And the Guessing Oscar Goes To...

Typically Sylvia and I tie in our informal Oscar guessing game, but this year I pulled ahead early and kept my lead for most of the night. I cheated myself out of another point by attempting to game the system, though; I had suspected that 12 Years a Slave would win Best Picture, but thought the preferential ballot might result in an upset win for Gravity, in much the same way that Ed Stelmach and Alison Redford crept up the middle in the last two PC leadership races, and look how well that's worked out for them. Argh, how did politics get into my Oscar blogging? I've been so good for the last year and a half...

Opposition Parties Present United Front on Health Care



Brian Mason, Sue Huff, David Swann, Raj Sherman and Danielle Smith. Photo by Andrew Fisher.

In a huge first for Alberta politics, leaders of the Alberta Liberals, NDP, Wildrose Alliance and the Alberta Party, as well as Independent MLA Dr. Raj Sherman, are calling for a full public inquiry to

"investigate whether or not health care staff and professionals were subject to intimidation, including retribution, professional or employment discipline or the threat thereof, or attacks on their character or professional reputations, in order to prevent them from speaking about issues which affect patient care or the effective delivery of health care in Alberta."

Here are the remarks Alberta Liberal Leader Dr. David Swann delivered this morning at an unprecedented all-opposition party news conference in reaction to new allegations that the provincial government punishes doctors who speak out about problems in health care.

I stand before you at a turning point in Alberta politics. The government duly elected by the people of Alberta has broken a sacred public trust. Recent developments show that Tory mismanagement of our public health care system runs deeper than most Albertans could ever have imagined.

Under unrelenting pressure from all opposition parties, the Premier has capitulated. He’ll allow the Health Quality Council of Alberta to carry out an investigation of cancer care and ER wait times.

That’s no longer good enough. Given the severity of the damning allegations coming forward late yesterday, the investigation proposed by the Premier is not enough on its own to restore public confidence in health care.

Because of the shadow cast over this government by recent developments, Albertans have no reason to trust this Tory government. There’s every reason to believe they’ll try to use the HQCA investigation to cover up their own incompetence.

If this sounds cynical, it’s because the Tories have given us every reason to be distrustful. The depth of their incompetence and dishonesty has grown so great that the Tories have brought together all opposition parties. The need is that great.

Today we speak with one powerful voice, on behalf of all Albertans who care about public health care and financial accountability.

We now demand, on behalf of the people of Alberta, a fully independent public inquiry, one completely free of government interference, control or intimidation.

Ideally, the inquiry we propose would have these features:

• Investigate whether or not health care staff and professionals were subject to intimidation, including retribution, professional or employment discipline or the threat thereof, or attacks on their character or professional reputations, in order to prevent them from speaking about issues which affect patient care or the effective delivery of health care in Alberta

• An inquiry open to the media and the public, transparent and overseen by a current or former Justice of the Crown, with total discretion as to who is called to testify and full access to any documents deemed relevant by the Justice
• A full and open public inquiry to investigate whether the Alberta government, Alberta Health Services or former regional health authorities paid any form of compensation to any person in return for their silence on the quality of health care, or lack thereof, for Alberta patients
• All witnesses relieved of any obligations pursuant to confidential and non-disclosure provisions for the purpose of giving evidence

Premier Stelmach, if you truly care about your legacy, if you really care about public health care and the lives and health of the people you lead, call this inquiry immediately. If your party has nothing to hide, you’ll come clean about your mismanagement of public health care and give our health professionals the tools they need to prevent more tragedies.

To the people of Alberta, I say to you now that we will not allow this government to escape the consequences of its mismanagement and possible corruption. We will not allow our doctors and nurses to be threatened for telling the truth. We will not allow public health care to be destroyed by incompetence and possible corruption. We will act on behalf of every Albertan who has suffered or lost a loved one needlessly.

That is our duty to you, and we will carry it out.

***

What a fascinating time to be working for the Official Opposition. Unfortunately I was stuck behind my keyboard as all this was going down, so I couldn't be at the news conference in person. They also serve who sit and type, I suppose.

