Alberta Politics Thread

[IliketoPuck]

To be fair though, I think Ceci has shown the Peter Principle isn't a real thing.

Rising to your level of incompetence....

Actually, I think the NDP in general have proven that the Peter Principle isn't feasible. I'm not sure I'd put them in charge of a hockey team bingo fundraiser, let alone a $50+Bn per year entity.

[Locke]

This is what happens when you allow Edmonton to make decisions. There should be no decisions allowed within a 100Km radius of Edmonton.

Now, if you'll excuse me I need to see a man about a giant glass dome...

[northcrunk]

Originally Posted by Locke

This is what happens when you allow Edmonton to make decisions. There should be no decisions allowed within a 100Km radius of Edmonton.

Now, if you'll excuse me I need to see a man about a giant glass dome...

No kidding. Edmonton = no good in everything except sweat pants and dress shoes.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Why does it take the Serenity incident to foment change on this law?

And, unfortunately, this has nothing to do with Serenity's abusive life or death. It's only because the complete incompetency was reported on that anyone is doing anything.


http://globalnews.ca/news/3122402/ra...ld-care-death/

Alberta’s opposition parties are renewing calls for the human services minister to be fired over the death of a child in care, but Premier Rachel Notley says they’re just playing politics.

Of course the opposition is playing politics, and it's terrible and sickening to use something like this as ammunition. But Notley is no better for defending the minister. There was gross-negligence if not actual corruption. Multiple people screwed up so completely in this that there will likely be no justice for Serenity, forgetting completely that it was the kinship program that put her in that position. But because the head of the organization in charge of that was an appointed NDP MLA, Notley's going to defend such gross negligence and spout bull#### about how she has faith in him...She's worse than the opposition for doing so.

[CaptainCrunch]

Politicians are sociopaths, that's just the way it is, and you give them some power and they forget about the lofty goals of serving the people, and the public good, and they become power hungry monsters who serve themselves and their party.


This whole thing is just disgusting to me and for the minister to blatantly stand up and say, I did a good job and I'm not resigning so I can continue to do a good job is disgusting and wrong and for Notley to defend this is even more gross, but my expectations of Notley started low to be honest and are now in the sewers somewhere.

Its not about justice for the victim, it never was, its about how they can ignore it and then deny it and then cover their asses.

The NDP to their credit have caught on quick. I didn't think they were corrupt, but they are. I thought they were ernest but misguided, I was wrong. I thought that they might be different but I'm wrong. They're just as deceitful and corrupt and scumbaggy as every other politician out there, a separate class of dirtbags with nice suits a smile a blade in their hand and a fin on their back doing works to curry favors with their masters whether its the unions or oil companies or whatever.

Anarchy is looking like the best form of government.

You want to create a fair and ernest government. Advertise it as a position where your primary goal is to govern fairly and properly and without corruption and at the end of your four year term the incoming government ritualistically kills you and takes your place.

Then only the insane, the suicidal and the people who want to serve the public good would step up.

[GP_Matt]

I don't know now if this counts as an NDP tax cut but for years the government has contracted out crown plan storage and they charged $13 per plan to retrieve them. They just put it back out for tender and the new supplier wil only charge $3. This will be a not insignificant savings for the resource industry that has to buy these plans to find out what is in the area. I had a small job recently in a busy area and spent 10% of our budget buying plans.

Thanks Rachel

[Ozy_Flame]

Wait, so this is a good thing? Or no? "Thanks Rachel" is a meme that has lost its absolute meaning now.

[Resolute 14]

"How DARE the opposition try to grandstand and score points off of my government's incompetence! Don't they know that only we are allowed to do that?" - Rachel Notley.

[CaptainCrunch]

I think the other parties should boycott the committee and force him to step down.

He should be nowhere near that committee at all.

[para transit fellow]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Why does it take the Serenity incident to foment change on this law?

