tactic of Corporate Ethics International paying for bill board advertising in a four select US cities calling for a “Rethink” of traveling to Alberta due to our so-called “dirty oil.”  There were some significant factual errors about the size of oil sands mining operation in the Corporate Ethics messages. It became a game of “he said - she said” generating more heat than light about the reality of the oil sands.

But there are other media motivated manoeuvres being employed by ENGOs.   Just yesterday Greenpeace performed another one of its publicity stunt and will get a bunch of media coverage as a result.  They hung a banner from the iconic Calgary Tower and message was “Separate Oil and State.”  Two protester wearing Premier Stelmach and Prime Minister Harper facemasks were chained to oil barrels with “Dirty Oil” written on them.  Eight of these Greenpeace protesters were arrested and that will give the story some legs in the media.

We see the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers running magazine and television ads using real people involved in oil sands technology, research and reclamation in an attempt to get an authentic human connection to the industry efforts to justify their social license to operate.

The Stelmach government is launching another quarter million dollar newspaper advertising push to “tell the world about the oil sands.”  Early indications are these ads are aimed at Albertans and Canadians and if that is the case that is hardly “telling the world.”  The recent rejection of a Letter to the Editor by Premier Stelmach to a Washington DC newspaper resulted in the purchase of a half page ad in that paper to run the letter as a way to get the message out to key US politicians.  Last time the Alberta government launched a paid advertising campaign on the oil sands it earmarked $25 million dollars glossy advertisements.  There was also some misleading in the content and context discovered in the campaign and it was quietly abandoned.

That is all by way of background for what I really want to talk.  If you want to connect with the hearts and minds of the public you should try to find out want is on their minds and in their hearts first.  Then you should talk to the public about oil sands matters that concern them.  There is a need for a conversation between government and industry about the responsible and sustainable development of the oil sands.  After all it is Albertan’s who own the oil sands.  

But are paid advertising campaigns anything close to a “conversation” with the public.  The paid advertising approach is often seen as self-serving one-way messages to the public.   There is a place for paid advertising in communications.  But in complex matters like oil sands development advertising alone is no substitute for substantial, authentic, accurate, clear and resonant conversations with the public.

So what is it about oil sands development that the Alberta public is concerned about?  What information do they want?  What do they believe ought to be the values used by decision makers as their oil sands are being developed?  How confident are they in the decision makers in government and industry about oil sands development?  At Cambridge Strategies we have designed and deployed a random sample survey with 1032 Albertans to get at what is on their minds and in their hearts about oil sands development. 

I will be doing more blog posts on this in the future but for now I want to delve a bit deeper into a survey finding that was reported in the Edmonton Journal today under the headline “Many Albertans Onside with Gov’t Handling of the Oilsands.”  It is very difficult to take a statistic and isolate it from the larger context and write a meaningful headline that also grabs attention.  So I will temper my criticism because while the headline is accurate I am not sure it really captures all the implications and essence of the findings.  That requires a bit more reflection and interpretation. 

There were some survey questions that were attitudinal and not part of the value choice questions in the conjoint study.  So they are more like opinion polling questions and relate to a moment in time only.  The value choice conjoint questions on what Albertans believe should guide and drive policy decisions on oil sands development are a more reliable source of what people want and expect over time for oil sands development.

Here is a more comprehensive look at how “onside” Albertans are with the government handling of the oil sands.  

The question asked was:  “The Alberta government is responsibly managing the oilsands.”  The response was:

•                 Completely Agree                                           6%         
•                 Agree                                                            25%
•                 Slightly Agree                                                 34%
•                 Slightly Disagree                                             17%
•                 Disagree                                                         13%
•                 Completely Disagree                                         5%

While there are more Albertans who agree (31%) than disagree (18%) with how their government is managing the oil sands there is a more interesting and significant factor in this answer.  Look at the mushy middle opinion.  Over half of Albertans slightly agree or slightly disagree with this statement.  These people are fluid and more undecided in their opinions.  If they move in one direction or another, that will have enormous impact on our attitudes as owners of the oilsands.  It will have consequences for politics, elections and social licenses for industry to operate in the oil sands – which is a public property.

What is it that would make Albertans in the middle group move one direction or another?  If the hearts and minds of 51% of Albertans are up for grabs what would influence them to shift one way or another about how they feel their government is doing in terms of responsible management of the oil sands.  This is not a minor issue because the survey also found that 89% of Albertans believe the oil sands are either Extremely Important (47%) or Very Important (42%) to Alberta’s prosperity.

Another serious influence on this question is how much confidence Albertans currently have in the political leaders and parties who must make public policy about what constitutes responsible and sustainable oil sands development.  That result is also in the Edmonton Journal story but it needs to be more directly related to the first question.  Again this must be looked at in terms or a possible trend. 

