Category: Uncategorized

Support a Coalition Government!
Edmonton Rally: Thursday, December 4th, 6:00 p.m.
1 Sir Winston Churchill Square.

STOP THE COALITION RALLY
When: Thursday, December 4th, 1:00 p.m.
Where: 10806 119 St: NDP Riding Association Office

With two opposing rallies happening on the same day, I can only imagine that the streets of Edmonton will look something like this on Thursday afternoon…

As the only non-Conservative MP elected in the province of Alberta, there is a chance that newly elected Edmonton-Strathcona representative Linda Duncan could soon find herself sitting at a coalition cabinet table. But with only a handful of MPs from Western Canada, the Liberals and NDP won’t have a large variety of choice in handing out cabinet posts west of the Manitoba-Ontario border.

CalgaryGrit is predicting Winnipeg MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis, Vancouver MP Libby Davies, and Duncan as likely Western Canadian NDP MPs in the coalition cabinet, and I would suggest that Western Liberals could include Saskatchewan MP Ralph Goodale, and BC MPs Ujjal Dosanjh, Keith Martin, and Joyce Murray.

But with such little representation in Western Canada (and rural Ontario), building a broad parliamentary coalition by inviting moderate Conservative MPs to join the cabinet would send a strong signal to Canadians that the extreme partisanship and negative politics of Stephen Harper and Tom Flanagan are the politics of the past.

Perhaps it may be unlikely in this heated political climate, but smart moderate Tories like James Rajotte, Lisa Raitt, and James Moore could excel while working in cooperation with fellow cabinet ministers from other parties. Bringing Conservative MPs into a coalition cabinet could also serve to breakdown the tense partisan divisions between the Conservatives and the opposition parties in Parliament.

In the face of the ‘Collapse of Global Capitalism*’ a united ‘Grand Coalition‘ including MPs from all parties would show Canadians that not only are our elected representatives able to put aside partisan differences aside, but that they can actually work together.

*h/t DW

I would like to take this opportunity to remind Canadians of a silly little thing called math:

Seats in the House of Commons
Conservative: 143
Liberal + NDP: 114
Bloc Quebecois: 49
Independent: 2

The political spin is thick as egg nog this holiday season, but the mathematical reality remains that both the Conservatives and the Liberal-NDP coalition are going to need to depend on the Bloc Quebecois if they wish to survive in this Parliament.

I posted the link to this video on Twitter earlier in the week, but I thought it was so interesting that it would also be worth posting on the blog.

Edward Burtynsky is one of my favorite Canadian landscape photographers. For those of you not familiar with his work, some of his best photographs show sweeping views of natural landscapes altered by industry into mine tailings, quarries, scrap piles. This is a video of his excellent acceptance speech of the 2005 TED Prize in which he describes his wish: ‘that his images, stunning landscapes that document humanity’s impact on the world — help persuade millions to join a global conversation on sustainability.‘

Relevant Links: WorldChanging.com, WorldChanging Canada

It was only last week that I lamented hopelessly to an associate about what a boring duty paying attention to Canadian politics had become. I felt that Stephen Harper was becoming a reasonably decent (but uninspiring) Prime Minister, I didn’t expect the opposition Liberals to soon deviate from their lackluster hand-sitting performance during the 2004-2006 Parliament, and I was waiting to see how Jack Layton‘s NDP were going to nudge out the Liberals by staking out more territory in the political centre.

But everything changed this week. Any warm feelings I held towards Harper quickly went cold when the partisan maneuvering of his Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty, grabbed national attention. Though I quickly became intrigued with the prospect of the opposition parties introducing a motion of no-confidence and forming some sort of progressive coalition/Liberal minority government in the Commons, I can’t help but wonder what it’s going to take to change the political culture in Ottawa from one of constant partisan brinksmanship to one where MPs from all parties can actually cooperate for a period longer than five minutes.

To be clear, I don’t feel that any of the parties have a legitimate claim the moral high ground in Canadian politics, as I don’t believe for a second that a quick role reversal would see the Liberals or NDP kick a financially vulnerable Conservative Party any softer. This said, the rhetoric and positioning would suggest that the proposed economic stimulus package is just as unpalatable to the opposition parties as the canceling of the party funding formula (which is now split from the economic package and part of a future Bill).

The quick moving political action in Ottawa has made it quite difficult to differentiate between media speculation, insider meddling, and actual happenings, but if the Liberals and NDP have indeed brought in Jean Chretien and Ed Broadbent to facilitate negotiations for some sort of symbiotic parliamentary relationship between the two parties, it would signal a monumental shift in Canadian political history. Not since the First World War has an actual ‘coalition government‘ existed in Canada.

Though the Conservatives have protested this move as ‘undemocratic,’ parliamentary alliances are normal in many western democracies. In the October 14, 2008 Federal Election, no party received a majority of the seats in the House of Commons, nor votes in the general election, therefore no one party can claim to have the confidence of the majority of Canadian voters. Yes, the Conservatives received the largest share of votes and seats (37.65% of the vote and 143 seats), but the other parties combined received more in both cases (163 seats and 54.76%) – a fairly basic Grade 6 Social Studies concept.

