october 14, 2008 alberta federal election candidates.

Following up from my 2006 candidates list, here is a list of nominated Alberta candidates running in the October 14, 2008 Canadian Federal Election.

Last updated on October 3, 2008.

I will try to keep this list as updated as possible, so if you have knowledge of candidates that should be added feel free to post below or email me at daveberta.ca@gmail.com.

CALGARY CENTRE
Christian Heritage - John Broekema
Conservative - Lee Richardson
Green - Natalie Odd
Independent - Antony Tony Grochowski
Liberal - Heesung Kim
NDP - Tyler Kinch

CALGARY CENTRE-NORTH
Canadian Action - James Kohut
Conservative - Jim Prentice
FPNPC - Doug Dokis
Green - Eric Donovan
Liberal - Doug James
Libertarian - Jason McNeil
Marxist-Leninist - Peggy Askin
NDP - John Chan

CALGARY EAST
Communist - Jason Devine
Conservative - Deepak Obhrai
Green - Nathan Coates
Liberal - Bernie Kennedy
NDP - Ian Vaughn

CALGARY NORTHEAST
Conservative - Devinder Shory
Green - Abeed Monty Ahmad
Independent - Roger Richard
Liberal - Sanam Kang
Marxist-Leninist - Daniel Blanchard
NDP - Vinay Dey

CALGARY NOSE HILL
Conservative - Diane Ablonczy
Green - Tony Hajj
Liberal - Anoush Newman
NDP - Stephanie Sundburg

CALGARY SOUTHEAST
Conservative - Jason Kenney
Green - Margaret Chandler
Liberal - Brad Carroll
NDP - Christopher Willott

CALGARY SOUTHWEST
Christian Heritage - Larry Heather
Conservative - Stephen Harper
Green - Kelly Christie
Liberal - Marlene LaMontagne
Libertarian - Dennis Young
NDP - Holly Heffernan

CALGARY WEST
Canadian Action - Tim Cayzer
Conservative - Rob Anders (Vote out Anders)
Green - Randall Weeks
Independent - Kirk Schmidt
Liberal - Jennifer Pollock
Marxist-Leninist - Andre Vachon
NDP - Teale Phelps-Bondaroff

CROWFOOT
Conservative - Kevin Sorenson
Green - Kaity Kattenbach
Liberal - Sharon Howe
NDP - Ellen Parker

EDMONTON CENTRE
Christian Heritage - Margaret Saunter
Conservative - Laurie Hawn
Green - David Parker
Liberal - Jim Wachowich
Libertarian - Savannah Linklater
Marxist-Leninist - Peggy Morton
NDP - Donna Martyn

EDMONTON EAST
Conservative - Peter Goldring
Green - Trey Capnerhurst
Liberal - Stephanie Laskoski
NDP - Ray Martin

EDMONTON LEDUC
Conservative - James Rajotte
Green - Valerie Kennedy
Liberal - Donna Lynn Smith
Libertarian - Garet M. Wood
NDP - Hana Razga

EDMONTON MILL WOODS-BEAUMONT
Christian Heritage - George C.Y. Lam
Communist - Naomi Rankin
Conservative - Mike Lake
Green - David Allan Hrushka
Liberal - Indira Saroya
Libertarian - Tyler Beckett
NDP - Michael Butler

EDMONTON SHERWOOD PARK
Conservative - Tim Uppal
Green - Nina Erfani
Liberal - Rick Szostak
Independent - Jimmy Ford
NDP - Brian LaBelle

EDMONTON SPRUCE GROVE
Conservative - Rona Ambrose
Green - Wendy Walker
Liberal - Chris Austin
Libertarian - Wade Racine
NDP - Barb Phillips

EDMONTON STRATHCONA
Conservative - Rahim Jaffer
Green - Jane Thrall
Liberal - Claudette Roy
NDP - Linda Duncan
Marxist-Leninist - Kevan Hunter

EDMONTON ST. ALBERT
Christian Heritage - Nathan Reeves
Conservative - Brent Rathgeber
Green - Peter Johnson
Liberal - Samir Sleiman
NDP - Dave Burkhart

FORT MCMURRAY-ATHABASCA
Christian Heritage - Jake Strydhorst
Conservative - Brian Jean
FPNPC - John Malcolm
Green - Dylan Richards
Independent - Shawn Reimer
Liberal - John Webb
Libertarian - Tim Moen
NDP - Mark Voyageur

LETHBRIDGE
Christian Heritage - Geoff Capp
Conservative - Rick Casson
Green - Amanda Swager
Liberal - Michael Cormican
NDP - Mark Sandilands

MACLEOD
Christian Heritage - Marc Slingerland
Conservative - Ted Menzies
Green - Jared McCollum
Liberal - Isabel Paynter
NDP - Stan Knowlton

MEDICINE HAT
Christian Heritage - Frans VandeStroet
Conservative - LaVar Payne
Green - Kevin Dodd
Independent - David Patrick
Independent - Dean Shock
Liberal - Beverley Botter
NDP - Wally Regehr


PEACE RIVER
Canadian Action - Edwin (Ed) Siggelkow
Conservative - Chris Warkentin
Green - Jennifer Villebrun
Liberal - Liliane Maisonneuve
Libertarian - Melanie Simard
NDP - Adele Boucher Ryhms

RED DEER
Conservative - Earl Dreeshen
Green - Evan Bedford
Liberal - Garfield Marks
NDP - Stuart Somerville

VEGREVILLE - WAINWRIGHT
Conservative - Leon Benoit
Green - Will Munsey
Liberal - Adam Campbell
NDP - Raymond Stone

WESTLOCK - ST. PAUL
Christian Heritage - Sip Hofstede
Conservative - Brian Storseth
Green - Aden Murphy
Liberal - Leila Houle
NDP - Della Drury

WETASKIWIN
Canadian Action - Shawn Mann
Conservative - Blaine Calkins
Green - Les Parsons
Liberal - Rita Dillon
Libertarian - Mike Heath
NDP - Tim Robson

WILD ROSE
Conservative- Blake Richards
Green - Lisa Marie Fox
Liberal - Jenn Turcott
Libertarian - Patrick Dobbyn
NDP - Jeff Horvath

YELLOWHEAD
Canadian Action - Melissa Brade
Christian Heritage - John Wierenga
Conservative - Rob Merrifield
Green - Monika Schaefer
Liberal - Mohamed El-Rafih
NDP - Ken Kuzminski

abuzz.

