Having been only one year old when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau stepped down in 1984, I can’t claim to have experienced the havoc and devastation that his destructive NEP cast on Western Canada, but as an Albertan who grew up hearing what an awful man he was, I can admit that I'm pretty sick of listening to people complain about it. Twenty-four years later, it’s pretty clear that the fall back position of blaming the problems of 2008 on a Prime Minister who was elected forty years ago sounds just about as ridiculous as Sarah Palin claiming that Barack Obama is a Marxist.
This was the case in Question Period today when Opposition leader Kevin Taft asked Premier Ed Stelmach how the government planned to deal with the worsening financial crisis. You can listen to the exchange below:
It would be really nice if the next time Premier Stelmach decides that he doesn’t like a question asked to him in the Legislature, that he not blame an ancient Prime Minister for his inability to come up with a quick and clever response, but just answer the damn question.
Dave Cournoyer began blogging in 2005 while studying Political Science at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. In 2006, he was elected Vice-President (External) his Students’ Union and served as Chair of the Council of Alberta University Students until 2007. Since then, he has worked as Communication Coordinator for Alberta’s official opposition party and for various advocacy and public policy groups. As well as writing on this blog, Dave also occasionally writes for publications such as SEE Magazine.
