Not 1 PC candidate will attend Education Forum in Red Deer

Not one PC candidate will attend the Education Forum in Red Deer Monday night.

Kerry Towle, Christine Moore and Darcy Mykytyshyn have rejected their invitations for an all-candidates education forum.

PC candidates in Red Deer North, Red Deer South and Innisfail-Sylvan Lake can't make time to talk with parents and teachers about our children's schools.

PCs candidates are no-shows for public forums, debates and events all over the province.

PC no-shows at public events all over Alberta

A pumpkin sits in place of no-show Jim Prentice
at a Calgary-Foothills debate.

There is an election in Alberta.

There is a lot of discontent for the 44 year old government run by the Progressive Conservatives.

Things are so uncomfortable for the Progressive Conservatives that they would rather avoid engaging the public at forums, events and debates.

During last year's by-election, Jim Prentice was a no-show for an all-candidates forum.

This year, Gordon Dirks was a no-show for an Alberta Teachers' Association all-party forum on education.

For the PCs, it's safer to not show up.

It's safer for them to not engage.

It's safer for them to not use social media.

The PCs are fuelling the status quo with silence. On May 5, election day, the PC Prentice Team is hoping that Albertans stay home.

In an effort to refuse fatalism, Albertans need to make public every time PC candidates are a no-show for public events.

On Social Media, Albertans can use #PCnoShow.

There is an education forum in Red Deer on Monday, April 20th. I have a feeling I will be Tweeting with #PCnoShow.

PCs decline to attend Alberta Teachers' all-party forum

PCs decline to attend ATA forum

On Saturday, March 14, The Alberta Teachers' Association is hosting an all-party forum education. The Liberals, NDP and Wildrose are attending but the PCs declined.

Is it too much to ask the PCs to engage with teachers at an all-party forum on education with Alberta teachers?

Why is Education Minister Gordon Dirks not finding the time and making the effort to engage with Alberta teachers at such an important event?

If Gordon Dirks and the PCs can't be bothered to attend, then I suggest that their empty chair could be filled by the Alberta Party's Greg Clark who will already be in attendance.

Because the Alberta Party now has a sitting MLA in Laurie Blakeman, it makes sense that Greg Clark represent the Alberta Party at the ATA's forum.

Whom is the Alberta Government for?

Alberta's public schools are expected to be
everything to everyone with less and less.

In Alberta, a dependency on oil and gas has left us grossly susceptible to excessive revenue volatility -- things are glorious in the booms but down-right scary in the busts. Thus, Alberta has come to be defined as much by our advantages as our disadvantages.

Today, Alberta is busting under a 40+ year old government now led by Jim Prentice who is yet again looking to balance the budget by cutting hard working Albertans and public goods such as health and education.

No one in their right mind would ask Jim Prentice to Be Like Ralph had the PCs learned anything in the 25 years since Ralph Klein took an axe to Alberta's schools and hospitals.

Alberta isn't broke, but Jim Prentice and the PCs' priorities are.

Hard working Albertans get upset when the government demands "burden sharing" during the tough times but ignores "profit sharing" during the good times. It takes zero courage to make hard working Albertans pay for the bad times while PC MLAs mismanage the good times in their own favour.

It's nearly impossible to believe that Alberta's oil belongs to Albertans when we have the second lowest oil and gas royalty regime in the world -- only Yemen has a lower royalty rate for oil. But, it's like they say, if it's good enough for Yemen, it's good enough for us... (wait, no one says that!)

Hard working Albertans get frustrated when "everything is on the table" means that public goods for all like schools and hospitals will be sacrificed to save private interests for the privileged few. In other words, austerity is when people who have the least give up the most, so that people who have the most don't have to give up anything. Cutting expenditures while ignoring revenues is like building a house with only a saw.

Webber Academy is an elite private school in Calgary
that has select admissions, annual tuition ranging from $10-20
thousand and is subsidized by Alberta taxpayers.

In 2013, any Albertan who made more than $17,593 paid the same percentage (10%) of Alberta tax regardless of their income. Alberta could raise its taxes by $11 billion a year and remain the lowest taxed province in Canada. When public services don't keep up with the wealthy's demands for things like health and education, they pay for it out of pocket -- while everyone else likely goes without. Need proof? Keep in mind that 1 in 7 children in Alberta live in poverty while you watch this powerful 9 minute video on the difference between an affluent private school and a poor public school in Calgary.

