The past is littered with examples inability for Alberta's progressive political parties to individually mount an effective alternative to the ruling Conservative dynasty.
Laurie Blakeman, as Alberta's longest serving MLA, has seen a lot of changes. She recognizes the political status quo for progressives will only preserve the power-based status quo for Conservatives. She is now walking her talk about changing the attitudes of establishment progressive partisans.
The October 2014 by-elections were very telling. By-elections are usually opportunities to send the sitting government a message of discontent. There was plenty of discontent with the Conservatives. Prentice still won all four seats, three in Calgary and one in Edmonton.
While Prentice won his own seat handily there were some interesting but still unsuccessful challengers in other ridings. That said, there are no silver medals in politics.
The Wildrose did very poorly given the funds it spent, its strong Calgary presence and a star candidate. The Wildrose leader and most others crossed the floor o the Prentice Conservatives in a surprising and conniving move.
The NDP had its leadership contest during the by-elections thanks to Prentice high-handed political approaches. They had no traction in Calgary but had a good second place showing in Edmonton Whitemud.
The Liberals did poorly all over coming in 4th and splitting the vote in Calgary Elbow. That Liberal vote split arguably elected a religious SoCon Conservative candidate over the strong second place showing of the Alberta Party leader.
The Liberal Party leader resigned shortly after the by-elections. Blakeman offered to be an interim leader on conditions that she be authorized to engage in talks with the Alberta Party around cooperation and possible merger.
She failed to convince her Liberal Party Board to go that route. The Liberals selected David Swann as interim leaders. He is a well regarded former leader who resigned upon realizing that he could not move Alberta Liberals forward.
Conversations between Blakeman and the Alberta Party continued with the Greens added. What emerged was that Blakeman's candidacy in Edmonton Centre would not be contested by the Alberta Party or the Greens.
They would do more than endorse her. The Greens and Alberta Party actually nominated her as their own candidate in the same constituency. While she is officially a Liberal on the ballot, all her campaign materials will carry the logos and messages of all three cooperating progressive parties.
The NDP will have nothing to do with this approach. They believe that they are the true progressive alternative for Albertans and in 2015 their time has come. With their new leader they promise to run a full slate of 87 candidates. That will be true I expect, even if many are parachuted in and merely filed as "paper candidates" with no hope of winning nor with any real connection to local constituencies.
So what does this innovative Blakeman three-way candidacy mean? Ideally it's the triumph of a commitment to shared progressive values over individual partisan brand loyalty. Perhaps it demonstrates that progressive Albertans can co-create a new political space. That they can move towards becoming a viable alternative citizen-based political movement aspiring beyond Official Opposition status.
Progressives gathered together before when they realized the threat of the Wildrose in the last Alberta election. They showed up strategically on election day rallying behind Premier Redford, whom they mistakenly believed to be an authentic progressive.
Progressives will show up to oppose a common enemy. Perhaps we have a new common enemy in the Prentice Conservatives. The success of the citizens-based political movement over allowing Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) in Alberta schools is a case in point. This initiative was started and sustained by Liberals Kent Hehr and Laurie Blakeman through Private Members Bills. It received emboldened support from all progressive parties and many community groups.
There was a public outcry over the Prentice Conservatives bullying procedural tactics used to kill the Blakeman GSA Bill 202. The back-of-the-napkin ineffectual and offensive replacement government Bill 10 was soon "paused" for more public "consultation." The sustained opposition kept the issue alive over the Christmas break.
Prentice, as his first action when the Legislature resumed,, was to present and pass a new more acceptable Bill 10, very akin to the original Blakeman Bill 202. A clear progressive citizen-based political victory.
Redford was run out of office by the Conservative Caucus. Prentice was elected as the "new management" leader under a cloud of a suspicion over electronic voting and other irregularities.
Prentice is proving to be a Harper-like politician with a Klein inspired short-sighted economic agenda of brutal cuts to public spending. Is it possible that a combination Harper/Klein Conservative government philosophy that only wants to cut government spending not increase revenues will reawaken passive progressives?
Could the Blakeman/Alberta Party/Green creative candidacy approach be the beginning of a progressive political coalition? Could this meeting of progressive leadership minds show the way forward for a merger of the Liberals, Alberta Party and Greens?
Who knows.
The well known truth is that the current approach of the traditional progressive parties is not working. If we want to change the government, we progressives will have to change ourselves first. I now see some hope of that happening.....on both counts.
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Sunday, January 18, 2015
2015: The Year for Acting Politically
Here is a draft of a piece I did emerging from my guest spot at the Summer Conference for the Alberta Teachers Association. I am often invited to attend ATA events as a "friendly critic and critical friend of the ATA" as a former President likes to call me.
Summer Conference includes the ATA leadership cohort from across the province. They looked collectively into their professional and political role in Alberta's public education policy going forward.
This "post" was inspired from the ATA event last August. That was in the heat of the PC leadership process and just before the oil price changes gathered momentum. You will see from the content it was written after the October by-elections.
2015: THE YEAR FOR ACTING POLITICALLY
Politics was a key message this year for ATA Summer Conference participants. Politics pervaded the Conference program. PC Leadership candidates were invited to attend and speak but Thomas Lukaszuk was the only one to show up. Opposition Education Critics all attended, spoke civilly and shared insights on their approaches to education policy.
I got to “interview” Lukaszuk and moderate the Opposition Critic panel. I also got to observe and add commentary in Political Engagement sessions. As a result I learned a lot about the political positioning and thinking of the ATA. I got to listen to those members charged with bringing the voice of teachers into the complex public policy process of the province.
My special privilege was when I was asked to make some wrap up comments at the end of the Conference. My closing comments were based on Martin Luther King’s speech on Power and Love. He said power without love is reckless and abusive. Love without power is sentimental and anemic. King’s conclusion was that we need power and love not power or love.
Since the Summer Conference, there have been lots of political power plays in Alberta. The PCs have selected a new leader. There was a significantly diminished level of citizen participation than in previous contests. There was a serious controversy over electronic voting irregularities. Then there were accusations of ethical lapses by the winning candidate over giving “free” memberships, paid for by others.
The “new management” leader selected a Cabinet that had unelected and controversial Ministers in the key portfolios of Health and Education. This exercise in political power caused two additional, costly but interesting by-elections.
More power based politics emerged in one of the by-elections. Ethical breach allegations of conflict of interest were formally filed against the appointed Minister of Education. The Alberta Party and Wildrose both accused him of conflict of interest by using his Ministerial power for private benefit during his election campaign.
Robocall tactics came from federal politics and to the Alberta by-elections. This time, anonymous social conservatives targeted robocalls at Wildrose supporters in all by-election campaigns. Their message belittled the Wildrose party leader’s values for pursuing moderate policies on sexual preference issues.
In politics, power is often applied in ways that is reckless and abusive. And when it comes to the values of many care givers, including educators, the love they have for their work is embraced as a calling. So they are often seen, and even become, sentimental and anemic…and therefore ineffectual in getting what they needed for themselves and those in their charge.
The repulsion of power politics coupled with a genuine love of their work (aka their "calling"), educators often get badly treated by the dynamics of politics. They tend to get abused in the power-based public policy development and deployment process.
My closing message to teachers was to stay professional but also to dust off their citizenship duties. Get informed, get engaged, then get on with politically active citizenship. Start making a real difference on issues that are important to you.
