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Wildrose policy upgrade muddying their message? Hardly

- April 9th, 2013

Much has been made over the last couple of days over the Wildrose announcing it would be reviewing some policy stances in an attempt to appeal to more Albertans.

Commenters under our stories accuse them of being nothing more than Tories with another name, and the deputy premier ridiculed them as selling out their own values.

I get that a complete reversal, or removal of core values, would be seen as a betrayal of all the supporters who have been with a party since the beginning, but as I say in my column this week, there’s room for improvement. And if you think a losing party would keep going to voters with the exact same playbook election after election, you’re fooling yourself.

If the goal of your party is to win an election, you want a winning platform. But it has to be one that sticks with your core values. A complete killing of the Alberta Human Rights Commission may not have worked for the public, but let’s look at other reform. Or let’s do a better job of explaining the benefit of the original policy.

I have no issue with policy review. It’s natural to review policy.

What I take issue with is a party that says one thing during a campaign then does the opposite once elected. That’s unforgivable.

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Categories: General | 3 comments

Calgary alderman talking the talk on freedom of information

- March 15th, 2013

gordlowe

Gord Lowe doesn’t always say the right things.

He is one of the biggest defenders of the city’s budget, the first to say we’re getting good bang for our buck, even though many of us disagree.

But he deserves credit for his take on information requests.

He’s right, the city should just automatically disclose info that’s routinely requested. It’s a boon for transparency, and could possibly save the city some cash in the long run.

And if the data is publicly available, I have less concern with Lowe’s notion of charging people to have it compiled to their specifications. That’s a user fee I could support, so long as the public data was somewhat user-friendly.

Either way, this is a better approach than the one taken by Lowe’s council colleague Dale Hodges who was more interested in cost recovery.

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Categories: General | 1 comment

CTF debacle an example of poor Tory decision making

- March 6th, 2013

Which seems like a better PR strategy to you?

1. Let one of your opponents listen to your budget briefing, then let their comments get lost in the shuffle of opposition politicians and other groups. And do it under the guise of “we’re full.”

2. Refuse them entry for the first time in 20 years, deal with at least 24 hours of criticism over the decision, let someone else extend them the olive branch, then turn around and say a spot just opened up.

Sometimes it’s just best leave well enough alone.

That concept was lost on the Tories, who told officials with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation they would not be welcome at Thursday’s budget briefing.

Now, at the start of a legislature sitting, this would normally be a minor distraction, with a Speech from the Throne to get worked up over, and the normal sparring in question period.

But this isn’t a new session, with no new Throne Speech, no legislative agenda.

All the focus is on the budget and the Tories’ reputation as stewards of the public purse.

The CTF has long been critical of the PC government, so the ouster from the lockup is at best terrible optics and, at worst, it’s petty and punative.

Some would like to point out that left-wing labour groups have never been allowed into the budget lockup, so it’s only fair the right is getting its lumps.

Forget that other groups haven’t been allowed in, and forget that it’s an alleged “right-wing” distraction.

A group that routinely spars with the government, one that for 20 years got access to the budget lockup, was suddenly told “Sorry, no go.” If the left shoe were being kicked off, I’d find it baffling too.

The optics of it are terrible, especially in a contentious budget cycle where the specific group has been a thorn in the side of the government.

Then for the premier’s office to turn around and overrule the finance department, AFTER the official opposition had offered a way in for the CTF and three other groups. Two of those groups could be called left-wing, I might add.

So we go from “We’re full, so too bad,” to “We’re focused on the budget and welcome their continued input.”

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Categories: General | 2 comments

Calatrava controversy rolls on

- February 10th, 2013

I’m sure there isn’t an employee at city hall, or an alderman on council who doesn’t want to see the Peace Bridge issue go away. Hell, even I think perhaps the matter may need to be put to rest.

But …

There’s always a but, isn’t there?

Stuff keeps coming out about the whole thing.

The Peace Bridge had many critics, yours truly among them.

I think the bridge looks plenty cool, but I question whether it serves the purpose as it was pitched, whether it’s needed cycling infrastructure, whether the design contract was awarded according to the rules laid out in the city’s own master plan for the core — CentreCity.

Anyway, all that aside, the bridge had fervent defenders. Bloggers, tweeps, journalists, online commenters, but none more fervent than bureaucrats and aldermen.

Trust me. I took my fair share of criticism for columns assailing the bridge. Some warranted, some not, and all in all, I’m fine agreeing to disagree. I just hope the city learns a lesson from what was, arguably a PR nightmare.

So it’s baffling to think the city would have to defend itself against an architect who was hand-picked, heralded by bridge supporters and promoted every step of the way.

I may not have agreed with what they had to say, and find this development a delicious twist of irony, but I will give them credit for lovin’ the one they were with. To the bitter end. Even though I didn’t agree with it.

Just a shame the Chosen One couldn’t see that from his perch in Manhattan.

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Categories: General | 1 comment

Jonathan Denis right to take city to task over taxis, but the province needs to do more.

- January 1st, 2013

JonathanDenis

Say what you will about the province’s new laws surrounding impaired driving, and I and our readers have said plenty, but when you’re trying to combat drunk driving, it’s hard to get the message through to people that they should take a cab if it’s a nightmare to get a taxi.

Enter Jonathan Denis, taking the city to task over a looming cab crunch on yet another New Year’s Eve.

I may not be convinced the province’s current approach is the right approach, I can imagine it must be pretty frustrating to be trying to set a specific tone regarding drunk driving and then have Calgary’s lack of cabs thrown in your face.

Denis is right. The city needs to get moving on more taxi licences, even temporary ones for big occasions, and better public transit.

Beyond that, they city should start looking at what would be involved in the deregulation of the taxi system.

But Denis can’t forget the province has a role to play here. A report done for the solicitor general’s office when Fred Lindsay was still the minister, and his ministry oversaw the province’s liquor laws, highlighted one big problem: Forcing bars to shut their doors all at once pushes hundreds, or thousands depending on the city, onto the street at the same time, exacerbating any existing taxi shortage.

So while I applaud Denis for talking tough with the city on taxis, the provincial government needs to look at what else it can do to help — whether it’s staggered closings, allowing all bars to stay open as late as they choose, or even whether removing last call would eliminate the crush of drunks on the street.

Other countries have seen success in areas like these, and it’s time the province steps up as well.

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Categories: General | No comments

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