Category: Ed Stelmach

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Barry Styles Ed Stelmach Fred Dunn Highwood Communications

auditor general needs resources to investigate highwood communications.

Alberta’s Auditor General is considering an investigation into the highly PC-connected ad firm Highwood Communications. After leaving $5.3 million in unpaid bills, Highwood applied for bankruptcy protection after receiving $41.3 million in exclusive government contracts over the past 10 years.

Auditor General Fred Dunn would like to conduct an audit of the company, but is waiting on sufficient resources.

“We’re considering how and when we could conduct a systems audit,” said Lori Trudgeon, a spokeswoman for Dunn’s office.

Ed Stelmach has refused to ask the Auditor General to investigate and has said he believes that taxpayers got “their moneys worth” from Highwood, even though many unanswered questions still remain about what happened with taxpayers money and why the bills went unpaid.

Giving the Auditor General the resources to investigate what happened to the millions of taxpayers’ dollars entrusted to Highwood Communications through their exclusive government contracts is a plain and simple issue of giving Albertans the accountability, transparency, and integrity they deserve in their government. The integrity that Ed Stelmach promised Albertans.

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Related posts:
September 23, 2008
September 24, 2008

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Barry Styles Ed Stelmach Highwood Communications

unanswered questions about highwood communications.

As posted yesterday, Calgary-based Highwood Communications has filed for bankruptcy protection with the Court of Queen’s Bench after leaving unpaid bills totalling more than $5.3 million. Highwood, owned by long-time PC insider Barry Styles, held an exclusive government ad-buying contract between 1997 and 2007, handling $41.3 million of taxpayers’ money to buy newspaper, radio, television, magazine and online ads.

Highwood’s financial downfall raises some very interesting questions:

– Highwood was entrusted with millions of taxpayers’ dollars to buy government ads. If Highwood didn’t pay the media outlets that ran the ads, where did the money go? Highwood was being paid to place $5.3 million worth of ads and ended up with less than $2 million in assets, where did the $3.3 million go? Is there any way to get it back?

– If Highwood failed to live up to the basic terms of its contract, does the province have a legal recourse?

– Why didn’t senior Public Affairs Bureau officials properly monitor the company?

– Why did Highwood’s parent company, B.A.S. Managing and Consulting Services Ltd., also directed by Styles, receive $1.5 million from Highwood and never pay it back?

– Did the government know, or should it have known, that the company was in trouble? Highwood’s Saskachewan branch was the advertising agency for several departments of the Saskatchewan government when it filed for bankruptcy in 1998, leaving liabilities of $582,000.

I agree with Paula Simons‘ recent article, “the government owes the people of Alberta answers.” In its first Speech from the Throne in 2007, Ed Stelmach‘s government declared that, “Governing with integrity and transparency is the first priority of this government.“

It’s time that Stelmach and his 71 MLAs live up to that promise and give Albertans answers.

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Background: Court Documents pertaining to Highwood Communications
Court Report of Trustee on Proposal
Creditor Package
Notice of Intention-Creditors
Minutes of the First Meeting of the Creditors

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Barry Styles Ed Stelmach Highwood Communications Stockwell Day

do the alberta pc’s have an ad scammer among them? pc insider goes bankrupt after receiving $41.3 million in government contracts.

The highly connected PC ad firm Highwood Communications has filed for bankruptcy protection after leaving unpaid bills totalling more than $5.3 million…

Highwood has held the government’s exclusive ad-buying contract for more than 10 years, handling $41.3 million in public money in that time. They used that cash to buy newspaper, radio, television, magazine and online ads on behalf of the government in exchange for roughly four per cent of the total amount.

Highwood’s owner, Barry Styles, is a Conservative party insider and was most recently part of the creative and advertising team for Premier Ed Stelmach‘s spring election campaign. Before that, he produced ads for former Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day and worked on PC election campaigns.

Styles could not explain how his company took $6.5 million in public money last year, yet still owed so much to the media companies. …

This is not the first time a company owned by Styles has been in such trouble. Highwood Communications Sask. went bankrupt in 1998, leaving unpaid bills totalling $582,220. At the time it went under, the company was the advertising firm of record for at least four Saskatchewan government departments. Styles said the two incidents are unrelated.