Being a professional in a publicly funded education system puts some legitimate limits on advocacy activities. But citizenship is a justifiable distinction and a strong basis for individual advocacy and values-based activism.
I suggested teachers, acting as citizens, have a lot to offer our declining democracy. They have special training and skills that can help others understand and interpret information (aka seeing and understanding propaganda). They have analytic abilities and high degrees of literacy that can help marginalized groups access and understand politics and political messaging.
My engagement plea was for teachers to join a political party and volunteer to help a candidate in an election campaign. If you want to have real influence the leverage of your time is via political partisanship. Access to power is easier and only 2% of Canadians belong to parties so the "power" is significant.
You don’t have to subsume your values to the party ideology but research which party is closest to your values. Great parties encourage and enable active dialogue on values. This is because good political parties recognize political decisions are values trade-offs. Policy design and political priorities are, at their essence, moral choices.
Democracy necessitates a dynamic diverse dialogue and an informed debate served by a wise set of elected and listening decision makers. None of that happens without engaged citizens who want to synergize Power and Love.
When you reflect on the potential of a progressive values-based society like I just described, it occurs to me that I have also just described a very good school.
Yes teachers, as citizens, have a lot of skills, talents and qualities to help integrate the concepts of power and love.
Our democracy and our society needs great classroom teachers but that does not mean they can't also become active and effective citizens outside of school. that said, 2015 is indeed the year for educators to begin acting politically - especially if there is a snap election coming.
Summer Conference includes the ATA leadership cohort from across the province. They looked collectively into their professional and political role in Alberta's public education policy going forward.
This "post" was inspired from the ATA event last August. That was in the heat of the PC leadership process and just before the oil price changes gathered momentum. You will see from the content it was written after the October by-elections.
2015: THE YEAR FOR ACTING POLITICALLY
Politics was a key message this year for ATA Summer Conference participants. Politics pervaded the Conference program. PC Leadership candidates were invited to attend and speak but Thomas Lukaszuk was the only one to show up. Opposition Education Critics all attended, spoke civilly and shared insights on their approaches to education policy.
I got to “interview” Lukaszuk and moderate the Opposition Critic panel. I also got to observe and add commentary in Political Engagement sessions. As a result I learned a lot about the political positioning and thinking of the ATA. I got to listen to those members charged with bringing the voice of teachers into the complex public policy process of the province.
My special privilege was when I was asked to make some wrap up comments at the end of the Conference. My closing comments were based on Martin Luther King’s speech on Power and Love. He said power without love is reckless and abusive. Love without power is sentimental and anemic. King’s conclusion was that we need power and love not power or love.
Since the Summer Conference, there have been lots of political power plays in Alberta. The PCs have selected a new leader. There was a significantly diminished level of citizen participation than in previous contests. There was a serious controversy over electronic voting irregularities. Then there were accusations of ethical lapses by the winning candidate over giving “free” memberships, paid for by others.
The “new management” leader selected a Cabinet that had unelected and controversial Ministers in the key portfolios of Health and Education. This exercise in political power caused two additional, costly but interesting by-elections.
More power based politics emerged in one of the by-elections. Ethical breach allegations of conflict of interest were formally filed against the appointed Minister of Education. The Alberta Party and Wildrose both accused him of conflict of interest by using his Ministerial power for private benefit during his election campaign.
Robocall tactics came from federal politics and to the Alberta by-elections. This time, anonymous social conservatives targeted robocalls at Wildrose supporters in all by-election campaigns. Their message belittled the Wildrose party leader’s values for pursuing moderate policies on sexual preference issues.
In politics, power is often applied in ways that is reckless and abusive. And when it comes to the values of many care givers, including educators, the love they have for their work is embraced as a calling. So they are often seen, and even become, sentimental and anemic…and therefore ineffectual in getting what they needed for themselves and those in their charge.
The repulsion of power politics coupled with a genuine love of their work (aka their "calling"), educators often get badly treated by the dynamics of politics. They tend to get abused in the power-based public policy development and deployment process.
My closing message to teachers was to stay professional but also to dust off their citizenship duties. Get informed, get engaged, then get on with politically active citizenship. Start making a real difference on issues that are important to you.
Being a professional in a publicly funded education system puts some legitimate limits on advocacy activities. But citizenship is a justifiable distinction and a strong basis for individual advocacy and values-based activism.
I suggested teachers, acting as citizens, have a lot to offer our declining democracy. They have special training and skills that can help others understand and interpret information (aka seeing and understanding propaganda). They have analytic abilities and high degrees of literacy that can help marginalized groups access and understand politics and political messaging.
My engagement plea was for teachers to join a political party and volunteer to help a candidate in an election campaign. If you want to have real influence the leverage of your time is via political partisanship. Access to power is easier and only 2% of Canadians belong to parties so the "power" is significant.
You don’t have to subsume your values to the party ideology but research which party is closest to your values. Great parties encourage and enable active dialogue on values. This is because good political parties recognize political decisions are values trade-offs. Policy design and political priorities are, at their essence, moral choices.
Democracy necessitates a dynamic diverse dialogue and an informed debate served by a wise set of elected and listening decision makers. None of that happens without engaged citizens who want to synergize Power and Love.
When you reflect on the potential of a progressive values-based society like I just described, it occurs to me that I have also just described a very good school.
Yes teachers, as citizens, have a lot of skills, talents and qualities to help integrate the concepts of power and love.
Our democracy and our society needs great classroom teachers but that does not mean they can't also become active and effective citizens outside of school. that said, 2015 is indeed the year for educators to begin acting politically - especially if there is a snap election coming.
Monday, January 12, 2015
Does Jim Prentice Need a New Mandate?
The spring 2015 election rumours are rampant amongst the chattering class in Alberta politics. Of course all the reasons given to go early are pure politics and nothing to do with good governance.
Some reasons for an early election, instead of honouring the legislated fixed election date, is the "new management" under the new Premier needs his own mandate from Albertans.
Other reasons are the oil price decline needs Albertans to go to the polls to provide Prentice with the power to make the "tough choices" (a.k.a. draconian cuts) about programs and to keep taxes low.
Finally I believe the new Premier wants an election to enable him to clean house and get rid of the remaining progressives in his caucus. An election is the fastest way to do that by culling the herd.
A New Man Needs a New Mandate:
Why a new mandate? Prentice won the PC leadership and consequentially became Premier of all Alberta. He ran in the context of a very recent ( April 2012) and successful Redford election with a majority government.
He also knowingly inherited the fixed election date period of March 1-May 31 in every fourth calendar year of office.
The PCs have a clear mandate and a majority government elected less than two years before they decided to dump Redford. He inherited a 66 seat majority government elected with 44% of the vote that crushed the WRP momentum.
His own leadership win was "decisive" with 17,963 of the 23,386 of memberships counted. We know more memberships were sold or given away by the Prentice campaign so there is a cloud over his "win." Not all eligible members were able to vote due to serious and suspicious electronic voting irregularities.
As for the PC Party mandate, Prentice has (or at least had until recently) the overwhelming support of the party executive, the caucus and the party establishment. The PC caucus members were almost unanimous in their support for Prentice as leader.
The fact that the general population overwhelmingly choose not to participate in this PC selection process, compared to previous contests, can be seen as indifference to the outcome. It could be seen as a general public acceptance that any of candidates offered could continue governing the province for the rest of the legislated mandate.