Cutting expenditures can not be the only solution. Prentice has said that, "I could terminate the employment of every single employee of the Government of Alberta, leaving aside healthcare, and it would not fill a six- to seven-billion-dollar hole." This isn't an argument for cutting healthcare or education -- it's an argument that says if your only tool is a saw, you will cut everything.

Alberta teachers are in the middle of a collectively bargained contract that has me get 0%, 0% and 0% pay increases over three years. I already have 30+ children in my grade 6 and 8 classes, and I teach 120+ students everyday. In 2013, Alberta schools added 11,000 more students, but the PCs cut 14.5 million. How many students will I have after Prentice and the PCs cut even more? How much more of the burden do children, teachers and schools have to pay?

Trickle-Down Economics or Flood-Up Economics?

If everything is honestly on the table, however, then Alberta needs to address our revenue problem by raising Alberta's corporate tax, oil royalties and moving to a progressive tax. We also need to take the Heritage Savings Trust Fund seriously.

The size of the Alberta government is not our primary problem -- our primary problem is figuring out whom the government is for. For too long, the so-called "Alberta Advantage" has been built on corporate welfare, crony capitalism and PC privilege which has led to socialism for the rich and capitalism for the middle class and poor. If the "Alberta Advantage" is truly for everyone, then Albertans need a government who will build this province with more than a saw.

Albertans don't need an early and illegal election that will cost them $20 million, but Prentice and the PCs do if they want to deliver a budget that will likely double down on four decades of PC failure, mismanagement and squandering. Alison Redford had no-meet committees while Prentice has why-meet committees, both are an assault on our budget and democracy. When crisis hits Alberta, and democracy seems a practical impossibility, we need a government that is for Main Street, not Wall Street.

As long as Albertans continue to vote the way they have always voted, Albertans will continue to get what they have always gotten. It's time Albertans stopped choosing between being healthy and wealthy, when we so obviously need both.

If Jim Prentice and the PCs are to receive this message loud and clear, most Albertans need to find a new political home and vote for someone and something different.

I know I am.

9 ways Jeff Johnson and his task force have failed Albertans

Dear Jim Prentice,

As you may know, there is a rumour going about that you may be interested in the leadership of Alberta's Progressive Conservatives.

While I'm sure there are a gazillion reasons why you should not pursue political suicide, here are 9 more that are specific to Jeff Johnson and his task force on teaching.

Johnson is reckless

Too often, Johnson tries to make change by imposing his will on those who have less power. First, he threw around the idea of merit pay (the bad idea that won't die).

He threatened to remove teachers' collective bargaining rights with legislation. Using the teachers' registrar certification contact list, he sent an e-mail to 30,000 teachers, and now is being investigated by the privacy commissioner.

He orchestrated an agreement with Alberta Teachers without including School Boards.

And now Johnson thinks that he can improve Alberta schools with his Orwellian Task Force that looks to take over punishing teachers. The Alberta Teachers' Association is raising serious concerns about direct ministerial interference in the work of the task force and have requested a FOIP request on Johnson's Task Force.

Johnson ignores teachers

The best decisions for the child are made by the child in collaboration with a safe and caring adult who actually spends time with them. Those adults are not bureaucrats or politicians -- they are the classroom teachers. Jeff Johnson continues to openly ignore teachers and their Alberta Teachers' Association. 

To create a task force on teacher excellence without actively collaborating with teachers is contrary to common sense, collaboration and transparency. 

There is a big difference between keeping teachers passively informed and encouraging them to actively participate in improving Alberta's schools.

Johnson confuses innovation with privatization

When asked about for-profit, online charter schools, Johnson says he's open to all options that create excellence and opportunities -- despite the evidence that for-profit, online charters offer children neither excellence or opportunities. 

Being open-minded is one thing but Johnson's response is growing old and tired. Every time someone asks him about a potential idea in education, regardless of its quality, he fires back with this hollow political boilerplate.

