Smoky Lake Signal Article No. 218 (April 25, 2012) Whispering in the Wind Redford Wins Big! Alison Redford and her Alberta Progressive Conservative Party won a resounding victory in last Monday’s election – while I write this article it appears that the PCs will have 60 plus seats in Alberta’s 87 seat legislature; Danielle Smith and the Wildrose Party will form the Official Opposition with about 18 or 20 seats; the Liberals and the NDP will share about 8 seats. I did predict that the PCs would win with a small but comfortable majority (know where near the 60 seats they won); that the Wildrose party would win more seats that they did; and the Libs and NDs would garner around 7 seats – nevertheless I did win a few consolation prizes; I won a bottle of “good” wine from a dear friend, but I have to travel to B.C. to drink it. Also I won a lunch in one of Smoky Lake’s most expensive restaurants. On a more serious note, the final results of the election have yet to be confirmed so I offer a few observations on what led up to what happened last Monday: Bad News for Pollsters – The pollsters got it all wrong and they got it all wrong in spades. As I mentioned in previous articles; polling is suppose to be a statistical science based on good random sampling – and as all pollsters say, their results are correct within a range of 2 or 3 percent, 19 times out of 20. Pollsters in Alberta will have to change dramatically – pollsters should now qualify their results by saying that their results are correct within a range of 20 or 30 percent, 5 out 10 times. As I have also written, people are being over polled – our household was being contacted by various pollsters two and three times a day in the last month or so (and I’ve heard many times, we were not alone) – for my wife and I, we would just hang up the phone – pollsters should now indicate their sample size and how many times respondents are slamming down their telephones. No matter how you look at it, pollsters have lost all credibility. Albertans are Strategic Thinkers – Having said that pollsters are “false” prophets and their polls are crap, these same “false” polls helped to put the Alberta Progressive Conservatives into a firm majority position. In my view, Danielle Smith and the Wildrose candidates are simply not qualified to be the government – as demonstrated by the ridiculous gaffs and extreme positions taken by individual Wildrose candidates (and actually defended by Wildrose leader Danielle Smith). Nevertheless the pollsters suggested a Wildrose majority government by “false” sampling, suggesting a 7 to 10 point lead over the PCs. The Wildrose scenario painted by the prophets caused many voters in Alberta to panic in the last 10 days of the campaign and “strategic” voting became the realistic option – in my view a Wildrose government would have caused Alberta to regress back not 20 years, but 50 years – back to the good old Social Credit days. Jeff Wins Big – I cannot leave this column without offering congratulation to Jeff Johnson and his win in the Athabasca – Sturgeon – Redwater constituency. Travis Olson and Mandy Melnyk were formidable candidates and offered their candidacy with honor and integrity. Nevertheless Jeff Johnson has been a good for the Smoky Lake region since 2008 and I think with the right support he will keep up the good work for Smoky Lake.

Smoky Lake Signal Article No. 217 (April 19, 2012) Whispering in the Wind Alberta is in the final days of what has truly become an electric election campaign with sparks of deception and confusion flying every which way – if you ask me, most of the flack, hassling and confusion comes from the far right side of the political spectrum and that’s not good news for those who want to understand the issues facing Albertans and what might be the solutions to problems. Since this is my last Whispering in the Wind column prior to Monday’s election; anything that I want to say will have be said here and now. To help guide the balance of this column and hopefully exempt me from being labeled too nasty, or a good for nothing bigot; let me quote novelist and Nobel Prize laureate, William Faulkner who said: “Facts and truth really don’t have much to do with each other.” So let me offer a few truths without getting into any substantive facts: Truth 1: Alberta is Canada’s Economic Powerhouse, Let’s Keep It That Way! In the last few years Alberta has become a particularly relevant player in international energy matters and to state the more obvious: Alberta has become the economic powerhouse of Canada. With that new status in mind there are awesome responsibilities attached and that means change to an already mature, sophisticated government system – something Alison Redford has advocated since she became leader of the Alberta PCs last October. In my view, Alberta’s future prosperity will largely depend on how our government supports and guides its endowments: a free spirited people, its vast natural resources and its sophisticated, well entrenched rural base in agriculture. What cannot and should not be forgotten are the Progressive Conservative under-pinning and particularly, the leadership of Peter Lougheed and his guidance of the province’s endowments under the PC banner making Alberta what it is today – for that I would call Peter Lougheed the Father of Modern Alberta. Mr. Longheed’s recent support and endorsement of Alison Redford and the Alberta PCs is an endorsement of monumental importance and should be seriously considered by all Albertans no matter what their political leanings. For me the truth is: Alison Redford is the most qualified person to lead the Province of Alberta and deal with the awesome responsibilities attached to the office of government leader in the Province of Alberta. For me the truth is: Danielle Smith and the candidates of the Wildrose Party do not have the experience, or the understanding to lead the province into the future. Truth 2: Party Platform Statements Sorting out the various party platform statements, the various promises made and the cost impacts of the various promises made is not an easy task and well above my pay grade. Only the Alberta PCs are offering a clear platform statement – their 2012 budget was passed in the Alberta Legislature prior to the election being called and the commitment is for: no new taxes; no service cuts; no more deficits beginning in 2013 and a surplus in 2014. On non-budget platform items, the Wildrose party, specifically Danielle Smith has made one promise that I feel is worth mentioning and I actually feel if implemented it could be quite dangerous – the use of citizen referenda. Not only has this approach failed miserably in places like California, it could bog the system down in Alberta and make government, virtually, inoperable. Truth 3: Athabasca – Sturgeon – Redwater Constituency For people in the Smoky Lake area we have four candidates, three are worth mentioning: incumbent MLA, Jeff Johnson of the Alberta PCs; Wildrose candidate, Travis Olson; and NDP candidate Mandy Melnyk. I met all three of the candidates a couple of weeks back at Smoky Lake’s All Candidates Forum and from what I’ve seen they are all fine people. Nevertheless I’m sticking with the PC candidate Jeff Johnson – in my view he has done a lot for the Smoky Lake area in the last four years and that shows his constant interest in the area. Possibly the most notable contribution is the recent $7,000,000 contribution made by the government’s senior’s department which is going toward the addition of senior living spaces in the Town of Smoky Lake. Jeff also held ministerial responsibilities for the Department of Infrastructure; the Oilsand’s Secretariat; and a member of the Treasury Board – if Jeff Johnson and the PCs are re-elected to government, I feel very comfortable in predicting: Jeff Johnson will be moving up the political ladder and will continue to support the interest of Smoky Lake.