What if the low participation rate is because Albertans stayed away from the PC selection process in protest? Even that clearly means they were prepared to accept the winner as their Premier in the context of the PC 2102 campaign platform and election victory.
Then consider the dramatic shift in the polling results away from the Wildrose to the PCs since Prentice's victory in September 2014. This shows Albertans now support his Premiership over the WRP regardless of the Redford legacy.
His recent polling results are at least as good, if not better, than the Redford 44% election support in 2012. Again evidence that Albertan's do not see the need for a "new mandate" for the "new management" Premier. "He's da man!"
Budget Pressures Due to Oil Prices:
This is hardly a reason for a general election. In fact it is just the opposite. We need certainty in governance and leadership in such volatile economic times. Oil prices started dropping in June of last year, when Prentice was announcing his candidacy. They became more significant starting in September, when Prentice was selected PC leader. It is not as if he didn't see this coming.
Prentice is not a new kid on the political block. He is an experienced and seasoned politician, elected federally in June 2004 until November 2010 when he mysteriously resigned the Harper government.
In that time he served as Harper's Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Minister of Industry and Minister of the Environment. All vital portfolios and significant experience for dealing with Alberta's policy choices and fiscal plight in the light of falling oil prices. We don't need him to win an election to prove is political bona fides.
Again his leadership success on October 27th by winning all four by-elections shows Albertans are not ready to dump him or even send him a discouraging word about his leadership...at least not so far.
We need certainty in provincial leadership and management to deal with the pending budget issues. This is not new to Alberta or Albertans, notwithstanding Prentice's hyperbole to the contrary about the fiscal issues. We have been down this road before.
Hopefully with Prentice's experience, and others in the recent PC political past, we can avoid making the same policy mistakes of previous resource revenue downturns. Time will tell but in any event oil price volatility is not a reason for an early general election.
Prentice's Purge of the Progressives:
Prentice has taken the PC party significantly to the right in the political spectrum. This is especially evident with the floor crossing of the majority of the Wildrose caucus. He has been described by Danielle Smith, the former Wildrose leader and floor-crosser, as the "first Wildrose Premier." How much more proof do you need of his shift to the right?
The "retirement" of progressives like Hancock and Hughes was allegedly for being too close to Redford. The demotion of people like Lukaszuk and Griffiths plus the announced retirement of Pastoor, (with others to come?) it is pretty clear the "P" in the PC party is being systemically removed by Prentice.
An early election gives Prentice a way to tell remaining progressives there is no future for them in his government, He can also give the WRP crossers the chance to try and win nominations as Prentice Conservatives before other inside progressive candidates can get organized.
The other pure political reason for an early election is to kill the rest of the WRP as a political force. They would not have time to select a new leader with an early election call, in fact may be trying to select a leader in the middle of an election.
That is Harper-esque politics at its lowest. It is sadly ironic for the WRP to be subjected to such tactics given the past support the enjoyed from the Harper caucus members. The death of the current WRP would be the culmination of Prentice becoming the de facto WRP hard-right Premier of the province.
Change to a Progressive Political Culture:
The centrist Alberta Party, the centre-left Liberals with the leftist NDP do not have the funds or other resources to mount a strong offence against Prentice in the short term. The non-aligned progressives who voted Redford in fear of the WRP are in a dilemma. The Prentice PCs are clearly no longer destined to be a big-tent party that includes progressives.
The Liberals and NDP are not a preferred progressive alternative choice or they would have done better in the 2012 election and in the October by-elections. The NDP is an Edmonton-based party and the Liberals are in serious internal decline loosing 3 seats in 2012 and with 2 of the current MLAs leaving for federal politics in the next election this year.
The Alberta Party showed they can campaign and do well in the Calgary Elbow by-election coming in a strong second. However there are no silver medals in politics. They have a lot of organizing and fund raising to do to be a contender but they are making progress on both fronts.
However, given Prentice is not going to lose the next election, the Alberta Party is a smart parking place for a progressive protest vote against the Prentice Conservatives. Full disclosure: I am on the Provincial Board of the Alberta Party.
What will happen about an early election call is anyone's guess, including Prentice, who says he is keeping the option open. To go early would require the Lt. Gov to call it or for Prentice to call the Legislature back and amend or repeal the fixed election dates law. Integrity, accountability and transparency would suggest the latter course is the better approach, but again, who knows and does Prentice really care about those political values?
If we do have an early election it will be for purely partisan political reasons and not sound public policy purposes. Hopefully progressive Albertans will take such self-serving partisanship seriously and judge the "Wildrose Premier" accordingly.
The best way to show displeasure for Prentice opportunism in making such a partisan anti-democratic early election decision is to get out and vote for a new progressive movement.
To my mind that is the Alberta Party. While it is new it is young, energetic and full of new ideas and public-interest thinkers. With proper support, it would legitimately aspire beyond becoming a replacement opposition. It could and should aspire to become a progressive party capable of offering a viable alternative the first "WRP Premier" approach to the governance of the province.
Time will tell if any of that happens too...but in the true spirit of Don Quixote, I remain faithful to an Alberta Aspiration that is hopeful for her progressive future.
Some reasons for an early election, instead of honouring the legislated fixed election date, is the "new management" under the new Premier needs his own mandate from Albertans.
Other reasons are the oil price decline needs Albertans to go to the polls to provide Prentice with the power to make the "tough choices" (a.k.a. draconian cuts) about programs and to keep taxes low.
Finally I believe the new Premier wants an election to enable him to clean house and get rid of the remaining progressives in his caucus. An election is the fastest way to do that by culling the herd.
A New Man Needs a New Mandate:
Why a new mandate? Prentice won the PC leadership and consequentially became Premier of all Alberta. He ran in the context of a very recent ( April 2012) and successful Redford election with a majority government.
He also knowingly inherited the fixed election date period of March 1-May 31 in every fourth calendar year of office.
The PCs have a clear mandate and a majority government elected less than two years before they decided to dump Redford. He inherited a 66 seat majority government elected with 44% of the vote that crushed the WRP momentum.
His own leadership win was "decisive" with 17,963 of the 23,386 of memberships counted. We know more memberships were sold or given away by the Prentice campaign so there is a cloud over his "win." Not all eligible members were able to vote due to serious and suspicious electronic voting irregularities.
As for the PC Party mandate, Prentice has (or at least had until recently) the overwhelming support of the party executive, the caucus and the party establishment. The PC caucus members were almost unanimous in their support for Prentice as leader.
Alberta citizens were able to participate in this leadership selection by simply buying a PC membership (or getting a free one from Prentice's campaign) and voting for any one of three candidates.
The fact that the general population overwhelmingly choose not to participate in this PC selection process, compared to previous contests, can be seen as indifference to the outcome. It could be seen as a general public acceptance that any of candidates offered could continue governing the province for the rest of the legislated mandate.
What if the low participation rate is because Albertans stayed away from the PC selection process in protest? Even that clearly means they were prepared to accept the winner as their Premier in the context of the PC 2102 campaign platform and election victory.
Then consider the dramatic shift in the polling results away from the Wildrose to the PCs since Prentice's victory in September 2014. This shows Albertans now support his Premiership over the WRP regardless of the Redford legacy.
His recent polling results are at least as good, if not better, than the Redford 44% election support in 2012. Again evidence that Albertan's do not see the need for a "new mandate" for the "new management" Premier. "He's da man!"
