concerned-albertans

First of all Happy Easter to you all.

It is now Easter Monday and spring break-up is in the air and we all want to take a little time off and recharge our batteries. At least those in the oilpatch that have returned home to visit family. Rural Albertans are very busy. I am an Aries which explains my ramrod approach and  that will help explain my message to you today.

We cannot let our guards down politically and we cannot lift our foot off the neck of this government until our objectives are achieved. Today the NRF is in full effect on the entire production base pre-November 19, 2008 and that means a light oil well making in excess of+/-  125 BOPD will be paying a +/- 50% GORR to the Crown. Is that competitive? Not when the maximum Crown royalty on a similar well in Saskatchewan would be 30%. Why was the reduction in the maximum royalties on conventional oil and gas wells not made effective immediately? Because this government still doesn’t get it. They are under qualified to govern and  because their financial situation is worse than they let are letting on. And they are still hoping for a miracle rebound in natural gas prices and they are hoping Albertans will remain apathetic.

Your donation and commitment to the Wildrose Alliance is making a huge difference in the attitude of this government and while we are not the government or the official opposition, I think you all need to take some credit for stalling the haphazard agenda this government has ongoing and at least partially reversing the now infamous “ New Royalty Framework (NRF)”.

Six or 7 changes and counting but the one change that will really count is the change in government that has to happen. And Albertans are with us. While we have a long way to go on many fronts, look at how far we have come.

If this article doesn’t get your blood boiling, maybe the thought of 7 more years of Mr. Ed or some other talking horse from the PC cabinet will be enough to get your goat. The talent pool within the PC caucus only has a shallow end since Guy Boutilier, Heather Forsyth and Rob Anderson left.

Are you prepared to say that this government understands Albertans and the economy and our deep concerns with respect to our seniors, healthcare, education, business and landowners rights? Have they been heard and properly dealt with? Were you properly consulted?

Are you sure that they have reversed direction and/or will never make the same mistakes again? In healthcare, education, energy, seniors issues, property rights? Are they capable?

Can you trust the Premier to reverse his own personal agenda, admit his mistakes, apologize for the NRF, cancel it and somehow get it right? He does not believe the NRF was the cause of the implosion.

Can you trust the Tory MLA’s to represent you and your constituents interests as opposed to the current top down PC ramrod policy where the constituents and MLA’s  are left out, and an inner circle of unelected bureaucrats calls all the shots ? They have not yet, what makes you think they are going to change? Rural voters can smell a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Are you concerned that this smug, arrogant government/PC party is flush with election war chest dollars that they will use to try and discredit you, the Wildrose Alliance, the Liberals and get the PC’s re-elected? Even worse, are you concerned that the Liberals could somehow elect more liberals to the legislature? If you said no I am not sure they get it or will ever get it then you will agree with me on this:

It is time, once again,  to step up, buck up and I am personally going to donate whatever I can, whatever my company can and whatever my family can to the Wildrose because I am very concerned that this government can somehow have a war chest of the size they are bragging about after all the mistakes they have made. They will use it to buy votes and  try to buy favour from those that have opposed them. Now we must stand up and go to the next level of commitment and that is for all Albertans to buck up and replace this PC Party/Government that has drifted so far away from the values we as Albertans hold so dear.

Free Enterprise, endless opportunities, the Alberta Advantage, the leading economy in Canada, smaller government, lower taxes, a stable, competitive, sustainable, predictable and equitable fiscal energy and tax policy; Sound good? How about adequate yet less intrusive, costly, time consuming regulatory burdens, enshrining and honouring property rights, democratic reform, citizen recall, citizens referendum, the Alberta Agenda, balanced budgets and a return to common sense government led by common sense MLA’s? MLA’s who are experienced government outsiders and who are elected to proudly serve Albertans and return to private life and practise. We need a constant influx of new people and blood and ideas and the younger people must be included as we go forward. Higher affordable state of the art education must be provided. Our younger adults are going to be highly educated and it is up to us to make sure that they are and they will need to learn the common and practical skills that are only learned from the experience of being hands on and getting dirty every now and then and working in the field with the experts. And boy do we have experts in rural Alberta. It is time for us urbanites to get out and smell the roses.

Rural Albertans know hard work and together we can “ Get it Right” and get this job done. It is up to us to restore the Alberta Advantage and prepare to retire and hand this off to our younger, well prepared leaders and our children knowing we did what we had to do, and that we did it for the right reasons and the Province is left well positioned to lead Canada and the world in agricultural production and technology, forestry products and forest management, medical services, technology and research, tourism and of course our number one industry; sustainable energy exploration, development and extraction that focuses on advanced environmental technology, educating the public and expanding and developing new markets in the decades ahead.