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Alberta Oil Sands Danny Williams Ed Stelmach Jack Layton Peter Lougheed

alberta passes the torch to danny williams.

And here I was thinking there would be nothing to blog about on the second day of the election campaign…

– Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach sheepishly waded in to the Federal Election campaign yesterday, officially marking the passing of the torch to Canada’s new provincial maverick: Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams. Williams and 43 of his 44 Conservative MHAs have signed on to defeat Stephen Harper’s Conserative candidates in Newfoundland, a caucus loyalty somewhat reminicent of that held by former Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed.

– Speaking of Newfoundlanders, NDP leader Jack Layton landed in New-Newfoundland (aka: Fort McMurray) the North West Territories and took his message to Alberta’s Tar Sands this week, citing the Harper Cabinet’s decision to overturn a court ruling blocking Imperial Oil’s Kearl Lake development. The development of Kearl Lake only increases the devastating problems created by current oil sands extraction techniques and the resulting tailing ponds left behind.

– On an fairly embarrassing note, Stephen Harper apologized today for a Conservative Party negative ad that showed an Atlantic Puffin pooping on Liberal leader Stéphane Dion‘s shoulder. Yes, contrary to the evidence before you, these are the grown men who want to govern our country.

– Shifting mediums from television to the internet, the Liberals have launched Scandalpedia — an online wiki of Conservative scandals (I was excited to first read out about this on the DailyKos). The Conservatives hit back with Dionbook, which takes aim at Dion as well as media and bloggers who have been critical of Harper’s government.

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Alberta Tar Sands Ed Stelmach

alberta’s throne speech. take two.

With everything going on these days from the NHL playoffs, to Dick Pound and the Beijing Olympics, and RCMP “raids” on Conservative Party offices (an issue on which I tend to agree with Paul Wells) did anyone notice that Alberta had a Speech from the Throne this week? I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t.

As this is Alberta’s second Throne Speech of the year, the lessened fanfare is understandable. The first Throne Speech of 2008, which coincided with the election call, seemed to consist largely of the Tories’ last minute change of heart on Health Care Premiums (which they promised to scrap in four years) and their vigilant fight against the Pine Beetle (something that was noticeably absent from the second speech).

A large part of this week’s Throne Speech delivered by Lieutenant Governor Norman Kwong, focused on a new direction for “greener energy,” which I can only assume has something to do with the Tories nuclear agenda for the Peace Country. As much as I would hope that Tory Premier Ed Stelmach and Environment Minister Rob Renner’s new green agenda is more than just hot air, I wouldn’t blame Albertans for having a hard time believing that an outspoken defender of the tarsands current environmental record is serious about protecting the environment, rather than just changing political perceptions.

A report card released earlier this year by the World Wildlife Fund highlighted the weak-environmental performance of tarsands developments in Alberta:

the most comprehensive comparative assessment of 10 of Alberta’s operating, approved or applied for oil sands mines. The mines, for the most part, get a failing grade.

The average score among all oil sands projects surveyed was only 33 per cent, demonstrating substantial room for improvement across the sector. The leading operation in the survey was the Albian Sands Muskeg River Mine, scoring 56 per cent. The weakest operations were Syncrude and the proposed Synenco Northern Lights Mine both with scores of 18 per cent.

Oil sands mines were ranked on 20 different environmental indicators in five categories: environmental management, land impacts, air pollution, water use, and management of greenhouse gases. Companies were invited to complete the survey questionnaire and provided with two opportunities to comment on their performance. In total, seven of the 10 projects participated in the survey. Three companies, Total E&P, Syncrude and Canadian Natural declined to respond.

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Alberta Politics Alberta Royalty Review Ed Stelmach

ed stelmach’s steers his steady plans along another steady path.

