Where’s Redford? Creating intrigue
NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE — Where, oh where, is Alberta Premier Alison Redford?
That, in a nutshell, was the first question posed by reporters Wednesday as Canada’s premiers gathered in the heart of Ontario’s wine country for their annual conference.
Redford was notable by her absence when the premiers sat down for a threehour meeting with leaders of Canada’s aboriginal organizations to call for, among other things, a national public inquiry into the disturbing number of missing aboriginal women and girls.
Reporters initially thought Redford was late or maybe they had missed her heading in.
But, no, she had deliberately not shown up. Reporters, who have the olfactory talents of a bloodhound and the imagination of Lewis Carroll, immediately smelled a controversy and began wondering if Redford was snubbing Canada’s First Nations.
They remained suspicious even after learning Redford had decided to spend Wednesday afternoon meeting in Toronto with officials of the Insurance Bureau of Canada to discuss Alberta’s disastrous flood.
And it didn’t seem to matter that Newfoundland Premier Kathy Dunder- dale also hadn’t turned up. Reporters seemed more interested in Redford’s noshow than Dunderdale’s — perhaps because over the years national journalists have developed a Pavlovian response to whatever antics an Alberta premier can get up to at a meeting of the Council of the Federation. The last time the premiers met in Niagara-on-the-Lake, for example, was in 2004 when then-Premier Ralph Klein said First Nation leaders were “masochists” for wanting to meet with a group as dull and powerless as the premiers and then went on to predict an upcoming first ministers’ conference on health would be nothing but a “gong show.”
Understandably, journalists are fine-tuned to expect controversy from Alberta. Indeed, they crave it, especially whenever a premiers’ conference threatens to turn into a quilting bee.
And so the controversy on Wednesday only grew when Michele Audette, president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada, suggested Redford (and Dunderdale) were indeed snubbing First Nations.
“It’s probably for me, my perception or interpretation that they’re sending a message saying that they’re not in support for this national inquiry,” said Audette.
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, this year’s host and thus the politician tasked with dousing controversy before it erupts, quickly interjected that nobody should jump to conclusions over why a particular premier was absent. But it was too late.
Reporters began filing stories about the only contro- versy they had: the absence of Redford and Dunderdale.
So, a few minutes after the first stories hit the airwaves, Redford felt compelled to issue a news release stating, “Alberta takes the issue of violence against Aboriginal women and girls very seriously” and adding bluntly, “I support the decision taken by Premiers today.”
No doubt Redford hopes that kills the controversy and she can concentrate on other issues when the premiers meet among themselves the next two days. However, the fact is while Redford may have hit a scheduling conflict and while she may fully support the call for the national inquiry, she actually wasn’t keen on attending the meeting with First Nations’ leaders.
In a pre-conference interview on Monday, Redford said she already has a good relationship with many of Alberta’s First Nations and wasn’t sure much would get accomplished on Wednesday.
“It’s a very important time in Canada for people to come to the table to talk about this (aboriginal issues),” said Redford, “but the agenda has to be clear and we’ll see maybe coming out of this meeting whether or not the agenda is clear but going into it I’m thinking it’s a little confusing.”
Redford can perhaps explain herself a bit better today.
Dunderdale said that she supports the national inquiry. Under pressure from reporters, her office said only that she was absent “due to a family emergency.”
She is expected at today’s meeting that has a cornu- copia of items including an update on the Canadian Energy Strategy which will, if nothing else, highlight the fact that B.C. Premier Christy Clark still hasn’t signed on to the strategy because of her opposition to the Northern Gateway pipeline proposal.
Then there’s the opposition voiced by many premiers to the federal government’s new Canada Job Grant program that will see Ottawa clawing back the $300 million it gives to the provinces and territories each year under the current Labour Market Agreements. Many premiers want the power to opt out of the new and potentially problematic system.
Alberta, though, isn’t dead set against the program that might actually help ease the province’s chronic shortage of skilled labour. Redford will have to do a bit of tap dancing to offer sympathy to her colleagues without going so far as to oppose Ottawa.
At the same time, Redford wants her colleagues to support a national flood mitigation program to help protect provinces against the ravages of severe weather events.
And then there’s an expected debate over the fate of the Senate in which Redford has already taken shots at Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall who favours abolishing the Upper Chamber.
This year’s conference promises to end with a measure of controversy if not outright bickering. If so, the national media can once again thank an Alberta premier.