In Alberta we are blessed like no other place on earth and it is time we all realized it and time we took control of our Province and our families future. One way to ensure you will have a say in your future is to support a grassroots Wildrose, get involved, donate and join other concerned Albertans that just so happen to agree with you. We now have a base of members that fully represents the Alberta electorate and economy and we are all willing to sit down with fellow Albertans, free of government interference and listen and work through the issues that affect us all. Communication, planning and mutual respect for each other will see us through and out of it all will come a comprehensive policy framework that assures our prosperity in the years ahead.

We can accomplish this and take care of our cherished seniors, our environment, our less fortunate citizens that require our compassion and our members and we know how to do it. It starts with a commitment to remove the fat and the PC’s from government and replace it with a highly capable, knowledgeable, practical, common sense, efficient government that represents the interests of all Albertans and not just those that happen to be blue Tories that blindly fill the PC war chest. We need a government that is a facilitator, not a hindrance to economic development.

The doctors, the nurses, the care givers, the teachers and professors, the farmers, ranchers, landowners, professionals, small businessmen and women across the Province,  the junior and mid-cap oil and gas industry, the oil and gas service sector, the agricultural industry, the tourism industry, the hotel and restaurant industry, the Forestry industry; I know I have left somehow left someone out, so how about “Concerned Albertans” that have been wronged, ignored and don’t want any more BS, we just want this government out.

It will cost us but it will be well worth it. Pass this message along.

Please step up and join, volunteer/commit and/or donate. Get a membership book and sell 10 memberships. The get another one and repeat. Ask for a donation. If you know someone that you think would be an excellent candidate, please have them contact me at blaine.maller@wildrosealliance.ca . I know it seems that all we do is ask for money but we are building a party that is built from the ground up, from the blood, sweat, tears and the hard earned money of the grassroots. In exchange for that commitment, the grassroots calls the shots. The members decide who the leader will be and the policy and direction this party will take. Our leader, Danielle Smith, will lead us and deliver our message to Albertans and Canadians. If you have not heard Danielle speak, go see her and take a friend and I am confident that you will come out of that experience with a confidence that Danielle  is the new leader we in Alberta have been waiting for and she is a leader for all Albertans. We are so very proud of her at the Wildrose.

 I am signed up to the monthly donations for $ 200/month which is $ 2400/year and is the maximum from a tax benefit basis. I am also committing to donating well in excess of that knowing that we may not need to match the PC’s in what we spend to contest the next election but also knowing it is not going to happen unless I and many others donate and commit to the cause. I am all in. I am donating to my Fish Creek CA as well. I know it is tedious and in the past we have not used seasoned political fundraisers. However, we are seasoned family and business people and we know common sense and we know we have to get rid of these guys and we know we have to buck up as it takes money to accomplish these goals. I have not been financially burdened by the money I have donated to date to the Wildrose, nor would I ask anyone to donate money they cannot afford. If you can’t donate money, donate your time and expertise as we all know time is money and the party needs volunteers in all constituencies and experts in all fields. Donate your ideas.

Look at the progress Wildrose has made with minimal funding, a commitment to what is right for Alberta families and businesses and a commitment to all those Albertans that have put their hopes and dreams and volunteer efforts into the Wildrose. We are now over 14,000 strong and we are determined and we are on the right side of the issues and we represent the New Alberta Advantage. We are committed, we are capable, and we will prevail.

Go to www.wildrosealliance.ca to join, donate, volunteer, get involved and to just keep up with the party. Thank you to all those that brought us to this point in time. History is in the making and you are a part of that and for that Albertans thank you and I thank you.

Blaine Maller

Now to get your blood boiling

“Article rank

5 Apr 2010

Calgary Herald

graham thomson gthomson@thejournal.canwest.com

Champagne corks are popping in Tory land

The Alberta Conservatives might be down, but they’re not out. If they are out, it’s probably to go shopping — for Champagne, perhaps, to celebrate how much money they have. We’re talking good bubbly, not Baby Duck.

New financial statements reveal the Conservatives have more money than all the other parties combined. They raised almost $2.8 million in 2009, and ended up with a surplus of $400,000 for the year — an improvement over 2008. Add the surplus to money already in the bank and they have $2.4 million in savings. Wait, there’s more. The Conservatives also have a special savings fund that contains $1.6 million. The party usually spends just the interest earned each year from the fund, but in a pinch it can access more. So, add the money in the fund to the savings ($1.6 million plus $2.4 million) and you have a $4-million war chest. If you’re a Conservative, you’ll want to go shopping for Dom Perignon.