After a year-long province-wide debate on royalties, which included a high-profile royalty review panel, Tory Premier Ed Stelmach stayed steady on his promise that Albertans would get their “fair share” from the royalties collected from oil and gas exploitation. With Fort McMurray and the Tar Sands booming, Ed Stelmach led his steady fight against the evil dogs of looney environmentalism and the socialist opposition on the left who claimed the royalties increase was just not enough, and hard-line free market wing-nut ideologues on the right who screamed that the increase was too much. Ed Stelmach stayed steady. The increase was just enough, Albertans deserved their fair share, and Ed Stelmach was going to stay steady to make sure they got it.

Ed Stelmach was steady as he not only steered steadfast with his royalty plan into 2008, but also had the courage to stand up for his new royalty plan by launching it in front of Albertans during a General Election. On March 3, 2008, Albertans got up and cast their ballots for Ed Stelmach, endorsing his new royalty plan. Much rejoicing was seen in the streets. Ed Stelmach has achieved his new majority. A mandate and an approval of his plan.

Now, with an enlarged caucus and Spring Session of the Alberta Legislature beginning next week, Ed Stelmach is staying steady by not changing his steady plan, but steering his steadfast plan on another steady path. Ed Stelmach has the courage to do what’s right and won’t let small things like year-long debates, campaign promises, and election results get in the way of his steady plans.

Billion- dollar royalty break
Five-year holiday bid to attract new energy investment

Renata D’Aliesio
Calgary Herald; Canwest News Service

Friday, April 11, 2008

CALGARY – The Alberta government is giving oil and gas producers a $1-billion break on royalties over the next five years in a bid to attract investment it fears is being chased away.

Energy Minister Mel Knight revealed in Calgary on Thursday that the province has tweaked the new royalty regime to address the “unintended consequences” of its plan announced in October.

The government was assailed over that plan, set to take effect next year. The energy sector charged it made some oil and gas plays uneconomical, while opposition critics contended it shortchanged Albertans on resource riches.

“These (new) programs will help generate hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties and countless new jobs for decades,” Knight said.

“I believe this is good news for most of the industry.”

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Alberta Legislature Bridget Pastoor Ed Stelmach Ken Kowalski Laurie Blakeman

suiting up for spring session #4: laurie blakeman v. ken kowalski.

Get ready for the clash of two very different political worlds as two of Alberta’s arguably most opposite MLAs vie for the Speakers chair.

In the right corner, you have incumbent Ken Kowalski. As previously mentioned, after 29 years in the Legislature Kowalski is returning for his 9th term as the Tory MLA for the Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock area. Kowalski is also the type of rural conservative who campaigns for re-election on hard hitting points like “while human beings can create laws, the laws of God must take precedence” (which is totally appropriate for someone who has been the Speaker of the Assembly since 1997…).

In the left corner, you have the challenger, Laurie Blakeman. Blakeman is the Alberta Liberal MLA for the very urban downtown constituency of Edmonton-Centre. Returning for her fourth-term in the legislature since 1997, Blakeman is tough, outspoken, and a strong advocate of the arts, GLBTQ issues, and women in politics. Blakeman is probably the closest to an anti-thesis to the type of rural politics that Kowalski practices that you can find.

Though it won’t be a surprise when the 71 members of the Tory caucus jump to vote for the good old boy when Ed Stelmach and Kowalski give them the signal, Blakeman will be challenging Kowalski with the express intent of opening new horizons for women MLAs. Bridget Pastoor (Lethbridge-East) will be joining Blakeman in challenging the Tory majority by running for Deputy Speaker.

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Citizen's Assembly Ed Stelmach University of Lethbridge

writing for democracy.

A group of political science students at the University of Lethbridge will be holding a write-a-thon on April 3 at 7:00 in Galileo’s (at the University of Lethbridge) to send a message to Tory Premier Ed Stelmach that the Government of Alberta should appoint a Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform.

Sub-campaigns are also being organized at the Universities of Calgary and Alberta.
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Cabinet Shuffle Ed Stelmach

planning a cabinet (shuffle).

