Billboard #14

With two weeks to go, things seem to be getting closer.

#14 Michael Jackson - Man In the Mirror

Tim Uppal: A Different Perspective

Tim Uppal, Edmonton-Sherwood Park Conservative candidate, has been attacked repeatedly after accusations (the legitimacy of these accusations are still highly questionable) of dirty tricks being used to secure the Conservative nomination for the riding. Fellow bloggers (Gauntlet and Chapman) have also jumped on board to focus much of their efforts to criticize Tim and prop up his Independent Conservative rival, in an attempt to make him the illegitimate Conservative Candidate in the riding (a Conservative strong hold) and defeat him.

For my part, I think that perhaps there may be legitimate questions about Tim’s past business dealings but there are no doubts in my mind that Tim legitimately won the nomination and is an ideal candidate to send to Ottawa.

Although Tim likely does not know who I am, I have been following Tim for awhile now (once as his opponent, while working for David Kilgour in 2004). The first time I met Tim was when he organized and directed my Punjabi Folk Dance Team and Punjabi History Plays, back when I was in Elementary and Junior High School. I admired him not only for taking on and attempting to teach a bunch of punk ass kids (like myself) traditional dances and the histories of our forefathers (in this case, Indian nationalists attempting to end exploitive British Colonial rule), but because he was dramatically opposite to the apathy other young men showed. Although he wasn’t necessarily a role model to me (although I developed a high degree of respect for him), Tim was one for many of my friends. I’ve seen Tim’s leadership and guidance inspire many of my peers to move away from certain undesirable lifestyles, and aspire for positive goals and futures.

I thank Tim for that, because we have seen an escalation of violence among young males in our city (not just in certain ethnic communities) and I strongly believe that more positive young role models who care might be part of the remedy.

We need more Tim Uppals.

Endorsement of the Green Shift... FROM ALBERTA?

Wow.


(h/t Alberta: Get Rich or Die Trying)

Economic Woes

The Alberta Economy in trouble?

I don't want to be a downer but the boom seems to be done and the American economy is in a state of disaster (optimistic prognosis). Considering that our economy revolves around oil, and that this oil is primarily purchased by the United States of America, it seems to me that the economic recession in America might affect us.

We need a plan. Ed, stop the denial and live down your nickname (Ed "No Plan" Stelmach), and start thinking.

Billboard #15

#15 INXS - Devil Inside

Meet Me at Meyer Horowitz...

... it's going down.

Wachowich's Blog

Jim Wachowich has launched a campaign blog.

I think that's great, but I wish he could set it up so readers could post their comments and views.

Billboard #16

16 days left!

#16 The Beach Boys - Kokomo

EKOS Seat Projections: A Liberal Seat in Alberta

The September 26 EKOS Seat Projection is, despite showing how bad it currently is for the Liberals nationally, projecting a Liberal seat in Alberta. With the Tories so high in the polls and on the brink of securing a majority government, this is significant. It shows that Harper may not be able to count on a full sweep in Alberta. Must be a error? Maybe, maybe not. There are reasons why Albertans may seek to break the Tory stranglehold. Most recently, it was his bitumen plan, which caught the Alberta government's suprise and anger. According to some, what Harper is proposing would be a huge infringement on the right of Alberta to manage its own natural resources. Regardless of where one stands on the bitumen issue, I think most Albertans will get nervous when the federal government hints at taking control of our natural resources without the approval of the provincial government. Also, there has been plenty of discussion over a percieved taken-for-granted feeling in Alberta from the Conservative Party. Chapman, Cournoyer, Libin and Simons have all written about this and are worth checking out. Finally, there are some strong Liberal candidates running in some relatively not-so-safe Conservative held ridings. Most notably, Jim Wachowich in Edmonton Centre. Ultimately however, it would be a shock if a Liberal were elected in this province but the news is nonetheless interesting.

(hat tip Mr. Ken Chapman)

Billboard #17

17 days to go!

#17 Salt-N-Pepper - Push It

Billboard #18

Another day, another ridiculous Harper assertion. Get passed it, check the video.

#18 Michael Jackson - Dirty Diana

Billboard #19

A fitting tune to mark the 19th day left in the federal election.


#19 Guns n Roses - Welcome to the Jungle

The Root of Drug and Gang Violence in Alberta: Business People and the Middle Class

Alberta's enlightened Soliciter General reveals why Alberta has a lucrative and thriving illicit drug industry, and a major gang problem. He blames business people and the middle class who are living the fast life.

I guess "Thug Life" refers to mortgages, minivans and kids.

New Conservative Gaffe

Racist remarks by Calgary Centre Conservative Incumbent Lee Richardson.

