[peck420]

llama66 llama66:

We get the Government we deserve.

Yup.

We get the same thing every time because those in power have figured out how easy it is to stay in power.

Change the colour of your jacket, do the exact same shit....profit.

Here we are watching the NDP do to the UCP what the PC's did to the NDP. And, funny enough, those that were choked when the PC's did it, see no problem when the NDP do it.

As long as we are busy buying into the bullshit, they line up at the trough, fill their snouts, and laugh all they way into their gold plated retirements. While we continue to get poorer, and angrier with each other rather than them.

Fuck Kenny
Fuck Notley
Fuck each and every member of politics.

[DrCaleb]

peck420 peck420:

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

They are defacto in office already. Once the election is won, they are the govenment. They don't officially take office till they are sworn in, but they are still calling the shots.

Yawn.

You spelt "no one in any position in our governments has a single ounce of moral fiber" incorrectly.

A 'defacto' government has zero legal authority. The only way they get heard is if the rank and file are too busy kissing ass to the new boss rather than doing their job.

When an election is called, the Premier must first ask the Lieutenant Governer to dissolve Government. You know this. When the election happens, the winners become the new government. The civil service follows the orders of the government, because it reflects the will of the people. You also know this. But they are not 'officially' the government until sworn in, however the civil service will still follow their direction because that is 'democracy'.

How is doing their jobs 'kissing ass'?

peck420 peck420:

$1:

NDP continued the freeze, Redford started it.

Yet you support the NDP? Why? Because green looks better on the same old conservative?

I did? Feel free to quote me. Or I can save you the time: "All governments are whiny bitches."

peck420 peck420:

$1:

And the UCP are changing the NDP policy of hiring to fill a position deemed 'critical', to a total hiring freeze until further notice.

And when the UCP gets the legal authority to actually do so, and does it, you can be mad about it.

I'm not mad, and they already have authority. As I've written many times, and as I apparently have to repeat again; it's the civil servants who run the show, not the elected officials. And, I'm not a civil servant. I get paid the same regardless of who is calling the shots.

peck420 peck420:

$1:

It might seem like small potatoes, but if someone leaves and their job isn't deemed 'critical', they are not replaced. My team formerly of 16 people is down to 5. With the same workload. There are a lot of things not getting done.

Interesting. So, every time you posted how bad Kenny is going to be, you were just projecting how bad the NDP actually was. Neat.

Been saying that for years. Notley was a damn sight better than Redford though, but that bar was set awfully low.

[BartSimpson]

The best part of the past two pages was the part where the UCP will be ending gasoline shipments to BC.

If true then becuase the fucking greenies should be held to their own demands.

[DrCaleb]

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

The best part of the past two pages was the part where the UCP will be ending gasoline shipments to BC.

If true then becuase the fucking greenies should be held to their own demands.

You don't see the ramifications for the rest of Canada should he do that. It's the exact opposite of a good thing.

[llama66]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

The best part of the past two pages was the part where the UCP will be ending gasoline shipments to BC.

If true then becuase the fucking greenies should be held to their own demands.

You don't see the ramifications for the rest of Canada should he do that. It's the exact opposite of a good thing.

In Bart's defense he is from the Glorious Democratic People's Republic of California. And BC kinda fucking about a touch iirc.

[bootlegga]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

I'm sad that the Alberta Party didn't pick up any seats at all, including Stephen Mandell. But I guess nice guys don't finish first in Politics.

Which makes me wonder why the Alberta Liberal party was completely dessimated, because Khan seemed like a fucking goof.

Yep, I was disappointed too, but I guess the complaints about Mandel on social media proved accurate. I was surprised that Greg Clark lost his seat, because he was the hardest working MLA over the last four years and thought he'd hold onto by a few votes.

[bootlegga]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

peck420 peck420:

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

I cannot. They are internal emails, none of which I was copied on and which would be confidential anyhow. And they are not yet the official government until sworn in, so they are not matters of public record yet. I did read the hiring freeze one from someone who was copied on it though.

You can't because the UCP didn't order the halt. Weird how politicians can't actually do anything until they get into office....

They are defacto in office already. Once the election is won, they are the govenment. They don't officially take office till they are sworn in, but they are still calling the shots.

Not technically true, because until Kenney and his cabinet are sworn in, members of the executive council (currently Notley and her cabinet) retain their positions so that the government would be able respond in the event of a crisis (flood, fire, etc.). See page 5:

https://www.assembly.ab.ca/pro/dissolut ... elines.pdf


Fortunately, the outgoing government has never had to step in before the incoming one was sworn in. And I don't doubt that the outgoing one would hesitate consult with the incoming to make sure their actions didn't overstep bounds (like if spending was necessary).

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

NDP continued the freeze, Redford started it.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/business ... story.html

And the UCP are changing the NDP policy of hiring to fill a position deemed 'critical', to a total hiring freeze until further notice.

