My Thoughts On Premier Redford's Calgary Town Hall Meeting January 28, 2013

  As part of her commitment to continuing the 2013 budget "conversation" with Albertans, I had the good fortune to attend a unique "town hall" style meeting today at the McDougall Centre in downtown Calgary, featuring Premier Redford as the speaker. There was about 50-60 people in attendance, from many different parts of Calgary and I was pleased that the Premier took some tough questions and answered them very well.   

  Naturally, the main focus of the conversation surrounded the upcoming 2013 budget and where the government is looking to go over the next few years.  While she couldn't release specifics ( it will be in the budget, she joked...) about the line items, the government is looking at all cost saving options and will release a long term budgeting plan based on more stable revenue models.  She did confirm that there were no new taxes coming ( including sales taxes) and that the government would not be bringing back the Alberta Health Care premiums.  When asked about the AHC premiums, I loved her answer "it could raise +/- $1BB dollars....but that is not going to solve our problems."

  I also like that she stated "there are no sacred cows" in this budget.  Every department is being reviewed and while she hinted that there would be no "straight across the board cuts" this year, there is a long term budget plan that will be released in detail when the budget is released in March.  Based on the tone, it would appear that they are serious about getting their financial house in order starting immediately.

  While many people were frustrated at the lack of details in the Premier's TV address last week, I think that the government is finally understanding the importance of communication with Albertans.  These town hall meetings, the telephone townhall tonight and the online forums will allow people to share their thoughts, which is something rather unique and refreshing in Alberta politics.  For too long, it has been a one way conversation in this province.

  Like many Albertans, I will be watching the budget on March 7, but more importantly, I want to see solid planning going forward.  I think that Albertans are getting weary over continued budget deficits and are looking for long term leadership and practical solutions to the budget issues going forward.  This budget and long term plan will set the tone for the next few years and will follow PCAA into the next election, for better or worse.  And as a fiscal conservative, I am not sure how much more I can personally take.

Alberta "Illegal" Political Donations? Much Ado About Nothing

   Over the past few weeks, it has become clear that the Wildrose Party can sense that all of their hard work over the past few years is looking more and more like it will all be for nothing.  In order to try and maintain some sense of publicity, they have been trying to create some controversy over some of the donations received by the PCAA.  It seems that every week, the WRP has continued to try and stoke the imaginary fire by feigning outrage over some disputed donations to local PCAA fundraising events, thereby trying to create a false image of  PCAA"corruption". 

  While I take financial contribution laws very seriously, the recent stories that the WRP are questioning do not appear to be the big issue that they would like it to be.  ( I guess they subscribe to the old theory that if you throw enough crap at the wall, you hope something sticks....)




I had a great discussion with a reader this week, who pretty much summed up the scenario nicely below....
Here is their basic explanation of how the PC's can accept "illegal donations" without doing anything wrong.

Scenario 1:

 "John works for MRU. He gets an emailed invitation from his local MLA (a volunteer working on BEHALF of the MLA, actually), along with 5,000 other constituents who the MLA has email addresses for. John buys a ticket to a local PC golf tournament with his personal credit card. While he's there, he talks about PSE with several cabinet ministers, for a minute or two at a time, over the course of the day. John submits his credit card bill to MRU to be reimbursed, as he feels he was advocating on behalf of his employer. MRU sends John a cheque for his expense. Opposition parties scream bloody murder. PC's are guilty of hosting a fundraiser, and taking John's personal credit card number. Their interaction with John ended there."

Scenario 2:

"Suzy is a local town councillor. She holds a fundraising dinner every year, and every year her PC MLA comes out to support her, paying with his own credit card. The MLA is very popular locally, and Suzy thinks he's likely to cruise to another victory in the next election. She gets a phone call from a volunteer, who has already called 52 people today on the MLA's list of identified supporters, asking if she's interested in coming to the MLA's Silent Auction. She feels she should, since the MLA supports her own fundraiser every year, and she gives the volunteer her credit card. Suzy goes, has a great time, and uses her presence there to advocate for local civic issues with the MLA and his guest, the Minister of Municipal Affairs. Later that month, she submits the expense to the City Clerk's office, who pays her back the amount charged on her personal card. Opposition goes nuts. Those Banana Republic, democracy-hating, corrupt PC's solicited an illegal donation. From someone identified on the MLA's list as "Suzie", who gave her personal credit card number to attend a public event with 500 other local residents. It only became illegal when the clerk paid her back the amount - had the expense been rejected by the City Clerk's office, absolutely nothing would have been done wrong.

