Category: Laurie Blakeman

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Brian Mason Laurie Blakeman Paul Hinman

does question period really matter?

You may be forgiven if you turned off your radio or closed your web browser when you heard or read about the curfuffle raised by two of Alberta’s opposition parties over the amount of questions in Question Period, but if you had taken a second look, you would have seen something edging on the bizarre. This morning, Wildrose MLA Paul Hinman and NDP MLA Brian Mason held a joint media conference (and in an even more bizarre twist, Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman would later join them).

Although the three MLAs raised some legitimate questions about their situation, I believe that there is a larger and much more important question: Does Question Period really matter?

Anyone who has watched Question Period in Alberta’s Legislative Assembly can easily observe that most Government MLAs use their allotted time to read positive pre-written questions to Ministers, who then respond with pre-written softball answers. From another angle, some Government MLAs have been known to act as a faux-opposition, asking questions crafted to dilute the questions asked by actual Opposition MLAs.

Across the aisle, Opposition MLAs use much of their time to launch loaded questions crafted to illicit embarrassing responses from Government Ministers. Question Period is the bread and butter of Opposition MLAs. It is where they get the chance to score political points fit for the 6pm news. Some MLAs, including Mr. Mason and Liberal MLA Dave Taylor, have become particularly effective at crafting made for television moments in Question Period.

During their news conference today, the NDP Opposition released a chart (see above) comparing the amount of time that Opposition MLAs get to ask questions in Assemblies across Canada. I was not aware that most Assemblies allot Opposition MLAs the entirety of Question Period. While this appears to make sense to me, I wonder if this difference makes Question Period any more relevant to the general public in other provinces? Would the debate in our Assembly be more relevant to ordinary Albertans if Opposition MLAs were able to ask 18 questions instead of 7? Is Question Period theatre without an audience?

In a better world, Question Period would matter, but the issue raised by the Opposition MLAs today points to the larger problems facing our traditional governing structures and the increasing disconnect between citizens and their democratic institutions.

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Alberta Electoral Boundary Review Alison Redford Bauni Mackay Craig Copeland Guy Boutilier Laurie Blakeman Robert Bouchard Stephen Mandel

alberta redrawing boundaries.

Alberta’s Electoral Boundaries Commission is now into its third week of its first round of public hearings. My previous post on the Commission has generated some great discussion about the challenges of representing rural electoral districts and I am looking forward to an upcoming post by a guest contributor to this blog that will delve deeper into some of the issues raised in that discussion.

Thanks to the good people at Hansard, transcripts and audio are now available from the last two weeks of hearings in Fort McMurray: (afternoon, evening), St. Paul, Wainwright, Edmonton (September 22nd afternoon, evening). The transcripts and audio from the September 23rd public hearings in Edmonton and September 24th & 25th in Calgary are not available yet, but I would expect that they should be posted at some point this week. 

So far, it has been a relatively small number of Albertans who have presented to the commission, including MLAs Laurie Blakeman and Guy Boutilier, municipal officials including Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland, County of St. Paul Reeve Robert Bouchard, Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel, and a number of representatives from Liberal and Progressive Conservatives constituency associations.

Due to legislative amendments introduced into the Legislative Assembly by Justice Minister Alison Redford during the Spring session, the Electoral Boundaries Commission will increase the amount of electoral districts from 83 to 87. While it’s very questionable why Albertans would need more MLAs, the increase may help the case presented by Mandel, who urged the Commissioners to increase Edmonton’s representation by two seats. The outcome of the 2002/2003 Boundaries Commission saw Edmonton’s representation in the Legislative Assembly decrease by one MLA, a move that is widely believed to have contributed to the defeats of seven capital city PC MLAs in the 2004 provincial election (Commission member Bauni Mackay penned a spirited defence of Edmonton in her minority position).

These public hearings haven’t been overflowing with presenters, but I expect that interest will rise after the interim report and interim map are released in the coming months. The submission deadline for the first round of public hearings is on October 13.

