Alternate realities, splitting up to be more unified, and celebrating carbon dioxide
Alberta prepares to get colossally irrational this week - so nothing new - October edition
My Scottish/Irish ancestors arrived on the east coast of so-called “Canada” in the late 1700’s or early 1800’s and were part of several waves of genocidal colonization of the Indigenous people who were already here. We arrived uninvited on the traditional unceded territory of the Wəlastəkewiyik (Maliseet) whose ancestors along with the Mi’Kmaq / Mi’kmaw and Passamaquoddy / Peskotomuhkati Tribes / Nations signed Peace and Friendship Treaties with the British Crown in the 1700s. I like to start every new post by explaining my family’s history and keeping this foremost in my mind (and my writing) at all times. I know I have benefited as a result of colonization, and I find the history deeply troubling. It is what motivates me to understand the true history and advocate for real reconciliation. As a child in the 1970’s, I moved west with my family and am grateful to be writing this newsletter now in Moh’kinsstis, and the traditional Treaty 7 territory of the Blackfoot confederacy: Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, as well as the Îyâxe Nakoda and Tsuut’ina nations. This territory is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3 within the historical Northwest Métis homeland. I recognize that the land I now work and live on was stolen from these nations (truth) and I support giving the land back as an act of reconciliation. Lands inhabited by Indigenous Peoples contain 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity. Indigenous Peoples’ traditional knowledge and knowledge systems are key to designing a sustainable future for all.
A review of the 35 policy resolutions expected at the United Conservative Party (UCP) leadership review scheduled for Nov. 2 in Red Deer shows the party is wildly disconnected from the concerns of average Albertans.
The Alberta government’s own messaging from official channels over the month of October - a time when the UCP would be most likely to try and placate party members - shows there are two realities facing Premier Danielle Smith.
One is playing out this week as the newest session of the Legislature kicks off in Edmonton. Another is unfolding in a convention centre in Red Deer this coming weekend.
The two-day UCP convention includes a bizarre playlist of policy resolutions (PDF) that indicates just how far off-the-charts the party has become.
One of the resolutions calls for the government to abandon net zero targets, stop designating CO2 as pollution and instead recognize CO2 as a “foundational nutrient for all life on Earth,” while inexplicably stating CO2 is near the “lowest level in 1,000 years.” As most people with their wits about them know, this is not true.
Carbon dioxide levels today are the HIGHEST at any point in human history. The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere today is comparable to where it was around 4.3 million years ago.
It seems the sponsors of the resolution, the Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock and Red Deer South constituency associations are worried people might be “cancelling” CO2. So, they are are going to “make CO2 great again,” I guess.
Let’s take a look at what content the Alberta government press secretariat (as I like to call them) has been churning out this past month for clues as to whether or how Danielle Smith is pandering to the UCP base. Or just acting colossally irrational, as this newsletter has argued since the UCP was elected in 2019.
There were a dizzying 56 news releases in October, not including religious observances, awards, special months/days statements, Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) reports, and public service announcements. There were also weekly Orders-in-Council, which I won’t cover in this post (because they could be another whole post).
There appear to be a gulf forming between what the UCP cabinet and caucus are focused on and what the UCP party members are obsessed with. It’s going to be more and more challenging for the government to balance both based on the seriousness of some real issues plaguing the province.
Let’s take a look at the main issues for the government and how they match with the party’s concerns (based on the upcoming policy convention).
Health - Major focus of government, barely mentioned by party
It’s worth noting here that besides Smith, the cabinet ministers with top billing (mentioned in the headline) in Alberta news releases this month were Adriana LaGrange, minister of health; and Jason Nixon, minister of seniors, community and social services.
LaGrange and Nixon are two very appropriate people to take the heat for health and affordability concerns, since neither seem to be particularly empathetic politicians (look at what LaGrange did to education without blinking an eye, and Nixon is a guy who signed a peace bond with RCMP to avoid assault charges).