The question was: “Who do you trust the most to responsibly manage Alberta’s growth.”  Premier Ed Stelmach of the Progressive Conservative Party was at 23%, Danielle Smith of the Wildrose Alliance was 19%.  David Swann of the Liberals was 9% and Brian Mason of the NDP came in at 4%.  The largest segment was None of the Above at 45%.   This indicates some potential for change in Alberta politics but there is not viable political alternative in the minds of most Albertans these days.

There is great deal more opinion related results in the survey and they are published at the Edmonton Journal Notebook Blog too.  It is important to review them all and consider the implications as whole and not just individual questions.

                 

Change is Not Easy But Committing Makes It So!

On the other blog I write called RebootAlberta I did a post citizen empowerment as a consequences of individual commitment to a cause, issue or concern.  Once someone makes a commitment then things start to really happen.  I found a great quote by Goethe to make the point.

I expect we will see people going into and coming out of Reboot 3.0 with a clearer sense of what needs to be done in Alberta for us to become the best we can for the world and why that is worthy of our efforts.

Progressives found in Reboot 1.0 that they were not alone. There are many of us.  In fact we are looking at the Reboot Values random survey and seeing how many of those folks align significantly with the Reboot progressive value set.  It will be a rough approximation of the size of the progressive population in Alberta.

In Reboot 2.0 we discerned and researched who we are and what we considered as important values as progressives in Alberta. That research is discussed in this blog post http://ken-chapman.blogspot.com/2010/06/alberta-progressive-values-align-well.html and in the context of the priority of the values held by the Reboot community and everyday Albertans.

In Reboot 3.0 there is a sense of some need for focused action on what is of importance to progressives in Alberta.  We will be designing the event to let people select what they want to talk about, what they see as winnable issues and what it will take to embed progressive values in the Alberta political culture going forward.

Stages of a Political Relationship & Thoughts for Change

I was recently given a schematic showing a model of the evolution of relationships that was mostly intended to describe personal situations.  When I saw it I was fascinated on how well it worked for the political relationship between citizens and politicians/political parties.

Let me take you on the latter journey in the Alberta political context...knowing that it may also apply to Canada.  As a Reboot Alberta instigator, this diagram helped me get a better appreciation on where we are as Albertans and what options we have before us.  Not all of them are generative.  Some are even tending to the nihilistic.  But in a free will, free speech and democratic society, all options are open to us.

First we have the Romance stage.  Here we get entranced or at least excited about the possibilities of the  relationship.  I know in the early stages after Stelmach's PC leadership win there was lots of romance with Albertans.OK maybe not with the conventional oil patch but they needed a less patronizing way to relate to government anyway.  Too band that never happened as evidenced by the rapid retreat on reasonable royalty rates for the owners of the oil and gas in the ground .

The same romance thing happened with Danielle Smith and the WAP.  The Wildrose romance was especially strong amongst the mainstream media who saw the bright articulate and media-savvy Smith as a real challenge to the tired, tepid and too-long-in-the-tooth Tory government. There is a sleeper relationship issue for the WAP.  The Social Conservative wing of the Wildrose Alliance was badly beaten by Smith in the leadership contest. She humiliated them on a 75-25 leadership vote split.

That dramatic  rejection of a Social Conservative leader was even after another staunch social conservative candidate withdrew from the campaign to stop a vote split.  Will the social conservatives stay quietly within the WAP and let Smith run the show...or will they go away?  If they go away will it be quietly?  I would not take any bet on any odds that the social conservative forces in the WAP stay quiet for long, inside or outside the bosom of the Wildrose Alliance Party.

That WAP sleeper issue segues nicely into the next relationship stage; the Power Struggle.  This stage is the essence of the current right-wing political culture war we see going on in Alberta between the PCs and the WAP.  We are being told we will need an election to sort it out...but the false presumption is that there are only two viable voter options...PCs or WAPs.  So far that seems to be the case as the centre-left alternative parties are not resonating.

If the sense of limited viable election options persists to the next vote and our only choice is between a reactionary right-wing and an extreme right-wing government I will expect an even lower turn out next election and a more vulnerable democracy as a result.

The relationship options coming out of the Power Struggle stage are interesting.  They are Apathy (tell me about it...on second thought - don't bother).  This is where most Albertans seem to be regarding their "engagement" with politics.  In essence the disengagement or who cares what happens politics is the norm.  Government is seen as not listening so why try.

