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Alberta Election April 16 Working Albertans Do Not Harbour a Morbid Preoccupation with DefeatThe Alberta provincial election, announced by Premier Rachel Notley on March 19, is to be held April 16 after a 28-day election campaign. Four years ago, Albertans delivered a stunning repudiation of the neo-liberal anti-social agenda being waged at the time by the Progressive Conservative Party, bringing down a 44-year dynasty in Alberta. The United Conservative Party (UCP) led by Jason Kenney, which is hoping to replace the NDP led by Rachel Notley, is the product of a hostile takeover of the Wildrose and Progressive Conservative parties and is united in name only. Even as the election gets underway, Kenney himself is mired in corruption scandals. All of this is used by the energy and other oligopolies, such as the big banks, to overwhelm people with the idea that the choice is between pipelines and the environment, "compassionate" versus severe austerity. There is no alternative to a growing public debt and deficit, the continued wrecking of health care, education and seniors' programs, pipelines in all directions, economic crisis, pay-the-rich schemes and setting people at each other's throats. Meanwhile, the working people have their own concerns and agenda and feel stronger when they stick to devising the strategy and tactics which bring about change in their own sectors of the economy, communities, places of work and defence organizations to make sure their interests are advanced. The forces which defeated the anti-worker, anti-people agenda in 2015 did so by fighting for a pro-social agenda and defending rights. Workers in many sectors of the economy are bringing forward their claims on society and for a new direction for the economy to bring it about. Given the significance of the Alberta oil industry to the people of all of Canada, the results of the Alberta election are a matter of concern for all Canadians. Trudeau gave away $4.5 billion to purchase the Trans Mountain pipeline in the name of Canadians. Let everyone speak in their own name in this election about the solutions they want to see implemented in Alberta. Say No to Paying the Rich! Increase Funding for Social Programs! Put the claims of the working people in first place, not those of the rich.
This article was published in Article Link:   Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca |
That
feeling of optimism has vanished.
Despite its efforts to bring about some reforms for which the working
class and people fought, four years of NDP government have
deepened the crisis of credibility in which the system called a
representative democracy is mired. Bringing political parties
over which people exercise no control to form governments does
not give rise to people's empowerment. Any perception that might
have lingered that the cartel party system has anything to do
with permitting the people to set government policies has
vanished as a result of four years in which Big Oil continues to
dictate what can and cannot be done in Alberta.