Get in the Game

When I was in high school, our indoor arena was condemned due to structural problems.  All that exceptionally cold winter, we had to skate outside.

I coached figure skating in the afternoon. I taught both boys and girls how to skate forwards and backwards. How to turn on a dime. How to stop. Quite a few would-be hockey players took lessons with the Mile Zero Figure Skating Club, including Phil Sykes and Danny Brennan who were two of the only three Dawson Creek kids to ever make the NHL.

Mile Zero Figure Skating Club

Right after figure skating was minor hockey. As I waited for my mom to pick me up, I would watch the beginners, mostly five and six year old boys. 

They did not take lessons on how to skate or handle a stick or pass the puck. They went straight into playing the game, most of them leaning on their sticks for support or falling over. The one or two kids who could skate dominated, leaving the rest out of the action with their dads calling kids names and yelling "Take him out! Knock him down! Take the man!" There were several pathetic little scuffles every game, with enthusiastic support from the parents in the stands. 

It was the worst hockey I have ever seen. In fact, I wouldn't even call it hockey. Little kids being told to take other little kids out, just because they couldn't actually skate or handle the puck? Sad. 

I couldn't help but think that if their parents had enrolled those boys in figure skating for a year, they would now be able to skate and could concentrate on mastering actual hockey skills like how to handle a stick or how to pass or shoot a puck. 

Maybe then they would have scored some goals. 

Maybe they could be the ones getting near the net instead of feebly throwing in some punches with their scrawny six year old arms. 

Fast forward to today in politics. I see the big boys sitting on their fat asses telling the little guys to scrap it out on the sidelines, while those who have invested in learning something are controlling the play. I see the unskilled trying to content themselves fighting little battles instead of winning games. I hear name calling and insults. Maybe throwing a punch or two gives them some satisfaction. I have no idea. But it seems to me if you want to win, you need to actual make some points.

Get in the game, kids. 

You want to make a change in how things are done, learn how the game is played. And then play it. Otherwise you're just flailing away with your puny arms and your dumb insults accomplishing nothing. 

Today You Wait

You send a text to your mom.

"It's today."

That's code telling her she is supposed to send you jokes all day.

Because today is the day you've been dreading. 

You know it's coming. 

What you don't know is if it's going to be you. 

The day you're told to sit in your office until it's all over. A day of waiting for that knock on the door, that phone call, that email, that meeting request. The day you get escorted out with your box of stuff. Or just escorted out with nothing. Or you're left behind with your guilt as your friends and co-workers disappear one by one. 

The day you find out if you're still employed. 

Today is the day.

Tomorrow will be another day.

Tomorrow will be the day you check your bank account and break your lease and cash in your RRSPs and figure out where the heck you're going to live. Or hold your breath waiting for another "reorganization."

But today. 

Today you wait.

Kuala Lumpur

We didn't get off the train at Kuala Lumpur.

"I thought about it," said my husband. "Maybe if we had got off the train at Kuala Lumpur, they would have figured out what was wrong with me."

The Kuala Lumpur train station was cool, I remembered. One of the many interesting sites I had seen from my train window on the journey from Penang to Singapore those many years ago. A lone man in a dugout canoe fishing in the mist. Miles of jungle. A journey where my husband slept and I ate a kilo of cashews and read A Tale of Two Cities. My husband had contracted malaria in Burma which was diagnosed in Phuket on Christmas Day. After he recovered somewhat, we made our way to Singapore and then possibly Australia via Penang. In Australia, I hoped, we could park ourselves in cheap hotel in Cairns and he could relax, lie on the beach, eat seafood, snorkel and gain weight. He could enjoy the benefits of western medicine. 

But instead he got sicker. A couple of trips to the hospital in Singapore. A return to Edmonton where an internal parasite was discovered. He got better. We resumed our journey with a trip to England in February. It was freezing, expensive and dull. We flew to Africa. A car accident. A return to Canada. A job far north. Babies who turned into kids who turned into adults. We have still not seen Kuala Lumpur or Cairns.  But a life. A life in a place we never thought of. Where we now walked along the frozen shore of Lesser Slave Lake with our dogs as we talked about our friends John and Janine currently in Kuala Lumpur.

"If we got off the train in Kuala Lumpur, " he said. "We wouldn't have had all of this." 

All that came after.