Budget Pressures Due to Oil Prices:
This is hardly a reason for a general election. In fact it is just the opposite. We need certainty in governance and leadership in such volatile economic times. Oil prices started dropping in June of last year, when Prentice was announcing his candidacy. They became more significant starting in September, when Prentice was selected PC leader. It is not as if he didn't see this coming.
Prentice is not a new kid on the political block. He is an experienced and seasoned politician, elected federally in June 2004 until November 2010 when he mysteriously resigned the Harper government.
In that time he served as Harper's Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Minister of Industry and Minister of the Environment. All vital portfolios and significant experience for dealing with Alberta's policy choices and fiscal plight in the light of falling oil prices. We don't need him to win an election to prove is political bona fides.
Again his leadership success on October 27th by winning all four by-elections shows Albertans are not ready to dump him or even send him a discouraging word about his leadership...at least not so far.
We need certainty in provincial leadership and management to deal with the pending budget issues. This is not new to Alberta or Albertans, notwithstanding Prentice's hyperbole to the contrary about the fiscal issues. We have been down this road before.
Hopefully with Prentice's experience, and others in the recent PC political past, we can avoid making the same policy mistakes of previous resource revenue downturns. Time will tell but in any event oil price volatility is not a reason for an early general election.
Prentice's Purge of the Progressives:
Prentice has taken the PC party significantly to the right in the political spectrum. This is especially evident with the floor crossing of the majority of the Wildrose caucus. He has been described by Danielle Smith, the former Wildrose leader and floor-crosser, as the "first Wildrose Premier." How much more proof do you need of his shift to the right?
The "retirement" of progressives like Hancock and Hughes was allegedly for being too close to Redford. The demotion of people like Lukaszuk and Griffiths plus the announced retirement of Pastoor, (with others to come?) it is pretty clear the "P" in the PC party is being systemically removed by Prentice.
An early election gives Prentice a way to tell remaining progressives there is no future for them in his government, He can also give the WRP crossers the chance to try and win nominations as Prentice Conservatives before other inside progressive candidates can get organized.
The other pure political reason for an early election is to kill the rest of the WRP as a political force. They would not have time to select a new leader with an early election call, in fact may be trying to select a leader in the middle of an election.
That is Harper-esque politics at its lowest. It is sadly ironic for the WRP to be subjected to such tactics given the past support the enjoyed from the Harper caucus members. The death of the current WRP would be the culmination of Prentice becoming the de facto WRP hard-right Premier of the province.
Change to a Progressive Political Culture:
The centrist Alberta Party, the centre-left Liberals with the leftist NDP do not have the funds or other resources to mount a strong offence against Prentice in the short term. The non-aligned progressives who voted Redford in fear of the WRP are in a dilemma. The Prentice PCs are clearly no longer destined to be a big-tent party that includes progressives.
The Liberals and NDP are not a preferred progressive alternative choice or they would have done better in the 2012 election and in the October by-elections. The NDP is an Edmonton-based party and the Liberals are in serious internal decline loosing 3 seats in 2012 and with 2 of the current MLAs leaving for federal politics in the next election this year.
The Alberta Party showed they can campaign and do well in the Calgary Elbow by-election coming in a strong second. However there are no silver medals in politics. They have a lot of organizing and fund raising to do to be a contender but they are making progress on both fronts.
However, given Prentice is not going to lose the next election, the Alberta Party is a smart parking place for a progressive protest vote against the Prentice Conservatives. Full disclosure: I am on the Provincial Board of the Alberta Party.
What will happen about an early election call is anyone's guess, including Prentice, who says he is keeping the option open. To go early would require the Lt. Gov to call it or for Prentice to call the Legislature back and amend or repeal the fixed election dates law. Integrity, accountability and transparency would suggest the latter course is the better approach, but again, who knows and does Prentice really care about those political values?
If we do have an early election it will be for purely partisan political reasons and not sound public policy purposes. Hopefully progressive Albertans will take such self-serving partisanship seriously and judge the "Wildrose Premier" accordingly.
The best way to show displeasure for Prentice opportunism in making such a partisan anti-democratic early election decision is to get out and vote for a new progressive movement.
To my mind that is the Alberta Party. While it is new it is young, energetic and full of new ideas and public-interest thinkers. With proper support, it would legitimately aspire beyond becoming a replacement opposition. It could and should aspire to become a progressive party capable of offering a viable alternative the first "WRP Premier" approach to the governance of the province.
Time will tell if any of that happens too...but in the true spirit of Don Quixote, I remain faithful to an Alberta Aspiration that is hopeful for her progressive future.
Wednesday, April 02, 2014
Harper After New Victims
So Eve Adams and Dimiti Soudas are the new "power couple" about to be dropped from the Christmas card list of Prime Minister Harper.
Shades of Helena Gerugis and Rahim Jaffer?
Nasty nasty stuff Mr Prime Minister, Why are Pierre Poilivere and Rob Anders are still amongst the anointed ones?
Seems like the Harper Cons are falling apart. I expect more retirements and a lot of runaway Harper Con staffers rushing into the bosom of the Wildrose Party in Alberta.
Shades of Helena Gerugis and Rahim Jaffer?
Nasty nasty stuff Mr Prime Minister, Why are Pierre Poilivere and Rob Anders are still amongst the anointed ones?
Seems like the Harper Cons are falling apart. I expect more retirements and a lot of runaway Harper Con staffers rushing into the bosom of the Wildrose Party in Alberta.
Jim Dinning Releases a Can of Whoop-Ass on PC Party
Wake Up Call is the polite way to describe Jim Dinning's "admonitions" to the elite in the Progressive Conservative Party.
To my mind he is right on in his comments. The next leader may end up being the Harry Strom equivalent of the PC Party. Mr Strom was the Social Credit leader at the time when Peter Lougheed captured the new mood of a young Alberta and swept into office in 1971. I was there and a door-knocker, phone-caller, foot soldier type for the emerging Lougheed government in those days.
Now I smell the democracy of dramatic change in the air again. The problem is the lack of acceptable choices. Citizens of Alberta are almost universally disgusted with the PCs. Most of us are terrified of what the Wildrose would do to Alberta, especially after seeing what their soul mates the Harper Conservatives have done to Canada.
As for the Liberal, they are just too boring to get behind and they seem like a one-man show. The NDP have been effective opposition parliamentarians but seem just too biased and ideologically focused to grasp the complexity of the next Alberta.
The next Alberta government has to have a servant leader culture capable of governing an comprehensive integrated balance of a prosperous economy, environmental stewardship and social well-being and inclusion in the face of rapid growth and change.
There is god news and bad news for Albertans as they choose their next government, not just the next leader of the PC Party who gets the job temporarily and by default. The good news is we have a prosperous foreseeable future with some bumps on the way no doubt. The bad news is that it will not happen by any autopilot public policy approaches. We will have to create that future ourselves.
Time is now for Albertans to pay attention and take stock of where we are, where we want to go and what it will take from all of use to make the changes needed to get there.
That still does not answer the question of what are the political options out there for us if not the current crop? I think the bad news is, it currently does not exist so, once again, just like Peter Lougheed did in the late 1960s early 70s, we have to create the option we want.