The blogsphere is abuzz about Speaker Ken Kowalski's decision to eject Liberal MLA Bharat Agnihotri from the Alberta Legislature this week...

From Speaker to Speaker
Answer Bharat's Question
Not So Honest Ed
Hear no Evil
Open and Transparent?
MLA Tossed from Legislature for Questioning Government
Rules and the Knuckleheads who Break Them
transparent and honest and accountable...tory style
Alberta Tories Eject Liberal For Asking Too Many Questions

And the media buzz...

Alberta Liberal kicked out of legislature for questioning grant funds
Fireworks at the Alberta Legislature
Grit MLA Turfed
Alberta Liberal MLA tossed from Legislature
Booted MLA says sorry
MLA apologizes, allowed back into Legislature

answer the question!

Yesterday afternoon, Assembly Speaker and Tory MLA Ken Kowalski ejected Edmonton Ellerslie Liberal MLA Bharat Agnihotri from the Alberta Legislature for refusing to apologize for asking the following question of Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture Minister Hector Goudreau:

Mr. Agnihotri: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Premier, Minister of Finance, Minister of Health, Minister of Sustainable Resource Development all have secret donors to their leadership campaign. Can this minister assure this House that groups receiving this special treatment are not secret friends of top Tories?

Agnihotri probably could have asked a less loaded question, but I shudder to think what Albertans outrage would feel like had this happened to a Conservative MP in Ottawa asking a similar question to a Federal Liberal Minister. Here’s how Kowalski justified his decision:

Speaker: The question from the hon. Member for Edmonton-Ellerslie, the first one, which wasn’t dealt with, basically says, “If a group cannot raise matching funds up to $10,000, it will be considered on a nonmatching basis. However, documents tabled in this Assembly show that this government is breaking its own rules.” Well, that wasn’t even contested. There were no rules that were broken.

…political party matters are not the subject of the question period. Then the question: “Can this minister assure this House that groups receiving this special treatment” – now, the question is: what special treatment? – “are not secret friends of top Tories?” Boy, if that isn’t innuendo, you know, I must have just arrived. I’ve been here 28 years, and this is blatant innuendo.

It seems to me that two main forces collided during this moment: a poorly worded and loaded question, and a harsh ruling by the Speaker (who is also one of the most partisan Tory MLA’s in the Assembly). I think it's quite fair to say that the Speaker went way too far in this ruling. The simplist way to defuse this question would have been for Minister Goudreau to utter one word in response to Agnihotri's question: no.

But let’s look at the root of Agnihotri's question: should internal party and leadership race finances be a matter of public transparency and accountability?

On the Federal level, it is very much a matter of public accountability – both endorsed by the Federal Liberals through their electoral financing legislation and through Stephen Harper’s Conservative Government’s Accountability Act. It’s unfortunate that Alberta’s Progressive Conservative Party/Government disagrees with their federal cousins on this issue, because it is an issue of transparency and accountability – something that Premier Ed Stelmach even likes to talk about championing.

On Monday, Elections Alberta released their annual political contribution numbers:

The list of companies donating to the Tories dwarfed that of any other party in Alberta.

Energy and power giants listed include: EnCana ($10,775), TransCanada PipeLines ($12,650), Imperial Oil ($10,000), Nexen ($11,400), Atco Group ($10,650), Talisman Energy ($10,000), Suncor ($7,650), Enmax ($7,925), and Syncrude ($4,250).

Federal legislation passed last year bans contributions from corporations and unions, and caps individual donations at $1,000 to each political party. Ethics watchdogs argued the same should be introduced in Alberta.

"Donations are a means of influence," said Duff Conacher, the co-ordinator of Ottawa-based Democracy Watch, arguing donations should be disclosed as they're made to parties, rather than once a year.

"If you want to prevent corruption and waste, then you want to have a system of very restricted donations and full disclosure."

The NDP received many large union donations totaling several thousands of dollars, which helped generate party revenues of about $625,000. The Alberta Liberals, who received several donations from the oilpatch, last week reported revenues of more than $1 million in 2006.

Though we are able to see contributions to political parties - and see how incredibly large these donations are - Albertans do not have the transparency and accountability in seeing the political contributions in the races that choose their leaders. This leaves Albertans with no transparency or accountability in the races that will decide who will potentially be Alberta's Premier.

This lack of transparency and accountability leads back to the idea behind the question asked by Mr. Agnihotri: how do Albertans know that undisclosed donors from the PC Leadership campaign aren’t receiving special treatment through this program? Or any other program for that matter?

sweet sweet calgary.

Dan and I drove to Calgary this weekend to spend some time with +200 fellow politicos at the Alberta Liberals election readiness convention.

It was a good weekend and was probably one of the best organized Alberta Liberal conventions I've been to since I started going to these things way back in 2000. It was a good chance to meet with MLA's, candidates, and other volunteers from across Alberta. Other than the training sessions, there were some good speeches from Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft, Mount Royal College Political Science Professor Keith Brownsey, and other MLA's- rallying the troops, etc.

I also had the chance to meet both Liberal candidates nominated to run in the upcoming by-elections: Craig Cheffins from Calgary Elbow and Tom Dooley from Drumheller-Stettler.

In Calgary Elbow, Craig Cheffins - former President of the Lakeview Community Association and Work Experience Coordinator for the Bachelor of Applied Justice Studies program at Mount Royal College - will be facing PC candidate Brian Heninger - longtime President of Heninger Toyota - and it's shaping up to be a fight with both candidates having a chance of taking this riding.

Other nominated candidates include Alberta Green Party leader George Read and Trevor Grover - sacraficial lamb from the Social Credit Party.

