Thursday, February 4, 2010 1:54 PM EST
Rogue encounter
Dawn Walton
Sarah Palin, author and erstwhile politician, brings her roadshow to Calgary next month.
Palin, the once little-known Alaskan governor turned failed Republican vice-presidential candidate, will be the latest U.S. political figure to visit the conservative friendly city. Former U.S. president George W. Bush picked Calgary last March as the location for his first public address since leaving the White House. His visit was met by some protests, but also a nearly packed house at the Telus Convention Centre.
Palin, who has been busy flogging her book, Going Rogue: An American Life, since leaving public life, will appear in Calgary March 6 at the BMO Centre on the Stampede Grounds. The event will be moderated by Senator Pamela Wallin, the former Consul General of Canada in New York, who was appointed to the red chamber by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
The right-wing think tank, the Fraser Institute, is now taking registrations. Tickets are $210 each.
Link to this postTuesday, January 26, 2010 5:33 PM EST
Communications cleanup
Dawn Walton
There has been more housecleaning in the Alberta premier's office.
Premier Ed Stelmach said goodbye today to his press secretary, Tom Olsen, a former Calgary Herald columnist after more than two years as his point man with the media. The widely rumoured change follows on the heels of the departures of Stelmach's communications director, Paul Stanway, and the head of the public affairs bureau, Roxanna Benoit.
Olsen will be working on Alberta's Olympic efforts next month, while Stanway, who said he couldn't commit to the position through March, 2012 - the next expected date for a provincial election - was replaced earlier this month by Cam Hantiuk, who served most recently as director of public affairs for the western Canadian office of Waste Management of Canada Corp. Benoit is working in a policy position for the government.
When Stelmach shuffled his cabinet earlier this month, he promised it would lead to "better communications" of policies and objectives of his government. He reiterated that point today when speaking with reporters, but he didn't respond to questions about whether there were problems with communications within his immediate circle, which prompted the changes.
"Any changes in the communciatons area you can speak to the new directior and he’ll be able to give you further information," he said.
Thursday, December 31, 2009 11:55 AM EST
Liepertmustgo.ca must go
Dawn Walton
Earlier this month, the Alberta Liberal Party urged residents to send in their health care horror stories through a new website targetting provincial health minister Ron Liepert. Amid perceived health care hiccups such as the H1N1 flu vaccine rollout and declining services, the opposition party has been aggitating for Liepert to be removed from his post.
In its first week, the site received about 300 submissions.
But now, the Clerk of the Alberta Legislature has ordered the Liberals to dismantle www.liepertmustgo.ca - a demand Liberal Party Leader David Swann considers an "assault on free speech" and an "abuse of power."
“We’re not asking for Liepert to be removed as an MLA, only as Health Minister,” he said in a statement. “This is an issue of policy, not personality.”
In a letter to the Liberals, Clerk David McNeill wrote, "officials of the Legislative Assembly Office have assessed that use of caucus funds for the posting of this particular communication whereby the Honourable Mr. Liepert is singled out and personally criticized is not compliant." He ordered the website be removed form the caucus website immediately.
The Liberals appealed the decision, but Speaker of the Legislature Ken Kowalski, responded that he concurred with McNeill's view.
"It is inappropriate to use caucus funds for this type of communication," he wrote.
The party plans to appeal it further to the Members' Services Committee.
Today, the website was still active.
Howard May, a spokesman for Liepert, said the health minister is not commenting on the issue.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009 4:29 PM EST
What holiday?
Dawn Walton
The Alberta legislature is on a break for the holiday season, but Premier Ed Stelmach doesn’t look like he’ll be taking the time to put up his feet.
This week, he launched a series of online videos dubbed “Ask Premier Ed” to answer questions submitted via hip social media tools including Twitter and YouTube. (Recently, the Alberta Liberals unveiled a series of podcasts as a way to also deliver their partisan message.)
Stelmach has talked about energy, the environment, health care and the economy, but so far has steered clear of controversy.
Today he did lament his government’s hike to taxes on liquor, a decision that was later reversed.
“I confess, I made a mistake,” he said.
The day before, when asked whether he received an H1N1 flu vaccine while the provincial clinics were in turmoil, Stelmach said he had only received the seasonal flu shot a few weeks ago. He said he planned to get the H1N1 shot soon.
At the same time, there is more evidence that Danielle Smith’s Wildrose Alliance Party is creating a headache for the Tories, which have ruled the province since 1971. An Angus Reid poll released last week shows the Wildrose Alliance is now way ahead of the Tories, 39 per cent to 25 per cent.