Related:
Brian Dell: My Submission to the Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission
Trish Audette: Rural vs Urban tug of war

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David Eggen Deron Bilous Jack Layton Laurie Blakeman Linda Duncan Megan Leslie Niki Ashton Ray Martin Tony Vandermeer

alberta orange.

2009 Alberta NDP Convention: The Alberta NDP will be holding their annual convention in Edmonton from September 11 to 13 in Edmonton. Guest speakers include NDP leader Jack Layton and Nova Scotia NDP organizer Matt Hebb.

Elect Linda DuncanJack Layton in Edmonton I

Painting the City Orange: 37 NDP MPs will be descending on Alberta’s capital city in the next few weeks for their annual caucus retreat. Two events being held include a meeting with Jack Layton, Edmonton-Strathcona MP Linda Duncan, and Churchill MP Niki Ashton at the University of Alberta on September 18, and the September 21 Edmonton-Strathcona nomination meeting, where Duncan is expected to be renominated as the NDP candidate in that riding (Halifax NDP MP Megan Leslie is the guest speaker).

From Edmonton-Centre with love: This morning, 2008 Edmonton-Centre NDP candidate Deron Bilous will announce his intentions to seek the NDP candidacy in Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview. Bilous is following a road similiar to that taken by former MLA David Eggen, who ran unsuccessfully against Edmonton-Centre Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman in 2001 before being elected as MLA for Edmonton-Calder in 2004. In 2008, former PC MLA Tony Vandermeer unseated NDP MLA Ray Martin in Edmonton-Beverly-Clareview by 318 votes.

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Ben Henderson David Swann Hugh MacDonald Jim Wachowich Laurie Blakeman Mary MacDonald Michael Ignatieff

michael ignatieff’s town hall in edmonton.

Yesterday may have felt like a normal June 30 to most Edmontonians, but unbeknownst to most citizens (but not all ) Official Opposition leader Michael Ignatieff was in the Provincial Capital City taking part in an open Town Hall meeting at the Santa Maria Goretti Community Centre .

The event was large in numbers, but the 600 person crowd felt subdued as they seemed more curious to hear what this Ignatieff fellow had to say, rather than to simply cheer the Liberal Party battle cry. The room was filled with party faithful and also attracted a good mix of interested non-partisans who were likely also just as curious to hear what Ignatieff had to say. Of course, the meeting attracted a number local political names such as former Liberal MP Anne McLellan , Liberal MLAs David Swann, Laurie Blakeman, and Hugh MacDonald, and City Councillor Ben Henderson, as well as Senators Tommy Banks, Grant Mitchell, and Claudette Tardif. Alex Abboud has a good review of the question and answer session, so I won’t duplicate his blog post.

While I don’t believe that anyone in the building (including Ignatieff) was under the impression that his presence alone would lead to Liberal Party gains in the next election, there did seem to be a positive energy that wasn’t evident during Stephane Dion‘s short tenure as Liberal leader. Of the Liberal activists I spoke to last night, they carried a renewed optimism, especially for the chances of winning over voters in ridings like Edmonton-Centre, Edmonton-Mill Woods-Beaumont, and Edmonton-Strathcona.

Following Ignatieff’s time on stage, I had a good conversation with local lawyer Mary MacDonald, who is seeking the Liberal nomination in Edmonton-Centre. MacDonald, who’s previous electoral experience included placing a scant 58-votes behind NDP candidate Raj Pannu in 1997, was positive about her chances and was realistic about the hard work ahead of her. Over the course of the evening, a number of Liberals approached me to inquire if I was supporting former candidate Jim Wachowich, who according to Ken Chapman is no longer seeking the nod. Edmonton-Centre Liberals are expected to choose their candidate at a meeting in September 2009 (I have been told the date may be moved sooner).

From a practical politics perspective, the Liberals would be smart to put the Conservatives on the defensive in key urban ridings in western Canada. In Alberta, this would include focusing on ridings like Edmonton-Centre, Edmonton-East, Edmonton-Mill Woods-Beaumont, Edmonton-Strathcona, Calgary-Centre, and Calgary-Centre North in order to force the Conservatives to focus funds and resources on ridings where they have become accustomed to taking voters for granted. After a dismal few elections in Alberta, the Liberals need to also focus on rebuilding their province-wide support, which fell from 22% in June 2004 to 11% in October 2008.