Calgary Elbow will be a litmus test to gauge rural-based Ed Stelmach's curb appeal in Calgary. This comes only months after Stelmach's near shut out of the Jim-Dinning-loyalist-Calgary-Tory caucus from his cabinet in December.

In Drumheller-Stettler, Liberal candidate Tom Dooley - rancher and former County Councillor - has been nominated. As for the Tories, municipal consultant Jack Hayden is making his move. Other nominated candidates in Drumheller-Stettler include Socred Larry Davidson and Alberta Green Jennifer Wigmore.

This riding was Shirley McClellan's stronghold for 20 years - which she won in a by-election in 1987 following the death of longtime Tory Minister Henry Kroeger. Though it's much more likely that Calgary Elbow will be the more competitive race, weirder things have happened - in a 1992 by-election, Liberal Don MacDonald was elected in the Tory strong-hold of Three Hills a landslide with 26% margin. Even if the Liberals don't win in Drumheller-Stettler, a strong second place finish in a deep rural riding like this one would boost momentum for Kevin Taft's Liberals in rural Alberta.

With both major parties putting up a full court press for these seats it should be an exciting summer!

rabid partisans.

Idealistic Pragmatist has a good post on her feelings towards partisanship and a recent visit to Edmonton by NDP MP Nathan Cullen.

I share many of IP's feelings towards blind rabid partisaness.

just go and build a new city...

I've been up all night re-writing a paper that I originally finished writing a week ago.

I didn't like the original copy, so I decided to re-write it last night. All night.

In other news... don't like the city you live in? Build another one!

New city rising
Highrise, pedestrian-friendly urban community planned for Strathcona County
Susan Ruttan, The Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON - A new city with highrise apartments and pedestrian-friendly streets is going to be built in Strathcona County.

The city will be built from scratch on farmland west of Highway 21 and north of the Yellowhead Highway. It could eventually grow to 200,000 people, said Cynthia Cvik, the county's long-range planning co-ordinator.

on tenterhooks.

How exciting was this to watch? I was on tenterhooks all night watching the seesawing motion of seats and votes between the Parti Liberal Quebec and the Action Democratique Quebec. I was in Montreal during the 2003 provincial election (hanging out in Russell Copeman's Notre Dame-de-Grace riding) and I don't think that election came close to how tense this one ended up becoming.

I'm not going to pretend I understand Quebec Provincial politics, so I'm going to refrain from offering any sort of indepth analysis. That said, I don't think it can be understated how big of an impact this realignment of the PLQ-ADQ-Parti Quebecois shift will have on Quebec and National politics. Does Mario Dumont's ADQ's Official Opposition speed up the Federal Election timeline? Will Premier Jean Charest survive Quebec's first minority government since 1878? What does third place mean for Andre Boisclair and the Parti Quebecois?

jim who?

Oh yeah, that guy...

Defeated former Tory Dauphin-child Jim Dinning released a list of the names of individuals and corporations who contributed to his failed Alberta PC leadership bid in Fall 2006.

Though it's only a partial list that doesn't specify individual contribution amounts, it's a huge list that totals over $1.7 million in donations to Team Dinning.

where to from here?

It's a balmy +4C here in Edmonton and in case there were any doubts I believe (*hope*) that Spring is here to stay!

A couple of things...

- Over the past couple months, Public Interest Alberta has released a number of discussion documents on some hot topics in Alberta.

This week, PIA released it's Post-Secondary Education plan - Where to from Here: A Vision and Plan for Post-secondary Education in Alberta and it lays out some solid recommendations for how to improve the affordability, accessibility, and quality of Alberta's post-secondary system. Democratic Renewal in Alberta: A Public Interest Alberta Discussion Paper is another hard hitting democratic reform document that PIA released a couple of months ago.

You can also check out policychannel.com to watch an interview with PIA Chairman Larry Booi.

- The Federal Budget. It seems federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is fairly pleased with himself for fixing the fiscal imbalance. Unfortunately for Minister Flaherty, a number of folks on the otherside of the "imbalance" tend to disagree.

- The Quebec Provincial Election is on Monday. I'll be spending a month or more in Quebec over the Summer, so I'll be watching this one with interest (I was actually in Montreal during the 2003 Quebec Provincial Election).

It should be close as poll after poll have shown the three main parties within striking distance of each other!

- And for you fans of election debates, this is for you!

joe clark encounters of the random kind.

It's been quite the busy couple days!

- First of all, last Friday I took part in a political panel on blogging and 'new media' held by the Alberta Teacher's Association Political Action Committee (other panelists included Nicole Martel, Duncan, and Ken). There were some very interesting conversations that occuredand I wish the conversations could have gone longer (even though we went over our time by 30 minutes). But it was an interesting and engaging morning anyway! (Allie took pictures!)

- Duncan and I bumped into Joe Clark yesterday morning. Even more random is that it happened in a hallway in the Alberta Legislature Building. I'm happy to report that former Prime Minister Clark had a jump in his step and gave us a joyful "hey guys!"

Very random.

- I have yet to take an indepth look at the Federal Budget, so I'll save my comments for when I do.

- Election mania! The Federal Liberals are catching up with the wave by nominating a rash of candidates in Edmonton ridings in the next couple weeks in Edmonton Strathcona, Edmonton Centre, and Edmonton Mill Woods-Beaumont. I'll be posting a list reminicent of my 2006 elections tracker in the near future.

pse in qp.

I thought I'd post this a series of great questions asked by MLA Gene Zwozdesky (PC-Edmonton Mill Creek) during yesterday's Question Period in the Alberta Legislature.

Affordability of Postsecondary Education
Mr. Zwozdesky: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Everyone recognizes the value of having a postsecondary education and what a tremendous asset it is in our knowledge-based economy and our knowledge-based society. Earlier today I had a very informative meeting with three representatives from CAUS, the Council of Alberta University Students, who are with us still in the gallery as I speak and who raised several important points that pertain to university students and to those who hope to be university students. My questions are to the Minister of Advanced Education and Technology. With essential living costs and all other costs on the rise, what are you doing to reduce or at least address financial barriers that university students, and others for that matter, are facing as they pursue . . .

