The Wildrose Alliance Party has set its sights on Alberta's Progressive Conservative government and the fiscal mismanagement that has led to a record deficit during the current economic downturn:
Please Lord, Give us 1 more chance and we promise we won’t vote
Stelmach again!
This title is a variant of the famous bumper sticker of the 1980’s that
asked for one more boom so we wouldn’t screw it up again. It appears that
our Stelmach PC’s have. This time, Albertans do have a choice and that is
the Wildrose Alliance!
A have not Province is what Alberta now is. Our Finance Minister has gone
cap in hand to the Federal government begging for “$220 million more, sir”.
This is an embarrassment for a Province with the gusher of resource wealth
that has been frittered away with wasteful spending on items such as new
logos, studies on license plates, and secret MLA pay raises.
If spending had been kept in check at the rate of population growth and
inflation the Province would have a multi-billion surplus allowing the
Province to capitalize on lower costs at low points in the economic cycle
rather than spending the most at high points.
Economic sensitivities for the Province are in the extreme and show the
Stelmach PC’s for what they are: kids with a credit card they don’t think
they ever have to pay off. Their projected deficit for the current fiscal
year left them with a slight operating surplus but a significant deficit
when factoring in capital projects such as roads, schools, and hospitals.
With the poor economic environment, and factoring in current energy prices
of $67/bbl for oil, $3.30/mcf for gas, and a $.91 C$, this works out to a
budget deficit of $7.3 billion. Given that the Stelmach PC’s were figuring
it would be $4.7 billion, this is cause for concern! With gas inventories
expect to reach record levels in November this year, it does not appear
that gas prices will come to save the day.
It is also important to note that while oil and gas prices were hitting
new highs in 2008, economic growth was falling off sharply in Alberta.
Thus, the global economic collapse happened after the decline was well
under way and can only be attributed to government policy. This has led to
the loss of 51,000 jobs since December in Alberta and the highest level of
unemployment in 7 years.
Paul Hinman said, “Today we see the government admitting they bungled
their budgeting and are leading us into debt. The former sustainability
fund they used to crow about will be burned up in one year. If they keep
this up, the Heritage Fund will be gone in the next couple years. This
government needs to be sent a message that Albertas don’t want a big
spending government!”
The Wildrose Alliance believes Alberta has all the resources to put
Albertans to work. It simply is a matter of reinstating the Alberta
Advantage of low taxes, stable contracts, innovative thinking and
entrepreneurial sprit. On that note, the Wildrose Alliance would support
capital cost allowances for the construction of upgraders and refineries,
the matching grant to the City of Calgary for the airport tunnel, and the
restoration of the former Royalty Framework and Royalty Tax Credit for
small producers. These simple measures will get business investing in
Alberta and Albertans working good jobs.
After watching opposition members bashing Natural Resources Minister Lisa Raitt all day over some recently released tapes that feature the minister making some insensitive remarks, I was glad to see a common sense Western Canadian perspective on the issue from some of Canada's foremost talk radio hosts:
In a sign of what may be a major shift in Alberta politics, Premier Ed Stelmach was booed at an award ceremony in Calgary:
The catcalls were far from wide-spread, and others in the audience were applauding. But the incident was a watershed in a town that once would only whisper Ralph Klein's name in reverent awe.
It's a tough time to be a politician, whether Tory, Liberal, New Democrat or civic. Calgarians can be as tough on their city council as they are on the premier.
But Stelmach takes the roughest ride in the city that had a homeboy Tory premier for 28 of 35 years before he won the party leadership.
Vincent Li, the man found not criminally responsible for beheading Tim McLean on a Greyhound bus last summer, will be locked up for at least another year, but his incarceration will be subject to a yearly review:
Carol deDelley is absolutely right.
"This whole situation, pardon my French, has been bull----. We've never received justice throughout this whole thing and I'm not sure we're ever going to. So we'll fight for it," the mother of Tim McLean told the Winnipeg Sun Wednesday night.
Her comments followed news that Vincent Li -- who was found not criminally responsible for the brutal killing of McLean last July aboard a Greyhound bus -- will remain locked up inside a mental health ward, under heavy security, for at least another year.
John Stefaniuk, head of the Criminal Code review board that heard Li's case, also said the 40-year-old who suffers from severe schizophrenia will be heavily monitored if he should leave the facility and will be accompanied by staff workers and peace officers at all times.
The ruling is no surprise because all of these suggestions were made by Li's psychiatrist at a hearing held this week. The only other choices the board likely had were to release Li outright with no conditions, or some kind of a conditional release.