Thanks my own personal experiences in the emergency room over the past couple of years, combined with everything I've seen and heard working at the Legislature, there's no question in my mind that this inquiry is necessary. We can't fix the system until we know the whole, unvarnished truth behind the surgery delays and long ER wait times. Will the Premier allow a truly independent and transparent public inquiry to go forward? I certainly hope so. It's no exaggeration at all to say that lives are at stake.

No matter what happens, I'm very proud that Alberta's opposition parties, despite striking ideological differences, came together at this important moment, proving that public health care is important to all of us. Well done, everyone.

Here's the Official Opposition release on today's event.

Exit Ed Stelmach

Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach won't run for office again, throwing Alberta politics into an even unsteadier state of flux. But that's okay; change is the lifeblood of democracy, and now 2011 will be a very exciting year for our province, with new ideas from every party and politician competing to determine our collective future.

As a past candidate for provincial office - in fact, I ran against Ed in the 2008 election as the Alberta Liberal candidate for Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville - it's tough to be objective about the man. I can say without hesitation that I admire his public service; being a politician can be a pretty rough job, and he stuck it out for a quarter-century, doing what he believed was best for the province of Alberta. Maybe this sounds like boilerplate politeness, but it's true. I'll never forget getting lost in the House of Commons back in 1987; I happened to walk past Joe Clark's office and he had his head in his hands, clearly agonizing over issues that could determine the fate of millions of people. That kind of responsibility can't be easy for anyone, no matter what their political stripe.

I was a little disappointed that the Premier didn't show up to debate me and the other candidates at the election forum in Fort Saskatchewan, but I didn't make an issue of it; as the leader of a provincial party in an admittedly safe seat, he had bigger fish to fry. Perhaps my political instincts were way off base, but I didn't think I'd gain anything by calling the Premier out. (On the other hand, given the election results, surely he could have spared a day to face a public grilling from his constituents, just as the other candidates did. Hindsight is 20-20, of course.)

I met the Premier only once, at the 2009 press gallery Christmas party. I introduced myself and he was kind enough to pose for the photo above, despite our ideological differences. I thought that was very gracious.

Albertans will form their opinions of Ed Stelmach's legacy based on their own ideological preferences. As a progressive sort who believes that government is (or can be) good, I strongly support public institutions such as schools, libraries, public health care and a social safety net for the disadvantaged. As one of the Deep Six social/fiscal conservatives and as a cabinet minister, Premier Stelmach was responsible for many of the program cuts that have, in my view, harmed Alberta for the long term, and more importantly, harmed many Albertans, some of them quite vulnerable. Those who feel that eliminating the debt as quickly as possible was Alberta's biggest concern will, of course, have a different view.

I won't speculate on what Premier Stelmach's sudden departure means for the Alberta Liberals or any other party. People deeply involved in politics obsess over this sort of thing, but in the end Albertans will collectively decide who will represent them in the Legislature, and who will lead them as Premier. At this point, only one thing is certain: it won't be Ed Stelmach.

Alberta Liberal Caucus Podcast for December 6, 2010

The fall sitting of the Alberta Legislature wrapped up last Thursday, and my colleague Tanara has created one last Alberta Liberal Caucus podcast for 2010. Listen here.

Most folks tend not to pay too much attention to the length of time legislators spend in the legislature, but I think it's important to note that Alberta MLAs spend less time in the house than any other jurisdiction in Canada save Prince Edward Island; this fall sitting lasted only a few weeks, for example, and each "week" in the legislature only lasts four days. That doesn't leave a lot of time for question period or debate, the cornerstones of our process of democratic accountability. This episode reveals just how little time the Premier devotes to that process.

I greet the end of each legislative session with mixed emotions. On the one hand, I'm disappointed that the time for debate and discussion is cut short in Alberta; on the other, session is pretty exhausting for caucus staff (and MLAs!), so the slightly less hectic pace is welcome.

Kevin Taft's book Democracy Derailed explores the problem of short legislative sessions and  a host of other issues in far greater depth and with more insight than I can offer here. Daveberta posted a good review of the book a couple of years back; you can read it here. Or you can read Calgary Grit's review here.

