Alberta's new cabinet has been announced...
Ed Stelmach (Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville) - Premier, President of Executive Council, Chair of Agenda and Priorities, Vice-Chair of Treasury BoardDefinitely some interesting picks that caught me off guard... thoughts?
Lloyd Snelgrove (Vermilion-Lloydminster) - President of the Treasury Board, Minister of Service Alberta, (Minister Responsible for Personnel Administration Office)
Doug Horner (Spruce Grove-Sturgeon-St. Albert) - Minister of Advanced Education and Technology
Iris Evans (Sherwood Park) - Minister of Employment, Immigration and Industry
Mel Knight (Grande Prairie-Smoky) - Minister of Energy
Dave Hancock (Edmonton-Whitemud) - Minister of Health and Wellness, Government House Leader
Ray Danyluk (Lac La Biche-St. Paul) - Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Ron Liepert (Calgary-West) - Minister of Education
Janis Tarchuk (Banff-Cochrane) - Minister of Children's Services
Rob Renner (Medicine Hat) - Minister of Environment, Deputy Government House Leader
George Groeneveld (Highwood) - Minister of Agriculture and Food
Lyle Oberg (Strathmore-Brooks) - Minister of Finance
Luke Ouellette (Innisfail-Sylvan Lake) - Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation
Ron Stevens (Calgary-Glenmore ) - Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Deputy Government House Leader
Greg Melchin (Calgary-North West) - Minister of Seniors and Community Supports
Guy Boutilier (Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo) - Minister of International, Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Relations
Ted Morton (Foothills-Rocky View) - Minister of Sustainable Resource Development
Fred Lindsay (Stony Plain) - Solicitor General and Minister of Public Security
Hector Goudreau (Dunvegan-Central Peace) - Minister of Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture
Props to the anonymous commentor with the press release link...
Posts
47 comments:
Hmm. Guess I was wrong about Harvey. Too bad.
First impressions:
- Lyle Oberg in Finance? WTF?!
- Rob Renner continues the long tradition of environment ministers who don't really care that much about the environment.
- Ted in Sustainable Resource Development should be interesting.
- Geez, why did Ed keep Boutilier?! And he put him in intergovernmental... is this the face you want representing Alberta to the rest of the world?
The rest doesn't look bad. Hancock in health should work well.
Also, Dave and Ted are on Agenda & Priorities together. I'd like to be a fly on that wall...
It seems like there is a definite lack of Edmonton MLAs present. I wonder if leaving Gene Zwozdesky out will cause him to retire? If so the opposition parties will try very hard in Edmonton - Mill Creek come the next election.
Look at the order of precidence.
1 -Premier
2 -Treasury
3 -Advanced Ed
4 -Employment
5 -Energy
12 -Finance (Lyle Oberg)
Ouch.
well let the reign of the Jeb Clampett government start...
"Anonymous said...
Also, Dave and Ted are on Agenda & Priorities together. I'd like to be a fly on that wall...
Friday, December 15, 2006 9:40:43 AM "
Anon, where did you get that info?
Anonymous said...
"well let the reign of the Jeb Clampett government start... "
Sorry Jim, er... anonymous. Yes, what will we do without a "sophisticated urbanite" in charge?
Boutilier needed the boost because if he were left out his seat would be lost in the next election.
However, I still wouldn't have put him in Intergovernmental....
Cardinal, Calahasen and Dunford are nowhere to be found in any of the committees.
This cabinet is bad for (a) Calgary and (b) women.
Considering the big problem voters had with Dinning was the possible result of a government that is too Calgary-centric and Stelmach's promise to represent rural Alberta better in Cabinet, it's not that bad. Many pundits predicted three Calgarians in Cabinet and they're there.
Anonymous said...
"This cabinet is bad for (a) Calgary and (b) women. "
Give me a break. Calgary bears out very well. Morton and Groeneveld are just outside Calgary and could arguably be included. Edmonton is down to just Hancock - good, because Zwoz was a putz.
Anonymous 10:22:46 AM - Why don't you put try putting a post together that actually contributes, instead of these one-line whines. What next, Gary Mar is out, so the cabinet is bad for Chinese? Cenaiko out, so cabinet is bad for ex-cops.
Enough of my rant. Bout is an interesting pick, since Aboriginals are also in that portfolio now. Northern minister is appropriate, given the large aboriginal populations there and the need to recruit people from that population segment to the workforce. I think Bout will have to step up, or he will be out.
Okay, I'm leaning towards thinking about taking off the anonymous comment option. At least post as "Anonymous Joe" or "Anonymous 1". You can even make up a name.
It looks Ed took the kids who can't swim and through them in the deep end...question is whether they get water wings or not.
Oberg in Finance? What a horse, er, laugh!
L.A. Observer
List of DMs:
http://www.gov.ab.ca/acn/200612/2090786F1369B-FC11-FFC5-0B9C6FB70F6271C0.html
(Probably not very interesting to anyone outside of the bureaucracy.)
Berta, can you just eliminate anon, but keep blogger and other.
