ALF V1

The Alberta government is considering changes to campaign finance laws that would effectively mute groups such as Albertans for Change, which ran high-priced attack ads during the March election, Premier Ed Stelmach said.

The legislation would also bring party leadership races under the umbrella of campaign finance laws, a move loudly demanded by critics during the 2006 Tory leadership campaign.

Stelmach said he wants to introduce the legislation this fall, however he was unclear on whether the legislation would ban third-party spending or simply put limits on it.

"It's something that really piqued my curiosity during this last campaign, though I believe the strategy backfired on whoever came up with the idea," Stelmach said of the ads.

Albertans for Change was a union-backed effort that ran splashy election advertising attacking the Stelmach government's record.

The cost of the ads is still unknown but estimates peg it at more than $2 million, or more than double the NDP and Liberal budgets combined.

Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan accused the Conservatives of trying to muzzle its opponents with the new laws.

"This is a disturbing development and it doesn't bode well for democracy in this province," McGowan said. "He's just trying to shut down the voice of the labour movement as a voice of dissent on the left."

McGowan said the timing of the move smacks of political opportunism, not of a real desire for reform.

But NDP Leader Brian Mason said it's unfair the unions could outspend his party on TV ads by more than a 10-to-one margin.

"The main conversation that took place in the election was not between the opposition parties and the government -- it was between Albertans for Change and the government," Mason said. "And I think that had a serious impact on the election."

Mason, who has pushed hard for new campaign finance laws, also wants Stelmach to ban corporate and union donations and implement a system of public campaign financing like the federal government and some provinces.

Stelmach has shown little enthusiasm for the idea.

Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft said the Albertans for Change ads may have actually hurt his party.

"On the doorsteps, we were often getting lectures about how 'you guys are running those terrible attack ads on Ed Stelmach.' So we got dragged into it," said Taft.

Duff Conacher, co-ordinator of Ottawa-based Democracy Watch, said Alberta remains a laggard in implementing election campaign finance reforms. He praised the province for considering a ban on third party ads.

Conacher, like Mason, also called for a ban on union and corporate donations.

"If you believe in one person, one vote, you should be limiting what any one person can spend in politics," Conacher said.

Edmonton Journal, Fri May 9 2008
Archie McLean, with files from Jason Markusoff

Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft said Wednesday he is open to discussing the future of his party, but dismissed one of his MLA's moves toward starting a new party.

"Trying to build a new party from the ground up is an interesting idea maybe, but it's not realistic," Taft said. "I'd much rather build on the strengths that we've got."

Taft was responding to Calgary MLA David Swann's informal proposal to start a new party in Alberta based on environmental politics, government accountability and democratic reform.

Since the March 3 election, Swann has been meeting with other MLAs and interested people about the idea.

Swann said he is simply interested in reinvigorating Albertans disillusioned with the political process.

"Whatever that takes," Swann said. "It may not be a new party. It may be that what we can do in this Liberal party is re-ignite people through a renewal and a reorganization and some new people in this party.

"Whatever it takes, I'm prepared to help that process move forward and re-ignite a real commitment in the citizens of Alberta in the political process."

At the very least, Swann said he favours a new name for the Liberals, a suggestion Taft said was a possibility, though not enough on its own.

"What we really need to do is reach out, not just to the left, which everybody is talking about, but also on the right," Taft said.

After losing seats in the March 3 election, many opposition party members began to question the status quo. Since then, they have batted around various suggestions -- from name changes to political alliances to new leaders.

Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan recently proposed an alliance between the Liberals and NDP that would see them divvy up seats to prevent vote splitting on the left and centre-left. McGowan said he floated the idea to give shape to discussions that were already taking place informally.

But local NDP MLA Rachel Notley was skeptical that her party's members would join a new party.

"I think New Democrats are very committed to the party and the principles of the party. And I just don't believe they would be prepared to change or dilute or altogether abandon certain key principles the NDP hold that are simply not reflected in either the Liberal or the Green agenda."

Notley said some of these ideas sound good in theory, but don't withstand strong scrutiny. She said a diversity of opinions in the legislature is important and that the NDP has been a strong advocate on a number of issues, including energy royalties.

Edmonton Journal, Thurs May 8 2008
Byline: Archie McLean

Calgary Liberal MLA David Swann has the right idea about solving the malaise of political opposition in Alberta.

When he talks in principle about a new political movement, and when explains that "We have to move where Albertans want us to move" -- he recognizes that the goal is service, not power, and that the needs and aspirations of the population, and not those of political parties, must be the focus.

Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan, on the contrary, walks the wrong path when he talks about electoral pacts "because vote splitting is keeping the Conservatives in power," however much he deserves credit for pushing against the divided-opposition status quo.

It might well be that more opposition MLAs would be elected if those who wish to terminate the Tories' four-decade dominance were forced accept a single alternative -- but herding voters into corrals they wouldn't have chosen on their own is unlikely to boost their confidence that that the ranch is being run for their benefit.

In a province that places great store in the value of choice, surely offering a new one makes more democratic sense than the very negative-sounding step of taking choices away.

In a way, the electoral-pact approach places blame on voters for Liberal and NDP failure, rather than respecting citizens' preference for the Conservatives, and forcing opposition politicians and their backers to confront their own shortcomings.

On the federal scene, it took Reformers and Progressive Conservatives a only a decade to learn this lesson, despite having to overcome animosities and policy differences that make Alberta's opposition rivalries look like schoolyard squabbles.

Surely Albertans of an opposition mindset -- both those currently engaged and those sitting with chagrined resignation on the sidelines -- have an equal creativity and sense of sacrifice for the sake of public service.

Perhaps, in the foregoing remarks, some readers will see an anti-government political agenda. That's not the intention.

The fact is, the majority of Albertans who generally approve of the provincial Conservatives should value a more effective opposition just as much -- because a government looking over its shoulder naturally works harder and better to keep power.

It's instructive to contemplate the recent dead-duck controversy up in the oilsands region, and wonder if -- say -- fear of a politically effective conservation-oriented opposition would have had government more worried about those tailings ponds before national and international pressure got the Stelmach government jumping like a scalded cat.

Who knows what a new political movement would look like, or even whether it would ultimately make sense to absorb both of the current main opposition movements?

If it deals merely with cosmetics such as the name, or fails to deliver a genuine, sincere common purpose, or is unable to bring in new blood and ideas, it probably can't succeed.

But trying to manipulate Albertans into changing behaviour by limiting choice is not the way to go.

Edmonton Journal, Thurs May 8 2008
Byline: Archie McLean

Alberta Liberals are divided over how to reinvigorate an opposition movement that was crushed in the provincial election, with the Grit chief arguing one of his MLA's proposals to possibly create a new party "is not realistic."

Liberal MLAs are all over the map on whether to ditch the party name, with some insisting it has to go and others unwilling to cut ties with the historic brand name.

Calgary-Mountain View Liberal MLA David Swann recently met with MLAs and supporters of the Grits, NDP and Alberta Greens about starting a new party based on environmental politics, accountability and democratic reform.

While Swann insists that debate on how to reenergize the opposition in Alberta must include talk of creating a new party -- or a new name for the Grits, at the very least -- Liberal Leader Kevin Taft argued Wednesday that creating a new political machine isn't the way to go.

"Going to a new party, trying to build a new party from the ground up doesn't make sense," Taft told reporters, adding that the concept "is not realistic."

Taft acknowledged there could be a different name and even a new leader by the next election, but the Liberal base is in place and shouldn't be gutted.

"There's no other realistic alternative," he added. "It's like the Alberta Liberals have the chassis that everybody else needs to bring about political change."

But Swann said change is certainly needed, after the Tories captured 72 of 83 seats in the March provincial election, leaving the Official Opposition Liberals with only nine seats and the NDP with two.

A reorganization and renewal of the opposition is what's needed, and that may include a new party and brand, he said, although he noted the final decision will rest with the grassroots members.

"Whatever it takes," Swann said. "I think there's a new name needed."

He plans to meet with former Reform party leader Preston Manning to talk about his experiences launching a new party and about green politics and democratic accountability.

Swann's musings come as the Alberta Federation of Labour has proposed an alliance between the Liberals and NDP in hopes of preventing vote splitting, and to steal back a chunk of support from the Conservatives, who've ruled for 37 consecutive years.

Liberal house leader Laurie Blakeman backs Swann's suggestions of looking at all possibilities, including launching a new party. But she noted there could be some divisions in the party ranks about what is the best option.

"I'm open to anything. I think we have to be innovative here," Blakeman said.

Calgary-McCall MLA Darshan Kang was adamant Wednesday that the party stick with the Liberal brand name.

"We should work hard to reinvent the party under the Alberta Liberal party," Kang said.

Calgary Herald, Thurs May 8 2008
Byline: Jason Fekete

Two months after their brutal pounding in the last provincial election, Alberta Liberals and New Democrats are looking ahead to the next election -- one they might fight together.

