The Alison Redford transgressions thread. Update- Redford quits.

[Flacker]

Originally Posted by Rathji

I can't see anything wrong with these expenses.

The trip seems reasonably priced, considering the 3 days and the distance traveled. You put this next to the cost of the South Africa trip and it is a huge bargain.

The dinner is not overly expensive, unless you think that these people should be eating at Burger King. Even eating at a place like the Keg with a single drink per person could easily be $45 each.

The tux rental, if used during a work function seems like a normal thing to do. I have only ever rented a tux for a wedding, but if I needed one for a work function I would certainly be trying to expense it.

I get that many are seeing blood in the water and want to pile on Redford and the whole government, but these things seem quite tame.

Out of curiosity, how does Travel Alberta rank in the hierarchy of the government? Do they report to a minister for funding like this? How much money does tourism bring in or can that kind of thing really be quantified?

Not sure why his compensation and bonus would factor into whether he expenses a tux rental or not. It is either a legitimate expense or it isn't, there aren't different rules because you pull down a large salary.

[Knut]

This may not be the right place to ask this. Honest question.

But how would a 5% PST contribute to the reduction in the Alberta Deficit?

[Jacks]

They'd find a way to spend the extra money, we already have record revenues.

[killer_carlson]

Alberta is at record levels of revenue. Never seen before amounts.

The issue is not a revenue issue. The issue is how the revenue is managed. It is not being done efficiently.

[CaramonLS]

Originally Posted by Flacker

Not sure why his compensation and bonus would factor into whether he expenses a tux rental or not. It is either a legitimate expense or it isn't, there aren't different rules because you pull down a large salary.

Right, but on the other hand, the 800 dollar dinner might not be one that everyone can slide past their boss.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by fotze

I'd question taking a person you are wooing from Singapore out to the Grizzly House. Hope they bought him a new suit after making them sit in there for a few hours.

I think those were two unrelated expenses. The first event was the $9000 trip to Singapore to recruit a new CFO and VP. The second event was the $800 dinner at Grizzly House for a group of 14 people.

[Vedder]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

Alberta is at record levels of revenue. Never seen before amounts.

The issue is not a revenue issue. The issue is how the revenue is managed. It is not being done efficiently.

That really depends on what your philosophy is regarding non-renewable resource revenue and how much we should be relying on that stream to cover our operating budget.

From the government's own operational plan:

Alberta relies heavily on revenue sources that can be volatile and unpredictable,
including non-renewable resources, corporate income tax and investment
income. Since 2000-01, these revenue sources have accounted for anywhere
between 38% and 55% of total revenue. In 2013-14 they are forecast to

amount to 40% of total revenue, and in 2014-15, 39%.

http://finance.alberta.ca/publicatio...ional-plan.pdf

[Resolute 14]

Which is why we shouldn't be spending like drunken sailors on leave, but instead pumping money into the Heritage Trust Fund.

[Maccalus]

With the population growth that Alberta has been seeing in recent times, I hope that each budget will have a new record in revenue. Just that fact alone does not win any argument on whether or not we have a revenue or spending problem, it just means we have a lot more people.

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by darklord700

Another questionable miss use of public money.

What does Travel Alberta really do? And if I were interviewing for a job, I go to my employer's place for an interview, not the other way around. But I'm not in Singapore so what do I know.

---------------------------------------
http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald...tml?id=9604069

- A Travel Alberta executive spent nearly $9,000 for a three-day trip to Singapore and dropped more than $800 on a dinner at a swank restaurant that was on his “bucket list,” "

-Travel Alberta CEO Bruce Okabe flew to Singapore solely to negotiate a contract with Sandip Lalli, whom he hired as chief financial officer and vice-president of operations.

- the CEO of Travel Alberta, who makes $240,000 in salary plus $150,000 in benefits, saw fit to bill taxpayers for a $150 tuxedo rental as a hospitality expense,”

Did they really have to go all the way to Singapore to find someone suitable for this Alberta government position? Or was going to Singapore on Bruce Okabe's bucket list too?
There wasn't a single Canadian citizen qualified? I'm assuming that Sandip Lalli isn't Canadian.. but maybe I'm wrong.

