|
| Tories about to burn down the firewall - Thursday, November 13, 2003 at 12:20 |
|
November 13, 2003 The long and tortuous journey the Alberta Tories have taken since the evil genie of independence first escaped from the bottle at last March's PC convention ends this weekend. Although, a few days ago Premier Ralph Klein kiboshed even the modest concept of a protective legislative firewall to protect Albertans from federal raids and incursions, when he made his "bridges not walls" speech in Fort McMurray. Still, the game must be played out. The Alberta PCs will assemble this weekend at Edmonton's Mayfield Inn to burn down the firewall concept that has been drawing interesting crowds in rural Alberta whenever the Alberta Residents League comes to town. In the policy conference workbook's blurb the premier gives the delegates their marching orders: "Alberta remains a strong province in a united Canada." To ensure that nobody gets the wrong impression, that the Saturday afternoon break out sessions have something to do with grassroots Tory democracy, the document wants to make something perfectly clear: "It is important to understand that we are not placing binding recommendations or resolutions to the government." Instead, the purpose of the gabfest is to measure the "pulse" or "level of interest" in the firewall's four pillars: whether Alberta should have its own tax collection system, a provincial pension plan, its own police force and jurisdiction over issues including Senate reform, an Alberta immigration policy and opting out of the Ottawa-dictated health-care system. In almost all cases the firewall is praised as a "politically symbolic exercise in provincial jurisdiction." But when the costs and benefits are analysed by the unidentified party officials who wrote the workbook, there are numerous reasons to say no. In other words, the party insiders know they can't sway delegates on principle. So they are going to beat them to death with details to which the ordinary folk have no answer. Certainly, one of the most vocal opponents of Fortress Alberta is Justice Minister and leadership wannabe Dave Hancock. "We don't need protection from the federal government," scoffed the guy who has been sent out by the premier in recent months to defend Albertans from a number of federal incursions. "We need to continually remind the federal government they ought to operate in their area of jurisdiction and leave us to ours," blustered the fellow who stood by and allowed the wheat board protesters to be incarcerated in an Alberta government jail. That strategy has worked wonders so far. Hancock dismissed the idea that the policy conference would actually lead to something other than the increasingly mushy status quo. He talked about "broad discussion" and "not for immediately legislating against the federal government." And you know how Hancock and the Red Tory faction in the party he heads love their broad discussions. But someone out there appears to want action, and has commissioned two intriguing reports by the respected Fraser Institute endorsing an Alberta pension plan and condemning the present policing arrangement in the province by the federally controlled RCMP. "There is obviously merit in Albertans and their government seriously considering a separate pension plan," it concluded, if for no other reason than to protect younger workers from what it calls "retrograde developments" in Ottawa's pension scheme. A second study from the right-wing think-tank said a provincially controlled police force would "maximize the influence of Albertans on policing practices in the province." It's obvious that Hancock and the Red Tories are in the ascendancy in the party. But how are the folks on the losing side going to feel? "We have a very effective, broad-based caucus that represents the diversity of the province," Hancock countered. "I see no indication that would change." But if it does, Klein might be trying to unite the right federally while destructive elements in his own party are trying to divide the right at home.
|