All posts tagged Alberta Legislature

‘Leading thinkers’ to set Alberta’s new economic course lickety-split – and you’re not invited

by David Climenhaga on January 31, 2013 in Alberta Economy, Alberta Politics with 3 Comments

Premier Alison Redford eyeballs an uninvited visitor to the province’s economic summit. Without the password, you’re not getting in. Below, Premier Redford and Deputy Premier Tom Lukaszuk present their bona fides at the door. Actual Alberta politicians may not appear exactly as illustrated. Below them: The premier’s communications director, Stefan Baranski.

In just 10 days, “Alberta’s leading thinkers, key industry, non-profit and academic leaders, Members of the Legislative Assembly and passionate citizens will gather together for a spirited discussion on Alberta’s future.” You’re not invited.

The government announced yesterday in a terse yet effusive press release that the economic summit Premier Alison Redford promised in her “State of the Province” Address one week ago will take place on Saturday, Feb. 9, at Mount Royal University in Calgary.

But don’t worry about having to give up a day of your weekend – only the usual suspects will be invited, plus 87 citizens chosen one each by their MLAs.

I’m pretty passionate about this stuff myself, so I’ll be waiting by the phone for my call from Finance Minister Doug Horner, who happens to be my MLA. I’ll let you know how that turns out.

Meanwhile, Rome may not have been built in a day, but thankfully Alberta’s future can be – at least for a year, as this event has been billed a “first annual” in the press release from Ms. Redford’s communications director, Stefan Baranski.

“This summit will be a very important opportunity to discuss the economic challenges facing the province while also offering potential solutions for Albertans,” Mr. Baranski’s press release stated.

And thanks to your absence, Dear Readers, there’s no danger a crazy idea like a fair progressive tax system will be suggested to replace the Ralph Klein flat tax that the Calgary Herald, fearless champion of the overdog, likes so much.

Indeed, the absence of anyone on the invite list whose views haven’t already been thoroughly vetted is presumably the key to the success of this aspect of the “conversation” Premier Redford promised to start with us all in her SOTP message back on Jan. 24.

Lots of ideas have already been floated by people with connections to the right people – going after physicians’ compensation, going after teachers’ compensation, going after public service compensation, to name but a few – so it’s not hard to guess what will emerge from this glorified one-day seminar, which will feature four moderated panels, “each consisting of three to five participants with unique perspectives on areas relevant to Alberta’s fiscal framework.”

Topic areas will be as follows:

  1. Alberta’s economy, and the need for cuts
  2. Balancing expectations on the services Albertans need when things have to be cut
  3. Alberta’s revenue mix, and why we won’t change it when we can just cut stuff
  4. Responsible spending, including the need for cuts

The bit about the cuts doesn’t actually come out of the press release, I just threw it in to be a smart aleck, but you get the idea.

In fact, yesterday morning Deputy Premier Thomas Lukaszuk was already telegraphing the government’s pre-summit plans for cuts via Twitter.

Meanwhile, while there suddenly seems to be some sympathy for the idea of an Alberta sales tax in Alberta Progressive Conservative circles – as well as among the deepest of the Globe and Mail’s deep thinkers – don’t count on this one being part of the government’s post-summit playbook. Too risky given all the opposition from the unwashed masses of both the right and left in the form of the Opposition Wildrose Party (no new taxes) and the NDP (no new regressive taxes).

Anyway, thanks to Mr. Klein, who was God’s gift to Alberta’s ultra-rich, it can’t be done without either passing a controversial new law or holding a doomed referendum.

Ms. Redford also briefly floated the idea of a return to health care premiums – which were cancelled by premier Ed Stelmach in 2009. That too would be unpopular, but at least could be re-branded and passed off as a user fee and not the regressive tax it in fact would be. Still, yesterday it appeared to have been judged too risky and dropped as well.

Getting back to the one-day, four-panel summit that will solve Alberta’s economic woes, if you’re not invited and are still anxious to take part, according Mr. Baranski – who managed George Smitherman’s campaign to be mayor of Toronto shortly before Rob Ford, that city’s answer to Ralph Klein, was elected – you can participate through social media, details to follow.

You can watch the Youtube video, I guess, or read the Tweets. Just don’t say you weren’t consulted!

This post also appears on Rabble.ca.

Great Plains Politics 101: Why everything new in Alberta’s Legislature must be old again

by David Climenhaga on January 29, 2013 in Alberta Legislature, Alberta Politics, Parliamentiary Government with No comments

Perfesser Dave with Gene Zwozdesky, a.k.a. Mr. Speaker, the Speaker of the Alberta Legislature, with that rara avis, a recent Alberta Throne Speech. But not the one for March 5, 2013. Quick quiz: Why is that? Below: Alberta Premier Alison Redford in a screen grab from last week’s “State of the Province” address.