Health and the economy were the biggest stories pushed out by the PR teams this month, as Minister LaGrange tried to calm everyone’s nerves around health care. Past premier Ralph Klein just blew up one hospital, Smith seems to be blowing up the whole system.
LaGrange announced that Primary Care Alberta would be launched with a “new” chief executive officer, formerly an assistant deputy minister at Alberta Health, Kim Simmonds. You may recall that AHS is being split into four agencies - primary care, acute care, continuing care, and mental health and addiction.
No worries though, the news release assures Albertans that this will be a “modern, more responsive and unified health care system.” Splitting up to be more unified, makes SO MUCH sense.
Simmonds is big on “data and evidence-driven decision-making” and is quoted as saying, “every Albertan must have an ongoing connection and trusting relationship with a family doctor or health care team.” The “or” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in this sentence. Can’t wait to connect and build a trusting relationship with a whole team.
My family doctor has left the province and the medical profession entirely, according to a letter she mailed out to her patients a few months ago, the only female doctor at the clinic I’ve been going to for several years.
As for data on doctors, who are still waiting on the implementation of an already-negotiated payment-model (promised by September) and are rumoured to be leaving the province in frustration, there’s a second news release.
That release offers data, but selectively, as per usual, a fact that was quickly picked up by then Alberta Medical Association president Dr. Paul Parks and reported by CTV News.
“It doesn’t tell us how many (physicians) left in the last quarter (or) how many have licenses but aren’t working in Alberta. There may be a number that have retired or who have left the province and still have licenses.”
The AMA has launched a website and social media campaign called “Informed Reform” claiming the government is not listening to doctors.
Surprisingly, of the 35 resolutions being debated at the UCP convention, only one could even remotely be considered health-related. Given the importance and focus of everyday Albertans on health care, the party is either seriously out of touch or totally content with what the government is doing. Both scenarios are bad signs.
The only proposed health policy is a very brief one about tax dollars being spent on “sex alteration practices.” That resolution is one of a whole raft of anti-2SLGBTQ+ policies to be discussed by conservatives who seem obsessed with genitalia.
Business/economy - Major focus of government, barely registering for party
On the business and economy side of things, the biggest focus of the government this month was how much money they were pouring into Jasper (about $7.5 million in evacuation payments) and the fact that more has been budgeted.
But, as you can probably guess, they’re not happy with the federal government and how much of that money is eligible for reimbursement.
“Now that the federal government has also established a working group for Jasper’s recovery, we are calling on the federal government to waive the DFAA (Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements) cost-share formula, given that this fire originated from the national park, which is under federal jurisdiction,” quotes attributed to Smith and Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver (they speak as one).
With 11 cabinet ministers and one parliamentary secretary sitting on the Jasper Re-entry Cabinet Committee, they’ve put their heads together and come up with an “innovative” plan…to publicly pressure the federal government for more money.
The drama and raw emotion at Smith’s news conference tugged at the hearts of so many of us, in Alberta and beyond.
Read my August post about the devastating fire in Jasper.
Later in the month, the government announced another $2.5 million had been earmarked for Jasper tourism, which they say accounts for about 22 to 25 percent of tourism dollars spent in the Canadian Rockies (if mountains could vote, I’m sure they wouldn’t be voting UCP).
There was also a release about a “liquor model review” which had an MLA advisory committee assigned to evaluate and make recommendations to Dale Nally, minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction. No mention of who was on the committee but it was decided not to make any changes to the existing system, but I’m sure a great time was had by all.
The only UCP policy related to business and the economy up for discussion at the convention is one related to reducing income taxes for people making less than $60,000 annually and capping the highest personal tax bracket at 10 per cent. The argument is the usual - “reduce taxes and all will be right with the world.” Other than that - crickets on policies for businesses.
Housing - A top focus for government, not so much for the party
There were a surprising number of housing releases in October. The biggest news though was another dispute with the federal government over funding for people living in encampments.
