Opposition hammers Alberta government for usage of government planes
Opposition hammers Alberta government for usage of government planes
EDMONTON – The opposition Liberals are hammering the Alberta government on how cabinet ministers having been using government aircraft.In the legislature Thursday, Liberal member Darshan Kang accused Tory cabinet ministers of using the plane to return to Calgary after the last three fundraising dinners for Premier Ed Stelmach. Kang stressed these were not government dinners, but fundraising events for the Conservative Party of Alberta.
Kang says after delivering the cabinet ministers, the plane then had to turn around and go back to Edmonton empty.
He says it’s not a “responsible, ethical use of taxpayer funds.”
Kang says if cabinet ministers are going to attend partisan fundraisers, they should pay for their own transportation.
“After a party, after a few drinks, it is important not to drive home,” Kang said in question period.
“This government clearly recognizes the importance of this issue, because it ensures that government MLAs do not drive back to Calgary after the annual Progressive Conservative Association Premier’s Dinner and fundraiser in Edmonton.
“Instead, they’re loaded onto the government plane, and ordinary Albertans are paying for their tickets.”
Kang suggested Stelmach is continuing the “ignoble entitlement traditions” of former premier Ralph Klein.
“While Albertans are worried about losing their jobs, the Tory gravy plane continues to soar.”
Stelmach replied that he’d had it with hurtful comments during this session.
He asked Kang to apologize or come up with proof.
Kang asked Stelmach to table his receipts on the government planes.
Seal Skin at the Olympics
Parliamentarians unanimously agree on something. Too bad it was this.
OTTAWA – Canada’s Olympic athletes will be wearing seal skin on their 2010 uniforms to protest an international ban on the product – that is, if the country’s parliamentarians have their way.
The federal Parliament voted Wednesday to use the Vancouver Games to protest a European Union ban on seal products.
Parliamentarians from all parties agreed unanimously to a motion from the Bloc Quebecois that says the Games should be used to promote products from the seal hunt.
The motion suggests one possibility: that Canada’s Olympic uniform include at least one seal product, likely skin.
Fisheries Minister Gail Shea applauded the idea, while wondering whether it might be too late.
“I would imagine the Olympic clothing is all designed and probably made by now,” Shea said.
“But I think it’s a good symbolic suggestion – to add something to the outfit of our athletes. I think it would be a good statement for the Canadian sealing industry, and Canada’s support of it.”
Parliamentary motions are non-binding on either the government or the Canadian Olympic Committee, but are an expression of the will of Canada’s elected politicians.
The European Parliament voted massively in favour of a seal ban, which could have a dramatic impact on Canadian hunters and exporters.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said he does not want the ban to scuttle separate talks on Canada-EU free trade.
But Canadian lawyers are already considering a legal challenge, while the EU council of ministers considers whether to implement the ban.
Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe said the Canadian government was outmanoeuvred on the public-relations front and that it should have been more aggressive defending the seal hunt.
Duceppe singled out one country that had no business lecturing Canada on animal rights: Spain, where fights with bulls in front of cheering spectators is a national sport.
“I find it completely abnormal to see protests (against the seal hunt) in Spain – the country that holds the bullfights,” Duceppe said.
“We need a campaign. Our adversaries conducted one heck of a campaign, and Canada did not conduct a major one on the promotional level. …
“The Olympics aren’t a trivial thing. We could use this event to shed light on this, but we need to use other events, too.”
Duceppe shot back at one questioner who asked whether Olympic athletes might bristle at the idea of being forced to wear animal pelts to make a political statement.
“I don’t know what my shoes are made of – but if they’re not made out of plastic, they’re not made out of straw, they come from an animal.”
I’m glad our members of parliament want to support the seal hunt and the workers who will suffer becase of the EU ban, but I really don’t think this is appropriate. I’m not a big fan of the olympics, but I think it should be about sport and not spoiled by political protests. If members of parliament want to protest the ban they should do it in the political or legal arenas not at the Olympic games. Besides, their proposal completely ignores the opinion of the athletes. I’m sure many of them don’t support the seal hunt.
It’s too bad the government and the seal hunters hadn’t done more to promote the seal hunt or to educate the public about it before it came to this point. The tree-huggers and PETA et al are very good at getting their message across even if it’s inaccurate or incomplete. Those who rely on the seal hunt to live had better start putting out a counter message now before they lose their livelyhood forever.
Tags: Canada, European Union, Olympics, parliament, protest, seal hunt
Freedom to Create. Spirit to Deceive.
Last week news broke that one of the pictures used to promote Alberta in the province’s $25-million re-branding initiative was actually taken at a famous beach in England. Questions have also emerged about the locations in other photos used. When questioned about the picture government officials denied that it was a screwup or an attempt to mislead people into thinking the picture was one of Alberta. Olga Guthrie, manager of the brand initiative for Alberta’s public affairs bureau, when asked about the photo by a curious Albertan, said “This slide represents Albertans’ concern for the future of the world.” When questioned by the media Tom Olsen, the premier’s director of media relations, said “There’s no attempt to make people think that this is Alberta. There’s no attempt to mislead. That picture just fit the mood and tone of what we were trying to do.” Olsen went on to say that the picture was specifically chosen because of its foreign location to represent Albertans’ interest in global issues. “The children are a symbol of the future. They symbolize that Albertans are a worldly people.”
Now, I’m sure most Albertan’s aren’t buying that explaination. Most sensible people will recognise this for what it is. A government screwup. Despite that, the government is sticking to this lame excuse.
Or are they? On Monday I stumbled across another news story about the picture in question. This story gives a few more details including the fact the picture was taken about 7 years ago and the children in the picture were shocked to learn they were being used to promote a province in a country that they’ve never visited. The part of Monday’s story that was most surprising to me came at the end of the article. Apparently the provincial government appologised for the mixup on Thursday and a government spokesman was quoted as saying: “We all knew that every single image we put out to represent Alberta had to be of Alberta, or we would be roasted. Then we screwed up, we’re sorry.”
So the obvious question that comes to mind is: Why is the premiers office lying to Albertans and making up a lame story that the picture was purposely chosen to show our supposed concern for the future of the world on the same day that a Government spokesman is admitting that they screwed up?