For me that is a socially progressive fiscally prudent and environmentally engaged political movement of citizens. We need a movement of citizens to get behind a group of their fellow citizens who want to serve the public interest through the greater good...with a long term view and not just helping those on "their side" and only up to the next election.
There is the embryo of such a movement as that now in the Alberta Party. Small but serious and all of a sudden growing leaps and bounds as Albertans have started thinking about the real changes they want. So if you are curious as to if the Alberta Party is for you, and you for it, click on Politicalmatch and take five minutes to check it out. I think you will be glad you did.
To my mind he is right on in his comments. The next leader may end up being the Harry Strom equivalent of the PC Party. Mr Strom was the Social Credit leader at the time when Peter Lougheed captured the new mood of a young Alberta and swept into office in 1971. I was there and a door-knocker, phone-caller, foot soldier type for the emerging Lougheed government in those days.
Now I smell the democracy of dramatic change in the air again. The problem is the lack of acceptable choices. Citizens of Alberta are almost universally disgusted with the PCs. Most of us are terrified of what the Wildrose would do to Alberta, especially after seeing what their soul mates the Harper Conservatives have done to Canada.
As for the Liberal, they are just too boring to get behind and they seem like a one-man show. The NDP have been effective opposition parliamentarians but seem just too biased and ideologically focused to grasp the complexity of the next Alberta.
The next Alberta government has to have a servant leader culture capable of governing an comprehensive integrated balance of a prosperous economy, environmental stewardship and social well-being and inclusion in the face of rapid growth and change.
There is god news and bad news for Albertans as they choose their next government, not just the next leader of the PC Party who gets the job temporarily and by default. The good news is we have a prosperous foreseeable future with some bumps on the way no doubt. The bad news is that it will not happen by any autopilot public policy approaches. We will have to create that future ourselves.
Time is now for Albertans to pay attention and take stock of where we are, where we want to go and what it will take from all of use to make the changes needed to get there.
That still does not answer the question of what are the political options out there for us if not the current crop? I think the bad news is, it currently does not exist so, once again, just like Peter Lougheed did in the late 1960s early 70s, we have to create the option we want.
For me that is a socially progressive fiscally prudent and environmentally engaged political movement of citizens. We need a movement of citizens to get behind a group of their fellow citizens who want to serve the public interest through the greater good...with a long term view and not just helping those on "their side" and only up to the next election.
There is the embryo of such a movement as that now in the Alberta Party. Small but serious and all of a sudden growing leaps and bounds as Albertans have started thinking about the real changes they want. So if you are curious as to if the Alberta Party is for you, and you for it, click on Politicalmatch and take five minutes to check it out. I think you will be glad you did.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Is the Alberta Party Getting Cred?
The Globe and Mail Gary Mason recently wrote an insightful piece on the possibility of enhanced political fortunes of the Alberta Party. With the shifting attitudes of Albertans of ennui, uncertainty and distrust of the establishment political parties with a well founded fear of the socially conservative Wildrose. People are looking for an alternative preferred future.
The Alberta Party is becoming just that preferred alternative for socially progressives and fiscally prudent citizens who are looking for some fresh ideas and renewed energy to change the political culture of the province.
Young, informed engaged citizens who want a different future for themselves and future generations are leading this values based political shift. Progress in Alberta for these folks must be more responsible and sustainable than the current offerings of the established left-versus-right hyper-partisanship inherent in the current politics of the province.
With the PCs in a leadership campaign, it is a good time to think about what kind of Alberta you want and what you intend to do to achieve it. There will be lots of change talk in the next 4 to 6 months. There always is in political campaign, including leadership races.
Can real change happen in ways we want and need to at least restore a civil polity that is focused on public interest not just winning or preserving political power. Can we trust the current governing party and the wannabe opposition parties to create a truly caring, capable and statesmanship approach to governing?
Must we settle for the Wildrose, the so-called "only viable alternative" in an extremely socially conservative, government killing, narrow-minded Alberta version of the American Republicans?
It's time for change and change is in the air. It will not happen by accident. It must be created by citizens who get engaged, get informed and get clarity about what they want from government and governance. I think it's time to create a viable refreshing and authentically progressive political alternative to all the current batch of status quo parties.
For me that means its time to give the Alberta Party a chance to change things for a positive and progressive Alberta for all of us.
If you are interested in a discussion on the issues and values around what Alberta could and should look for in political leadership check out my other blog at www.oilsandsken.com
The Alberta Party is becoming just that preferred alternative for socially progressives and fiscally prudent citizens who are looking for some fresh ideas and renewed energy to change the political culture of the province.
Young, informed engaged citizens who want a different future for themselves and future generations are leading this values based political shift. Progress in Alberta for these folks must be more responsible and sustainable than the current offerings of the established left-versus-right hyper-partisanship inherent in the current politics of the province.
With the PCs in a leadership campaign, it is a good time to think about what kind of Alberta you want and what you intend to do to achieve it. There will be lots of change talk in the next 4 to 6 months. There always is in political campaign, including leadership races.
Can real change happen in ways we want and need to at least restore a civil polity that is focused on public interest not just winning or preserving political power. Can we trust the current governing party and the wannabe opposition parties to create a truly caring, capable and statesmanship approach to governing?
Must we settle for the Wildrose, the so-called "only viable alternative" in an extremely socially conservative, government killing, narrow-minded Alberta version of the American Republicans?
It's time for change and change is in the air. It will not happen by accident. It must be created by citizens who get engaged, get informed and get clarity about what they want from government and governance. I think it's time to create a viable refreshing and authentically progressive political alternative to all the current batch of status quo parties.
For me that means its time to give the Alberta Party a chance to change things for a positive and progressive Alberta for all of us.
If you are interested in a discussion on the issues and values around what Alberta could and should look for in political leadership check out my other blog at www.oilsandsken.com
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Dave Hancock: A Good Man Who Comes to the Aid of the Party
Dave Hancock was recently selected by the PC Caucus to be the interim leader of the party pending the outcome of the forthcoming leadership contest. This may be the smartest thing they have done in the past week or so.
Dave is Mr. Social Progressive & Fiscal Conservative amongst Alberta's elected politicians. He has been involved in the party from his youth at the University of Alberta. I met him first when we both worked on the Joe Clark leadership of the federal PC in 1976. He served as President as established the Statement of Principles for the party that defined the progressive aspects of the PC party.
Elected initially in 1997 he has been a perpetually successful election performer often winning with the largest margins in the province. He has served in a wide array of portfolios and been Deputy Premier more than once. He has been the deep thinker and strategy guy in the PC caucus and Cabinet for years. A cerebral quality not often appreciated or respected by the Reform/Alliance leaning "common sense" MLAs.
He pursued the leadership in 2006 when Dinning and Morton were beat by Stelmach. I was very involved in his campaign helping to develop the campaign platform with him and others. Knowing he would not make the first ballot cut he chose to visibly support Stelmach before the first votes were counted. Many think that move was politically courageous. It was but it was also a strong signal to his supporters and others in the progressive branch of the party they ought to rally behind Stelmach. Dave correctly saw Stelmach as the best way to update the progressive policies of the party beyond the Klein years. It worked...for awhile.
Dave's diligence and dedication will ensure the business of government keeps going aligned with the PC party agenda set out in the recent Throne Speech and Budget. The administration will be given the respect and room to do their jobs, at least until the next leader comes in. I expect under Dave's interim watch there will be some significant but quiet execution of the policy and programs that have been passed but also passed over pending for implementation. I say this given his strong affirmation that Bill 45 and 46 are the "law" and they will be implemented. It is a double-edged sword for progressives.