Living in Alberta is like watching a reality TV show with endless finger pointing and name calling, except no one ever gets kicked off the island. At least, not the ones you would hope.
When the federal government released a statement saying that Alberta had not responded to an offer of funding to help with finding homes for displaced residents, the provincial minister in charge, Jason Nixon issued his own statement.
After both men got those statements off their chests, Nixon and federal minister of housing, Sean Fraser finally just picked up the phone and reached an agreement. We await more details.
UCP members will only debate one resolution on housing and it’s one that is very specific and comes as a direct result of the rezoning by-law changes in Calgary. The resolution is to “require municipalities to hold a plebiscite vote for proposed land use changes that would significantly impact the entire municipality.”
The only housing concerns seem to be whether they might have to welcome different types of housing into their communities (translation: different types of people).
Public safety - Major focus for the party, and therefore, a priority for government
While public safety held up as a steady source of news release fodder this past month, it was mostly about child care centres and companies fined for workplace safety violations. These were serious incidents and deserved more attention.
But in the alternate reality inhabited by UCP members, they seem to be irrationally concerned about people who don’t conform to “traditional” gender roles. I like to call it “sudden onset transgender terror.”
There are six resolutions related to drag performers, and calls for further restrictions on or denying medical treatment, limitations on participation in sports, and even bathroom choices for transgender youth (and adults).
Dr. Kristopher Wells, Canada Research Chair for the public understanding of sexual and gender minority youth at MacEwan University, said in a Global News report that “Smith needs to condemn the resolutions as discriminatory, unconstitutional and dangerous.”
It is highly unlikely Smith will do anything of the sort, in fact she has her new transgender policy scheduled to be one of the first orders of business when the legislature session kicks off this week.
There is going to be a massive backlash, both legal and otherwise, not only in Alberta but across Canada. There are rallies planned for both Calgary and Edmonton next weekend. Money has been flowing generously into legal funds to fight the changes, which are almost certainly unconstitutional.
Some conservative strategists aren’t worried about the wisdom of the policy though. Colin Aitchison, senior consultant at Enterprise Canada and a former UCP press secretary, told the CBC that Smith is going to “crush it.”
"It's a delicate line to walk. Go too far one way you risk alienating the public. You go too far the other way, you risk alienating that base in the party," said Aitchiso
Rights - Major contradictions in the party, government trying to sort it out
Ironically, while protesters will be gathering in the province’s two major cities to rally against threats to their rights, UCP members will be huddled in Red Deer discussing a wide range of policies related to what they call infringements on parental rights, which are not even a Canadian thing. There are children’s rights but no category exists for parental rights.
There is also another proposal to “hold the Alberta Human Rights Commission accountable” for checks notes defending people’s rights on “protected grounds.” Wait, what? Don’t ask me…
Another resolution calls for the “rights of all Albertans to be treated equally” but there are three resolutions calling for the end of diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the public service and crown corporations.
One policy resolution goes as far to say “the very concept of diversity, equity and inclusion is racist in nature and as such must be eliminated in Alberta.”
It argues for equality for all Albertans and decisions based on merit, which is - in fact - the reason why DEI policies were instituted in the first place. If decisions were based on merit, instead of on racism and prejudice, white people wouldn’t be disproportionately favoured in education, hiring, promotions, and in many other realms.
Energy/Environment - Big spending by government, much handwringing in party
This month, the Alberta government launched a major advertising campaign opposed to a cap on fossil fuel emissions. The cap is expected to be announced soon by the federal government. Stay tuned here for a full article I’m writing about the Alberta campaign and the connection to greenwashing for The Energy Mix. I will send out a link when it’s published.
There are at least six resolutions at the UCP convention on the topics of the carbon tax, gas and electricity rates, land and water stewardship and even food security and biodiversity. Even conservatives (except those CO2 fans I mentioned earlier) seem to worried about climate change.