Guide to Alberta Politics:Political Parties in Alberta

As I mentioned in Part One of this guide, political parties play a major role in provincial politics.

Political Parties

Political parties are groups of citizens who share similar views about how the government and the economy should work. They develop platforms and policies and run candidates in elections based on their ideologies- ideas based on values and beliefs about the nature of human beings and the subsequent role the government should play in the lives of citizens. In Canada and most democratic nations in the world the government plays an important but not overpowering role. 

Ideologies are often put on what is called the "political spectrum" which goes from left to right, although they can also be placed on a grid which is probably more accurate.

Thanks to Calgary Social Studies teacher Kevin Gilchrist!

There are a couple of good websites that might help you determine where you fall on the political spectrum.  The Political Compass is one. Vote Compass is more Canadian.

There are nine registered political parties in Alberta. Five of them hold seats in the legislature. On the left is the New Democratic Party, more towards the middle are the Liberals and Alberta Party and on the right are the Progressive Conservatives and the Wildrose. With no seat in the legislature and less than one percent of the popular vote, the Green Party is somewhat to the left of centre with a strong environmental platform. 

Each party has its own constitution, by-laws, elected executive and leader. 

Constituency Associations

Parties also have constituency associations, groups of party members who recruit members, campaign for the party during an election, conduct fundraising activities and participate in decision making in a number of ways. Each constituency association must be registered with Elections Alberta and file financial statements. It has an executive elected by members in good standing. 

Nomination of Candidates Constituency associations nominate and elect candidates to run in provincial elections through a democratic process. Each party has its own rules about how this process takes place. On occasion the provincial executive may intervene in the nomination process-perhaps at their peril.

Membership Albertans can join political parties by paying a membership fee which varies from party to party. It is understood that when people join a party, they do so because they believe in the platform of the party although in fact people may join in order to influence policy or elect the leader or select a candidate to run for election. People may not join the New Democratic Party if they belong to any other party. Memberships may be revoked by the party for a variety of reasons although this is not common.

Conventions All parties hold regular conventions in which the members hear reports, present resolutions, vote on policy, elect officers and conduct leadership reviews. Generally, all members can attend conventions as observers but only certain delegates can vote. The process by which delegates are selected varies from party to party.

Leadership Every party has a leader who is elected by members in good standing at a leadership convention. Some parties hold leadership reviews during their conventions.If a leader loses the confidence of the party, he or she will resign and an election for leader will be called. Candidates for leadership must be members of the party. Generally, members in good standing may vote for the leader although there may be a time requirement as to when the membership was purchased depending on the party.

Forming a Political Party

You can form your own political party if you can come up with a petition signed by 8,351 eligible voters. Write to the Chief Electoral Officer at the following address:

Elections AlbertaAttn: Chief Electoral OfficerSuite 100, 11510 Kingsway NWEdmonton, AB T5G 2Y5

grace of God

6 a.m. I hear a noise. It's in the house. Something falling. Then a door closing. I slide my foot over.

My husband is asleep beside me. My sleepy mental inventory reminds me the only people who should be in my house right now are right in this room, in this bed.

"Get up!" I say. "There's someone in the house!"

"Are you sure?" He says. Then we hear another door close. No movement from the dogs. Into the hall. The door to my office and my son's door are uncharacteristically closed. I open the office door. Something isn't right but I don't know what. I wonder if my son came home unexpectedly from university. I call his name. Nothing. I open his door and turn on the light. A boy is in his bed.

Not him.

I think about my nephew who is having problems in a city far away. I wonder if it's him- he has the same colour of hair.

"Hey, buddy, get up! What are you doing in our house? We shake his foot. He moves a bit. A total stranger. "I'm sleeping," he says. "Why are you bothering me?"

"You're in the wrong house. You have to go home."

"Who are you?" My husband asks.

He looks to be about 13. "Where do you live?'  He's out of it but he's able tell us a name and a street number nearby. The dog finally wakes up and jumps on the bed. The kid pushes her away and then goes back to sleep.

I go back to the office. His clothes are lying in a heap, soaking wet. It hasn't rained in days. Did he fall into the nearby creek? I check the pockets of his tear-away pants. I find a flashlight. No phone, no ID. Nothing.

I call the RCMP. "My goodness " says the dispatcher. "My goodness,' says the RCMP officer. "Is he violent? Does he need medical attention?"  "He's asleep," I say.