While battling the party's public image, Stelmach is being forced to address things internally. His things to do list includes looking for a new director of communications after it was announced that Paul Stanway, who currently occupies the top spokesperson job, won’t be renewing his contract when it ends next month. That’s in addition to a report by Calgary Herald columnist Don Braid that a cabinet shuffle is coming in early January along with talk that the hated oil and gas royalty regime will once again be rejigged under a new energy minister.
Stelmach may well need more than a shot in the arm to get through 2010.
Monday, November 23, 2009 4:59 PM EST
Not-so-sweet tweets
Dawn Walton
Sometimes an apology doesn't really seem like an apology.
A tweet attack was lobbed this week against Premier Ed Stelmach by the chief of staff for Danielle Smith, leader of Wildrose Alliance Party.
Stephen Carter seemingly mocked Stelmach's manner of speaking in a posting Thursday on his Twitter account.
"Just saw da premier making a speech. Dat was quite a speech. Dem media better report it right," Carter wrote after the premier addressed a meeting with rural reeves and councillors.
He also posted: "Getting ready for [Smith's] press conference. Dem media better be ready for Danielle. Dey better get da story right!"
The premier's office was not amused and suggested that Carter was mocking Stelmach's rural background and Ukrainian roots.
Carter, who is not stranger to the rough and tumble world of politics, denied that was his motivation and deleted the tweets. He also offered an apology.
On his Twitter page, Stelmach wrote, "My press office has accepted an apology from Danielle Smith's chief of staff over an offensive Twitter post."
But Carter seems to be enjoying the attention - and appears keen on having the last word.
"Well, offending [the premier] has dramatically increased my followers. Negative action leads to moderately positive outcome," he tweeted.
Thursday, November 19, 2009 3:08 PM EST
They like us
Dawn Walton
The majority of people who live in the key oil and gas producing regions in Western Canada said they are fans of the energy industry, according to a survey released today.
The Ipsos Reid poll of 1,152 adults who reside in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (Alberta accounts for the vast majority of this country's domestic petroleum production) was conducted between June 8 to 21.
Fifty-eight per cent of respondents said they had a positive view of the energy industry, 21 per cent had a neutral opinion and 20 per cent had a negative outlook.
At the same time, 79 per cent of respondent said they believe statements made by local oil and gas company officials.
But when asked about how the industry could improve, almost a third of respondents said the energy business needs to work on environmental issues and one-fifth said they wanted to see more support for the quality of life in local communities while almost as as many said public relations could be better.
The results are considered accurate within 2.9 percentage points 19 times out of 20.
Thursday, November 5, 2009 7:06 PM EST
Flames flu flap
Dawn Walton
The flu flap around the special H1N1 influenza vaccination clinic for the Calgary Flames continues.
The fired Alberta Health Services worker, who has been called a scapegoat and sacrificial lamb by the public and opposition parties, may not be the only person facing the consequences for giving the green light to about 60 flu shots for hockey players, their families and team management at a private clinic. The province has said it is still investigating and other people could yet be disciplined for the debacle.
Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach put his moral compass to the controversy this afternoon.
“It is deplorable. Obviously, heads did roll. It’s not right. Obviously somebody in a position of trust broke that trust,” he told reporters in Calgary.
Some people have accused Flames management of acting unethically by even asking public health for special treatment in the first place. After all, most of those inoculated wouldn’t fit provincial guidelines of "high-risk" for developing complications from the virus since there are few chronically ill people, mom's-to-be and children associated with professional hockey. Morever, every day last week it was well reported that members of the public stood in six-hour lines for the vaccine, but last Friday night, the Flames organization received a private audience with the vaccine.
But Stelmach steered clear of placing ethical blame with the NHL franchise.
“All I know is there was somebody in a position of trust and that trust was broken in a system that’s publicly funded,” he said, “… It wasn’t the right thing to do for the people in charge of handling the vaccine.”
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 4:06 PM EDT
Choice words
Dawn Walton
For someone known for shooting from the hip, former Alberta premier Ralph Klein has little interest in saying anything about the political landscape now shifting in this province.
While attending an event at Mount Royal University in Calgary today, Klein told reporters he’s too busy focusing on business to put his mind to the state of his old party, a 38-year-old dynasty that is starting to show the signs of its age.
“I tend to stay away of politics and all things political,” Klein said.