There were a large number of news releases from the Alberta government this month dealing with grievances with the federal government, but just as many involved the provincial government encroaching on municipalities, most notably the Green Line drama.
This month’s surprising incursion into municipal jurisdiction involved golf carts. Last week, the government announced they would pilot the use of golf carts on municipal roads in the southern Alberta Town of Coaldale. Six other rural communities are also in the queue for similar permissions.
“Thanks to Alberta’s government our Council will be able to pass a golf cart bylaw that gives residents living near our local golf course the ability to drive their carts to and from the course,” said Jack Van Rijn, the mayor of Coaldale, in the news release.
Depending on how they are powered, this could be the endorsement of electric vehicles we weren’t expecting.
Education - Little being said by government, party has a lot to say
Education releases were almost non-existent this month, maybe because the government messed that file up so badly in September. The press secretariat was probably relieved not to have to dredge the issue up again this month.
Alberta did put a damper on strike plans by the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 3550 by appointing a Disputes Inquiry Board (DIB) to intervene between the support workers’ union and the Edmonton Public Schools Division.
CUPE Alberta president Rory Gill said in the Edmonton Journal, “we see imposing a DIB while maintaining wage directives as an attempt to bully CUPE members into taking the government’s wage mandate.”
Then, a couple of days later, about 3,200 CUPE 3550 members did not report to work and thousands of Alberta union members attended a rally at the Alberta legislature on Thursday to support them.
At the upcoming convention, UCP members actually have a lot to say about education and labour with at least four policy resolutions directly aimed at schools, including post-secondary institutions. That doesn’t include the anti-queer resolutions already mentioned.
There are also two resolutions aimed at unions including one to forbid them from contributing to political parties (no such restriction on corporations), and another making it voluntary for teachers to join their union.
Immigration - Low key rumblings in both government and party
There was a continuation of Smith’s attacks on the federal Liberals related to immigration. Expect to hear much more about this as the federal conservatives continue to exploit the PM’s about-face on immigration.
Alberta’s news release headline was “Feds get it wrong…again” with Smith and Muhammed Yaseen, immigration and multiculturalism minister, getting together on a statement calling for much lower numbers of immigrants.
“Ottawa’s priority should be on reducing the number of temporary foreign workers, international students and asylum seekers—not on reducing provincially selected economic migrants.”
Claiming “explosive” population growth, rising costs, and hospitals and schools at capacity are the fault of the federal government is…curious.
Alberta is still running its “Alberta Is Calling” campaign to entice more people to the province. The campaign offers cash bonuses and claims affordability is one of the province’s biggest advantages.
Immigration was also the subject of a UCP resolution with a demand for provincial control over “total numbers of temporary and permanent residents, and active participation in the selection and rejection of those being granted temporary or permanent settlement rights in Alberta through the immigration process.”
The resolution rationale also includes a call for the concepts of ‘values’ and ‘traditions’ to be considered when selecting who is allowed to immigrate.
Conspiracy theories - Breaking out within party, government can’t keep up
A couple of the UCP resolutions sound conspiracy-driven, including one that seems directed at election integrity, and a bizarre resolution involving the United Nations and First Nations conspiring to “seize lands and resources.”
Apparently, this is what keeps the UCP of Banff-Kananaskis up at night - the folks who are living so close to nature - not the melting glaciers or collapse of the ocean currents.
This month I wanted to leave you with a new album release by my university friend Frank Smith and his band based in Ottawa. For those who work with me and know my feelings about AI, this musical choice will come as no surprise.
Critical Misunderstandings On The Precipice is the second full length studio album from Halcyon Phase. Their promotional materials describe the album beautifully, “These are love songs, break-up songs; treatises and melodies that speak to social injustice/inequities, climate change, Artificial Intelligence (AI), struggles with mental illness and addiction. A thread lamenting the rapid passage of time and aging runs through it.”
These are all themes that resonate. This is their first single from the album.