It might seem like small potatoes, but if someone leaves and their job isn't deemed 'critical', they are not replaced. My team formerly of 16 people is down to 5. With the same workload. There are a lot of things not getting done.

Yep, as someone who worked as a contractor at Transportation during 2014-2015, I can attest to that. There was a time when you couldn't even hire to cover mat leaves, nevermind retirements. When I was there, Transportation was short 120 or so staff for positions that their mandate required (and which the Minister agreed needing to be funded).

[bootlegga]

peck420 peck420:

llama66 llama66:

We get the Government we deserve.

Yup.

We get the same thing every time because those in power have figured out how easy it is to stay in power.

Change the colour of your jacket, do the exact same shit....profit.

Here we are watching the NDP do to the UCP what the PC's did to the NDP. And, funny enough, those that were choked when the PC's did it, see no problem when the NDP do it.

As long as we are busy buying into the bullshit, they line up at the trough, fill their snouts, and laugh all they way into their gold plated retirements. While we continue to get poorer, and angrier with each other rather than them.

Fuck Kenny
Fuck Notley
Fuck each and every member of politics.

I agree that with many politicians it is same shit, different day, but there are examples (Greg Clark, David Swann) of those who ran for office and worked hard because they wanted to make Alberta better without thinking of lining their pockets.

[Tricks]

peck420 peck420:

Fuck each and every member of politics.

This 100000%

[DrCaleb]

bootlegga bootlegga:

Yep, as someone who worked as a contractor at Transportation during 2014-2015, I can attest to that. There was a time when you couldn't even hire to cover mat leaves, nevermind retirements. When I was there, Transportation was short 120 or so staff for positions that their mandate required (and which the Minister agreed needing to be funded).

Many of the people we've lost have been through retirement. Right now, the machine you can submit your provincial tax on is not covered under manufacturer support. If it dies, it's dead. We can move the VM to another host, but that host stays dead and we lose redundancy. That's because the guy who renewed warranty contracts retired, and the guy who procured new equipment retired. And nobody replaces them. The NDP also mandated that most ministries give up their IT departments and transition to a Service Alberta managed environment (AGLC and Solicitor General/Justice are exempt). If you've been following the Service Canada debacle, you see how that is shaping up.

With the amalgamation of the upper management of five ministries being combined in order to both save money and cover off people who can't be replaced, a bunch of other people retired who were being demoted or not brought into the new structure.

A lot of experience has also been lost, with no one replacing them. Ahh, good times! Just wait if the UCP demands Alberta save .0001% of the budget by rolling back employee wages 5%, a lot more will leave as well. 10 years of no wage increases and no promotions, then a roll back will be too much for many families to take.

[BRAH]

Has Kenney turned water into wine?

[DrCaleb]

I think he's trying to turn oil into whinge.

[llama66]

There have yet to be any recorded miracles attributed to St. Kenney.

[BRAH]

_____________________

[JaredMilne]

My belated thoughts:

-I'm trying to figure out exactly what Jason Kenney can do to get pipelines built that Rachel Notley hasn't already tried. The only thing that I can think of is targeting environmental charities...but that not only backfired when Stephen Harper did it federally, but it actually got them more donations, or so I read today.

-Looking through the UCP platform, I was really dismayed to see no mention of the Heritage Trust Fund. Peter Lougheed created the Fund for the exact reason we are seeing now, with some of our biggest customers phasing out fossil fuel vehicles, as we see in places like the UK and France. Sadly, it seems like Alberta is back in the same old position of praying for another oil boom and thinking that it will last forever.

-I noted the UCP's platform cited Jack Mintz's analyses of their tax cut platform. I wonder if they recalled that Mintz has also been an advocate of carbon taxes, although either he or Preston Manning has noted that the taxes have been poorly implemented.

-I'm also disturbed by the UCP stance on Gay-Straight Alliances in schools. Fortunately, as conservative friends of mine have demonstrated, that stance is not universally popular among Alberta conservatives, and I hope they keep Kenney's feet to the fire on that.

-On the positive side, I'm encouraged by the UCP's commitment to remaining in the Canada Health Act, and I hope that Kenney will retain his commitment to trim government spending without affecting frontline services. Unfortunately, Doug Ford and Stephen Harper proved to be liars on that front.

-Also on the positive side, Kenney was one of my favourite Harper government ministers. He helped broaden the federal Conservatives' appeal to ethnic minorities, so that at one point the CPC actually had the most diverse caucus in Parliament, more so than its left-wing rivals. As Patrick has documented, he also helped immigrants and refugees find a home too. Hopefully, he'll be able to follow in Harper's footsteps-and this was another thing I really respected about Harper-is that he'll keep the social conservatives in his caucus from really getting a solid foothold.

In short, while there are real reasons for concern, there are also a few reasons for optimism too.