In an unprecedented move sparked by a proposal from the Alberta Federation of Labour, both the Liberals and NDP are considering joining forces in a "co-operative pact" to get more opposition MLAs elected -- and perhaps even form a government.

It looks like a bit of a longshot at this point -- with just 11 opposition members in the assembly -- but the two parties are desperate for a way to revitalize their sagging spirits and boost their electoral chances.

Gil McGowan, president of the AFL, drew up a five-page plan immediately after the March 3 election outlining how and why the centre-left parties could more effectively take on the Conservatives.

"We are proposing an agreement that would stop centre-left parties from running candidates against each other because vote splitting is keeping the Conservatives in power," says the AFL proposal that has three major components --

- 1) The Liberals, NDP and Greens would "divvy up" all Alberta ridings and agree not to run candidates against each other.

- 2) The parties would maintain their autonomy and run their own election campaigns but would agree on a list of "core priorities to act upon if they are able to form a government after the next election."

- 3) If they form government, the parties would look at major electoral reform, possibly adopting a system of proportional representation for future elections where political parties would receive a percentage of seats based on their percentage of votes.

Thus, with some sort of electoral balance injected into Alberta politics, the co-operative pact would be dissolved after having served its purpose.

"I'll be blunt, it's deliberately provocative because after the election in March it became clear to me that we need to do more than the usual post-election navel gazing," said McGowan. "We have to start thinking about new approaches because if nothing changes we're looking at another 40 years of one-party rule."

Both NDP leader Brian Mason and Liberal Leader Kevin Taft say the idea -- that stops short of advocating a merger -- is worth exploring.

"Everything's on the table at least for the Alberta Liberals," said Taft.

"Everything from the name of the party, the leadership of the party, policies, the structure of the party, and the possibility of reaching out to supporters in other parties, all of that is on the table right now. There's a lot of conversations going on."

Mason doesn't sound as enthusiastic as Taft, perhaps because he's afraid the NDP could end up being swallowed, deliberately or inadvertently, by the Liberals.

"I have my own views," said Mason, "but I think at this stage what I want to do is encourage party members to have that discussion and we need to work through this as a party to come up with an idea of where we want to go as a party."

Those discussions include a motion to be debated at the NDP annual convention in June asking the party to "investigate a variety of options for political cooperation with the Alberta Liberals and/or the Albertan Greens."

Interestingly, McGowan is calling his idea the United Alternative, the same name given to the successful unite-the-right movement in federal politics where the Reform and Conservatives joined forces to take on the Liberals. With the Liberals and NDP coming together, maybe we should call it "heft the left" or perhaps "mentor the centre."

There will be those, particularly die hard NDPers, who will call it the unholy alliance and there will be Liberals who would rather stay home or vote Conservative than vote for an NDP candidate.

McGowan is certainly aware of the furor his idea will unleash.

"From the right of the political spectrum we will be accused of trying to hijack the political process," says McGowan. "And from the left we will be vilified for 'selling out' and abandoning core principles. Harsh words will be spoken and more than a few relationships and friendships will be broken. But it still needs to be done."

Just how effective or successful would a centre-left United Alternative be? If you took the results from the last provincial election and combined the Liberal and NDP vote you might see a difference in a dozen seats. That would only bring a combined Liberal-NDP opposition to 23 seats, still far short of the 42 needed to form government.

McGowan argues in his proposal that a "co-operative pact" would actually boost voter turn out. "There's a strong argument to be made that if Albertans had seen a real, viable alternative to the Tories, more of them would have voted -- and voted disproportionately for that alternative."

Maybe. Or perhaps the reason only 41 per cent of voters turned out in March was because most people support the Conservatives.

If nothing else, McGowan's proposal does manage to spark some life into Alberta politics -- and perhaps gives the losers in the last 11 elections a glimmer of hope they won't be losers again in the next.

Edmonton Journal, Tues May 6 2008
Byline: Graham Thomson

Labour unions in B.C. and Alberta commemorated the 13th International Day of Mourning amid claims that provincial government statistics underestimate the numbers of employees killed.

The Alberta Ministry of Employment and Immigration reported on April 17 that there were 154 occupational fatalities in 2007.

These fatalities are broken down into three categories; 44 were motor vehicle incidents, 47 were workplace incidents, and 63 were occupational disease deaths. However, the Alberta Federation of Labour estimates the real figure to be 166.

Barrie Harrison, a communications officer with the Alberta Ministry of Employment, said that the construction sector accounted for six deaths from motor vehicle accidents, 20 deaths from workplace incidents and 24 deaths from occupational disease.

"2007 had the most work-related fatalities since 1982 and was the sixth highest in the province's history and the first two months of 2008 were even worse," said Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan.