[BigNumbers]

Originally Posted by Rerun

Did they really have to go all the way to Singapore to find someone suitable for this Alberta government position? Or was going to Singapore on Bruce Okabe's bucket list too?
There wasn't a single Canadian citizen qualified? I'm assuming that Sandip Lalli isn't Canadian.. but maybe I'm wrong.

The bolded comes across as racist, in my opinion.

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by BigNumbers

Fixed that for you.

BS....Where does racism come into it? I've got no problem with the Alberta government hiring anybody... white, black, Asian, whatever.

My problem is that apparently they couldn't find anyone here in Canada for a taxpayer paid government position.

I would have said the same thing if they went to Switzerland or Denmark or Russia. Would you have called me a racist then?

[Slava]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

Alberta is at record levels of revenue. Never seen before amounts.

The issue is not a revenue issue. The issue is how the revenue is managed. It is not being done efficiently.

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Which is why we shouldn't be spending like drunken sailors on leave, but instead pumping money into the Heritage Trust Fund.

While I really wanted to see how many posts you guys could get to with no opposition (I was hoping you would hit 250 for the record!), I can't help myself. This is where and why I think the government is in a really difficult position. On one side you have people screaming for services and funding to education and health care in particular. Schools are packed and we hear the cry that we need more schools built now. Then the other side says we are spending too much money and should cut. How do you propose we reconcile these two problems?

Don't just refer me to the Wild Rose platform or 10yr plan. I read it and I'm sceptical that it would work, particularly when it comes to new schools. They use a school in Nova Scotia and a k-8 in Saskatchewan as comparable for what schools should be costing here. I just plain doubt that's a good comparison for a school in Calgary, Edmonton or Lethbridge which almost surely wouldn't be k-8 and probably needs higher capacity just based on projected population.

Sorry to those who were enjoying the "I hate Redford and would never vote for her to begin with, but she made me upset again" thread.

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by Rerun

BS....Where does racism come into it? I've got no problem with the Alberta government hiring anybody... white, black, Asian, whatever.

My problem is that apparently they couldn't find anyone here in Canada for a taxpayer paid government position.

I would have said the same thing if they went to Switzerland or Denmark or Russia. Would you have called me a racist then?

His inference was that you assumed Sandip Lalli was not canadian because his name wasn't John Smith.

I presume you didn't think he was canadian because he lives in Singapore.

[Jacks]

Amazing how easily people call each other racist on the internet.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by BigNumbers

Fixed that for you.

Worst and dumbest fix ever, there was absolutely nothing racist about his post. Bottom line is the first mandate is to hire a qualified Canadian. I have trouble seeing that there isn't a qualified VP or CFO in a country of 30 million people.

I think along with the expense the hiring process has to be looked at to see how the search was handled.

But labeling him as racist in his post is ridiculous.

[BigNumbers]

Fair enough - I read it as rather racist, but if I am offbase I apologize and have struck the comment.

[BigNumbers]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

His inference was that you assumed Sandip Lalli was not canadian because his name wasn't John Smith.

I presume you didn't think he was canadian because he lives in Singapore.

Exactly. the way it was worded seemed he was being racist about the name... Implying that a Canadian can't be named Sandip. If that wasn't the intent, what was?

[BigNumbers]

Originally Posted by Rerun

BS....Where does racism come into it? I've got no problem with the Alberta government hiring anybody... white, black, Asian, whatever.

My problem is that apparently they couldn't find anyone here in Canada for a taxpayer paid government position.

I would have said the same thing if they went to Switzerland or Denmark or Russia. Would you have called me a racist then?

Yes.

If you had said "I'm assuming that Vladmir Vodka isn't Canadian" - I would have called you racist just the same. Basing your assumption on the origin of his name is racist in the most basic sense of the word.

[Resolute 14]

You are presenting a false dichotomy, Slava. While one can certainly mock the lack of detail in Wildrose's plans at times, the choice isn't limited to "spend more" and "cut services". Given how much waste exists in Redford's office alone, one can hardly believe that the government as a whole is operating with anything approaching efficiency.