While some Canadians turn up their noses at socialist governments like Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, we are lumped in with them by those few Americans who think much beyond their borders.
Even if we think free enterprise, capitalism, and doing for yourself are ideas that seem quite natural to most Albertans, our province is far closer to the thinking in Texas than to Ontario. Alberta is still nowhere near as right leaning, politically, as almost all American states, even many known as “left.” Our mentality is, if there is a problem, government are the folks who have to fix it.
Thinking used to be we all knew the difference between “need to have,” and “nice to have.”
A car with leather seats and power steering was nice to have. But we didn’t really need it!
It was nice to have a garage to park that vehicle. But we didn’t need it!
One can make a long, long list of all the “nice to haves” that used to be, compared to what we now think are “need to haves.” Start your own list and you will soon see, many people have jobs in areas we didn’t used to need. And to boot, many jobs these days are filled at horribly high costs relative to what used to be the cost.
We aren’t going to put titles or names on a list. At some point in making a list, usually close to the beginning, there will be someone who will take offence. “Hey,” they will say, “that’s my ox being gored.” And the war will be on as people take sides!
There are several interesting side effects to all what is, basically, socialism. Or the idea government should be doing more and more for us. Give us “nice things,” instead of just what we need.
We see American President Donald Trump as being against what many of us call the worst of socialism, wokeism, and progressivism among many “isms.” Or, at root, rampant government interference in our lives.
Former prime minister Pierre Trudeau used the phrase, “there’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation” in 1967. In the same law, he legalized lotteries, and restricted gun ownership. Sixty years later, it’s still illegal in most places to have alcohol in a public place and there are more rules than ever everywhere. Go figure.
This is a quandary we have in Alberta. Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams, on one hand, proposes cutting back on government. On the other hand he wants new rules. Is this a ruse to take more power, as happened with Trudeau and Liberals? Or a road to better government?
Wrapped in one Bill 28 is a universal code of conduct for councillors. Good. Banning special taxes on vacant properties. Good. But more stuff that is seen as troublesome.
Williams says, “This isn’t about a power struggle between the province and municipalities.”
Good! Local councils should still look deeper into this. As is always said, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
Williams could be opening doors to a host of possible bad moves by future governments, whether free enterprise, local, or socialistic.
Jeff Burgar