Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Broken Promises


You can't break promises if you don't make any.

However, Stelmach wouldn't guarantee his government will continue natural gas rebates for all Albertans

On the other hand its bad news when you make a promise you know you can't keep.

The Tories couldn't seem to do anything right. When Stelmach promised to graduate more doctors from Alberta universities, for example, the doctors themselves said the idea won't work.

When he made an announcement at a Red Deer day care centre, some angry mothers who happened to be there berated the day-care promise as meaningless.

But it only gets worse when the only promise you can keep is that insurance premiums will go up because of your governments bad law.

Premier Ed Stelmach raised the spectre of rising auto-insurance premiums Monday, saying a recent court ruling that struck down the government's cap on payouts for soft-tissue injuries could result in higher costs for Alberta drivers.

"This may have tremendous pressure on (an) increase in rates," Stelmach said during a campaign stop in Edmonton.

The comments follow a claim by the Insurance Bureau of Canada, the industry's lobbying arm, that the Court of Queen's Bench ruling could increase premiums an average of $200 a year for every driver in the province
And then there are those promises your government made but failed to keep.

Neils Bach, 77, spoke for many residents of the Strathmore-Brooks riding
when he begged Stelmach to start construction of a promised new 100-bed facility now.

"Mr. Stelmach, we need a new and much bigger nursing home in Strathmore. It's 15 years overdue."

Stelmach appeared moved by the plea, but couldn't give residents a specific date when construction will begin. "We'll get it built and we'll get it built as quickly as possible," he promised. "I really do empathize with your situation."

One elderly lady appeared exasperated by the delay.

"I sat in this room four years ago and heard there would be an extended-care facility open in spring 2007," said Madeline Scott.

"I'm a person of my word," the premier responded. "We allocated funds for a 100-bed facility. It's going to be built."

He said the funds have been approved and it's up to the health region to get the facility planned, designed and constructed. When he set out the process and time frame, one woman said she may not live that long.

Or making a promise sort of, maybe, sometime in the next four years we will do it if re-elected. When you could do it now with the swipe of a pen.

A former Member of Parliament from New Brunswick has launched a public battle against the Alberta's government's policy of charging monthly premiums for health care.

Gilles Bernier, who once served as MP for the riding of Tobique-Mactaquac, moved to Alberta in 2006 to start his own business. After applying for an Alberta health care card, he was surprised to find a $45 monthly fee attached. Bernier has refused to pay these premiums on principle because he says paying for health care violates the Canada Health Care Act.

"Under federal legislation, Canadians are entitled to receive free, basic health care," Bernier said. "Charging for health care contravenes the spirit of the Act and it puts our universal health care system in jeopardy. At the same time, it sets up a two-tiered system. Canadians in other provinces do not pay the fees or premiums that residents of Alberta are paying. Many citizens of this province are not aware of this and they are shocked to find it out. Like me, they feel betrayed by this government and unfair health care policy."

Now that a provincial election has been called, Bernier said the time is right to take the issue into the public forum. As the election campaign gets underway, the incumbent Conservatives of Alberta have suddenly promised to abolish the controversial health care premiums in four years.

"They know it is an issue with voters, especially new voters," Bernier said. "But four years is too long to wait for the health care Albertans should be receiving -- the same system provided to other Canadians. Health care premiums should be abolished the day after the election, not in 2012. If this election is about leadership, then Premier Stelmach should show leadership and repeal his government's policy of charging for basic health care. The decision is his to make if he wants to win this election."



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Ed's Politics Of Fear


With a green plan that makes the Federal Conservative government Hot Air Plan look good, hard to do, Farmer Ed now resorts to the politics of fear claiming that any green plan other than his non plan would end up with mass unemployment of everyone in the oil business in Alberta.

Seriously. Every single person working in the oil patch would be laid off if Alberta attempted to reduce our carbon footprint.

And again he has no proof for his assertions that the sky would fall. Oops.

"Our plan is real, is achievable and some of the commitments made by some of the leaders of the other parties would destroy 335,000 jobs," Stelmach claimed. "There's 600,000 new Albertans in this province. You want to send them back home to other provinces, other countries?"

When pressed by reporters after the encounter, Stelmach could not cite a source for the figure, which he has repeated throughout the campaign, but said there are multiple reports that have reached the same conclusion. Last week, the Tories suggested that's every job in the oilpatch.

The contentious issue at hand is a Tory policy on greenhouse-gas emissions that would see the province begin curbing carbon emissions by 2020 and decrease the 14% from 2005 levels by 2050, about 6% and 30 years behind federal targets. It has been roundly criticized by environmental groups.


The Stelmach government unveiled a new climate change plan Thursday that allows Alberta's greenhouse gas emissions to rise until 2020, and puts the province on a collision course with Ottawa over whose strategy takes precedence.

The Alberta plan -- which falls well short of what's demanded by both the Kyoto Protocol and the federal government -- was welcomed by the oil and gas industry as a good first step. But it was immediately panned by environmental groups and opposition parties.


It's the politics of fear. Which is the politics of a loser, with a loser environmental policy that makes no demands on the industry but puts the onus on individual Albertan's.

In fact it is not his plan nor even an Alberta plan, it is big oil's plan.

At the centre of the oil and gas sector's proposal is a plan to capture and store about one million tonnes of carbon emissions a year from natural gas. That would account for about 17 per cent of the sector's total emissions.