He pointed out 28 workers were killed in the first two months of 2008, up from a year earlier.

While McGowan acknowledged it is early in the year, he expressed some concerns.

"If we continue to lose workers at this rate, we will kill 170 workers in 2008, which will be the highest number since the Hillcrest Mine disaster in 1914," he said.

A similar picture emerges in B.C.

According to WorkSafe BC fatality statistics, 228 workers died as a result of workplace incidents in 2007.

These fatalities are broken down into four categories; 37 were motor vehicle incidents, 57 were other injuries, 69 were asbestos exposure and 65 were other diseases.

WorkSafe BC also reported that first payment was made for 139 occupational deaths in 2007.

The 139 fatal injury claims first paid in 2007 is a different measure of fatalities for two reasons.

First, some of the fatalities first paid in 2007 occurred in a prior year. Second, some of the reported fatalities were not compensable.

Out of the 139 fatal injuries, construction had more workers killed in the workplace than any other industry with 30 deaths.

The B.C. Federation of Labour estimated that the true death toll in B.C. for 2007 was about 380.

"This is an epidemic, but we know these numbers fail to reflect the true number of workers and families profoundly affected by these diseases," said Jim Sinclair, president of the B.C. Federation of Labour.

"Too often these diseases go undiagnosed and unreported. As a result, injured workers aren't compensated and employers are not held responsible."

The British Columbia and Yukon Building and Construction Trades Council (BCYBCTC) made a prediction earlier this year that about 300 construction workers will die each year for the next five years of mesothelioma and other asbestos exposure illnesses.

The prediction is based on research by Professor Paul Demers at the University of British Columbia's school of environmental health as well as statistics from WorkSafe BC.

McGowan argued that fatality rates in Alberta tend to follow the cycles of economic growth and decline.

"Employers are cutting corners on training and safety procedures to meet the huge demand. The result is more accidents," he said.

"Many workers choose to walk away from unsafe jobs rather than pressure for more safety, meaning bad employers don't improve. And, the government is not doing enough inspections and enforcement."

More than 175,000 accidents were reported to the Alberta Workers Compensation Board in 2007. This works out to 20 accidents every hour - 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Both the AFL and the federation of labour are calling on employers, government and workers to do more to make workplaces safer.

Journal of Commerce, Mon May 5 2008
Byline: Richard Gilbert

Family income in Calgary this decade has increased by nearly double the national average while the Alberta figure is nearly triple, states a Statistics Canada report.

But the numbers also show the province's boom and bust economy has sent incomes on a rollercoaster ride that's landed Albertans at virtually the same earning levels they enjoyed in 1980.

While median family incomes received a 7% boost from 2000 to 2005 compared to 3.7% nationally, individuals' earning power in Alberta has been virtually stagnant when set against the 1980 figures.

When adjusted for inflation, individuals' median income in 2005 was $43,964, only $232 more than in 1980, said senior StatsCan economist Rene Morissette.

"There was almost no change between 1980 and 2005 ... median earnings slid by $3,000 by 2000 and people have essentially just recovered that," said Morissette.

"If you take a longer-term approach, it's quite close to the national average."

That recovery and Alberta's outdistancing of the rest of the country this decade can be attributed to Alberta's petroleum-driven boom, he said.

But he said the 12.8% increase in median family incomes since 1980 was due to women increasingly entering the workforce.

"It's the only source of growth ... it makes for a time crunch and family work balance issues," said Morissette.

Gains by those in the upper and lower 20% income categories were about double those of middle-earners, the latter by far the largest sector, he added.

The figures confirm the worst fears over an increasingly squeezed middle class and workers whose longer hours are no longer being rewarded, said Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan.

"If it wasn't for the income growth of the past five years Albertans would have lost ground and the rest of the country isn't even as lucky," said McGowan.

"Productivity gains have been decoupled from wage increases ... we're a middle-class society but the middle class is under attack."

McGowan said much of Alberta's current prosperity is more construction than oil-based and once the building is done, income will drop.

StatsCan also states 9.5% of Calgary families spent at least 55% of their incomes on lodging, food and clothing - classifying them as lower income and struggling.

"Policy-makers at all levels should see this as a warning sign," said McGowan.

Calgary Sun, Thurs May 1 2008
Byline: Bill Kaufmann

Labour Economic Monitor (May 2008)

These are odd times in Alberta. With oil prices on the spot market topping $130/barrel and natural gas prices on the uptrend, you'd expect the public mood to be giddy with delight. ... So why aren't Albertans swinging from the chandeliers, and ordering up more champagne? Well, there's an old Leonard Cohen song called "Everybody Knows" that talks about the unpleasant realities that everyone is familiar with, but that nobody wants to talk about.