But Danielle Smith, the newly elected leader of the Wildrose Alliance Party, is threatening to end Progressive Conservative rule as public opinion polls are showing she may be onto something. Meanwhile, Premier Ed Stelmach is battling falling personal and party popularity, is facing a mandatory leadership review in three weeks.
Still, Klein would only offer a few insights about Smith: she’s "nice" and a "hard worker.”
"I like her," he said. "She liked my brand of politics."
And, Klein merely said he had some sense of what it will feel like for Stelmach next month as party faithful prepare to pass judgment on him: “It was uncomfortable.”
Klein was forced out of the premier’s office after embarrassingly low support when his leadership was reviewed.
Previously, Klein publicly set the bar for Stelmach to stay on as leader at 70 per cent support. After much prodding by the assembled media, Klein reiterated that stance, refused to offer advice to Stelmach or the party and mumbled, "I think so. Enough said," when someone asked about Alberta's notoriously unhappy business community wanting a leadership change.
Klein, once the face of Alberta politics, but now opting to be so far removed, said he won't be voting in the leadership review.
For her part, Smith said in her first press conference of the week as leader that it doesn’t matter to her if Stelmach gets 51 per cent or 91 per cent support.
“Let them worry about their party while we in the Wildrose Alliance are worried about the province of Alberta,” she told reporters.
Friday, October 16, 2009 2:27 PM EDT
Eye-opening visit
Dawn Walton
Dubbed dirty oil by critics and a safe, secure energy supply by supporters, the new U.S. Ambassador to Canada said he needed to visit Alberta's oil sands in order to debrief the Obama administration about the state of the world's second largest energy reserve.
But David Jacobson, the new U.S. envoy to Canada, hasn't said - at least publicly - which side of that controversial fence he's on.
"I learned a lot about the energy industry when I was in Calgary, but actually seeing it with my own eyes was essential to furthering my understanding of the U.S.-Canada energy relationship," he wrote in his blog.
Canada is the largest foreign supplier of oil and gas to the United States. But the Canadian oil industry has been concerned that U.S. energy legislation that is in the works could mean restrictions on oil sands shipments due to the development's carbon emissions rate.
Jacobson, who was named to the post last month, met with energy leaders in Calgary this week and then trekked north of Fort McMurray to see how oil is extracted, learn about new technology aimed at making the industry more efficient and environmentally friendly, meet with a local aboriginal leader and visit a spot of reclaimed land where bison now roam.
"In all of these discussions, we talked about the need for balance between energy production and environmental protection," he wrote.
Jacobson said he was amazed by the scale of the operation and even posted a photo of his wife, Julie, posed in front of a massive dump truck tire.
"I realize I have a lot more to learn, but this was a great introduction to the oil sands and the many issues related to its development," he wrote.
Thursday, October 8, 2009 2:08 PM EDT
Poll position
Dawn Walton
It's tough to tell who should be more concerned - the Tories or the Liberals - by a new poll that shows growing support for the right-wing, fledgling Wildrose Alliance Party.
The poll, which was conducted Oct. 3-5 by the Citizen Society Research Lab at Lethbridge College, asked respondents which party they would vote for if a provincial election was held today.
The Progressive Conservatives have a commanding lead with 38.4 per cent, but the Wildrose Alliance jumped into second with 21.5 per cent support. The Liberals, meanwhile, grab 20.8 per cent support and the NDP has 10.7 per cent.
The Wildrose Alliance, which won a surprising by-election race in Calgary last month and now has 11,670 members who are eligible to vote in next weekend's leadership race, appears to be capitalizing on some buzz.
Keith Brownsey, a political scientist at Mount Royal University in Calgary, said the results suggest a signficiant number of Albertans are looking for a place to park their vote as a protest to Premier Ed Stelmach's government. The data also speaks to the weakness of Liberal Leader David Swann. But either way, Brownsey points out, a provincial election is still a few years away and a lot can happen between now and then.
The telephone survey of 1,201 people is considered accurate within 3.2 percentage points 19 times out of 20.
Alberta Watch Contributors
Katherine O'Neill
Katherine O’Neill is a national correspondent for The Globe and Mail based in Edmonton. Ms. O’Neill, who has also covered politics at Queen’s Park and Toronto City Hall, holds a political science degree from Wilfrid Laurier University and a master of journalism degree from Carleton University.
Dawn Walton
Dawn Walton is a national correspondent for The Globe and Mail based in Calgary. Ms. Walton, who has a journalism degree from Carleton University and an LLB from Queen’s University, follows politics, but has also tracked the tragedies at Mayerthorpe and the avalanche at Rogers Pass.
