Our own miniature version of Donald the Duck has referred to people who oppose him as extremists.
Regarding the “Giving Albertans a stronger voice in democracy” March 30 government of Alberta news release pertaining to the Alberta’s Recall Act and Citizenship Initiative Act, one reads in the third paragraph: “This is another promise kept.” Hmm?
How so? Just how will Albertans recall any politician? What are the rules? How have recall legislation worked in Canada and in the States? How will politicians be held accountable for misusing campaign funds? What is the government doing now about PACs?
Bill 13, the Financial Innovation Act will create a new regulatory “sandbox” for all kinds of financial services. Bottom line: Just another bureaucracy that will reduce so-called “red tape” for the benefit of the business community.
Remember: When a politician talks about reducing red tape, what he/she is actually saying is, “We’re going to do away with regulations/protections for the consumer.”
Of course, the usual argument is that reducing red tape/rules will “lead to more competition and lower costs for the consumer.”
Did that work for the Boeing Max 737 or for the 300 people who lost their lives to “cutting red tape?” How about the creation of the “war room?”
No freedom of information will be available to the public except for the $194,000 salary to the head of that new department/bureaucracy. “No longer will the NDP allied groups like LeadNow, Dogwood, and the Suzuki Foundation be able to take American cash from the Rockefeller Brothers (?), Tides Foundation and other foreign funded interests to interfere in our democracy” (UCP website; Dec. 2, 2021). How did they do that? Rob them? Kidnap them? Where is the threat?
However, it’s OK for the Kenney government to use our “public money” to support the energy sector and to create a new bureaucracy -- the War Room.
He has no compunction using the vast wealth of Charles Koch, worth more than $47 billion, to promote the energy sector and to attack environmentalists. Bottom line: Is it OK for Mr. Kenney to attack the environmentalists using our money whereas the environmentalists are not. Talk about stacking the deck, eh?
How about the new elementary school curriculum proposed by the minister of Education? Despite near universal opposition from teachers and school boards, Education Minister Adriana LaGrange is going ahead with some of this absurd curriculum.
Moreover, LaGrange is going to spend more public money creating and supporting more charter schools and private schools. And she is going to create another bureaucracy to fire teachers. Did we get to vote on any of these proposals?
So, where is the democracy and the transparency in Kenney’s government? Did he show it when negotiating, behind our backs, with the mining companies? How about the non-existent negotiations with the doctors? The nurses? The teachers? The sale of Crown land to private developers? Disallowing certain people from running against UCP cabinet members?
Jason Kenney, despite opposition from the public and from the municipal governments, continues to promote a provincial police force. Just another example of wasting our dollars promoting something the public doesn’t want or need.
Have you read the Students First Act? Minister LaGrange is promoting a new act to punish teachers despite little evidence that teachers as a whole pose a problem to students. As a matter of fact, she says, “There are still rare circumstances where a teacher is found guilty of unprofessional conduct or professional incompetence."
So, why is she proposing a new act? Maybe she should read the School Act. But, hey, the UCP is running scared, and it’s using every tactic in its propaganda tool box to confuse and to scare people.
Maybe we should create the Voters First Act in order to remove politicians who say one thing but do another thing, eh? Remove politicians who misspend our money. Or remove politicians who went on holidays while telling us to stay home due to the pandemic.
We should have referendums to determine where our money will be spent such as funding new charter schools and new private schools. A referendum on the creation of a new police force. A referendum on a new pension program to replace CPP and OAS. A referendum on proposed legislation to replace federal gun laws.
Questions: Why is Kenney’s government “hell bent” on imposing American values in our schools, in our financial institutions, in private health care, in our police forces, and in our judicial system? Is he trying to create a new state? North Texas?
One word sums up Kenney’s style of governing. Autocracy.
George Thatcher,
Trochu
