UCP’s old playbook isn’t working in Alberta
By Letter to the Editor on June 18, 2020.
The UCP playbook is old, worn and tattered. The prologue is missing – think the Lougheed era. And yet again Albertans are on the edge of being subjected to that worn-out game plan, just like the repeating theme in Harlequin Christmas movies.
We will be told that oil and gas is king and that we must protect the overpaid jobs. And, to that end, the narrative will be that Albertans cannot afford our overpaid public-sector employees. But, nothing will acknowledge the Alberta Advantage was for all in the context of Alberta having a medium family income in excess of $10,000 and up to $18,000 over the poorest province.
So Alberta will commit funding to a single sector, as that old playbook calls for massive cuts to the public sector. This strategy will be executed through unilateral legislation to accomplish the single-minded agenda. Albertans are uniting as the pandemic proceeds. Many are tired of the decisions affecting the cancellation of the master agreement with the AMA, the transfers of nurses’ and teachers’ pensions to AIMCo along with the threat to transfer our CPP to AIMCo. Decisions made during the billion-dollar losses of AIMCo due to investments in the oil-and-gas sector. Politics in Alberta are a fickle dilemma – support the extreme right or the extreme left. 2020 is similar to the short-lived Prentice government when the Conservatives did not get it.
Fortunately many know how to solve the Alberta reality of living the biggest farce of our adult lives. That being, accepting oil and gas cannot and has not paid our way, and never will. There are too many boom-and-bust realities from 1975.
Let’s just get on with solving our deficit budget, debt retirement and providing the highest quality public services. There is a simple solution for a province that has the highest median family income with the lowest income tax – a provincial sale tax. Imagine a new playbook when the windfall royalties are purposed for a long-term plan. Alberta has only an $18-billion legacy in our Heritage Trust Fund managed by the Conservative stewards for 41 years.
Lougheed had the vision, but the Conservatives have acted without due diligence, while continually demanding improved results from the public sector.
Yes, Jason Kenney, Albertans have a financial reckoning. Perhaps you will turn on your hearing aids, stop the gutting of the public sector and revoke the unilateral decisions.
John E. Percevault
Lethbridge
11-10
John has nailed it. The fact is as former MLAs taught us from the Lougheed era you can’t trust a Reformer they are nothing like the conservatives we proudly supported under Lougheed and Getty and Ralph Klein and Jason Kenney have certainly proven it.
The UCP has been banging on facebook and country newspapers about Alberta paying more than it’s share to Ottawa.
A careful selection of dates enabled this statement! More to the point, Alberta received equalization payments from conception until 1947 and again from 1957 to 1965. We got our share of the program when we needed it! It is a Canadian solution so both Harper and the WRP want to end it! The CON stats date from 1971.
The folks in Southern Alberta are not backward about backing Mitt Romney for their next President. Yet strangely quiet in Canada except for their funding.
Agreed….for more, on where the UCP’s ‘old playbook’ comes from, this blog/blogger is pertinent, again:
“As predicted, ‘Fair Deal’ panel reheats the Firewall Manifesto to manufacture consent for policies Albertans don’t want.”
http://www.albertapolitics.ca
Subsections and the reasons for this ‘Fair Deal’ include:
“Neutralizing the threat from the right, Distracting from the UCP’s ideological project, Getting rid of Naheed Nenshi, Discomfiting Justin Trudeau, and, Manufacturing consent for policies Albertans don’t want.” Well worth reading…….and to keep in mind that even Ralph Klein gave the original ‘firewal manifesto’ letter a toss.
What is happening with this Kenney UCP government, for myself and many others who follow these things, is cause for alarm. Again, when will Albertans, finally, realize what is really going on here. It remains as to whose toxic influence from the original ‘Firewall Manifesto” is still pertinent, in the background…..control, control control……
Since Alberta spends substantially more than other provinces for it’s public service, what better time to correct these fiscal excesses than the present , given that Alberta can no longer afford to do so.
For at least a generation, including both conservative and NDP governments ,this province has been poorly governed. The problem has been that spending has consistently exceeded revenues.
looks like alberta may soon be getting its equalisation share; too bad we have a nixon for a premier.
Do you really think that if Alberta is not paying in, and everyone else is also struggling that the Feds will keep the equalization program? Of course not, it was a great way to bribe Quebec when payments came from the provinces, but if everyone screwed, watch how PM Schettino decides to abandon ship.