There’s a new Alberta Advantage, but only for those on the inside

There’s a new Alberta Advantage, but only for those on the inside by David Marsden, September 22, 2012, Calgary Herald
It’s very odd, this Alberta Conservative government. It has been single-minded in cracking down on ordinary people, instituting an administrative penalty on folks driving below the threshold of legal impairment and fining those caught talking on their phones at traffic lights. You can understand why the Tories do it: it creates the facade of governance. Why take real measures to improve the lives of Albertans when you can spread fairy dust and appear to be making things better? … What is strange, is that this steely determination to scrutinize Albertans doesn’t extend to those we pay to, ahem, serve us. Former Agriculture minister Evan Berger was defeated by the good folk of Fort Macleod in the spring and was then appointed in August to a cushy job with the same department he once oversaw, despite conflict of interest guidelines that would seem to prohibit such a gift at taxpayers’ expense. And Alberta Health Services had announced a wide sweeping audit to rout out any spending excesses among as many as 30 executives after it was revealed little regard was being paid to expense accounts in at least one damning case, where a bureaucrat submitted claims for $346,000 between 2005 and 2008 at the former Capital Health Region. Alas, that review has been kiboshed by the new Tory-appointed chairman. … But you can be sure the Redford Tory government will give due consideration to seizing your car, whether speeding or not being impaired, even if it can’t be bothered to ensure government health executives weren’t racing to take all they could in excessive expenses. Just call it the Alberta Advantage, but only if you’re on the inside.

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