Because change happens to any organization when there is an outside stimulus or public pressure. A catastrophic event such as the death of a child is unfortunately such a stimulus.

Sometimes the initial reaction is some sort of "common-sense" superficial dealing with an overt aspect or symptom of the catastrophe. What is really needed instead will be some sort of change to addressing any root causes.

I don't think "serenity's law" does much to help the "boots on the ground" making decisions about the current care of kids like Serenity.

The proposed amendment will improve ability to report and increases penalty for failure to report... but I don't see the amendment necessarily changing a similar chain of events and decisions of foster-family or kin-family placement situations. Comments and complaints were made to officials but the placement wasn't changed.

At the root of the situation: bad case supervision is still bad case supervision (even if the penalty for failure to report increases).

I fear that the quick adoption of "serenity's law" will greatly please the opposition. The will pat themselves on the back and tell their constituents about there success changing the child welfare system. However, quick adoption of this law will also cause the opposition expend there window to make change and inhibit future advocating for improvement to child welfare in this province.

[Resolute 14]

Well, as Greg Clark notes, one of the things the opposition is trying to do is get the NDP to follow through on changes that the PCs were working on but which presumably died on the order desk because of the election. So Sabir has been aware for a year and a half, but did absolutely nothing until the opposition started to make a stink about it, and even then, all he's done is propose a committee.

But the simple fact is, the evidence suggests that if the opposition hadn't begun grandstanding, Sabir would still be doing nothing. This, unfortunately, is what it sometimes takes to get action.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

"How DARE the opposition try to grandstand and score points off of my government's incompetence! Don't they know that only we are allowed to do that?" - Rachel Notley.

Deflect! Delfect! That's all the Nutley govt knows how to do when the opposition tries to hold the govt accountable. Instead of shouldering some blame they deflect to the 44 years the PC was in power. Serentity was murdered and yet the NDP is not interested in finding blame or having those responsible charged.

The whole question period thing in the Alberta legislature is one big ####ing joke! All they do is lob insults at one another and point fingers at one another when a valid issue or question is raised. It's like watching a bunch grade school children argue. Disgraceful!

[Dion]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

I think the other parties should boycott the committee and force him to step down.

He should be nowhere near that committee at all.

On Tuesday, opposition parties banded together in an unusual show of solidarity, saying the panel announced by Sabir lacked teeth and would delay taking action to improve the system.

They proposed an alternate framework, which included implementing the recommendations of past reviews, ensuring the panel’s work is in public and recorded in Hansard, and removing Sabir from the panel so he can be grilled about his department.

The government was expected to have an answer to the opposition parties Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, but as of noon Wednesday, there was still no word.

Opposition House Leader Nathan Cooper said it was “more than a little disappointing” not to have heard from government.

“Yesterday … the minister of human services said in the house that they reached out or were reaching out, none of which has transpired,” he said.

“It’s a little bit frustrating to be accused of playing politics when the government is saying one thing and doing another.”

http://www.calgarysun.com/2016/12/14...rvention-panel

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by Dion

Deflect! Delfect! That's all the Nutley govt knows how to do when the opposition tries to hold the govt accountable. Instead of shouldering some blame they deflect to the 44 years the PC was in power. Serentity was murdered and yet the NDP is not interested in finding blame or having those responsible charged.

The whole question period thing in the Alberta legislature is one big ####ing joke! All they do is lob insults at one another and point fingers at one another when a valid issue or question is raised. It's like watching a bunch grade school children argue. Disgraceful!

Unfortunately this is no different than every other government ever.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by edslunch

Unfortunately this is no different than every other government ever.

Which makes me wonder why they have it in the first place. A complete waste of time that could be used for say talking with Albertans to get a feel for what they think about how the govt is doing. God forbid any govt actually taking the time to listen to the concerns of the voters.

[Dion]

Alberta businesses fret as province-wide carbon tax nears

Foisy runs a small greenhouse near Morinville. Rosenau has a large trucking business with 750 employees and operations across Western Canada.