I may be labeled a crazy wing-nut traitor for not believing that the Liberal Party of Canada is secretly hatching a conspiracy to steal Alberta’s God-given oil (or building a Death Star behind the Moon), but I actually get the feeling that Ignatieff is bothered that his party has burned so many political bridges in western Canada. That said, the largely Ontario-based Liberal Caucus hasn’t done much to distill perceptions that it is biased against the politics and economics of western Canada.

My cynical views of Canadian federal politics may remain in place, and while I not yet convinced Michael Ignatieff would be a great Prime Minister for Canadians, I am convinced that he would probably be a decent and open-minded Prime Minister for Canadians. I remain open-minded and curious.

( Photo credit to Alex Abboud )

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Ben Henderson Don Iveson Doug Elniski Fred Horne Heather Klimchuk Kevin Taft Laurie Blakeman Linda Duncan Rachel Notley

photo post: edmonton pride parade 2009.


City Councillors Don Iveson and Ben Henderson show off their tricycle-made-for-two.

Edmonton-Centre MLA Laurie Blakeman and Edmonton-Riverview MLA Kevin Taft.

Edmonton-Strathcona MP Linda Duncan and MLA Rachel Notley.

Edmonton-Calder MLA Doug Elniski, Edmonton-Rutherford MLA Fred Horne, and Edmonton-Glenora MLA Heather Klimchuk were the first PC MLAs to ever participate in Edmonton’s Pride Parade. Klimchuk was given a unique initiation at the Pride festivities:

Edmonton Pride Parade revellers waved rainbow flags Saturday afternoon as they booed and yelled “shame” at Edmonton-Glenora MLA Heather Klimchuk, the first government minister to participate in the annual celebration.

As the Service Alberta minister spoke to a crowd of thousands at Sir Winston Churchill Square, the shouts were louder than she was.

The boos were in response to the provincial government’s passage of Bill 44 nearly two weeks ago. The bill made controversial changes to Alberta’s Human Rights Act by giving parents the right to take their children out of classes dealing with sexual orientation, human sexuality and religion.

Critics argued the new law put teachers in danger of facing human rights complaints and created a second tier of rights.

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Brian Mason Bridget Pastoor David Swann Ed Kent Hehr Kevin Taft Kyle Fawcett Laurie Blakeman Rachel Notley

bill 44 debate an all-nighter.

The debate over Bill 44 is going late into the night at the Alberta Legislature. You can follow the debate online through video or by following the Twitter hashtags #ableg and #bill44.

So far, Opposition Liberal and NDP MLAs Laurie Blakeman, Kevin Taft, Brian Mason, Bridget Pastoor, Kent Hehr, David Swann, and Rachel Notley have spoken against Section 9 of Bill 44 (the controversial education opt-out), and Calgary-North Hill PC MLA Kyle Fawcett has spoken in support of the Bill as it is.

I have pledged to buy lunch for and write nice things about the first PC MLA to rise and speak against Bill 44 as it currently stands. Earlier today, Premier Ed Stelmach pledged to allow the PC caucus a free vote on tonight’s/tomorrow morning’s vote.

UPDATE: It’s now 8:01am on Wednesday May 27 and after having been whipped in line for a month, no PC MLA took advantage of the last minute ‘free vote’ they were awarded on Bill 44 amendments. I keep my lunch money.

While they didn’t succeed in getting their amendments to Bill 44 passed, congrats to opposition MLAs Laurie Blakeman, Kent Hehr, Rachel Notley, and Kevin Taft for their particularly well-spoken and colourful contributions to last night’s/this morning’s debates.

On another point, I wonder if any other provincial legislature watchers in Canada have a Twitter hashtag as active as #ableg?

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Amarjeet Sohi Arts and Culture in Alberta Ben Henderson Jane Batty Laurie Blakeman Lindsay Blackett Rob Renner Stephen Mandel

2009 mayor’s celebration of the arts.