The proposal is still subject to feasibility studies, the industry admits, and its officials would not say whether it could be in place by the 2020 deadline. They also warned that the plan will likely be costly.

David Pryce, vice-president of western operations for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said more reductions could be found through waste-heat recovery, fuel efficiency programs and the elimination of gas flaring.




SEE

Liberals Empty Promises

Made in Alberta Green Plan



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Time For Public Auto Insurance


This decision couldn't have come at a better time. Once again the Tired Old Tories tried to pull the auto insurance companies fat out of the fire and in doing so of course passed a law that blamed the victims.

Taking a page out of the Republican handbook about tort law cases, and blaming trial lawyers, the Tories capped claims rather than doing anything about out of control profiteering by the insurance companies.

That law was tossed out last Friday. Already we could be seeing increases in insurance premiums while a public insurance program would actually save Albertan's hundreds of dollars per person.

The insurance industry has suggested that if the legislation is not eventually upheld, it could lead to a rate increase of $200 a year per policy holder.

Of course the Tories will appeal this decision wasting more taxpayers money and solving nothing but doing the bidding of their masters; the insurance companies. And it means they will try to kill it as an election issue. But they will be as successful with that as with their appeal.

A senior Tory official confirms that candidates have been sent a letter telling them they're not supposed to talk about the auto insurance issue since it's before the courts. (The Canadian Press)

It would have been a perfect political day for Stelmach, had a curious e-mail not arrived in my in-box.

The e-rocket was from "Alberta Progressive Conservative Campaign Headquarters" and PC candidates were ordered to "delete and destroy any copies."

In it the "Campaign Team" reminded them of last week's court decision ruling Ralph Klein's flawed auto insurance reforms "unconstitutional" and warned candidates they "must not comment on this decision."

It isn't hard to understand the political sensitivity over the goof, especially after the premier admitted yesterday that "there may be tremendous pressure on increasing rates."

Neil Waugh, Edmonton Sun.

The plaintiffs in the court challenge argued that the insurance industry in Alberta had manufactured the premium crisis by raising rates unnecessarily. They entered evidence into court that showed the insurance companies never lost money in the province; to the contrary, by the time the legislation was enacted in 2004 the insurance industry was well on its way to reaping record profits.

During the court case, Dennis Gartner, the province's superintendent of insurance during the reforms, admitted under oath that the government had no way of knowing how much money insurance companies were making.

After years of waffling, the Klein government finally acted on the controversy in 2004, imposing a $4,000 cap on soft-tissue-injury claims. Since then, personal injury lawyers among others have argued that the ruling -- seen as a sop to the well-connected private insurance lobby -- robbed many accident victims of their basic Charter rights.

Needless to say, the government disagreed, maintaining that its reforms helped all Albertans and didn't affect anyone's liberty. Furthermore, it rejected out of hand the notion that high premiums be tackled with a public auto-insurance scheme, ironically at a time B.C.'s conservative Campbell government was abandoning talk of privatizing the Insurance Corporation of B.C, having discovered that public insurance seemed to work best for taxpayers.

But last Friday, Alberta Court of Queen's Bench Justice Neil Wittmann exploded the $4,000 cap, deeming it unconstitutional. As well, he found the existing Minor Injury Regulation discriminates against a specific group of injured Albertans. Wittmann didn't mince words, either, summarily rejecting the government's contention that the legislation was designed to help victims.

Instead, he ruled, the so-called reforms unfairly sacrificed a single group of Albertans "at the altar of reducing insurance premiums."

Now, as anyone financially responsible for a teenager appreciates, the word "high" didn't do justice to premiums faced by some drivers under the old system. "Astronomical" was closer to the mark, and the relief spurred on by the 2004 legislation has been welcome. But the premium grid that did most of the work of changing such inequities is itself unlikely to be affected by Wittmann's ruling.

There will be no waiting period, as requested by the Stelmach government.

Alberta Finance has announced it is studying the ruling, but that shouldn't take long. As of today, the $4,000 cap is no more. Indeed, virtually every argument put forward by the cap-smashing plaintiffs was accepted by the court.

Without the law - and its rate-increase controls - in place the public faces the prospect of increased insurance premiums, Premier Ed Stelmach said Monday.

But opponents decried the government's stance, noting the ruling also clearly indicates that the insurance industry was enjoying record profits at the time and had everything to do with charging the public for bad long-term investments, said NDP Leader Brian Mason.

Mason's party has pledged to introduce public insurance if elected March 3, noting that the most recent Canadian Consumers Association study shows a public system like that in B.C. would save the average Alberta motorist about $400 per year.

"The premier can run from this, but he can't hide," said Mason. "He allowed an industry that was making record profits to run roughshod over the public and to deny injured Albertans their basic rights."

'SCREWED THE PEOPLE'

"Eventually this will come home to roost ... the government clearly screwed the people and took the side of big insurance over Alberta families."





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Saturday, February 09, 2008

Daveberta Smears NDP


Daveberta the liberal blogger thinks he has found a scandal in the NDP calling for an end to corporate and union donations to political parties in Alberta. He reports in high dudgeon on his website that the NDP raised $100,000 from unions during the election campaign of 2004.

However the majority of funds raised during the campaign, as is usual with the NDP, came from individuals for a total of $180,529.35 slightly less than twice as much as raised from union contributions.

Something he fails to mention. Now why might that be?