Albertans should be immensely proud of our world-class public education system -- simultaneously, Albertans should be appalled when our elected officials consider for-profit, private schools as a way of improving our education system. I've written a post here about why Cyber Charter schools are such a bad idea. 

It's one thing to suggest that students should be encouraged to become entrepreneurial but it is quite another to unleash entrepreneurs to profit off of children and public education. To be clear, this is not about pedagogy -- it's about privatizing public education which is ultimately wrong.

Johnson is entitled

After Alison Redford's gross misuse of taxpayer's dollars, The Alberta Party brought to light Jeff Johnson's entitlement: "Education minister Jeff Johnson’s expenses reveal double-billing, lost receipts, taxpayers billed for optional extras like seat selection and hotel movies, and include a backdated claim for an expensive hotel room during the Calgary Stampede."

Johnson votes against Gay-Straight Alliances that put children first

Johnson will wear a pink shirt on anti-bullying day, but he won't vote for legislation to help kids. 

Johnson was one of many PCs to ally with the Wildrose to reject supporting Gay-Straight Alliances in schools where children want them. 

This is yet another example where Johnson's walk lies in stark contrast to his talk of putting children first. 

Johnson says class size doesn't matter

If I was Jeff Johnson and the Alberta Government, I may want to distract the public from funding cuts in public education by creating a task force that focuses on teacher quality. For this school year, the Alberta Government cut school board budgets by $14.5 million even though 11,000 new students entered Alberta's schools.

This will lead to all sorts of problems for teachers' working conditions including larger class sizes. While it's true that reducing class sizes is not a sufficient move to improve an education system, it most certainly is necessary. Alberta Teachers' Association President Mark Ramsankar describes the problem aptly when he said, "a Ferrari still can't perform on a gravel road." Check out this video on the inequities in Calgary's schools.

A great teacher with 15-25 students in the classroom may be a mediocre or even poor teacher with 30+ students. When the government doesn't do their job of properly funding and supporting teachers, it makes it harder for teachers to do their job.

Ultimately, great teachers make great schools, but great teachers can’t do it alone – they require the support of an equitable society.

Johnson and Big Oil

Suncor, Syncrude, Cenovus and other big oil corporations are enlisted by Johnson as partners in the current curriculum development. Other tech companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Pearson and SMART have also been signed up. 

Albertan's are rightfully concerned about the exploitation of students in the name of corporate profits.

Johnson wants to punish teachers

Are there some bad teachers in Alberta?

You bet there are, but there are also bad accountants, doctors, mechanics, columnists and politicians.

There are incompetent professionals in all professions.

The most successful education nations don't test and punish their teachers -- they diagnose and support them. The best education systems in the world worry less about firing bad teachers, and more about creating and supporting great teachers.

We don't have a teacher quality problem -- we treat them so badly, they leave.

The Alberta Teachers' Association's Research tells us that one of the major causes of early-career teacher attrition is inadequate pre-service preparation (which traditionally has been a greater concern in the US than in Canada) and difficult working conditions (particularly in under resourced schools) and professional isolation.

Alberta doesn't have a teacher quality problem -- we have a teacher leakage problem. Because of systemic problems, anywhere between 25-50% of teachers leave inside of before five years on the job.

Johnson's Orwellian Teacher Task Force will kill Inspiring Education

Jeff Johnson needs to stop borrowing America's
failed Education Reforms.

Johnson's Inspiring Education is about control and compliance via mistrust, manipulation and competition. Johnson sees himself as the change agent that will disrupt the system. Rather than work with teachers, he merely does things to them.

He uses Inspiring Education and his Excellence in Teaching Task Force to create the impression that he is collaborating while he pursues his political agenda.

Rather than address the growing inequities students are experiencing as a result of his government's broken promises (poverty reduction, full day kindergarten) he trots out the Task Force for Teaching Excellence and continues to distract public attention away from classrooms that are growing in size and complexity by cherry-picking data from international studies, claiming that class size does not matter and chasing American-style market based reforms such as merit pay.

***

As you know, Mr. Prentice, the PCs in 2014 have no shortage of enemies, and adding teachers to the list makes as much sense as running for the leadership.

Wildrose and PCs vote against supporting Gay-Straight Alliances in schools where children want them

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

-Martin Luther King Jr.

