Premier on pace for $1M payout

Jason Fekete and Renata D'Aliesio, Calgary Herald
Published: Thursday, June 05, 2008

... Ken Chapman, a well-heeled Edmonton Tory and Stelmach supporter, said he also believes the salary increases were desperately needed. However, he insisted rubber-stamping the wage hikes at a Tory-dominated committee and at the cabinet table was a big mistake and that the provincial government should introduce an independent committee to set politicians' pay... more

Quebec's identity crisis pits Us against Them

By Satya Das
Despite its sincerity and good intentions, Quebec's Consultation Commission on Accommodation Practices Related to Cultural Differences may cause more harm than good.
With its heavily directive prescriptions to modify behaviour with the powers and instruments of the coercive State, the Bouchard-Taylor report demeans citizens and underestimates their individual and communitarian capacity to design and deliver a more inclusive and authentic society.

Moreover, it breeds resentment among those already here with its implication that the existing society must make the "accommodation," as in its suggestion that a foundational element of the Quebecois identity, the cross in the National Assembly (the Cross which we celebrate in Canada's national anthem) should be moved, while the holidays and symbols of every faith must be celebrated by all Quebecers.
Worse, it assumes that immigrants have no inherent capacity to overcome obstacles, thereby uttering a paternalistic presumption that newcomers are incapable of assuming leadership in building the partnerships and networks necessary to flourish in their adopted land.

I do not mean to be overly harsh or critical of this noble effort to foster societal development, only to warn of unintended consequences that arise when leadership elites preach equality without really understanding it. In essence, the commissioners appear to see equality as a legal or a legislative construct, rather than the inalienable foundation of societal development.
Throughout the report and its recommendations, they impart an attitude of benevolent patriarchs reaching out to ethnic minorities with generosity, compassion and above all tolerance. The mentality is reflected in recommendations D1 and D2, which prescribe a campaign to make people aware of interculturalism, particularly through the symbolism of a National Assembly vote. It is especially prevalent in the second point under recommendation H1, where research is recommended into "the dual relationship among immigrants to their culture of origin and the host society's culture."

What is wrong with that attitude? Everything; because it persists in Us and Them, in We and The Other. It implies that the "host society's culture" is static rather than fluid, rigid rather than dynamic, and that there is little or no commonality of values between "their culture of origins" and "host society culture."

The essential logic of what Quebecers call interculturalism, and many other Canadians call "cultural mingling", should be the presumption that we can overcome Otherness. Once we posit the notion of a dual relationship with between the formative culture and the chosen culture, we focus on differences rather than similarities. We dwell on what divides us rather than the unifying richness within which we find connections, connectedness, and a profound sense of belonging; to one another and to the society we commonly inhabit.

The great alchemy of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is to evoke in foundational law a societal framework in which there is no Us and Them, no We and The Other: there is only Us. And if one of Us chooses to be a "Them", it is a self-imposed decision, not one dictated by society or the State. This collective Us of the Charter is by nature messy, sprawling, bickering, even chaotic; reflecting all the richness and diversity of the human condition. Yet once we decide to be Us, we find our common values and our common ground, because our core societal values are the ones set out in the Charter and thereby in the basic law of our country.

We understand and cherish the value of Us through our own lives and experience. When I arrived in Canada as a 12-year-old in 1968, I had to fight boys every day after school for my first week, just because I was different. By the second week, others stood and fought beside me. What a remote and bizarre past that is to my children's generation, who flourish in social networks that are blind to colour, ethnicity and sexual orientation, where they evaluate one another by the content of their character. Their networks are not the entirety of Canadian society, but this vanguard generation knows and identifies racism as an aberration, just like all other manifestations of anger and ignorance.