Because unlike his former employer the Liberal Party of Alberta, the NDP gets the majority of its donations from individuals. And of course unlike the Liberals none from the big corporations in Alberta. So he has to pretend that union funding of the NDP is somehow scandalous.



2005
POLITICAL PARTY
CAMPAIGN RETURN
ALBERTA NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY

SUMMARY OF CAMPAIGN PERIOD REVENUE AND EXPENDITURES
FOR THE PERIOD October 25, 2004 - January 24, 2005

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM CORPORATIONS

ALBERTA BUILDING TRADES COUNCIL INC. EDMONTON
$7,000.00
Cash


CONTRIBUTIONS FROM TRADE UNIONS
ALBERTA & NWT REGIONAL COUNCIL OF CARPENTERS EDMONTON $1,000.00

Cash
ALBERTA & NWT REGIONAL COUNCIL OF CARPENTERS EDMONTON $2,400.00

Cash


Subtotal:$3,400.00

AREA CNCL PAC STEELWORKERS TORONTO TORONTO - ONTARIO
$500.00
Cash
AREA COUNCIL C E P EDMONTON
$1,000.00
Cash
C A W CANADA

$8,000.00
Cash
C E C U EDMONTON
$1,000.00
Cash
C E P NATIONAL EDMONTON $4,000.00

Cash
C E P NATIONAL EDMONTON $7,000.00

Cash


Subtotal:$11,000.00

C L C EDMONTON
$10,000.00
Cash
C M P L

$5,000.00
Cash
C S U EDMONTON
$1,000.00
Cash
C U P E EDMONTON
$5,000.00
Cash
CANADIAN COUNCIL A T U

$2,500.00
Cash
DISTRICT # 3 U S W A BURNABY - B.C.
$500.00
Cash
EDMONTON FIRE FIGHTERS UNION EDMONTON $2,000.00

Cash
EDMONTON FIRE FIGHTERS UNION EDMONTON $2,000.00

Cash


Subtotal:$4,000.00

EDMONTON LABOUR COUNCIL EDMONTON
$750.00
Cash
IRONWORKERS LOCAL 720 EDMONTON
$3,000.00
Cash
LOCAL 1118 U F C W RED DEER
$500.00
Cash
LOCAL 183 U N A EDMONTON
$1,000.00
Cash
LOCAL 1900 C E P EDMONTON
$500.00
Cash
LOCAL 569 ATU EDMONTON
$3,000.00
Cash
LOCAL 6034 U S W A CALGARY
$500.00
Cash
LOCAL 855 C E P HINTON
$2,000.00
Cash
U T U EDMONTON
$1,500.00
Cash
UNITED ASSOC OF PLUMBERS & PIPEFITTERS - LOCAL 488 EDMONTON
$14,000.00
Cash
UNITED NURSES OF ALBERTA EDMONTON
$500.00
Cash
UNITED STEELWORKERS OF AMERICA PAC TORONTO - ONTARIO
$500.00
Cash
WORKERS UNION TELECOMMUNICATIONS EDMONTON $10,000.00

Cash
WORKERS UNION TELECOMMUNICATIONS EDMONTON $50.00

Cash


Subtotal:$10,050.00

YELLOWHEAD LABOUR COUNCIL HINTON
$500.00
Cash

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATIONS
MEDICINE HAT LABOUR COUNCIL MEDICINE HAT
$1,500.00
Cash



But what daveberta does not he tell us is how much corporations donated to his former employer the Liberal Party of Alberta during the election campaign. Count all the oil companies. Which you will not find donating to the NDP. Which of course is the whole point ain't it Dave.And note the corporate donations to the Liberals far exceed the union donations to the NDP for the same election campaign.



2005
POLITICAL PARTY
CAMPAIGN RETURN
ALBERTA LIBERAL PARTY

SUMMARY OF CAMPAIGN PERIOD REVENUE AND EXPENDITURES
FOR THE PERIOD October 25, 2004 - January 24, 2005

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM CORPORATIONS
ALBERTA VIEWS CALGARY
$15,000.00
Cash
ALL WEATHER WINDOWS LTD EDMONTON
$500.00
Cash
AMEC INC OAKVILLE - ONTARIO
$2,500.00
Cash
ATCO GROUP CALGARY
$5,000.00
Cash
BELL WEST CALGARY
$3,000.00
Cash
BREWSTER TRANSPORTATION AND TOURS BANFF
$500.00
Cash
CANADIAN NATIONAL MONTREAL - QUEBEC
$3,000.00
Cash
CIBC TORONTO - ONTARIO
$5,000.00
Cash
COHOS EVAMY CALGARY
$1,000.00
Cash
DAVID B. ROSS PROF CORP EDMONTON
$500.00
Cash
DAVIS & COMPANY EDMONTON
$1,000.00
Cash
DON WHEATON LTD EDMONTON
$5,000.00
Cash
DOW CHEMICAL CANADA INC SARNIA - ONTARIO
$5,000.00
Cash
EDCO FINANCIAL HOLDINGS LTD CALGARY
$2,500.00
Cash
ENBRIDGE PIPELINES INC EDMONTON
$6,000.00
Cash
ENCANA CORPORATION CALGARY
$5,000.00
Cash
ESPRIT EXPLORATION LTD CALGARY
$1,000.00
Cash
FIELD MANAGEMENT SERVICES EDMONTON
$2,500.00
Cash
HOLE'S GREENHOUSES AND GARDENS LTD ST. ALBERT
$883.00
Valued
HUSKY OIL OPERATIONS LTD CALGARY
$1,000.00
Cash
JAMES A. BUTLIN PROFESSIONAL CORP CALGARY
$750.00
Cash
KATARINA O. STERLIND VANCOUVER - B.C.
$1,000.00
Cash
LAFARGE CANADA INC. CALGARY
$500.00
Cash
LOVINK MEDIA INC CALGARY
$3,300.00
Valued
MADACALO INVESTMENTS LTD CALGARY
$1,000.00
Cash
MANCAL PROPERTIES DEVELOPMENT INC CALGARY
$2,500.00
Cash
MANCAL PROPERTY VENTURES INC CALGARY
$2,500.00
Cash
MCDANIEL COMPANY INC. CALGARY
$500.00
Cash
MCNALLY CUMING RAYMAKER CALGARY
$2,000.00
Cash
NEXEN INC CALGARY
$5,000.00
Cash
NOVA CHEMICALS CORPORATION CALGARY
$3,000.00
Cash
OCTAGON CAPITAL CORPORATION CALGARY
$2,500.00
Cash
P.J. PERRY EDMONTON
$500.00
Valued
PETROVERA RESOURCES CALGARY
$5,000.00
Cash
PHS HOLDINGS EDMONTON
$500.00
Cash
PRECISION DRILLING CORPORATION CALGARY
$2,500.00
Cash
PRICE WATERHOUSE COOPERS LTD CALGARY
$1,000.00
Cash
RBC CAPITAL MARKETS CALGARY $5,000.00

