Randomness

• First, thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Paddy McGloin who passed away suddenly on Sunday night. I've known Paddy, his wife Jackie, and their kids Aedan, Paul, and Renee for a long time. They're all stand-up people and I wish them well as they cope with their loss. Godspeed to one of Ireland's finest!

• I leave for Vegas in 3 days. Its gonna be a great (if not hot) long-weekend with 11 of my old/new BC friends.

• Speaking of British Columbia, the big move is now 3 weeks away. While i'm certainly getting a bit nostalgic about McMurray, the lure of life by the ocean is pretty cool too. I'm also looking forward to hooking up with THESE people. They've done a remarkable job turning BC around, and that's definetly a cause I can line up behind.

• THIS is just plain stupid. The problem with federal Liberals is that they don't understand the difference between appointing qualified people who happen to have a political pedigree and the kind of willy-nilly pork barrelling that they engaged in for 13 years. Harvie Andre, with the cabinet portfolios he held during his time in Ottawa, is indeed uniquely qualified to perform this work. Mind you, we saw this same "moral outrage" from federal Liberals when Jim Gouk was appointed to a the board of Nav Canada. Jim Gouk is a former Conservative MP, yes, but he was also an Air Traffic Controller. Call me crazy, but I think that someone who has both practical knowledge in a certain area AND an understanding of how Ottawa works (or doesn't work) might just prove to be an asset when dealing with federal policy and/or tax dollars. The federal Liberals just don't get it... no wonder their party is in ruins.

Back again

I know you are probably getting pretty tired of my apologies for lack of posting frequency on this blog. Still, it won't stop me from apologizing yet again.

The big move to BC is a little more than 3 weeks away now, so there's a lot of stuff that i'm starting to wind down and pack up here in Alberta.

That said, there are a number of things that are worth commenting on. Here they are in no particular order:

• Many congratulations to my friend Kevin Geddert who, as we speak, is enjoying a wonderful honeymoon in Austria with his lovely bride Deirdre. I had the honour of being in the wedding party and serving as the emcee at their wedding last weekend in Banff. It was a great event all-around and I was glad I could be a part of it. Pictures, once downloaded, will be forthcoming.

• The EUB hearings into Suncor's Voyageur project have now concluded. I have to say that if I were Suncor, I would be more than a little irked at having the hearings for my expansion project into the #1 venue for bitching and complaining about the things that are going on in the oilsands. From what I can gather, the politicians who made interventions brought little or nothing substantial to the table. It may have been lost on some that we elect people to fix problems, not complain about them. Its time for the 3 levels of government in this region to stop pointing fingers at others (or each other) and start dealing with the problems. In particular respect to the provincial government, I will again echo the comments of the provincial Liberal leader that it is not industry's job to build roads. It is industry's job to create employment and the opportunity for public revenue through taxation and royalties... IT IS GOVERNMENT'S JOB TO BUILD INFRASTRUCTURE.

• Ken Chapman, a friend and well-known politico, has started a blog. You can catch him on http://ken-chapman.blogspot.com. Thanks to Daveberta for the heads up.

• I have been asked where I stand on the whole situation in the middle east. It is, of course, a complex and complicated affair which cannot be explained briefly. I have been trying to put my thoughts down in as diplomatic a manner as possible. That's an ongoing work, so I will summarize my basic stance: The root of this problem lies with Hezbollah. Until they are eliminated as a political and military force, a long-term solution cannot be reached. I applaud those who are taking a stand against these terrorists, and pray for innocent lives to be spared.

• With that in mind, I am also EXCEPTIONALLY proud of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. It has been many a year since this country has had a Leader who will take a stand on issues of international importance, rather than ignoring them and thus lowering Canada's level of influence around the globe. I also thank each and every one of our men and women in uniform who are defending and protecting Canadian interests around the world.

That's about it for now. I'm around for a week or so before the next trip, and I may even try to blog from Vegas next weekend. Until then, shalom.