So don't expect flash and dash from Dave. Do expect a steady hand on the tiller and a mature respect for the caucus and Cabinet members who are still around to govern given the leadership campaign activities that will distract them.
He can't stop the internal caucus dissent, that is not his job. He will also have to deftly handle the natural divisiveness inherent in the thrust and parry of the leadership race. He will run the province professionally while the party participants are away campaigning and hoping to find a suitable leader to appeal to the rest of Alberta.
This must be a moment of pride and humility for Dave as he get the trust and respect of the Caucus and the PC Party as interim leader. It also has to be bittersweet as he serves as the bridesmaid and not not as the bride. Such is life. Such is politics. Such is democracy.
Dave is Mr. Social Progressive & Fiscal Conservative amongst Alberta's elected politicians. He has been involved in the party from his youth at the University of Alberta. I met him first when we both worked on the Joe Clark leadership of the federal PC in 1976. He served as President as established the Statement of Principles for the party that defined the progressive aspects of the PC party.
Elected initially in 1997 he has been a perpetually successful election performer often winning with the largest margins in the province. He has served in a wide array of portfolios and been Deputy Premier more than once. He has been the deep thinker and strategy guy in the PC caucus and Cabinet for years. A cerebral quality not often appreciated or respected by the Reform/Alliance leaning "common sense" MLAs.
He pursued the leadership in 2006 when Dinning and Morton were beat by Stelmach. I was very involved in his campaign helping to develop the campaign platform with him and others. Knowing he would not make the first ballot cut he chose to visibly support Stelmach before the first votes were counted. Many think that move was politically courageous. It was but it was also a strong signal to his supporters and others in the progressive branch of the party they ought to rally behind Stelmach. Dave correctly saw Stelmach as the best way to update the progressive policies of the party beyond the Klein years. It worked...for awhile.
Dave's diligence and dedication will ensure the business of government keeps going aligned with the PC party agenda set out in the recent Throne Speech and Budget. The administration will be given the respect and room to do their jobs, at least until the next leader comes in. I expect under Dave's interim watch there will be some significant but quiet execution of the policy and programs that have been passed but also passed over pending for implementation. I say this given his strong affirmation that Bill 45 and 46 are the "law" and they will be implemented. It is a double-edged sword for progressives.
So don't expect flash and dash from Dave. Do expect a steady hand on the tiller and a mature respect for the caucus and Cabinet members who are still around to govern given the leadership campaign activities that will distract them.
He can't stop the internal caucus dissent, that is not his job. He will also have to deftly handle the natural divisiveness inherent in the thrust and parry of the leadership race. He will run the province professionally while the party participants are away campaigning and hoping to find a suitable leader to appeal to the rest of Alberta.
This must be a moment of pride and humility for Dave as he get the trust and respect of the Caucus and the PC Party as interim leader. It also has to be bittersweet as he serves as the bridesmaid and not not as the bride. Such is life. Such is politics. Such is democracy.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Parsing a "Poll" in Alberta' s Leadership Politics
So Angus Reid did a poll on Alberta political leadership issues that they released on March 17/14. It was a on-line poll done March 3-9 using 698 of the Angus Reid Forum panelists. Those are people who like to answer polls and signed up to be on the Angus Reid roster for such polls.
I am always suspicious that these self-selecting Forum volunteers are more politically active and engaged and not so random. The methodology likely make extrapolations of under represented groups based on the results of small numbers of participants in various segments.
Say 30% of the Alberta population is male over 55. I don't know if that is true but humour me. If the on line pool only had 10% of respondents in that group I wonder if the pollster takes the answers of the 10% and triples their weight to reach the real demographic mix. If so it it almost guaranteed to be wrong. A chronic reality for political polling for a few years now...increasingly wrong.
That said, I don't trust theses polls for that and other reasons. For example Angus Reid said 46% of decided voters in Alberta would choose Wildrose if an election was called the next day. Well the election is two years away so why is that relevant never mind reliable as a serious question.
Second I wonder how they voted last time and if they are shifting their votes and why! I expect a lot of former/current PC supporters, inside and outside the party, wanted to send Premier Redford a message by "choosing" Wildrose. If that was the case it worked. Redford resigned shortly afterwards.
Third is, presuming the poll has some veracity, there is a real social schism on age and gender lines in Alberta when it comes to politics. The Wildrose support is predominantly male and older. 50% of males in the survey supported WRP and 41% of the females. the older you were the more you supported the WRP. The PCs support was small, half that of WRP but evenly spread over genders and generations. Liberal and NDP support is greatest in youth and still behind the WRP.
Here is where gender and generational divides gets somewhat interesting. Health Care is #1 (21%), Leadership & Economy tied for #2 as most important issues (17%) and Environment is next with 9% picking it as most important. Old people art into health (go figure!) and leadership. Only 6% of youth said Leadership is most important issue in Alberta today but they were the largest group to say the Economy is their issue followed by the Environment. The Environment was top issue for only 6% of men 35-54 and only 4% of the 55+ makes gave it a concern.
More women were concerned about Health Care than men and more men were concerned about Leadership and the Economy than women.
Since Redford has left the stage, here is a bit of thought on useless polling information, namely who would make the best Premier, WRP Smith was at 32% the Libs and Dipper leaders 8% each and Redford at a mere 11% support. What is interesting i sthe Undecideds and None of the Above answers at 42%, mostly (28%) not sure. That means 4 out of 10 Albertans are rejecting or reserving opinion who of the currnet crowd would be the best leader. 46% of females feel this way and half of the 18-34 demographic dont know or don't care about the qualities of current political leaders.
On the dealing with the Economy 47% of women and 41% of youth say none of the current leaders cut it. Concerning the Environment 51% of women and 46% of youth reject the current crop of political leadership. Heath Care as a concern sees 42% of women and 35% of youth lacking confidence in current regimes.
Who ever gets Alberta's women and youth on their side and manages to get them to actually vote will dominate the next election outcomes. Mayors Nenchi and Iveson have done it in Calgary and Edmonton. So it can be done. The WRP is toast if this happens and the PCs are a wild card now with no leader to evaluate.
I think the next two elections are up for grabs by any party who wins the hearts and minds of women and youth - if the Angus Reid poll is right. That is still an open question for me.
I am always suspicious that these self-selecting Forum volunteers are more politically active and engaged and not so random. The methodology likely make extrapolations of under represented groups based on the results of small numbers of participants in various segments.
Say 30% of the Alberta population is male over 55. I don't know if that is true but humour me. If the on line pool only had 10% of respondents in that group I wonder if the pollster takes the answers of the 10% and triples their weight to reach the real demographic mix. If so it it almost guaranteed to be wrong. A chronic reality for political polling for a few years now...increasingly wrong.
That said, I don't trust theses polls for that and other reasons. For example Angus Reid said 46% of decided voters in Alberta would choose Wildrose if an election was called the next day. Well the election is two years away so why is that relevant never mind reliable as a serious question.
Second I wonder how they voted last time and if they are shifting their votes and why! I expect a lot of former/current PC supporters, inside and outside the party, wanted to send Premier Redford a message by "choosing" Wildrose. If that was the case it worked. Redford resigned shortly afterwards.
