Polls had it right this time as NDP crushes PC's in Alberta

The CBC decision desk has declared a New Democratic Party (NDP) majority government with the Wild Rose party the official opposition.

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The polls this time were right and Albertans doubts about whether the NDP would really win over the Progressive Conservatives were quite wrong. The New Democratic Party led by Rachel Notley won a convincing victory over the Conservatives with almost 40 percent of the popular vote so far. The NDP was winning or elected in 55 seats and the Wild Rose party to be the official opposition in 19 while the Progressive Conservatives held only nine seats as I write this about 11 p.m. Central Time. The NDP had just four seats at dissolution. While the NDP were expected to do well in Edmonton, they also broke through dramatically in the business centre of the oil patch, Calgary. They also did well in smaller cities such as Lethbridge. There are still many seats in which winners have not been declared but the final figures will probably not be too much different than those at present. The NDP has never won an Alberta election before or even come close to winning. A party must win 44 seats to have a majority. The best showing ever before for the NDP was in 1986 when it had a mere 16 seats.

The relatively new PC party leader Jim Prentice, made a number of serious errors. Instead of waiting until the fixed date for an election a year from now, he called an election on April 7. The PC's held 70 out of the 87 seats in the legislature so perhaps he thought he could hardly lose. His team had managed to get nine members of the opposition Wild Rose Party to cross the floor including the leader. This upset some of the progressives in the PCs. Rather than causing the demise of the Wild Rose Party it simply made supporters even more determined to defeat the PCs. They did not do that but they will become the official opposition. There was obviously no move to unite the right by voting for the Conservatives and as a result the surging NDP was able to end a 44-year-old dynasty of PC rule in Alberta.

As with many other Albertans Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi did not believe the NDP would win until he saw the numbers coming up on the TV screen and saw them leading or elected in over a dozen Calgary ridings. The NDP had not won a seat in the city since 1993. Alberta Federation of Labour president, Gil McGowan, said: “This is not going to be a union government. It’s not going to be a business government, It’s going to be a people’s government because people from all walks of life and all regions of the province voted overwhelmingly for this party.”Harold Jansen, a political science professor at the University of Lethbridge along with many others gave credit to NDP leader Rachel Notley for running an almost flawless campaign that tapped into Albertans' feeling that the PC party was too much aligned with corporate interests. Given the economic situation in Alberta Notley will probably be cautious and not take any radical steps that would alienate the oil industry or other business interests.

Alberta Premier Prentice praises Nebraska court decision on Keystone XL

The premier of Alberta said that the Nebraska Supreme Court ruling which vacated a district court judgment that a law determining how the route would be determined was unconstitutional, helped move the approval process forward.

The premier, Jim Prentice, said that the political process of approving the project is still far from over: “I think it remains to be seen how this plays out in the United States. From my perspective, the project should be approved. It will create jobs, it’s an environmentally defensible project, it’s supported by the American people. I think my role as the premier of Alberta is to be in Washington to ensure that the facts are clear, to speak to the environmental record of Alberta as a jurisdiction." Prentice intends to go to Washington in February to lobby in favor of approval for the project.

 During the period when the Nebraska Supreme Court was considering the lawsuit case brought by Nebraska landowners the US State Department review of the pipeline project had been paused. The review will now continue. When the review is finished and a recommendation made to Obama, he will make the final decision as to whether the pipeline will be built. In the new Congress, Republicans control both the House and the Senate. The Republicans have already passed legislation through the House that approves construction of Keystone XL. Obama threatens to veto any bill passed that favors the project. Keystone XL is part of a larger project that will deliver oil from the Alberta Tar Sands and other areas as far as refineries on the Gulf Coast in Texas.

 The CEO of Trans-Canada, the company building the project, Russ Girling, expressed pleasure at the Nebraska decision: "It removes what we believe is the stated reason for the delay in the presidential approval process. Now, hopefully that process can pick up where it left off. We would hope that we can get on with an approval in a very short timeframe." While some have said that lower oil prices make the project less attractive or even needed, Girling took the opposite position claiming that the low prices made it more necessary to find a more efficient and cheaper alternative to rail transportation as the pipeline would be. More pressure will be put on Obama to ensure the review is completed quickly and a decision made. Republican House Speaker, John Boehner, said it was time to start building: "President Obama is now out of excuses for blocking the Keystone pipeline and the thousands of American jobs it would create." 