(h/t Kaley Lachapalle via facebook)

Duncanistas on Campus

Supporters of Linda Duncan, NDP candidate for Edmonton-Strathcona, postered the University of Alberta with these flyers. Clever? Most certainly. Effective? I'm not so sure.

I appreciate them for putting up the posters though, the SU seems to be a little delayed in their federal-election-awareness activities.

Billboard #20

With 20 days to go in this federal election, I thought I'd bring back the Billboard Top 20 countdown. This time, I'll be posting the Top 20 Billboard Songs of 1988, honouring the year in which the Conservatives last won a majority government.

#20 Terence Trent D'Arby - Wishing Well

Riding Profile: Edmonton Centre

Edmonton Centre was first created in 1968 but was abolished and redistributed to Edmonton North, Edmonton East and Edmonton West in 1976. In 2003 it was recreated as Edmonton Centre.

Edmonton Centre is as diverse as a riding comes. Encompassing downtown Edmonton and surrounding neighborhoods, the riding is home to a variety of ethnicities, age groups and income levels.In the riding, you can find: the city’s China Town and Little Italy; a substantial post-secondary student population (with the Edmonton’s three largest post secondary institutions in or near the riding) and a sizeable seniors community (approximately 1 in 5); and one of the most wealthiest (Glenora) as well as one of the most poorest neighborhoods (Queen Mary Park) in the city.

This diversity has turned the riding into a battleground between the Liberal and Conservative Party’s since its reintroduction in 2003. Prominent Chrétien and Martin Cabinet Minister Anne “Landslide Annie” McLellan, narrowly won the riding in 2004 with less than 800 votes, but was defeated by Conservative Laurie Hawn on his second attempt in 2006 by a margin of 4000 votes. Considering the Conservative domination of the province and the ridings Liberal “history”, Liberal’s peg the riding as their Alberta breakthrough.

The candidate the Liberals are pinning their hopes on to retake the riding is Jim Wachowich, a well known lawyer and consumer advocate. Wachowich has a distinguished reputation and well known name in Edmonton, but in order to retake the riding he has to hope for two things to happen. First, the NDP and Green vote collapses (it jumped 1803 from 2004 in 2006). Secondly, that the constituents of Edmonton Centre buy the argument that their voices, and the voices of Albertans in general, will be better heard by a electing at least one Liberal MP.

This is a tough order to fill but there is potential due to the ridings past. Laurie Hawn however has been working for the past 2 ½ years to keep hold of the riding. He has been active an active participant within the community, present at numerous events and working closely with ethnic groups in the riding. However, well known Edmonton political commentators have been critical of the Tory dominance in the province, and even columnists like Graham Hicks have mentioned the political insurance involved in electing a Liberal.

If a Conservative were to fall in Alberta, this is one of the ridings where it would happen. It should be a bitterly fought campaign, and hopefully its interesting. For CBC's profile of Edmonton Centre, click here.

Gretzky Alberta Liberal Leader?

Breaking news regarding the Alberta Liberal Leadership Race!

It has just been announced that Wayne Gretzky (aka the Great One) has announced his intentions to succeed Kevin Taft as the next leader of the Official Opposition and Alberta Liberal Party. Speaking outside of the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona, Gretzky – head coach/owner of the Phoenix Coyotes – commented on reasons why he has decided to give up a multimillion dollar, international business empire and a NHL head coaching career to pursue a political career with a limited prospect of success in the near future: “I heard people say, 'Why would he want to do this?' My answer is 'Why not?' It is what I love. It's what I know.” In relation to policies or what direction the party should head, Gretzky believes everything is up for debate and change, commenting that “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Finally, when asked about whether he has the ability to take down such a formidable opponent as the Alberta Progressive Conservative Juggernaut, Gretzky responded: “I wasn't naturally gifted in terms of size and speed; everything I did in hockey I worked for, and that's the way I'll be as [leader].......... I work hard everyday... I never dog it.”

Needless to say, the announcement will add much needed energy to the Alberta Liberal’s Annual Convention “Turning Point” on October 4 and 5 in Edmonton (Best Western Westwood Inn, 18035 Stony Plain Road). Although they haven’t yet responded, it will be interesting to see how the other leadership contenders, Mo Elsalhy, David Swann and Dave Taylor adjust their campaigns for this surprising development. Rumours are swirling that famed ex-Calgary Flames forward Lanny McDonald will be announcing his endorsement of Taylor, and Swann’s team is attempting to sway Theo Fleury into their fold. Even the government was caught off guard by the announcement, Ed Stelmach spokesmen Tom Olsen reporters question on how the Progressive Conservatives will potentially challenge a Gretzky led Alberta Liberal Party: “GRETZKY?!?!?! You’ve got to be (expletive) me.”