Alberta Liberal Caucus Podcast for November 19

In this week's Official Opposition podcast, Official Opposition Leader David Swann talks about the Raj Sherman/emergency room wait time crisis affair. Tanara also found an amusing compilation of Bushisms, inspired by Premier Ed Stelmach's odd (but not incorrect) use of the word "ironical" during Question Period.

As an aside, I designed the podcast logo seen at the top of the screengrab above - if you can call the addition of a dot and a word balloon to some text "designing." It only took about five minutes to come up with this, but I think it looks okay nonetheless.

What's in a Label?

Most of my readers know by now that I work for the Official Opposition here in Alberta. Here's a little something we released this morning.

Alberta Gothic

With Bill 44 likely to pass into law on Monday - keep sending those emails and making those phone calls, folks - what better way to encapsulate Alberta's new image than with a bit of artistic homage? That's Premier Ed Stelmach and Sustainable Development Minister Ted Morton, a marriage made in an Alberta that seems to turn more gothic with each passing day...

Oh, and I didn't create this image - credit for that goes to Calgary wit Corey Hogan. But I may have had some input into the concept... ;-)

Still Nearly Famous

Back in 1984, when I was working on CBC's pilot If Your Parents Split, one of the actors gave me a button that said "I'm Nearly Famous," a reference to my just-granted role of show host.

Twenty-five years later, it looks like I'm still merely "nearly" famous. Today, my old electoral foe Ed Stelmach is Wikipedia's featured article of the day:



(I find it amusing to refer to the Premier as "old foe" or "nemesis" not because I take myself that seriously, but because I find it incredibly amusing that he probably doesn't even know who I am, given his landslide victory over me, seen here, in my brief appearance in Ed's Wiki article:



So there we are, my footnote in history, at the losing end of a whopping 10,000 vote margin. Still pretty cool to be in Wikipedia, though, even if it is just my name beside some numbers!

Congrats to the Premier - and the Wiki editors who wrote the article! - on being named feature article of the day.

2008: The Year in Review (Or: Why Earl Hasn't Been Blogging)

Yes, this is how old I was the last time I blogged...



2008 has been a weird, wacky year. In late January, the Alberta Liberals asked me to run in the provincial election - in Premier Stelmach's constituency of Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville, no less.

The Premier chose not to show up for our debate.

With little preparation and only a few thousand dollars to spend, I was realistic about my chances. But my family and friends really came through for me, Sylvia most of all, and I treasure the experience. In the end, I lost by a mere (cough) 10,000 votes or so.



And of course, the Alberta Liberals lost the March 3rd election by an even wider margin. (This photo of us watching the results come in ran in the Edmonton Sun. They really captured the moment...) For the last few months, we've been dusting ourselves off, figuring out what went wrong, and doing our best to serve as responsible opposition. That's what public service is all about.



One good thing happened on March 3rd - Sylvia started her new job. And she's performed superbly thus far. Sylvia is a very dedicated public servant doing important work for the Alberta Pensions Administration Corporation, and I couldn't be prouder of her.



Losing the election also meant I had the freedom to attend Gaming & Guiness III over at Steve Fitzpatrick's place...unfortunately, I wound up with a horrifying headache just a few hours into the fun. The rest of the gang had a good time, though, geeking it up with tiny armies of orcs, trolls, and space beasties.



Norma and Claire, who served as Sylvia's bridesmaids at our wedding, presented us with an evening at the Fantasyland Hotel as a wedding present, and we finally took advantage of the opportunity in April. Huge hot tub!




Later in April, I was seized by a bout of temporary madness and attempted to combine two of my favourite board games - Bruce Lee Game! and Zombies!!! - into one mighty epic, Bruce Lee vs. Zombies.

"What the hell? I can't possibly win, even if I roll all tens!"

With typical eloquence, Mike expresses his opinion of my creation.

Playtesting did not go well. There's a reason that professional game designers exist. Oh well - it was nice to see Colin again, anyway - he made several trips back to Edmonton this year.



