Now it's time for Albertans to decide who they trust
February 29, 2008
Now it's time for Albertans to decide who they trust
"Now it's time for Albertans to decide who they trust to manage Alberta's
growth, and make the most of this unique moment in our history."
-- Ed Stelmach, Edmonton Journal, Feb. 5, 2008
"After the election is over we want to make sure that every area has an
equal opportunity to cast their ballots."
- Ed Stelmach, Edmonton Journal, Feb. 29, 2008
Edmonton - Ed Stelmach says this election is about trust. Okay, then. Let's
talk about trust.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to show up and meet his own constituents. The PC
Leader wouldn't attend a public forum in his Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville
constituents.
"The leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta, Premier
Stelmach, will debate only other party leaders in provincial forums."
(Stelmach's local campaign manager George Sebest, Sturgeon Creek Post,
February 20, 2008)
Even Ralph Klein attended local constituency forums in three of his four
elections as PC leader.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to tell the truth about climate change. Stelmach
accused the Alberta Liberals of being determined to kill 335,000 jobs in the
Alberta energy sector with their climate change action plan.
Then he was asked to back up the charge. He couldn't do it, and had to admit
in the last week of the campaign that he made it all up and he didn't know
what he was talking about.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to run an impartial election. When confronted
early in the campaign with evidence that partisan PC activists were
appointed as constituency returning officers.
First, he said Elections Alberta appointed the rogue returning officers and
the PCs had nothing to do with it. Then his spokesman had to admit that
Elections Alberta hired the returning officers based on instructions and
lists from the PCs.
Then he said he wouldn't do anything about it because there was already an
election on.
Then he said this: "After the election is over we want to make sure that
every area has an equal opportunity to cast their ballots." (Edmonton
Journal, Feb. 29, 2008)
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to let First Nations and Metis citizens vote.
Polling stations are not being established in the Piikani and Blood Reserves
in southern Alberta, effectively disenfranchising 3,500 eligible voters.
In Grand Cache, about 200 eligible Metis voters living near Grand Cache
co-op were initially told they can't vote because their drivers' licences
indicate a post office box address, not a traditional street address.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to let Drumheller seniors vote. In the
Drumheller-Stettler constituency, six mobile polling stations are available
in Stettler, but only three in the much larger city of Drumheller. In the
2007 byelection, the Alberta Liberals beat the PCs in the city of
Drumheller.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to proclaim the legislation enabling the
long-awaited Lobbyist Registry. The enabling legislation has passed the
legislature, but has not been proclaimed by the Lieutenant-Governor. Since
this is one of Stelmach's cornerstone promises from his first Throne Speech,
you'd think he'd want to get that taken care of.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to make his retiring and soon-to-be-defeated PC
cronies and PC aides observe tougher, long-awaited conflict of interest
rules.
Hours before calling the election, the PC cabinet passed an order-in-council
to have tougher conflict of interest rules take effect on April 1, 2008.
That would exempt all the insiders who leave government before that date.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to release the names of his leadership campaign
contributors. More than a year after he won the PC leadership, he still has
not told Albertans who paid more than $160,000 of his bills.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to tell the truth about Enron. Stelmach accused
the Alberta Liberals of Enron-style accounting in their election platform
costing. The PCs cozied up to the disgraced energy trading firm after they
contributed thousands of dollars to the party over several years up to 2001,
when they went bankrupt after committing accounting fraud on a massive
scale. Enron was also close to the PC government prior to the implementation
of Alberta's disastrous electricity deregulation.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to be transparent about Marie Lake and missing
federal child-care funds. Data requested under Freedom of Information rules
were due to be released during the election campaign dealing with PC
government mismanagement that would have allowed seismic blasting under an
ecologically sensitive lake, and with over $25-million in federal funds
designated for early-childhood education that mysteriously went missing.
Both requests were delayed.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to release a thorough and comprehensive costing
of his massive spending platform. The PCs applied dollar figures to only 28
of their 70 election promises. They ignored costing out any of their
clean-energy, carbon-capture, water-monitoring or a promise Emissions
Management Fund.
You can't even trust Ed Stelmach to stand up and explain his platform
costing. The PCs released it two hours before the televised leaders' debate,
guaranteeing it would get no media coverage, leaving him to pretend he has a
responsible plan despite increased spending, no plans for reallocation and
no plan for regular saving.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to listen to the people about climate change.
According to recent polls, 57 per cent of Albertans think the government
isn't doing enough to reduce CO2 emissions. But the PCs aren't going to rein
in emissions for another 12 years.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to stand up for Albertans' rights, or against
insurance companies making record profits. The PCs automatically appealed a
court decision striking down the government's illegal soft-tissue injury
compensation cap after the industry threatened to hike auto insurance
premiums.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to stand up for transparency and the public
interest. In the final days of the fall session, the PC government used
closure to ram through Bill 46, the Alberta Utilities Commission Act,
enabling the newly created commission to make decisions without any public
input.
You can't trust the Stelmach PCs not to use their positions of
government-appointed influence to abuse their power.
Herb Der, Red Deer College's Chairman of the Board of Governors, used his
position to raise funds for Red Deer South PC Cal Dallas, violating the
public service's code of conduct and ethics.
Chinook Health Board member Donna Bier took out a newspaper ad using her
position to endorse Lethbridge East PC Jason Herasemluk.
University of Lethbridge political scientist Peter McCormick said "It proves
what the Liberals are saying, that after 37 years in office they've lost
track of the boundary between what's the Conservative party and what's the
Government of Alberta."
It's time for a leader you can trust. It's time for a change. Alberta needs
a new government.