PNWER and the EUB hearings

Well the PNWER summit is over for another year and I must say that this one was a real treat to participate in. There are so many people and organizations who made it a priviledge to be a part of this year's gathering. In no particular order, thank you to:

• The PNWER staff and their team of interns who did an absolutely outstanding job of making sure that PNWER's largest conference was a resounding success. Hats off to Matt Morrison, Judy Skarsten, Brandon Hardenbrook, Ian Burkheimer, Neil Parekh, Amy Wheeless, Jamie Robertson, Kristen Meyers, Bethany Van Etten, Alex Bond, Rachel Park, and Josh Morrison... you were all a treat to work with and people I am now happy to call friends.
• The staff of Alberta International and Intergovernmental Relations for their outstanding support of the conference.
• The City of Edmonton for putting on a world-class welcome for PNWER's 570 delegates.
• The many, many officials who I had the pleasure of conversing with over the course of 4 days, particularily: Representative George Eskridge, Representative Alan Olson, MLA Mel Knight, Hon. John Van Dongen, David Curtis, Jeff Morris, James Rajotte, and Jean-Yves Laforest.

I also enjoyed the presentations on various topics relating to Energy and Workforce Development. As a bit of a policy wonk I always enjoy getting new information as it relates to issues like these.

I hope everyone from the summit had a safe journey home, and I look forward to seeing you all in Anchorage in 2007!

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I also wanted to post THIS.

I have some definite thoughts, but i'm not going to expand much on them except to say that on this point...

“The job of business in this case is to develop a resource to create employment, to create opportunity and to pay royalties and taxes,” Taft said, adding it’s the government’s job to provide infrastructure.

... I am in agreement with Kevin Taft.

Trade, the Economy, and a whole buncha policy

From now until Wednesday I have the pleasure of being a part of the team that puts together the PNWER (Pacific North West Economic Region) Annual Summit.

This year marks the 16th Annual Summit for PNWER, and my 3rd as an volunteer/attendee.

I have been very grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful organization and work with the people who bring it all together.

A great article on PNWER was in the most recent edition of Edmontonians Magazine. I include THIS LINK to the article for your information.

I'll try and keep you posted on some of the people I meet and information I hear, but the conference is pretty busy so I can't make any promises.

And now, the Prime Minister...

One of the nice things about signing up to Prime Minister Harper's email list is that you get to read the text of major speeches he delivers across the country and around the world.

Here, then, is an excerpt from his speech to the Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce delivered today in London:

One of the primary targets for British investors has been our booming energy sector.They have recognized Canada’s emergence as a global energy powerhouse – the emerging “energy superpower” our government intends to build.

It’s no exaggeration.

We are currently the fifth largest energy producer in the world.

We rank 3rd and 7th in global gas and oil production respectively.

We generate more hydro-electric power than any other country on earth.

And we are the world’s largest supplier of uranium.But that’s just the beginning.

Our government is making new investments in renewable energy sources such as biofuels.And an ocean of oil-soaked sand lies under the muskeg of northern Alberta – my home province.

The oil sands are the second largest oil deposit in the world, bigger than Iraq, Iran or Russia; exceeded only by Saudi Arabia.

Digging the bitumen out of the ground, squeezing out the oil and converting it in into synthetic crude is a monumental challenge.

It requires vast amounts of capital, Brobdingnagian technology, and an army of skilled workers.

In short, it is an enterprise of epic proportions, akin to the building of the pyramids or China’s Great Wall. Only bigger.

By 2015, Canadian oil production is forecast to reach almost 4 million barrels a day.

Two thirds of it will come from the oil sands.

Even now, Canada is the only non-Opec country with growing oil deliverability.And let’s be clear. We are a stable, reliable producer in a volatile, unpredictable world.

We believe in the free exchange of energy products based on competitive market principles, not self-serving monopolistic political strategies.

That’s why policymakers in Washington – not to mention investors in Houston and New York – now talk about Canada and continental energy security in the same breath.

That’s why Canada surpassed the Saudis four years ago as the largest supplier of petroleum products to the United States.

And that’s why industry analysts are recommending Canada as “possessing the most attractive combination of circumstances for energy investment of any place in the world.”

British companies are already significant players in the Canadian energy sector.

BP has been there for 50 years. It’s already one of our leading producers of natural gas and it has a major stake in Canada’s next huge gas development – The Mackenzie River Delta in the Northwest Territories.

BG Group has also accumulated a large exploration stake in the Mackenzie River Valley.

There are trillions of cubic feet of gas in the region, and we are hopeful that the huge pipeline needed to deliver it to southern markets will finally go ahead.

British firms invested nearly three billion pounds (over $6 billion) in our energy and metals sectors last year.

And I think we’ll see even more British investment as word of Canada’s stature as the West’s most important energy storehouse gets out.

Of course, the energy sector is not the only source of British investment.

