The Western Standard’s inbox is filed daily with breathless NDP press releases shrieking that Jason Kenney’s UCP are all but shutting down the government. Day-after-day, these breaking-news announcements from Alberta’s Official Opposition declare “the end is nigh..Today: “Kenney attacks seniors’ health care to pay for corporate handout”..Monday: “Cuts, Americanization, rural job losses dominate health review”..Last week: “UCP throws tens of thousands of Albertans into chaos in effort to hide provincial deficit”..For the eyes of the reader, I refrained from using the all-caps that the titles were sent in.. EDITORIAL: Canada’s leaders fail as blockades spread lawlessness .Their message is nothing if not consistent..“These brutal cuts will impose cruel hardships on Alberta seniors and their families,” said the NDP’s Leader, Rachel Notley in today’s missive..You don’t have to open NDP press releases to know what they are going to say: “UCP evil. Children and old folks will starve to pay for corporate tax cuts.” Or some variation of that..Opposition parties do this. As the Wildrose Finance Critic in opposition, I regularly blasted the NDP’s record by trying to break our point of view into the press, but we understood (more often than not), the concept of keeping your powder dry from time-to-time..The NDP’s daily Fearfest is getting old, fast..The Wildrose had plenty to criticize and warn the public about from the former NDP government, but we tried not to do our best impression of Chicken Little every day. As off the rails as we believed the NDP (and before that the Redford PCs) to be, we understood that screaming that the sky was falling every day would quickly lead both the press and public to ignore us. Instead, we saved our ammunition for when there was something actually happening..The NDP tried its screaming approach for two years before the last election, with little impact. They daily warned that Jason Kenney would fire “tens of thousands of nurses and teachers,” force vulnerable gay kids back into the closet, slash taxes, and devastate the enviornment. None of these things have come true. Far from it in fact..Despite pledging to balance the budget, the Tories cut a paltry $1.1 billion from the budget, and will be lucky to eke out a modest surplus in four years..While scrapping the consumer carbon tax on everyday Albertans, the Tories have kept it in place for industry, and retained most of the NDP’s oilsands regulations under a new name..And while the Tories did make good on their word to slash business taxes, they have kept in place the NDP’s high, “progressive” income tax, and even de-indexed rates (effectively raising taxes every year with inflation)..This is hardly the stuff of revolutions..The UCP government under Kenney has parted way with the NDP on a number of fronts, but not as radically as its critics on the left feared, or as seriously as its supporters on the right hoped..The NDP’s biggest shot in the dark comes on UCP’s Fair Deal Panel. In the face of massive unrest following Trudeau’s re-election, Kenney appointed the panel to explore moderate ways in which Alberta could attain a fair deal within the federation, and keep more money and decision making at home..The NDP’s response was apoplectic..NDP Finance Critic and former Environment Minister Shannon Philips claimed in a Tweet that it was in fact a “Wexit Panel,” and that independence was “Kenney’s far-right fever dream”..The NDP have routinely accused Kenney – an avowed federalist – of being a secret separatist with dreams of becoming President of the Wildrose Republic..The NDP and independence movement both know that Kenney will not step up to be Alberta’s René Lévesque..At best (from a reasonable federalist view), the Fair Deal Panel is a way to tread water and let angry Albertans blow off steam..At worst (from a reasonable federalist view), the Fair Deal Panel is meant to give a few concessions to those wanting more distance from Ottawa.. Trudeau on WE scandal: Case closed .In no reasonable observers’ view is the Fair Deal Panel Alberta’s equivalent of the Continental Congress drafting its declaration of independence..The NDP were sent a clear message in the last election: Alberta’s experiment with overt socialism and sucking up to Ottawa is over, and a minority of voters wanted them to form a strong opposition to hold the government to account. The NDP have every right (and a duty) to make life difficult for the UCP government. But they undercut their own effectiveness and hopes of retaking government by engaging in a howling Fearfest every day.