EDMONTON - Not even two years after Lorna Chandler's husband was crushed in a grain silo at a feedlot near High River, one of his employers also died in a silo-related workplace accident.

Chandler feels sure her 35-year-old husband, Kevan, would have survived if there had been a rope and a way to secure the harness that was on site. Her husband's boss was also unsecured when he fell to his death from the top of a silo last Tuesday, she said.

"If he had a rope and harness, too, I'm quite sure he'd be alive," Chandler said Monday, following an annual ceremony at City Hall honouring lost and injured workers.

Chandler is frustrated because no one in the provincial government seems to be doing anything to stop these easily preventable deaths.

"What I'm trying to say has fallen upon deaf ears."

Last year, 154 Albertans died in workplace accidents, making it the worst year for fatalities since 1982. In addition, more than 175,000 people were injured while working.

It's time to connect the tragedy of workplace deaths with the causes, Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, said at the ceremony. Weak safety laws and lax enforcement send a message that the government doesn't take worker safety seriously, he said. "A worker is injured every three minutes every day in Alberta. We all know Albertans like to be number one. We're number one in investment. We're number one in growth. We're also number one in workplace deaths."

Simple guardrails costing as little as $30 could have saved the life of his grandson, said Leonard Brennan. But no one was doing the inspections required to find the "ongoing death trap" at his grandson's worksite.

Jahryn Kozak, 20, was killed Dec. 13, 2004, while working for Fitzgerald Construction. He became entangled in an unguarded tail pulley while cleaning excess gravel from the ground under a rock crusher. He was pronounced dead at the worksite.

Brennan noted that the company got a charitable donation receipt for almost all of the $300,000 it was ordered to pay as punishment because it went towards the Alberta Workers' Health Centre, a non-profit society which assists workers to improve workplace health and safety. Though he praised the work done by the centre, Brennan found it disturbing that the company would benefit in any fashion from what was supposed to be punishment. "I felt like throwing up when I heard that," he said.

Meanwhile, the Alberta NDP slammed the government for refusing to place limits on working alone in a worksite.

Employment critic Rachel Notley released a government official's e-mail from last week that nixed a proposal to let the employment minister ban working alone on certain unsafe sites.

A working group of industry, government and labour officials asked for the move.

Kenn Hample, provincial safety specialist co-ordinator, rejected that idea outright, saying in the e-mail that the province doesn't want to be "interjecting a government decision into the operation of a worksite," when the government prefers companies practice "internal responsibility" for their actions.

Notley called the proposal "hesitant first steps" that would have modestly improved worker safety in Alberta.

Edmonton Journal, Tues Apr 29 2008
Byline: Hanneke Brooymans and Jason Markusoff

The elimination of health-care premiums will pump $1 billion annually into the economy beginning next January and some of that cash could wind up in employees' pockets, say business and union officials.

While no one can say for sure who will reap the benefits of the massive tax cut announced Tuesday, the savings give businesses that paid the fee for their employees a host of options, says Danielle Smith, Alberta director of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

"We get the strong indication from the business community that they recognize they have to be competitive on wages and benefits," she said. "I imagine by having more money in their pockets to devote to increasing employee pay that will be one of the main places they decide to reinvest. It may not be immediate, but I imagine throughout the course of the year there will be a lot of that money going back to employees."

While 2.6 million Albertans face health-care premiums, 1.6 million pay for them through benefit plans that are often subsidized by employers.

The CFIB surveyed Alberta businesses last summer on what they would do with any savings from a tax cut and the majority responded they would invest in new equipment and increase employee wages, Smith said.

Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan said it's an issue that unions haven't yet had time to digest.

"We're talking about hundreds of millions of dollars here that will be freed up as a result of the elimination of the premiums and the big question is where does that money go," he said. "Obviously, employers will have a lot of ideas for it, but it does at least open the possibility for some of the money going into the employees' pockets.

"It puts a little more money on the table at a time when the labour market is tight and workers are in a better position to ask for wage increases."

Mike Percy, the University of Alberta's dean of the business faculty, said the tax cut could have the same impact as former Premier Ralph Klein's $400 resource dividend, but this tax cut isn't just a one-time shot. Albertans will save that money annually, he noted.

"It will have a positive effect, but it will be very difficult to say how much," he said. "It's complex."

Edmonton Journal, Thurs Apr 24 2008
Byline: Darcy Henton