2009 - Lest We Forget

2009- Lest We Forget

The year from hell that was 2009 is quickly drawing to an end and it could not come sooner for me and many Albertans that have weathered what amounted to the perfect storm. Poor foresight, even poorer hindsight and a premier that is big on the blame game, coupled with a dramatic and rather sudden collapse of the oil and gas markets, resulted in Alberta’s reputation sinking to depths not seen since the Getty days. The year witnessed Alberta’s economy plummeting to depths of despair unseen since the NEP of the early 1980‘s. Why?  What caused us to go from boom to bust in such a short period of time? Who is to be held responsible and accountable to Albertans?

Ed Stelmach, Mel Knight, Iris Evans, Ron Liepert, Ted Morton, and I could go on, are very much responsible for the investment meltdown in Alberta and in particular, the oil and gas sector. They are the leaders of the abandonment of fiscal conservatism. They abandoned our interests and are taking care of their own. They were eleted to represent southern Albertans but once elected, beagn immediately to suffer from dome sickness which has been known to cause swollen heads and egos and aloss of brain function which has resulted in sever and chronic pains to Albertans arsses.

They have driven in excess of $ 100 Billion from the future Alberta economy and delayed development in this Province of untold opportunities that could have, should have and would have been implemented if these people mentioned above had listened and understood the experts and had not been bent on getting more than their fair share. They sat back and orchestrated the event and watched as Albertans lost their jobs and towns lost businesses and people and hope. They took our number one and a very robust Albterta oil and gas industry and have drove it out of the province. And now they hope things get better; that gas goes to $ 9/GJ and oil to $ 150/Bbl and then junior oil and gas won't mind paying 100% royalty increases? Not likely going to happen. We need more than hope. We need change, new blood, capable and qualified leadership that has the support of Albertans.

If this cabinet knew anything at all about what they were doing and how devastating the effects of their misjudgements have been on ordinary Albertans, they would have reversed course over 2 years ago, cancelled implementation of the New Royalty Framework (NRF) and done what smart politicians would have done; admiotted their mistake, corrected it, relied on expert and varied sources of information and advice in lieu of the fact you have no expertise of your own. They did not, they will not and they must go. Each and every one of these negligent ministers and especially the nice premier has to go to the hearing clinic as they all have a severe hearing disability. They no longer represent our best interests, if they ever did.

The cost to average Albertans is enormous. Lost jobs for parents and new grads, failed businesses, broken up marriages and families, domestic violence, suicide, alcoholism and depression. These are just some of Ed and Mel’s “Unintended Consequences”. It is unacceptable and must be corrected.

Let’s take a look at the government’s website and their list of priorities. http://priorities.alberta.ca/

“Five Priorities for Alberta

There is tremendous opportunity to make the Alberta of tomorrow even better than it is today. To accomplish this, the Government of Alberta has laid out five priorities to guide its work.

Creating opportunity. Alberta has a strong economy and creating opportunities will grow the economy for future generations. The government’s plan is to build on traditional sectors – energy, agriculture and forestry – while creating more value-added opportunities.

A Healthy Approach.  Alberta’s health care system needs to put patients first – that’s the key focus for improving the system. It’s all part of making sure the right health services are there when Albertans need them, today and in the future.

Building Tomorrow. Alberta’s largest-ever investment in infrastructure is more than building new roads, schools and hospitals; it’s about maintaining what already exists. This means making sure dollars are spent wisely and growth is anticipated.

Resourceful. Responsible.  Alberta is Canada’s energy province and that means developing the resources and protecting the environment.   

Strong Communities.  Living in strong communities means feeling safe and secure; having a deep sense of belonging; and having access to a vibrant arts and cultural scene. “

Have they delivered on these priorities? Is this as deep as the thinking gets? This propaganda, in my mind, clearly points out that we need a healthcare system that puts patients first. This implies that it currently does not. They are going to spend our dollars wisely implies that they have not done that to date. We know that. They have killed the conventional oil and gas industry, drove Big Oil $ away and junior oil and gas has, if at all possible, been sold, packed up and left or are owner by their bankers; many are stalled in Alberta. Yet they acknowledge that Alberta is an energy province and we need to develop our resources? No it does not make any sense.

