Alberta - Shadow Cabinet and Redford's New Chief of Staff

On Monday, Alberta Premier Alison Redford announced  a change in Chief of Staff, Farouk Adatia.  He replaces Stephen Carter,  who served as Redford's Chief of Staff for the past six months. Earlier this year Adatia failed to win the PC party's nomination for Calgary-Hawkwood.  His annual salary is expected to be $264,000.  A nice reward for the Calgary lawyer. 

"As a lawyer specializing in corporate and commercial law and as a volunteer leader with deep ties to the community, Farouk's experience and values are reflective of a new government focused on building an even better Alberta,"said Redford.

Isn't that what voters were appalled at during the election, the PC dynasty rewarding crony's with plumb jobs?  Regardless, voters get the government they deserve.  Meanwhile the pressure has been on after a fatal accident on Highway 63, which killed seven people.  While Doug Horner responded, Premier Redford said she would answer some letters regarding concerns over twinning of the highway when she returns from vacation next week.  Will it be more excuses? 

Meanwhile there was an education session for the newly elected MLAs in the legislature.  The session is intended to introduce new members to the procedures and obviously give some helpful advice.  Former Speaker Ken Kowalski, urged MLAs to be civil and to turn down the rhetoric.  He said that one can disagree with the other side, but can still work with them.  Civility is certainly something that would be desired.  Albertans want their MLAs to get things done. 

Official Opposition Leader, Danielle Smith, used the occasion to introduce her shadow cabinet. 

“Wildrose campaigned on the slogan ‘new ideas that put Albertans first’, and more than one-third of Albertans rallied to that cause,” said Smith, noting that Wildrose earned more votes than any other opposition party in Alberta history on April 23.

Among the major critic roles, Rob Anderson and Heather Forsyth will return to their chief critic portfolios of Finance and Health, respectively. Anderson will also return as House Leader. Bruce McAllister (Chestermere-Rocky View) will be Education Critic, Kerry Towle (Innisfail-Sylvan Lake) will be Seniors Critic and Whip, Shayne Saskiw (Lac La Biche-St. Paul-Two Hills) will be Critic for Justice and Solicitor General, and Jason Hale (Strathmore-Brooks) will serve as Energy Critic.

“While we will not needlessly oppose the Redford PCs, we intend to use our role as Official Opposition to ensure that Albertans’ voices are clearly heard in the Alberta Legislature,” Smith said.   Wildrose Website

Premier Alison Redford is expected to announce her new cabinet next week, with a legislature session starting on May 16th.  The session should include the throne speech and will hopefully deal with the Highway 63 issue prior to breaking for the summer. 

With a large official opposition, it should no longer be business as usual. 

I Never thought I'd Vote PC - What will they think of Next

This is an interesting video, which, according to a group of young people, is not associated to a particular party.  The video asks those on the left and centre left to vote for the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party. 

While the PC party says it has nothing to do with the video, Alison Redford said she hoped people would vote PC.  That sounds like a desperate move by a party that has led Alberta for 41 years.  One thing is clear this is no longer the party of Ralph Klein.

Leaders of the NDP and Liberal Party of Alberta urged voters to stick with their initial parties and not vote strategically. 

The complete election campaign has gone off message and is now concentrating on controversial remarks made by members of both the Alison Redford's Tories and the Wildrose Party.  Even the mayors of Alberta's two largest cities have weighed in.

Time to get back on the issues.

Alberta Election - The Week in Review

As the Alberta election campaign moves into the final week, it appears that this election will be Danielle Smith's to lose.  With only one week in the campaign left to go, the Wildrose Party has a healthy lead over the incumbent Progressive Conservative Party.  In some polls the Wildrose Party leads by 17 percentage points. 

While the parties rolled out their platforms, the debate, held on April 12th, seemed to be a defining factor.  While Alison Redford appeared stiff and almost rattled near the end of the debate, Danielle Smith seemed to connect with voters, with her no nonsense approach to many issues.  The attempts to demonize her because of conscience issues and lack of experience did not resonate. 

Here is a review of issues discussed thus far in the campaign:

Wildrose Announces Accountabilty Act and MLA Pay  April 9th

Race is Tightening - Leger Poll April 10th

Are Conscience Issues Bogus? April 11th

Liberals Reveal Carbon Levy Plan April 11th

Wildrose Leader Stance on Abortion-Gay Rights April 12th

Alberta Leader's Debate - No Clear Winner April 13th

Voters Declare Danielle Smith Debate Winner

 On  the campaign trail on Friday, Alsion Redford promised to introduce legislation that would make Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) a claimable condition under the Workmen's Compensation Board.  The problem is that this condition is already claimable, according to Wildrose leader Danielle Smith.  Sometimes it pays to do your homework before putting your mouth in motion.  

Danielle Smith also committed to call a full public inquiry into physician intimidation, a measure supported by the New Democrats and Liberals.   

As the campaign winds down toward the election on April 23rd, there should still be a number of surprises.  Alison Redford will have to go full out to try and overcome the impression Albertans have of her.  She comes across as a bureaucrat, who knows best and gives the impression that she leads by committee.   

The Progressive Conservative Party is no longer the party of Ralph Klein, in fact it has almost made a 360 degree turn.  Support in Edmonton is divided evenly between Redford and Smith, while the majority support Danielle Smith in Calgary.  Smith appears to lead in rural Alberta as well.  

Stay tuned.

 

Alberta Election: Race is Tightening - Leger Poll

A Leger Marketing poll conducted Easter weekend suggests that the race between the Wildrose Party and the Progressive Conservative party is tightening.  The poll commissioned by the Edmonton Journal and Calgary Herald suggests that  60% of Albertans are satisfied with Alison Redford's Progressive Conservatives.  The poll finds that if an election were held today, Albertans would vote 37% Conservative, 34% Wildrose, 12% Liberal, 11% New Democrats and 2% for the Alberta Party.

The results can be seen as a statistical tie.  The governing Tories hold a formidable lead in Edmonton, while there is an intense battle in Calgary.  While the Progressive Conservatives lost considerable ground prior to the Easter weekend, based on physician intimidation, the "Do Nothing Committee," which collected $1000 a month for 39 months, it appears that the raising of social conscience issues has helped the Conservatives.

A recent blogger survey on abortion received a contentious answer from the Wildrose Party Chief of Staff.  The statement read:

“The legalities of abortion fall under federal jurisdiction. We respect that Albertans view social issues differently, which is why Wildrose would immediately introduce legislation allowing citizens to put issues like abortion to a citizen-initiated referendum.”

Wildrose Party leader, Danielle Smith later clarified the the statement:

 “Citizen initiative is and has always been an important part of the Wildrose platform.  However, any initiative must first be vetted by a federally-appointed judge to determine whether or not it is constitutional.”

Despite the neck to neck race, the Tories have dropped significantly since polls conducted just two months ago, when the Tories were at 53% and the Wildrose was at 16%.

The telephone poll surveyed 1215 voters over four days during the Easter weekend. 

It would appear that much is at stake during the Leadership Debate on April 12th.  The debate will be broadcast throughout Alberta from 6:30 to 8:00pm.