While Prentice and Trans-Canada executives praised the Nebraska ruling, Randy Thompson who was lead plaintiff in the case in the lower court expressed disappointment at the ruling. The ruling was close with four of seven judges agreeing with the lower court that the law in question was unconstitutional. A super-majority majority was needed to support the lower court ruling. Thompson said: "This has been tremendously upsetting for landowners in this process and the fact that political leaders have just tried to kick our butts along with TransCanada has been tremendously disappointing. It's time for the president to put an end to this damn thing, let us get back to our lives, get back to raising food for America." 

 Some political observers think that Obama might be open to a deal on the Keystone including Ryan Lizza writing in the New Yorker. He speculates that the Republicans who control both houses might be willing to trade something that Obama wants in return for his not vetoing approval of Keystone. Obama could request a carbon tax or a large infrastructure project, or alternative measures to help the environment or advance alternative energy production. Lizza claims: From the White House’s perspective, the Keystone XL pipeline should be an ideal policy to give away in a trade: it’s a major issue that Republicans care a great deal about but one that Obama seems to view as a sideshow. A Senate bill to approve the Keystone XL passed a key Senate committee, on Thursday. The Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved the bill by a vote of 13 to 9.

Prentice unveils new guidelines on foreign takeovers

The NDP critic doesn't suggest maybe Canada should have more publicly owned enterprises and do the same sort of thing as other countries who are not enslaved by their devotion to private enterprise. She wants more teeth for the right-wing dog! It is interesting that these restrictions are restricted to take-overs by state enterprises and not private corporations! The government seems worried that state owned firms might be used to advance the national interest of the country involved. Wow imagine that putting national interest before commercial profit. We need'nt worry about our private firms on that score.

Prentice unveils new guidelines on foreign takeovers
Last Updated: Friday, December 7, 2007 | 5:38 PM ET
CBC News
Foreign state-owned firms will face more scrutiny when they apply for permission to acquire Canadian companies, Industry Minister Jim Prentice said Friday.

In a speech in Calgary, Prentice stressed that the Conservative government was not trying to discourage foreign investment.

"We are not — let me repeat, not — creating new obstacles or changing the government's policy on foreign investment," he said.

Instead, Prentice said new guidelines will "clarify" what state-owned foreign enterprises must show when they want to acquire a Canadian firm.

"The guidelines will simply underscore that sound principles of corporate governance and commercial orientation are considered when reviewing investments under the Investment Canada Act," he said.

The new guidelines say foreign applicants should spell out:

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the nature and extent of control by a foreign government;
the corporate governance, operating and reporting practices of the state-owned enterprise, and;
whether the acquired Canadian business retains the ability to operate on a commercial basis.
Investment Canada's approval is required when any foreign enterprise wants to acquire a Canadian firm above a certain threshold, currently $281 million. Purchases are invariably approved.

The only guideline a foreign applicant now faces when trying to buy a Canadian firm is that the acquisition be of "net benefit" to Canada.

Prentice said foreign state-owned firms will be encouraged to appoint Canadians as independent directors, and employ Canadians in senior management jobs.

"What we're concerned [about] is that acquisitions by foreign governments are for commercial purposes," Prentice told CBC News.

Concerns have been raised that some state-owned enterprises — especially Chinese ones — might buy Canadian resource companies just to funnel the commodities they produce back to China at cut-rate prices to fuel its booming economy.

Prentice said foreign state-owned firms are responsible for only two per cent of foreign direct investment in Canada.

"However … direct investments by state-owned enterprises are set to rise rapidly," he said.

The new guidelines are meant to ensure that state-owned entities that come calling on Canadian companies are transparent and act in a commercially-responsible manner.

Prentice said "the vast majority" of state-owned firms don't pose problems.

He singled out Norway's Statoil as being the kind of state-owned foreign investment that Canadians should welcome. Statoil bought Calgary-based North American Oil Sands Corp. for $2.2 billion earlier this year.

Opposition critics were not impressed with the Prentice announcement.

"There's no teeth in what the minister is proposing today," said NDP MP Peggy Nash. "It's an insignificant announcement."

Liberal MP Dan McTeague agreed. "There are no new guidelines," he said.

The Harper government is also looking at the possibility of bringing in new rules governing foreign takeovers that could pose a national security concern.