What do the Morton people think about the role Ted was given? I've looked at the Ministry online and it's really hard to determine if there is any real substance to the porfolio, i.e. it could have easily been combined with energy.
How important are the positions on those main committees? I know Morton and Hancock are on one together - it seems like these people will have the ear of the Premier at these meetings.
I strongly oppose eliminating anonymous posting. You take the good with the bad - Daveberta readers are smart enough to filter out the crap, and you'd lose my pointed, piercing, pithy (and perhaps perplexing) insight!
I'm interested to see how a farmer is going to handle tourism and arts. It will certainly be a different spin on how its been handled in the past.
I'm not a Morton person but I think it's interesting he was given the minister of SRD post. SRD is in charge of managing all of Alberta's public lands. Since Ted Morton is likely opposed to the idea of any type of government ownership, it'll be interesting to see how he handles this ministry.
there are 20 PC MLA's from Calgary and only 3 of the made it to the cabinet table. What a smack against Calgary! Canada's fastest growing city is not being even closely represented as much as it half should. Is Stelmach writing off Calgary? Or is he just taking advantage of Calgarians blind-tory loyalty?
Welcome to Ed's World.
Where rural Alberta rules all.
Using the "other" label is still an anonymous post. For example, my name is not really eric - but I use that name so others can easily respond to my posts.
bryan,
There is only one MLA that directly resides in Edmonton that is in cabinet, so quit complaining. Iris is close in Sherwood Park, and Horner is from St. Albert. So let's say three for Edmonton. I'm positively gleeful that Zwozdesky wasn't kept in just to count another so-called Edmonton "urban" seat.
With respect to Calgary, well Morton actually lives there, despite representing Foothills-Rocky (add one to Calgary's total), and Groeneveld is right next door to him in Highwood. Banff (Janis Tarchuk) is not exactly far away, and half of Calgary lives in Banff on weekends anyway.
From the tone of many comments, frankly I detect a lot of anti-rural feelings of superiority among the urbanites. Time to come down off the mountain folks. If the people selected don't do well, they will replaced. I don't hear anyone complaining that Ron Liepert (Jim Dinning's strongest MLA supporter and rumoured choice for chief of staff) was added to cabinet.
Generally speaking, I like the new cabinet on first impressions. Mix of old and new. Stelmach didn't squander scarce cabinet seats on MLAs who are going to retire soon anyway (McClellan) or should retire (Lund). Don't forget. Unlike Dinning (NOT A CURRENT MLA), and even Morton (2yrs as MLA), Stelmach served with some of these people for a long time, and presumably knows where some hidden gems are, and who are the lightweights.
There was a general feeling among Albertans that government was too Calgary-centric, and that's one reason why voters picked Stelmach over Dinning. There were seven MLAs from Calgary in Cabinet before, and three now... so they are still well-represented without being overpowering.
Calgary is one of the fastest-growing cities in Canada for sure, however, it's not the only city in Alberta. And the rural Albertans deserve to have their voices heard as well. I think Stelmach did a pretty good job of injecting fresh ideas and energy into Cabinet (which was his goal) and "not leaving anyone out" (also his goal to have Alberta represented geographically in Cabinet).
Docsanchez,
The portfolio is Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture. There's more involved than just "art and tourism", which there's nothing to say that an urbanite would know more about these issues than a farmer anyway.
If he's surrounded by a good Deputy Minister and knowledgable Assistant Deputy Ministers (which he undoubtedly will be) he should be able to do his job just fine.
Hang on - rural Alberta has 2 times as many cabinet ministers as the urban areas! Even if we add Groeneveld & Morton as "Urban" that's 12 to 8!
Less than 1/3 of the population with 3/5's of the power base. That's not whining, that's fact.
I can only assume that Premier Stelmach is trying to stem the advance of the Alberta Alliance. Result - Alliance will still win seats in rural Alberta and the Liberals will be much more successful.
Does anyone know what Dinning's next move is?
Of course Dinning will not run. His selfish pursuit to power is over.
"Carter said...
Hang on - rural Alberta has 2 times as many cabinet ministers as the urban areas! Even if we add Groeneveld & Morton as "Urban" that's 12 to 8!
Less than 1/3 of the population with 3/5's of the power base. That's not whining, that's fact."
Carter,
I have no objection to your math. I merely think that pro-rating cabinet postings by population of residence is not the only consideration to make - and to go out further on a limb, I don't think it is the most important consideration (so says someone who lives in Calgary). Trying to achieve "balance" is difficult at best, impossible at worst, because one person's sense of balance will differ from anothers.
Take Brian Mason's silly (IMHO) comment from today that the Stelmach government underrepresents women, minorities, etc. Damn - too bad we didn't have a black-jewish-lesbian-educated-in-a-residential-school to slot in ;-)
Yes, we have a rep by pop political system. And this is already well taken care of when constituency boundaries are drawn, with the result that one person represents an area larger than many U.S. states. Who says cabinet needs to be done on this basis?