Liberal MLA Kent Hehr's Motion 503 which called for schools to support the establishment of Gay-Straight alliances to help protect children from bullying and discrimination was defeated in the Alberta Legislature Monday.

The final vote saw the motion lose 31 to 19. Every Liberal and NDP MLA supported the motion with some PC MLAs. However, the majority of PCs and all Wildrose MLAs voted against the motion. (37 MLAs didn't show up for the vote)

I have four points:

1. Gay-Straight Alliances save children's lives by reducing bullying and suicide attempts. Gay-Straight Alliances create safe places for children to organize, empower, educate and protect each other from discrimination against their sexual orientation. They make schools safer for children. The Alberta Party has come out strongly in favour of Gay-Straight Alliances.  Watch PC MLA Sandra Jansen's remarkable speech on Gay-Straight Alliances:

2. Gay-Straight Alliances put children first. There isn't an MLA in Alberta who would disagree with putting children first. The PCs and Wildrose alike have boasted that they put children first and highlight the freedom to choose as a distinguished and important feature of Alberta's education system. 

The Wildrose specifically claim that they respect individuality and want to empower local autonomy. To be clear, Motion 503 only mandated Gay-Straight Alliances in schools where students want them. A vote for Motion 503 would have put students first by empowering them with the freedom to choose Gay-Straight Alliances. 

A vote against Motion 503 is a vote for the status quo where individual children who want Gay-Straight Alliances to protect themselves and others from bullying can and are rejected by centralized authorities.

When it comes to Gay-Straight Alliances, Education Minister Jeff Johnson claims that he doesn't want to interfere with school boards because he respects their local autonomy -- but when it comes to collective bargaining, he has no trouble hijacking school board's local autonomy with with legislation.

Alberta's Education Minister Jeff Johnson

3. Gay-Straight Alliances don't single out any single specific group of students any more than efforts to support First Nations, Metis and Inuit (FNMI) students. For the MLAs who defend their vote against Motion 503 because it unfairly singles out one specific group of students, I have one question:

Do you reject Alberta's recent efforts to specifically support First Nations, Metis and Inuit (FNMI) students because it unfairly singles out a specific group of students?

Of course not.

No one would say that they value all sports so schools should not give special attention to individual sports like basketball or that school should value all subjects so we shouldn't give special attention to individual subjects like math.

Sometimes people say they value everything so they don't have to take a stand on anything.

Voting against Motion 503 because you want to protect all students from bullying, not just some, might make some politicians look good because they won't tolerate any bullying -- but it represents a hollow promise to children who would be safer with Gay-Straight Alliances in schools where the adults won't allow them.

4. The Wildrose are still morally bankrupt. It's true that the majority of PCs voted against Motion 503 and they most certainly need to be challenged individually, but because every single Wildrose MLA voted against Gay-Straight Alliances, the entire Wildrose party needs to be challenged.

I can't help but remember Alberta's 2012 election when Wildrose MLA hopeful Allen Hunsperger spawned his comments about gay people burning in a lake of fire and that public education is godless, wicked and profane for putting into place anti-bullying policies to protect children from being targeted for their sexual orientation.

As shameful as Hunsperger's hateful comments are, I hold a special distaste for Danielle Smith's refusal to condemn her party's candidate. That Smith retreats to the party line that "the Wildrose will not introduce legislation on contentious social issues" is nothing more than silence as assent.

On Monday, April 7, 2014, the Wildrose's unanimous opposition to Motion 503 shows Albertans that nothing has changed with the Wildrose. 

The Wildrose are still morally bankrupt and intellectually indefensible.

Alberta needs to be healthy and wealthy

I attended a Wildrose meet and greet event in Red Deer where leader of the Wildrose Danielle Smith gave a talk and took questions. I went because I wanted to see and hear what the Wildrose are doing and what the people who would attend a Wildrose event are saying and thinking.

I was there to learn.

Danielle Smith talked about the ridiculous wages that some government administrators make like the head of Alberta Health Services or Redford's chief of staff.

Talking about income inequality is often a great way to get labelled a communist or a socialist, but when Danielle Smith and the Wildrose talk about government employees who make a ridiculous salary, they get head nods and hell-yeahs from Wildrose and NDP alike. 