"We'll be right over," says the lady cop.

My husband makes coffee. We check all the doors and windows. All locked but the gate to the back yard is open. He must have come in through the usually dead-locked patio door, locking it behind him.

A male and female police officer arrive in separate cars. They ask if we want to press charges, we say no. He's a kid, after all.  "You're calm," the female says. We shrug. 

They enter the room.

"Buddy, you're in the house of people you don't even know," she says. Eventually  they get him up and dressed although he protests. As he starts moving, the male cop tells him he's under arrest. He gets agitated. "Under arrest? What for, tell me straight up, what for?" Something tells me this isn't his first encounter with authority.

Off they go.

People tell us this boy was lucky that it was our house he broke into. 

They are grateful no one was hurt. 

I wonder, if we lived in a nation with a gun culture, how things might have ended. 

I think how lucky I am to live in a community where the police are readily available and treat people with respect. 

Most of all I think what if that had been my child out lost and confused and inebriated and soaking wet in subzero temperatures, how would I want that to end?

My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge

It is tough to be a teacher these days.

There are all these ludicrous claims and conspiracy theories out there. So much misinformation. People with mystical ideas about how things work. Nonetheless I try to power through. My husband tells me I can't correct everyone who is wrong. He asks me why I bother.

Last summer I engaged with a fellow on Facebook who insisted there was an International Citizens Court that had determined Canada would cease to be a nation in July of 2015. He insisted that if I just visited this website, I would have proof. I argued with him but what was the point? At the end of the day, he was still wrong. 

A couple weeks ago I read the judge's ruling in the case of "Meads vs Meads" in which the "vexatious litigant" believed he could prolong a court case and by implication refuse to pay child support by using such tactics as adding double colons in and around his name. Mr.Meads believed this would give him some sort of magical identity above the law. According to Judge John Rooke, people like Mr. Meads are given legal advice by fake lawyers (or "gurus" as he calls them) who get paid to advise their clients of untruths to "disrupt court operations and to attempt to frustrate the legal rights of governments, corporations, and individuals”.  Meads did prolong his course case, but he didn't win his battle.

Then we have Mr. George Clark, "Albertans First" and the Alberta Plebiscite Warriors. 

Mr. Clark is of the belief that if he gets enough names on his petitions against Bill 6 and the carbon tax, he can force the government to call a plebiscite which would lead to the democratically elected Premier and her political party being thrown out of office. And if the Lieutenant Governor and the Premier refuse to accept these petitions, he will present them directly to the Queen. So what if he doesn't realize the Lieutenant Governor's role is apolitical and that Mrs. Mitchell- and the Queen- are unelected figureheads who are not in the business of overruling democratically elected governments. He can say what he likes. He'll still be wrong. 

Clark's supporters feel these measures will lead to someone else becoming premier. Someone who will change the global economy and increase the price of oil and bring full employment back to Alberta. Lately his movement seems to have lost momentum and he's resorted to photos of dead birds under wind turbines.

Clark claims he has a "team of lawyers" working on these petitions, I can't imagine any lawyer advising him that his strategies have any legal bearing. Perhaps he is working with one of Mr. Meads' gurus. Or perhaps tilting at windmills is what he does best.

It must be easier to blame a political party for our economic woes than recognizing we are powerless against the real issues of global oversupply, decreased demand and a worldwide economic slowdown. 

It must be easier to believe the provincial government's minor increase in corporate tax rates and personal tax rates for the wealthy and the "drama" surrounding the royalty review have driven investors away rather than admit that a provincial government can't control the price of a global commodity or acknowledging this is a problem with no simple solution. 

As a teacher, I know people like simple solutions. Don't we all?  But they aren't out there this time and what is the point of being willfully ignorant about reality?

Deliberately and repeatedly misinforming the public about measures they can take to throw the government out of office distracts us from creating real solutions. Suggesting the government and the thousands who voted for it are the "enemy" is a mistake. And I have to wonder if all this talk is about using people with limited knowledge and those have lost their jobs to gain political advantage. Not about dealing with the truth or finding what is best for the people.

Yes, people have a right to their ignorance. But how does that help? At the end of the day, like Meads and Clark and the guy who believes Canada isn't a country, these people are still wrong. The teacher in me wants to change that.

People are hurting in Alberta. Magical thinking and willful ignorance won't change that. 