Here are some thoughts on Ed Stelmach’s recently announced cabinet, which looks more like a cabinet shuffle, as it includes most of the pre-election cabinet. I can imagine that choosing a cabinet is probably one of the more difficult decisions that a Premier has to make during his (and maybe someday: her) time in office, but that won’t stop me from offering some thoughts…

– Ed Stelmach gets points for bringing some diversity and colour to cabinet for a change.

– Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo Tory Guy Boutilier got the boot from cabinet.

– It must suck to be Edmonton-Castle Downs Tory MLA Thomas Lukaszuk, who was passed over for a real cabinet spot by rookie Edmonton-Glenora MLA Heather Klimchuk.

– With Sherwood Park Tory Iris Evans as the new Minister of Finance and Enterprise, I wonder if Strathcona County will be getting that veto she was talking about…

– Speaking of regional cooperation… Edmonton kept quiet and played nice over the last year, while Calgarians through a fit, and now Edmonton ends up with half the number of full cabinet spots as Calgary. Perhaps Mayor Mandel might want to try out a new strategy for provincial relations.

Paul Simons put it well today…

When Calgary votes Tory and Edmonton votes Liberal, Edmonton gets fewer cabinet seats.

When Calgary elects more Liberals than Edmonton — Edmonton still gets fewer cabinet seats.

– Parliamentary Assistants abound. Other than that it would probably make more sense to call them Legislative Assistants (or Secretaries), this looks like a cabinet structure borrowed from Gordon Campbell’s BC Liberals from when they won their 77 out of 79 seats in 2001 (except, I think they called them “Ministers of State“). The Parliamentary Assistants position is not only a good way for the Tories to train future cabinet ministers, but also a way to keep MLAs busy in the newly supersized caucus. Bringing Janice Sarich and Raj Sherman into these positions was a good move.

– Dave Hancock’s move to Education from Health could be seen as a demotion, but it could also be an opportunity to actually get things accomplished in Education (though I think Hancock would have been a much better choice for Finance). I’ll be keeping an eye on how Hancock moves on the proliferation of P3s in Alberta’s education system.

– Moving Ron Stevens to Intergovernmental Affairs signals is an interesting move by the Tories in their brewing battle against the Federal Tories on the environment file. Interestingly, Stevens’ Calgary-Glenmore constituency is also part of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Calgary-Southwest riding.

Check out CalgaryGrit and the Official AGRDT ‘Alberta’s new cabinet’ post for some more commentary on the cabinet shuffle.

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2008 Alberta Provincial Election Apathy Ed Stelmach Voter Turnout

"the fix is for politics to become relevant to people’s lives."

There’s been no shortage of discussion and opinion on the topic of the abysmal 41% voter turnout in the March 3, 2008 Alberta provincial election. With such low voter turnout, it’s clear that none of Alberta’s political parties, nor the political process as it currently exists, are engaging Albertans. So, what needs to happen to re-engage Albertans?

One of the suggestions that I’ve heard being bounced around is mandatory voting. In today’s column, Edmonton Journal columnist Lorne Gunter defends “the right of citizens not to cast ballots if they are unmoved by the choices.“ Though I agree with Gunter (yes, that’s right…) in that I don’t think forcing citizens to vote through fines or penalties is a healthy way to engage anyone in the political process, I’m not sure whether the 59% of registered voters who stayed home on Monday did so on the basis of principle or apathy (I’m tending to believe the latter).

If apathy is the symptom, what is the cause? Some have suggested that the current first-past-the post electoral system is the cause. With Ed Stelmach’s Progressive Conservatives’ 52% of the popular vote translating into 88% of the Legislature seats, it’s clear that the composition of the next Alberta Legislature are not reflective of the votes cast province-wide on Monday’s election. Ken Chapman argues that mere electoral reform won’t fix the problem and I agree. Though I whole heartedly believe that Albertans need to take a serious look changing the electoral system, I think that it’s a bit naive to believe all of a sudden changing the way ballots are counted is the silver bullet that will boost voter turnout and engagement. It’s clear that there are deeper issues as to why Albertans are opting out of the democratic process, and Ken put it plain and simple:

“[t]he fix is for politics to become relevant to people’s lives.”

