Following Monday's provincial election in Alberta there is good news and bad news:
The good news is that the right-wing Wild Rose party lost. The bad news is that the Conservative Party won.
The Tories, led by Allison Redford, defeated the recently formed Wild Rose Party led by Danielle Smith. The WRP is to the right of the Conservatives ( yes, that is possible) . Recent unacceptable comments by two candidates shocked Albertans and may have led to the defeat of their party.
Ron Leech, running in multicultural Calgary, made this comment :
"I think as a Caucasian I have an advantage. When different community leaders such as a Sikh leader or a Muslim leader speaks, they really speak to their own people in many ways. As a Caucasian, I believe that I can speak to all the community."
And Edmonton candidate Allan Hunsperger, wrote that gays and lesbians would end up in an eternal "lake of fire" if they didn’t change their sexual orientation.
Ms. Smith did not "refudiate" these comments and that may have done her in. Many Albertans voted strategically, some Liberals held their noses and voted Conservative to kill any chance that these homophobes and racists would take power. Which unfortunately caused the Liberals to go from 10 seats to just five.
Results left the media and political pundits looking foolish as they had predicted a close fight with a possible win for the Wild Rose Party.
More info here:
http://www.cbc.ca/...
In other news, the Liberal government of Ontario is introducing a tax on the super-rich in a bid to hang on to power. Premier Dalton McGuinty failed to win a majority in October's election and therefore requires support from the NDP to avoid another election. The NDP shrewdly agreed to support his new budget only if McGuinty would accept their demand for the new tax.
The two-per-cent surtax would apply to people earning more than $500,000 per year. At this income level Ontarians currently pay about 46 per cent in provincial and federal taxes combined, and will now pay 48 per cent.
Read more about it here:
http://www.cbc.ca/...
And finally, here's one for the what-was-she-thinking file.
International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda recently rejected a five-star hotel in London and re-booked at the swank Savoy Hotel at more than double the rate. She also billed $1000 per day for a limo to take her to the conference, which would not have been necessary had she stayed where she was. While at the Savoy she paid $16 for a glass of orange juice! She was attending a conference on international immunizations. I wonder how many kids could have been immunized for what she spent there.
After being questioned about this by the opposition, Ms.Oda has been forced to repay the taxpayers for these outrageous expenses. She also apologized in the House of Commons. Prime Minister Harper is not amused and it is doubtful that Ms Oda will remain in the inner circle after this summer's expected cabinet shuffle.
http://www.cbc.ca/...
So that is the latest from The Great White North, where the west has been enjoying unseasonably warm temperatures while the east suffers with snowstorms. Til next time, take care eh?
Edited to add: Wow! I had to go out for a bit and came home to find my diary on Community Spotlight.Thank-you. Sorry I haven't been responding to comments, will rectify that now.