Blizzards in Edmonton at the end of April…
…can only mean one thing.
Albertans have provoked the wrath of God…
…for re-electing the Tories.
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I’ll forgive you if you’ve been too buried under all this lovely April Alberta snow to notice that Alberta Legislature is in session. A new session, with new MLAs, will bring all sorts of intelligent hijinks’s/painfully predictable heckles and intelligent intentional/painfully unintelligible quotes from the floor of the Legislature.
In today’s edition of The Best of Hansard, we hear from the Treasury Board President and the Honourable Member for Vermilion-Lloyminster, Lloyd Snelgrove (yes, Lloyd from Lloydminster). In responding (but not answering) a question posed by Calgary-Varsity MLA Harry Chase during last week’s Question Period, Snelgrove made a stunningly stunning statement:
Mr. Chase: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. There is no excuse for child poverty in abundant Alberta. Sixty-four thousand Alberta children are living in poverty. Although more Albertans are employed now during this time of incredible economic prosperity than ever before, full-time work at minimum wage does not permit an escape from poverty.
To the President of the Treasury Board: with the paltry increase of 40 cents bringing the minimum wage to a mere $8.40 an hour, how can this government continue to justify token wage increases instead of establishing a realistic living wage which would act as an effective tool in ending child poverty?
Mr. Snelgrove: Mr. Speaker, I grew up in a very poor family. We looked after each other, and we looked after our neighbours. There were very few government programs of any kind to do it. There was a certain pride that was developed amongst our community and each other in how we had to lift one another up. The hon. member is well aware that the minimum wage was never designed nor will it ever be an amount of money that you can raise a family on. In many ways it’s an educational learning experience for some. It brings people with limited skills into the workforce, and it accomplishes that very well.
While I have no doubt that growing up in poverty gives a person different perspectives and values, calling it an “educational learning experience” makes it sound like a field trip to the museum…
Brought to you by the good folks at the Texx Western International Theatrics Corporation…
Watch more videos on the daveberta youtube page.
There’s been a lot of talk since after the election by Health & Wellness Minister Ron Liepert about reforming Alberta’s Health Care system (or as the Department of Health & Wellness website called it yesterday, Action Plan on Health 2008?2009). Liepert says that he’s putting everything on the table, including privatization. One has to wonder why Ed Stelmach, Liepert, or any of the 82 other Tory candidates mention anything about these types of reforms in that little thing called an election that happened only a couple of months ago (and politicians are confused when people don’t trust campaign promises?).
As the Edmonton Journal‘s Graham Thomson has pointed out, though Liepert is boisterous and gutsy in his talk about health-care reform, he has yet to show any real details of the Tories’ proposed action plan for reform. One has to wonder if Liepert’s health-care reform plan is just as rock solid as the Tories’ plan to improve the image of their environmental record? Forgive me if I sound like we’re just the victims of another round of typically predictable government spin…
Speaking of spin, I was a little surprised by Gary Lamphier‘s column yesterday in which he wrote about Albertans detestation of spin. While I don’t think anyone “likes” spin, Albertans certainly haven’t done anything to actively put a stop to the assembly-line factory of political spin that is the Public Affairs Bureau (in fact, giving the Stelmach Tories a 72-seat majority only seems to endorse it). Ironically, Lamphier’s article seems to be either an innocent victim or accessory to spin as he demonizes all those nutty environmentally conscious Albertans who have a problem with Alberta’s environmental record and the tar sands. I can see it now… Jeez, if only they’d take a brisk mid-night skinny dip in one of those nice tailing ponds up near Fort McMurray, they’d see it really isn’t all that bad…
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government 2.0.
To all my fellow techno-political types out there, I thought you might find this report on Government 2.0 from Deloitte Canada interesting…
The first wave of e-government offered significant benefits to constituents, with tens of millions of transactions now delivered online. Despite the plethora of new services, government itself has not been transformed. The next step is for government to move into the information age as it faces increasing pressure to do more with less.
It is clear that conventional government is unable to address society’s challenges alone and would be in a much better position if it could truly partner with other governments, not-for-profits, businesses and citizens to tackle immense policy changes.
Government 2.0 is the answer. As technology deepens its day-to-day impact and is increasingly used by successive generations, governments at all levels will have no choice but to embrace it, thereby overhauling the way they lead, serve and interact with stakeholders.
Why is this so important? Because it’s a strategy that allows today’s public sector organizations to reach across jurisdictions to access critical knowledge, adapt themselves to a fact-changing societal landscape and significantly improve their ability to deliver the services to which citizens have become accustomed.
Of course, developing a “Government 2.0” culture is more involved than simply setting up a wiki or a blog. It requires leadership, investments in technology, organizational change, and risk-taking to overcome cultural, process, technology and policy hurdles.
In the end, increased levels of collaboration will result in enhanced service delivery through all operational and policy-making functions of government. This culture will allow tomorrow’s government to do more with less.
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.
And no, I don’t mean Ed Stelmach or Snidely Whiplash, I’m talking about Michael Ritter. Tonight, Episode 12: The Man Without a Conscience of the documentary series “Very Bad Men” airs tonight at 10pm Alberta time on Global TV.