The Speaker: The hon. minister.

Mr. Horner: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Making postsecondary education affordable is a priority for this government – affordability, accessibility. In November of 2006 we released the affordability framework, which had a great deal of consultation not only with students but with other stakeholders in the system. We’ve rolled back tuition to 2004, and we’ve limited increases to the Alberta consumer price index, which I think was something that was supported in large measure by all stakeholders. That’s about 3.3 per cent this year. Without those changes, students would have faced tuition fees anywhere from 6 to 11 per cent this year. An undergrad-uate student would save over $ 3,800 over the four years.

The Speaker: The hon. member.

Mr. Zwozdesky: Thank you. When will your ministry return so-called tuition fees principles back to legislation, an action that will surely lessen the load of any possible tuition fee increases in the future?

Mr. Horner: Well, Mr. Speaker, it’s not necessarily true that it would lessen the load of any possible increases in the future because the process would be very similar. What we’re saying is that putting it into the regulation enabled us to do exactly what I just talked about in my previous answer, and it enabled us to do it very quickly. I can commit to the students of this province and I can commit to the stakeholders of this province that we have no intention of making any changes without very extensive consultation with them and with members of government and members of the opposition.

The Speaker: The hon. member.

Mr. Zwozdesky: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To the same minister: from an infrastructure point of view how do you intend to provide a better balance for undergraduate facility improvements and expan-sions and so on in comparison with graduate facilities, research, and advanced research facilities?

Mr. Horner: Well, Mr. Speaker, again, a very good question and, I know, one that is on the minds of the student population. We had a meeting this morning with CAUS, and I’ve met with a number of the stakeholders in the industry or in the system about the Campus Alberta approach. Really, narrowing down into what the roles, responsibilities, and mandates are of each institution within that Campus Alberta approach and managing the growth pressures to build a stronger Alberta and a stronger Campus Alberta for all students and all stakeholders, we will come up with a collaborative, co-operative approach to making sure that we have a balance to our capital in all of those institutions.

yeah. so.

Oh, budget time... this was in my email box tonight...

"The long, tiring, unproductive era of bickering between the provincial and federal governments is over." Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, on the fiscal imbalance provisions of his budget today. [Umm... how about I buy him a beer if that is true in one year, and he can buy me one if some bickering occurs over equalization before then.]

Earlier today: "This is clearly a promise broken," Calvert said. "It's clearly a betrayal of a promise that was made not to the government of Saskatchewan but to the people of Saskatchewan." [Hmm... I already win!]

Also, I had a meeting with Finance Minister Lyle Oberg today. I didn't ask him what his thoughts on equalization and natural resource revenues were today...

oberqualization.

It looks like the Edmonton Journal has finally picked up on the story that Premier Ed Stelmach and Finance Minister Lyle Oberg are still on different pages when attempting to determine where the Alberta Tories stand on the equalization issue.

EDMONTON - In the ever-delicate dance of federal-provincial relations, Premier Ed Stelmach and Finance Minister Lyle Oberg are having trouble determining who gets to lead.

Both men insisted Thursday they are not out of step with each other on how the Harper Conservatives should fix the so-called fiscal imbalance.

"I'm telling you, there's no rift," the premier said Thursday.

However, each lists a different priority on the issue, and lines up with different allies.

Although some would say that this is part of a larger strategy of softening the blow when one-half of the Alberta Tories don't get what they want from federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's budget (due to be released on Monday), I tend to think that nearly ANY other strategy would be better.

It hasn't been uncommon for Lyle Oberg to deliver a message extrememly different than his boss - which lends credence to Don Braid's observations in today's Calgary Herald - but in terms of optics, if a Premier and a Finance Minister continue to publicly disagree on an issue that they feel is this important, it doesn't exactly send out images of a greatly united Alberta PC caucus and cabinet (which may or may not be the case).

On a more legislative note, over 20 peices of legislation have been introduced by the Tories and Liberals in the first week of the Spring 2007 session of the Alberta Legislature.

ANYBODY but anders.

I was having a conversation about Rob Anders about an hour before I saw this online... bizarre...

the alberta equalization contradiction.

As Nic has pointed out, the media has picked up on the equalization contradiction that I posted about earlier this week.

The Globe & Mail reported today:

OTTAWA -- Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach's office is overruling his Finance Minister and declaring that the province still opposes a controversial revamp the Harper government has planned for Canada's equalization formula.

It is a blow to Ottawa's hopes that opposition is dying down over a proposed new method of calculating federal payouts to poorer provinces, expected to be unveiled in Monday's federal budget.

The move also could strain relations between the Harper government and Mr. Stelmach's regime, federal Conservatives warn.

I'm sure there will be more than one media outlet waiting to see what both Premier Ed Stelmach and Finance Minister Lyle Oberg each individually have to say about the equalization plan federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty lays out in his budget next week.

nothing to see here.

There's no reason why anyone would want to go to this website.

mixing messages on equalization.

Is this what happens when Cabinet Ministers don't read their daily Public Affairs Bureau talking points?

Globe & Mail — Signalling a significant shift in tone, Alberta Finance Minister Lyle Oberg says he “won't object” to a controversial revamp the Harper government has planned for Canada's equalization formula — a development that could reduce political friction for next week's federal budget.

Mr. Oberg, a member of new Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach's cabinet, said his province will not oppose the new formula, which takes into account resource revenues, as long as Ottawa pledges to fix per-capita transfer payments so that his province gets its fair share — another move expected in the budget.

But wait!

QP - March 12/07 - Mr. Stelmach: Mr. Speaker, we have a letter. When I say we, the Council of the Federation, this is all of the 10 Premiers. This letter was of course written to the then chair, the former Premier Ralph Klein, and again reiterated the position that the federal government will not include natural resource revenue in the calculation of the equalization formula. All we’re doing is that we’re going to hold the Prime Minister to that commitment.