Guide to Alberta Politics:The Lieutenant Governor

In my previous guides I talked about the democratic process in Alberta. Democracy exists so that the will of the people can be carried out in government. However, under the Canadian Constitution, we are a constitutional monarchy. The Queen is our head of state. Serving "at her Majesty's pleasure" are representatives who play a largely ceremonial role in government.

Canada is a federal constitutional monarchy. The Queen is our head of state. Elected official swear an oath of allegiance to the Queen and so do new citizens.

I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.

The Queen's representative in Canada is the Governor General and in Alberta, the Lieutenant Governor (typically pronounced "leftenant" in British fashion as my friend Glenn likes to remind me). Their roles are a legacy of Canada's history as a colony of Great Britain. 

The Queen, the Governor General and the Lieutenant Governor have power on paper but their role is primarily ceremonial. As unelected leaders, their job is generally to ensure that the will of the people is carried out through the decisions made by elected representatives.

Every province has a Lieutenant Governor who is appointed by the federal equivalent, the Governor General, who is appointed upon the advice of the Prime Minister upon recommendation from the Queen's Privy Council.

Alberta's Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable Lois Mitchell, was sworn in on June 14, 2015. Like all Lieutenant Governors, she was chosen based on her record of service to her province and community. She is a successful business woman with a history of volunteerism, especially in amateur sport.

What does she do? The position of the Lieutenant Governor is apolitical. This means that the Lieutenant Governor does not get involved in any political activity, intervene in day-to-day issues and decisions made by Alberta government ministries, or advocate for groups or individuals seeking to change government. She does not belong to any political party and cannot show favour to one party over another. If you contact her to ask her to act on your behalf, she will forward your concerns to the elected government.

She has two primary roles.

Constitutional She ensures the constitution is upheld. She summons and ends the sitting of the Legislature, reads the Speech from the Throne, and dissolves the Legislature when an election is called. If there are irregularities in how an election is conducted, she She ensures the province has a Premier and swears in the cabinet. She gives Royal Assent to bills passed by the the Legislative Assembly. She also signs Orders-in-Council and other official documents.

1. Royal Assent:  The Lieutenant Governor can use something called "royal prerogative" against the elected government if she feels a bill contravenes the constitution or infringes on fundamental rights and freedoms. This only happens if the bill violates the constitution or gives the province powers that  belong to the federal government.  Historically, this occurred three times in 1937 when the Social Credit government was in power. Two of the bills passed in the house would have put banks under provincial control.The third limited freedom of the press. The decision to refuse to give assent to all three bills was later upheld by the Supreme Court. While these three bills never became law, the Premier of Alberta William Aberhart had a little hissy fit, closed his house and took away his official car.  Yet the Lieutenant Governor remained in his position for another 23 years and the Social Credit party with its majority government remained in power for another 34 years.
   
   in 2000, Lieutenant Governor Lois Hole wanted to discuss a private health care bill with then Premier Ralph Klein. It was suspected she might withhold Royal Assent to a bill that was protested by thousands of Albertans. However, she was unable to discuss the bill with the Premier and she did eventually give Royal Assent.
   
2. Ceremonial  She presides over many ceremonies, including the presentation of awards to Albertans who have shown bravery and dedication. She hosts the Royal Family when they visit Alberta and represents the Queen at numerous functions including meeting visiting dignitaries.

What does "Lieutenant Governor in Council" mean? This term can be found on many legal documents. It refers to the actions the Lieutenant Governor makes with the advice of the elected government. It does not refer to actions she might theoretically take against the government.

The Lieutenant Governor is a lovely lady. She does a wonderful job representing the Queen.  She does her best to embody the words spoken by the Queen decades ago: 

I want the Crown in Canada to represent everything that is best and most admired in the Canadian ideal. I will continue to do my best to make it so during my lifetime, and I hope you will all continue to give me your help in this task.” I would like to repeat those words today as together we continue to build a country that remains the envy of the world.

The Lieutenant Governor is not elected by Albertans. She will not intervene in the daily workings of democracy in our province and I don' think we would want her to. 

You can read more on the official page.

Social Studies Teacher Laments a Lifetime of Accomplishing Absolutely Nothing

WEST BUTTE ALBERTA    A retired Albertan educator is demoralized after learning that his former students learned absolutely nothing during their 12+ years of public education.