When we embrace the great Us, we move well beyond "tolerance" which is in itself a mask for disdain and a justification for keeping away from what we choose not to understand.
By celebrating what we have in common, we move towards the authentic pluralism that flows from openness and inclusion. That is why I feel unusually fulfilled when I step from the Place d'Armes into Notre Dame, lighting a flame for the Divine Mother and reciting a Hindu prayer in Sanskrit that speaks of Her as the embodiment of universal love.

Leaving behind the solitude of tolerance for the warmth of inclusion, we begin with the presumption that the "mainstream" of our society is fed and nourished by many streams of the human experience, within the magnificent riverbanks of the Canadian and Quebec Charters of Rights and Freedoms. We will enjoy the journey all the more, when we openly declare that there is no "them," there is only Us.
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Satya Das is a laureate of the Alberta Human Rights Award and the Alberta Centennial Medal for his pioneering work in defining and championing Canadian values, and author of the best-seller The Best Country: Why Canada Will Lead the Future.

SURVEY REVEALS HOW ALBERTANS VIEW THE FUTURE OF THE OIL SANDS

Cambridge Strategies Inc and Policy Channel designed and conducted the discrete choice modelling survey late in 2007. 

The study reveals that Albertan's aspirations for the future of oil sands development must have a greater environmental focus than economic growth dynamics.

There are some perceptions of misalignment between what is actually happening in oil sands development compared to the aspirations Albertans have for the development of their oil sands resources.

Albertans are in a state of flux and transition in their attitudes about how things are being handled around oil sands development. The bipolar almost equal distribution results on how well Albertans perceive that their interests are being served by government's management of their resources and managing the growth are an indication that there is no clear Alberta consensus on these issues.

Despite all the economic growth and wealth creation, Albertans are significantly less optimistic about improvements in their own prospects for quality of life improvements in the short term. 

As for whom do they see as most able to responsibly manage the growth in Alberta, no one leader or political party has a lock on the confidence of Albertans to do the job.

This, and the immediate prospects of an election where the future of the oil sands is potentially a ballot question that determines voter choices, we can expect more flux, volatility and uncertainty in Alberta's politics and policy direction.

Click to read the full report (pdf)

SYPHILIS ALERT: EDMONTON EXPERIENCING OUTBREAK OF SYPHILIS AND OTHER STDS
By Sara Boisson
February 21, 2008

Edmonton -- Many things might come to mind when people think of Edmonton – West Edmonton Mall, North America ’s largest Fringe festival, perhaps even the Oilers’ headline-grabbing Stanley Cup run in 2006. But a syphilis outbreak? The unfortunate reality is that syphilis, one of the oldest diseases around, has come back with a vengeance in the last couple of years. There were 216 cases in Alberta last year, with 75 percent of those in Edmonton . This compares to zero cases in 1996, which Dr. Ameeta Singh, director of Capital Health’s STD Centre, calls the “expected normal” rate (in fact, Health Canada in 1996 set a goal of eliminating syphilis completely). Although final numbers are not yet available for 2007, the number of cases is expected to be up from 2006.

With the syphilis outbreak also comes an increase in the rates of other sexually transmitted diseases. Dr. Singh explains that “what happens is that if you have one STD, it breaks down your normal skin barriers, basically. Your skin, including the skin on the genital area, is actually a pretty good barrier against getting infections. But if you have one infection already, that barrier is broken down.” This could explain why along with higher rates of syphilis, Alberta is also seeing increased rates of gonorrhea and chlamydia. The provincial rates of all three infections are higher than the national average. More disturbingly, because one of the first symptoms of syphilis is an open sore on the genitals or mouth, having syphilis triples one’s risk of contracting HIV. While the outbreak has affected marginalized populations, including sex-trade workers and the homeless, it is being seen in all socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnicities, and age groups – the youngest victim was a 15-year-old, and the oldest an 81-year-old.

There are 3 STD centres that provide testing, information, and free condoms in Alberta ; one in Edmonton , one in Calgary , and one in Fort McMurray . To find one near you, call 1-800-772-2437.