Easier said than done, but I couldn’t help but be reminded of my New Years resolution from 2007. Participation in democracy is a much broader and important act than simply showing up to vote every four years. Albertans need to reclaim their politics and stop letting politicians and partisan agendas frame the debates and define the issues which are driving the direction of our society. For politics to become relevant, Albertans will need to believe that they can effect change and the emergence of a strong civil society in the form of community and public interest advocacy groups is something that could re-engage Albertans more than any traditional political parties could dream of. Albertans need to take ownership over their province and their political process, and re-engaging on the community and civil society level is probably the easiest way to begin this process.

Alberta’s future is too important to leave all the decisions to the 83 men and women under the dome. Alberta’s future is too important to allow the defining debates only occur within the traditional realm of partisan politics.

Rumour on the street is that Tory Premier Ed Stelmach will be appointing an unsuccessful Progressive Conservative candidate to head a task force to study why Albertans didn’t show up to the polls on Monday. If this is the case, and if the Premier is sincerely interested in discovering why the majority of Albertans are tuning out of the politics, he really shouldn’t have to look any further than the rumour of another partisan patronage position to discover why Albertans are opting out of traditional politics.

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2008 Alberta Provincial Election Ed Stelmach

preventive democracy.

“After the election is over we want to make sure that every area has an equal opportunity to cast their ballots”
– Ed Stelmach

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2008 Alberta Provincial Election Ed Stelmach

the laws of god and politics in alberta.

With only days left in the 2008 Alberta election campaign, here’s a look at what’s making waves…


– Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock PC MLA and Assembly Speaker Ken Kowalski is running for his ninth term as MLA and has released a series of hard hitting ads in his constituency. The ads from the Speaker of the House touched on hard hitting issues that matter to voters. They are highlighted in the first point in Kowalski’s ad in this week’s Morinville Mirror:

“While human beings can create laws, the laws of God must take precedence.“

– Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft is talking about bringing the Legislature on the road and back to the people.

– Tory leader Ed Stelmach has clarified his position on the 300,000 jobs that he said Kevin Taft’s climate change plan would cost.

On Tuesday in Calgary, the question arose again, and as Stelmach was formulating an answer, his communications adviser jumped in with some prodding: “Across Canada, make that clear, premier, Alberta and across Canada.”

The Tory leader then said, “Yeah, these are 300,000 jobs across the country of Canada, and that’s a small amount given the fact that 745,000 jobs rely on the oil and gas industry in the country of Canada.”

– Appointed Chinook Health Board member Donna Bier is under fire for taking out an ad using her appointed position to endorse the Tory candidate running against Lethbridge-East Alberta Liberal MLA Bridget Pastoor.

– Watch out for Green candidate Joe Anglin in Lacombe-Ponoka. I’m expecting some interesting number in Anglin’s race against Tory Ray Prins on Monday, March 3.

– Sherwood Park Tory Iris Evans got shrugged off by Edmonton Tory candidates on her proposed Strathcona Country veto on regional planning.

– 75% of Tory MLAs who responded to a Pembina Institute survey think that tarsands development in Fort McMurray shouldn’t go unchecked, something Ed Stelmach disagrees with…

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2008 Alberta Provincial Election Brian Mason Ed Stelmach George Read Kevin Taft Paul Hinman

alberta election 2008: the leaders’ debate.

Tonight is the only Leaders’ Debate of the 2008 Alberta Provincial Election. The debate will be televised on CBC, CTV, and Global from 6:30-8pm. Here’s my rundown of what to watch for from the party leaders:

Ed Stelmach, Progressive Conservatives: It is no secret that Ed Stelmach is not a strong public speaker. Many political watchers have been predicting that his debate performance will mirror the first week of the Tory campaign, I am going to disagree. Though I don’t think Stelmach is a decent debater by any stretch of the imagination, I do think that because the expectations are so low for him that an even moderately okay performance by Stelmach will be seen as a win for him (regardless of how painful the experience is for both Stelmach and viewers).

