It's five days since our Provincial election took place, and the repercussions and dissections have been going on ever since. The failure of local and national polls to accurately tell what was going to happen is notable, especially since a number of middle and high school mock votes were much closer to the reality than were the polls. It seems the children were listening quite carefully to their parents adult discussions of things to come, electorally speaking. Perhaps next time, the polling might be done among the children of Alberta, who appeared to have their ear closer to the ground than did the pollsters.
Much of the media commentary, and some of my own thinking, has been focused on the values expressed in this election and its results. Let's begin with brand loyalty, for example, There were members of the Federal Conservative machine who surreptitiously - and some openly - supported and aided the Wildrose Party, while the provincial Progressive Conservatives received far less encouragement from the Ottawa big C's, being slightly too progressive for the big guns down east. It will be interesting to see how smoothly Herr Harper works with Alison Redford, our Premier, and a PC.
It was clear that a large chunk of the Wildrose vote emanated from disaffected Tories, who felt that conservative principles and practices have been betrayed over the years by the PCs. Many of these are young farm families, with clear conservative views on everything from same-sex issues to gun control, to public fiscal morality. Actions of the part of the ruling PCs had enraged than over the last four or five years. Chief among the offending acts was the decisions made, and the Bills passed, which effectively gutted the farmers land right over their own property. These measures gave the government the right to walk over any farmer regarding the use of his land for power lines, for example, even denying that farmer the right to court action to hold up the "expropriation."
The Wildrose party would repeal those Bills. So, of course, would every other non-government party. What the PCs will do with those Bills on the books now is anybody's guess. Further use of them will virtually guarantee a landslide of votes against them in the next Provincial election. Other actions also screamed moral and ethical foul as the campaign progress. The Premier's awkward and slow move to bring to heel the members of her caucus who wanted to keep their ill-gotten gains - up to $36000+ - for sitting on a committee that hadn't met for three and half years was one bad step on the Conservative side. The refusal of Danielle Smith to muzzle or even chastise a pair of Wildrose candidates who stepped clearly over the moral line. One said that he could apply the law fairly, even though he believed that gay people would burn eternally in a lake of fire. The other smugly announced that he was clearly the candidate best equipped to represent his constituents because he was Caucasian, whereas they (one a brown Muslim, the other a brown Sikh) could only speak for "their communities." Smith drove another nail part-way into her own coffin by publicly questioning the validity of climate change science, say that "the jury is still out" on that issue!
The moral and ethical validity of Alberta election campaigns can't be fully assessed unless one factors in the impact and influence of Big Oil. The province runs on oil, and many people believe that the province is run by Big Oil. Attitudes are shaped by how matters effect the oil industry. Anyone who vigorously opposed the fossil fuel giants - such as Wiebo Ludwig - is branded a radical and a terrorist, and gotten rid of, without compunction. The economy of the province is so dependent on oil production that even the most left-wing of parties must tread very carefully as regards energy and environmental policy, lest they threaten the hefty six figure salaries of many oil workers. There is probably no place in Canada where a man with minimal education can pull down such a good wage. Of course, many oilfield workers are highly educated in their areas of special expertise, while being relatively uneducated as regards the human side of life.
The PCs, with their commanding majority, can pretty much do what they want in the Legislature, due to meet again before summer ( a break with the past where Alberta Legislatures met for fewer days than virtually any other provincial legislative body), and they must tread carefully. The Wildrose minority and their illustrated supporters are ready to scream and stomp if too much is pushed on them. As the Chinese proverb says, "My you live in interesting times." Here in Alberta, we do!
Much of the media commentary, and some of my own thinking, has been focused on the values expressed in this election and its results. Let's begin with brand loyalty, for example, There were members of the Federal Conservative machine who surreptitiously - and some openly - supported and aided the Wildrose Party, while the provincial Progressive Conservatives received far less encouragement from the Ottawa big C's, being slightly too progressive for the big guns down east. It will be interesting to see how smoothly Herr Harper works with Alison Redford, our Premier, and a PC.
It was clear that a large chunk of the Wildrose vote emanated from disaffected Tories, who felt that conservative principles and practices have been betrayed over the years by the PCs. Many of these are young farm families, with clear conservative views on everything from same-sex issues to gun control, to public fiscal morality. Actions of the part of the ruling PCs had enraged than over the last four or five years. Chief among the offending acts was the decisions made, and the Bills passed, which effectively gutted the farmers land right over their own property. These measures gave the government the right to walk over any farmer regarding the use of his land for power lines, for example, even denying that farmer the right to court action to hold up the "expropriation."
The Wildrose party would repeal those Bills. So, of course, would every other non-government party. What the PCs will do with those Bills on the books now is anybody's guess. Further use of them will virtually guarantee a landslide of votes against them in the next Provincial election. Other actions also screamed moral and ethical foul as the campaign progress. The Premier's awkward and slow move to bring to heel the members of her caucus who wanted to keep their ill-gotten gains - up to $36000+ - for sitting on a committee that hadn't met for three and half years was one bad step on the Conservative side. The refusal of Danielle Smith to muzzle or even chastise a pair of Wildrose candidates who stepped clearly over the moral line. One said that he could apply the law fairly, even though he believed that gay people would burn eternally in a lake of fire. The other smugly announced that he was clearly the candidate best equipped to represent his constituents because he was Caucasian, whereas they (one a brown Muslim, the other a brown Sikh) could only speak for "their communities." Smith drove another nail part-way into her own coffin by publicly questioning the validity of climate change science, say that "the jury is still out" on that issue!
The moral and ethical validity of Alberta election campaigns can't be fully assessed unless one factors in the impact and influence of Big Oil. The province runs on oil, and many people believe that the province is run by Big Oil. Attitudes are shaped by how matters effect the oil industry. Anyone who vigorously opposed the fossil fuel giants - such as Wiebo Ludwig - is branded a radical and a terrorist, and gotten rid of, without compunction. The economy of the province is so dependent on oil production that even the most left-wing of parties must tread very carefully as regards energy and environmental policy, lest they threaten the hefty six figure salaries of many oil workers. There is probably no place in Canada where a man with minimal education can pull down such a good wage. Of course, many oilfield workers are highly educated in their areas of special expertise, while being relatively uneducated as regards the human side of life.
The PCs, with their commanding majority, can pretty much do what they want in the Legislature, due to meet again before summer ( a break with the past where Alberta Legislatures met for fewer days than virtually any other provincial legislative body), and they must tread carefully. The Wildrose minority and their illustrated supporters are ready to scream and stomp if too much is pushed on them. As the Chinese proverb says, "My you live in interesting times." Here in Alberta, we do!
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