To add to the "kangaroo court" feel to this whole thing, Stefaniuk said the board is expected to take several months before even deciding if the reasons for their ruling will be made public.
The Canadian government has tabled its quarterly report on the war in Afghanistan. The report notes some signs of progress, but also highlights a deteriorating security situation.
Canada's mission in Afghanistan includes military operations, as well as diplomatic, development, and humanitarian efforts. The government was quick to highlight the areas where Canadians have made progress:
U.S. President Barack Obama attempted to "seek a new beginning" in the relationship between America and the Islamic world with a speech in Cairo on Thursday. To his credit, the president addressed many of the issues that have divided Muslims and the west, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, America's use of torture tactics, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Iran's nuclear weapons program.
Obama is a great orator and there was little doubt in my mind that he would deliver a good speech full of high-minded rhetoric. But as the old saying goes, actions speak loader than words. The true test of Obama's plan to reach out to the Muslims will be shown by his Middle East policies and not his words.
Unfortunately, more often than not, Middle East policy is a zero sum game. Iran's nuclear weapons program comes into direct conflict with Obama's naive vision of "a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons." Israel's desire for peace and security conflicts with the desire of Hamas to drive all the Jews into the sea. Likewise, Obama's goal of ending Islamic extremism does not mesh well with bin Laden's desire to wage jihad on America.
The Peace Arch crossing between Washington and B.C.
New rules came into effect Monday requiring anyone crossing the Canada-U.S. border to have a valid passport:
Both countries used to boast about sharing "the longest, undefended border in the world." It's still largely unsecured (if the electronic listening posts, night-vision security cameras and unmanned drones flying surveillance missions are not counted). But an import changeover took place yesterday: Canada became just another country to the Americans, Canadians just another group of pesky foreigners. The special treatment we afforded one for the other is gone.
Surprisingly, former U.S. President George W. Bush had no idea the new regulations were put into place. "I'll be frank with you Frank, I don't know about the passport issue," said Bush at a recent appearance in Toronto. "I thought we were making good progress on using a driver's licence to cross the border. What happened to the E-Z card?" In fact, neither of the last two occupants of the White House were aware of the changes:
Well, it's official: General Motors (GM) filed for bankruptcy protection in New York this morning. As part of its restructuring efforts, the company will take $10.5 billion from the federal and Ontario governments, representing about 16 per cent of the $59 billion bailout package. In return, Canada will get a 12 per cent share in the company, a seat on the board of directors, and will retain 16 per cent of the company's production. The American government is expected to own approximately 60 per cent of the company once the restructuring is complete.
What this all means is that North American governments have nationalized the auto industry. One could wonder whether or not they woke up this morning in the free world or post-war Czechoslovakia. It's just too bad the Canadian government sold off its stake in Petro Canada. We could have purchased our automobiles and gasoline from state owned companies.
So why did the Conservative government abandon its free market principles in favour of spending billions on corporate welfare? The move may not have been good economics, but it was politically expedient. "The government of the U.S. has made a decision it will engage in politically driven restructuring of GM," said Prime Minister Stephen Harper. "Either we participate or these companies which are big in the economy will simply be restructured out of Canada. That's not a reasonable alternative. We are committed to participating."
North Korea is continuing its effort to provoke the international community by showing outward signs of aggression. Monday's nuclear test was followed up with multiple short-range missile tests and new reports indicate that Pyongyang is preparing to test another long-range missile. North Korea's recent provocations have been widely condemned by the international community, including Russia and China, the countries historic allies.
While it would seem as though China holds enough leverage over North Korea to be a vital player in the effort to stop these weapons tests, China has historically blocked the security council from taking a strong stance against Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program and there is little reason to believe things will be different this time around.
China has numerous economic and political considerations that prevent it from taking the tough stance many other countries would like to see. China's trade with North Korea has grown considerably in the past decade, quadrupling between 1999 and 2006 to $1.6 billion annually. Aside from this trade being important to China's economy, it is even more important to the North Korean economy, which imports 90 per cent of its daily oil supply and approximately half of its food imports from China. If China were to cut off its trade with North Korea, the regime would likely collapse, which could potentially send millions of impoverished refugees into China, creating a major headache for Beijing.
The hot dogs I ate for lunch as part of my campaign to eat more meat
The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has launched a campaign to boycott Canadian maple syrup. The move is in opposition to Governor General Michaëlle Jean, who recently ate a raw seal heart while visiting Inuit people in Canada's north. That's right, Canada's head of state ate a raw seal heart and I fully support her for doing so. PETA's response to the incident was swift. A letter sent to supporters read as follows:
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