The turnout was excellent turnout at last night’s Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts at the Winspear Centre in downtown Edmonton. Hosted by the Professional Arts Coalition of Edmonton (PACE) and MC’d by CBCs Peter Brown and CTVs Carrie Doll, the 22nd annual event was an entertaining reminder to Edmonton’s business and political elite that there is more to life than profits and balanced budgets (though we’ll hear more about that soon). Notable political attendees included Mayor Stephen Mandel, Culture Minister Lindsay Blackett, Environment Minister Rob Renner, MLA Laurie Blakeman, and City Councillors Ben Henderson, Jane Batty, and Amarjeet Sohi.

The evening included performances by Jeremy Spurgeon, The Be Arthurs, The Raving Poets, Chris Craddock and Nathan Cuckow from Bash’d, Ann Vriend, John Cameron, the KO Dance Project, and Bomba!.

There were many nominees, but this years award winners were:

Mayor’s Award for Innovative Support: CIBC
Mayor’s Award for Sustained Support: SEE Magazine
John Poole Award for Promotion of the Arts: Ellis Brothers Photography
ATCO Gas Award for Outstanding Lifetime Achievement: Tim Ryan
Molson Award for Innovative Artistic Direction: Shelley Switzer
Northlands Award for Emerging Artist: Kristy Trinier
Stantec Award for Youth Artist: Roydon Tse
Telus Courage to Innovate Award: Rising Sun Theatre
City of Edmonton Book Prize: Imagining Head-Smashed-In: Aboriginal Buffalo Hunting on the Northern
Plains, Jack W. Brink, Athabasca University Press

Like previous years, the final act (Bomba!) ended with a giant audience dance-off on stage, and while he may have tried his hardest, Mayor Mandel was clearly out-danced by Minister Blackett.

MORE: Mastermaq has a posted pictures and a review of the event.

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Alberta Budget 2009 Alberta Liberals Laurie Blakeman

mla laurie blakeman on alberta liberal staff layoffs.

Edmonton-Centre MLA Laurie Blakeman answered questions this morning about the recent decision to lay-off the entire staff at the Alberta Liberal Party:

This morning’s media conference held to launch the Official Opposition’s budget2009.ca website, which asks Albertans to submit questions for Opposition Liberal MLAs to use during the budget debates in the Legislature.
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Alnoor Kassam Art Johnston Bill 202 Bill 203 Bill 204 Dave Bronconnier Ed Stelmach Jeff Johnson Laurie Blakeman

provincial representatives minding [municipal] affairs [re: bills 202, 203, 204].

Municipal issues are a hot topic for MLAs introducing Private Member’s Bills in this session of the Alberta Legislature:

Bill 202: Municipal Government (Municipal Auditor General) Amendment Act, 2009

Introduced by Calgary-Hays MLA Art Johnston. The AAMDC is waiting for more details, but the AUMA has written to Premier Ed Stelmach raising concerns about the “bureaucracy and increased costs, to both the Province and municipalities,” which they argue could be created if this Bill becomes Law. This Bill could also have the unintended consequence of creating increased tension between the province and municipalities, as many municipalities (including both the Cities of Edmonton and Calgary) already employ their own Auditors who report to the elected Councils. While I support increases accountability and transparency, I would hope that a new Auditor General would not face the same funding challenges that have plagued the provincial Auditor General over the past few months.

Bill 203: Local Authorities Election (Finance and Contribution Disclosure) Amendment Act, 2009

Introduced by Athabasca-Redwater MLA Jeff Johnson. As rules around municipal campaign financing currently vary from municipality to municipality, this Bill would bring law and order to one of the last frontiers of campaign finance in Wild Rose Country. Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier has recently introduced recommendations to change campaign finance regulations after his 2007 opponent, Alnoor Kassam, self-funded a $1 million dollar campaign against the incumbent Mayor. Increased consistency, transparency, and accountability on the municipal level is a good start, but there’s still a long way to go.