The PC dynasty will, with your help, soon  be a footnote in the history books and a new book full of promise, ideas, vision and compassion is being written and a real true conservative leader is capturing Albertans hearts and imaginations. The clouds are lifting, the Wildrose and Danielle Smith are allowing us to see again and yes there is light at the end of the tunnel. And one more thing, it is because of the emergence of the Wildrose Alliance Party.  This government would not be in full retreat if not for Danielle Smith and the Wildrose. Albertans are stopping to smell the roses and they like the fragrance. They like what they are hearing and seeing.

Danielle Smith and the Wildrose Alliance Party are very much on their way to winning over the hearts, minds and imaginations of Albertans. Danielle is a captivating leader. She draws people to her and she has the ability to win over even many of her adversaries with intelligent, well thought out and visionary ideas that Albertans will like and support. She thinks on her feet and she doesn’t sit on her hands or cover her ears. She does this with a smile and with a style that disarms people and make them fell comfortable.

Smaller government, less intrusion in our daily lives and businesses, less red tape, a smaller more efficient bureaucracy, the restoration of seniors benefits, support for the most vulnerable of our society , enshrining property rights and protecting free speech, responsible environmental policies that allow development and reclamation at a sustainable and acceptable rate. Profit is a good thing in entrepreneurial Alberta. We need to support and encourage the success of all Albertans and their businesses. We need to take care of our cherished seniors and rely on their advice and experience. We need to treat our seniors the way we would want to be treated and we better remember that we will all be seniors some day.

And, of course, Danielle Smith and the Wildrose will restore our competitive advantage that has been taken up by our friendly neighbours to the east, west and south.

What’s bad for Alberta has been a boon for Saskatchewan and BC. They should put a statue of Stelmach up in Regina and Victoria and hail him as a hero. If I were those 2 provinces I would be contributing big money to Ed’s re-election campaign. The out of province premier that has done more for the economies of Saskatchewan and BC than Brad Wall and Gordon Campbell could have ever dreamed of.

Where would Alberta based oil and gas producers be if Saskatchewan and BC had not pulled their heads out of the socialist sand and realized the golden opportunity facing their provinces? All that capital looking for a new home; why not do everything you can to attract that from Alberta businesses and out of province investors. Especially since it was looking for a new home. That was vision and leadership.

Mel Knight says we are not competing with Saskatchewan and BC. He is bang on about that. We are not competitive – period. Once again the government is totally out of sync with the energy industry timelines for budgets, planning and winter access. But our cousins on either side are very competitive, they were very smart, they listened  to the economic experts and they have enshrined fiscal policies that incent the oil and gas industry and attract capital and other businesses; away from Alberta.

Now BC is a quasi-socialist province, so they have plenty of other issues to tackle before they get this true conservative to give them a grading above a passing C. But their oil and gas policy gets an A.  Saskatchewan gets an A+.  Brad Wall is the big benefactor from the largess and sheer stupidity that is our PC government.

Alberta and the Stelmach Tories get a big fat F. They have failed us and they have failed their own party and rural supporters, their friends, their families and the businesses of their constituents. They are a colossal failure and disappointment and Albertans must now realize that these PC MLA’s are only out for their own good and couldn’t care less about you and me. This is their last chance to cash in and cash in they will. Let’s put these hapless PC MLA’s out to pasture and secure them with a high elk and buffalo farm style fence around them.

Join the cause of the Wildrose and let’s support Danielle Smith and the party that has Albertans best interests at heart and respects each and every Albertan and each and every industry.

Together we can “Get it Right”. There is no other alternative. Change from within is not happening and even if it did, we would have another under qualified Stelmach Tory in charge.

Let’s thank our lucky stars that we have the Wildrose Alliance Party and Danielle Smith and the growing support of concerned Albertans who encourage entrepreneurship, disdain big government and will rely on the expertise and ingenuity of Albertans to regain  Alberta’s competitive advantage and restore our faith in government, each other and our capabilities as a province.

Lest we forget 2009.