Wildrose gaffe draws PCS’ grins

Tories get convention-eve break from absorbing opposition blows

Alberta’s Progressive Conservatives really have chosen the ideal time to hold their policy convention in Edmonton today.

For one, the forecast is calling for rain, so nobody, with the possible exception of the news media, will complain about being cooped up indoors.

For another, the PC government has gone at least 48 hours without embarrassing itself or getting embroiled in another scandal.

Best of all — and the reason so many PC members will be smiling today — the one big scandal that did pop up in Alberta politics this week involved their nemesis, the Wildrose.

On Thursday, news broke that the CRTC has hit the Wildrose with a $90,000 fine for breaking federal regulations governing “robocalls” — automated and unsolicited phone calls made on behalf of the party to people’s homes.

Apparently, the party failed to follow rules that dictate the pre-recorded robocall must start with a clear message saying who is sponsoring the call and provide a phone number where that sponsor can be reached.

This isn’t exactly on the same scale as the federal robocall scandal, which a federal court deemed “fraudulent,” but nevertheless it is a black eye for the Wildrose.

Now the shoe is on the other foot and Doug Griffiths was happy to give the Wildrose a few kicks.

The party has paid the fine and apologized while blaming the error on the company that made the calls on its behalf in 2011 and 2012.

The Wildrose is now hoping the matter will blow over. It won’t be that easy, of course.

Conservatives are gleefully demanding the Wildrose hand over all emails, paperwork and correspondence dealing with the robocall failure, explain what happened and assure Albertans it won’t happen again.

On Friday, Doug Griffiths — speaking on behalf of the Progressive Conservative party, not in his capacity as municipal affairs minister — held a news scrum demanding Wildrose Leader Danielle Smith reveal all she knew about the robocalls and voluntarily ask Alberta chief electoral officer to investigate whether the calls unfairly influenced last year’s provincial election.

“We know the CRTC issued the largest fine in their history against the Wildrose party for violating election laws and that’s pretty serious, $90,000. But that’s all we know,” said Griffiths.

“If this manipulated the election, what impact did it have on the election?”

Griffiths didn’t crack a smile but he must have been fighting the urge all the while.

His diatribe against the Wildrose is pretty much the same diatribe the Wildrose has been tossing at the government the past year on everything from “tobacco-gate” to health-care queue-jumping to campaign financing.

Now the shoe is on the other foot and Griffiths was happy to give the Wildrose a few kicks. And the Wildrose can do little but curl up in the fetal position, apologize, say nothing controversial and wait for the beating to stop.

Not that the PCs need an excuse to whack the Wildrose.

Premier Alison Redford spent part of her opening night speech Friday denigrating the official Opposition as, let me paraphrase, knee-jerk climate change-denying extremists. It’s a common theme for Redford and it seems to be really bothering Smith who, tellingly, spent part of a dinner speech in Calgary Tuesday night complaining that her party is being painted as mean-spirited, negative and “not nice.”

“Come on, you’ve heard it,” said Smith. “I’ve heard it. It’s out there. But it’s just not true.”

It was a strangely defensive speech that, again, must be bringing smiles to Conservative faces.

The PCs could do with some cheering up.

They’ve been facing almost daily protests from various groups upset with budget cuts, Redford has plummeted in public opinion polls and the spring session wrapped up last week with a PC MLA withdrawing himself from caucus while undergoing investigation by the province’s ethics commissioner.

Redford will face a mandatory leadership review at the party’s annual general meeting in the fall. That’s why she’s so keen to reconnect with party members this weekend.

In her Friday night speech, she promised members a greater say in forming public policy via new “policy advisory committees” to target various issues such as health care or education.

“Committee members will be able to discuss the issues, make recommendations for future policy or legislation,” said Redford, according to a prepared copy of her speech given to reporters. “In short, our members will help craft decisions that lead to new policies and actions that benefit every Albertan.”

It is Redford’s way of dealing with long-standing complaints by party members who feel disengaged from the PC government. It’s also her way of trying to re-energize the party between elections. And, of course, it’s a way to help win back the support of members who may feel nervous or downright hostile by the PCs’ drop in public opinion polls.

However, neither Redford nor party members should take this promise too seriously.

The provincial government represents all Albertans, not just Progressive Conservatives. Resolutions passed at party conventions might be binding on the party, they are not binding on the government. Party members might forget that sometimes, the government members should not.