Third is, presuming the poll has some veracity, there is a real social schism on age and gender lines in Alberta when it comes to politics. The Wildrose support is predominantly male and older. 50% of males in the survey supported WRP and 41% of the females. the older you were the more you supported the WRP. The PCs support was small, half that of WRP but evenly spread over genders and generations. Liberal and NDP support is greatest in youth and still behind the WRP.
Here is where gender and generational divides gets somewhat interesting. Health Care is #1 (21%), Leadership & Economy tied for #2 as most important issues (17%) and Environment is next with 9% picking it as most important. Old people art into health (go figure!) and leadership. Only 6% of youth said Leadership is most important issue in Alberta today but they were the largest group to say the Economy is their issue followed by the Environment. The Environment was top issue for only 6% of men 35-54 and only 4% of the 55+ makes gave it a concern.
More women were concerned about Health Care than men and more men were concerned about Leadership and the Economy than women.
Since Redford has left the stage, here is a bit of thought on useless polling information, namely who would make the best Premier, WRP Smith was at 32% the Libs and Dipper leaders 8% each and Redford at a mere 11% support. What is interesting i sthe Undecideds and None of the Above answers at 42%, mostly (28%) not sure. That means 4 out of 10 Albertans are rejecting or reserving opinion who of the currnet crowd would be the best leader. 46% of females feel this way and half of the 18-34 demographic dont know or don't care about the qualities of current political leaders.
On the dealing with the Economy 47% of women and 41% of youth say none of the current leaders cut it. Concerning the Environment 51% of women and 46% of youth reject the current crop of political leadership. Heath Care as a concern sees 42% of women and 35% of youth lacking confidence in current regimes.
Who ever gets Alberta's women and youth on their side and manages to get them to actually vote will dominate the next election outcomes. Mayors Nenchi and Iveson have done it in Calgary and Edmonton. So it can be done. The WRP is toast if this happens and the PCs are a wild card now with no leader to evaluate.
I think the next two elections are up for grabs by any party who wins the hearts and minds of women and youth - if the Angus Reid poll is right. That is still an open question for me.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Neil Young Calgary Concert Fantastic
I went to Calgary on the weekend to see the Neil Young concert and to learn more about the ACFN campaign on Honouring the Treaty.
The Concernt was great. Krall was enchanting and Young was enthralling. There was little to noproselytizing from the stage but everyone in the full house knew what the event was in aid of.
The audience ws not your usual corporate crowd you often attribute to Calgary. It looks like the four city tour will generate about $500k in proceeds and I hear some ENGO's may be matching this. If so the war chest for fighting for treaty rights is will stocked.
The Teach In that afternoon was a disappointingly small crowd of mostly the converted and already knowledgeable.
As a front-end Baby Boomer I remember the Teach In movement well. It is a great device to bring consciousness and raise awareness. Lots of great comments on treaty issues from young and well informed panelists. It was a bit of a refresher course for me on trety rights.
So now the stage is bare and the audience has gone home. Will the conversations caused by Neil Young close with the curtain or will it continue?
I hope it continues but with more accuracy on facts, a more authenthic represnetation of the context of the oil sand and a better mutual respect of participants.
Yound closed the concert saying it was alright for good people tro disagree. That does not mean differences of opinion cannot create and foster a mutual respect, and even friendships.
That is my personal experience, many times over, espeically in politics. However, the facts and forums have to accurate and respectful too. The oil sands industry reached out to Mr. Young in that spirit to meet with him in a public discussion while he was in Calgary. I understand Mr. Young and company insisted that Dr. Suzuki moderate the event and the oil sands participants wanted a neutral moderator. So the event never happened.
If that is the reason for failure to connect and communicate, it is disappointing and deters from the kind of informative dialogue Mr. Young says he is trying to initiate. Perhaps the idea can be revivied. I will think about that idea and see if it is worth pursuing further.
The Concernt was great. Krall was enchanting and Young was enthralling. There was little to noproselytizing from the stage but everyone in the full house knew what the event was in aid of.
The audience ws not your usual corporate crowd you often attribute to Calgary. It looks like the four city tour will generate about $500k in proceeds and I hear some ENGO's may be matching this. If so the war chest for fighting for treaty rights is will stocked.
The Teach In that afternoon was a disappointingly small crowd of mostly the converted and already knowledgeable.
As a front-end Baby Boomer I remember the Teach In movement well. It is a great device to bring consciousness and raise awareness. Lots of great comments on treaty issues from young and well informed panelists. It was a bit of a refresher course for me on trety rights.
So now the stage is bare and the audience has gone home. Will the conversations caused by Neil Young close with the curtain or will it continue?
I hope it continues but with more accuracy on facts, a more authenthic represnetation of the context of the oil sand and a better mutual respect of participants.
Yound closed the concert saying it was alright for good people tro disagree. That does not mean differences of opinion cannot create and foster a mutual respect, and even friendships.
That is my personal experience, many times over, espeically in politics. However, the facts and forums have to accurate and respectful too. The oil sands industry reached out to Mr. Young in that spirit to meet with him in a public discussion while he was in Calgary. I understand Mr. Young and company insisted that Dr. Suzuki moderate the event and the oil sands participants wanted a neutral moderator. So the event never happened.
If that is the reason for failure to connect and communicate, it is disappointing and deters from the kind of informative dialogue Mr. Young says he is trying to initiate. Perhaps the idea can be revivied. I will think about that idea and see if it is worth pursuing further.
Alberta Party Leader Reaches Out to Albertans Who Want Change.
Alberta Party President Greg Clark reaches out to by an open letter Albertans who are ready for change that is refreshing, caring, inclusive and fiscally prudent to look at politics and government differently.
Dear fellow Albertan,
Unfortunately, change from within hasn't worked.
This is an important time in Alberta history; the decisions we make now will determine whether or not Alberta remains economically prosperous and socially strong for generations to come.
Alberta needs a government capable of creating a long term plan, and sticking to it. We need a government committed to ensuring we have good jobs now and for our kids. A government committed to keeping our economy strong while still protecting our environment and a government that will return power to local MLAs to allow them to stand up for the people who elected them.
Most of all, we need a government with integrity and free from entitlement.
This is about something bigger than the PC Party... way bigger. The world is changing and Alberta needs to not just change with it, we need to lead that change. This requires new thinking and new energy in government.
If you voted for the PC Party in the last election and you're considering what to do next, I think you'll like what you see in the Alberta Party.
You can learn more at www.albertaparty.ca and you can contact me directly on my personal email at greg.clark@albertaparty.ca or on twitter at @GregClark4AB.
Sincerely,
Greg Clark, Leader
Alberta Party
Dear fellow Albertan,
Politics is changing
in Alberta. Last election, the people of Alberta gave the PC Party their 13th
majority government on the hope that new leadership would modernize the party
and move it in line with the evolving values of Albertans.
Unfortunately, change from within hasn't worked.
This is an important time in Alberta history; the decisions we make now will determine whether or not Alberta remains economically prosperous and socially strong for generations to come.
Alberta needs a government capable of creating a long term plan, and sticking to it. We need a government committed to ensuring we have good jobs now and for our kids. A government committed to keeping our economy strong while still protecting our environment and a government that will return power to local MLAs to allow them to stand up for the people who elected them.
Most of all, we need a government with integrity and free from entitlement.