Next is the Transcendence option which shows up as non-engagement.  That non-engagement is were we care what happens but in some sense for some people, they seem themselves above politics.  The passive progressives, indifferent Influentials and the majority of thought-leaders in Alberta are these days seem to fall into this non-engagement category.  They are safe and secure themselves and can afford to disengage and wallow in disillusionment without taking any responsibility to apply their skills and experience to change things.   The reason for non-engagement comes from a past of anti-intellectualism in the provincial government's political class. Arrogant abdication?  Absolutely...by both sides!

We also have Separation that shows up as alternative coming out of a Power Struggle. That leads to a sense of abandonment of hope for the future as social cohesion breaks down and a "we versus they" attitude emerges.  It is seen in the rhetoric of in real political separatist who are still around in Alberta who believe the federal government is expropriating Alberta's wealth and giving it away to others, most notably Quebec.  The Alberta Separatists are below the radar, on the fringes but they appear to be quietly infiltrating the WAP.

There are others who feel separated in their relationship with government and governors.  They have started to abandon hope as they get marginalized and misused.  They are those people who are over-extended, burned out and over-burdened trying to constantly do more with less in the voluntary not-for-profit groups.  These folks are now also being bullied and intimidated by government politically and administratively into alleging a feigned loyalty to the status quo of the current government.  They are particularly vulnerable because they do a lot of work for government and depend on good political relations for fiscal and operational survival.

There are many tragic stories from these people who are now afraid of their own governors but who merely want to serve the greater good and public interest to the best of their abilities.  They are qualified, caring and compassionate people but they are turning into cowering compliant operatives who are abandoning any hope of being effective in their work or in taking truth to power.  This is especially true in these times of a political Power Struggle in a pending election.  Power, it would seem, is not interested in truth.  It has it's own agenda...retain power at all costs.

The more hopeful and generative option coming out of the Power Struggle is Curiosity and that leads to Integration where the struggle is resolve issues or at least mitigate the consequences through Integration.  Integration in a political cultural sense is what progressive Albertans in Reboot Alberta want to see happening in a renewed and revived democracy.  Progressives see Integration as a political and public policy tool to redefine and determine a different destiny for Alberta where control is returned to citizens and citizenship matters again.

The progressive citizen's movement within Reboot Alberta seeks a new trajectory for the province in all aspects from the economy and environment as well as social policy and democratic and political reform.  Integration in these terms would be a renewed governing and political philosophy that would ensure that social, environment, economy and democratic elements are all taken into account in any public policy decisions that were being considered and the best outcomes for each governing element would be accommodated.

Integration simply means; all things considered, consider all things.  Integration and integrity are closely related and would be achieved even if all these elements were embraced in some honest, open, obvious and authentic public policy, political or governance approach.

What emerges out of Integration is a Commitment to a direction and a destination for Alberta that is based on the clear intention as well as the expressed and committed will of the governed (citizens) as well as the governing(politicians and policy operatives).  The consequences of Commitment is action but action that is about being together on achieving a clear intention and goal.  The action step is not to vote or not vote.  It is much more complicated than that, even though voting is key to creating change.

The lawyer in me knows the concept of being together and intentional about a direction and a goal is captured int the Latin phrase "ad idem"  When parties are ad idem, they are of the same mind and spirit.  It helps enormously to be ad idem in reaching agreements and in contracts for example.  When misunderstandings or differing interpretations appear, ad idem parties can return to intent and spirit of the agreement to resolve, reconcile or even revisit the agreement based on going forward towards even more mutual respect and trust.  This is all about being adaptive.  Being able to learn and to create a culture of practical applied wisdom instead of the win-lose adversarial model that merely breeds litigation as the default solution space to settle disagreements or misunderstandings.

What comes out of being ad idem in action and intent is a nice framing for the next relationship stage known as Co-Creativity.   This is were there is a possibility to synergistically change everything but still reaffirm what is important and vital to our society, our sense of self-respect and overall well-being.  I will share in later blogs my sense of the change of everything we need as we strive for as Albertans to integrate all things in a progressive approach.  I will explore how we can ensure we are clear on our political values as we express our individual and inter-dependent intents.  I will look at how we can, as citizens, use our democracy to insist and be assured that our governors act accordingly to our values and align policy decisions with our aspirations.

The outcome of this Co-creativity is described as Renewed Imagination. I can't think of a better working definition of Romance in political cultural terms than "Renewed Imagination."  When this happens we get progress, learning, wisdom and the culture of adaptive change that we want and will benefit from.  This is the path being proud again to be a citizen of  and a co-creator in designing and delivering the next Alberta.  And that stages leads to a new romantic period and starts the whole relationship building process anew.