      "I didn't think they were all paying attention in class," said 63 year old Social Studies teacher Grant McIteer of West Butte, Alberta, "but I wasn't thinking it was quite this bad. I can't help but wonder what I was doing wrong all those years I taught high school." Upon learning more than 56,000 Albertans believed they could remove a majority government from power based on an online petition, he shook his head and continued, "I can accept the poor spelling and bad grammar. I can even accept that no matter what I do, some students still believe Hitler was a communist. But the fundamentally flawed understanding of the democratic process is a bit hard to take." Echoing the sentiments of dozens of teachers across the province, McIteer continued, "Recent events have called into question whatever it was that I thought I had accomplished after more than 30 years as a teacher." 

     When reached for comment, an unidentified representative of the province's Ministry of Education stated "We're not really sure what to think at this point. Alberta has an excellent curriculum and traditionally one of the best records in the world when it comes to test scores. So to learn a significant number of Albertans believe they can call on the unelected Lieutenant Governor to overturn democratically enacted legislation is a bit confusing." 

     Rumours of a Royal Commission are unfounded at this point, but something the government has not ruled out. "Something went wrong, there is no doubt about it. We're just not sure what."

Guide to Alberta Politics:Recall, Plebiscite and Petition

In my last post, I discussed how elections work. 

Elections in Alberta are the means by which voters select representatives in the legislature. 

If the person or the party elected does not do the job electors hoped for in some parts of the world, there is a way to call for an end to a particular piece of legislation or remove a representative through peaceful and legal means.  However in Alberta, the only legal way for voters to effect change while a majority government is in power is through election. 

Recall Legislation allows registered voters to remove a politician from office and hold another election when voters have lost confidence in their representative.

British Columbia is the only province in Canada with recall legislation. The Province of British Columbia brought in Recall and Initiative legislation following a province wide referendum in 1995. Under this legislation, voters can petition to remove a representative after member has been in office for 18 months. The petition requires the signature of more than 40% of all eligible voters in the riding. No one has been recalled so far.

Under the same legislation, a registered voter can propose a new law or changes to an existing law. The voter must obtain the signatures of 10% of registered voters in each electoral district. To date, there have been nine petitions approved and one-regarding the Harmonized Sales Tax-was successful. 

Alberta very briefly had recall legislation from 1936 until 1937 when it was repealed. There have been several private members bills requesting recall legislation. None have passed. Wildrose MLA Lelea Aheer proposed such legislation in November 2015. Her proposed bill includes a recall based on a petition 20% of registered voters. It is highly unlikely to pass because the Wildrose does not control a majority of the seats in the house.  A summary can be found on David Cournoyer's blog.

We do not have recall legislation in Alberta. There is no mechanism to recall an MLA or a Premier other than another provincial election.

Plebiscites provide an opportunity for registered voters to have their voices heard on important issues by direct vote. 

The government may call for a plebiscite or, under section 128 of the the Elections Act,  the Lieutenant Governor may request one if she feels it is expedient. However, since the Lieutenant Governor is largely a figurehead, it would be unprecedented for her to act against an elected government. Even if she did, the plebiscite would not be binding. 

In other words, the government is under no legal obligation to conduct a plebiscite or act on the results.

Historically, there have been five plebiscites in Alberta:

• 1971  Daylight Savings. Called by the government. Passed
• 1967  Daylight Savings: Called by the government. Defeated
• 1957  Liquor Sales: Called by the government, this had two parts, one calling for more ALCB (government owned liquor stores) and one calling for "mixed drinking" to be allowed in bars.  Passed.
• 1948:  Electrification: Called by the government, this asked if the province should create a crown corporation to deliver electricity. Split.
• 1923:  Prohibition. Triggered by a vote in legislature after the presentation of a petition in accordance with the Citizens Referendum Law (no longer in effect), a petition for a plebiscite was presented by the Prohibition Committee which wanted to see the end of liquor sales in Alberta. The plebiscite was defeated.

Petitions

Online and paper petitions are a great way for people to demonstrate their views on many issues. I have signed many petitions myself and in fact I used an online petition drum up support for the retention of air ambulance services in my community. However, what is their legal status in Alberta?

There are circumstances when a petition can be legally filed.  For example, under the Elections Act, a citizen can petition the government in the case of a controverted elections, ie when the legitimacy of an election is in doubt. Citizens can also petition the Minister of Municipal Affairs on certain municipal issues.

