James Albers is a Calgary-based management consultant specializing in leadership development. He was formerly a school principal and teacher of history and active in conservative politics.The federal government's role is to ensure that critical services and needs for the nation are met when this cannot be done through the private sector. Things like roads, infrastructure, national defence, citizenship, immigration and so on have all been part of that mandate. Government rules as part of a "social compact" with its citizens and as long as citizens feel they are getting a fair return on the taxes they pay, all is good. Historically, we know that when that balance tilts in favour of the government vs. favour of the citizens, citizens tend to respond by setting that balance back where it belongs.Even the most egregious regimes will ultimately face this response, and often sooner. Communist regimes in Russia, Poland, and other parts of Eastern Europe lasted relatively short periods of time. The same can be said for China, which will soon face its own economic reset.It takes longer in democracies, however, because the populace tends to be assuaged by the idea that we are still in control since we are electing the powers that be. With the American colonies, it was unreasonable taxation and England's refusal to give them a voice in Parliament. In Canada, we were genteel about our concerns, and in true Canadian fashion, we worked things out peacefully. Either way, the impetus to right those issues always necessitates resetting the appropriate balance. So where is this going? I will give just a few numbers to lay the foundation for this discussion. During the COVID-19 crisis, the federal government created $89.9 billion in wasted or lost funds, largely due to mismanagement and lack of oversight in emergency spending. With our last budget update, they are anticipating borrowing $500 billion for the budget by 2028/29. That is a billion with a B! To give you an idea of the size of this number, if every dollar was a second in time, 500 billion would last over 10,000 years! We have seen a steady rise in government taxation and a surge in public sector growth, while for the average Canadian, most of our hard-earned money is spent on taxes vs essentials, things like food, shelter, clothing and heat. It is time to start asking the hard questions regarding the relationship we have with our federal government. Are we still getting the return on investment for the money we send to Ottawa? Has Ottawa shown ANY inclination to curb spending and get budgets under control? And the big one; is it time for citizens to reset that balance? These are not just questions for the government, but for all of us as citizens. How should that be done and if not now, when? These are big questions with enormous implications. Should :Pierre Poilievre ascend to the Prime Minister's office, will he have the backbone to pass legislation requiring balanced budgets and a mandate to pay down the debt with any surpluses? Will he be able to reign in the cancerous growth of the public sector?Lastly, if he cannot, and we continue to see the government's overreach grow, how are we in Alberta positioned to resist this slow-creeping totalitarianism? This last question is for you, Premier Danielle Smith. Albertans want to know.James Albers is a Calgary-based management consultant specializing in leadership development. He was formerly a school principal and teacher of history and active in conservative politics.