If you’re wondering why on March 5 Alberta’s MLAs are not returning to a new session of the provincial Legislature, there is an explanation.

We have lately been informed by House Speaker Gene Zwozdesky – who should know, after all – that Alberta’s MLAs will be returning on that date for the third sitting of the first session of the 28th Legislature.

While the 50 or so words of Mr. Zwozdesky’s media advisory (signed by his executive assistant) casts no light on the reasons for this technical puzzle, AlbertaDiary.ca is happy to illuminate them in eight words: it avoids the necessity of a Throne Speech.

A Throne Speech, as those interested in Parliamentary procedures will recall, lays out the government’s agenda for the next Legislative session. From the perspective of the Progressive Conservative government of Premier Alison Redford, this would inevitably trigger a number of inconvenient consequences.

First, of course, an actual agenda would mean the parties of the Opposition would have something criticize, even to attack.

As we have already seen in the premier’s “State of the Province” address last week, this government would really prefer to give no hints whatsoever of whatever it intends to do, at least until it is actually forced to it. Anything else obviously risks an overabundance of democracy!

Second, naturally, a Throne Speech would provide the Opposition parties with additional opportunities to criticize the government. That is, by not having a Throne Speech, through the mechanism of merely continuing the old session, the government is able to eliminate a week to a week and a half of inconvenient Legislative Question Periods.

During that time, the Opposition instead will be reduced to sending out a flurry of media releases – much easier for all concerned to ignore, especially Alberta’s lackadaisical and easily distracted media.

Now, this does not mean the Opposition parties will have nothing to shoot at or no gallery in which to shoot at it. There must still be a budget, and therefore a Budget Speech, and the constitution of Canada requires that the Legislature get together once a year, so some criticism is inevitable.

Still, the lack of a Throne Speech will reduce the government’s pain not inconsiderably, and shortening the Legislative session also means it will be less obvious just how unambitious the government’s legislative agenda is this time around.

So, from Ms. Redford’s perspective, there is a lot to commend the idea of getting into the Legislature, fulfilling its constitutional obligations and getting the heck out!

Finally, there is the delicate matter of the PC Party’s upcoming annual general meeting, which is scheduled to take place in Edmonton in November 2013 and which this year inconveniently includes a leadership review for Ms. Redford, as is that party’s policy.

As Calgary Herald columnist Don Braid recently pointed out, when it comes to reviews like this, the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta (as the party is legally known) “has established quite the bloodthirsty tradition of palace revolt.”

Faced with Alberta’s recent Bitumen Bungle brouhaha, Ms. Redford could still face a considerable rebellion among the party faithful – many of whom continue to be traditional Prairie-style conservatives, that is, inclined to see a need for austerity and not at all comfortable with the new coalition Ms. Redford and Finance Minister Doug Horner would like to build with public service unions, teachers, and socially progressive voters, especially women and young people.

What to do? If Ms. Redford’s government pursues tough cost-cutting policies, she’ll almost certainly blow up the coalition that may be her only hope to survive in 2015.

If she doesn’t, she may be in deep trouble with her own troops in November 2013.

Best, then, to do as little as possible until the next known crisis – the leadership review – has passed. Ergo, no Throne Speech and the shortest possible Legislative session.

Class dismissed!

This post also appears on Rabble.ca.

Choosing a Speaker for Alberta: Your chance to vote … sort of

by David Climenhaga on May 1, 2012 in Uncategorized with 3 Comments
Your blogger with yet another of the candidates to be called Mr. Speaker, the dulcetly mellifluous Gene Zwozdesky, looking none too thrilled about this photo opportunity in Speakerly garb.

I have been surprised by the amount of interested generated by my post suggesting there is a three-way or possibly four-way race for the job of Speaker of the Alberta Legislature, now that Ken Kowalski has retired.

Readers will recall that the four named here are:

  • Laurie Blakeman, Liberal MLA for Edmonton-Centre
  • Robin Campbell, Progressive Conservative MLA for West Yellowhead
  • Wayne Cao, PC MLA for Calgary-Fort
  • Gene Zwozdesky, PC MLA for Edmonton-Mill Creek

It occurs to me that Albertans ought to have a chance to express their views in this important matter. Thus I refer you to the short poll at the right above, which asks you to vote on which of the suggested candidates you think should be named the speaker.

This kind of poll is by definition unscientific. But how is that any different that what we have been subjected to for the past two years, one wonders?

I have set the poll to run for one week. Vote early and vote often!

Click here for more details on the quartet of MLAs.

Calculating the odds in the race for Alberta’s Legislative Speaker

by David Climenhaga on April 27, 2012 in Uncategorized with 5 Comments
Your blogger with Robin Campbell, Ken Kowalski’s possible replacement as Speaker of the Alberta Legislature. Below: Laurie Blakeman, Gene Zwozdesky, and Wayne Cao with you-know-who.