Citizens may also petition the government of Alberta directly. Petitions must be presented by a Member of the Legislative Assembly. Members are not obligated to present these petitions. The petitions must be in proper form and must be reviewed by Parliamentary Council before they can be presented. Petitions cannot call for any money to be spent by the government.

Neither the Assembly nor the Government are compelled to take any action on a petition.

To recap, we do not have recall legislation in Alberta and will not have it any time soon. The elected government is not legally obligated to act on either a plebiscites or a petition. 

The next provincial election will take place in 2019. As a citizen, there are many ways you can effect change. But to effect a change in leadership, you must wait until the next election.

Guide to Alberta Politics

So I guess some of you weren’t listening in Social Studies. Maybe you thought Social Studies was boring and had no impact on your life. Now the economy has tanked. You're mad. You want to blame somebody. You want to blame the government. You think if you got rid of the government, things would be better. Maybe it would help if you understood how the government is elected and how you can change it. 

Here’s a guide.

Things we have

1. Political Parties. A political party is a group of people who share a set of beliefs about how government should operate. They make this known to the public through their platform- a set of promises they intend to keep if elected. People vote for the political party whose platform they agree with.  Follow the links to read the platform of the ruling New Democratic Party and opposition Wildrose.
   
   Alberta has 9 political parties.
   
   The political party that elects the most MLAs to the legislature forms the government. As of May 5 2015 that party is the New Democratic Party.
2. A Premier  The Premier is the leader of the political party that holds the most seats in the legislature. Albertans do not directly elect their leader.
   
   Alberta's Premier is Rachel Notley, leader of the New Democratic Party.
3. Ridings The province is divided into areas called "ridings" or electoral districts. Ridings vary in population and size. For example, the riding of Dunvegan-Central Peace-Notley has just over 23,000 people while Spruce Grove-St. Albert has a population of nearly 52,000. The person in the riding who gets the most votes becomes the MLA. The party that elects the most MLAs becomes the ruling party and forms government.
4. First Past the Post  Alberta, like all other provinces in Canada, use the "first past the post" or "plurality" system of electing representatives. This system is also known as "winner-take-all" because whoever gets the most votes wins. Let’s look at how this would work with some simple numbers. Let’s say you have 3 candidates running and 10 voters.
   

   Scenario #1 Majority Government In the scenario that follows, Party A wins. It has more seats than any other party. It also has more seats that all the other parties combined. It would form what is called a majority government. If Party B and C were to join forces they would have fewer seats than Party A . 

   We have a majority government in Alberta. 

   Party A	6
   Party B	2
   Party C	2

   
   Scenario #2 Minority Government In the scenario that follows, Party A wins. It has more seats than any other party but it doesn’t have the most votes overall. It would form what is called a minority government. If Party B and C were to join forces or form a coalition government, Party A could be defeated in a motion of no confidence.  

   We don’t have a minority government in Alberta.

   Party A	4
   Party B	3
   Party C	3

5. Motion of No Confidence The ONLY way an elected government can be democratically removed from office is if it fails a motion of no confidence. This only happens when there is a minority government. Alberta has never had a minority government. It does not have one now. While the opposition could make a motion of no confidence, when there is a majority government it would not pass and such an action would be pointless. See above.
6. Members of the Legislative Assembly or MLAs These are the people Albertans choose to represent them in the legislature. Each MLA in Alberta today belongs to a political party. MLAs tend to vote with their party on any laws that are proposed. There are 87 MLAs in Alberta. As of Jan 9 2016:

• NDP 54
• Wildrose 22 
• Progressive Conservative 8 
• Liberal 1
• Alberta Party 1
• Vacant 1

       The opposition parties combined have 32 MLAs. 

       That means the NDP is a majority government. 
       In other words, they hold the majority of the seats. 

       If every MLA who is not NDP voted against the NDP, they could not defeat them.

Alberta:Not as conservative as you thought

7.     Elections. In Alberta, citizens vote for the people they want to represent them in the legislature. This is called representative government. Alberta holds regular and fair elections.

Alberta’s Election Accountability Amendment Act that says elections must be held between March 1 and May 31 every four years. The last election was May 5 2015.

The next election will take place on or before May 31 2019 following a request from the Premier to the Lieutenant Governor to dissolve the legislature.

Things we don’t have

1. Recall legislation
2. Proportional representation
3. Plebiscites to demand another
   
   Stay tuned for more Social Studies lessons!

