Being a Conservative in Alberta is a bit like being Bill Cosby before 2014 or a Liberal at any time in Toronto.
No one tells you to not do something enough and you rarely ever listen to those who do.
Though I am no longer a resident of Canada’s best and least-insufferable province I am making an active attempt to stay engaged as I live life with my lovely wife after two years in the area. So, with this in mind alongside the truth I typed to open this column I can honestly say I was not surprised when Premier Jason Kenney began the Canadian Energy Centre or “war room” as it has been dubbed shortly after getting elected to his job in April 2019.
What I am surprised by is just how ridiculous the idea has been for a group which usually governs by default.
Though there is a portion of Alberta which would vote for Hitler or Satan on the United Conservative Party ticket before any sane left-leaning or moderate candidate it is also true the right-leaning brand worked hard to get to where they are in the region. Decades of smart thinking and hostile government in Ottawa entrenched rightist ideology in the minds of many voters and now this golden egg from geese past has been crushed into some dust.
There have been the fights with doctors, downloading policing costs onto rural communities in a tough time while saying it is a “new funding model” and not a tax hike and now Belgian and French artists are the enemies.
I have never watched Bigfoot Family. I usually spend my time on bigger ideas and working with interesting people, but, apparently this film which millions did not know even existed is the priority of our supposed public servants.
Yes, after taking time to crack the simple task of making a logo, misrepresenting themselves as journalists and accusing the New York Times of being a bunch of rabid anti-Semites THIS was what was important. To be fair to the project, they do have some sensible rebuttals up on their website but the recent petition to take action on this Netflix film has sucked up their oxygen and made them even more of a laughingstock in Canada and globally.
Maybe they will call for a law blasting bald men for not buying razors? After all, those are made with plastic and plastic is made from the energy industry. I can see them standing firm and demanding people like me, Spruce Grove-Stony Plain UCP MLA Searle Turton and New Democratic Party Edmonton-City Centre MLA David Shepherd be locked up for our hostility. It is the only way to get justice for our insidious conduct in their minds I am sure!
Maybe they will report those with the word green in their names to the foreign entity inquiry which has still not finished? People who see malfeasance around every corner would surely feel these are the types to hate oil no?
The provincial government can do the job of this group for far less money than the millions of taxpayer dollars they have received. It makes no sense to have what amounts to a public relations firm on top of experts who know how to send out press releases, statements and make appearances in radio, television and print articles.
For the good of Alberta and the betterment of its image everywhere, the centre must go the way of the dodo.
PHOTO: A scene from the film people paid six figures deemed worth their time.
Evan J. Pretzer 