JASPER, Alberta

Just when you thought it was safe to go out of the house again, there’s another election!

But you don’t get to vote in this one, even though it’s pretty important to Alberta just the same.

Next on the agenda for the Alberta Legislature: the 87 newly elected MLAs need to elect a Speaker to preside over their … er … deliberations.

Sounds routine, but in a funny inside-baseball way, the Speaker’s job is almost as important as the premier’s. The Speaker, after all, is the person who gets to set the tone of debate in the Legislature and can go a long way to make it civilized, or hyper-partisan.

The last Speaker, Ken Kowalski, one of the Tory old guard not-so-subtly given a shove in the general direction of the door in Premier Alison Redford’s pre-election House cleaning, was a Speaker of the partisan school – although I am sure he would dispute that assessment.

As befit a guy who was first elected to the Legislature in 1979, he was a consummate insider, someone who still knows where all the bodies are buried. He’ll also take home a “transition allowance” of $1.2 million, which will give the Wildrose Party something to talk about in its first week on the job in its unanticipated role as Opposition.

Yesterday, Mr. Kowalski could be heard musing on the radio about how the Legislature was certain to go to hell in a handbasket without him and some of the other Tory old-timers there to guide things in the right direction. All I can say about that, Ken, is it’s exactly the way I feel about Canadian journalism. You’ll just have to get used to the notion nobody is listening.

There seem to be three – or maybe four – candidates for the job. They are, in alphabetical order:

  • Laurie Blakeman, Liberal MLA for Edmonton-Centre, who has been openly campaigning for the job for weeks if not months.
  • Robin Campbell, PC MLA for West Yellowhead, who like Ms. Blakeman has been openly asserting his interest for a spell now.
  • Wayne Cao, Progressive Conservative MLA for Calgary-Fort and one of the two best singers in the Legislature, who must be included in this list because he is now Deputy Speaker. He may or may not be interested in the job.
  • Gene Zwozdesky, PC MLA for Edmonton-Mill Creek and the Mel Torme of provincial politics, the Velvet Fog itself, who is tied with Mr. Cao as the Legislature’s best crooner.

Nothing is known here about Ms. Blakeman’s singing voice, but yesterday she sent around an email stating she wants to replace Mr. Kowalski. “An unusual choice but not unheard of to have a non-government member serve as Speaker,” she wrote. “In part I am doing this to see a return to the role of a non-partisan Speaker. A Speaker attending daily caucus meetings sends a mixed message. As well, it would help to have a Speaker who has served in Opposition and understands the challenges, especially with a combined opposition of 25.

“My eight years of experience as Official Opposition House Leader should serve me well, but mostly I just love parliamentary process,” she added.

Ms. Blakeman would be a great Speaker, I suspect, but her chances are probably not as good as they might have been if the seat count in the House had been closer after Tuesday. The odds are against her succeeding.

Still, the vote’s theoretically an open one and a candidate without the premier’s enthusiastic approval has won before. That victor was Mr. Kowalski himself, in 1997, who apparently did not have a fan in then-premier Ralph Klein but nonetheless defeated Mr. Klein’s choice for the job, Glen Clegg.

I heard Mr. Zwozdesky’s name come up for the first time in this connection yesterday morning on CBC radio, which in its wisdom hasn’t bothered to post an online link. He’s apparently campaigning for the job too. As a natural conciliator, someone who knows all the Parliamentary ropes – the former choir conductor was first elected as a Liberal in 1993 – Mr. Zwozdesky would also make a terrific Speaker.

By the way, Mr. Zwozdesky was also a professional Ukrainian dancer for a while, and you have to think that would help in a job like keeping order in the Legislature!

As for Mr. Cao (who has a much nicer voice than you’d think from this clip), he’s a bit of a dark horse in this race, but he is Deputy Speaker, so he has to be considered. His Wikipedia biography says he was born in North Vietnam but escaped on an American helicopter from the southern city of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War. He came to Calgary in 1976 by way of California.

Like Mr. Zwozdesky, Mr. Cao is a conciliator and has a track record as the deputy in the Speaker’s chair. Like Ms. Blakeman, however, he’s probably a long shot if he’s even interested in the job.

Then there’s Mr. Campbell. The fact I’m writing this in his riding is purely coincidental. He’s a former official of the United Mine Workers Union and he was the PC caucus whip under former premier Ed Stelmach. His Wikipedia biography is startlingly uninformative.

Mr. Campbell is no dummy. But he’s not a warm and fuzzy kind of guy like Mr. Zwozdesky or Mr. Cao, and if you don’t count his once being a “union boss,” he doesn’t have oppositional experience like Ms. Blakeman. He strikes me as the kind of MLA who would continue Mr. Kowalski’s partisan approach to being Speaker.

So, this being Alberta, that likely means he has the inside track for the job.

This post also appears on Rabble.ca.