Phendrana Drifts

The Government of Alberta and the ATA are about to pitch a deal, and what a deal it is. And while ostensibly it is a pitch to teachers, it really is to all of us. Why should the Government of Alberta do this? Because it is in all our best interests, including the financial one. By giving the flexibility to end the liability before its planned 52 year old termination date, we will save interest. A lot of interest. Up to $45 billion - to put that in perspective, we spend some $33 billion a year as a provincial government. That alone makes it sound policy, but we are also all going to gain a lot from the recruitment of new teachers coupled with the predictability of five year collective bargaining agreements.

I missed question period today, so I have no idea what the Liberal reaction was to it. I looked on their website, no posted response - not that I was expecting one - but also found something curious, their search function isn't working on their website. They should look into fixing that. I looked around and around (tiring, since there was no search) and couldn't find a policy on the unfunded liability. Hmm... finally I found something on their education critic's site talking about the need to "address this problem." Well, even they should be happy I guess - the problem isn't just addressed, it has a long-term sustainable solution on the table, one that saves teachers and taxpayers money.

Labels: alberta politics, teachers

Now who could read the mind of the red-headed girl next door
Or the taxi driver who just dropped you off
Or the classmate that you ignore
Don't assume everything on the surface is what you see
Cause that classmate just lost her mother
And that taxi driver's got a PhD

I wonder if taxi driving is a better gig than I give it credit for, because Amanda Marshall's lyrics above are not just an isolated incident, as I have been given a taxi ride by two doctors as well, and I don't talk too much to every taxi driver, so for all I know that total is much higher. So, upon coming to Canada, these very smart people choose taxi driving when my country decides to ignore their degree. It never struck me as particularly lucrative, but perhaps I'm wrong.

In any case, I wish those with solid credentials were recognized here. I understand why that process takes time, and the recognizing credentials needs to be done with care - you wouldn't want the engineer designing a bridge to really be something closer to a lego builder than an engineer. Still, my impression is that we have too many taxi drivers with PhDs and not enough PhDs in our country. And MDs, and other credentials.

Labels: education, inane

In my 12 years of looking carefully at Alberta politics (that is a bit of an arbitrary figure, assuming I likely paid attention just I was heading into high school) I have to be honest and say I have not experienced a more interesting time. Lots is going on, and the decisions being made now are actually really important.

I was talking with a friend yesterday about democracy, not in the Alberta sense but more in the global context, and looked at our mutual desire to increase the level of democracy and participation here at home. He is way more eloquent than I, so I will let his ideas speak for themselves:

Let me be clear: I like the majority of his ideas - I'm not a massive fan of proportional representation, but on the whole I like them. But I did present the one nagging concern of how the serious political decision we need to make require careful thought - this is not the time for shortsighted planning driven by polls. Back to Alberta, the decision on increasing royalties needs careful thought - and that is why I like the decision taken by the Government of Alberta. The decision itself is strong but most importantly it was done in the right way. Consider:

Oct. '06 - Candidate for the PC leadership Ed Stelmach promises to review the royalty regime
Dec. '06 - Ed Stelmach wins and becomes the Premier of Alberta
Feb. '07 - Gov't of Alberta announces Royalty Review Panel
Apr. '07 - Royalty Review Panel begins public consultations
Jun. '07 - Public consultations end; report writing begins
Sep. '07 - Royalty Review Panel delivers report; Gov't of Alberta makes it public
Oct. '07 - After five weeks of internal and public debate Stelmach increases royalties

That is a good process - one where everyone gets heard and no one makes a knee-jerk reaction, with the exception of a few oil companies and small activist groups. Now it just happens to be that increasing royalties was the popular thing to do, but I doubt that is why it was done. It was done because it was the right thing. One that was produced by careful thought, solid information and lots of public input. Imagine a province that looks at all sorts of public policy issues through the same approach - how strong will our province be?

PS: I decided to blog because a friend who is 800% more busy than I decided to blog, so if he has time, I must.

Labels: alberta politics

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