Cash
RBC CAPITAL MARKETS CALGARY $5,000.00

Cash


Subtotal:$10,000.00

READ JONES CHRISTOFFERSEN LTD CALGARY
$500.00
Cash
REIMER LAW OFFICE CALGARY
$500.00
Cash
ROCKWELL SERVICING PARTNERSHIP CALGARY
$2,500.00
Cash
SCOTIABANK TORONTO - ONTARIO
$4,000.00
Cash
SUNCOR ENERGY INC CALGARY
$3,000.00
Cash
TD SECURITIES INC TORONTO - ONTARIO
$1,000.00
Cash
TORONTO DOMINION BANK TORONTO - ONTARIO
$1,600.00
Cash
TRANSALTA UTILITIES CORPORATION CALGARY
$2,000.00
Cash
TRANSCANADA PIPE LINES CALGARY
$5,000.00
Cash
WESTERN FINANCIAL GROUP INC HIGH RIVER
$1,000.00
Cash
WEYERHAEUSER COMPANY LIMITED VANCOUVER - B.C.
$2,000.00
Cash
WILL CALL OILFIELD SERVICES LTD SPRUCE GROVE
$500.00
Cash

Total: 99 Receipts

$206,496.74
Total Campaign Period Revenue $241,438.34


Corporate donations to the Liberals were twice as much as union donations to the NDP for the election campaign in 2004! Something dave forgot to mention.

During that campaign individual donations to the Alberta Liberals totaled $34,941.6 Ouch. Not even close to the individual donations the NDP raised, and this is the real reason for daveberta's faux outrage.

His party and former employer, relies heavily on corporate funding for their election campaigns. Unlike the NDP. And so his attempt to do a bit of political slight of hand, look over there NDP gets union donations. The reality is that if the NDP policy of no corporate or union donations was the law, it would hurt the Liberals more than the NDP. And it is a policy the NDP has adopted as provincial governments across Canada.

Daveberta was outraged that Ray Martin wrote a letter last fall soliciting funding from unions for this pending election campaign. However what he does not tell his readers is that the Liberals on an annual basis raise more funds from unions than the NDP does.

Here is the 2004 corporate donations the Liberals received, during their regular operational year. And lo and behold you will find unions donating to them. Including the Building Trades Council Inc. who donated more to the Liberals than they did to the NDP. And AUPE the provincial government union which did not donate at all to the NDP. And even personal donations from the Alberta Teachers Association president Frank Bruseker who was once a Liberal MLA.



BRUSEKER, FRANK AIRDRIE $500.00

Cash
BRUSEKER, FRANK AIRDRIE $100.00

Cash
BRUSEKER, FRANK AIRDRIE $20.00

Cash


Subtotal:$620.00

Total donations from unions to the Liberals for the operating year 2004 was $47,675, while total union donations to the NDP was $14,000. So sorry no the NDP are not being hypocrites, they are calling for legislation that daveberta and his Liberal pals fear because it would limit their corporate fund raising including from their pals in the union movement. If any party benefits from union donations more than the NDP it's the Liberals. Because they lack the NDP's financial support which is based on individual contributions.

Mind you the NDP benefits from more unions donating to it, while the Liberals rely on their pals in the Building Trades, ATA, and AUPE to support them. These are unions and associations aligned politically to the Liberals as their donations show.