Albertans who don't make six figures have a problem with public-sector employees who do.

Danielle Smith elicited gasps from the crowd when she said that the Alberta Union of Public Employees (AUPE) reported that many of their frontline members don't make $45,000 in an entire year -- which happens to be the cost of Alison Redford's flights to Nelson Mandela's funeral.

This hit home big time amongst the room of people in Red Deer -- I saw heads nodding everywhere. The tension in the room was escalating. If Smith was trying to elicit an emotional response, she hit everyone, including me, between the eyes.

Smith also talked about making Alberta's Heritage Fund a priority and pointed to Norway's Oil Savings Fund that now sits at over $900 Billion, compared to Alberta's $17 Billion.

That's some of what Danielle Smith and the Wildrose talk about.

Here's some of what Danielle Smith and the Wildrose don't talk about.

Like Smith and the Wildrose, I too am interested in what Alberta can learn from Norway. It turns out that Norway does a better job of saving money in the bank and keeping kids off the street. Smith and the Wildrose make a point to be envious over Norway's bank account, while ignoring their superior skills in keeping children out of poverty. I think Albertans care about both, and so should any political party worthy of governance.

The whole point of being fiscally responsible is born out of the idea that responsible adults don't run up a tab and then throw the bill at our next generation of children. If this matters, and it really does, then so does ensuring that our present generation of children don't live in poverty.

It is disingenuous to talk about government cronyism and then ignore Alberta's growing income gap and children living in poverty. (Did you know that the top Canadian CEOs earn average workers' salary in a day and a half?)

Anyone who wants to talk about fiscal responsibility or education without talking about reducing poverty has an agenda and should be challenged, and anyone who talks about social responsibility and reducing poverty without talking about balancing the books is irresponsible and should be challenged.

If we care about children, then we need to talk about fiscal and social responsibilities. For too long, Alberta political parties have been marinated in ideology that prioritizes one at the expense of the other. The ancient tug o' war between left and right over fiscal and social responsibilities is an old and tired political model that have many people angry, cynical or apathetic.

If you are a fiscally responsible and socially conscious Albertan who is looking for a different way of doing politics, then I invite you to check out Greg Clark and the Alberta Party.

Greg Clark and the Alberta Party believes, "we can have a strong economy. We can have a strong commitment to the environment. A strong balance sheet and a strong social conscience."

The Alberta Party understands that it is easier and cheaper to build strong children than to repair broken people. Their social policies reflect an understanding for the idea that an ounce of prevention can be worth a pound of cure.

The Alberta Party is a breath of fresh air that Alberta desperately needs.

Winston Churchill once said:

Show me a young Conservative and I'll show you someone with no heart. Show me an old Liberal and I'll show you someone with no brains.

While I give Churchill full credit for being pithy, this kind of black and white thinking holds us back. If Alberta is going to be healthy and wealthy, we have to stop choosing between having a brain or a heart.

Alberta needs both.

Alberta needs the Alberta Party.

5 reasons why I left the PCs for the Alberta Party

I am a fifth generation Albertan whose family has farmed in the Red Deer area for over 100 years.

In 1907, my great-great grandfather James Bower purchased the first International Harvester gasoline tractor in western Canada and in 1909 he became the first president of the United Farmers' Association.

While my family has an appreciation for tradition we have also thrived as pioneers with an entrepreneurial and humanitarian spirit.
My father and I are both x-Progressive Conservative Association Presidents. We are both long-time supporters of the Progressive Conservatives.

And I am breaking up with the PCs.

I'm done.

No, really. I'm done with the PCs.

Not just a little bit done. But a lot done.

I would say to the PCs "it's not you, it's me." Except it's you.

I would suspect that many Albertans are searching for a new political home. In 2012, too many Albertans voted Wildrose because they hated the PC's, and too many voted PC only because they were scared of the Wildrose. In 2012, too many Albertans voted for the lesser of two evils and then in 2014 wonder why we still ended up with nothing we wanted.

Holding your nose and voting for the PC's or the Wildrose out of fear of the other one won't change a damn thing in this province.

If you are like me, you are an Albertan looking for an authentic alternative to the Progressive Conservatives and Wildrose.

Well, I've got good news.