In June, the University of Alberta Press launched a collection of Lois Hole's speeches, edited by political writer Mark Lisac. I couldn't be happier with how the book turned out - Mark did a superb job. Bruce Keith, my old colleague at Hole's, was kind enough to send me a couple of shots of the event.



A couple of times a year, Sean and I visit our parents to annoy them with shenanigans, and Sylvia tags along to watch with stunned bemusement.



And then there was Pete, and his sinister list.



Sylvia's dad celebrated his 65th birthday this year, so we went over and jammed. I cannot actually play guitar, which is why I'm not posting the video. Mr. Boucher is very good, though.



Yolande came back from her studies in Ottawa to visit, and Sylvia and I enjoyed a delightful lunch with her. She's such a sweetheart, and she's going to be a great journalist.



Along with the election, the biggest event for Sylvia and I was our first anniversary, which we celebrated with a trip to Honolulu. By bizarre coincidence, presidential candidate Barack Obama arrived for a vacation of his own just a few hours after we did. So, acting on impulse, Sylvia and I braved the heat and the crowds and wound up just a couple of metres away from Obama at the one and only rally he'd give during that visit. It was quite an experience. The man's an incredible orator, and it was fun picking out Secret Service agents.



Of course, there was a price to pay. It wouldn't be a real Earl vacation without an agonizing case of sunstroke.



We also took a submarine voyage. Here's Sylvia on the sub deck, preparing to board. We only went 100 feet or so below the surface, but it was still pretty cool - especially when the sub made that "ah--OOOOO-ga" sound and the pilot shouted "Dive, dive dive!" It had all the makings of a James Cameron epic. I got a kick out of the very excitable Japanese tourist, who shouted in rapid-fire wonder, waving his arms over his head at the sight of the artificial reefs, tropical fish and giant turtles.





Sylvia enjoyed playing on the beach most of all. She's so tiny that the waves tossed her around like flotsam (or is it jetsam?). I had to rescue her a few times, and she wound up with so much sand in her ears that a post-vacation trip to the doctor's office was necessary. "I've never seen anything like this in my entire practice," the doctor said, laughing as she flushed the pebbles out of Sylvia's ears. "Oh my God, Sylvia. Oh my God. What were you doing?"



On August 11th - the actual date of our first anniversary - we attended a luau. The food was merely okay, but the entertainment was great. Those fire dancers are pretty awe-inspiring.







Like good tourists, we also splurged on a helicopter tour. The views were beautiful, but I was most interested in the history - it was quite something to see Pearl Harbour from the air, and to follow the route the Japanese Zeroes took during their 1941 sneak attack. And of course, I was thrilled to witness pop-culture touchstones such as the dock the SS Minnow departed from (seen above) as well as Gilligan's Island itself, and the forests of Lost and Jurassic Park.





Our hotel had a great little restaurant - I loved the virgin strawberry daquiries, and drank them up like liquid candy. Delicious.





On our last day, I took a quick solo tour of Pearl Harbour and downtown Honolulu. The USS Arizona memorial was a quiet, sombre place, as you might expect, so it was a good thing that I ended the trip with some Hawaii Five-O shooting locations.



Our parents and my brother came over for Thanksgiving for food and Wii bowling. Mom turned out to be pretty good, which isn't surprising given her real-world bowling experience. According to family legend, she once cast a strike in the wrong lane.



We celebrated Sylvia's 40th birthday in October, and this unidentified young woman joined in the revelry. Sylvia's blue hair was clearly a big hit.



On Halloween, Sean was attacked by a miniature skeleton. Oooo, scary!



In December, Albertans (at least those who were paying any attention) learned that Dr. David Swann would take over from Dr. Kevin Taft as leader of the Alberta Liberals. David Swann is a wonderful man, a terrific human being, and I have high hopes for his leadership. A warm, gentle, and overwhelmingly compassionate man, David is the kind of person that makes you proud to be an Albertan.

Kevin Taft made me proud, too, and Albertans owe him a great debt. Kevin took on the toughest job in Canadian politics, rebuilt a party that had been on life support, and led the official opposition with integrity and honour. He would have been a great premier, and I feel deeply privileged to have worked for him. Thankfully he's staying on as MLA for Edmonton-Riverview for at least this term, so Albertans will still benefit from his insight and dedication.