Not that this changes much, it's just quite surprising that the Premier and the Finance Minister aren't on the same page on an issue as big as equalization (or big as some would like to make it).

fire up your legislative agendas!

The spring session of the Alberta Legislature began last week and both the Tories and Liberals have put forward their legislative agendas.

Tory Premier Ed Stelmach introduced Bill 1: The Lobbyists Act, which implements a long-needed Lobbyist Registry. Hopefully this means they'll be less mini-buses picking up and dropping off Tory MLA's from the Petroleum Club on Wednesday evenings. The Bill introduces strict penalites of up to $200,000 for lobbyists who break the law. Though this is a very positive step for Alberta, as Duff Conacher of Democracy Watch points out, there are still some large loopholes in The Lobbyists Act:

"If you're friends with a cabinet minister, he can request you to come and give him advice, and then you don't have to register," Duff Conacher of Ottawa-based Democracy Watch said. "That has to come out (of the legislation) for sure."

Once the former Liberal government axed that same loophole from the federal lobbyist registry in 2005, the number of registered lobbyists more than tripled in a single year. In the category of in-house corporate lobbyists, the figure shot from 191 to 1,802.

Justice Minister Ron Stevens, who sponsored the Lobbyist Act, could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening.

Liberal MLA Hugh MacDonald quipped that such loopholes suggest the Lobbyist Act must have been drafted by Rod Love or Kelley Charlebois, two former government aides who have been embroiled in past lobbying controversies. "It's going to be business as usual," MacDonald said. "This is just a public-relations exercise."

Kevin Taft's Alberta Liberals have put forward Bill 201: Funding Alberta's Future Act. Bill 201 would create a number of new endowments and increasing the funding to others such as the long ignored Heritage Savings Trust Fund. Bill 201 would invest 30% of Alberta's resource revenues into the Heritage Savings Trust Fund and other funds into newly created Post-Secondary Education Endowment Fund, a Humanities, Social Sciences, and Arts Endowment Fund, and an Oppurtunity Fund while also provding funding to slay Alberta's massive infrastructure debt.

If Premier Stelmach's weak performance during last week's Question Period assaults by the opposition are any indication, it's going to be a baptism-by-fire for Stelmach in his first session as Premier. I wouldn't count the Tories out yet, but it's too early to tell how much Stelmach will get burnt.

84%!

This is great!

Voting wrapped up yesterday in a general election that saw undergraduate students at the U of A endorse the Universal Transit Pass by a wide margin in a show of support for affordable transit and the environment.

Students voted 84 per cent in favour of the $75 per term pass that will allow them unlimited access to regular scheduled transit service in Edmonton, St. Albert and Strathcona County. The vote represents the last political hurdle in the long-running process.

"This is a win for public transit, a win for our environment, a win for big ideas, and a win for students working together," proclaimed Samantha Power, President of the Students' Union, in a statement given today at the Students' Union Building.

The final price was the result of lengthy negotiations between the three municipalities, students and the University of Alberta.

nomwatch - march 9, 2007

With two upcoming by-elections in Alberta, the Spring Session of the Legislature could play a big role in determining the direction voters in these two ridings end sailing towards. The seats were vacated by former Premier Ralph Klein and former Finance Ministry Shirley McClellan.

In Drumheller-Stettler, consultant and former President of the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties Jack Hayden is lining up for the PC nomination. Hayden had previously ran for the PC nomination against former MLA Judy Gordon in the former riding of Lacombe-Stettler in 2000. The Alberta Greens have scheduled a nomination meeting for March 5. Kevin Taft's Alberta Liberals have yet to set a nomination date, but word through the grapevine is that a credible local candidate will step up to the plate.

There should be a full slate of candidates in Drumheller-Stettler, but being one of the deepest backwater conservative strongholds, it will take a strong camapaign to move Drumheller-Stettler any closer to the centre than a deep blue conservative. Look for the main opposition parties to be gunning for strong showings rather than victory.

Calgary Elbow presents a different picture. Located in what some political observers have coined the "Latte Belt," Calgary Elbow showed strong support for the Alberta Liberals in 2004 against-the-odds of an incumbent Premier. There will likely be a full slate of candidates including Social Credit candidate Trevor Grover (I'm sure Social Credit will hit a highwater mark of 200 votes this time around). The Alberta Liberals have scheduled their nomination meeting for March 22. The Tory nominations in both ridings will occur in mid- to late-April.

I'm predicting both by-elections to occur sometime in June.

pomping the speech from the throne.

This afternoon Lt. Governor Norman Kwong delivered Alberta's Speech from the Throne. Being the first Speech from the Throne of the Tory Government under Ed Stelmach, I made sure I was there to see it happen.

Anyone who knows anything about the Speech from the Throne will know that it has more to do with pomp, ceremony, and feel goodery than actual substance or policy. Though brief mentions of policy poped up from time to time in Kwong's long speech (the delivery was a little slow) it stuck to formula.

Much of the Speech centered around Stelmach's "Five Priorities" (All of which seem fairly common sensicle).

• governing with integrity and transparency;
• managing growth pressures;
• improving Albertans’ quality of life;
• providing safe and secure communities; and
• building a strong Alberta.

More substantial points include the creation of a long-needed lobbyist registry, finally dealing with the affordable housing and economic growth crisis, and review of the resource royalty system (all of which had been previously announced).

The Stelmach Tories are now appearing to be jumping on the now all-popular "green" bandwagon with the announcement of the creation of a long-term energy strategy and greenhouse gas emission regulation. Feel goodery aside, I'm not convinced that the Alberta Tories have any real sincere intention to take substantial action on the environment or climate change file. I'll believe it when I see real action.

This Speech remains atypical of most other speech's of this type. Hopefully the Spring Session will be a little more exciting.

And of course, the scrums and schmoozing in the Rotunda is where the real action is.

