I have a smart teenager. He’s smart enough to know that he is very smart about some things but that there are people who are smarter than he. After watching Danielle Smith’s cheery announcement on the “Alberta Bill of Rights” amendments her United Conservative Party will be bringing in this upcoming legislative session, I had a conversation with him about getting the flu vaccine. That led to how we didn’t have any cases of people hospitalized with the flu for the first time ever because for one brief year, we all took our health — and that of those around us — seriously. It also led to the following exchange:
14: this is the problem — we aren’t listening to the smart people.
Me: because they don’t have to — now some loser living in his mom’s basement has Google.
14: gapes
Me: oh yeah — expertise is now bad because they saw something on freaking YouTube.
14: scoffs, still open mouthed, staring at me incredulously
Me: oh, dude, and today the Premier announced that the Alberta Bill of Rights — bet you didn’t know that was a thing — will now include protection for anyone to refuse any vaccination ever! Remember Idiocracy? This is why I’m stuck paying attention to politics!
14: my mind is blown — my mind is actually so blown that I’m light-headed. I need to take a moment.
Me: I get it buddy. Love you.
14, weakly: love you too
My fourteen year old gets it, but, again, he’s smart enough to know there are things he doesn’t know and this is, I’m so continuously disappointed to discover, a rare gift.
Staring at an Alberta identity that is foreign to me
I can never point people to the work Dr. Jared Wesley and others are doing with Common Ground Politics too many times; especially not after my Premier drops a two-minute video talking about how she and the UCP will make our dreams come true by giving us a more comprehensive provincial “Bill of Rights” that has no bearing on federal jurisdiction areas of criminal law, or the limitations outlined by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“I have some exciting news to share with you today about an important step forward for our province in protecting the rights and freedoms that are essential to our identity as Albertans,” Smith said.
TIL, I just don’t identify as the “right” kind of Albertan.
I’m kidding — I’ve been aware of that since I was a child and it’s probably why, for the first fifteen years or so of my life, I told people I was from B.C. since that’s where I lived for the first couple of years after I was born (in Calgary). That is, until I realized it was really just a crutch.
I also realized, after my first two were born south of the border, that where we spend the first year or so of our lives isn’t necessarily as impactful as we may wish. I told them that they might have been born there, but they were being raised “Canadian”. And since my parents were both from Alberta… well, I had to give up the crutch for good.
Now, as a person who criticizes the government, I respect that the Canadian government guarantees my freedom of expression. As a person who doesn’t want to get sued, I voluntarily restrict my criticism to public officials. That decision is still not “consequence free”. I fully accept that prospective employers might Google me and decide I’m not worth risking their desire to rub elbows with the Premier or her lap-dog MLAs. Or at least not antagonize them in ways I am wont to do.
I fully accept that I will not be a first round pick for a government job. My “freedom” allows me equal opportunity to shut up, or not, and there are personal consequences to both. This is probably a good time to note that subscribers increase my ability to do the latter.
That freedom, however desperate the provincial government may be to put their name on it, is not theirs to grant to me or any other Albertan, much like their “gun rights”.
Understanding as I do that there are people in this province who want American freedoms without the inconvenience and anxiety of actually having to live there, I suppose they could convince themselves this is a “win”.
When these eye-rolling provincial attempts at “owning the feds” come up, I often wonder who the real “mark” is; are some Albertans taking advantage of the Premier’s naivety and ignorance of Canadian law and jurisdiction, or is the Premier taking advantage of the people who are gullible enough to think an “Alberta Bill of Rights” means something?
Or, as the meme goes, “why not both?”
Neither game thrills me because I’m definitely on the losing side of that battle; along with my parents, and my children, and my grandchildren.
Baby, just give me one reason
This is like when the person you’re dating becomes a miserable tosser for two years because they’re convinced you’re going to cheat on them and when you leave them for someone who isn’t focused on making your life hell, they point to it and say, “SEE?! I KNEW IT ALL ALONG!!”
Suddenly, not one of the previous unfounded accusations matters because, finally, they were right. We won’t even get into the psychology of one’s behaviour actually being the most powerful influence on achieving the (un)desired outcome.
Because it doesn’t matter that the conservatives have been clipping videos out of context for years — they aren’t legitimate news organizations that people rely on — they’re politicians who lie, as “all politicians” do.
Legitimate news organizations are supposed to be above that; and they messed up.
Once again, I will bring up the fact that the role of political advisor is becoming more and more important for organizations that don’t want to be caught in the fray; these mistakes are not made by people with a high level of political acumen.
In the best case scenario, CTV’s apology is accepted. L-O-L. There’s a reason conservatives began responding with “sorry you were offended” — no responsibility necessary. It may be acceptable from a smarmy politician, but there’s no way a news organization is getting away with it.
The worst case scenario is that the accuser finally has “proof” that everything he thought was going on actually is going on and it miraculously absolves him of all the times he made those baseless accusations.
There is something seriously wrong with using tactics of abuse to further a political agenda, but when you see the polling, it’s hard to deny how well it’s working.
Who needs confidence?
Things are either heating up or fizzling out in the House of Commons as Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre’s confidence motion may be denied by all other parties in a vote to take place tomorrow.
The Bloc has said they will not support it, as has the NDP. I’m only guessing that the remaining Liberals will also vote against the CPC’s motion.
As much as I understand that the Bloc exists to further the interests of Quebec without regard to any other province in the country, I would vote to make Yves Francois Blanchet Canada’s next Prime Minister.
Hear me out (but remember my ‘Berta blinder bias).
Because the Bloc leader is only interested in furthering the interests of Quebec, I believe he is the right federal leader to bestow a higher level of sovereignty to each of the provinces.
I can’t help that I have to wade through some nasty heaps of garbage to see what the rest of the country is dealing with, but if provinces want more autonomy from the feds, I think the Bloc is their party.
Because Yves Blanchet is the most incredible politician I’ve ever seen in terms of his DGAF attitude, he is my ideal politician. He doesn’t feel the need to placate wannabe citizen news organizations (or send me a yard sign despite my very polite, but in the wrong language and province, with an offer to pay shipping and handling request).
I want to be saved from a Pierre Poilievre-led government. I know that the Liberals won’t manage that, and I have no faith in the NDP to manage such a feat either.
However.
Because Yves Blanchet is an amazing politician, and I, like my Premier and her party and far too many of their supporters, think Quebec is a beacon of sovereignty within a united Canada (ish), I say, give us the chance to put our votes behind the Bloc.
Make the Bloc Quebecois a national party and see what happens.
In their worst case scenario, they only get seats in Quebec; which is no worse off than they are today.
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I hope 14 becomes Premier of Alberta one day.