And of course, there was Christmas. A new tradition is developing: Sylvia's parents visit for Christmas Eve, then we head to my parents' place for Christmas day. Always a pleasant way to end another spin around the sun.




Santa Sean





May 2009 be a year of peace and fulfillment for you and yours and all the citizens of Earth.

The Annex

I co-wrote and directed this video, prepared for last night's Legislature Press Gallery Christmas party. After a couple of weeks of hard work and stress, I wasn't at all sure whether or not the crowd of MLAs and reporters would like it, so I was very relieved when people laughed at all the right spots - and quite enthusiastically. My coworkers told me that Premier Stelmach, Health Minister Ron Liepert, and a number of reporters and broadcasters all had very nice things to say.

Whew. I was worried, because the video I prepared in 2006 was, frankly, terrible.

There are a few inside jokes here, since the video was directed at MLAs and members of the media, but there are still some chuckles for the wider Alberta audience.

I'm very grateful to Amanda Krumins, who came up with the idea of parodying The Office, to Kim Dewar, who acted as cinematographer, to Derek Volker, who handled the props and music, and to the Alberta Liberal MLAs and Alberta Liberal leadership candidate Mo Elsalhy, who were such good sports about the whole thing.

I'm most grateful to Kevin Taft, who provided the hobbyhorses and indeed the idea for the hobbyhorse scene. Kevin's self-effacing sense of humour really shines here.

The High Cost of Victory

I'll bet Ed Stelmach didn't have to pick up his own signs

Spending numbers for the recent Alberta election have been released, and I had to laugh when I saw the results for Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville: I was outspent by a factor of over 23 to 1. My campaign cost $5,500; Premier Stelmach spent $129,500 to defend his incumbency.

I honestly had to laugh when I saw this. Over $129,000 for a safe seat? I had no idea that the Premier felt so threatened.

We're back!

With the Alberta General Election of 2008 over, I can return to blogging! As you can see from the last couple of posts, my original plan was to blog as I campaigned, but I quickly discovered that there weren't enough hours in the day for writing - let alone eating and sleeping.

While the outcome of the election was disappointing for me (for those of you who haven't heard, the Progressive Conservatives won still another overwhelming majority), I have no regrets whatsoever about running. It was a profound experience. I had the privelege of meeting hundreds of Albertans, I had fun with a wide variety of media outlets (and thanks to CBC, Global Television, CKUA, CTV, City TV, the Sturgeon Creek Post, Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun and Fort Saskatchewan Record for covering my campaign!), and enjoyed the support of dozens of friends and family members. I also had a lot of fun at the Candidate Forum in Fort Saskatchewan, though I do wish the Premier had shown up to debate.

For the record, I came in second in my particular race, with a little over 1300 votes. Premier Ed Stelmach, as many expected, came in first place, with over 11,000 votes. With a result like that, you have to laugh a little - I believe that I must have the record for "number of votes between first and second place." Almost a 10,000 vote gap! I was right on his tail.

I'm very proud of my fellow candidates and the many staff and volunteers who poured their hearts and souls into this campaign. Every one of them participated in this race because they genuinely believe in the importance of good government and of serving the public with diligence and compassion.

To many people, politics is a dirty word, a necessary evil. But I've always felt that politics is about solving problems, helping those in need, managing resources for the benefit of all, and perhaps most importantly, building a better tomorrow for our descendants.

Stepping forward as a candidate felt a little arrogant. I asked myself time and again, "Who am I to suggest that I can help run a province? Do I really think I can solve problems that people smarter than me have wrestled with for decades?"

I don't know the answers to those questions. But I do know that if nobody tries to solve our problems, the problems will only get worse. And I believe that democracy will be better served when people of all cultural, economic and philosophical backgrounds feel comfortable enough and have sufficient resources to run for and attain public office.

Just a few scattered thoughts as life returns to normal. Thanks to all my readers (all nine of you) for bearing with me.