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Alberta Politics

Whattagame said:
Yes, but according to your rules, you may no longer comment on those issues.

OR...suggesting that people can only criticize the government once every four years and assuming that people don't directly engage their representatives is ridiculous.
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Nope, because I actively tried to make change. I got involved in the election and campaigned for one of the council candidates. So I didn't just express concern, I did something about it. But I also recognize that the council that did get elected in 2021 is unlikely to listen to my views or ideas because we're still two years out from an election and their jobs aren't currently on the line.

I never said that people can't criticize the provincial government outside an election period. I suggested that such criticism has little value because members of government are unlikely to listen after an election. The government will make the point that they were elected on a given platform, why should they change course just because some people object after the fact? They're only really listening when their hold on power is at risk, and that's during an election.

I also contended that if someone objects to what the UCP stands for and what it is doing, the single best thing that person could have done was help to elect an NDP government. In 2023, that would have meant helping campaign for the NDP in some of the ring ridings that should have gone New Democrat, as well as some of the Calgary ridings where the results were razor close. Simply voting NDP in an Edmonton constituency and hoping the rest of the province would do likewise is useless. Complaining after the fact today and hoping it moves the needle in 2027 (which might as well be 2127 in political timelines) is equally valueless.

And yes, you absolutely can engage with your political representatives, including the premier, and hope to change hearts and minds. But again, it will come back to their position that they ran on X mandate, they won an election on X mandate, why should they change course now?
 
^^

“it will come back to their position that they ran on X mandate, they won an election on X mandate, why should they change course now?” isn’t enough reason not to engage directly and/or indirectly between elections.

firstly, as our current government is demonstrating, they are embarking on potentially generational charges to the very structure of our lives and our relationships with more than one level of our governments.

secondly, our current government did not include those changes in their X mandates so by your logic should they also not be restricted from going there?

thirdly. whether in X or not, the ability to change your mind on something can be taken as proof that you have as mind.

lastly, an outright refusal to change your mind on something irrespective of whether it was in X or not would be the antithesis of the above conclusion.
 
TravellingChris said:
Nope, because I actively tried to make change. I got involved in the election and campaigned for one of the council candidates. So I didn't just express concern, I did something about it. But I also recognize that the council that did get elected in 2021 is unlikely to listen to my views or ideas because we're still two years out from an election and their jobs aren't currently on the line.

I never said that people can't criticize the provincial government outside an election period. I suggested that such criticism has little value because members of government are unlikely to listen after an election. The government will make the point that they were elected on a given platform, why should they change course just because some people object after the fact? They're only really listening when their hold on power is at risk, and that's during an election.

I also contended that if someone objects to what the UCP stands for and what it is doing, the single best thing that person could have done was help to elect an NDP government. In 2023, that would have meant helping campaign for the NDP in some of the ring ridings that should have gone New Democrat, as well as some of the Calgary ridings where the results were razor close. Simply voting NDP in an Edmonton constituency and hoping the rest of the province would do likewise is useless. Complaining after the fact today and hoping it moves the needle in 2027 (which might as well be 2127 in political timelines) is equally valueless.

And yes, you absolutely can engage with your political representatives, including the premier, and hope to change hearts and minds. But again, it will come back to their position that they ran on X mandate, they won an election on X mandate, why should they change course now?
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It is true elected officials tend to listen more attentively during an election campaign or close to it. However, I have contacted them in between and some can at times be surprisingly receptive to well made arguments that differ from their inclined positions and that goes even for people or parties I have never voted for. Of course, every party has their own default positions, so it can be an uphill battle with for instance a party that does not make the environment a priority, but the UCP did reverse it position on coal mining in the eastern slopes due to a lot of public pressure.

I think the key to it is being involved however possible, so I commend you for that and I hope that even though past elections did not turn out as you hoped, you stay involved in various ways. I think most politicians actually realizes that being in power is not permanent, even if that is not always obvious to us. Yes, the next election is a while away now, but it will come.
 
TravellingChris said:
The government will make the point that they were elected on a given platform, why should they change course just because some people object after the fact? They're only really listening when their hold on power is at risk, and that's during an election. ...But again, it will come back to their position that they ran on X mandate, they won an election on X mandate, why should they change course now?
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The existence of the lobbyist industry disproves this claim.
 
TravellingChris said:
If someone objects to what the UCP stands for and what it is doing, the single best thing that person could have done was help to elect an NDP government. In 2023, that would have meant helping campaign for the NDP in some of the ring ridings that should have gone New Democrat, as well as some of the Calgary ridings where the results were razor close. Simply voting NDP in an Edmonton constituency and hoping the rest of the province would do likewise is useless. Complaining after the fact today and hoping it moves the needle in 2027 (which might as well be 2127 in political timelines) is equally valueless.
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Say whatever about the Edmonton doughnut, This election was going to be decided in Calgary. Outside of donating to the party there's not much an Edmontontonian could do to change how the NDs organised and did messaging in that city. Notley couldn't find a message that resonated in suburban Calgary, in part because what was working in Edmonton wasn't in Calgary.

The election was decided by a few thousand votes in some Calgary ridings. It's such a close vote that we'd be having a different conversation if a few small things went better for the NDs. The issue is less they won a majority, that's democracy. But the UCP are doing things they didn't campaign on and are acting like they have a full supportive mandate for it when it's a lot more tenuous.
 
Garneau2Go said:
Say whatever about the Edmonton doughnut, This election was going to be decided in Calgary. Outside of donating to the party there's not much an Edmontontonian could do to change how the NDs organised and did messaging in that city. Notley couldn't find a message that resonated in suburban Calgary, in part because what was working in Edmonton wasn't in Calgary.

The election was decided by a few thousand votes in some Calgary ridings. It's such a close vote that we'd be having a different conversation if a few small things went better for the NDs. The issue is less they won a majority, that's democracy. But the UCP are doing things they didn't campaign on and are acting like they have a full supportive mandate for it when it's a lot more tenuous.
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So from his post he is saying is we should all get out and help the NDP win but Edmontonians voting NDP is a useless exercise. What is even more useless is for Edmontonians to vote conservative. We tried that for over 40 years and it was the most futile exercise in our history. They never gave us a fair shake except for the brief reign of Ed Stelmach It was the conservatives who created this divide in provincial politics going all the way back to Lougheed so for him to chastise us now is contemptible.
 
TravellingChris said:
I never said that people can't criticize the provincial government outside an election period. I suggested that such criticism has little value because members of government are unlikely to listen after an election.
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Hmmm...let's go to the tape:
As I've said before, the time to make your concerns known about Danielle Smith and the UCP was during the election.
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Now, keep in mind that the above quote is on a discussion forum. You came into an Alberta Politics discussion forum to tell people that it is not the time to discuss Alberta politics. It's weird, man.
 
The_Cat said:
NDP are leading in Manitoba Election.
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And even then, barely. The results are similar to Alberta in a sense. A very strong urban-rural divide.

Personally, it's why I think this whole "Alberta is Calling" and massive population migration is a boon to the AB NDP or any progressive force in the province.
 
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