2004
POLITICAL PARTY
ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT
ALBERTA LIBERAL PARTY



CONTRIBUTIONS FROM CORPORATIONS
AINSWORTH LUMBER CO LTD GRANDE PRAIRIE
$3,000.00
Cash
ALBERTA BLUE CROSS EDMONTON
$550.00
Cash
ALBERTA BUILDING TRADES COUNCIL INC. EDMONTON $2,200.00

Cash
ALBERTA BUILDING TRADES COUNCIL INC. EDMONTON $12,000.00

Cash


Subtotal:$14,200.00

ALBERTA FOREST PRODUCTS ASSOC INC EDMONTON
$550.00
Cash
ALBERTA MOTOR ASSOCIATION EDMONTON
$550.00
Cash
ALBERTA ROADBUILDERS & HEAVY CONST. EDMONTON
$550.00
Cash
ALBERTA VIEWS CALGARY
$15,000.00
Cash
ALLIANCE PIPELINE LIMITED CALGARY
$875.00
Cash
ALTAGAS SERVICES INC CALGARY
$525.00
Cash
AON REED STENHOUSE INC EDMONTON
$550.00
Cash
APEGGA EDMONTON
$550.00
Cash
ARTTEC ADVERTISING INC EDMONTON
$550.00
Cash
ASSOCIATED ENGINEERING ALBERTA LTD EDMONTON
$500.00
Cash
BOMBAY PALACE RESTAURANT EDMONTON
$500.00
Cash
BREWSTER TRANSPORTATION AND TOURS BANFF
$500.00
Cash
BURLINGTON RESOURCES CANADA LTD CALGARY
$1,200.00
Cash
CANACCORD CAPITAL CORPORATION VANCOUVER - B.C.
$1,750.00
Cash
CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF OILWELL DRI CALGARY
$1,100.00
Cash
CANADIAN ENERGY PIPELINE ASSOCIATION CALGARY
$875.00
Cash
CANADIAN NATURAL RESOURCES LTD CALGARY
$1,100.00
Cash
CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY COMPANY CALGARY
$550.00
Cash
CANADIAN SALT COMPANY LIMITED POINTE CLAIRE - QUEBEC
$1,000.00
Cash
CAPITAL PACKERS INC EDMONTON $500.00

Cash
CAPITAL PACKERS INC EDMONTON $100.00

Cash


Subtotal:$600.00

CARLYLE & ASSOCIATES EDMONTON
$550.00
Cash
CARMA DEVELOPERS LTD. EDMONTON $550.00

Cash
CARMA DEVELOPERS LTD. CALGARY $200.00

Cash


Subtotal:$750.00

COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS EDMONTON $275.00

Cash
COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS & SURGEONS EDMONTON $525.00

Cash


Subtotal:$800.00

CORIL HOLDINGS LTD CALGARY
$2,000.00
Cash
DOUGLAS A. LYNASS PROF CORP EDMONTON $550.00

Cash
DOUGLAS A. LYNASS PROF CORP EDMONTON $350.00

Cash


Subtotal:$900.00

DRAGICH DESIGN EDMONTON
$850.00
Valued
DYNACARE KASPER MEDICAL LABORATORIES EDMONTON
$1,000.00
Cash
ENBRIDGE PIPELINES INC EDMONTON $2,200.00

Cash
ENBRIDGE PIPELINES INC EDMONTON $1,000.00

Cash


Subtotal:$3,200.00

ENER-WEST PROJECTS LTD CALGARY
$550.00
Cash
FIELD ATKINSON PERRATON MANAGEMENT EDMONTON
$2,200.00
Cash
FIRSTENERGY CAPITAL CORP CALGARY
$1,000.00
Cash
FWD STEP RESOURCES CALGARY $500.00

Cash
FWD STEP RESOURCES CALGARY $25.00

Cash


Subtotal:$525.00

GENERAL ELECTRIC CANADA INC MISSISSAUGA - ONTARIO
$1,000.00
Cash
GRAHAM GROUP LTD CALGARY
$1,000.00
Cash
HAMILTON HALL SOYES/RAY & BERNDTSON INC CALGARY
$1,000.00
Cash
HEMISPHERE ENGINEERING INC. EDMONTON
$550.00
Cash
HOLE'S GREENHOUSES AND GARDENS LTD ST. ALBERT $836.74

Cash
HOLE'S GREENHOUSES AND GARDENS LTD ST. ALBERT $50.00

Cash


Subtotal:$886.74

HUSKY OIL OPERATIONS LTD CALGARY
$2,000.00
Cash
IMPERIAL OIL LIMITED CALGARY
$3,500.00
Cash
IMPERIAL OIL RESOURCES LTD CALGARY
$3,500.00
Cash
INLAND LEHIGH CEMENT LIMITED EDMONTON $2,200.00

Cash
INLAND LEHIGH CEMENT LIMITED EDMONTON $1,000.00

Cash
INLAND LEHIGH CEMENT LIMITED EDMONTON $500.00

Cash


Subtotal:$3,700.00

J.E. (BUD) MILLER CONSULTING LTD KITSCOTY
$500.00
Cash
JAMES A. BUTLIN PROFESSIONAL CORP CALGARY $275.00

Cash
JAMES A. BUTLIN PROFESSIONAL CORP CALGARY $500.00

Cash


Subtotal:$775.00

K P ACCOUNTING & TAX SERVICES EDMONTON
$1,000.00
Cash
K P M G EDMONTON
$550.00
Cash
LOCAL #8 SHEETMETAL BENEVOLENT FUN EDMONTON
$750.00
Cash
LUSCAR LTD EDMONTON
$3,000.00
Cash
LUTHRA LAW OFFICE EDMONTON
$500.00
Cash
MANSELL PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSULTING SE EDMONTON
$500.00
Cash
MCDANIEL & ASSOCIATES CONSULTANTS LTD CALGARY
$500.00
Cash
MCNALLY VALUATIONS INC EDMONTON $550.00

