Albertan's Are Responding to the Oil Sands Survey.

I am very encouraged by the response to the Oil Sands Survey we at Cambridge Strategies Inc and The Policy Channel are doing on values Albertans attribute to responsible and sustainable development of the oil sands. So far over 4400 Albertans have participated in this discrete choice modelling survey and this is not an easy survey that asks if you like Pepsi or Coke – it makes you think and requires you to make some personal value judgements.

We have also done a Stats Can aligned sample of 1300 Albertans to be sure we have a scientific base line for this project. Now we are reaching out to get as many Albertans as we can to do the survey as well. This is not a sponsored survey but we intend to use the results to influence government policy and industry practices on the future direction and goals for responsible and sustainable oil sands development.

The survey is anonymous but if you want a report on the results we ask you for an email address at the end of the survey. There is also a place for you to comment on the survey and the issues around oil sands development. Those comments will help us inform government and industry on the theme areas as well.

If who want to have a say in how you believe your oil sands ought to be developed please take the time to do the survey. It will force some hard choices and trade-offs on you - just like in real life but stick with it - you will be glad you did it!

Here is a link to Policy Channel and the Survey link is in the top left hand corner.

An Inquiry If Necessary but Not Necessarily an Inquiry.

So we are not yet quite at the stage of a public inquiry on the Mulroney/Schreiber affair. In a statement today from the PMO we see the intent of Mr. Harper to appoint “an independent and impartial third party to review what course of actions may be appropriate given Mr. Schreiber’s new sworn allegations.”

There may be prima facie findings of criminal actions so this preliminary review will identify and advise on what course of actions should be taken as well as the nature and timing of the inquiry.

I agree with Mr. Harper’s course of action here and his reasoning behind them as well. He is looking for non-political professional advice on how to proceed and on setting priorities for issues and terms of reference for any inquiry if needed.

Mr. Harper is now discovering it is not easy setting serious complex policy priorities. Mr. Dion has known this for a while. In fact the CPC attack ads on Mr. Dion have made the point very effectively about how difficult setting this matter of priorities can be.

Mulroney Himself Calls for a Public Inquiry into the Schreiber Allegations.

Mulroney calls for a public inquiry and says by pass the investigation stage. Finally a statesman steps up for the good of the country and perhaps even to enhance the public's confidence in the state of our democracy in the process.

As I said in an earlier post Mr. Harper should call an inquiry. I also supported his decision for an independent investigation as first step. I also hope Schreiber can’t prove his allegations because our respect for most of our political institutions has been severely shaken as of late. We don't need that trust to be tried and tested further right in the office of the Prime Minister.

Given Mr. Mulroney's recommendation, go directly to the pubic inquiry route Mr. Harper and lets get this cleared up. It is time to get this behind the players, the parties and the country.

The Enlightened Savage Sends Up Margaret Atwood

Every time I try to use sarcasm in my Blog postings, I get in trouble. It is because my “nuance” just gets lost in the text that simply cannot seem to translate my “tongue in cheek” prose. Or maybe my critics and commenters are all uber-rational positivist who think a metaphor is a five. Anyway I seem to suck at sarcasm in print.

One of my favourite Bloggers – The Enlightened Savage pulls it off every time. Even the name of his blog is proof positive of this man’s skill at "incite."

Well his latest post is a brilliant send up of Margaret Atwood and underscores the impotence of being earnest when it comes to shilling for political dollars.

Well done oh-enlightened one…well done.

Was Prime Minister Harper Really Out-of-the-Loop on the Mulroney/Schreiber Affair?

Can you believe that Prime Minister Harper, the master of micro-managing-message-control, was out of the loop for seven months on a letter sent to him from Karlheinz Schreiber alleging serious wrong-doing by former PM (and current Harper mentor) Brian Mulroney?

Given that the letter was accusing former Prime Minister Mulroney of serious abuses of the highest political office in the country, can you believe the Privy Council Office’s characterization of the letter’s content? What were they thinking when, according to media reports, the CPO decided the Schreiber letter to Prime Minister Harper as merely dealing with a civil suit between two private citizens and therefore Harper need not even be advised of the letter's existence, never mind the content?

Mr. Harper’s recent threats in response to the opposition parties (and many Canadians) saying they want him to investigate this matter saying we had “better be careful what we ask for” in demanding a sitting PM investigate a former PM. This attitude was pure unvarnished and unscripted Stephen Harper at his most insinuating, intimidating and threatening best. He implies with such a request to investigate the Mulroney/Schreiber affair there could also be other investigations of other former PMs. Scary stuff.

If further investigation of other PMs is warranted Mr. Harper, then that sir, is exactly what I and other Canadians would expect you to undertake. Your insinuation that this may bear some “consequences” to other politicians and other political parties is damaging to your own reputation as PM and brings into question your own fitness for service the highest political office in the land.

The last time Harper launched such an investigation it was politically motivated and over certain communications, polling and advisory contracts with former Prime Minister Martin and a consulting firm. That firm was also heavily involved in Martin's bid for leadership of the LPC and in his last two election strategies. The investigation mandate Mr. Harper set then was to look for any wrong-doing and skullduggery by the contractors and Mr. Martin. That appointee was seen by most as more of a political provocateur than an indifferent and independent investigator. He was supposed to report back on his findings in 6 months and that time has long since past without any report being released by Mr. Harper. We don’t even know if Harper has actually received such a report as yet. Not an encouraging record Mr. Harper.

Mr. Harper indicates he will appoint an independent third party to investigate the issues and allegations around the Mulroney/Schreiber affair. He says that appointment announcement may come as early as this week. Mr. Harper needs to prove, through this action, that he has the character and capacity for service in the highest political office in the land. If he aspires to a majority government with virtually unfettered control that would bring to him, and as was enjoyed by Prime Ministers Mulroney and Chrétien, he can do much toward ensuring that outcome in the next election by the appointment of a truly independent person to do this review.

Be careful who you appoint this time Mr. Harper and be very open and transparent with the mandate and terms of reference and be generous with the resources you afford this investigation. We are talking about the integrity of the highest political office in the land and not some clever political out-of-season campaign ploy like your series of “who-is-not-a-leader” negative TV ads against Mr. Dion. Please do not politicize this situation Mr. Harper.

Our faith in our democracy demands that we look to you Mr. Harper as our Prime Minister and as the leader of our government to ensure the necessary accountability is extant in dealing with these difficult circumstances.

While you ponder the appointee and the nature of the assignment please put a stay on the extradition of Mr. Schreiber for a while too. We need him in Canada to be examined under oath surrounding the various allegations in his recent affidavit on this matter. The Germans can wait a bit longer to pursue their tax evasion and fraud charges against him. Right now Canadians need to know if he can prove his allegations or not.

I'm not taking bets on if Schreiber can prove his allegations or not. I am hoping, for the sake of the confidence of the country in our political institutions, that he can't. Time will tell.