So my fellow Albertans - it is time to rethink the trajectory we are on as a province and to set another course.  We have to come to grips with the harsh reality that way we are being governed is broken.  We have to fix it by rethinking the decision making criteria we use as citizens when we show up at the ballot box to grant politicians our consent govern us.  We need to become better informed and more engaged in our roles and responsibilities of citizenship.  And then we need to show up to vote in a way where we are least make a conscious positive decision about who we want to run our province instead of a forlorn choice between lesser evils.

We have to insist that we get offered a better choice than picking one set of SOBs instead of another group of SOBs to recklessly abuse their political power for their own ends. Abdication of citizenship is a luxury we Albertans can't afford anymore.  The world is run by those who show up.  Wouldn't it be nice if those who showed up knew what they wanted and had a positive progressive alternative.

That can happen but progressives are going to have to make it happen. Reboot 3.0 is all about starting to make that happen.  It is in early planning stages but it is happening November 5-7 in Edmonton.  You will get time to talk and plan with others who are longing and yearning for a positive progressive political alternative for Alberta. Block off this time to become a citizen again. It is time to revive your love of this province and restore your pride as an Albertan.

Here is a link to an earlier blog post that will give you a sense of what Albertans are thinking about politics and politicians these days. It will give you some context of how other progressives in Alberta are thinking and feeling.

 Join the Reboot progressive citizen's movement  and send a message to the powers that be that the status quo is not good enough - nor are the options that we are currently being offered.  Start making a difference and start making a different Alberta.  Reboot 3.0 is where it will all start.  Plan to be there.

Student Values Survey Very Interesting

I just read a news release on values of 2500 Canadian high school and post-secondary students.  The headline grabbed me:  "Happiness Rules: Canada's Youth Don't Live for $$$"

I wanted to see how the student values compared with the Influentials and Cultural Creatives in Reboot Alberta and the random sample we did of everyday Albertans on the same values.

First the students are said to be "idealistic, optimistic and confident in their abilities to accomplish goals.  They seem not to be entrepreneurial nor interested in great wealth accumulation with happiness being more important as a value driver.  The reasons stated were because this cohort placed low value on collaboration, innovation and leadership and they were risk adverse.

This is not good from my perspective.  If ever we needed a value shift in our culture it is now and this is needed in areas like collaboration, innovation and leadership.  The other side of the value coin for students was interesting too.   They reported a high importance on compassion, integrity and optimism and they believed that they would not change their values much between now and 2020.  They look forward to spending time with friends and family, getting more education, living a healthy lifestyle with a career and living in a safe and secure environment.

The top value drivers for the Reboot Influentials were around what they wanted policy makers and politicians to use when making decisions so they do not compare directly with the context of the student values. Rebooters want a government that had integrity, that was honest, accountable and transparent with a strong sense of environmental stewardship.  Next priorities were applied wisdom, a focus on well being and equity along with fiscal responsibility and respect for diversity.

If you share these values you should join Reboot Alberta  and become part of a citizen's movement Pressing for Change to a more progressive political culture in Alberta.  Block off November 5-7 for the next gathering of progressive thinking Albertans and help frame a progressive provincial political agenda and figure out what actions we need to take to make it happen.

Why I Love Edmonton

Ok - so I am a homer...not of the Simpson variety.  Here is a great video that captures my sense of my home town...Edmonton, Alberta.  Enjoy!

Lots of Moving Parts in Politics and Policy These Days

Lots of different things on my mind this morning.  So here is a sampling of some of them:

Alberta Party gets a fund-raising boost with a major donor.

I have done a piece for The Mark on some of the political and policy findings we discovered from the oil sands study we did in collaboration with the Oil Sands Research and Information Network.

I have noticed that Lawrence Martin has a great Op-Ed on the Incredible Shrinking Tory Tent of Control Freak Stephen Harper.  He details some of the many reasons we need to remove this man from the highest office in our land and real soon too.

Lots of real work to do today but Twitter is never far away.  Follow me there @kenchapman46

RebootAlberta Blog Has New Post on Progressives in Alberta

I am using another blog site to deal with progressive thoughts and ideas in the Alberta context called RebootAlberta.  This is not a www.rebootalberta.org site - it is my own blog.  I will send links to it from time to time for readers of this blog to follow.  My purpose is to connect you with on my work to help generate a progressive citizen's movement in Alberta to influence the political culture in Alberta.

Here is a link that I invite you to follow to see an example of what I am doing over there.

Water Act Enforcement Kind of Slow by Alberta Government

It is good to see that the provisions of the Water Act in Alberta are being enforced.
Water is a critical issue for Albertans in so many ways including environmentally, socially as well as economically.  There are lots of politics involved too, including agricultural, conservation and wildlife habitat concerns.  Water is a serious complex issue for all Albertans beyond the oil sands uses.

