Just some quick links for your Monday morning reading...
- Sheila Pratt had an interesting article on Alberta Liberal Leader Kevin Taft this weekend.
- It looks like Ken Chapman had the scoop on Red Deer - South Tory MLA Victor Doerksen's retirement.
- I'm not sure how many people saw Stephane Dion's interview on Sunday's CTV Question Period, but it seriously had to be one of the worst media interviews that I've seen any politician do. Dion is leaving a lot to be desired, but obviously has time to work on his communication skills before the next federal election.
- It's an ALL ALBERTA western showdown in Calgary Grit's 'Best Premier' competition. Peter Lougheed v. Ernest Manning.
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The "interviewer" didn't help. Craig Oliver is not exactly an "A" level interviewer.
ReplyDeleteHis stupid response when Dion said he didn't want to get political on the backs of the fallen soldiers - Oliver says leader (upset at Dion) that he is in politics and it is political.
I betcha Oliver has nothing to say about Harper claiming not to want to get political on the backs of the fallen in Quebec.
Sheila Pratt's article on Taft, although a bit fawning at times, was pretty decent. Better than her ill-informed attack on Heather Kennedy.
ReplyDeleteA few times it mentions the work that the ALP need to do on policy. That's a big ticket item that has yet to be properly addressed. I've said it before and i'll say it again... any party whose "mainstream" ideas include such left-wing proposals as public auto insurance is not yet ready to govern the province of Alberta.
br, why is public auto insurance a bad policy? I don't know the numbers but my impression is people in BC and Sask wouldn't change their insurance for ours. Just because a public policy doesn't line up with a particular ideology doesn't make it bad... even a broken clock is right twice a day.
ReplyDeletemic, your point is fair. There are many who rail against public auto insurance for purely ideological reasons.
ReplyDeleteMy distain for public insurance is based on experience. I'm a former Albertan now living in British Columbia. My insurance premiums did not drop by much (maybe $50/year) when I moved to British Columbia, even though I turned 25 while I was out here (formerly the magic age of premium reduction for male drivers).
My father's insurance for his vehicles actually went UP when he and my mother moved to Kelowna from Alberta last year. This is for someone with no accidents and the full "good driver" credit applied to his ICBC account.
The worst part are the abundant horror stories from anyone I have ever met who has had to make a claim through ICBC.
The whole idea behind auto insurance is to replace the value of what is lost in an accident or theft with relative ease... that is why we pay premiums. That is, from all accounts i've heard or read, not the case with ICBC.
An interesting historical note: ICBC was created by BC's first NDP Premier, Dave Barrett. The introduction of ICBC caused a serious upheaval in the insurance industry in British Columbia and produced few, if any positive results to show for it. Once the NDP's first reign of error ended in 1975, new SoCred Premier Bill Bennett wanted to return the system to the way it was, but private insurers were too weary of the prospect of another socialist government taking over and implementing another massive policy change that would result in another round of dramatic losses to the insurers.
There are many wonderful things about the province of British Columbia... but public auto insurance isn't one of them.