Bill 204: Municipal Tax Sharing Act, 2009

Introduced by Edmonton-Centre MLA Laurie Blakeman. Especially important in areas of the province such as Edmonton’s Capital Region, the creation of municipal tax-sharing agreements and formulas are a critical growth management issue in Alberta. I’m unsure how this Bill would complement the recently agreed upon ‘peace in our time‘* among the 25 Capital Region municipalities, but I’ve always thought it likely that provincial legislation would need to be enacted before we would ever see concrete action on this issue. Unfortunately, due to Blakeman’s political geography in the Legislature (sitting in the 9 MLA Liberal caucus, and not in the 72 MLA PC caucus), it’s very likely that Bill 204 will meet a similar fate to Kent Hehr‘s Bill 201 and be defeated.
Here’s video of Blakeman introducing Bill 204:

*More on this later.

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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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Alberta Politics Barry McFarland Cindy Ady Idaho-Alberta Task Force Laurie Blakeman

blakeman sets an example.

In the wake of yesterday’s revelation that Tory MLA’s Cindy Ady and Barry McFarland received $19,000 for work on the Idaho-Alberta task force – a task force which only met once and has no recorded accomplishments or activity beyond the one meeting – Edmonton-Centre Alberta Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman has announced that she had returned the $3,000 she received for work on another MLA committee that did little work:

Liberal MLA gives back committee pay
Archie McLean, The Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON – Alberta Liberal MLA Laurie Blakeman gave more than $3,000 back to the government this month after she was paid for membership on a committee that stopped doing work.

Three Conservative MLAs received a combined $17,630 for their seven-month membership on the Legislative Grounds Renewal Committee despite meeting only three times in two months. One NDP member got $3,526, but has pledged to return a portion of the cash as well.

The revelation comes just one day after The Journal reported another two Tory MLAs received more than $19,000 for their membership in the Idaho-

Alberta Transboundary Task Force, which did little or no work during their paid stint.

Blakeman and the others were part of the legislative grounds committee from April 3 to Nov. 8, 2006 and were each paid $508.50 per month. The chair, Tory MLA George Rogers, got about $1,500 per month.

Blakeman even paid back the money she received in May, saying she didn’t ask for it and didn’t believe she did enough work to justify the payment.

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Alberta Liberals Kevin Taft Laurie Blakeman Women in Politics

alberta liberals reach for the TOP.

Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft was joined by Edmonton-Centre MLA Laurie Blakeman in lauching the ‘Take Our Place’ program yesterday. The TOP initiative is geared towards getting more women involved in provincial politics.

From the media release:

The Take Our Place program brings together a mentor team of dynamic women, including current and former Alberta Liberal MLAs, to support and encourage new candidates, as well as to identify barriers to political participation and find ways to eliminate or reduce them. While the program is currently focused on creating opportunities for women in the upcoming election, it will continue in the post-election period.

“There are so many issues important to women and families in Alberta,” Blakeman notes. “Our perspective is critical if real progress is to be made. It’s time we had more women at the decision-making table.”

In 1998, eight of the then-eighteen member Alberta Liberal Caucus were women.

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Edmonton Centre Laurie Blakeman

eggs with your favorite grit.

Here’s a free pitch for one of my favorite MLA’s…

Have Eggs With Your Favorite Grit Friends of Laurie Blakeman invite you to attend a vitally important re-election fundraiser

Bring your friends and family for a scrumptious brunch by one of Edmonton’s most popular caterers

Bring your chequebook and bid on some fabulous items like a Peter Field ‘Chicken’ painting, a cooking class with Gail Hall, theatre subscriptions, and other fun stuff at the Sunny-Side-Up Silent Auction

Sunday, February 11, 2007 12-3 pm
St. Andrews Centre 12720-111th Avenue
Tickets: $35.00
Tables of 8: $245.00
TICKET PURCHASES: Sarah at 886-1588 or scrummy@ualberta.ca
AUCTION CONTRIBUTIONS: Deanne at 452-1338 or deanne.timmons@ualberta.ca

Sponsored by the Friends of Laurie Blakeman

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