Questionable Government Management and Financing

Whispering in the Wind (WITW 85) July 29, 2015

A number of political realities have settled in amongst the political elite of the Conservative Party of Canada.  Realities that have forced Mr. Harper to implement a “revised” campaign strategy, a strategy that would give his Conservative Party a fighting chance to win majority government status in this fall’s general election.  Stephen Harper is out to win a “majority”, anything less would be deemed a complete and personal failure. 

The Economy

To say the least, the Canadian economy is on very shaky ground.  The national unemployment rate has for months remained at a static 6.8 percent.  What is particularly disturbing are the youth unemployment rates, they are double the national averages.  Last week, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz refused to use the dreaded  “R” word to describe the performance of Canada’s economy but did say the nation’s economy contracted in the past two quarters, for a total contraction of 1.0 percent in the first half of 2015 – technically, Canada is in another recession.  This economic state of affairs has got to be disturbing to Mr. Harper, who just two months ago bragged at an international forum stating that the Canadian economy was “the envy of the entire world”.  Added to these Conservative disappointments are a couple of long standing, big ticket items that haven’t been settled to anybody’s satisfaction – Barack Obama’s refusal to sign off on the Keystone XL pipeline proposal and Europe’s reluctance to ratify the Canada, EU Free Trade Agreement, suggests that the Harper style of negotiating agreements and the guiding the nation’s economy during turbulent times has failed miserably.    

Canada’s Finances

The Canadian government’s financial situation has gotten analysts, pundits and politicians going every which way to describe the government’s fiscal management.  The confusion allows pundits to snipe at each other on radio and television, but it also leaves the electorate wondering about the integrity of politicians.  Two weeks ago Joe Oliver, Canada’s Minister of Finance said that he expected “solid growth” for Canada in 2015”.  And on the matter of the government’s 2015 budget, Prime Minister Harper opined:  “Our budgeting is very conservative and we are well on track to realize a balanced budget this year.”  At the same time parliament’s Parliamentary Budget Officer, Jean-Denis Frechette determined that Mr. Harper’s government will fail to achieve a key promise and balance the government’s books in 2015.  Based on Mr. Frechette’s conclusion, the opposition parties have demanded a meeting with Joe Oliver, to explain the obvious discrepancies between his forecast of a small surplus in the budget and the $1 billion deficit forecasted by the Parliamentary Budget Officer.  What is particularly interesting about the process used to demand an explanation from the Finance Minister, the House of Commons Rules will frame the meeting within five days of the request from three Finance Committee members.  The rules would not apply, should an election be called.  The federal election is set for October 19, but the calling of an election can take place at any time.  Confused?      

Another "Orange Crush" Possibility?

Whispering in the Wind (WITW 83) July22, 2015

Canada’s 42^nd general election is less than three months away.  Actually, the campaign to win the hearts and minds of the Canadian electorate began well over a year ago and it has always been about political leadership.  Even today, the questions remain as they did a year ago:  Can Stephen Harper recover from the Duffy scandal?  Who is Thomas Mulcair?  Is Justin Trudeau more than his wavy hair?   

The Political State of Play 

Many in Alberta were surprised by the May 5, 2015 election in Alberta, when and where Rachel Notley’s Alberta New Democratic Party won the right to govern a province that was in the hands of the right leaning Alberta PCs for some 44 years.  At the same time, the NDP victory in Alberta shocked all of Canada and dramatically changed the political landscape for the upcoming October 19 general election.  Important to realize, Canadians were already skittish about the policies and management style of Stephen Harper – one poll that is taken on an annual basis is showing consistent numbers, 53 percent of Canadians feel that Mr. Harper is leading Canada in the wrong direction.  Other recent polls indicate a Thomas Mulcair, NDP surge, with a 33 percent approval rating, 4 percentage points ahead of Mr. Harper’s Conservatives and 7 points ahead of Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.  It’s a little early to suggest that Mr. Mulcair and the NDP are going to perform another “Orange Crush” but there is no question, Mr. Mulcair has gained some recognition and momentum, largely because of the Notley win in Alberta.  If Thomas Mulcair can carry that momentum into the debate season, he has a chance to form Canada’s first national NDP government.  For the present, Stephen Harper is on the defense and refuses to address the many questions put to him – he refuses to communicate with Canadians.  As well, Justin Trudeau simply hasn’t shown any spirit or spunk.    