This seems pretty straightforward to me and unfortunately for the Wildrose Party, a scandal this does not make. 

  I also believe that if the donation form clearly states that the party cannot accept funds from town/city councils, school boards and/or unions, then the onus is on the individual donating to ensure that they comply.  If they go back and ask for reimbursement after paying for these events in their own name, how can any party verify and check this?  If any improper donations do make it through the cracks, then I agree that the funds should be returned immediately.   I think that the Alberta government needs to revise and strengthen the rules ( along the guidelines that the federal political parties must follow under Elections Canada rules) to ensure that compliance is followed.  The Elections Canada rules are so strict that it makes it very simple to understand what types of donations can be accepted. 

  While I have a lot of good friends in the Wildrose Party, this desperate attempt to revive a dying PR campaign just appears petty.  Show me some willful intent by the PCAA to hide donations or cheat the system, and I will gladly join the outraged crew.  Apart from a dynamic leader, a handful of good candidates and some vague policies, the WRP is just showing the citizens of Alberta what really is important to them.  Albertans want to see solutions to the issues that matter to them ( health care, the economy etc.)  and this frankly is not one of them. 

 I really hope that this issue will serve to help firm up the political fundraising rules in Alberta going forward. 

Why I'm Supporting Ric McIver in the Calgary Hays PC Nomination

  As a longtime follower of provincial politics and a resident of Calgary Hays, I am excited about the upcoming nomination contest to see who will be the next PC candidate for our area.  Party nomination campaigns are an important example where local residents can really be part of the grassroots democratic process and have their say on who their party candidate will be in the next election.

 Due to the provincial electoral boundary changes, Calgary Hays will be split into two separate riding's once the writ is dropped for the next provincial election.  The "new" Calgary Hays riding will consist of the following neighborhoods: Douglasdale, Douglasglen, Quarry Park, McKenzie Towne and Mckenzie Lake.   Due to the fact that this is a new electoral boundary, the PCAA will be holding a candidate nomination contest to determine who will be the next representative for the PC party in the provincial election.

 I have been on the Calgary Hays PCAA board since 2008 and these nomination battles are always tough on the organization, but necessary for transparency and democracy.  It is hard to see a group of people split on who they would like to support, but that is a necessary part of the democratic process.

Declared Candidates

Art Johnston

 Art Johnston has been the MLA for this area since 2004. 

 Earlier this spring, Art decided to run for the nomination of the other newly created riding of Calgary Southeast, but narrowly lost that contest to newcomer Rick Fraser.  ( See post here... http://www.calgaryrants.com/2011/05/calgary-mla-art-johnson-loses-pc.html )

Ric McIver

Ric had represented this area as the City of Calgary Ward 12 Alderman for nine years.  He is a longtime member and volunteer for the PCAA.




Here are some of my thoughts on the nomination race and why I am supporting Ric McIver.....





The nomination vote will take place at the Deerfoot Inn on Monday, December 5, 2011 from 4-8PM.

To be eligible to vote, you must be:

• A Canadian citizen, at least 16 Years of age of older.
• Ordinarily a resident of Calgary Hays. (Douglasdale, Douglasglen, Quarry Park, McKenzie Towne and McKenzie Lake.)
• A valid member of the PCAA.  ( 2011 Memberships are available at the door.)
• Be sure to bring two pieces of ID, to confirm residence in the area.
  

If you would like to volunteer with Ric or buy a membership to support him, please contact Ric here.

Best of luck to all of the candidates!  This will be an interesting race to watch.