The Wildrose on the Brink

Whispering in the Wind (WITW 55) November 26, 2014

Wildrose at a Crossroads and Taking the Wrong Turn?

The 2014 Annual General Meeting of the Wildrose Party was planned to be a spirit building, ho-hum meeting of the party faithful.  Things didn’t turn out as planned when a very telling resolution on human rights policy was defeated by 58 percent of the party faithful.  The resolution proposed that a Wildrose government would defend the rights of all Albertans “regardless of race, religious belief, color, gender, physical disability, mental disability, age, ancestry, place of origin, marital status, source of income, family status, or sexual orientation of that person or class of persons.”  The vote on November 15: 148 against the resolution, 109 in favor.  The intent of the defeated motion was to make the Wildrose Party more inclusive and the effort failed with the grass roots vote at the annual meeting.  Undaunted by the setback Danielle Smith and her caucus adopted a “binding statement” on equality rights similar to the one rejected by party representatives two weeks earlier.  What it means to me, a significant portion of Wildrose base (up to 60 percent) want to retain “traditional family values” as core elements of the Wildrose’s platform – it means blocking increased gay rights and resisting more liberal abortion policies.  But that’s not all Danielle Smith has to worry about.  Still bruised by the four by-election loses to Jim Prentice last October Danielle Smith now has to contend with three recent party defections, two of which crossed the floor to join the Progressive Conservatives.  Whether Danielle Smith can repair a fractured party is still an open question, but if the Wildrose movement is to survive she had better listen more closely to her more libertarian base.

Michael Sona Sentenced

Former Conservative Party of Canada staff member Michael Sona has been sentenced to nine months in prison and a year’s probation for misdirecting voters in the 2011 federal election.  The judge presiding over the case said Sona showed a “callous and blatant disregard for the right of people to vote”.  Judge Hearn went further and said that Sona was a major participant in this ill-conceived and disturbing plan.  Michael Sona is still considering his legal options.  Sona is the only one charged with misleading voters in the Guelph, Ontario robocall scandal.  Andrew Prescott – deputy campaign manager was given an immunity deal in exchange for evidence against Michael Sona.  Ken Morgan – Guelph Conservative Manager moved to Kuwait and has never spoken to Elections Canada investigators.  Sona has always maintained his innocence with the claim that he had been scapegoated by the Conservative Party of Canada.  Surely there must be more to the story than what has been offered – hopefully this file remains active with Elections Canada and the RCMP, and all culprits are brought to justice – or has justice been served? 

Crisis Management

Whispering in the Wind (WITW 54) November 19, 2014

When addressing major issues, politicians use carefully chosen words as their primary tool to create relationships and hopefully, agreements – after all, if you can’t trust a politician’s word whose word can you trust?  At the same time politicians have used carefully chosen words to threaten their adversaries – where words are used to create weapons that lead to crisis and outright conflict.

Elevating the Crisis in Ukraine

At last week’s G-20 summit conference in Australia Prime Minister Harper of Canada offered his hand to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin saying:  “I guess I’ll shake your hand but I have only one thing to say to you:  You need to get out of Ukraine.”  Putin’s apparent reply was:  “That’s impossible because we are not there.”  Media observers concluded that the exchange between Harper and Putin was a diplomatically vulgar exchange of jabs.  I have drawn a somewhat different conclusion.  Prime Minister Harper is not known to make off-handed, spur of the moment remarks and that means Harper’s statement was orchestrated with the support of the major power brokers.  The encounter also means that the eastern provinces of Ukraine will become a major war zone with increased military support coming from Canada and other NATO countries.  From a political perspective Mr. Harper has again elevated himself to be a major player on the international stage; all to the chagrin of Mulcair and Trudeau who wanted to fight the up-coming election on domestic issues.   

