I can remember working my nine to five job and killing the hours by listening to talk radio, it really got me motivated to get active politically.
You see at the time the federal Liberals had just won their second majority and were well on the way to the ruination of this great country — at least in my estimation.
The Chretien government seemed to be implementing programs and policy I felt were a direct attack on western Canada, its culture and beliefs.
At the time the Conservatives were fractioned, the Reform Party and the Progressive Conservatives were at odds and it seemed things like the gun registry, Kyoto and the Canadian Wheat Board were here to stay forever. I was a glutton for punishment back then I would watch Question Period and see the likes of Allan Rock, Ralph Goodale, and my favorite, Stephane Dion, talk about the “benefits” of these great policies.
Meanwhile, Preston Manning, Ted Morton and Stephen Harper had a different idea and they were ready to take on the Liberal empire. It was an onerous task to be sure.
Back then it was a dark time for Albertans, in fact we have all seen the famous bumper sticker Ted Morton promoted — “No Kyoto, No Gun Registry, No Wheat Board” in brilliant yellow. The firewall letter came out and it looked like not only did the “West wanted in” it wanted to lead. Manning used to always say in his speeches “Think Big”. We did and now look what we have.
The useless gun registry that was a complete intrusion on private property has been dissolved. I am not an anarchist, but in my estimation it is never a good thing for society when the government knows where all the small arms are located. We have good gun laws in Canada as it is so I don’t think we need handguns or automatic weapons readily available at your local Wal-Mart.
The wheat board was a totally western Canadian thing and forcing single desk marketing as a means to sell a commodity just doesn’t sound right. Especially when other commodities like canola, barley, and peas are not marketed that way. Eastern-made policy affecting Western-based producers just didn’t make sense and it never will. I don’t have any interest in telling manufacturers in Ontario how to limit their pollution, or how to legislate their safety codes — I mean what does a prairie boy like me know about that?
My least favorite policy of all time was the Kyoto Protocol. It was impossible for me to understand how a wealth transfer via the carbon credit model was ever going to do Mother Earth any good. All the while the big polluters like China and India were not going to buy in. The Canadian model was a slick one — oil sands rich Alberta buys credits from Quebec for their hydro power — it sounded nice but how does this stop pollution? I could go on about the current transfer payments already being made but that is an entirely different column.
We will have some challenges upcoming in the fossil fuel world, but of course technology will play a role as it has for the last 100 years and we will find ways of doing things better.
So Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Ted Menzies and the rest of the federal government have began to take a common sense approach to governance. This is refreshing and exciting for people like me who were on the edge of hopelessness a mere decade ago. We may face more adversity in 2012, but Canadians have a new confidence and resolve we will make our way through it.
Its like an early Christmas present for me, now if only Harper and his caucus would sell the CBC to the private sector, I won’t even have a wish list for next Christmas.