Can a Liberal-NDP coalition/alliance govern? Who would lead this coalition? (Stephane Dion? Jack Layton? Ralph Goodale? Michael Ignatieff?) Or will the Conservative minority government continue to hold power? What ever the result in the upcoming confidence vote, I’m sure that more than one Member of Parliament is going to lose some sleep this weekend while being haunted with the mathematical reality that the political survival of either of these groups depends on a group of 49 Quebec Nationalists: the Bloc Quebecois.

A lot has been said in the past 24 hours about the economic update proposal to cancel the public funding of political parties, so I won’t take up space repeating arguments that have already been articulated. I will, however, offer two comments:

1) I believe that Canada should strive towards political parties being funded by citizens alone. I believe that there should be a reasonable limit to contribution amounts and that both corporations and unions should not be allowed to fund our political parties (‘Joe’s Oil-Rig’ is not citizen, but a legal entity created for tax purposes, therefore it should not be in a position to fund political parties). The sustainability of modern political parties should depend on the cultivation of a large membership and individual donor base to fund itself (a major weakness of the Liberal Party of Canada).

2) It is very clear that Conservative Finance Minister Jim Flaherty‘s proposal is a purely political maneuver aimed at choking off the already cash-strapped Liberal Party (who should be taking advantage of this opportunity to rally their supporters and fundraise). At a time when Stephen Harper‘s Conservatives should be governing, they are busy playing political games with Canadians tax-dollars.

If Parliament wishes to cancel public financing of political parties, then that is the will of Parliament, but it would be much more equitable for this program to be phased it out over a four year period so that by the time the next “scheduled” election rolls around (is anyone still pretending that we have fixed election dates in Canada?), all of the parties will have completely received the round of $1.95 per-vote funding that Canadians granted them with their votes in the October 2008 Federal Election.

Canadians (myself included) may not have much sympathy for political parties, but Flaherty’s move smacks of the worst kind of partisanship that drives so many Canadian citizens away from political involvement.

UPDATE: November 28, 2008 10:02 am– Conservatives won’t include party funding cuts in economic update, Jean Chretien & Ed Broadbent broker possible coalition talks, and je ne comprends pas anglais.

UPDATE: November 28, 2008 12:13 pm – What’s going on? Cuts to Party Subsidies will Stay: Flaherty

1) On Active and Passive Homophobia in Alberta with Dave Rodney, Laurie Blakeman, Rachel Notley, and Lindsay Blackett.

2) Stupid Questions and Stupid Answers from Ron Liepert and Hugh MacDonald. Does Speaker Ken Kowalski even bother showing up anymore?

3) Ron Liepert and Brent Shervey, it’s a ‘were are they now?‘ of Team Dinning.

4) Rachel Notley petitions against Nuclear power.

5) Lindsay Blackett on rodeo. Nov 7: “I have no problem supporting that motion.” Nov 26: “Does a province need a provincial sport? I frankly don’t think so.” …

6) Flying very low under the radar is the Alberta Liberal leadership contest. Dave Taylor v. David Swann v. Mo Eslalhy. Listen to the podcast.

Voting in the first round of the 2008 Canadian Blog Awards have begun and this blog has been nominated in three categories this year:

– Best Blog
– Best Political Blog,
– Best Progressive Blog

As you may remember from last year, the vote for daveberta.ca in the 2007 CBAs campaign cleaned up in three categories (placing first in the Best Political Blog, Best Progressive Blog, and Best Blogosphere Citizen categories). I won’t be harnessing the power of Facebook to get out the vote this time, but I invite you to vote for this blog if you do so feel inclined.

Also feel free to throw your vote behind Alberta: Get Rich or Die Trying in the Best New Blog Category.

Having a well-known name in Calgary has served Dave Taylor well since making the jump into politics in 2004. A standby of Calgary’s radio circuit since 1985, Taylor hosted a popular radio show on CHQR77 until he made the jump to politics in 2004. Hoisting the Liberal banner in Calgary-Currie, Taylor unseated MLA Jon Lord in 2004 and held off a strong challenge from PC star candidate Arthur Kent in 2008.

Taylor served in a number of high profile opposition roles since 2004, including Advanced Education and Municipal Affairs & Housing critic, but since becoming Liberal Deputy Leader in 2004, it became fairly clear to political watchers that he was setting his sights on something more than deputy. And shortly after Kevin Taft announced that he would be departing the leader’s chair, Taylor was the first to step up.

As leader, Taylor would bring a different element to the Alberta Liberals: leading via sound bite. If Taylor wins, Albertans can expect better media performance than in the past as he would be quite a contrast to Ed Stelmach, and could be expected to regularly kick Stelmach’s ass in Question Period and in the media. And if his leadership campaign material is any indication, the Alberta Liberal Party can expect to have an aesthetic face-lift if he wins.

Troubling is the number of MLAs (past and present) who have spoken to me about the difficulties they have had trying to get Taylor to work as part of a team. There may be no doubt that he rubs some people the wrong way, but though he may have had challenges with colleagues, one of his largest challenges as opposition leader would be to raise his profile outside of Calgary, where, much like fellow candidate David Swann, he is largely an unknown quantity.