Spirit of Christmas

Where would Christmas be without traditions? Our lives revolve around little customs and rituals that have evolved through the years, like decorating gingerbread houses, skating parties with Santa, and -you know what I'm going to say- the ever-popular and much maligned "Christmas concert." Perhaps as you are reading this you are heaving a sigh of relief because yours is over for another year, or cursing at the very thought of another class of tiny tots holding up construction paper letters to the glare of a thousand flashes and the hum of a hundred video cameras.

Christmas concert memories from my teaching days have all blurred together, except for one, the concert held in the small northern community where we lived many years ago.

"It's always been a tradition for our school to host a Christmas concert," our principal told us. "The community expects it, and I guarantee you will see parents there who would never attend interviews or meet-the-teacher-night. A few years ago we put on a musical, `The Littlest Angel.' We held auditions and practiced after school. Actually, I directed it. It was great. Having one school event is hard work, but it frees up class time for students who need extra help. Of course, being principal and all, I don't have time to direct it myself, but think about it."

After the staff unanimously turned this idea down in two seconds, we decided to go with the usual format. For the kindergartens and grade ones, it was easy. Does it really matter what they do? Who can resist thirty little ones in their Christmas finery, up on stage for the first time? The grade two-three class got their hands on a super musical about Santa and his snowmobile, which they performed with a beautiful wooden skidoo built by one of the dads. The grade three-fours did some skits they wrote themselves, and the five-sixes sang a couple of carols with their classroom assistant, a talented local musician.

But what was I to do? The seven-eight-nines thought the whole concept of a concert too juvenile for words. "Can't we just set up the chairs and pull the curtain open and closed?" One suggested. "We'll serve refreshments," another offered. "Do we have to?" In their own adolescent way, I knew they wanted to be a part of the evening, but they just couldn't figure out how. As the day of the concert drew frighteningly nearer, I tried to get creative. "You could write your own play about what Christmas in the north is like?" No way. "How about an air band with some contemporary holiday music?" Well, maybe...no way. "What if you read and acted out `The Night Before Christmas'?" Forget it. "Okay, break into small groups and brainstorm your own ideas. But we have to put something on."

Imagine my astonishment when the final decision was handed down. "We want to read the story of Christmas from the Bible and act it out." This from a bunch of 12-18 year olds whose behaviour had caused the local nuns to cancel their religious instruction class? This from the group of wild and rebellious young offenders who had named their class `The Exterminators'? The Christmas story?

And so it was that the next week of afternoons were spent in a frenzy of tempera and tinsel. Helen and Susan painted brilliant backdrops in the style of Ted Harrison, Lorraine and others prepared their angel wings, Curtis practiced his humble bow as a wise man and Eddy and Eugene sorted through tea towels and rummaged for bathrobes befitting a native shepherd. Myra, a grade seven who had startling just burst into womanhood, rehearsed her lines- and Cindy volunteered to open and close the curtains.

The concert itself was bedlam. The classroom rang with last minute threats to back out by the principal players, screams that halos were misplaced, the baby for the manger couldn't be found, and where was Myra?

The community turned out in full force to watch, although the adults in the audience could have used a few lessons in concert hall etiquette. Dads wandered out for a smoke in the middle of songs, aunties gossiped with other aunties, moms visited the bathroom and shouted at their children at inappropriate times, but the kids were perfect. They shone with a glow more perfect than anything the makeshift spotlights could provide.

The next year, there was a new principal. In his wisdom he decided that given the chaos of the previous concert, the school would not host another. The stressed out staff did not protest. I never found out what the people in the community thought, and maybe they didn't care, but I know the kids missed their concert. They seemed to be the only ones who knew what it was all about.

Originally published in the ATA News, December 10 1997.

Of Yoga Pants and Ideologies

So I have this activity in Social 30-1.

I ask kids to go to this website called spezify.com and enter the term "ideology" and see what comes up.  Spezify uses some kind of algorithm to search certain areas of the web comes up with a visual display of images, quotes, websites and videos around your term.  

It's kind of an interesting activity as many different things come up and no two kids get exactly the same result.  You might get a meme of Will Smith, the cover of a textbook about Chairman Mao, or a thought provoking quotation or a beautiful photo. It gets students thinking out of the box or so I hope.