Of note:
- Thanks to the Alberta NDP caucus for my invitation to the Visitor's Gallery and for letting me in to their pre-Speech Reception at the Legislature Annex.
- Tom Olsen was sporting a slick new suit. I'm sure he's making a better salary at taxpayer expense than the Calgary Herald would ever afford him.
- Fred Horne is Dave Hancock's new Executive Assistant. Horne ran for the Tories in Edmonton Riverview against Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft. Horne recieved 22% of the vote to Taft's 65%.
- Lots of new Ministers with new hangers on.
- Lots of old Ministers with no hangers on.
- I'm still shocked and disappointed at the job that Todd Babiuk is doing as the Edmonton Journal's Legislative Columnist while Graham Thomson is on assignment in Afghanistan. COME BACK, GRAHAM!
- And I think Norman Kwong likes the attention he gets when he enters a room.

in the land of.

Things are moving fast in the land of daveberta and I will have more time for some more quality substancial commentary after the end of this week.

A couple of things...

1. Alberta's Speech from the Throne is on Wednesday. I'll be there and will be providing my post-game thoughts following the first Speech from the Throne of the first Ed Stelmach PC government.

2. Ken Chapman and Larry Johnsrude have provided some good commentary on the recent semi-release of PC leadership campaign contributor lists from Ed Stelmach and Dave Hancock. I am in the process of writing a more detailed post about this, so look for it in the near future.

3. Just as the Federal Conservatives have finished nominating their Alberta candidates, the Federal Liberals are now beginning. The Edmonton Centre nomination date has been set for March 24. One of the candidates for nomination happens to be Nicole Martel.

4. Art Spiegelman will be speaking at the University of Alberta on Wednesday night as part of the University of Alberta Students' Union's Revolutionary Speakers Series.

5. Finally, on two completely non-political related points, I saw finally saw Borat this weekend and I have tickets to see The Police at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on June 2nd!

weekend nonsense...

This was forwarded to me... wow...

vanuatu.

First of all, I would just like to say that I was very glad to see The Departed emerge victorious during last weekend's Academy Awards as Best Picture and Best Director for Martin Scorsese. Well deserved.

If you've noticed a break between posts, it has everything to do with the other stuff I keep myself busy with in my other life. I'm actually the campaign manager for a campaign of which I will not mention here. Ask me on March 9.

I'm looking forward to the upcoming Spring session of the Alberta Legislature. Just as I was excited when Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft announced an aggressive legislative agenda in the face of the "Conservative oppositon" as Taft called the Stelmach Tories, my good friend Duncan seems just as excited about Stelmach. It should be interesting to see how the session plays out. Rookie Premier, rookie Ministers, new dynamic within the Tory caucus. Power politics at play. Does the opposition smells blood? All-party committees? Two upcoming by-elections!

Will Alberta be raised to the level of legislative democracy shared by such beacons of democracy as the Republic of Vanuatu and the Federated States of Micronesia? We shall see.

Also, on another note, municipal politics are heating up in Edmonton as Councillors and Councillors-to-be are buying new walking shoes and warming up their campaign engines for an October 2007 election...

daveberta.ca

Yes. I've finally caved and bought a domain name.

It's just being forwarded, so daveberta.blogspot.com still works fine.

If anything, I can just sell it in a couple months and make at least $15 bucks.

clint had a point?

"Money is like manure. If you spread it around, it does a lot of good; but if you pile it up in one place, it stinks like hell." - Clint Murchison

How fitting...

Tax revenue and investment income lift Alberta's surplus to $7 billion

Spending unchanged from second quarter forecast
Third Quarter Fiscal Highlights
* Revenue is $36.6 billion, an increase of $1.5 billion from second quarter forecast
* Expense is $29.7 billion, a decrease of $40 million from second quarter forecast
* The surplus is forecast at $7 billion, an increase of $1.5 billion from second quarter forecast

Edmonton... Strong business profits and returns in world equity markets are bolstering the province's bottom line in 2006-07, as reported in the Government of Alberta's 2006-07 Third Quarter Fiscal Update. Revenue is now forecast to be $4.2 billion higher than budgeted, increasing the forecast surplus to $7 billion.

mmm. gold bars.

So... some excitement in Edmonton...

[David] Suzuki said Friday in Calgary that if the premier "doesn't realize not doing anything about greenhouse gases is going to wreck the economy," he doesn't deserve to be a leader, according to a story in the Calgary Herald.

Alberta needs to ease up on oilsands development until industry catches up with more efficient ways of extracting energy, Suzuki said.

Stelmach hit back on Saturday. "Tackling the issue of greenhouse-gas reduction will require more than hot air and grandstanding."

I agree. It will take action, from our politicians like Stelmach... which we have yet to see any... Stelmach continued...

"Mr. Suzuki's comments reflect the unproductive emotional rhetoric and personal attacks that distract from efforts to find constructive solutions."

Well, I'm sure if our political leaders were actually looking for and enacting "constructive solutions" there would be much less "emotional rhetoric" floating around.

I wonder if Mr. Stelmach has seen Al Gore's now Oscar Award winning Inconvenient Truth?

thursday update.

A couple of things...

- I presented to Alberta's Affordable Housing Task Force yesterday afternoon in Edmonton. The committee will be traveling Alberta to listen to Albertans thoughts and recommendations on how to solve the affordable housing crisis until February 28. Task force members include MLA's Len Webber (Calgary Foothills), Bruce Miller (Edmonton Glenora), and Ray Martin (Edmonton Beverly-Clareview) and Edmonton City Councillor Karen Leibovici. See here for the hearing locations and dates.

- Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft delivered an alternative Speech from the Throne Tuesday night at the Royal Museum in Edmonton. Fresh from the release of Taft's new book Democracy Derailed, last nights event was a packed affair with hundereds of Albertans crowding the theatre to hear what Taft had to say. It was a positive speech and gave Taft the oppurtunity to present his team of MLA's and candidates along with a positive vision for Alberta's future. Taft also focused on the need for action to be taken on environmental issues in Alberta.