If it’s a plan that Alberta Liberal members are looking for, Taylor’s team has unveiled the most detailed programme of any candidate, including a wide-range of policy positions and an ambitious plan to pull the Liberals out of the dregs. Appealing to the party base, Taylor has branded himself as the “unapologetic Liberal” of the race, choosing to embrace the toxicity of the Liberal brand. But as good as his intentions may be, the question needs to be asked whether the Alberta Liberal Party is past the point of saving, and it’s not hard to argue that it may be.

Though I haven’t shied away from criticizing Taylor’s campaign, I have had positive experience working with him in the past. During my term as Chair of the Council of Alberta University Students in 2006, Taylor joined former NDP MLA Raj Pannu in the media to help us challenge short-lived Advanced Education Minister Denis Herard’s first and only piece of legislation Bill 40, which de-legislated Alberta’s tuition policy. Bill 40 passed, but it wasn’t for lack of opposition by either Taylor or Pannu.

Dave Taylor’s right combination of media personality and great radio voice have worked to his advantage as an opposition MLA, but can it jump-start the Liberals high enough towards the road of dethrone the long-governing PCs? I remain skeptical, but Taylor would definitely make politics in the Alberta Legislature more interesting.

Some may naively accept the giant flash of light over Western Canada from last night as being a “meteor entering orbit,” but it should be apparent to anyone of intelligence that it was in fact something much more sinister, and our Premier warned us of the coming apparition just days ago.

The flash was not in fact an act of nature, but the angry ghost of Pierre Trudeau’s NEP returning to terrorize Albertans and thrust us into another world-wide recession (which was also the cause yesterday’s dip below $50 per barrel of the price of oil).

September 18, 2007 – The Royalty Review Panel recommends that royalty rates in Alberta be increased. Panel Chairman Bill Hunter: “Albertans do not receive their fair share from energy development and they have not, in fact, been receiving their fair share for some time.”

October 1, 2007 – Auditor General Fred Dunn gives Alberta’s royalty tracking system a failing grade, stating that “the principals of transparency and accountability, I believe, were not followed. I’m not impressed” and that “the department’s monitoring and technical review findings were communicated to decision-makers. The question is: Did they hear or were they listening? At the end of the day, I don’t know, but they chose not to act.”

October 2, 2007 – Energy Minister Mel Knight dresses down the Auditor General for criticizing senior government officials.

October 11, 2007 – NDP call for legislation enshrining royalty changes. CBC reports that “Paul Stanway, Stelmach’s spokesman, said Thursday that the premier will stick with whatever decision the government makes on the royalty report, and that it’s too early to tell if legislation will be necessary.”

October 19, 2007 – Premier Ed Stelmach defends the old royalty regime.

October 23, 2007 – Liberal leader Kevin Taft announces that he would increase royalty rates by 20%.

October 25, 2007 – Stelmach proposes changes to the royalty regime, introducing a plan to increase royalties by 20%, or $1.4 billion annually, beginning in 2009. Finally, Albertans will get start getting their fair share… in 2009.

October 26, 2007 – Energy stocks gain value the day after the royalty increase announced. The sky does not fall.

October 28, 2007 – Alberta PC members support royalty increase.

October 30, 2007 – Former Premier Peter Lougheed endorses the royalty increase.

January 2008 – Oil tops $100 per barrel. People lose all perspective and start talking about permanent $180 per barrel oil.

January 23, 2008 – NDP leader Brian Mason hangs out with Sarah Palin in Alaska and likes their royalty system.

February/March 2008 – … Alberta Election… Stelmach defeats Pierre Trudeau!

October 2008 – Alan Greenspan: capitalism is broken.

November 2008 – Global Economic Crisis continues. Oil prices drop and hover around $50 per barrel. Perspective returns.

November 18, 2008 – The Government of Alberta inks a new royalty deal with Syncrude.

November 19, 2008 – A year after announcing increases to royalties (starting in 2009), Stelmach announces cuts to royalties, putting Alberta in a position to lose $1.8 Billion in revenues over the next five years.

As a friend of mine put it:

“The ever-changing business rules will ultimately hurt the hard working people of my home province, and will tear apart Alberta’s international reputation as a good place to do business. At this point, I think the Saudi Arabian government can offer more economic certainty than Premier Stelmach.”

The report of the Alberta Financial Investment and Planning Advisory Commission has been released, and includes seventeen recommendations that look pretty smart at a glance (haven’t had a chance to look in detail yet).

I still haven’t decided whether I’m going to buy a Liberal Party of Canada membership to vote in this race, but I will be paying attention, as I need something to fill my time now that the American Presidential election is over…

CBCs The Fifth Estate has produced an excellent documentary on Germany’s transition to renewable energy and the challenges and roadblocks facing renewable energy entrepreneurs in Canada.

The documentary also features an interview with Hermann Scheer, a German parliamentarian who is:

…leading the way to increase Germany’s reliance on renewable energy sources such as wind power and solar power. To date, 15% of Germany’s energy comes from renewable sources. Scheer estimates that if Germany continues on this course, by 2030 that will be 100%.