I just can't wait

400 middle aged white guys met in the middle of the province, vowing to form a new party to defeat the NDP in the next provincial election.

They want a return to the past where middle aged white men were in charge. Guys such as the pouty millionaires who begged us all to vote PC last April. Perhaps then, and only then, when the wealthy and entitled "Look in the mirror" PCs and the homophobic, climate science denying, "we-don't-have-a-social-policy" WR,and all the "commonsense conservatives" join together, can the voice of the centre-left be terminated.

They call themselves "Albertans Can't Wait". 

I don't know what it is they can't wait for. 

• For the "Alberta Advantage" to vanquish the "bitumen bubble"?
• A return to a "taxpayer friendly government" for those making more than $125,000 a year?) 
• For the Wildrose to create a shadow budget? 
• For the Progressive Conservatives of Alberta to elect a new leader?
• For the separatists to form a party?
• For the Alberta Prosperity Fund to write them a big cheque?
• For Reform Alberta  to achieve party status?

#WeAreAlberta is their hashtag. If you're not with them, apparently, you're not an Albertan. See all those tiny flags?  See how much they love Alberta? More than I do I guess, since I don't go around waving a flag, wearing my heart on my sleeve, or proclaiming how patriotic I am.  

Grande Prairie's Chris Warkentin says "This kind of enthusiasm hasn’t been seen in provincial politics for decades."  

Hmmm. 

Maybe he doesn't know what excitement looks like.

Or maybe he was dozing in his comfy MP chair when more than 700,000 people didn't vote conservative a year ago.  I seem to recall a lot of excitement then. From those who threw out the PC government and couldn't stomach the Wildrose. 

Or maybe it just doesn't seem like excitement it it's not waving a damn flag.

Back in 1970, the Brotherhood of Man penned the following: 

United we stand...divided we fall....And if our backs should ever be against the wall....We'll be together, together you and I

Take another listen, Albertans Can't Wait. Do you really think Albertans need another right wing party?

As for me, I know what it is I can't wait for.

Five parties on the far right. 

Just in time for the next election.

Between Thanksgiving and Remembrance

I had a busy week or two. Alberta Showcase followed immediately by the BlendED Symposium, work, a trip to the hospital, a trip to the city. Somewhere in there, the federal election, the news my MLA had been appointed Minister of Municipal Affairs, and the Alberta budget.

Alberta Showcase is a ton of fun. Arts presenters from all over Alberta listen to Canadian performing artists, attend workshops and network with other presenting groups, both volunteer and professional. Our team of Stage North volunteers were there in force, listening, comparing notes, schmoozing with musicians and agents and (because after all they are Slave Lakers) downing the odd shooter. Until I got involved with this organization I had no idea that there so much talent across Canada. The quality of musicians we have selected via the Arts Touring Alliance of Alberta is astounding and we have been able to increase attendance at our concerts from 40 to 200.

Immediately following Showcase I presented at the BlendED Symposium, speaking with the very lame title "It takes a person to personalize learning." Those involved in online education know that there are many corporations out there vying for the education dollar under the idea that by using algorithms, they can "personalize" instruction and assessment for students so they can learn.  My premise is that it takes a human being to engage students in their learning.  I've been working online for 16 years. It was cool to see some younger teachers embrace the use of innovative forms of education to reach their students.

A couple of days getting caught up at work, and then I had the occasion  seek some medical treatment at my local hospital which is a well run place filled with professional, businesslike people providing service with a smile to their patients right in the midst of a major clinic move.

Then to the city to do some shopping with my daughter, see a movie and have dinner with my mother in law.

On the way home, the grey skies turned to rain and then sleet and then snow. The dismal season is upon us. With thanksgiving well behind us, the leaves gone from the trees, the colour gone from the grass, and Hallowe'en over for another year, it is bleak.

My dad's log book and medals including DFC

The next non-work day is Remembrance Day, a time to think of those who sacrificed their lives for our country. It never seems right to decorate the house or celebrate during this dreary time. Instead, I always feel this time of year is in a holding pattern, a time to reflect on what it means to be a Canadian. To ponder just what it was my grandfather and father and other young men and women risked their lives for.  Is this Canada the one they were fighting for?

My experiences last week tell me YES!

First, culture. Isn't it incredible that we live in a country and a province where we are free to enjoy the arts? The arts that bring colour and life and meaning to our world? And the leisure time to do so? The Alberta Arts Touring Alliance receives funding from the government and the Alberta Foundation for the Arts provides our concert series with roughly $5000 per year which allows us to make our performances affordable for all. And this funding is passed on to the musicians who in turn make our lives better.

