Paul Hinman

[cropduster]

Farmers Son and Coppertop....you two had a good dialogue going in the Strom thread about the Drum-Chinook byelection.My question is...are Albertan`s ready to change?? Can/could Edy hold off a press for change....lookin` pretty shallow I`m thinkin`.Yeah sure"just give him some time" I`m told.....Jack H is an old buddy,even caucus material.But what is the "vision"......a bunch of committees.....that sounds "representative" to me.Now after all these committees are struck and sitting when and how will they be effected???? Help me out here.........You got problems with somebody like Paul???

[coppertop]

I guess it depends on what area of the province you live in. In my area there will continue to be a PC MLA for years. Certainly there are pockets of people that favor the Green Party, Alliance etc., and certainly there are NDP and Liberal supporters as well, but there isn't any way that any one of the above parties could elect an MLA in this region.

I think the more open and inclusive direction the Premier chooses to go, the less likelihood of any single party electing a significnat number of MLAs.

Edmonton is going to be interesting to watch come the next election, and certainly Calgary in the upcoming bi-election is going to be interesting.

Rural Alberta certainly has issues, but those issues are not all in one or two constituencies, so unless the majority of the electorate in a constituency vote for change, I would suspect that the PC party will have a significant majority next election which could be within a year.

[hayburner]

Coppertop No party should feel so comfortable. I see what happened to the Social Credit and the party in power before that just got to sure of themselves and convince breeds lack of hard work to respect the electorate. Dam I hate politics but the PC have lost touch with the grass root people of this province. They have had my vote for the last 50 years but that is sure going to change it Honest Ed doesn't get this turned around. I sure there isn't another label beside Honest attached to his name next year

[coppertop]

hayburner, what exactly do you feel that the government should be doing for rural Alberta ? I assume you are talking about the agriculture industry because the other industries in rural Alberta seem to be flourishing.
I am willing to bet that if you speak to a dozen people in the ag industry they will each have something different they feel the government can or should do. I would certainly appreciate hearing what folks on this site think the answers are.

[northfarmer]

recently had the pleaseure of both hearing Ed speak at a fundraiser in our constituency and a chance for some one on one time with him.....i think he is steering the ship in the right direction and there is no doubt it will take time to heal the wounds of the leadership race and get everyone under the same tent if possible....my two bits for what it is worth, was that he must make sure he moves the party to the right to capture the suport base of Morton and others..inlcuding the libertarians like myself....his move to put Morton in Cabinet is something I specifically supported him on...and I am hopeful for positive changes on the surface rights front, something I have been lobbying for for some time.....the threat of splitting the vote amongst the center to right of the political spectrum is of much greater political risk than anything that will ever be mounted from the centre left...IMHO

[coppertop]

Morton has a very complex ministry, including the proposed Land Use Policy Framework which is a daunting task to say the least.

I think he will do well there, he has always been interested in land use issues. With so many new ministers, and so much happening, I think the Premier is doing all that can be expected of him this early in his mandate. He will never be able to please everyone, but any who meet him and have the opportunity for dialogue of any sort will see for themselves that he is a sincere man who wanted the Premier's job for the right reasons. In speaking to numerous bureaucrats they tell me that the arrogance and working in silo's within government is getting to be a thing of the past.

[cropduster]

Lots of dancing here!!Why not Paul then??Wouldn`t it be more productive to influence the movement to right .....Talking to bureaucrats isn`t going to influence change Copper...unless you just want a smooth sail.They have NO vested interest in promoting change in any direction!It`s Albertans that demand policy change, and it sure seems popular in the areas of health care,infrastructure,surface rights ......has Honest Ed struck commitees in all these areas??

[coppertop]

cropduster, I speak to bureaucrats as part of the work I do, not to try and influence them. I know many of them very well, and have private conversations with some of them often. I merely mentioned that the mindset seems to be more co-operation between ministries and less turf protection within government.

If the majority of the voters in this province want an Alliance government next election that will likely evolve, but I highly doubt it.

As far as committees go, I am aware that committees are in place to review royalties; bring forward suggested solutions for housing shortages; review all boards and committees including Health Authorities; etc.As far as a committee dealing with infrastructure goes, it all depends on what you consider infrastructure.

Seniors housing that is still owned by the Province is considered infrastructure, and I would think it would be dealt with under the mandate of the committee on housing.

I don't think there has been a specific committee struck to deal with infrastructure such as highways etc., that is a budget item and likely will still involve a lot of lobbying on behalf of MLA's and their constituents as always.

]And, no cropduster, I am not DANCING, too freaking tired after calving for a month !!!!!

[coppertop]

cropduster, with regard to any committee dealing with surface rights, I expect that may be dealt with under the Land Use Policy Framework which will fall to Minister Morton. Surface Rights certainly was one of the topics discussed at the input sessions I have attended. My understanding is that there will be an opportunity for public input sometime in late May with regard to this initiative.

[hayburner]

Coppertop What I want to see changed ; property rights, the direction on education,health care. Attitude within the government as you described about the arrogance and silos. Vaccum thinking in all these committee. Get something done instead of sitting in committees for years and by the time you have have come up with a answer the problem is so far beyond repair and outdated you forgot what the problem was to begin with.

[hayburner]

Coppertop What I want to see changed ; property rights, the direction on education,health care. Attitude within the government as you described about the arrogance and silos. Vaccum thinking in all these committee. Get something done instead of sitting in committees for years and by the time you have have come up with a answer the problem is so far beyond repair and outdated you forgot what the problem was to begin with.

[coppertop]

hayburner the wheels of government move slow. One thing that is impressing me with the new committees that Premier Stelmach has initiated is many of them have all party representation which certainly allows for input from those who represent all Albertans vs just those who have a PC MLA.

I think there will be some movement on the health care issue once the committee that is reviewing all boards and agencies has completed their work. This committee is also reviewing the Health Authorities which is long overdue.

In my opinion the Regional Health Authorities was one of the biggest mistakes of the Klein era. The costs of the huge bureauocracy to run these regions is one of the key reasons for the huge increase in health care delivery.

[hayburner]

I agree on reginal comment. What I would like to see things get moving a little faster than the old Klein days. Ed has to prove he has a backbone and make some important decisions darn fast to satisfy all the rural folks that voted for him in the leadarship.

[coppertop]

The upcoming PC Convention will provide the government with direction on priorities. Unfortunately, these conventions are costly to attend and come at a time when many rural Albertans are busy with other activities that affect their livelihoods.
On another note, I did check out the Alberta Alliance website, and was disappointed that they do not have any policies. They are soliciting potential candidates to run in the two upcoming by-elections, so they are hardly organized enough to think of even being the opposition party let alone form the government in the next provincial election.

I attended the Premier's Dinner last evening in Edmonton, and for what its worth, it had the highest attendance of any premier's dinner to date.

The format was greatly improved, the Premier and his wife were introduced, the Premier gave his address and once the meal was complete, he and his wife and all MLA's in attendance mingled with the guests for the remainder of the evening.

He didn't give out much information on the upcoming budget but one thing he did allude to was his intentions of placing a certain percentage of the provincial income each year in a special fund to build and replace infrastructure in the province. That was met with huge applause, because that sort of long term planning is long overdue.