Cash
MCNALLY VALUATIONS INC EDMONTON $350.00

Cash


Subtotal:$900.00

NEXEN INC CALGARY $550.00

Cash
NEXEN INC CALGARY $2,200.00

Cash
NEXEN INC CALGARY $12,000.00

Cash


Subtotal:$14,750.00

NICHOLAS PERELES PROF CORP CALGARY $1,000.00

Cash
NICHOLAS PERELES PROF CORP CALGARY $350.00

Cash


Subtotal:$1,350.00

NORTHLANDS PARK EDMONTON
$550.00
Cash
PARKER FORD & MACKAY SPECIALTY OPT EDMONTON
$550.00
Cash
PAUL ZIFF & CO NATURAL GAS CONSULT CALGARY $275.00

Cash
PAUL ZIFF & CO NATURAL GAS CONSULT CALGARY $250.00

Cash
PAUL ZIFF & CO NATURAL GAS CONSULT CALGARY $250.00

Cash
PAUL ZIFF & CO NATURAL GAS CONSULT CALGARY $500.00

Cash


Subtotal:$1,275.00

PCL CONSTRUCTION GROUP INC EDMONTON
$5,000.00
Cash
PETERS & CO. LIMITED CALGARY
$1,000.00
Cash
PHARMACISTS ASSOCIATION OF ALBERTA EDMONTON
$550.00
Cash
PIPELLA AND COMPANY BARRISTERS AND SOLICITORS CALGARY $550.00

Cash
PIPELLA AND COMPANY BARRISTERS AND SOLICITORS CALGARY $350.00

Cash


Subtotal:$900.00

QUALICO DEVELOPMENTS WEST LTD EDMONTON
$550.00
Cash
ROYAL BANK OF CANADA EDMONTON $1,100.00

Cash
ROYAL BANK OF CANADA EDMONTON $2,000.00

Cash


Subtotal:$3,100.00

SCHUMACHER & ASSOCIATES WETASKIWIN
$825.00
Cash
SCOTIABANK TORONTO - ONTARIO
$2,000.00
Cash
SECURITY LIFE AND INVESTMENT CALGARY
$400.00
Cash
SHAW COMMUNICATIONS INC CALGARY
$550.00
Cash
SHELLY'S ENTERPRISE LTD EDMONTON
$1,000.00
Cash
SUNCOR ENERGY INC CALGARY
$6,500.00
Cash
T. BOWEN & A. ROBERTS PROF CORP CALGARY $275.00

Cash
T. BOWEN & A. ROBERTS PROF CORP CALGARY $175.00

Cash


Subtotal:$450.00

TALISMAN ENERGY INC CALGARY $550.00

Cash
TALISMAN ENERGY INC CALGARY $5,000.00

Cash
TALISMAN ENERGY INC CALGARY $1,000.00

Cash


Subtotal:$6,550.00

TAURUS INVESTMENTS LTD EDMONTON $825.00

Cash
TAURUS INVESTMENTS LTD EDMONTON $1,000.00

Cash


Subtotal:$1,825.00

TECHNA-WEST ENGINEERING LTD EDMONTON
$550.00
Cash
TELUS EDMONTON $2,200.00

Cash
TELUS EDMONTON $2,200.00

Cash
TELUS EDMONTON $700.00

Cash


Subtotal:$5,100.00

TERASEN PIPELINES INC CALGARY
$1,225.00
Cash
THE COHOS EVAMY CALGARY $275.00

Cash
THE COHOS EVAMY CALGARY $275.00

Cash


Subtotal:$550.00

THE TORONTO DOMINION BANK EDMONTON
$2,200.00
Cash
THURBER ENGINEERING LTD EDMONTON
$550.00
Cash
TRARION RESOURCES LTD STONY PLAIN
$500.00
Cash
VINTERRA PROPERTIES INC EDMONTON $1,100.00

Cash
VINTERRA PROPERTIES INC EDMONTON $50.00

Cash
VINTERRA PROPERTIES INC EDMONTON $750.00

Cash


Subtotal:$1,900.00

WEYERHAEUSER COMPANY LTD EDMONTON
$550.00
Cash
WILL CALL OILFIELD SERVICES LTD SPRUCE GROVE
$550.00
Cash
WILLIAM E. SEVICK PROFESSIONAL CORP EDMONTON $550.00

Cash
WILLIAM E. SEVICK PROFESSIONAL CORP EDMONTON $500.00

Cash


Subtotal:$1,050.00


CONTRIBUTIONS FROM TRADE UNIONS
ALBERT & NWT REGIONAL COUNCIL OF CARPENTERS AND ALLIED WORKERS EDMONTON $1,000.00

Cash
ALBERT & NWT REGIONAL COUNCIL OF CARPENTERS AND ALLIED WORKERS EDMONTON $275.00

Cash
ALBERT & NWT REGIONAL COUNCIL OF CARPENTERS AND ALLIED WORKERS EDMONTON $1,000.00

Cash


Subtotal:$2,275.00

AUPE LOCAL 50 EDMONTON
$2,000.00
Cash
AUPE LOCAL 9 EDMONTON $500.00

Cash
AUPE LOCAL 9 EDMONTON $200.00

Cash
AUPE LOCAL 9 EDMONTON $10,500.00

Cash


Subtotal:$11,200.00

INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF BOILERMAKERS IRON SHIP BUILERS EDMONTON
$15,000.00
Cash
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMST CALGARY
$500.00
Cash
INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING EN EDMONTON $3,000.00