There is a serious water shortage currently and even more coming in southern Alberta and abuses like this example by this company in Calgary is not helpful.  I can't understand why there is no fine and why it took almost 4 years from September 2006 when the company was informed to change is water sources.   Now they have given them over three more months to find an alternative water source and then all the way to Feb 1, 2011 to get the proper authorization for and implementation of the alternative water supply.  Seems Albertans are entitled to a bit more information as to why this abuse of water sources took so long to enforce and why the finding and implementing of alternative sources seem to be not a matter of urgency.

Kind of ironic when the Alberta government news release closes on this matter with the line: "Enforcement orders are issued under the authority of Alberta's Water Act and are designed to ensure immediate action is taken to correct the situation. (Emphasis added) Seems like there is no sense of urgency here nor has the offence resulted in any punishment of the company.

Hardly a message that abuse of our water legislation carries serious consequences.  One thing we have to be careful of as citizens is that while government that is too big is a waste and often an interference, too small a government is incapable of doing the job we as citizens expect of it.  This is not a question of balance between big and small government.  It is a question of ensuring governments are properly resources in staff and expertise to do the job we expect of them.

Is Alberta Ready for a New Political Narrative?

There is a relatively true myth (sic) that Alberta sustains a one-party state politically for decades and then, seemingly, overnight changes its mind and goes with an entirely new set of politicians and a new government.

From some new research we have done at Cambridge Strategies, it appears that Alberta is on the verge of another a dramatic political shift.  For sure the ground is moving.  Not sure yet if the seismic indications are strong enough to have another political earthquake.  There will be more details on the survey findings in my blog posts over the next few weeks.  I suggest you subscribe or follow this blog to ensure you get notice of those posts when they happen.

The other macro-variable is to consider if the values and attitudes of the Alberta population of today is akin to those of the past.  It is a lot more urban, educated, wealthy and secure these days.  Not sure we can rely on history to repeat itself with how different Alberta is today form the past.

There is a sense of a social shift that is happening now that has some similarities to the revolutionary attitudes and hunger for change from the 60's.  That enabled Peter Lougheed to take the Progressive Conservative Party from nowhere to the overwhelmingly popular choice to replace the old, tired and out-of-touch Social Credit government.

What the conventional wisdom is the lack of a viable political alternative.  Kevin Libin did an interesting piece in the National Post looks at the Alberta Liberal party in this context.  He could do the same kind of analysis of the NDP and even the Wildrose Alliance.  Neither one has been able to capture the angst or the aspirations of the next Alberta.  There is a yearning, longing and hunger for a new narrative for the next Alberta that is just as strong as the anger and frustration with the current state of politics and governance in the province.

The rise of the Wildrose Alliance is an indication of some of the unrest and moving political ground in the province.  It is far from the mainstream values or majority point of view of everyday Albertans. There are many more conversations happening around the province these days about what kind of place and people we are and want to become.

The sentiment that is emerging in the conversations I am involved with and monitoring is not about Alberta being the best place in the world but about the potential and promise of Alberta to be the best is can be for the world.  That is a much more generative and engaging mindset than the banal boosterism we get from so many sectors in Alberta these days.

Reboot 3.0 is in the early planning stages and will happen in Edmonton this fall.  It will be focused on what it will take to get a more comprehensive and integrated progressive set of values in Alberta's political culture. It will be a focused conversation about how to use the aggregate political power of progressive thinking Albertans to Press for Change in the politics and governance of our province.  Stay tuned.  There is going to be a lot of changes in Alberta politics between now and the next election - I can assure you.

CalgaryGrit: Everything You Always Wanted To Know About The Census (But Were Afraid To Ask)

CalgaryGrit: Everything You Always Wanted To Know About The Census (But Were Afraid To Ask)

Here is one of the most comprehensive and compelling blog post I have seen on the census fiasco.  Well worth a read.

Alex Himelfarb Speaks Out on Chief Statistician Resignation

The former long serving and long suffering former Chief Clerk of the Privy Council of Canada Alex Himelfarb  speaks out about the resignation of Munir Sheikh as a brave and admirable act.


Here is an excerpt from  his post:


In Canada, our professional, non-partisan public service has traditionally been guided by the principle of "fearless advice and loyal implementation." This is based on the belief that governments work best when they have access to the best possible information, options, and advice – including what they may not wish to hear – and, in the end, democracy demands that the public service implement loyally whatever lawful decision the elected government of the day makes – whether the public servants agree or not. That's how it works when it works. I know Munir to be a man of great integrity, committed to the value and values of a professional, non-partisan public service.


Read more...

CTV Interview on UN Censorship of The Gun Sculpture

I did a short interview on the CTV national news on the Gun Sculpture.  Here is the link http://videos.apnicommunity.com/Video,Item,684381932.html

Thanks to www.apnicommunity.com for promoting the link and helping to get the message out about the Gun Sculpture censorship.

