Have they learned from mistakes?
Unanswered question left by error admission
When Dave Hancock was sworn is as Alberta’s 15th premier Sunday night, he made an interesting admission.
“We know we made mistakes and we will learn from those,” said Hancock.
He didn’t say what those mistakes were or who precisely made them. You could argue that when he said “we,” he meant former premier Alison Redford and when he said “mistakes” he meant her travel expenses and other little scandals that brought an end to her premiership.
Or perhaps the “we” referred collectively to the government caucus and the “mistakes” were government policies such as Bills 45 and 46 that helped undermine the government’s popularity with the public.
Or maybe “we” is collectively the Progressive Conservative party and the “mistakes” refers to the election of Redford as PC leader in 2011.
Take your pick. Or possibly it’s all three.
The PCs, the government and Redford have all made mistakes that brought them to this troubled point. What did they “learn” from them?
Well, Redford learned it was time to jump before she could be pushed.
The party has already changed the rules governing its leadership races to make it less likely they will end up with leaders such as Redford and her predecessor, Ed Stelmach, who disappointed the public, dropped in popularity and were forced from office mid-term. The PCs want to make sure the next leader they choose understands the party, appreciates caucus and can win back voters who, according to recent public opinion polls, are abandoning the PC for the Wildrose.
But what did
the government “learn” from this? That’s the big, unanswered question.
Hancock says he will continue with Redford’s “Building Alberta” strategy that involves, among other things, constructing 50 new schools. However, it also means borrowing massive amounts of money — more than $20 billion over five years. That has made the government an easy target for the Wildrose, which complains the province is once again falling into unnecessary debt.
Hancock also says he’s sticking by the controversial Bills 45 and 46.
Bill 46 — the Public Service Salary Restraint Act — is a ham-handed attempt by government to unilaterally freeze the wages of 22,000 members of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees. The AUPE won a blistering court injunction preventing the government from enacting the legislation until it can be debated in court.
In granting the injunction, Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Denny Thomas criticized the government for not bargaining in good faith.
The government is also facing a legal challenge over Bill 45, the Public Sector Services Continuation Act, which dramatically increases fines against unions for launching illegal strikes and even levels fines against anyone threatening an illegal strike. The AUPE and the United Nurses of Alberta say the act violates the Charter of Rights’ guarantee of freedom of speech.
On a more profound level, the two pieces of legislation signalled a declaration of war against unions and the government’s own civil service — and severed a bond Redford had forged with “progressives” who supported her leadership bid in 2011 and her electoral victory in 2012.
Speaking of the last election, it will be precisely two years ago Wednesday that Redford dropped the writ and kicked off the 2012 campaign. She promised a new, more inclusive style of governing that would dismantle the old boys’ network and usher in an era where the Progressive Conservatives would be more progressive and less conservative.
However, it was a 24-month era marked by complaints from her own caucus that she was aloof, dictatorial and rarely consulted with them. Progressive voters, particularly union members, felt betrayed. Small-c conservatives were deeply disappointed by the increasing provincial debt.
The government is unpopular with just about everybody. And it managed to do all that in just two years.
PC MLAs insist the problems surrounding Redford were generated by her personality, not government policy.
But that’s to ignore how some of that policy was driven by Redford’s personality, that she seemed determined to push through policies that alienated those who had voted PC last election.
The big question now is whether Hancock will leave the government on autopilot until a new PC leader is elected or start making changes, even subtle ones, now.
Yes, the government has made mistakes. But what exactly has it learned from them?