This will be the only debate that Stelmach will participate in during this election. According to his campaign manager, George Sebest, “the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta, Premier Stelmach, will debate only other party leaders in provincial forums,” meaning that Stelmach will be a no-show at the all-candidate forums in his constituency of Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville.

Kevin Taft, Alberta Liberals: In the 2004 televised debate, Kevin Taft performed well against Ralph Klein and Brian Mason, but Ed Stelmach introduces is an untested dynamic in a televised debate. This debate is Kevin Taft’s chance to shine and convince Albertans that he is indeed a Premier-in-waiting. If he can do this without falling into the trap of sounding too stiff and academic and he is able to connect with viewers in a confident Premier-like fashion, he just might be able to convince Albertans that, after 37-years of Tory rule, it’s time.

Paul Hinman, Wildrose Alliance: After being excluded from the Leaders’ Debate under his previous leader in in the 2004, Paul Hinman has won points by just being included in the debates. If Hinman is able to get a word in edge wise and communicate a competent message, this will be a personal win for him.

Brian Mason, New Democrats: Mason issued a challenge to the other party leaders to stick to the issues during the debate. I agree this is a great idea, but I’ll be looking to see if Mason actually sticks to his challenge. Expect Mason to go after Kevin Taft as much or even more than he takes aim at Ed Stelmach. If his party is going to gain seats in this election it will be at the expense of the Taft Liberals in Edmonton, not of the Stelmach Tories.

George Read, Alberta Greens: Unfortunately, George Read was not invited to participate in the debates (I would have supported Read’s inclusion in the debates). Instead, Read will be contributing to the debates through a YouTube video cast following the election. Make sure to check it out.

I will be live blogging the debates here on daveberta.ca and blogging my reaction on CBC YouCast (you can also watch the debate on the internet thanks to CBC).

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Ed Stelmach RottenTories.ca

rave reviews at rottentories.ca

RottenTories.ca has a great review of Ed Stelmach’s new film…

The Bucket List (2008)

Consensus:“Plan 9 from outer space”…minus the plan!
Rated: R for Ridiculous
Runtime: 37 Years
Theatrical Release: Aug 30th , 1971
Box Office: $940 a second

Synopsis: In this sequel to the 1971 flop, “Harry Strom”, Ed Stelmach captures the Tory leadership on what his future press secretary calls a “just say no to Calgary” platform and sets out to run one of the least inspiring, most accident prone campaigns in Alberta history. This big budget production is full of plot holes in everything from his health care to daycare announcements.

Genre: Would be a comedy … if it wasn’t so sad.
Starring: Ed Stelmach
Director: No director. That’s the problem.

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2008 Alberta Provincial Election Conflict-of-Interest Legislation Ed Stelmach Elections Alberta Katherine Harris

katherine harris appointed as alberta’s chief returning officer.

In a stunning mid-election move, Alberta Tory leader Ed Stelmach has appointed former Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris as Alberta’s new Chief Returning Officer.

Stelmach, who has also appointed a number of PC-affiliated, but completely unbiased, local Returning Officers (including PC Constituency Officials and failed PC nomination candidates) declared that this move was part of his party’s plan for change that works for Albertans.

Faced with criticism, Stelmach was quick hit to hit back: “there are many people that I know… that are in Alberta… met over the years… so are you saying anyone that anybody I shook a hand with the optics are that they can’t ever serve as a deputy returning officer?“

As Republican Secretary of State for the State of Florida, Harris presided over the 2000 US presidential election in that state. Though there were allegations of conflicts of interest and partisan, unethical behavior by Harris during the 2000 campaign, they were mostly leveled by know-it-all liberal-types who didn’t support Republican Presidential candidate George W. Bush in the first place. A year before the 2000 election, Harris had been named as Bush’s Florida campaign co-chair, a position that did not create a bias during the election. The 2000 US Presidential Election in Florida went off without a hitch.

With half of current Returning Officers appointed by Stelmach having strong connections to the 37-year-old Progressive Conservative government, it is only fair that a completely unbiased individual with a clear record of unbiased and fair involvement in elections, such as Katherine Harris, help make sure that Alberta’s elections turn out the way they should.

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