Vue Weekly Talks About Progressive Politics

Ricardo Acuna from the Parkland Institute has an interesting piece in Vue Weekly.  It is  on his perceptions of who is "progressive" in the Alberta political firmament.   He seems to settle on the NDP as the only party close to being what he sees as a progressive.  Fair enough but progressives Albertans are mostly not in political parties.

I would recommend reading the piece but also suggest people go to the Reboot Alberta site and click on the What's a Progressive link and read the thoughts of what is a progressive many non-partisan citizen participants in the Reboot Alberta movement.  It will add to the sense of what we are missing in Alberta political culture - even from the current progressively aspiring political parties.

If you red something at the Reboot Alberta site that resonates with you, consider registering on the site and become part of the broader progressive citizen's engagement movement in Alberta.

Shame on UN for Censoring Gun Sculpture.

I am most amazed that the United Nations, of all the institutions in the world, would succumb to pressure to censor art about the “Art of Peacemaking: the Gun Sculpture” by Edmonton artists Sandra Bromley and Wallis Kendal.  It is even more ironic when you consider the nature of the UN event in Vienna where the Gun Sculpture was displayed.  The UN Academic Council was meeting on "New Security Challenges" and
having speakers on the UN and the Media. (sic).

Sheila Pratt of the Edmonton Journal broke the story on the front page yesterday.  Congratulations to the Edmonton Journal for giving this important but not conventional story such prominent display.  Others have picked it up including the Montreal Gazette and the CBC, amongst others, with more interest being shown all the time.
I am very attached to this piece of art and have helped promote it in my own way for the past few years. I have helped bring it out of storage and brought it back from Europe for a display at The Works festival in Edmonton a few years ago. I am mostly interested in finding a permanent home for it...even considered the UN headquarters in New York, but with this development by the UN – you have to think twice.

The Gun Sculpture is one of the best examples I know of art doing its job. In no small part this piece tells us something about the human condition, ourselves and provokes strong reflecting reactions. By doing so, it becomes effectively controversial in a number of ways...all of them positive from my point of view.

The Chinese delegation at the Vienna International Centre was offended because a couple of the Gun Sculpture related photographs showed Tibetan victims, but did not reference any direct Chinese involvement with the victims. The Chinese delegation to the UN event objected to officials and insisted the Gun Sculpture be removed. The fact that the UN partially capitulated to such political pressure and removed the photographs of victims that forms an integral part of the exhibit is absolutely alarming. It makes you wonder what they were thinking especially since China was not singled out and this artwork has been displayed all over the world without similar incident.

The message of the Gun Sculpture is critically important.  It is in the form of a prison cell and made up of 7000 thousand of decommissioned weapons from handguns, to AK- 47s, to ammunition and landmines.  It challenges “accepted ways of thinking” about violence and “acts as a catalyst that makes (people) respond to the suffering” these small arms weapons cause for so many people in the world.

We need more artists like Bromley and Kendal and artwork like the Gun Sculpture to provoke our thinking and to make us reflect on our values, beliefs, perceptions and attitudes. I hope the artists get a formal apology from the officials at the UN, including those who made this decision to censor the Gun Sculpture.

Free speech is not free and if we are not aggressive in using it and vigilant in protecting it – we will lose it. The UN censoring of the Gun Sculpture is a shameful example of the erosion of free speech.

I hope this story has legs and others start to help to ensure this story travels around the world.  We need to get the Gun Sculpture message out and deplore the kind of violence and suffering these weapons are causing in so many places, in so many ways to so many people. 

We also need to get the message out about the place of art in illuminating this kind of core message about violence, suffering and aggression in the world. You would expect more support from the United Nations for endorsing that kind of core message and more respect for art as a way to communicate it, at least one would like to think so!  This shameful example of capitulation and censorship is not the kind of action we would or should accept from the United Nations.  They need to be more accountable and thoughtful about their role and responsibility on these core issues too.

Please forward this blog post around.  Share it with as many people as you can who care about free speech, the role of art in our society and who decry institutionalized censorship.

Alberta Needs to Design a New Future for Itself

Nice to see the op-ed in yesterday's Edmonton Journal written by economist Todd Hirsch.  Todd is turning into a first rate public intellectual with his op-ed writing.  Now he and Rob Roach of the Canada West Foundation are planning a new book on the creative economy entitled Re-writing the Code: Changing Canada's Economic DNA.  I am looking forward to it.


With all the changes happening in the world it is imperative for Canada - and Alberta especially - to shift from a virtually sole focus on a resource extraction economy into a more  right-brained economy and society.  The Dave Hancock Inspiring Education initiative as Minister of Education has been a step in the right direction.  The new Literacy Policy and framework for Alberta is now established and needs life breathed into it as a key part of this shift in consciousness.