The Western Standard’s inbox is filed daily with breathless NDP press releases shrieking that Jason Kenney’s UCP are all but shutting down the government. Day-after-day, these breaking-news announcements from Alberta’s Official Opposition declare “the end is nigh..Today: “Kenney attacks seniors’ health care to pay for corporate handout”..Monday: “Cuts, Americanization, rural job losses dominate health review”..Last week: “UCP throws tens of thousands of Albertans into chaos in effort to hide provincial deficit”..For the eyes of the reader, I refrained from using the all-caps that the titles were sent in.. EDITORIAL: Canada’s leaders fail as blockades spread lawlessness .Their message is nothing if not consistent..“These brutal cuts will impose cruel hardships on Alberta seniors and their families,” said the NDP’s Leader, Rachel Notley in today’s missive..You don’t have to open NDP press releases to know what they are going to say: “UCP evil. Children and old folks will starve to pay for corporate tax cuts.” Or some variation of that..Opposition parties do this. As the Wildrose Finance Critic in opposition, I regularly blasted the NDP’s record by trying to break our point of view into the press, but we understood (more often than not), the concept of keeping your powder dry from time-to-time..The NDP’s daily Fearfest is getting old, fast..The Wildrose had plenty to criticize and warn the public about from the former NDP government, but we tried not to do our best impression of Chicken Little every day. As off the rails as we believed the NDP (and before that the Redford PCs) to be, we understood that screaming that the sky was falling every day would quickly lead both the press and public to ignore us. Instead, we saved our ammunition for when there was something actually happening..The NDP tried its screaming approach for two years before the last election, with little impact. They daily warned that Jason Kenney would fire “tens of thousands of nurses and teachers,” force vulnerable gay kids back into the closet, slash taxes, and devastate the enviornment. None of these things have come true. Far from it in fact..Despite pledging to balance the budget, the Tories cut a paltry $1.1 billion from the budget, and will be lucky to eke out a modest surplus in four years..While scrapping the consumer carbon tax on everyday Albertans, the Tories have kept it in place for industry, and retained most of the NDP’s oilsands regulations under a new name..And while the Tories did make good on their word to slash business taxes, they have kept in place the NDP’s high, “progressive” income tax, and even de-indexed rates (effectively raising taxes every year with inflation)..This is hardly the stuff of revolutions..The UCP government under Kenney has parted way with the NDP on a number of fronts, but not as radically as its critics on the left feared, or as seriously as its supporters on the right hoped..The NDP’s biggest shot in the dark comes on UCP’s Fair Deal Panel. In the face of massive unrest following Trudeau’s re-election, Kenney appointed the panel to explore moderate ways in which Alberta could attain a fair deal within the federation, and keep more money and decision making at home..The NDP’s response was apoplectic..NDP Finance Critic and former Environment Minister Shannon Philips claimed in a Tweet that it was in fact a “Wexit Panel,” and that independence was “Kenney’s far-right fever dream”..The NDP have routinely accused Kenney – an avowed federalist – of being a secret separatist with dreams of becoming President of the Wildrose Republic..The NDP and independence movement both know that Kenney will not step up to be Alberta’s René Lévesque..At best (from a reasonable federalist view), the Fair Deal Panel is a way to tread water and let angry Albertans blow off steam..At worst (from a reasonable federalist view), the Fair Deal Panel is meant to give a few concessions to those wanting more distance from Ottawa.. Trudeau on WE scandal: Case closed .In no reasonable observers’ view is the Fair Deal Panel Alberta’s equivalent of the Continental Congress drafting its declaration of independence..The NDP were sent a clear message in the last election: Alberta’s experiment with overt socialism and sucking up to Ottawa is over, and a minority of voters wanted them to form a strong opposition to hold the government to account. The NDP have every right (and a duty) to make life difficult for the UCP government. But they undercut their own effectiveness and hopes of retaking government by engaging in a howling Fearfest every day.