Politics in Smoky Lake – A Regional Mini-Crisis

A major disservice has been delivered to the Smoky Lake community, a community with dozens of volunteer groups, groups that have always operated in the best interests of the community – how did things go so wrong?  To make matters worse, misinformation is being blasted out over the airwaves that are marring a once positive image of Smoky Lake, a community not operating at its best.  It started with a notification letter sent by Smoky Lake Town Council to the Smoky Lake Agricultural Society stating that the town would no longer live up to its contracted maintenance commitments at its massive recreational Complex.   At the same time the town issued termination notices to the contractors hired to do maintenance work at the complex.

Some councillors and at least one town administrative officer have gone viral on the internet to trash the Ag Society and its “volunteer” board of directors – suggesting that the Society has $500,000 dollars in cash and does not need any support from the Town of Smoky Lake.  What the         e-mails from the town do not indicate is that the Society has major commitments that require cash to be held in reserve – for projects that are either underway or where grants are being applied for, all requiring   contractual commitment.  To set the record straight there is $445,000 in the bank (as of last Friday) – if one considers the reserves necessary for the commitments, an estimated $58,000 remains for operating and maintaining the facility.  After consulting with the various user groups President Sharon Boychuk wrote to Smoky Lake Town Council and notified the Council that the Smoky Lake Agricultural Society would “relinquish responsibility” for the Complex as of September 1, 2015.  That date was chosen based on the desire to accommodate some already scheduled events like completing the minor hockey season this winter and accommodating about six already scheduled weddings where deposits have been collected. 

 As to making sense of the abrupt action of the Smoky Lake Town Council, one explanation has been offered:  the cost of maintenance is higher than anticipated.  Digging deeper I think there is another explanation that better fits current circumstances and it’s all political – the Town Council is using the possible closure of the Complex as a lever to get Smoky Lake County to give more financial support toward the operations of the Complex – a reasonable argument when one considers usage.  What the Town Council ignored in their strategy is the impact this mini-crisis has on volunteerism in the Smoky Lake region and by their abrupt actions, Town Council has severely jeopardized current fund raising initiatives and existing applications for major grants. 

Does Canada Have a Value System?

Whispering in the Wind (WITW 53) November 12, 2014

Last week, while Steven Harper was making deals in China, Thomas Mulcair and Justin Trudeau were in Ottawa squabbling over what constituted “personal misconduct” by two Liberal MPs.  Little doubt, Steven Harper knows how to play the international political game extremely well when compared to his political rivals– both Mulcair and Trudeau are starting to look and act like buffoons in Canada’s eye.  As to whether Mr. Harper is able to win the hearts and minds of Canadians in the next election is still an open question but the opposition party leaders had best face up to political reality.  And let’s not forget about the other headline grabber, media star Jian Ghomeshi.  Mr. Ghomeshi has put a whole new light on sexual liberation – I’m the guy who not too many years ago thought that homosexuality would remain in the closet.

Harper’s China Trip

Prime Minister Harper just returned from the Peoples Republic of China to attend Remembrance Day ceremonies in Ottawa – both events would have to be considered political successes for Mr. Harper.  While in China Mr. Harper oversaw the signing of about $2 billion in trade agreements and signed a very significant financial arrangement with China’s Premier Li Keqiang.  Authorized by China’s central bank, the so-called Chinese “trading hub” will allow for direct business between Canada and China using the Canadian dollar and the Chinese Yuan (also known as renminbi or RMB), cutting out the middleman which in most cases means the U.S. dollar.  Experts are saying that this new financial hub could save up to 5 – 6 percent in transaction costs and would save considerable time in doing the necessary paperwork.  From my perspective it is far too early to draw any firm conclusions about this new financial arrangement with China.  Nevertheless, with two dozen hubs locations around the world, Canada had no choice but to join the Hub Club.  The real question for Canada, was what the Prime Minister signed on November 8 a good deal for the nation, was it a necessary evil or was it global entrapment where national boarders and government regulations are irrelevant?