Like many Alberta entrepreneurs, a common thread draws them together today: questions and concerns about the incoming provincial carbon tax.

Just days before the new $20-a-tonne carbon tax kicks in across the province, they’re trying to figure out how the levy will affect their companies, customers and employees.

“It’s going to increase our heat bill by 30 to 50 per cent,” says Foisy, who’s also president of the Alberta Greenhouse Growers Association.

“We just can’t add that cost on. Who’s going to pay?”

For greenhouse operators, the changes will be significant.

About one-quarter of their operating costs are tied to heating and cooling expenses, as greenhouses use a lot of natural gas.

The association, which represents 138 growers that employ more than 4,000 full- and part-time workers, expects the carbon tax will increase industry costs by about $5 million next year.

Greenhouse operators are still hoping for some type of rebate to match those available to competitors in neighbouring British Columbia, which already has a carbon tax.

Foisy isn’t certain how much her operating expenses will rise — her company, Debs Greenhouse, moved into a new greenhouse this year — but she anticipates cutting her labour costs in response, not hiring three full-time positions.

At Rosenau Transport Ltd., the business runs 450 trucks and 1,400 trailers across the western provinces.

President Carl Rosenau has a pretty good idea of the additional fuel expenses tied to the levy — about $600,000 next year — but the business also operates more than one million square feet of warehouse space that requires power and heat.

“We are just going to pass it on,” says Rosenau, past chairman of the Alberta Motor Transport Association.

“I can’t absorb that, and so it’s going to affect the price of your lettuce to your bread to everything that consumers purchase, because all carriers are doing it.”

Rosenau is unsure how the business will deal with freight being transported from Saskatchewan, which has no carbon tax, into Alberta and B.C. He’ll likely have to pro-rate the extra charges.

http://calgaryherald.com/business/lo...rbon-tax-nears

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Dion

On Tuesday, opposition parties banded together in an unusual show of solidarity, saying the panel announced by Sabir lacked teeth and would delay taking action to improve the system.

They proposed an alternate framework, which included implementing the recommendations of past reviews, ensuring the panel’s work is in public and recorded in Hansard, and removing Sabir from the panel so he can be grilled about his department.

The government was expected to have an answer to the opposition parties Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, but as of noon Wednesday, there was still no word.

Opposition House Leader Nathan Cooper said it was “more than a little disappointing” not to have heard from government.

“Yesterday … the minister of human services said in the house that they reached out or were reaching out, none of which has transpired,” he said.

“It’s a little bit frustrating to be accused of playing politics when the government is saying one thing and doing another.”

http://www.calgarysun.com/2016/12/14...rvention-panel

I sure hope they aren't trying to stall a decision on this and then go away for the Christmas break, hoping that everyone will forget about it, because that would be absolutely despicable. Unfortunately though, how surprised would you really be?

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by Dion

Alberta businesses fret as province-wide carbon tax nears

http://calgaryherald.com/business/lo...rbon-tax-nears

Again, in before the usual NDP response:

Good. Those dirty disgusting companies, they DESERVE to be forced to shut down and die if they:

a) Can't pay the additional carbon tax we're forcing on them.
b) Can't pay the additional business tax we're forcing on them.
c) Can't pay the additional increase in wages we're forcing on them.

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by chemgear

Again, in before the usual NDP response:

Good. Those dirty disgusting companies, they DESERVE to be forced to shut down and die if they:

a) Can't pay the additional carbon tax we're forcing on them.
b) Can't pay the additional business tax we're forcing on them.
c) Can't pay the additional increase in wages we're forcing on them.

Small businesses are getting a tax cut are they not?

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Slava

I sure hope they aren't trying to stall a decision on this and then go away for the Christmas break, hoping that everyone will forget about it, because that would be absolutely despicable. Unfortunately though, how surprised would you really be?

They're on Christmas break as of today.