I have been involved with others in a new initiative that addresses this overarching concern about the future of Alberta in a series of public dialogues entitled Learning Our Way to the Next Alberta.  I encourage you to visit the site and see what we are up to in this effort to influence the future direction of Alberta.

The Premier's Council for Economic Strategy has a discussion paper out that starts to reshape the thinking around Alberta's future too. The Council is focused on six key questions:

1. What must Alberta do to earn a global reputation as a responsible energy producer and natural resource steward?
2. How can we ensure the Alberta of the future has a robust, stable economy and fiscal position?
3. What steps can Alberta take to create new wealth through knowledge and innovation?
4. How do we ensure we have the healthy skilled and engaged citizens needed to drive innovation and sustain prosperity?
5. How do we ensure Alberta's urban and rural communities are vibrant, supportive and inclusive?
6. How can we engage more strategically with the rest of Canada and the world?

All of these question integrate into each other - which is a good thing,  We need a robust and vibrant discussion amongst Albertans on each and every one of them.  There is a place to share your thoughts on these and other concerns with the Premier's Council here.  I strongly recommend you engage and exert some influence on the future of Alberta in this way.  I will be engaging on these questions over the next weeks through this blog and my public speaking opportunities.

Congratulations James Rajotte MP On Your Stand for the Long-form Census

Here is why I like James Rajotte and think he is one of the quality Conservative MPs we have, and for my money, the best Conservative MP in Alberta. He will pay a price for this breaking ranks from the Prime Minister's Office position on the long form census.  But isn't that what representative democracy is supposed to be all about?

Isn't good public policy supposed to emerge from a robust and informed public discussion of the issues by Canadians?  Are we not supposed to be able to assume we can then depend on a public policy decision to be taken that is based on evidence and the applied practical wisdom from those to whom we grant our consent to govern us.  Anyone in Canada seen that happen much lately, especially since Harper has been in power?

The scary top down command and control unilateral politically motivated decision making by Prime Minister Harper is wrong, reckless and abusive - especially to his Cabinet and Caucus.  It is no good governance and no way to run a country, especially one like Canada.  There are stronger words that get used in private by many Canadians when reflecting on the political style of Mr. Harper, including fascist.  I think that is a little strong but one starts to wonder the more we see how he actually operates and behaves with the levers of power.

Harper's position on the census means we institutionalize ignorance about much of what we need to know about who we are as a people in this country.  Such institutionalized ignorance and refusal to allow Canadians to become informed leaves Harper the political room to ignore facts and impose even more of his own beliefs on the country.  He could then be more reckless and abusive with his political power, and do so with even great impunity from his duty to serve the greater public interest instead of his own personal political aspirations.

We need an election in this country sooner than later. We need to make some real changes as citizens and voters in how we want our democracy to work in our interests and not just for the interests that serve the Prime Minister's agenda.

When and What Will the Next Alberta Election Be About?

I get a strange feeling the Stelmach government is easing into the election prep stage known as The Red Zone. That is where not much happens in governance because they don’t want to make political mistakes. With the rise of the “pungent and pink” Wildrose the current government, if not in the Red Zone, it is definitely concerned about the Wildrose “pink zone” of election readiness.


I don’t think we will have a snap election in Alberta but I would not count on Stelmach waiting until March 2012 as stated earlier. Alberta is mindful of many external forces influencing its election timing. For example there is potential for a federal election late this fall or next spring. It may happen over the next budget or, depending if Harper thinks he can get a majority, he will engineer his own defeat. The midterm US elections will be watched carefully by the Stelmach government for policy trends that impact energy policy and oil sands development.

Then there are domestic concerns about election timing. The Stelmach government had an approval rating of 12% in a recent survey of Albertans. The economy is apparently recovering but is it due to the billions of provincial and federal government stimulus money or is it authentic economic growth at play? Are we into a slow and steady economic turn around or a double dip recession? Too early to tell yet and economist are pointing in every direction, as usual.

Then we have the volatility of politics to consider too. There is change in the air in Alberta these days. And what form that will take is still unclear. Albertan’s self –image from environmental pressures and negative PR is eating away at our pride of place, our self-confidence and our self-esteem. Albertans are clear that oil sands are critically important to our future prosperity. But they are now questioning themselves and their government about how well this resource is being developed and managed.