I found the Alberta Party and their leader Greg Clark.

I got to spend some time getting to know Greg, and he's the kind of principled leader that I can get behind.

I was very impressed.

Here's my top 5 reasons why I left the PCs to vote for the Alberta Party.

1. I don't want to vote against a party -- I want to vote for a party that I believe in. I refuse to "waste my vote" by wasting my vote on the PCs out of fear of the Wildrose. Voting strategically for the PCs to block the Wildrose is not the same as voting for someone or something. Friends don't let friends waste their votes strategically.

2. I want a government that represents me, not their party. The Alberta Party wants to reverse the role of the MLA from being a spokesperson for their party to their constituents, to being a true representative of their constituents in the legislature. I want my MLA to speak for me not at me. MLAs should be citizens' voice to government, not government's voice to us.

3. Greg Clark. I had the pleasure of meeting Greg in Red Deer yesterday and he is the kind of principled leader that I can get behind. When Greg listens, he doesn't just wait for his turn to talk -- he really listens and engages. He's experienced, genuine and thoughtful.

4. As long as Albertans continue to vote the way they have always voted, Albertans will continue to get what they have always gotten. The world is changing around us; politics and policy need to change with it. The PCs are being dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st Century, and the Wildrose are enamoured with a last out of the past mentality -- the Alberta Party is the breath of fresh air that Albertans are desperate for.

5. Healthcare and Education funding shouldn't rely on the price of a barrel of oil. While The Alberta Party understands that oil and gas are one of Alberta's greatest economic natural resources, they also understand the need to broaden our economic base by investing in Alberta's other most important natural resource -- our people. Couple the need for softening the effects of our boom and bust cycles with their vision of a fiscally responsible government (with balanced books) and I think the Alberta Party is on to something.

All change is impossible until it happens. Since Redford resigned, the Alberta Party has gathered an incredible amount of attention. Main stream and social media have taken notice of the Alberta Party as the authentic alternative to a legacy of PC cronyism, Wildrose antics and an opposition mired in loser brands.

The Alberta Party is positioning itself to play a role in bringing sanity to Alberta's next government.

And you can buy your membership the same place I bought mine. Right here.

Albertans need to stop holding their noses to vote

Politics in Alberta are heating up.

Two years ago, Alison Redford and the Progressive Conservatives somehow dodged their demise by denying what many thought would be a Wildrose majority and the end to the PC's 40 year reign.

Some argue that Redford and the PC's won while many more argue that Danielle Smith and the Wildrose's bozo eruptions simply gave it away.

It might be convenient to pin the Alberta Government's problems on Alison Redford's leadership. Many are calling for her resignation -- but this would be a superficial solution to a complex problem. Jettisoning Redford in 2014 will no more fix the problems than dropping Stelmach in 2012.

Alberta blogger Dave Courneyer writes that, "the PC party in 2014 has become tired, arrogant and absent of real principles." This is bigger than Redford.

While there is no shortage of pundits and talking heads speculating on what they deem as the real problems, Calgary-Varsity MLA Donna Kennedy-Glans, who left caucus to sit as an Independent MLA, may have said it best: "Since being elected, however, and particularly since joining Cabinet, I am increasingly convinced that elements of this 43-year old government are simply unable to make the changes needed to achieve that dream of a better Alberta."

A lot of Albertans were ready for change in 2012 -- two years later, even more are ready for change.

So why isn't anything changing?

Alberta's 2012 election was victimized by fear. Too many voted Wildrose because they hated the PC's, and too many voted PC only because they were scared of the Wildrose. In 2012, too many Albertans voted for the lesser of two evils and then in 2014 wonder why we still ended up with nothing we wanted.

The members of the PC's and the Wildrose are brothers from the same mother. After all, the Wildrose is largely made up of x-Progressive Conservatives while the PC's have some members who would find the Wildrose a comfortable fit.

It's not rocket surgery. As long as Albertans continue to vote the way they have always voted, Albertans will continue to get what they have always gotten.

Holding your nose and voting for the PC's or the Wildrose out of fear of the other one won't change a damn thing in this province. This was true in 2012. It's true today in 2014. And it will still be true in 2016.

Alberta is desperate for an alternative to the PC's and the Wildrose.