Two Liberals on the Chopping Block

Liberal MPs Scott Andrews and Massimo Pacetti have been hung out to dry in what has become a parliamentary fiasco for both Mr. Mulcair of the New Democrats and Justin Trudeau of the Liberals.  When it comes to politics I have often used the phrase:  In the absence of transparency, one can only speculate.  This whole scenario is wrapped in unwarranted secrecy and is unfolding to the detriment of both the New Democratic Party and the Liberals.  What is known:  two female New Democrats were apparently hassled or harassed by two male Liberal MPs.  Neither of the female MPs considered the affronts to be serious enough to lodge a formal complaint.  Nevertheless one of the New Democrat females went to Justin Trudeau to informally complain – presumably without seeking guidance or advice from her leader, Thomas Mulcair – that in itself is a political no – no.  After hearing the concerns Mr. Trudeau immediately suspended Scott Andrews and Massimo Pacetti from the Liberal caucus and because there is no process to deal with such matters, the Liberal leader referred the matter to the Speaker of the House of Commons.  The Speaker without a process in mind referred the matter to parliament’s most secret committee for consideration – a committee that does not have to explain or justify its decisions.  As to whether Liberal leader Trudeau made the right decision to suspend Andrews and Pacetti, I think he did – he had no other choice.  As to the correctness of a New Democrat going to the Liberal leader and offer a not-so-serious concern(s), the approach was unwise and demonstrated poor political judgement.  From my perspective politics is all about words and personality and that is threatened with this incident that is now being handled by a secret committee.  Too many politicians in Canada are being molded by handlers where personalities are crafted rather than genuine, mistake making personalities.  So as Canadians await further information and clarification there is little doubt, four political careers hang in the balance.    

The Balloon Bursts for Jian Ghomeshi – Simply put, star of radio and television program Q, Jian Ghomeshi is a self- proclaimed participant in masochistic sexual perversions.  Ghomeshi needs more than therapy, he needs serious jail time.   

War Against Terrorism - the Harper Way

Whispering in the Wind (WITW 52) November 5, 2014

Sir Winston Churchill is undeniably one of the most respected political figures of the 20^th century.  After successfully dealing with a major international crisis at the end of World War II, Sir Winston mused, that a politician like himself would ”Never let a good crisis go to waste”.  In my view Steven Harper has, in a perverse way taken Churchill’s political advice to heart and is now using the “Never let a good crisis go to waste” slogan as one of his guiding lights to win the next federal election.

Terrorism in Canada: a National Crisis?

Under the cloak of a well-publicized ISIS threat in Canada, against Canada, Steven Harper has taken the political high road and put Canada and Canadians on an elevated plateau of risk, fear, intrigue and danger.  To address the recent “domestic terrorism” acts Mr. Harper is seeking additional measures and authority for Canada’s police force (RCMP) and Canada’s spy agency (CSIS).  I agree with enhanced measures to investigate and control terrorism and near-terrorism activities in Canada, nevertheless there are limits and some major concerns. 

As to the politics of terrorism, Mr. Harper made a major political mistake by not engaging the Opposition Parties in waging war against ISIS – in my view waging war means the country’s leader has to speak on behalf of a unified country and represent a unified parliament.  I actually think the opposition parties in Canada were politically disposed to accept a limited combat role if there was appropriate “parliamentary” oversight – that’s not the way the vote went in the House of Commons which in my view demonstrated a divided country. 

In the aftermath of the domestic terrorist acts in Quebec and Ottawa Prime Minister Harper is seemingly doing well, including his introduction of anti-terrorism legislation that is currently being debated in the House of Commons. The proposed legislation will then be further discussed, hopefully in a less partisan fashion in committee and then further discussed and debated with sober, second thought in the Senate – now that’s the Canadian Way.  Unfortunately the anti-terrorism legislation is going to be passed into law, doing it the Harper Way.  The prime minister has already determined that he will appoint the oversight committee rather than using a “parliamentary” oversight mechanism to monitor and keep the RCMP and CSIS in check.