Cash
INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING EN EDMONTON $750.00

Cash


Subtotal:$3,750.00



2004
POLITICAL PARTY
ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENT
ALBERTA NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM CORPORATIONS
629075 ALBERTA LTD EDMONTON
$400.00
Cash
ALBERTA BUILDING TRADES COUNCIL INC. EDMONTON
$4,000.00
Cash
ALL WRIGHT INFOTECH EDMONTON
$600.00
Valued
LYLE S R KANEE PROF CORP EDMONTON
$420.00
Cash
P GILL CNC INDUSTRIES LTD EDMONTON
$500.00
Cash

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM TRADE UNIONS
AREA COUNCIL C E P EDMONTON
$4,000.00
Cash
C E P NATIONAL EDMONTON $1,000.00

Cash
C E P NATIONAL EDMONTON $5,000.00

Cash
C E P NATIONAL EDMONTON $4,000.00

Cash


Subtotal:$10,000.00


So nice try dave, guess all those blogging awards and the ensuing publicity you get now as a political blogger have gone to your head. Next time you try a drive by smear full of righteous indignation get your facts straight. And before making allegations about union influence over political parties look in your own back yard.



SEE:

Diotte Endorses Mason and NDP



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Another Tory Turn Coat

More Alberta conservatives are deserting the Tired Old Tory Titanic.

Stelmach also got sideswiped in the traditional Tory stronghold of Calgary -- despite not even stopping in the city -- when Ron Wood, longtime adviser to Preston Manning and Stephen Harper, also took aim at the Progressive Conservative leader.

Wood, who allowed local Liberal candidate Pat Murray to put up a Grit lawn sign in front of his home in Calgary-North Hill, said he's been a life-long conservative backer and cast a ballot to select Ed Stelmach as the Alberta Conservative leader in December 2006. But the former Calgary broadcaster said he believes Stelmach has done a poor job governing, spending money freely to win votes.

"These guys are not progressive, and they're not conservatives," Wood said in an interview. "They don't have a plan. They cover over their plan with a shovel full of money . . . I'm a fiscal conservative."


Gee I have said that for the past four years, it's nice to have such august company agreeing with me.



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Brand X

Rick Bell hits the nail on the head about our Brand X government and the party in charge.

a good assumption is many Albertans will simply cling to the Tory brand unless the actual Xs on the big day show something different. It's the brand. It has nothing to do with political philosophy. We have seen billions in boondoggles, an attitude of denial causing a building backlog you feel everyday you get out of bed. We've seen cutting and spending and behaviour that would be a firing offence elsewhere. We've smelled the stench of scandal and been served up arrogance as aggravating as anything Ottawa dishes out.


All we can hope for is that the stench from this dying corpse of a political regime disgusts the huge undecided vote in Alberta enough that it decides to NOT vote Tory.

The key to election-night victory could be the support of the large segment of undecided voters, said Lois Harder, who teaches political science at the University of Alberta. "The issue in a province with a long political dynasty and a healthy economy is whether people are going to be motivated to vote."


Thanks to Ed calling a winter election, lets hope it remains so damned cold that rural Tories decide to stay warm at home in front of their pot belly stoves.

That and let's hope the oil boys decide that the WildRoseAlliance is the place to park their votes splitting the right.

The Tory leader found a more welcoming crowd during coffee shop meet-and-greets in Wetaskiwin and Calmar. But when his bus pulled into Drayton Valley for a chat to about 100 townsfolk at the 55+ Recreation Centre, he faced some tough questions from oil and gas workers upset with his royalty plan.

Ken Cameron, a 52-year-old co-owner of an oil and gas services company, told Stelmach that industry workers have been crippled by the soaring Canadian dollar and Ottawa's decision to tax income trusts. But "the final nail in the coffin" has been Stelmach's new royalty framework.

"I think the premier and (Energy Minister) Mel Knight are totally out of touch with conventional oil and gas," said Cameron.

Stelmach has vowed to review his royalty plan to ensure there's no "unintended consequences" for smaller oil and gas companies.

The review had better produce some major changes or Stelmach's lost another vote, this one from Dave Humphreys, a 42-year-old vice-president of an oil and gas company who also pressed the Tory leader on the issue.

"I'm very worried about the economic impact on the community," Dave Humphreys, vice-president of an oil and gas firm, told Stelmach. "It's going to have a terrible rippling effect."

The rough receptions in Red Deer and Drayton Valley only add to what's already been a rocky start to Stelmach's first election campaign as premier, suggested Peter McCormick, political scientist at the University of Lethbridge.

"This is the part of the campaign that should be on auto pilot," McCormick said.

"This was well set up to be a triumphant campaign, but it just isn't working."



If the Tories remain in power, after Stelmach's vote buying campaign let us hope it is with a decimated majority, with a balance of power in the Leg made up of the opposition parties. Now that would be usual for any other province, but highly unusual for Alberta.

Then the Tories would have to act like a government rather than as a feudal dynasty including having to have debates in the legislature and actually bringing budgets and bills to be voted on rather than passed 'in council' as they have done for the past twenty years.

