Lazy governance

Written by Brenda Schimke

We’re going to have a chance to exercise direct democracy on October 18, but it will be a very unsatisfying exercise. For our First Nations there will be no polls on reserves, and in electoral districts like the County of Paintearth, where all municipal and school board positions are acclaimed, there’s only one poll in Castor.

Two of the three referendum questions are federal jurisdiction. Given how Albertans react every time the feds touch their toes into provincial jurisdiction, it’s hard to understand what the point of adding senate elections and an equalization question to the ballet. Especially at a time we’ve needed the Armed Forces, Red Cross and other provinces to save us from a Premier unable to understand a pandemic.

Of the 13 Senate candidates running, there are perhaps two independents, with decades of public service, who may be considered by the Prime Minister. But be assured, putting your vote towards any of the six candidates sponsored by the UPC or PCC is a complete waste.

One of few wise decisions Prime Minister Trudeau made in Office was to kick out all Liberal Senators from his Caucus and make them Independents. Subsequently, every new Senator appointed has been an Independent.

Without a major constitutional change, which is all but impossible, the Liberal government determined if all Senators sat as independents they could better perform their role to represent regions of the country, not a political boss in the House of Commons. 

On occasion, it has certainly made the Prime Minister’s job much more complicated, with many more delays and amendments to proposed legislation, but good democracy is messy. The more voices, the better the legislation. Unfortunately, the Conservative Party still prefers political operatives in the Senate rather than independent individuals providing a ‘sober second thought’.

The equalization question is just cheap political theatre based on lies by an unengaged Premier who doesn’t want to, or isn’t capable of, negotiating improvements to the design and operation of the program. A vote to remove equalization from the Constitution is a vote to tear out the heart and soul of Canada. 

Our Canadian identity is fairness. Equalization payments, using federal tax dollars, ensures that all provinces, even those with a below-average ability to raise revenue, can offer an acceptable level of education, health care and social services.

Kenney’s argument that Alberta over the last 60 years has given to Ottawa $600-billion more than it’s received back is nothing more than ‘the big lie’. High-income regions, like Alberta, do not transfer funds to lower-income ones. Nor do taxpayers in Alberta pay a higher percentage of federal taxes than any other province.

When you’re the richest province in Canada, yes even today, and our salaries are the highest, of course, many Albertans pay higher amounts of federal and provincial taxes. As do all top earners in other provinces. Size of population also matters. In aggregate, individual Ontarians contribute more to federal coffers than do individual Albertans.

Rather than anger, we should be thankful that we’ve been blessed with so many natural resources. It’s like being jealous of someone on welfare!

Lastly, we have a question to accept full-time daylight-savings time (DST). Experts say It’s going to play havoc with our internal Circadian clock which operates sleep and wakefulness based on the sun. 

Scientists are strongly recommending we go to year-round standard time. Otherwise, kids will be severely impacted—unless school start times are pushed back to 9:30 or 10 o’clock. 

Getting kids to bed in the summer with DST will seem a piece-of-cake compared to getting kids up in the winter under DST hours.

Referendums are simply lazy governance, and too often have huge unintended consequences.

 

Brenda Schimke

ECA Review

About the author

Brenda Schimke

Schimke is a Graduate with Distinction from the University of Alberta with a BCom degree. She has lived and worked in Alberta, BC and Ontario.