the PC Government has stopped listening

If you are following the news from the Alberta Legislature of late, you are no doubt scratching your head wondering what’s coming next. PC MLAs, including cabinet ministers, are leaving the party, and there is seemingly a new spending scandal every other day. After 40-plus years of power, the Government appears to be coming apart at the seams.
It would be comical if it weren’t so tragic. We live in the most prosperous province in the country, with resource revenue unmatched by any other. Still, this Government can’t seem to get past itself, steady the ship, and chart a course of success.
Two years ago, I took a big risk and ran for the Wildrose party. I did so because, in my belief, Government had stopped listening. I felt it was time to put my money where my mouth is, and try to affect change in this great province. Two years in, I haven’t regretted my decision once. Thank you for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to serve you. There’s no question in my mind that after 43 years of one party rule, Alberta needs a positive change. The bottom line is that the PC Government has stopped listening to Albertans.
This is what it will always come down to for me. You elected me. You are my boss. I said when I campaigned that I would take your issues, your ideas, and your concerns to the Legislature. That’s what I strive to do every week. It’s why I got on my soapbox and blasted the PCs for raising our education taxes in Chestermere by 54% in two years. It’s why I was relentless in pushing for the approval of a registry office here–something we should have had a long time ago. It’s why I’m digging in and calling attention to the Government’s radical rewrite of the Alberta curriculum in our schools, and the subsequent dumbing down of the assessment process that takes percentage and letter grades from our kids’ report cards. Albertans aren’t opposed to changes in education, but we believe the basic fundamentals are important. The Government would be wise to stop telling Albertans why they are wrong, and start listening to them.
You see, government does not know best. If it did, it would know the difference between wants and needs. It would find a way to cut exorbitant severance packages and bonuses for executives. It would trim its bloated bureaucracy and balance the books. Instead, they grow government. They hire more people, and we pay for them. Somewhere along the way, this PC party developed a sense of entitlement. There’s no doubt Premier Alison Redford is a big part of this, but it is not all her fault. The PC Party would like to make the Premier the scapegoat, but the entire power-hungry group is responsible for its actions. Consider this quote from the now-independent Calgary MLA Donna Kennedy-Glans, who just resigned from her post in cabinet:
“I am increasingly convinced that elements of this 43 year old Government are simply unable to make the changes needed to achieve that dream of a better Alberta.”
Barring some unforeseen circumstance (and who knows with this government), we are two years from a provincial election. It’s at the polls that you can truly have your say. Like many of you, I look forward to that day, so we can take back our province, and restore the Alberta Advantage.