Today's fiscal update from Alberta's alleged provincial Finance Minister Ted Morton is more than just the latest bad-news item to come from the Ed Stelmach government.

The revelation contained in the first quarter update isn't the staggering $4.76 billion dollar deficit.  Anyone who has followed Stelmach's crew of stumblers and bumblers have long since concluded that they are irresponsible with our dollars.

The almost five billion dollar shortfall represents the biggest deficit in Alberta's history.

In addition to the overall hemorrhaging of our economy, the province's Heritage Trust Fund - a sacred cow in Alberta - lost $282 million to sit at $14.1 billion.

As expected, Morton squeezed off a few rounds of excuses, blaming everything from a high Canadian dollar to a drop in prices for natural gas to "...factors beyond our borders and beyond our control."

All the while, Morton claims that Alberta's economy is "...on the mend."

What today's update revealed beyond the shameful numbers is a change in the Stelmach government itself.

No longer can they be considered an innocuous lame-duck administration.  Now, they have been revealed as an actual danger to the province.

Bad policy, bad ideas, mismanagement, failing to anticipate the markets, etc., are all symptoms of a group of ministers that are way out of their depth.

Morton, et al, must be thanking their lucky stars for two specific reasons: first, the province's Sustainability Fund will be raided to cover the deficit; second, they still have a long time before they must call an election.

Neither bodes well for Albertans.

Surely, there cannot be many Wildrose Alliance supporters who still believe Ted Morton to be 'one of us', especially in terms of fiscal conservatism. 

He is, after all, the person in charge of the purse strings.  He's the one responsible for overseeing the creation of the largest economic slide in our history.

And, in keeping with his fellow government MLAs, he is the one blaming everyone else from world markets to the bogeyman for the mess his government has created.

While rumours abound that Stelmach has been asked by his own caucus to step down in hopes of resurrecting a party that is on life support - the PCs sit at 20% popularity while Stelmach's is a paltry 13% - I doubt a change at the top would work.

As awful as Ed Stelmach may be as premier - and he is awful - it is his team of ministers who are in charge of their respective portfolios, including Ted Morton.

In the early 1990's, the P.C. government not only admitted to past mistakes that led the province into economic turmoil, but they actively campaigned on a plan to repair the damage.

Then-premier Ralph Klein was the face of the action, taking the public hits along the way while the real work was being done behind the scenes led by provincial treasurer Jim Dinning.

How the Progressive Conservatives have changed.

Today we have a finance minister who claims that things are getting better while we sink deeper into another mess created by the Tories, and public comment or even sightings of our illustrious premier are getting about as rare as snow in August.

We are told it is out of their control.  Perhaps it should be.

If we let Stelmach, Morton, and the rest continue to make the decisions for Alberta, the mess is bound to grow larger.

How long until the next election?

** Update:
Ted 'call me fiscal' Morton failed to rule out the introduction of a provincial sales tax as a means of slowing the Alberta's out of control deficit. 

Some so-called 'experts' have been suggesting the idea of a PST, and according to the Sun, Morton has not ruled out that option.

"There are some theoretical issues that (head of the School of Policy Studies at the University of Calgary) Professor Mintz and others have identified, and we're looking at those, and we take them seriously," quipped Morton.

If you know anything about Alberta, you know that one of our greatest sources of pride is the fact that we are the only province in Canada without a sales tax.  It goes against the grain of who we are and what we believe.

We can also tell when we're being played.  Morton scrambling for answers to the monster deficit has him looking in all the wrong places - spots usually reserved for tax loving liberals.

Wildrose Alliance leader Danielle Smith put it best: "...they don't have a revenue problem. They have a spending problem. And until they get that under control, any kind of talk of increasing taxes is outrageous."

For Ted Morton to not reject the notion of a provincial sales tax shows his reputation as being fiscally responsible to be nothing more than a mirage. 

It also gives indisputable evidence of just how out of touch he and his government are with Albertans.

The religion of peace has shown its true colors once again, this time north of the American border. 

