For me, Jason Kenney’s victory is something new and novel to Alberta. Think about it this way, from 1935 to 2008, Alberta had always had a variety of conservative parties. When Social Credit was in power, they had to fend off the Progressive Conservatives. For the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta had
Continue readingAuthor: 52ideas
52 Ideas: In defence of Alberta, Decarbonisation and an Intelligent Transition to a Different Future
Many good-willed environmentalists have made the argument that Alberta would be better if it left all of its bitumen in the ground. One of them replied to my last post. His name is Bill Malcolm. When it came to my notion that politicians should try to provide the most benefit
Continue reading52 Ideas: In defense of Openness, Conciliation, Inclusiveness and Convincing
A few replies came in due to my last post and I was surprised by their disturbing tone and how some of them were laced with a sort of anger and/or a resort to partisanship, ideology or intransigence. There is an old saying: “one gathers more flies with honey
Continue reading52 Ideas: On Jason Kenney: My Hopes, Worries and Fears
So, Jason Kenney is now Premier. A friend of mine, who was not fond of Premier Notley, asked me my opinion. Anyone who knows me knows one thing: Russell Scantlebury will not give a simple answer. Accordingly, I thought I would jot it down here. To start off with,
Continue reading52 Ideas: On Alberta, West Virginia and a conversation about Oil
We often forget how quickly technology can move. While, Benz developed his first car in 1885; it was the development of Henry Ford’s Model T and his new innovative manufacturing techniques, in 1913, that helped to reshape the United States. By 1927, a total of just over 15 million Model
Continue reading52 Ideas: Why do we need politicians and statesman?
It used to be hard to argue that politicians provide any value. In the past, one could easily point to the good that great statesmen did. One could point to Abraham Lincoln, Sir John A. MacDonald, Rt. Hon. Pierre Elliot Trudeau, Peter Lougheed, Churchill or FDR. One could argue that
Continue reading52 Ideas: Why I am going to vote Yes in the referendum
Anyone who knows me will be shocked by the brevity of this piece. However, for me, it is pretty easy to see why the city of Calgary should move forward with the 2026 Olympic Bid. My argument is based on two facts: the precarious nature of WinSport’s finances and the
Continue reading52 Ideas: On the Extremists in our Midst
“The Donald Trumps of the world, the Nigel Farages of the world — one can disagree with them, especially a conservative like myself can disagree with them on some things. But they are at least trying to fix what they see ails democratic, capitalist, market-oriented societies and my fear is
Continue reading52 Ideas: What does Alberta Future Look like?
In 2018, an Alberta Government Department – called Alberta Economic and Development and Trade developed a pamphlet. Entitled the “2017 Highlights of the Alberta Economy”, it noted that Alberta had “one of the world’s most productive agricultural economies, with a total farm area of 50.3 million acres or 20.3 million hectares”.
Continue reading52 Ideas: My Politics is about Witnessing the Wrongs done to Others
I am grateful to a man that I have never met. I was first introduced to him by a good friend. She had grown up in a place that used to be named after him. That place today is called Lucan and it is a stone’s throw away from London,
Continue reading52 Ideas: We should reform, amend or change government but we should never attack it.
When I was nineteen, I joined my first political campaign. In some ways, it was odd. For, while, I lived in a house that talked about the problems of the world, a house where the news was avidly watched, I had never thought about joining a political party. I just
Continue reading52 Ideas: Maxime Bernier should walk in other people’s shoes before he accuses anyone of racism
In the 1970s, Lincoln Alexander fought the caucus of the Progressive Conservative Party. Mr. Alexander fought them because as a Black man, he wanted to support anti-hate speech legislation. His party, the Progressive Conservative Party, didn’t like the legislation because they felt it would curtain both the concept of
Continue reading52 Ideas: I honestly thought Donald Trump would have…
In 1787, the American Constitutional Convention came to be. George Washington was elected to be its chairman and he sat in a very beautiful chair. On the back of the chair, a sun was carved. Very few people took notice of the chair but Benjamin Franklin was one of them.
Continue reading52 Ideas: On Fildebrandt: I nominate Fildebrandt for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation 2018 Teddy Awards
For over two decades, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation has described what their vision of good public policy should be. One of the best symbols, descriptors, of their view has been the Teddy Awards. The Award is named for a former federal appointee, Ted Weatherill. Mr Weatherill had the unfortunate distinction
Continue reading52 Ideas: Who will pay the cost for Digital Security? On the regulation of Uber and large digital companies
In 2006, when I came to Calgary, Identity Thief was something that we all heard about. While, I did not have RFID sleeves for my credit cards yet, I was able to take precautions. When I took a cab in 2006 from the Airport to Downtown Calgary, I could take
Continue reading52 Ideas: Policy over Partisanship
Two decades ago, I was involved with a student newspaper. It was called the Calumetro and it was published by the Calumet College Student Government. It was one of many publications that enhanced the student experience of York University’s Main Campus and it taught me all sorts of things. While
Continue reading52 Ideas: Evidence says that a merger makes sense: The reasons why together the Alberta Party and the Alberta Liberal Party have the capacity to change Alberta.
“He won because he went to the people. I myself knocked on ~30,000 doors for that election. The team raised $424k, had a volunteer team of ~500 people, and on that team ~70%+ were first time volunteers. Don’t believe the hype & don’t think parties are what makes politics.” –
Continue reading52 Ideas: Stop the silliness, it’s time to merge
In 2012, I wrote a blog piece called “Provincial Merger, I agree…”. In it, I made a simple argument: the only way that Progressive Voices could be heard in Alberta is by merging the Alberta NDP, the Alberta Liberals, the Alberta Greens and the Alberta Party. In merging, we could
Continue reading