A Law of Large Numbers certainly applies. If you had a very large number to work with, you could achieve percentage balance a little more easily. With 18 cabinet seats, this is pretty difficult to do. Better to pick the people whom you feel would do a good job, and leave other considerations secondary. If they screw up, punt them.
lena,
I'm aware of the ministry title. I was however pointing out the two parts that the new minister may have the biggest challenge with. I'm sure there are just as many parks and hockey teams in his riding as any in the province. His resume shows he has some experience in these areas. I am not sure though what percentage of tourists when contemplating a trip to Alberta list a visit to Central Peace as #1 on the do list or how many million dollar opera companies he's used to working with in Falher.
More to the point, if he is relying on deputy ministers to be his "knowledge" of the issues then surly there was someone better for the job. Following this logic, why have an election at all.
I too am sure "he'll do his job just fine". But I'm hoping Stelmach is striving for more that just that.
My only point was that there is a bevy of people involved with leading a ministry, not just the minister. Yes, the minister is in charge, but he or she has other experts around them for advice.
And, if you look at the bios of the MLAs, it's not like there is a wide variety of opera-singing-artists-who-snowboard-in-Banff to choose from. Nearly everyone else is about as qualified as Goudreau for the position.
As for one of the earlier comments re: Dinning, Dinning has already said that he has no inclination of being an MLA. Basically, he wants control or nothing, he didn't win the top seat, so he'll settle for nothing.
And, it's not like he's touting Central Peace as a tourist hot spot, just because you don't live in an tourist destination doesn't mean you don't know anything about tourism in general. ... same with arts and culture.
lena,
I suppose Goudreau does say he "enjoys travelling, fishing, curling, reading and farming" in his official bio. I guess that makes him more qualified than many others to head Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture - most of the other MLAs appear to enjoy committees more than anything else.
I enjoy money maybe I could be minister of finance... ;)
I said he's just as, it's not like there are other MLAs particularly qualified, so why harp on him? That's all.
This discussion is over because it's not getting us anywhere. We each have our opinions and that's the beauty of democracy... we don't have to agree.
All I'm saying is give him a chance before you knock him. If in six months he's proving to be absolutely awful as a Minister, then you can say all the bad things you like.
While he may not be your choice, or my choice, for that portfolio, Stelmach must have seen something in him to make him confident in his abilities.
Oberg at Finance - The first budget speech should be very interesting. No one likes the finance guy, so it fits well for Oberg. Whether he knows anything about economics is another matter.
Mar out of cabinet - This is one of the bright lights in my opinion and now he is a dim bulb.
Farmer in charge of tourism and culture - Do you think the Tories really care about this portfolio anyway? Maybe tourism, but culture?
Morton - He will be absolutely free to create havoc if things dont go his way.
Hancock at Health - I listened to a speech Dave gave in the last election and I nearly fell asleep it was so cautious. If he did anything dramatic it would surprise me entirely.
I agree, there's a reason Tourism, Culture etc. is at the bottom of the list... it's just not a priority of the Tories.
Also, the new Treasury Board is far more important than Finance, Stelmach articulated this himself, so Oberg's portfolio may seem like a big deal initially but it's pretty far down there in the hierarchy of things.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Order of Precedence based entirely on when each person became a Minister or MLA?
TiH: I don't think so. For example, this is only Doug Horner's second term, and he's listed above Oberg, who was first elected in '93.
Kit Rowley, Balzac, Alberta - Calgary has for too long dominated Cabinet - Bronconnier has denied water to the MD Rocky View with the support of the Calgary "mafioso"; perhaps now we can get consideration.
I'm a Conservative voter in Calgary and I'm disgusted that Calgarians are getting punished for not supportig Ed Stelmach and his rural cabal of white men. I've always vote PC but am seriously thinking otherwise for the next election. Calgarians elected TWENTY PC representatives in the last election and now all we get is THREE CABINET MINISTERS?
Now that farmer Eddie is Premier, the Liberals aren't looking so bad!
As a somewhat new Edmontonian, I've long wondered this, and perhaps some people who gripe about a Calgary bias in the Klein days can illuminate me:
Seriously speaking, HOW, exactly, has the Klein government favoured Calgary? And how would Dinning's government do the same? Or is this just a Flames-suck myth?
nathan k: you might be angry but I'm guessing you'll never vote in a Taft-led liberal government. The PCs will get more seats this time around.
So Cenaiko is out, what could you expect from a Dinning supporter who
was part of the CHR when Dinning was chair?Now what is going to happen to Cenaiko's ex Calgary Police buddies
who hold all the executive posts in his Ministry?
It doesn't matter through he will be outed by Hehr in the next election anyway.
test to try and fix the page...
fix the page?
Say goodbye to BIG CALGARY AND THE CALGARY MAFIA! The most powerful calgarians in this cabinet is Ron Liepert at #7! And he's a Dinning crony! The other competant calgarians in this cabinet are Stevens and Melchin and they are at teh bottom of the list with Arts and Culture!
*does the Ted Morton gets the third weakest porfolio dance*
"Aren't you doing the electric slide?"
"Nope! The Progressive Slide!
... dear god i'm lame..."
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