Though it will be an uphill battle for the 15 MLA caucus, Taft outlined the Alberta Liberal Caucus' legislative agenda for the upcoming Spring Session which will include a number of Bills including a Sustainable Communities Act, a Consumer Advocate Act, a Child Care Accountability and Accessibility Act, a Restriction on School Fees and Fundraising Act, and legislation that would strengthen water resource management, review gaming in Alberta, require health impact assessments for major government initiatives, and reverse laws designed to hide the results of internal audits for 15 years.

It's a very interesting twist in Alberta politics how the Alberta Liberals are attempting to turn the tables on the seemingly disorganized Stelmach Government in terms of presenting a strong and united vision for what road Alberta should take.

- Looks like Quebec is off to the polls on March 26.

- I'm off to the wild border city of Lloydminster for the day today (hopefully those rowdy Saskatchewanites won't be too much of a worry).

hot potato, hot potato.

A little less serious than my previous post, but I found this too funny not to share. Enjoy.

Happy Family Day long weekend to all those lucky Albertans out there.

To the rest of you, enjoy Monday at work. :-)

wente way off the mark.

Here's a letter that I emailed to the Globe & Mail yesterday...

Margaret Wente's column yesterday has bought, hook line and sinker, the argument from McGill Principal Heather Munroe-Blum: low tuition is bad because it doesn't help people from marginal socioeconomic groups access post-secondary, and it hurt education quality.

The argument misses the point entirely: the question is, is Education a public good or a private good? Primary and secondary schooling is an undisputed public good, and post-secondary is still something of a public good to the extent that it is still somewhat publicly funded; however, post-secondary education being privatized right under our noses in the sense that quality post-secondary is increasingly the exclusive domain of the socioeconomic elite.

Consider the popular argument that lowering tuition would represent a subsidy to wealthy students (and their families) who can already afford to attend — the heart of this argument is an admission that the elite are over-represented, which should itself be a point of serious concern. However, it also ignores the disparate reality that there are a lot of students (let's say at least the half who emerge with student debt) who struggle to make ends meet and are thus distracted from their studies.

The result is a kind of three-tiered education environment: there are those who can afford to study without financial stress, there are those who can afford to study but only under the condition of financial stress (which is a significant disadvantage), and then there in the third group are people of more than ample aptitude who have written off post-secondary out of aversion to financial stress.

Economists like to say that price sends a strong signal: so far this debate seems to have focused on the notion that high tuition is required for high quality, but the flip-side of this argument is the signal high tuition is sending to young people: 'higher learning isn't for everyone, this is just for the best of the best.' In this sense, it is a question more of values than of value: do we want to distributed advanced learning primarily among the elite, or do we want to make it accessible to all Canadians on a level financial playing field, with room for everyone who is qualified?

salesmen of northeastern pennsylvania...

Just because...

tick, tick, tick.

It looks like the Calgary Herald's new provincial affairs columnist isn't turning out to be the lapdog that his *predecessor* was:

The clock is ticking on Honest Ed's regime
The Calgary Herald
Column: Don Braid

Is our new premier Honest Ed, Steady Ed or (as some are cruelly asking) Special Ed?

The voters don't know, but Premier Stelmach had better provide some answers soon or his drifting interlude could become a tailspin to fading polls.

So far, it's as if the province is on a blind date with Ed. After an hour he hasn't thrown up on our shoes or made a grab for the goodies. So far so good -- but is there really any chance of a lasting union?

New leaders have about three months to plant a vivid image in the minds of voters. If they fail, opponents will draw the picture for them, and it won't be pretty. Stelmach, sworn in last Dec. 14, has a month left.

Also, Paul Jackson has an predictably alarmist peice on why Premier Ed Stelmach needs to be ready just in case Stephane Dion and his scary Federal Liberals regain power in Ottawa...

dream team.

Did anyone else listen to The Current on CBC Radio One this morning? Waking up to the voices of David Suzuki and Stephen Lewis was quite a nice way to start the week on February 12, 2007.

The David Suzuki Foundation has launched a cross-Canada "If you were Prime Minister..." tour to engage Canadians on Environmental issues. The tour kicked off in St. John's, Newfoundland on February 1 and will be in Edmotnon on February 24!

Edmonton -- Saturday, Feb. 24, 2007 -- Evening Event
7:30pm -- Horowitz Theatre, University of Alberta, Students' Union Building, 8900 114 Street
Tickets: $15 regular and $10 low income
Tickets available at:
Earth's General Store: 10832 - Whyte Avenue (upstairs, above Gordon Price Music store)
Audrey's Books: 10702 Jasper Avenue
Parkland Institute website (mail-in/fax-in order form)
For more info, contact:
The Parkland Institute

parkland@ualberta.ca

780-492-8558

the mooninites strike again...

This is clearly one of the dumbest things I've EVER heard...

Cartoon Network chief resigns following ad stunt

The head of the Cartoon Network has resigned following a recent marketing stunt that caused a bomb scare across Boston last week.

Jim Samples, the Cartoon Network's executive vice president and general manager, said Friday he felt "compelled to step down, effective immediately, in recognition of the gravity of the situation that occurred under my watch."

Dozens of electronic signs like this one, which was hung beneath an overpass in Boston, sparked the bomb scare.

u of a day of action = great success.

The February 7 Day of Action at the University of Alberta was a success with hundreds of students showing up to send a message to the University Aministration and the Provincial Tory Government about the importance of keeping education affordable!

The great speakers included Avi Lewis from the CBC's The Big Picture and Larry Booi from Public Interest Alberta! You can check out the rally and speeches on YouTube here and here.

Students were joined by a number of political folks including Liberal Advanced Education & Technology Shadow Minister Maurice Tougas (Edmonton Meadowlark) and his fellow Alberta Liberal MLA's Mo Elsalhy (Edmonton McClung), Hugh MacDonald (Edmonton Gold Bar), and Bharat Agnihotri (Edmonton Ellerslie). Alberta NDP MLA Ray Martin (Edmonton Beverly Clareview) attended along with Edmonton Strathcona Federal NDP candidate Linda Duncan and Edmonton Strathcona Provincial NDP candidate Rachel Notley.

