The Day the World Turned Upside Down
As everyone has heard, the New Democratic Party won an unprecedented victory here in the provincial election of May 5, 2015. In one sweep, the party took 53 seats, gaining 49 MLAs. On the following day, I was sitting on my chesterfield looking out the window, when it occurred to me that I had not lived in an Alberta without a PC government since back in the time when I ran home from school every day to watch Gilligan’s Island. Now brothers and sisters are grandparents and every friend has grey hairs. The people keep pinching themselves in order to believe it.
Of course, no government stays in power that long without becoming corrupt and complacent. Under Princess Alison Redford the fraud reached eye-popping levels, as the premier commandeered a fleet of government planes for her personal use and annexed public space in the Legislature building since, being a princess entitled her to a castle. Auditor General Merwin Saher cited the culture in the Alberta Progressive Conservative party that allowed these crimes, along with, “...the aura of power around Premier Redford and her office and the perception that the influence of the office should not be questioned."(1) After the outcry, Jim Prentice replaced Ms Redford. He then blamed Albertans for the disastrous provincial finances, saying we should “look in the mirror” when searching for the people responsible for the mess, apparently forgetting that his party had been in power for the past forty-four years. Sadly, after that, he couldn’t pry his foot out of his mouth with a crowbar. In addition, late in the election with the NDP gaining, Mr. Prentice displayed the astounding complacency in his party with his airy dismissal of the challenge, saying that, “Alberta isn’t an NDP province.”(2)
So, amid the rubble, dust and smoke, Alberta now has a new provincial government. For now I’ll withhold my judgment, although Rachel Notley’s eagerness to soothe the petroleum corporations raised a foul smell. I hope she won’t turn into another Bob Rae, but the $15.00 an hour minimum wage is a beacon of hope, so I’m interested to see what changes she makes. In any case, Albertans need another forty years of a one-party state again like they need brain cancer.
1. CBC News, “Alison Redford Used Public Money Inappropriately,” AG Says. CBC Corporation Website, August 7, 2014
2. Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press, appearing in the Winnipeg Free Press, Posted 04/24/2015, 5:22 pm
Of course, no government stays in power that long without becoming corrupt and complacent. Under Princess Alison Redford the fraud reached eye-popping levels, as the premier commandeered a fleet of government planes for her personal use and annexed public space in the Legislature building since, being a princess entitled her to a castle. Auditor General Merwin Saher cited the culture in the Alberta Progressive Conservative party that allowed these crimes, along with, “...the aura of power around Premier Redford and her office and the perception that the influence of the office should not be questioned."(1) After the outcry, Jim Prentice replaced Ms Redford. He then blamed Albertans for the disastrous provincial finances, saying we should “look in the mirror” when searching for the people responsible for the mess, apparently forgetting that his party had been in power for the past forty-four years. Sadly, after that, he couldn’t pry his foot out of his mouth with a crowbar. In addition, late in the election with the NDP gaining, Mr. Prentice displayed the astounding complacency in his party with his airy dismissal of the challenge, saying that, “Alberta isn’t an NDP province.”(2)
So, amid the rubble, dust and smoke, Alberta now has a new provincial government. For now I’ll withhold my judgment, although Rachel Notley’s eagerness to soothe the petroleum corporations raised a foul smell. I hope she won’t turn into another Bob Rae, but the $15.00 an hour minimum wage is a beacon of hope, so I’m interested to see what changes she makes. In any case, Albertans need another forty years of a one-party state again like they need brain cancer.
1. CBC News, “Alison Redford Used Public Money Inappropriately,” AG Says. CBC Corporation Website, August 7, 2014
2. Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press, appearing in the Winnipeg Free Press, Posted 04/24/2015, 5:22 pm
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