The growing debate over the proposed Ground Zero Cordoba House mosque in New York has become international.  And so have the threats.

Raheel Raza, a Canadian and the founding member of the Muslim Canadian Congress, had previously spoke out against the mosque idea, calling it "“a deliberate provocation".

As reported in the Sun, after returning from a meeting in N.Y. regarding the mosque (Raza was joined by Maureen Basnickim, a Canadian widow of 9-11), Raza says she received a phone call from a man who said his name was Sharif El Gamal.

"He accused me of 'jumping into’ the meeting he called and then said 'May Allah protect you.’ I was shocked and hung up.” said Raza.

“Why would I need Allah’s protection?”

I have often accused so-called 'moderate Muslims' of being conspicuously silent when it came to the more radical elements of their religion.  For the most part, I still believe that the majority of the people who follow the Islamic doctrine are doing themselves no favors by standing on the sidelines.

However, it is obvious that fear and intimidation await common sense Muslims who dare speak out against actions such as the 9/11 attacks and the offensive construction of the Ground Zero 'Victory Mosque'.

While groups such as the SIOA are doing a yeoman's job in bringing the matter - and valid opposition - to the public forum, this incident proves that it is people like Raheel Raza, a female Muslim no less, who show true courage by voicing the truth.

And for it, she receives not-so-veiled threats.

Contacted via telephone by Sun writer Brian Lilley in New York, El Gamal denied ever making the call.  Naturally.

Religion of peace?  Maybe.  Religion of intimidation?  Definitely.

* hat tip to Brian Lilley, Parliamentary Bureau

Reincarnate, dammit!

It is a frustrating example of bureaucracy inaction.

"Tom" (not his real name) has been in Canada for almost a quarter century. He has been everything an immigrant should be.  He has had consistent work as a labourer, paid his taxes, followed the rules and has never broken the law.

Not long after arriving from his native Poland, Tom met and eventually married his wife.  Except for the usual marital issues, their marriage was idyllic.

Then about three or four years ago, something changed.  Tom's wife began making accusations, insinuating that he was being unfaithful.  Despite assurances to the contrary and no proof whatsoever, the accusations continued.

Soon the conflict grew beyond the verbal.  She began to act in odd ways, such as trying to examine Tom with a flashlight and checking his cell phone.  She would sit in her car in the parking lot of his employer and wait for him to leave work to see if he was with another woman. 

It got to the point that if a woman stood behind him at the supermarket checkout, in her mind that was enough for him to be having an affair.

The obsessive behavior morphed into physical.  He has had countless things thrown at him and has been punched numerous times.

It soon became obvious to Tom and their two adult children that something was wrong with his wife.

Because of how unpredictable his wife had become, Tom began to genuinely fear not just for his own safety, but his wife's as well.

Being a man working in a traditional 'blue collar' world, Tom was understandably reluctant to tell anyone of this.  It may be a modern world, but the stigma of a man living in an abusive relationship still exists.

The last thing he needed was some flippant '...what's the matter, can't control your wife?' comments.  There is, indeed, a shame that a man feels in this situation, especially one as 'old school' as Tom.

The language barrier is a problem as well.  Tom speaks English, but is somewhat tentative.

He has not phoned the police, believing that they wouldn't do anything without an actual incident.  Perhaps he is correct.

He went - with his wife - to talk to their Priest, but nothing was solved.

Fortunately, Tom trusted my father enough to open up.  My Dad, not one to stand by without taking action, called the number for the Alberta government's Family Violence Prevention line on Tom's behalf (this after Tom had previously attempted to contact the service.)

This began the tired, old game of 'pass the buck'.  Calls were transferred and transferred again, ending up at the inevitable voicemail wall.

When the one human on the line was available - presumably the receptionist - my Father was told "...they're all in a meeting."

...and more voicemail.

When asked who the minister responsible was, my Dad was told it was Yvonne Fritz.

A call to her office (who it turns out is actually the Minister for Children and Youth Services) revealed that she was on vacation.  Fair enough, but isn't there a Deputy Minister in place to handle the department?

