Conservatives Are Taking Alberta's Votes for Granted

On Thursday we learned an extension of the current equalization formula was passed on June 6, 2018.  Why were we surprised to learn this?  Because none of the Conservatives who voted against the amendment mentioned it even though they (mostly) showed up to vote on it.   No, we learned this from the media three weeks after the fact.

Since the final vote on June 6, the silence has been deafening. There are 53 CPC "defenders of the West", including its leader, Andrew Scheer (SK).  There is also a guy in Alberta whose heart and mind is hardly a moment away from the House of Commons, the Leader of Alberta's Official Opposition, Jason Kenney.  And none of these representatives, not one of these "unfair equalization" proponents was passing around the gasoline for the West to light its hair on fire?  Get real.

Part of that would of course be due to the fact that there was a federal by-election going on in Quebec that saw the Conservative Party of Canada win a seat on June 18.  While campaigning in Quebec, a political party does not need half of its caucus making waves against the province.

La Presse Canadienne / Jacques Boissinot

The only hiccup for the Conservatives was back in May when Manitoba MP Ted Falk let his social conservatism fly in the House of Commons when he yelled out "abortion is not a right!" in response to the Prime Minister.  Quebecers are, apparently, more liberal-minded than the Western CPC MPs and Conservative MPs from Quebec were forced to distance themselves from the comment. Ain't unity grand?

And speaking of unity, the only CPC MP who appears to be maintaining the purported conservative values is Maxime Bernier, who was removed from the front bench by Andrew Scheer earlier this month.  The CPC is on a mission: Elect a provincial Conservative Party in Quebec in October.  All MPs must toe the party line.

To do that, Andrew Scheer must continue to be the champion of all things Quebec; from supply management to equalization (no link available because; silence).  Jason Kenney, who likely wanted to be on as many stages as possible in Quebec during the summer, will have to stand up for Alberta as the lone voice for Alberta Conservative values of "it's mine, damn you, all mine!"

Andrew Scheer will have to continue to be the voice for Quebec, at least until October 2, 2018, but they won't worry too much about the Conservative support out West; Kenney has plenty of gasoline for all of those who can be set off by incomplete and misleading remarks about equalization. And while your hair is on fire, don't forget to donate to the CPC; they need your support to campaign for Quebec's interests.

Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean
Content Director/Writer

NOTICE: This article is a mixture of both opinion and fact. Links within the article.

Zero Days Without Incident

It was a simple task. Send out an email invite to the screening of a movie that is controversial enough to get their name in the paper and have everyone talking about them. Ideally, they were probably hoping for a censorship backlash that could have resulted in a "free speech" fight with the University. 

That's what could have happened when they hit "send" but it's not what happened. Instead, the Wildrose faction of University of Calgary students found themselves in the centre of another debate; Women's Equality.  While there are numerous ways to get your name in the paper, this is not the favoured route, even for the Wildrose. However, as Derek Fildebrandt so eloquently stated "Hyper-sensitive, politically correct, victim as virtue culture is creating a leadership class of wimps." (Nov 12, 2016).  Though Fildebrandt insists he is not a social conservative, it's the company you keep.

I mean, in 2012 when the Wildrose did not form government after so many polls said they would, many pointed to the "Lake of Fire" story and claimed it contributed to their loss.  In April of 2015, Rick Strankman, MLA for Drumheller-Stettler took some heat for staying out of the kitchen when a "volunteer" circulated an invitation asking attendees to "Bring Your Wife's Pie".

Add to this the new Maxime Bernier meme featuring double-downer Wildrose MLA Derek Fildebrandt and referencing the "red pill" which he circulated yesterday and you have a full-blown blow back. Especially when the tweeter of said meme claims to have no knowledge of the more modern interpretation of "red pill". If a reader is so inclined, they can google it - I won't link to such garbage.

For a political party that has seen their fair (or unfair, if you swing that way) share of controversy since becoming the Wildrose, this doesn't help.  Personally, I don't see this doing any harm to their brand.  This is, after all, their brand.

And if Jason Kenney is successful in winning the PC leadership, dissolving the PC party, getting Wildrose to agree to dissolve their party, and creating a new conservative party, people will forget the Wildrose Party of Alberta ever existed. Which, really, is nothing but beneficial for them in a modern world.