I've had this activity in my online course for a few years. I never get any comments on it. Then a few days ago a kid emailed me and said "I don't get the point of this spezify thing. I did it and all I got was pictures of yoga pants. That is not helpful to my thinking."  So I tried the thing and it worked normally. But I figured something was up, dug around a bit and sure enough if lululemon doesn't have yoga pants called "ideology." Five star yoga pants no less.

What's the connection between ideology and yoga pants? Clever branding is what I am sure the genius marketers at lululemon think.  I mean, how cool are ideologies? They can imply that yoga (in expensive pants) is the core of your belief system.Core values that influence the political and economic system you believe in. And if their consumers have no clue what an ideology is, by co-opting the term maybe they will seem politically aware.

I wonder if Rachel Notley wears ideology yoga pants as part of her Sunday workout?  Or does she wear something union made? And when she runs, do her body guards go with her?

Spezify "Rachel Notley" and see what comes up. Ugliness that make me ashamed to be an Albertan. Ugliness that reminds me Rachel was not wrong when she said Alberta is "the embarrassing cousin no one wants to talk about."  She might have been referring to Alberta's record on the environment, but with every word and every meme produced by Alberta's Wildrose supporters, I am reminded that Albertans have plenty to be ashamed of.

Ideologies are not pretty things. No matter what pants they are wearing.

Land of the Free

When I was a kid, my brothers and sister and I spent a lot of time on our grandparents' farm.

One of our favourite things to do was play in the granary full of canola, or rapeseed as we called it then. We would climb up the homemade ladder on the outside of the wooden building, climbing far over our own heads, jumping into the pile of shiny little black seeds. We would see how far down we could wiggle and still pull ourselves out again.  It was a ton of fun. We didn't think of the danger. Every now and then Granddad would say, "You kids aren't playing in the rapeseed, are you?"  "No," we would say. Thinking we weren't supposed to be in there because we might reduce the quality of his harvest.

So when I heard about the three little girls who were killed, it was chilling. I knew that could have been me slipping down under the seeds, unable to pull myself up. My brothers following in a desperate attempt to save me, perishing in the same way, suffocating under all those little black seeds.

We never thought of the farm as dangerous. It was home. It was familiar. We collected eggs and fed chickens and found the barn cats and their kittens. We leaped from the hay loft. We climbed as high as we could on the stacks of hay bales. Once a mouse ran up the inside of my brother's pants and that was hilarious. We wandered around the cows and horses. Swam in the river. Played on the old tractor and in pickup truck.  Dressed up in old clothes. Picked wild strawberries and saskatoons. Slept overnight in the old bunkhouse, loading up the airtight heater to the point it glowed red. It was a place where we were free.

My grandfather

My parents and grandparents were not risk-takers. They were not in any way casual in the way they raised us. We were warned about certain things. We learned a healthy respect for machinery. We knew which animals to avoid. We weren't allowed to swim unsupervised until we reached a certain skill level. We had a healthy fear of crossing the highway where my grandmother herself died. So I understand when people say they are angry about Bill 6. I really do. I understand resenting any implication that farm parents don't teach their children safety skills. The family farm is their home and they believe they and their employees and their kids are safe. They don't want anyone setting safety standards for them, any more than I would want someone telling me how to store my kitchen knives or the propane for my barbecue.

But the facts are the facts. As idyllic as farm life may seem, a farm is also a work-site. It contains far more dangers than a house. Should we romanticize a way of life that includes death and injury without recourse for the victims? Five children died on family farms last year. The three girls in the canola. A ten year old boy driving a forklift. These children were not safe.  They were denied the opportunity to continue the way of life their parents hold dear.

In high school Social Studies we look at many issues when it comes to liberty.

We look at the degree to which we should sacrifice individual rights and freedoms for security. We give up our individual right to drive as fast as we can or drive while impaired to ensure traffic safety. We give up our right to carry a pair of scissors onto a plane for public security. We give up our right to smoke in a public place so others will be free from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke. We give up privacy every time a CCTV camera is focused our way. It's part of living in a civilized society where the rights of the community take precedence over the freedoms of a few.

We also look at positive and negative freedoms. Freedom from and freedom to. The owner of a family farm may want freedom from government interference. But an employee or a child deserves the freedom to be safe. The freedom to say no when asked to perform dangerous tasks. The freedom to financial security if an accident occurs. The freedom to grow up.