Party Rankings: Stand Canada

Following up with yesterday's post on what form Canadian policy to Darfur should take to most effectively deal with the humanitarian crisis/genocide, Stand Canada has released Party Report Card's that rates the Darfur policies of the major federal party's. Here they are:

The Conservative Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada

New Democratic Party of Canada

The Green Party of Canada

The Bloq Québécois

The party with graded with the best Darfur policy is the Liberal Party, which has adopted most of Stand Canada's policy recommendations and are best suited leading Canada to resolve the conflict. Despite this, the other major party's have also been adopting better Darfur policies, yet have been slow in catching up to the Liberals. For a more detailed policy analysis of the major federal parties, click here.

Canada Can Save Darfur

With the Federal Election in full swing, I thought it would be good to raise awarness to issues that are important but are not getting much attention during this campaign. One of these issues is the ongoing humanitarian crisis/genocide in Darfur, Sudan. Although this matter seems to be outside purview of next government, Canada actually plays a significant leadership role in resolving the conflict and has been singled out as the country that can make the biggest impact in conflict by numerous international expert observers on Darfur. I've asked my good friend and local Stand University of Alberta Chapter President, Scott Fenwick, to write what Canada can do for Darfur. Stand is the largest Darfur advocacy organisation in the country.

Although Canada may seem like a small player on the world stage, our government can make a world of difference in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region. Since 2003, Sudan’s government has embarked on a genocidial counter-insurgency campaign against specific ethnic groups as part of its fight against Darfur’s rebels.

A major factors complicating this is that this war literally has dozens of players: the rebel groups have splintered according to ethnicity as well as to hardliners versus those seeking compromise. In this chaos, however, gives Canada a chance to step in and end the war in Darfur. Canada can
help save Darfur by appointing a Special Envoy to the region, establishing a special parliamentary committee on the crisis, and engaging in a constructive dialouge with China, Sudan's biggest ally.

The biggest benefit to appointing a Special Envoy would be the opportunity for us to get involved in the peace process, thereby getting a common bargaining position among rebels. Given the mistrust between rebels and the government, get a political settlement will take a long time. However, since Canada is widely regarded as neutral, all players likely to trust Canada in any kind of political negotiation. This remains true, as Sudan expressed interest in maintaining good bilateral relations after we expelled each other’s diplomats last year.

Appointing an Envoy also gives us the opportunity to better coordinate our peacebuilding efforts in Sudan. Given that Canada is the second-largest voluntary contributor to Darfur's humanitarian and peacekeeping missions, it's important to ensure that our money is spent effectively. Having a specific point-person would ensure that Canada is taking an “all of Sudan”
approach.

Establishing an all-party parliamentary special committee on Darfur would help determine what other viable options there are. For this idea to work, this special committee would then travel to Sudan for a fact-finding mission, thus making a number of MPs work full-time on the issue. The special committee should also have equal representation of all parties Canadian government
fully resourcing it to overcome partisan differences.

While an informal coalition of MPs working on genocide prevention already exists, it has its problems. For instance, it’s so undefended that it can’t even buy cookies and isn’t even focusing on Darfur, a non-starter. Partisan differences between the parties have also crept into the coalition, thus creating the need for a non-partisan solution. The horrors of the war in Darfur
deserve more than paltry partisanship.

When it comes to China, Sudan’s biggest political ally, we need to engage in a constructive dialogue with them. Specifically, Canada needs to talk to them about ending their arms sales to Sudan and getting greater operational access for the peacekeepers stationed in Darfur.
Although this may not seem as exciting as vocally criticizing China, it’s unlikely to get us anywhere. After it became fashionable to divert the Olympic Torch Relay, the impression that many Chinese had was that the West wanted to keep China down. This makes calls from foreigners for change less effective for the next while, making positive dialouge with China is the best way to go.

Lastly, another issue that needs to be addressed is the idea of invading Sudan to overthrow the government. This must not happen.

Any kind of attempt to invade Sudan will open Pandora’s Box. The first thing Sudan would do is shut down the humanitarian operation. Tens of thousands would die before peace reached the ground. Also, if any kind of invasion succeeded, it’s anybody’s guess on who would fill Darfur’s power vacuum, given the rebels' splintering.

Despite the bleakness that fills Darfur’s present, there is hope for the future. Canada can easily provide that future if we’re willing to step up and build on of our past leadership in the region.

We can actually make “Never Again” mean something.

