5 days ago
Brookman: Alberta Next panel needs to focus on right questions
There is an old business story about a company that brings out a new brand of dog food. The label was great, the advertising was extensive, even the pricing was good, but the sales were miserable.
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The company called a meeting of its executives to see what the problem was and, during the heated discussions, a young assistant said, 'Gentlemen, the dogs won't eat it. I have a dog and it doesn't like the food.'
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The current UCP Alberta Next panel reminds me of this story. It sounds good — a group of politicians and UCP supporters visiting Albertans to hear their opinions — but the people are not buying what they are selling.
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Living in Canada's richest province and enjoying the lowest taxes, the idea of separating from Canada is not only nonsensical, it is a non-starter with the vast majority of the public. Proud Albertans are also proud Canadians, and while we have our issues with Ottawa, separation appears to make no sense whatsoever except to a very small group of people who will never be happy.
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Each time someone tries to talk about an independent Alberta, I keep thinking of Boris Johnson and Brexit. None of us wants that outcome.
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But this Alberta Next panel has a great opportunity to do some excellent work as long as they are not trying to convince everyone that we need a new pension plan, a new police force and a separate country. Hopefully, they use this opportunity to learn what it is that the majority of Albertans are really hoping to emerge from these discussions.
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This past week, a good friend had to go to Saskatoon for back surgery. Now, there is a subject for panel debate.
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After so much study by both Conservatives and NDP, after billions of dollars invested and working for years to appease unions, why are we still having long wait times for surgeries, long lineups at emergency departments and Albertans having to travel to other provinces, the United States or even Europe to get much-needed work done? What does the panel have to say about that?
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Just throwing more money at this situation has not solved it, but somewhere there must be a solution or at least the seeds of a solution. Let's open that subject for debate.