This is about something bigger than the PC Party... way bigger. The world is changing and Alberta needs to not just change with it, we need to lead that change. This requires new thinking and new energy in government.
If you voted for the PC Party in the last election and you're considering what to do next, I think you'll like what you see in the Alberta Party.
You can learn more at www.albertaparty.ca and you can contact me directly on my personal email at greg.clark@albertaparty.ca or on twitter at @GregClark4AB.
Sincerely,
Greg Clark, Leader
Alberta Party
Sunday, January 05, 2014
A Visual Poem of Love for the North by Tim Moen
I invite you to view this visual poem of Fort McMurray, Fort Chip, and the Peace Region of northern Alberta. It is shot by long time McMurray resident, helicopter pilot, videographer, blogger and fireman, Tim Moen.
I met Tim Moen last September when Neil Young came to Fort McMurray to shoot a documentary in the region and to meet with First Nations people in the RMWB. Tim flew his helicopter for the shots for the video.
I came to McMurray to meet Neil Young and his crew to give some context on the social realities of people working in and around the oilsands. Lot of good my input did. Shortly afterwards Mr. Young did his over the top comparison of Fort McMurray to Hiroshima. Tim's video belies that comparison.
Tim's video shows places in the oil sands region you don't see from the highway but that makes up the majority of the landscapes of the region. With all the industrial development going on the oil sands region we still have about 97% of the regional biodiversity intact.
The Alberta Biodiveristy Monitoring Institute is a great source for information and context on how this is measured and monitored. Look it up if you are interested. If you are an Albertan, you are an owner of the oil sands, so you will be interested in learning more I am sure.
The human settlements in the boreal forest make this biodiversity an imperative ecological value we need to protect while we create economic value from the resources in responsible and sustainable ways.
We also have to ensure the human social divesity in places like Fort McMurray are also valued, protected and social inclusion and cohesion are promoted.
Speaking of social divdersity, of the 74,000 or so people living in the urban core of McMurray, they come from 127 differenct countries and speak over 69 languages. That is a Petri dish to grow a global model for a sustainable, inclusive, vibrant and diverse society, or the largest dysfunctional truck stop on the planet...if we mess it up.
Tim's obvious love for the land and strong sense of place in his home in the RMWB made me think about these things. He articulates these sentiments so well with these visuals that I call the video a poem. It is a relaxing 12 minutes so take the time to enjoy and let the mood wash over you.
Here is the link
I met Tim Moen last September when Neil Young came to Fort McMurray to shoot a documentary in the region and to meet with First Nations people in the RMWB. Tim flew his helicopter for the shots for the video.
I came to McMurray to meet Neil Young and his crew to give some context on the social realities of people working in and around the oilsands. Lot of good my input did. Shortly afterwards Mr. Young did his over the top comparison of Fort McMurray to Hiroshima. Tim's video belies that comparison.
Tim's video shows places in the oil sands region you don't see from the highway but that makes up the majority of the landscapes of the region. With all the industrial development going on the oil sands region we still have about 97% of the regional biodiversity intact.
The Alberta Biodiveristy Monitoring Institute is a great source for information and context on how this is measured and monitored. Look it up if you are interested. If you are an Albertan, you are an owner of the oil sands, so you will be interested in learning more I am sure.
The human settlements in the boreal forest make this biodiversity an imperative ecological value we need to protect while we create economic value from the resources in responsible and sustainable ways.
We also have to ensure the human social divesity in places like Fort McMurray are also valued, protected and social inclusion and cohesion are promoted.
Speaking of social divdersity, of the 74,000 or so people living in the urban core of McMurray, they come from 127 differenct countries and speak over 69 languages. That is a Petri dish to grow a global model for a sustainable, inclusive, vibrant and diverse society, or the largest dysfunctional truck stop on the planet...if we mess it up.
Tim's obvious love for the land and strong sense of place in his home in the RMWB made me think about these things. He articulates these sentiments so well with these visuals that I call the video a poem. It is a relaxing 12 minutes so take the time to enjoy and let the mood wash over you.
Here is the link
Wednesday, January 01, 2014
KEN CHAPMAN IS BACK and WILL POST AGAIN on A REGULAR BASIS
Hello neglected readers. This was a very popular blog site at one time. I went into a job based out of Fort McMurray with the oil sands industry that made this kind of blogging difficult. Anything I said could and would (but not should) be interpreted as speaking on behalf of certain oil sands companies. Not fair to them...or me! But such is life.
A New Job and a New Blog:
I have a new life now and a new position at Edmonton Economic Development and blogging is mandated there not discouraged. My mandate is to increase the collaboration between the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo and the Edmonton Capital Region in areas of business, sustainability and community well-being.
Part of the EED mandate is going to be covered in another blog about the Edmonton area involvement in the oil sands using the triple bottom line and sustainability principles. Edmontonians are owners of the oil sands and need to know more on how we can take care ensure the oil sands are developed in a responsible sustainable and sensible way.
We need to take our citizenship obligations seriously and demand from government and industry that oil sands resource development be more sustainable. We need to expect optimizing oil sands be for the general well-being of people. We need to expect our oil sands deliver enhanced environmental stewardship. We deserve development that is less wasteful and more profitable for the posterity of future Albertans.
I have a new blog to serve that purpose and I hope you visit regularly at www.oilsandsken.com.
I have a hankering to re-engage in the Edmonton social media scene after an absence of way over 2 years. I have some catching up to do!
The Refocus of This Blog:
I hope this blog is a link between the communities and people of Edmonton and Fort McMurray. I have realized that there is a lot of myth and misinformation about life in McMurray within Edmonton.
I love both communities and want to help enhance the collaborative relationships and expand the appreciation and understanding of what great things the two regions can do together for mutual benefit and the greater good.
This blog is to become a focal point for that end. Of course I will be opinionated but I will also be informed and hopefully sufficiently authoritative to be worthy of your time and trust.
A New Job and a New Blog:
I have a new life now and a new position at Edmonton Economic Development and blogging is mandated there not discouraged. My mandate is to increase the collaboration between the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo and the Edmonton Capital Region in areas of business, sustainability and community well-being.
Part of the EED mandate is going to be covered in another blog about the Edmonton area involvement in the oil sands using the triple bottom line and sustainability principles. Edmontonians are owners of the oil sands and need to know more on how we can take care ensure the oil sands are developed in a responsible sustainable and sensible way.
We need to take our citizenship obligations seriously and demand from government and industry that oil sands resource development be more sustainable. We need to expect optimizing oil sands be for the general well-being of people. We need to expect our oil sands deliver enhanced environmental stewardship. We deserve development that is less wasteful and more profitable for the posterity of future Albertans.
I have a new blog to serve that purpose and I hope you visit regularly at www.oilsandsken.com.
I have a hankering to re-engage in the Edmonton social media scene after an absence of way over 2 years. I have some catching up to do!
The Refocus of This Blog:
I hope this blog is a link between the communities and people of Edmonton and Fort McMurray. I have realized that there is a lot of myth and misinformation about life in McMurray within Edmonton.
I love both communities and want to help enhance the collaborative relationships and expand the appreciation and understanding of what great things the two regions can do together for mutual benefit and the greater good.
This blog is to become a focal point for that end. Of course I will be opinionated but I will also be informed and hopefully sufficiently authoritative to be worthy of your time and trust.
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