If you’re not familiar with the story, former Edmonton “lawyer,” Chief Parliamentary Consel to the Alberta Legislative Assembly, business owner, philanthropist, and international man of financial scandal Michael Ritter was charged and convicted as part of a $200 million dollar international ponzi scheme. This is a made for TV scandal that includes everything from investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice to fake Belizean passports. As the documentary puts it:
The high-flying entrepreneur who loved the limelight and adulation from the public was finally convicted on two counts of massive fraud and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The Alberta Greens sent out a media release today announcing that they will be launching a constitutional challenge against the Alberta Elections Act.
Media Release- Alberta Green Challenge Elections Act
(Calgary, Apr 14, 2008) The Alberta Greens have sent a letter to the Attorney General Alison Redford asking her to change the Alberta Elections Act by Sept 10th,2008, if not the party will proceed with legal action.“Ed Stelmach was elected by only 20% of Albertans,” said Read. “Obviously, when only 40% of voters turn out something is seriously wrong with our democracy,” said Alberta Greens leader, George Read.
The constitutional challenge, to go ahead this fall unless the government amends the Act, says section 62(2) interferes with the rights of candidates and supporters of small political parties to participate in elections and therefore contravenes the electoral fairness required by section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Read said the provision, which denies the return of half a candidates deposit unless they receive at least half as many votes as are received by the candidate who is elected, cost the Alberta Greens a significant amount of money that it could otherwise use to promote its positions to the voters.
Both the Canadian government and the Ontario government have been forced to change similar provisions in their Election Acts because they were struck down by the courts. “We hope that the Attorney General will do the right thing for democracy,” said Read.
As much as I’d love to comment on this right now, I’m in the middle of wrapping up a paper on Section 23 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the context of Mahe v. Alberta, so I’ll have to tackle the Greens challenge later this week…
When thinking about Canada’s arts and cultural capitals, I wouldn’t blame someone for turning their thoughts towards Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver or Ottawa, but the Edmonton Arts Council hopes to change that as they have drafted a new culture policy for Alberta’s capital city in a new report titled “THE ART OF LIVING – A plan for securing the future of arts and heritage in the city of Edmonton 2008-2018.” The report was submitted to Edmonton City Council last week and begins by recognizing why a new and strong arts and culture policy is important for Edmonton:
The need for a cultural plan for the City of Edmonton was first discussed at Edmonton City Council in December 2005 during the debate and approval of the 2006 City of Edmonton operating budget. This need for a unified and wide-ranging cultural plan for the City was spurred by:
• an ever-increasing realization of the importance of arts, heritage and culture to the city.
• an acceptance that the City has key responsibilities in arts, heritage and culture.
• an appreciation that the sector is becoming increasingly complex.
• an awareness that the current economic boom in Alberta has increased the pace of development in Edmonton and emphasized the need to be proactive in many areas, including arts, heritage and culture.
The report also includes testimonials and stories of support from Edmonton arts supporters ranging from Jeanne Lougheed, Todd Babiak, Terry Wickham, Ken Chapman, Greg Hollingshead, Marilyn Dumont, and fellow-former Morinville-ite Marty Chan.
With the Spring Session of the Alberta Legislature starting today, I would hope that Tory Premier Ed Stelmach and Culture and Community Spirit Minister Lindsay Blackett (Calgary-North West) take a serious look at this policy recommendation.
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more on the bakken formation.
Following up on yesterday’s post on the Bakken Formation, I’ll direct ya’ll to a post that Aaron over at Grandinite wrote last month on one of my newly favorite geological formations.
(picture from BakkenOil.com)
Did you know that the United States Geological Survey has podcasts?
The latest podcast is on the USGS estimate that potentially 3.0 to 4.3 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil exisists in an area known as the Bakken Formation. The Bakken Formation is a 200,000 square mile blanket of rock stretching over Saskatchewan, Montana, and North Dakota.
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 ServiceFriday, 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.”
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.
Interested?
A study has been completed to plan the extension of the LRT from Lewis Estates (87 Avenue and 199 Street) to the University of Alberta. As part of the study, open houses will be held to share information and details about the project and the study before it is presented to City Council.
(h/t to the always great Councillor Don Iveson‘s office for passing this along)
For those of your looking forward to the beginning of Spring Session in the Alberta Legislature, here’s a sneak peak at what awaits…
– In members statements, expect a member from the Tory caucus to make a statement in remembrance of the passing of former Moses and NRA head, Charlton Heston.
– Health Care Premiums will be gone in four years, starting… now?
– Speaking of Health Care, newly appointed Health Minister Ron Liepert says health care reforms he plans to bring in will be modeled on the Klein cuts of the 1990s.
– A Blue Ribbon committee is expected to be appointed to plan for the 40th Anniversary Celebrations of Progressive Conservative rule in Alberta in 2011. Expect plans to include the construction of a 50-foot statue of Ralph Klein overlooking the crossing of the Bow and Elbow Rivers in Calgary and military parades across the province…
– Land-use struggles! The fight by rural landowners continues! The Round Hill-Dodds Agriculture Protection Association is fighting to stop the construction of a new coal and gasification plant south of Tofield. Major investors in the project include the City of Edmonton-owned EPCOR and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.