The Debates

One of the great ironies attached to Canadian politics is just how devious politics can become, all at the expense of the electorate.  The televised leadership debates, an institution that has historically been the time when millions of Canadians judge the record and capabilities of the leadership candidates, has actually become a mishmash of controversy within the media industry (perpetrated by the Conservatives).  Presently there are something like 10 proposals put forward by various media organizations with little concrete commitment from any of the major political parties.  I’ve always thought that politics was the expression of ideas and politicians, with different approaches, debating the merits of their ideas and arriving at the best solution for the public – it’s not happening in this election. 

Selling Off Local History

Whispering in the Wind (WITW 82) July 15, 2015

Every once in a while something “big” happens in the Smoky Lake area – something that requires attention, scrutiny and hopefully some sober second thought.  A few years back the issue was City of Edmonton water coming into a number of communities in the Smoky Lake, Thorhild areas.  Today, it is the supply of electricity to farmers, ranchers and other rural landowners in the Smoky Lake, Vegreville areas. 

ATCO Electric’s Bid

A month ago I was visited by a representative from the ATCO Electric organization.  After a few niceties about the weather I was given a pamphlet outlining an offer-to-purchase proposal to owner-members of the Lakeland Rural Electrification Association.  The pamphlet was/is clear; ATCO Electric is offering to purchase the operations and assets of the Lakeland REA, a regionally owned electricity cooperative.  The offer by ATCO is described in the first paragraph of their pamphlet:  “… ATCO Electric’s purchase proposal of $30,168,234 for the Lakeland REA system would be divided among the approximate 1,448 Lakeland member contract holders.”

Lakeland REA’s Reaction    

The Lakeland REA’s Board of Directors were apparently stunned by ATCO’s “hostile” maneuver.  The board is suggesting that the unsolicited offer to the REA members was contrary to ATCO’s policy on how ATCO would do business with REAs – and the understanding held by the regulator of Alberta’s electricity industry, the Alberta Utilities Commission.  I understand ATCO faxed their offer notice to Lakeland REA’s head office in Vegreville on June 15 – and at the same time, ATCO employees were in the region distributing offer-to-purchase pamphlets to REA owner-members.  About a day or so later members received a leaflet in the mail entitled “MESSAGE FROM YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS RE: ATCO’S HOSTILE TAKEOVER ATTEMPT”.  The leaflet went on to state:  “Your Board of Directors is unanimous in its opinion that a sale to ATCO would not be in the best interests of the Lakeland REA membership.”  The information leaflet also claimed that ATCO was not operating in “good faith” and was providing “misleading information” to Lakeland REA members.  To facilitate a better understanding of the issues involved, the Lakeland REA announced information sessions in Mundare, Smoky Lake, Vegreville and Derwent – ATCO also announced scheduled information sessions in their pamphlet – same towns, same dates and times, different venues.

Concurrent Information Meetings 

For Smoky Lake, the information sessions were held on July 8, from 4 to 7pm.  The REA’s session was held at the Smoky Lake curling club, ATCO’s session was staged at the Ukrainian National Hall.  At the curling club about 75 – 80 REA members heard the co-op’s president, Bernie Klammer express board’s frustration and despair regarding the actions and process undertaken by ATCO Electric.  Most of my time was spent at the Smoky Lake curling rink and from what I observed, attitudes have polarized within the REA community in the Smoky Lake area, and there doesn’t appear to be a way to develop a reasonable consensus.  From my perspective the challenges for the REA board will be difficult and the biggest challenge will be to achieve the best possible result for the Lakeland REA owner-members – and that means translating the nostalgia and the sweat put into building and maintaining a locally owned utility system into dollars and cents.  In accounting terms, it means introducing the “goodwill” factor.