PC Party Should Learn From the Chandler Experience and Fix Its Nomination and Leadership Process

The right decision was made by the PC Party Executive Committee on Mr. Chandler’s suitability for candidacy in the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta. The matter is not over. Beyond Mr. Chandler’s indications he may sue the Party for his nomination costs which he says are $127,000.00, the PC Party needs to revisit its nomination and leadership selection processes.

The PC Party, and other political parties too I expect, need to review their nomination process in the light of expectations of accountability, transparency and fairness. Premier Stelmach promised the Party would review and fix the leadership process. Let’s kill two birds and deal with the nomination process at the same time.

Let’s learn from the Chandler experience and do some Constitutional updating. First fairness. If the Leader or the Party Executive has reservations about a candidate pursuing nomination perhaps we need to take a page from the federal CPCs and have a questionnaire and statutory declaration completed by each candidate before they are eligible to run. We can confidentially get a sense of their background and skeletons, if any, and judge their suitability up front. We should not have to rely on Dr. Oberg for this information on skeletons. A suitability test and a decision could be made without embarrassing anyone.

Second, we need full disclosure of donors and perhaps limits on nomination campaign spending to level the playing field and for transparency. If Mr. Chandler spent $127,000.00 for about 950 votes, how did he spend it? Did he buy every supporter dinner in a nice restaurant? For that money? He could have.

Who ponied up $127,000 in the first place? Spending that kind of money at this level of the political process shows that Mr. Chandler is clearly only a social conservative...he is no fiscal conservative, that is for sure. Can you imagine how he might spend of our tax money if he were in government? We need to clean this matter up in the leadership process too. We have been waiting about a year and still don't know who supported Do. Oberg's leadership despite his promise to disclose donors. Dr. Morton said he will not disclose his leadership campaign donors and under the current Party rules - he is entitled to that entitlement. Not good enough.

We have some fixin’ to do in the PC Party around our nomination and leadership processes. This is up to the Party not the leader to undertake this job. Let’s get at it.

Kudos to Pengrowth Corporation

I have been very critical of some energy industry players and the tactics they used during the time between the “Our Fair Share” royalty review report release and the government’s decision on the review's recommendations.

It appears that some politically targetted hyperbole is still emanating from some companies who are still claiming that the increased royalties are the critical cause of decline in conventional exploration. The corporate capital and exploration spending announcements for 2008 are usually the catalyst and the platform they for the misdirection and somewhat slight of hand presentation. Royalties are a factor but hardly the only or the major factor impacting the conventional oil and gas business in Alberta theses days.

Well I have found a very significant and noteworthy exception to that political gamesmanship and I want to complement Pengrowth Energy Trust (TSX: PGF.UN) (NYSE: PGH), in how it handled its capital spending announcement.

They present a clear, comprehensive and detailed estimate of the impact of increased royalties on its costs, asset evalutration implications and capital spending plans for 2008. No hype or political posturing – just sound and clear analysis.

This is kind of corporate reporting is refreshing, reassuring and timely. It sets a good example. Kudos to Mr. James Kinnear, the Chair, President, CEO and the rest of the Pengrowth Corporation Board and management.

How the Subprime Market "Works"

This video is a very factual and funny explanation of how the market "works." It is over 8 minutes but worth every minute of it.

Stelmach's First Year as Alberta's Premier

Premier Stelmach has had a busy first year as Premier. He had a shaky start. He seems to be getting his legs firmly underneath him now and is well on his way to delivering on most of his Leadership campaign initiatives. Some accuse him of being a ditherer but the events and actions over the last year and the recent accelerating pace of politics in Alberta proves otherwise.

Lots more in the hopper too as this session winds down and the new budget get finalized and the platform planks for the forthcoming election get framed. There are only 4 candidates yet to be nominated for the PC Party and that has gone well too…especially in terms of the recent rejection of Mr. Chandler.

It is nice to see the positive bounce for him in the recent poll in the post royalty review period. It is worth noting the Taft Liberals also got a positive bounce in the same poll.

Now Stelmach has to get Oberg to take speech lessons from Marcel Marceau and get him to stop talking and sabotaging the policy development and deployent process on royalties.

Any meetings with Energy and the industry better be in public or held off until the Lobbyists Act is proclaimed with the regulations so we can be assured there is no closed door dealings between government official, politicians and the energy sector.

Albertans as the Owners of the resource will want to know every thing that is being said and to understand the significance of all of the discussions and the implications.

Stelmach Refuses Chandler as a Candidate

The Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta Executive and Leader of the party has met in Red Deer and made up its mind about Mr. Chandler’s suitability as a PC Candidate in the upcoming election.

Mr. Chandler’s candidacy in Calgary Egmont is not acceptable and is deemed not to be in the best interests of the PC Party of Alberta.

The Premier announced that decision to the media at about 2:30 this afternoon in Red Deer.

Mr. Chandler is saying democracy is dead in the PC Party of Alberta. He was not kicked out of the party but he indicated to media in Red Deer after the decision that he will not stay in a party that doesn’t respect the decision of the local constituency.

It is ironic that this decision about his suitability for candidacy in the PC Party of Alberta is the same city where The Concerned Christian Coalition, to which Mr. Chandler was associated, was found, by the Alberta Human Rights Commission to:

“…have contravened s.3 of the Act (Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Act) by causing to be published in the Red Deer Advocate, before the public, a publication which is likely to expose homosexuals to hatred or contempt because of their sexual preferences.”

Well done Ed and congratulations to the rest of the PC Party Executive Committee too. It is the right decision and done in the right way and for the right reasons. The decision is also consistent with the Statement of Principles of the Party, especially as we say we are a party that is open and accessible to all.

We state in those Principles that we are “…a Party for all Albertans. We welcome their thoughts, their efforts, and support the principles of progressive conservativism.”

That means homosexuals too Mr. Chandler.

This is a good day for the PC Party of Alberta. This decision speaks well of the PC Party. It also shows Alberta to be an inclusive and welcoming province. It shows that Alberta PCs are prepared to stand up to hatred and contemptuous behaviour.

This decision to reject Mr. Chandler’s nomination shows the Premier Stelmach as going on record to assure all citizens that their fundamental freedoms and equality rights under the Charter will be honoured in Alberta by a Progressive Conservative party and his government.

You are wrong again Mr. Chandler. This is a great day for democracy in Alberta.