Alberta Election - Week 1

Smoky Lake Signal Article No. 215 (April 4, 2012)

Whispering in the Wind

Alberta Election Campaign – Week 1
Albertans are now observing the second week of a four week election campaign and the hope for having any reasonable political debate or discussion on important issues facing Alberta has narrowed and in week one, virtually non-existent. Actually the political landscape has become quite volatile because of personal attacks and innuendos with the political dialogue moving from being nasty and personal to a discourse amongst the two main political leaders that is silly, and at times ridiculous. To recap week one of the campaign:

Wildrose’s Boob Tube: Really not worth mentioning but there was a misstep on the part of the Wildrose Campaign Team that did get some national and international TV attention – the Wildrose’s official campaign bus rolled onto the campaign tarmac with a misplaced picture of leader Danielle Smith, in a somewhat revealing position. Danielle Smith laughed the boob with no harm done and the bus got repainted – at the most it does show that mistakes and missteps can occur – at the very least, the Wildrose supervisor of bus painting should be retrained for a more senior position in advertising and public relations.

Unfounded Accusations: Last week Danielle Smith of the Wildrose party accused Alison Redford of not liking Alberta when she opined: “I think Ms. Redford doesn’t like Alberta all that much … She doesn’t like who we are, she doesn’t like our character, she wants to change [Alberta]….” In my view Danielle Smith and the Wildrose machine have gone over the top again with extreme, unfounded personal attacks – Danielle Smith should apologize to Alison Redford directly and publicly retract statements that are so extreme and actually offensive – to my knowledge Danielle has not recanted any of her statements.

Personal Affronts: An Alberta Tory aide resigned last week for making an offensive remark in cyberspace regarding Danielle Smith not having any children. Once informed of the inappropriate tweet, Alison Redford dismissed the aide and immediately telephoned Danielle Smith and asked for a private talk. In my view it is important to note that the aide who sent the tweet worked for the Wildrose party (from the fall of 2010 to the spring of 2011).

“Culture of Corruption”: I continue to read on the internet that the Wildrose party is labeling the Alberta PC as a “Culture of Corruption”, a label that I find inappropriate and without any clear evidence of corruption, offensive. Have I made myself clear, I feel that the labeling of the Alberta PCs as a “Culture of Corruption” is inappropriate extremism and for those who are progressive conservatives, offensive.

Buying Your Vote: On Monday Albertans have been offered some cash goodies and in some cases without any tax increases. Liberal leader Raj Sherman promised that by 2025 tuition fees would be eliminated for Albertans – it will require some creative accounting and tax increases for any and all making over $100,000 a year – the Liberal leader actually feels that it can be done? Also on Monday, Wildrose leader Danielle Smith announced an “energy dividend” for Albertans by the year 2015, if elected premier. Danielle Smith also indicated that she would balance the budget by 2015 and do it without tax increases. Danielle Smith is also offering tax credits and hundreds of millions of dollars added to the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund. Alison Redford quite rightly discounts the Smith “energy dividend” promise by saying: “It’s another daily announcement that just doesn’t add up … [Albertans will] end up losing on education, on healthcare, or infrastructure.” Alison Redford and the Alberta PC party are standing by the budget passed in the Legislature a week and a half ago, without any tax increases. Finally Albertans are starting to hear about issues that matter.