More importantly, given the information passed to the person at the Family Violence Prevention line, why did they direct the issue to Child and Youth Services? 

That would explain the repeated "..are there children involved?" questions.

While child abuse is a most severe problem, the impression given reinforces the stereotype that, if your are a man enduring psychological and physical abuse at the hands of your spouse, you are at the back of the line.

Tom's wife left home last week.  No one, including Tom, his children, or her family, knows where she is.

"We need help," says Tom. "I'm more worried that she is going to do something to herself."

Calls to the department for a statement for this article were directed to...voicemail.

Regarding...

...the Couric/Palin chronicles part XXVII: news of the leaked video showing CBS anchorwoman Katie Couric mocking Sarah Palin (no surprise) has swept across the virtual world.  As if Couric's credibility needed another hit, she goes on in the video to mock Palin's kids.  This is nothing new for airhead Couric, who was caught before doing a similar mocking of former CBS anchor Dan Rather.  Is it any wonder her ratings have plummeted?  Can there be any remaining doubt about Couric's agenda going into the famous hatchet-job interview with the former VP candidate?  The truth is, no matter who the Republicans choose to run for the White House the main stream media will attempt to slaughter their public image.


...The Great Canadian Census Debate:  talk about a no-news summer from Ottawa. This is the issue people are getting worked up over?  Long form vs. short form, mandatory vs. voluntary, ...yawn.  Sorry.  As someone who believes the government should stick to the very basics and let us be, I question the accuracy and validity of any answers, whether legally required or not.  The latest poll seems to back up my position:

QUESTION: If the mandatory Canadian census form contained questions that you considered to be very personal and embarrassing, what would you be most likely to do?


54% - I would tell the truth even if it was embarrassing to ensure that statistics are accurate for future planning purposes.
24% - I would leave that question blank. I don't think the government would come after me about it.
5% - I would lie and provide an answer that wasn't embarrassing. Nobody could prove it and I don't think it will make a difference anyway.

So, the answers aren't going to be accurate no matter which path the feds decide to follow.  Those in favor use the 'how will the government know where the problem areas are, and where to direct the money?' song and dance.  The response is simple - we don't NEED all of those federally-run services to begin with.  It is a classic case of the pro vs. anti nanny state battle.  Just once I'd like to see individualism and privacy prevail in this country.


...the Death of Democracy at a Municipal Level: while the unravelling of democracy is usually observed on a grand scale, the people of Edmonton are dealing with such an experience right in their own city.  The Alberta capital has two airports - the international located about 30 minutes south of the city, and the smaller Municipal airport located just north of downtown. 

The City Centre airport has a long and proud history. It was the host to several very important air training schools for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and was the gateway northward for the American military, the Northwest Staging Route, the construction of the Alaska Highway, and the centre for ferrying aircraft to Russia for the Lend-Lease Program. It was also the airfield being used by one of the largest aircraft repair depots in Canada, Aircraft Repair Ltd.

It continues to be a gateway to the North, as well as a convenient location for business travellers.  It should be noted that the airport is used for emergency response situations for the Northern section of the province.

Twice - twice! -  the citizens of Edmonton voted overwhelmingly in favor of keeping the old airport open.  Despite this, the brainiacs at Silly Hall have pushed ahead with their plans to close it.  The backlash from voters has been loud, and a group was formed to collect enough petitions to stop the idiocy.  So how do our leaders respond?  They slither around looking for loopholes, claiming that the petition won't meet the requirements needed to stop Council. 

Mayor Stephen 'Milquetoast' Mandel and his Council cronies should use their free time to update their resumes.  Come the next civic election, they might need them.

...Gang Green: the nine mildly retarded Greenpeace folks who unfurled a banner atop the Calgary Tower (Calgary being the energy capital of Canada) have been nabbed and will face minor charges.  My kingdom for a judge who will give these nutjobs more than just the usual slap on the wrist.  Perhaps a charge of domestic terrorism would snap these late-day hippies out of their stupor.  Too bad they can't be legally required to get a job.