The lack of faith in the leadership in any of the current political parties is another measure of volatility. We recently asked a random sample of over 1000 Albertans which political leader they trusted most to manage the growth in the Alberta economy. The results brought a sharp focus on the general disaffection Albertans have with the current crop of political leaders. Only 4% picked the NDP’s Brian Mason. Some 9% trusted Liberal leader David Swann. As for The Wildrose and Danielle Smith only 19% would put their management trust in her. Premier Ed Stelmach of the PCs garnered a scant 23% who said they trusted him the most to manage Alberta’s growth. Here is the kicker – 45% of us said we mostly trusted none of them to manage the growth of the Alberta economy. That survey outcome speaks to potential for serious political change but begs the question – change to what alternative?

Now add in the right-wing conservative political culture war that is raging in Alberta between Progressive Conservatives and the Wildrose Alliance Party. With Ted Morton’s move to Minister of Finance and Enterprise he is doing the next budget for the spring of 2011. We can expect his ideological fingerprints will to be all over the economic and fiscal policy direction of Alberta by next year. Kevin Libin has a very insightful and telling column in a recent edition of the National Post on the Morton factor in Alberta politics and policy directions. I recommend you read it.

If Kevin is right in his observations about Minister Morton, and my comments he quotes about Minister Morton from 2006 are still valid (and Morton himself says they are) then we have another fly-in-the-ointment political dynamic that will influence the election timing.

What if the PCs become less progressive and more Morton-like conservative between now and the next election? What if the defacto election battle on the right is between the Sorcerer Morton and Smith, his former Apprentice from the Calgary School? Where does that leave Stelmach? Where do progressives go given the current anemic political alternatives they are being offered? What does the next Alberta look like if only the radical right and reactionary left show up to vote?

We need a viable progressive political alternative in Alberta. The current situation is untenable for any thoughtful Albertan who sees a positive balanced role for responsible, accountable, open and honest government. Reboot Alberta is not a political party but it is a way to influence and shape any new or existing political party. We need to show the powers that be and any that want to be that they must move towards a more inclusive and effective approach to a more contemporary political culture that reflects the next Alberta instead of trying to perfect the past.

Efforts are afoot for staging Reboot 3.0 in late October to look at a more activist approach to bring the progressive agenda and voice back to Alberta politics. Stay tuned for more information here and to join the Reboot Alberta citizen's movement go to http://www.rebootalberta.org/

Time for Alberta Progressives to Become Activists Again.

UPDATE JULY 16  HERE IS A LINK TO SOME COMMENTS ON THE IDEA OF PROGRESSIVES BECOMING ACTIVISTS FROM THE LIBERAL PARTY OF ALBERTA BLOG AND WORTH A READ:
http://albertaliberals.wordpress.com/2010/07/16/reaction-to-the-cooperation-ads-a-sample/

I have been talking with leaders and others of the progressive parties as a result of David Swann's letter and "Let's Talk" advertisement as Leader of the Alberta Liberals.  I have also spoken at length with Dave King, fellow Reboot Alberta Instigator about the framing and intent of the Swann initiative.  Dave and I agree whole-heartedly about what are the limitations of the Swann suggestions but also about the potential for something to happen.

Here is the recent blog post of Dave King's that captures where my head and heart is at.  I am away next week but on my return I think you will see Reboot Alberta offering to host a gathering that will become a place for progressive politics and progressive political action to be discussed and action plans put forth by aspirational and actual political people - partisan and otherwise.

Stay tuned.  In the meantime if any of this interests you encourages you or makes you want to get involved in designing and defining a progressive political culture for the next Alberta...go to Reboot Alberta and sign up.

Get Used to Incredible Uncertainty in Alberta Politics

Dave Clemenhaga once again provides a well researched and coherent commentary on things political in our province.  His insight into the implications of the rise of the Wildrose Alliance Party coincide with my own,  No wonder I like his perspective.

Since this post was written new developments sparked by the Liberal leader David Swann have triggered some serious conversations in progressive political circles about what to do.  Reboot Alberta has been instrumental in starting policy conversations amongst progressive thinking Albertan.  But the time has come to get more focused on the politics side of the progressive agenda.

I have been in a number of conversations with progressive thinkers in the province and the MSM in the past few days.  There is a plan emerging in my mind about how to use the conversation space David Swann has opened up with his invitation.  Expect a blog post on the ideas and events peculating around shortly.

So You Think You Want to be a School Trustee!

The Alberta School Boards Association is doing a candidate school for people standing for school trustee in the October elections. The next workshop for candidates is mid-September.  I am doing the politics part of it.  Go figure eh!  We did this for the first time in conjunction with the ASBA Spring Conference.  It was a lot of fun and very well received. I am looking forward to the next one.

Here is a link for more information.  If you are thinking of running as a school trustee this workshop is for you.  Here is the link to register

If you are interested in some of the new directions education and learning is going in Alberta you will want to check this links to Learning Our Way to the Next Alberta.