As my son and I finish spring seeding on the farm, it’s had me stop to consider some of the new and growing movements sprouting in Alberta and across the West right now..Alberta’s self-professed “servant leadership” has quickly reverted to some of the PC habits of old. Those of us who fought in the trenches of the old Wildrose can only stand by in shock as we see the Premier’s Office staffed with dozens of nepotistic six-figure salaries, and local representatives muted. Government it seems, is still at the trough..If Albertans stand idly by and continue only to be political spectators rather than active participants, then they are only complicit in the famous words of old Premier William Aberhart:.“If Albertans haven’t suffered enough, it’s their God given right to suffer some more.” .I’m fortunate to have assigned chores in front of me, helping my son get our crop in the ground in some sort of proper and timely fashion. There is no lockdown on the farm, but many Albertans are not so fortunate. In every farmer`s heart, hope springs eternal this time of year. It`s our motivation to move forward, but this year it isn`t without some reflection on the fate of others..About a decade ago, I joined a group of Albertans who would not stand idly by as government did whatever it wished; the Wildrose. From the political discourse emerging in today`s Alberta, it tells me we are destined to repeat a more serious and comprehensive quest; only this time it’s one with strong nationalistic overtones..Like the first Wildrose, the fledgling Wildrose Independence Party is emerging from two smaller parties, and I’m paying attention. They are tapping into a sentiment that contains the same underpinnings of freedom and democracy we as a group of Western farmers set out to gain in the mid 90’s..As with the first Wildrose Party and our farmers revolt against the Wheat Board, the new Wildrose Independence Party resembles our fight against the same brand of stale bureaucrats. Like then, they referred to us as “fringe,” and somehow our fight and our existence was unimportant. Of course, it wasn’t without the smattering of “Ottawashed” politicians chiding, “It’ll never work. They’re too dumb to sell their own wheat”.We need less government beyond these physically and fiscally unhealthy times. If the overpaid, under-skilled nepotistic bureaucrats and political staffers are allowed to continue their places at the trough, Alberta will bare the societal carnage like those desperate days of the 1930s.. Second Wildrose Caucus-2015The second Wildrose Caucus after the 2015 .Alberta must create the opportunity to be the custodians of our own future. It’s becoming painfully clear that Ottawa does not share the same dream for Alberta as most Albertans do. .Elected representatives should heed the distant and deep rumblings from the unwashed masses, or they themselves will be destined to a form of extinction by their own hand. It’s happened before in Alberta; more than once..The two big parties that dominate Alberta right now both share a fundamental commonality: that they are smarter than everyone else, that their partisans deserve the financial spoils of war, and that they are quite comfortable without other, new players on the scene. .This is not that unlike the political scene in 2009, when all of the establishment parties took for granted that the upstart Wildrose was’t about to upset their apple cart. .Unless they change course quickly, the same might be about to happen again. But this new Wildrose doesn’t appear content to merely reform Alberta, but to radically alter its relationship with Ottawa. .Rick Strankman is the former Wildrose and UCP MLA for Drumheller-Stettler
As my son and I finish spring seeding on the farm, it’s had me stop to consider some of the new and growing movements sprouting in Alberta and across the West right now..Alberta’s self-professed “servant leadership” has quickly reverted to some of the PC habits of old. Those of us who fought in the trenches of the old Wildrose can only stand by in shock as we see the Premier’s Office staffed with dozens of nepotistic six-figure salaries, and local representatives muted. Government it seems, is still at the trough..If Albertans stand idly by and continue only to be political spectators rather than active participants, then they are only complicit in the famous words of old Premier William Aberhart:.“If Albertans haven’t suffered enough, it’s their God given right to suffer some more.” .I’m fortunate to have assigned chores in front of me, helping my son get our crop in the ground in some sort of proper and timely fashion. There is no lockdown on the farm, but many Albertans are not so fortunate. In every farmer`s heart, hope springs eternal this time of year. It`s our motivation to move forward, but this year it isn`t without some reflection on the fate of others..About a decade ago, I joined a group of Albertans who would not stand idly by as government did whatever it wished; the Wildrose. From the political discourse emerging in today`s Alberta, it tells me we are destined to repeat a more serious and comprehensive quest; only this time it’s one with strong nationalistic overtones..Like the first Wildrose, the fledgling Wildrose Independence Party is emerging from two smaller parties, and I’m paying attention. They are tapping into a sentiment that contains the same underpinnings of freedom and democracy we as a group of Western farmers set out to gain in the mid 90’s..As with the first Wildrose Party and our farmers revolt against the Wheat Board, the new Wildrose Independence Party resembles our fight against the same brand of stale bureaucrats. Like then, they referred to us as “fringe,” and somehow our fight and our existence was unimportant. Of course, it wasn’t without the smattering of “Ottawashed” politicians chiding, “It’ll never work. They’re too dumb to sell their own wheat”.We need less government beyond these physically and fiscally unhealthy times. If the overpaid, under-skilled nepotistic bureaucrats and political staffers are allowed to continue their places at the trough, Alberta will bare the societal carnage like those desperate days of the 1930s.. Second Wildrose Caucus-2015The second Wildrose Caucus after the 2015 .Alberta must create the opportunity to be the custodians of our own future. It’s becoming painfully clear that Ottawa does not share the same dream for Alberta as most Albertans do. .Elected representatives should heed the distant and deep rumblings from the unwashed masses, or they themselves will be destined to a form of extinction by their own hand. It’s happened before in Alberta; more than once..The two big parties that dominate Alberta right now both share a fundamental commonality: that they are smarter than everyone else, that their partisans deserve the financial spoils of war, and that they are quite comfortable without other, new players on the scene. .This is not that unlike the political scene in 2009, when all of the establishment parties took for granted that the upstart Wildrose was’t about to upset their apple cart. .Unless they change course quickly, the same might be about to happen again. But this new Wildrose doesn’t appear content to merely reform Alberta, but to radically alter its relationship with Ottawa. .Rick Strankman is the former Wildrose and UCP MLA for Drumheller-Stettler