I have to say that it was pretty cool seeing that many students show up to send a message about the need for greater affordability. Also, going out for dinner and drinks with Avi Lewis and some friends later that evening was pretty cool too.

democracy derailed.

“With political change so rare, one-party politics has become entrenched in Alberta. The forces that drive political change in other jurisdictions – the legislature, public inquiries, interest groups, opposition parties, the media, and so on - have adapted to this reality in order to cope, or have been deliberately gutted, or have simply deteriorated to the status of a sideshow. As a result of this one-party dominance, democracy in Alberta has been pushed off the rails. It’s time to get it back on track.”

This is how Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft finishes the introduction of his new book “Democracy Derailed: The Breakdown of Government Accountability in Alberta – and How to Get it Back on Track.” I’ve had the chance to read through an advanced copy of the book and I have some thoughts as it is released today.

Democracy Derailed covers a wide range of political and ethical transparency and accountability issues in Alberta’s long-time Tory-dominated political scene. Throughout the 110-page book, Kevin Taft recounts his experiences as an MLA and leader of the Official Opposition in dealing with Alberta’s democratic deficit as well as presenting positive solutions on how to make democracy better in Alberta.

The issues addressed in the book range from Alberta’s lack of whistle-blower protection for public servants and the devolution of power from the elected Legislative Assembly to the lack of power held by Alberta’s Auditor General and the irresponsible use of FOIPP legislation to block opposition research and the lack of resources allotted to Opposition Caucus Offices in Alberta compared to those allotted to the PC Members Caucus and opposition caucuses in other provinces.

One of the interesting facts that Taft highlights is the lack of power held by Alberta’s Public Accounts Committee:

“Alberta’s Public Accounts Committee can meet once a week only when the legislature is sitting, which is all of three months per year. During approximately a dozen 90-minute meetings, the committee must review the spending of 24 provincial government departments with a combined budget of $24 billion.

That’s not all. Unlike the federal Public Accounts Committee, Alberta’s Public Accounts Committee cannot submit a report to the legislature. Legislators outside of Alberta find this restriction hard to fathom. Conservative Member of Parliament John Williams said “It’s shocking. I cannot believe a government majority would use their capacity to set the rules like that.””

According to Taft, underlying many of these problems is the near merger between the Government of Alberta and the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta (which formed government in 1971). This is problem which would occur after any political party has governed for over 30 straight years. Examples Taft uses include the appointments of partisan Tories as elections officials, the Calgary Ward 10, Kelley Charlebois, and Alberta Securities Commission scandals, the partisan nature of the Public Affairs Bureau, and the fluid movements of Rod Love and Peter Elzinga through Government, business, and the PC Party.

The book is also complemented by a website (www.democracyderailed.ca) which includes links and pdf documents sited in the book (such as Ralph Klein’s infamous plagiarized Chile paper), along with an online interactive message board and an online quiz.

The timing of the book is probably better than Taft and the Alberta Liberals had originally planned. With new and untested Tory Premier Ed Stelmach still learning the ropes, a March/April 2007 sitting of the Legislature, and a potential Fall 2007/Spring 2008 provincial election, Democracy Derailed will hopefully raise some much needed attention and debate on some serious problems facing democracy in Alberta.

avi lewis at u of a day of action!

On February 7 from 12pm to 1pm in front of University Hall, University of Alberta students will be sending a strong and united message to the Alberta government to "Reduce the Fees." Tuition fees are preventing many Albertans from accessing the education they need. With Alberta's wealth, investment in education is the way forward.

As the U of A Board of Governors just last week raised Tuition Fees by 3.3% and Residence Rent by 10%, February 7 is the perfect opportunity to send a strong message about the affordability of post-secondary education to the Alberta government as the Premiers meet via teleconference on Feb 7 through the Council of the Federation, as the Alberta Legislature begins sitting on February 26, and as the provincial and federal governments create their 2007 budgets this spring!

Now is the time to send a strong message!

It's going to be a great time and will include:
- Speakers include:
*AVI LEWIS! from CBC's The Big Picture!
*Students' Union President Sam Power
*LHSA VP Janelle Morin
*Larry Booi from Public Interest Alberta, and more!
- FREE BBQ!
- HOT CHOCOLATE!
- FUN MUSIC, petitions, postcards!
- And a special appearance by Stephen Colbert's *ON NOTICE* BOARD!

It's going to be an exciting event, so I show up and be counted!

This event is being organized by the University of Alberta Students' Union.

eggs with your favorite grit.

Here's a free pitch for one of my favorite MLA's...

Have Eggs With Your Favorite Grit Friends of Laurie Blakeman invite you to attend a vitally important re-election fundraiser

Bring your friends and family for a scrumptious brunch by one of Edmonton’s most popular caterers

Bring your chequebook and bid on some fabulous items like a Peter Field ‘Chicken’ painting, a cooking class with Gail Hall, theatre subscriptions, and other fun stuff at the Sunny-Side-Up Silent Auction

Sunday, February 11, 2007 12-3 pm
St. Andrews Centre 12720-111th Avenue
Tickets: $35.00
Tables of 8: $245.00
TICKET PURCHASES: Sarah at 886-1588 or scrummy@ualberta.ca
AUCTION CONTRIBUTIONS: Deanne at 452-1338 or deanne.timmons@ualberta.ca

Sponsored by the Friends of Laurie Blakeman

ignignokt and err strike again!

I have to say that this is one of the greatest and most bizarre stories I've ever heard...

Two held after ad campaign triggers Boston bomb scare
POSTED: 1447 GMT (2247 HKT), February 1, 2007

BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN) -- Authorities have arrested two men in connection with electronic light boards depicting a middle-finger-waving moon man that triggered repeated bomb scares around Boston on Wednesday and prompted the closure of bridges and a stretch of the Charles River.

Meanwhile, police and prosecutors vented their anger at Turner Broadcasting System Inc., the parent company of CNN, which said the battery-operated light boards were aimed at promoting the late-night Adult Swim cartoon "Aqua Teen Hunger Force."

We are the mooninites and our culture is advanced beyond all that you can possibly comprehend with 100% of your brain...