Guest Column: David Parker was the Regional Organizer for Central Alberta on the 2017 Jason Kenney Leadership Campaign and GOTV Membership Chair of the Wildrose Unity Campaign.There was a lot of hope in Alberta during the drive to unite the Wildrose and Progressive Conservative parties. We believed that if we could come together, we could fix the serious problems that had been caused by the decline of the old PC Party under Ed Stelmach and Alison Redford, culminating in Jim Prentice’s disastrous 2015 campaign. Jason Kenney made distinct promises in the lead up to the merger and during the UCP leadership race. .First, he promised to bring back jobs. Modern Alberta history has been dominated by two dominant economic strategies. The path pursued by premiers Getty, Redford and Notley was corporate welfare paid for by higher business taxes. The path pursued by Klein (and promised by Kenney) was no corporate welfare traded off for lower business taxes. Kenney has instead decided to pursue a fiscally irresponsible hybrid; low business taxes and record levels of corporate welfare. It was a difficult feat to achieve, but Alberta is fiscally and economically worse off now than we were under Rachel Notley..Second, he promised to stand up for Alberta against the abuses of Ottawa, including but not limited to fixing equalization. Instead of take on Ottawa and obtain a “fair deal”, he allowed Ottawa to kill the Teck Frontier oilsands mega-mine. Instead of repealing the carbon tax, he kept it in place on industry with Ottawa’s blessing, and has meekly accepted that there isn’t much he can do about the consumer carbon tax now. Instead of fixing or abolishing equalization, he has kicked the meaningless referendum down the road to the third year of his term, which we all know will result in no changes. .Getting a “fair deal” for Alberta requires a backbone that is will to put real and serious consequence on the table with Ottawa and other provinces. The only ambition that matters to Jason Kenney is his own desire to one day be prime minister. He will and has refused to truly stand up for Alberta because that would make obtaining national leadership impossible. .Third, Jason Kenney has always claimed to be a champion of social conservatives. In fact, his election was hailed by many social conservatives as one of their own finally getting the top job. Now he is putting pastors in jail and sending police officers to barricade churches. Religious freedom is a cornerstone of Western civilization. Refusing citizens the right to worship is an abomination that brings desolation..Even many libertarians backed Kenney with his frequent use of Alberta’s motto, “strong and free”. After imposing a crippling, unscientific, and unnecessary third lockdown, Kenney should never utter the word “freedom” again. .Fourth, those of us who spent a decade in the Wildrose fighting the corruption of the PC Party were promised that the corruption would end; that the old boys club would be swept away. I was in the room multiple times when Jason Kenney promised people ranging from Derek Fildebrandt, to Drew Barnes, to farmers in Caroline that this culture of entitlement would end. It has not ended. It has in fact, grown much worse. As Kenney was banning family Christmas gatherings, his cabinet and MLAs were globe-trotting to sunny vacation destinations. He refused to even condemn them until public outrage forced him to issue a slap on the wrist. .Fifth and finally, Jason Kenney promised to be a “servant leader”. Instead, he has become an authoritarian. Not just in how he ran corrupted UCP nominations or how he leads the party itself, but now in how he governs Alberta. We thought we were electing a shepherd, instead we have a power-hungry wolf in sheep’s clothing. The self-proclaim populist, servant leader is spending more than the NDP, borrowing more than the NDP, taxing more than the NDP, and locking-down at the NDP’s command. His own supporters – those who put him in power – are left voiceless and talked down to. .I am ashamed I ever supported the man who is now Alberta’s premier. I regret believing his promises of a renewed Alberta under his leadership. The best we can do now is seek new leadership..Guest Column: David Parker was the Regional Organizer for Central Alberta on the 2017 Jason Kenney Leadership Campaign and GOTV Membership Chair of the Wildrose Unity Campaign
Guest Column: David Parker was the Regional Organizer for Central Alberta on the 2017 Jason Kenney Leadership Campaign and GOTV Membership Chair of the Wildrose Unity Campaign.There was a lot of hope in Alberta during the drive to unite the Wildrose and Progressive Conservative parties. We believed that if we could come together, we could fix the serious problems that had been caused by the decline of the old PC Party under Ed Stelmach and Alison Redford, culminating in Jim Prentice’s disastrous 2015 campaign. Jason Kenney made distinct promises in the lead up to the merger and during the UCP leadership race. .First, he promised to bring back jobs. Modern Alberta history has been dominated by two dominant economic strategies. The path pursued by premiers Getty, Redford and Notley was corporate welfare paid for by higher business taxes. The path pursued by Klein (and promised by Kenney) was no corporate welfare traded off for lower business taxes. Kenney has instead decided to pursue a fiscally irresponsible hybrid; low business taxes and record levels of corporate welfare. It was a difficult feat to achieve, but Alberta is fiscally and economically worse off now than we were under Rachel Notley..Second, he promised to stand up for Alberta against the abuses of Ottawa, including but not limited to fixing equalization. Instead of take on Ottawa and obtain a “fair deal”, he allowed Ottawa to kill the Teck Frontier oilsands mega-mine. Instead of repealing the carbon tax, he kept it in place on industry with Ottawa’s blessing, and has meekly accepted that there isn’t much he can do about the consumer carbon tax now. Instead of fixing or abolishing equalization, he has kicked the meaningless referendum down the road to the third year of his term, which we all know will result in no changes. .Getting a “fair deal” for Alberta requires a backbone that is will to put real and serious consequence on the table with Ottawa and other provinces. The only ambition that matters to Jason Kenney is his own desire to one day be prime minister. He will and has refused to truly stand up for Alberta because that would make obtaining national leadership impossible. .Third, Jason Kenney has always claimed to be a champion of social conservatives. In fact, his election was hailed by many social conservatives as one of their own finally getting the top job. Now he is putting pastors in jail and sending police officers to barricade churches. Religious freedom is a cornerstone of Western civilization. Refusing citizens the right to worship is an abomination that brings desolation..Even many libertarians backed Kenney with his frequent use of Alberta’s motto, “strong and free”. After imposing a crippling, unscientific, and unnecessary third lockdown, Kenney should never utter the word “freedom” again. .Fourth, those of us who spent a decade in the Wildrose fighting the corruption of the PC Party were promised that the corruption would end; that the old boys club would be swept away. I was in the room multiple times when Jason Kenney promised people ranging from Derek Fildebrandt, to Drew Barnes, to farmers in Caroline that this culture of entitlement would end. It has not ended. It has in fact, grown much worse. As Kenney was banning family Christmas gatherings, his cabinet and MLAs were globe-trotting to sunny vacation destinations. He refused to even condemn them until public outrage forced him to issue a slap on the wrist. .Fifth and finally, Jason Kenney promised to be a “servant leader”. Instead, he has become an authoritarian. Not just in how he ran corrupted UCP nominations or how he leads the party itself, but now in how he governs Alberta. We thought we were electing a shepherd, instead we have a power-hungry wolf in sheep’s clothing. The self-proclaim populist, servant leader is spending more than the NDP, borrowing more than the NDP, taxing more than the NDP, and locking-down at the NDP’s command. His own supporters – those who put him in power – are left voiceless and talked down to. .I am ashamed I ever supported the man who is now Alberta’s premier. I regret believing his promises of a renewed Alberta under his leadership. The best we can do now is seek new leadership..Guest Column: David Parker was the Regional Organizer for Central Alberta on the 2017 Jason Kenney Leadership Campaign and GOTV Membership Chair of the Wildrose Unity Campaign