Second, public education. Not long before I submitted my proposal for the BlendED conference, I heard a podcast on This American Life called "Three Miles".  This was a tragic tale of a gifted student who attended public school in a poor neighbourhood. She had a bright future and a scholarship ahead of her. Then she took part in an exchange with a wealthy private school. The injustice deeply affected her and she quit school. As a teacher and a parent I was greatly moved by this expose of the heartbreaking injustices of the U.S. school system. Our Canadian education system provides opportunities to kids from all walks of life, with disabilities and personal issues. I work with kids with unique challenges every day. My dad and men like him fought for equality of opportunity. I am proud to be part of a publicly funded education system where teachers provide innovative solutions to help all students reach their potential regardless of income level or the neighbourhood they live in.

Third, health care. Our health care system in Slave Lake has gone through many trials and a high turn over of doctors. But I think we have turned the corner. And I love that I can enter a clinic or an emergency room right here in my little northern town and receive excellent treatment and it doesn't cost me one nickel. That is something every Canadian should be proud of.

Pensions. We had a nice visit with my mother in law over the weekend. She's in her mid eighties and lives in her own immaculate home where she is pleased as can be to cook up what she calls a traditional "ethnic dinner" of roast beef and yorkshire pudding for her grandkids. And she can do that because she receives an adequate pension to live on thanks to unionized workers and federal pension funds supported by Canadian tax dollars.

The time between Thanksgiving Day and Remembrance Day is a time for for reflection on what it means to be Canadian. I thank you, Canadians who went before. Thank you for fighting for what really matters. Thank you for the progressive and forward-thinking nation you helped create.

This Remembrance Day, I will remember and give thanks.

My grandfather George Martin, centre.

I am a teacher and I vote NDP

Public schools are messy places. They have to be messy. How else can we take thousands of children from all backgrounds and provide them with opportunities to succeed? In our public schools, boys like the sons of my millionaire friends work alongside the children of minimum wage temporary foreign workers. In our public schools, girls like my northern daughters obtain the foundational knowledge to lead to a PhD from Cambridge or a degree and  a job in geophysics. Schools are complicated. They are far from utopian. But they are full of promise. They are a microcosm of the Alberta I believe in. 

I am a teacher and I vote NDP because I believe in equality. The children in Alberta’s public schools come from all income brackets and from every walk of life. The children of the rich and the children of the poor. Those born with every advantage and those born into the vicious inter-generational cycle of poverty. Children raised by siblings, foster parents, stay home moms, nannies, kookums and moosums. Children with a myriad of skills and talents and needs. These kids do not walk into our classrooms “equal” but when they enter our schools, the rich kids don't get exclusive rights to play with the good toys. All kids are welcomed equally. All kids are treated equally. They learn to recognize value in each other. And I believe that if that kind of equality can exist in a school, it can exist in society.

I am a teacher and I vote NDP because I know there is strength in diversity. Our schools are filled with children of many colours, religions, environmental views, ideological beliefs, cultures and languages. Children of refugees. Children of pioneers. Children of immigrants. Children of Canada’s First Peoples. Children who are co-creators of knowledge and will one day be co-creators of their own society. They should not be put into separate buildings where they only see others like themselves. Our schools and our society will move forward when we hear each others' voices. And I believe that if we can celebrate diversity in a school, we can do so in society.

I am a teacher and I vote NDP because I believe human potential is not something that should be squandered. Society cannot continue to ignore the social capital inherent in our next generation. Students succeed when they are given the right tools and someone who believes in them. When they work hard and are rewarded, they learn what they are capable of and in turn they give back. If we can recognize the potential of each human in a school, we can do so as a province. We can build social capital in our province and that will benefit each and every Albertan.

I am a teacher and I vote NDP because I believe in progress. An excellent fully funded public education is the way out of poverty. Our ancestors knew it and so do we. Many of my students will never be able to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps,” but they will pull themselves up with assistance. That assistance should be the birthright of every child born in this province. It should not be based on the ability to pay, the price of oil, the whims of a charitable donor or the misguided notion that all Albertans, including children, must pay for corporate welfare. There is such a thing as progress. I see it in my school every day.

I am a teacher and I vote NDP because I know that if we value equality, diversity and human potential in our schools, children can raise themselves up. They can make their own lives better while contributing to their communities. Henry Marshall Tory described the purpose of the University of Alberta as "the uplifting of the whole people." But that is not just an educational goal. It is the goal of society. 

That is why I am a teacher and I vote NDP.