The documents show a party in good financial health with healthy support from industry. Enbridge Pipelines donated $11,000; Encana, $10,750; Syncrude, $8,975.

They lost the Calgary-Glenmore byelection to the Wildrose Alliance and two MLAs to floorcrossing and the public is losing confidence in Premier Ed Stelmach, but the party doesn’t have to worry where its next meal is coming from.

It’s a financial winner even when it’s a political loser. Just look at the Calgary-Glenmore byelection.

Oh, they might have suffered a crushing defeat on Sept. 14 by finishing third behind the Wildrose Alliance and Liberals, and their candidate, Diane ColleyUrquhart, might have blamed the loss on “a real deep dislike for the premier” by Calgarians, but the Tories made lots of money.

Colley-Urquhart raised just over $130,000 and spent $87,000 to end with a surplus of $43,000. (At this rate, the Tories could lose all 83 seats in the next election and walk away with $3.5 million).

The total spent by the Wildrose Alliance’s Paul Hinman on the byelection: $48,000, which left him with a surplus of $2,700. Liberal Avalon Roberts raised $35,770 and spent $35,770. Now that’s balancing the books. ColleyUrquhart spent $30 for each vote, Hinman spent $12 and Roberts spent about $9.50.

If armies march on their stomachs, political parties march on their bank accounts, and the Tories are the Energizer bunny of marchers. When it comes to raising money, they just keep going.

The Wildrose Alliance tripled its revenue in 2009 compared to 2008, but is still far behind the Conservatives in overall dollars. After raising almost $695,000 last year, the Wildrose war chest is at $196,000. Combing through the Wildrose list, you’ll discover the biggest donors aren’t big names: Questerre Energy and Cavendish Investing each gave $15,000.

The Liberals saw their donations drop in 2009 to $768,000 from $885,000 in 2008, but their glimmer of good news is the party’s $1-million debt has been whittled to $89,000. They’re within spitting distance of cracking open their own bubbly.

The worst financial news belongs to the New Democrats, whose debt has grown to $484,000. The financial statements give the Conservatives undisputed good news and the party’s president indulged in some gentle crowing.

“We all know that 2009 was a difficult year, but the encouragement offered to the PC party in the form of financial support during that time is most appreciated,” said Bill Smith in a written statement.

“Thousands of individuals, as well as numerous Alberta businesses, have chosen to support Premier Ed Stelmach, his team, and the constituency associations that are doing the groundwork in preparation for the next election.”

The adage that money can’t buy happiness is probably true for you and me, but not for political parties. Money can buy you advertising, strategists and glossy brochures — all the things you need for a happy election campaign. The Tories have a long list of problems. However, it would seem money isn’t one of them. “

Premier Ed, his new tag, is a new man and he is on a new mission. He has a new way of reaching out and touching Albertans via the social media and networking circuit. He can’t trust our media to get his message out and across to Albertans so he is going to do it himself.

The twerps are tweeting and if you want the answers to all those tough questions facing Albertans in energy, healthcare, education, free speech, property rights and seniors issues, just tweet the twerps and you will get your fair share of bird feed. Same old tired uninformed responses to the same old tough questions facing Albertans.

And now the competitiveness review report that we have all been so desperately waiting for is off, according to Premier Ed, until the end of January at the earliest. But don’t worry, Ed is on it and Ed has seen the light. How about an observation and a prediction? The PC’s are in deep doo-doo, they are self destructing and there is no way Premier Ed and many of his PC MLA sidekicks are going to make it past the next election. And the PC's have no one to blame but themselves. He's the man with 77% support. It gets hard to find a new crew when the ship is listing and plunging into the abyss. The PC's are being systemically dismantled across Alberta. The crew is abandoning ship. The captain and ships officers are cracking open another bottle of rum. Is anyone watching out for the rocks?

But in Ed’s world, it has nothing to do with him or his red and dead Tory policies, slashed seniors benefits, the New Royalty Framework, overspending, under-achieving, over-regulating, the ripping up of contracts, Bill 50, Section 3 or the creation of total uncertainty in Alberta regarding energy policy and investment and government back tracking and tinkering with the royalty regime.

It has nothing to do with out of control spending and running record deficits. It has nothing to do with the Stelmach PC's ill fated trek to the left or the pork barrel politics that Albertans have come to loathe. It has nothing to do with the abandonment of true conservative values and principles. It has nothing to do with a complete and total breakdown of the democratic process within the PC party. It has nothing to do with top down, ill advised, poorly researched and implemented policy that alienates Albertans. It has nothing to do with the Stelmach PC's and the government? How stupid does he think we are.

