Alberta Election

They blew up a perfectly functional hospital here once and people showed up to cheer the spectacle. Well, Calgary did anyway. I'm fairly certain that Edmonton would have fought that particular bit of stupidity a hell of a lot harder. Regardless of where though, it's a good example of how truly and deliberately dumb people in this neck of the woods can be when they want to. Smith-bucks is the same thing. Cheap flashy politics designed to entice the rubes. The Calgary SUN is already cheering the entire idea so you know right there with that endorsement that this whole silly concept is designed to appeal mostly to the sammich people who can't think outside of the moment as opposed to those of us who can still rub a few brain cells together.

I give exactly 0 sh*ts about the Alberta election. I thought this was entertaining though.

Smith accuses 'liberal' Tories of fearmongering

Redford — Alberta's first NDP premier

You may recall that when the Tory government passed the provincial budget late last month, Premier Alison Redford said it was necessary to do so on the eve of an election call so that voters would know exactly what her government was planning.

Well, that noble commitment to transparency lasted about 10 days.

Wednesday, in another holier-than-thou announcement from Premier Nanny, Redford pledged an extra $2.4 billion in school-construction spending over the next four years – an amount that did not appear in March’s budget. So much for knowing exactly what her Tories have planned.

Redford made her promise of 50 new schools and 70 renovated ones by 2016 in direct response to Monday’s pledge by Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith to return 20 per cent of any future budget surplus to Albertans in the form of an energy dividend cheque. The premier pointed out that the $1.2 billion that 50 new schools would cost and the $1.2 billion for 70 retrofits were each equal to one year’s worth of “Danielle dollars.” When it comes to choosing cheques or more schools, Redford said, “my priority is schools for children.”

Give me a break.

This is yet another example of the premier’s left-of-centre belief in big government, more proof that she is, in every practical sense, Alberta’s first NDP premier. If I were the real NDP Leader, Brian Mason, I’d be thinking of suing Redford for trademark infringement.

No matter how much money the provincial government consumes, Redford is never satisfied. Return tax dollars to their rightful owners? Pashaw. In the premier’s mind, she and her government will always be better judges than ordinary Albertans of what should be done with any excess.

This unflinching faith in the omniscience of government is Redford’s biggest flaw.

Another problem with this pledge is that it amounts to a 180-degree turn for the Tories. Just before the election, Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk was telling Albertans there was no way the government could afford all the new schools the province needs without creative financing – such as amortizing the cost of their construction over the new schools’ useful lives. But now that the Tories are in free fall – poof! – there’s plenty of money available to pay up front for new and renovated schools.

And just where does Redford imagine the construction crews will come from for 120 new infrastructure projects? (Make that 260 projects if we also count the 140 family health clinics she promised Monday – another new initiative that appears nowhere in the Tories’ supposedly be-all and end-all budget). Private construction projects are going begging for lack of skilled trades people in Alberta’s building boom. Does Redford intend to bid up the price of personal and corporate construction with her serge in school building?

But the biggest problem with the premier’s latest out-of-nowhere goodie is that more money isn’t needed to meet Alberta’s school construction needs; better management of existing revenues is the key.

Last month’s budget raised provincial spending by nearly 7% to a record $41.1 billion. That works out to a whopping $10,800 for each of the province’s 3.8 million men, women and children. No other government in the country even comes close. Ontario’s Liberal government, which is in second place, spends just $9,000 per resident and Quebec’s Liberals, who are third, spends $8,400. Even Ottawa spends just $7,800 per Canadian – 28% less per capita than Alberta. Neighbouring B.C. has nearly a million more residents and its provincial government spends roughly the same as ours.

It’s not that Redford cannot build new schools and return money to Albertans at the same time, it’s that she won’t.

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http://www.edmontonsun.com/2012/04/05/g ... dp-premier

And now to top off the $100M she gave to the teachers for putting her into the big chair, she's giving them a $500 tax credit. Life is looking pretty good if your a teacher in AB.

gezzzzz I can't stand either woman. :evil:

The last thing we need in this province is more delays to infrastructure. Massive influxes of people are one of the things that come with a boom. And people need infrastructure. Anyone who spends any time on the yellowhead knows that...