Considering that this is the Party that had popularity ratings of 80-90% in past elections this poll does not bode well, despite the spin put on it by Dave Rutherford's right wing media mouthpiece;

CALGARY/AM770CHQR - The first poll of the provincial election campaign finds the conservatives are off to a good start and the opposition are yet to find traction.
Environics did a telephone survey February 1-4.
The Progressive Conservatives have the support of 52 per cent of decided voters across the province.
The Alberta Liberals come in at 25 per cent, the NDP ten per cent, the Green Party 7 per cent and the Wildrose Alliance 6 per cent.
19 per cent of respondants are undecided or chose not to answer the question.
Older and more affluent voters tend to back the tories while the liberals are more popular with younger voters and students.
The tories also have 48 per cent support in Calgary while the liberals are at 29 per cent.
It's not much different in Edmonton but in the rest of the province the tories jump to 57 per cent and the liberals drop to 19 per cent.
And Ed Stelmach's own poll numbers are even less than any other Tory leader, less than even the much maligned Don Getty.


That's what happens when a central campaign starts to fly off the rails. Ed's might be heading for a dry gulch even deeper than the one former Premier Don Getty's campaign crashed into in 1989. Like Stelmach, Getty made a string of money promises which he could not explain. They were deeply flawed as policy and made voters worry about debt.

Also, like Stelmach, Getty had no discernible vision for the province beyond providing something expensive to every group that might be upset.

It's all eerily familiar to veterans of that bizarre 1989 campaign.

Don Getty lost his own Edmonton Whitemud riding. Later he limped to a byelection victory in Stettler, and governed listlessly until his party ran him out of the leadership in 1992.


His only saving grace is that he is not alone in being a charismatically challenged leader.

A January opinion poll showed 28.5 per cent of Albertans think Stelmach would make the best premier, well in front of nearest rival, Liberal Leader Kevin Taft.

For some critics, the weakness in the polls is enough to compare Stelmach to Harry Strom, who was the leader of the Social Credit government when its 36-year dynasty was snuffed out by Peter Lougheed's Progressive Conservatives in 1971.

McCormick said there are some comparisons to be made -- Strom was a decent man in charge of a low-key government that was more progressive than it's remembered today.

"He just couldn't project it," McCormick said. "Where Stelmach is really lucky is, although he reminds us of Harry Strom, Kevin Taft doesn't remind us at all of Peter Lougheed."


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Diotte Endorses Mason and NDP

The Edmonton Sun's resident right wing city hall columnist Kerry Diotte actually praises Brian Mason and the NDP. Truly this election is going to see things shook up in Alberta.

NDP Leader Brian Mason is easily the most quotable and savvy of the three,
but he's saddled by the innate fear of socialism in Alberta. The party has made a smart move, though, by gearing its policies toward the average Joe and Josephine and accusing the Grits and Tories of being too tight with big corporations.


The image “http://www.albertandp.ca/images/template2008/billboard_08-01-26_BrianMasonQuote01.jpg” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.
Speaking in the heart of corporate Calgary, Alberta NDP Leader Brian Mason proposed legislation Friday that would ban both corporate and union donations to political parties.

"Big money in politics has a corrosive effect on our democracy and it undermines decision and policy making by political parties," Mason said at the Fairmont Palliser Hotel, a building surrounded by Calgary office towers.

"In the last couple of years the Conservatives have accepted over a half a million dollars from oil companies alone and the Liberals (accepted) close to $200,000 . . . .

"If they depend heavily on big corporations for their money, they will not stick up for the average family in this province when push comes to shove."

Lisa Young, a political science professor at the University of Calgary, sees the NDP proposal as a positive development. Alberta stands out from most Canadian jurisdictions in its "Wild West" treatment of political finances, she said.

The current situation in Alberta has helped create a longstanding tradition of "lopsided elections... that is very difficult to overcome," Young said.



The Edmonton Sun and Journal have done political leader bio's about Brian. Both pointing out that under Brian's leadership the NDP increased their seat count last election. Hardly the 'loser' party with no chance in hell of winning, that the pundits predicted then or predict now.

In fact Diotte is right on; Mason and the NDP have real chances of gaining ground as the best party to be the Opposition. Which is what the NDP has run for since their return from political purgatory under the leadership of Pam Barrett and then Raj ( Against the Machine) Pannu.


In 2000 the provincial New Democrats came calling.

They had fallen from 16 seats and official Opposition status under Ray Martin in the late 1980s to zero seats by 1993. By 1997 they’d crawled back to two seats when new leader Pam Barrett triumphed in Edmonton-Highlands and Raj Pannu won by just 58 votes in Edmonton-Strathcona.

“We took a kicking in 1993, and when Pam stepped down (in 2000) we were in serious difficulty,” said Martin.

But Martin had knocked on doors for Mason in civic campaigns, knew him as a scrapper with a conscience and convinced him to run in the Highlands byelection. He got three times the votes of his nearest competitor. “That victory probably paved the way for the future of the NDP,” said Martin. “If we hadn’t won that, I think it would have been tough slogging.”

By 2004, Mason was also party leader and the NDP had improved from two seats to four, giving him a chance to hone his skills for political theatre while his party pounced on the Tories on issues from royalty rates to skyrocketing rents.

After a Tory cabinet minister suggested Albertans chilled by high heating bills put on warm sweaters, Mason and Pannu sat in the legislature during question period and knitted.

When former premier Ralph Klein declined to debate health-care privatization in the 2004 election campaign, saying it was too complicated, Mason came out with a pamphlet entitled “Health Care for Dummies.”

He said his party prides itself on being ahead of the curve — it called for oil royalty increases back in the 2004 campaign. The idea was roundly derided at the time, but in 2007 the Tories announced even more drastic hikes.





SEE

Careful Of What You Ask For



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