Bill 50 was the last straw for rural Albertans. The H1N1 rollout was a deep look inside the government at a time of crisis. The NRF is a disaster. Section 3 remains. Seniors benefits have not been restored. Healthcare delivery is getting worse, not better.

No one could have predicted what was going to happen in the global economy and no one predicted the collapse of commodity prices or pointed out the risk of unsustainable double digit spending increases? No one in the government that is. They were repeatedly warned by many, many Albertans. Hold it, I correct myself. There were some people in the government that seemed to understand including the last 3 Finance Ministers who publically stated that what they were about to spend was unsustainable. They said this as they signed the cheques. The New Royalty Framework (NRF) is still the right policy for Albertans, according to Premier Ed and his faithful companions Mel, Iris, Ron and Allison and all our PC MLA's.

The NRF is the problem, this Premier and PC MLA's are the problem and they must be replaced and the NRF must be cancelled and a new competitive, predictable, equitable, profitable and sustainable royalty regime must emerge. But the Wildrose should not be rolling that plan out until the writ is dropped. Void of any ideas of their own, the Stelmach Tories will try and steal those policies in a desperate attempt to cling to power.

I was doing my laundry the other day and cling frees work great.

I wish I had something like that for this Premier and government. My goal is to rid this Province of red and dead Tories clinging to positions of influence and power and restore Alberta as the leading economy in Canada. We are a resource based economy, our livelihoods depend on the extraction of these resources and we better restore the balance needed for us all to prosper.

Ask our employers and business leaders and those unemployed and under-employed if this poorly conceived and poorly thought out energy policy has been a success or a complete and utter failure and a betrayal of Albertans and the Alberta way.

So after the systemic damage is done and the house has burned to the ground, Premier Ed arrives with a squirt gun to put out the fire.

What does the average Albertan want? A job for one. A promising future for our families and profitable businesses. Careers for our kids within the Province. Excellent care for our treasured seniors. Less and more competent and efficient government, lower taxes, less intrusion in our lives, an end to growing government, over-regulation and costly red tape; healthcare under regional and expert control and a decentralized government that gets the hell out of our way and listens to us and respects us.

Albertans, I suspect, want less government that respects seniors, free speech, property rights, our number one industry and all businesses and the expertise of the experts in this great Province.

The Premier and government have done nothing to instil confidence in the Alberta electorate and they are directly responsible for the lions share of the damage to Alberta's economy. Instead Premier Ed has alienated every Albertan in some way with every policy initiative they have rolled out. It is one disaster after another, mistake after mistake and Albertans are fed up, have had enough and are actively doing something about it.

His attack on the Wildrose is hollow. He asks for Wildrose policies as he distracts attention from his own utter failures. He underestimates the intelligence of Albertans and the resolve to get it right.

Wildrose and leader Danielle Smith have already had a major effect on Alberta politics. They are providing Albertans an effective intelligent, articulate voice and opposition and Wildrose is forcing the Stelmach PC's to stop dead in their tracks and try to retrace their steps. Ahh but global warming is but a myth in these parts and the snow storm has covered all their tracks and they are disoriented and without a compass and will not find their way home. Not this time. What to do, what to do.

So Ed will makes things much clearer if he could just bypass the local media and reach out directly to Albertans. And so we waited with baited breath for the re-packaging of the message in terms we could all understand.

How about an example of Premier Ed’s new clear, concise, direct approach, and I quote;

“Did anybody, any of these gurus anticipate what was going to happen (with shale gas) when we were going through the royalty review? Not one”

“If they would have, they would have made their presentation on shale gas. Never heard about it. Now, all of a sudden.......it’s very easy to predict the past. Anybody can do that. Tell me about the future”

And this gem;

“It will be moving from conventional to unconventional and what is it going to take? That doesn’t mean we won’t be looking at the conventional gas side. On conventional oil, there are some areas there on the regulatory side and on the production side, on the investment side, that we will look at”

I guess they haven’t got around to that in the many months this competitiveness review has been ongoing. Hope you got the gist of that.

Want another gem? From December 17 edition of the Calgary Herald and an article written by Jason Fekete.

“We’ve got to be careful here because there are those who hold senior positions that may be making comments and taking positions, and then there’s the voter out there as well. That’s the balance. My job here is to make sure we have good investment, a good environment for investment”

That clears it all up. Thank God the Premier can bypass the local media and get a clear concise message out to Albertans, although it is taped or recorded or precisely quoted and noone understands a word he said.

We can all sleep well now with visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads.

Merry Christmas Alberta