Now it's time for Albertans to decide who they trust
"Now it's time for Albertans to decide who they trust to manage Alberta's
growth, and make the most of this unique moment in our history."
-- Ed Stelmach, Edmonton Journal, Feb. 5, 2008
"After the election is over we want to make sure that every area has an
equal opportunity to cast their ballots."
- Ed Stelmach, Edmonton Journal, Feb. 29, 2008
Edmonton - Ed Stelmach says this election is about trust. Okay, then. Let's
talk about trust.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to show up and meet his own constituents. The PC
Leader wouldn't attend a public forum in his Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville
constituents.
"The leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta, Premier
Stelmach, will debate only other party leaders in provincial forums."
(Stelmach's local campaign manager George Sebest, Sturgeon Creek Post,
February 20, 2008)
Even Ralph Klein attended local constituency forums in three of his four
elections as PC leader.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to tell the truth about climate change. Stelmach
accused the Alberta Liberals of being determined to kill 335,000 jobs in the
Alberta energy sector with their climate change action plan.
Then he was asked to back up the charge. He couldn't do it, and had to admit
in the last week of the campaign that he made it all up and he didn't know
what he was talking about.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to run an impartial election. When confronted
early in the campaign with evidence that partisan PC activists were
appointed as constituency returning officers.
First, he said Elections Alberta appointed the rogue returning officers and
the PCs had nothing to do with it. Then his spokesman had to admit that
Elections Alberta hired the returning officers based on instructions and
lists from the PCs.
Then he said he wouldn't do anything about it because there was already an
election on.
Then he said this: "After the election is over we want to make sure that
every area has an equal opportunity to cast their ballots." (Edmonton
Journal, Feb. 29, 2008)
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to let First Nations and Metis citizens vote.
Polling stations are not being established in the Piikani and Blood Reserves
in southern Alberta, effectively disenfranchising 3,500 eligible voters.
In Grand Cache, about 200 eligible Metis voters living near Grand Cache
co-op were initially told they can't vote because their drivers' licences
indicate a post office box address, not a traditional street address.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to let Drumheller seniors vote. In the
Drumheller-Stettler constituency, six mobile polling stations are available
in Stettler, but only three in the much larger city of Drumheller. In the
2007 byelection, the Alberta Liberals beat the PCs in the city of
Drumheller.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to proclaim the legislation enabling the
long-awaited Lobbyist Registry. The enabling legislation has passed the
legislature, but has not been proclaimed by the Lieutenant-Governor. Since
this is one of Stelmach's cornerstone promises from his first Throne Speech,
you'd think he'd want to get that taken care of.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to make his retiring and soon-to-be-defeated PC
cronies and PC aides observe tougher, long-awaited conflict of interest
rules.
Hours before calling the election, the PC cabinet passed an order-in-council
to have tougher conflict of interest rules take effect on April 1, 2008.
That would exempt all the insiders who leave government before that date.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to release the names of his leadership campaign
contributors. More than a year after he won the PC leadership, he still has
not told Albertans who paid more than $160,000 of his bills.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to tell the truth about Enron. Stelmach accused
the Alberta Liberals of Enron-style accounting in their election platform
costing. The PCs cozied up to the disgraced energy trading firm after they
contributed thousands of dollars to the party over several years up to 2001,
when they went bankrupt after committing accounting fraud on a massive
scale. Enron was also close to the PC government prior to the implementation
of Alberta's disastrous electricity deregulation.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to be transparent about Marie Lake and missing
federal child-care funds. Data requested under Freedom of Information rules
were due to be released during the election campaign dealing with PC
government mismanagement that would have allowed seismic blasting under an
ecologically sensitive lake, and with over $25-million in federal funds
designated for early-childhood education that mysteriously went missing.
Both requests were delayed.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to release a thorough and comprehensive costing
of his massive spending platform. The PCs applied dollar figures to only 28
of their 70 election promises. They ignored costing out any of their
clean-energy, carbon-capture, water-monitoring or a promise Emissions
Management Fund.
You can't even trust Ed Stelmach to stand up and explain his platform
costing. The PCs released it two hours before the televised leaders' debate,
guaranteeing it would get no media coverage, leaving him to pretend he has a
responsible plan despite increased spending, no plans for reallocation and
no plan for regular saving.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to listen to the people about climate change.
According to recent polls, 57 per cent of Albertans think the government
isn't doing enough to reduce CO2 emissions. But the PCs aren't going to rein
in emissions for another 12 years.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to stand up for Albertans' rights, or against
insurance companies making record profits. The PCs automatically appealed a
court decision striking down the government's illegal soft-tissue injury
compensation cap after the industry threatened to hike auto insurance
premiums.
You can't trust Ed Stelmach to stand up for transparency and the public
interest. In the final days of the fall session, the PC government used
closure to ram through Bill 46, the Alberta Utilities Commission Act,
enabling the newly created commission to make decisions without any public
input.
You can't trust the Stelmach PCs not to use their positions of
government-appointed influence to abuse their power.
Herb Der, Red Deer College's Chairman of the Board of Governors, used his
position to raise funds for Red Deer South PC Cal Dallas, violating the
public service's code of conduct and ethics.
Chinook Health Board member Donna Bier took out a newspaper ad using her
position to endorse Lethbridge East PC Jason Herasemluk.
University of Lethbridge political scientist Peter McCormick said "It proves
what the Liberals are saying, that after 37 years in office they've lost
track of the boundary between what's the Conservative party and what's the
Government of Alberta."
It's time for a leader you can trust. It's time for a change. Alberta needs
a new government.
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