For more information please consult SpeakTheName.org

119 Street NW Debacle

I live on the southside of Edmonton, and often use 119 Street NW (it passes by Blue Quill Estates, The Derrick Country Club, Westbrook and Aspen Gardens before it becomes 122 Street NW). For those who also use it, they’re aware of the considerable amount of construction, and time, it has taken to expand this road in its southern portion (as it meets 23 Ave). Currently, and for the last few months, one of the newly twinned roads has been transformed to allow northbound and southbound traffic through the area, as crews work towards twinning the opposite side. For those who don’t know, a yellow line indicates that the cars in the next lane are heading in the opposite direction, while a broken white line indicates that the cars in the next lane are heading in the same direction. From when you start on this part of the road, whether it be northbound or southbound, it’s clear that the two lanes are for vehicles heading in opposite directions. However, the road has both a yellow and broken white line, and at certain times the yellow line disappears and just the broken white line is present.

The confusion over the line does mess drivers up, as I’ve witnessed more than half a dozen instances where vehicles mistake the broken white line as an opportunity to switch lanes, despite the lane being for oncoming traffic. Although there have been times when I see vehicles caught in this trap, heading directly towards me, I’ve been lucky in that every occasion the opposite vehicle has realized the mistake and switched back into their lane. Unfortunately, some people today were not so lucky.

There was a major head-on collision on this same stretch of road today, just where the yellow line begins to disappear. I was walking in the immediate vicinity during the emergency rescue operation and could tell that people suffered significant injuries. Immediately after seeing what had happened it dawned on me, and those others who also happened to be there, that this was an accident waiting to happen. This could have been avoidable if the contractors, Graham, had ended the confusion by simply painting over the previous broken white line in black and than gone on to paint a solid yellow line. Or at least ensure that the solid yellow line continues for the length of road. However, it seems that incompetence or laziness prevented them from doing so. And those people paid the price.

UPDATE: CTV Edmonton's coverage of the crash. Graham has recognized its carelessness and placed marked dividers between the oncoming lanes.

Dion-May Alliance

The Stephan Dion and Elizabeth May political alliance is an extremely fascinating one. It’s extremely unorthodox and I can’t seem to recall anything similar to this at the federal level (Can you? Let me know). Dion was the only party leader to vote in favour of having May and the Green’s in the upcoming debates, and was vocal in his criticism of the Conservatives and New Democrats for voting against their inclusion (as you are probably aware, the other three parties who voted against her inclusion in the debates - including the BQ - relented and she will be allowed in). However, this unlikely cooperation goes beyond this.

It was Dion’s decision to not run a candidate in Central Nova, the riding contested by Elizabeth May in the current federal election, in return for May’s endorsement of Dion for Prime Minister that initiated this unlikely and unorthodox political alliance. The strategy was an odd one and caused intense criticism of Dion, by pundits and Liberal’s alike. The decision was called ‘flaky,’ prominent Liberal’s came out and attacked Dion, and it left many just scratching their heads. Was Dion making a moral stand in creating this political friendship, since both parties care about the environment they would work together? Did this show Dion’s weakness? Did he not recognize the rules of Canadian politics, that this adversarial system did not permit such alliances?

However, it seems to have been a brilliant political move, showing tremendous foresight. This week a Globe and Mail poll conducted by the Strategic Counsel shows that the 45 closest (between the Liberals and Conservatives) Quebec, Ontario and BC ridings in the last federal election (which went 17 Liberal and 28 Conservative), the Liberals have lost 10 percentage points while the Conservatives have gone up 5. However, in these same ridings, the Green Party has jumped up 9 points and would be more than the difference between the Liberals and Conservatives in a number of these ridings. Thus, if May could deliver Dion those votes, they could be a potential goldmine for the Liberals. Although I’m not sure if that was his intent or whether May would do such a thing, but Dion deserves a considerable amount of credit for rolling the dice on such an unorthodox political move in the face of such fierce criticism.

And We're Off...

Prime Minister Stephen Harper did what everyone in the country thought he would do today and called a federal election for October 14. It should be a bitterly fought and bloody campaign, thus extremely interesting, as the Conservative and Liberal Party's are polling just a few points from each other. Indeed, not only are we in an election that is truly a toss up but this is an election where the candidates for Prime Minister have significantly differentiated themselves by offering starkly different visions of Canada.

In Alberta unfortunately, the drama and excitement will be considerably subdued as there are really two constituencies at play. Edmonton-Centre and Edmonton-Strathcona, both with Conservative incumbents, stick out as races to watch in Alberta, with both ridings having a healthy non-Conservative voting bloc, and the Liberal's and NDP's fielding strong candidates. I'll be sure to keep you up to date with my thoughts regarding what's happening in these ridings, as well as what's transpiring across the country.

In meantime, consult Elections Canada for voting information, daveberta for the Alberta candidate list and wikipedia for anything else on the campaign.