There are already about 650 UK-based companies and subsidiaries operating in Canada. You employ more than 70,000 people in 20 different industries.

British exports to Canada was close to five billion pounds ($10 billion) last year.

And even if you’re not doing business in Canada, chances are you’re vacationing there.

We welcomed over nearly a million visitors from the U.K. last year.

And we look forward to seeing you all at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia.

Canada is not as big a player in Britain as we’d like to be, but we’re getting there.

I’m glad to see many of you sporting Blackberrys.

They’re made in Canada, you know.

The Ontario manufacturer, Research in Motion, recently got security approvals from Whitehall and has started selling its marvellous devices to several ministries.

Chances are the video card in your computer monitor was made by ATI Technologies of Toronto.

One of our home-grown heroes is Quebec-based Bombardier, the aircraft and rail car manufacturer.

Believe it or not, Bombardier is the largest full-time employer in Northern Ireland.

All this means we’re not just hewers of wood and drawers of water anymore.

Although we’re still pretty good at those things too.The great granite plate known as the Canadian Shield is a vast storehouse of precious metals.

We have long been a major producer of nickel, gold, copper, potash, coal and cement.

But it may be news to you that Canada is now the world’s third largest producer of diamonds.

A decade ago Canadian diamonds were only a gleam in a prospector’s eye.

Today there are three producing mines and two more in development.

And the Royal Bank predicts diamonds will bring over 30 billion pounds (almost $70 billion) to the Canadian economy over the next 25 years.

The Shield also yields a third of the world’s uranium supply.

There aren’t many hotter commodities – so to speak – in the resources market these days.

The price is higher than it’s been in three decades.

Around the world, nearly 200 new reactors are proposed, planned or under construction.

And, as you know, Britain is one of the countries considering expansion of its nuclear generating capacity.

We’ll hope you’ll remember that Canada is not just a source of uranium.

We also manufacture state-of-the-art Candu reactor technology, and we’re world leaders in the safe management of fuel waste.

Which is one more reason to think of Canada as an energy superpower - and a strong candidate for British investment.

I know Britain’s trade orientation has successfully focussed on the European Union in recent years. But the success of British enterprise, for centuries, has been its ability to spot opportunities and nimbly move to exploit them.

That is something else we learned from you.

So you’ll forgive me if I remind you of it now,because the world is beating a path to our door.

And we want Britain to be as much a part of our future as she has been of our past.

They may be Liberals, but...

... THIS is damn funny (you may have to scroll down a bit once you get there).

Hat tip to the Calgary Grit for posting this and allowing so many of us to have yet another laughing fit that simply can't be explained to non-political co-workers.

And, of course, kudos to the Frog Lady for creating it in the first place!

Back to politics...

There has been a lot of media lately (most of it Liberal-generated) about accusations of a cheque-swapping scheme for delegate fees at the 2005 Conservative Party of Canada Convention in Montreal.

This story in the Hill Times pretty well sums it up.

What the story doesn't sum up, though, is that the accusations are ridiculous.

First off, I attended this convention as a delegate from the riding of Fort McMurray-Athabasca. During the discussions of our riding association leading up to the convention, at no time was a cheque-swapping scheme discussed or even offered. Rather, our association voted to pay for the costs of our delegates to travel to Montreal. No cheque-swapping. Period.

What this amounts to is a Liberal Party that is still pretty sore over the idea that we are going to limit individual contributions to a political party to $1000 a year.

For our party (and likely the NDP, BQ, and Greens as well), this is perfectly manageable because we rely mainly on a great number of smaller donations.

The Liberals, on the other hand, do not have this same appeal to the average Canadian with an average income... thus they rely on a smaller number of donations from wealthier individuals who can afford to give more (and, in Joe Volpe's case, their children).

The Liberals are under a false impression that this limit will put them in trouble because they are charging $995 for delegates to attend their convention this winter. They are under the impression that delegate fees in their entirety constitute a donation, and thus will leave only a $5 gap for anyone attending convention.

As has been labouriously explained by CPC folks, their interpretation is incorrect.

Unfortunately, a Liberal-friendly Elections Canada is helping this matter drag itself out.

I look forward to this situation finally being resolved, and for the financing of political parties to be brought more in line with the average Canadian (much to the chagrin of the Liberals).

I then look forward to the "retirement" of Jean-Pierre Kingsley, Canada's Chief Electoral Officer.