King of the Mountain

A government committed to the idea and objective of denying the legitimacy of any opposition has several major disadvantages.

Since Alberta's PC government has so assiduously eliminated any suggestion of the taint of bipartisanship or even input from Alberta's elected opposition they own everything.

They own everything the government does and doesn't do. They own the strained environment and the crumbling infrastructure. They own the price of oil and their terrified deer in the headlights paralysis in the face of an American White House committed to a green agenda incompatible with the tar sands. Every smouldering stick of political dynamite waiting to go off will belong to this government and this government alone. Being in the political wilderness now is going to be a selling point soon.

Another downside to declining to acknowledge any legitimacy to the political opposition, the Alberta government remains frighteningly clueless about the state of mind outside of their like minded bubble. So the best way they can think to gauge public reaction to any crack brained initiative like attacking public service workers or threatening to cut funding for medical procedures is to have some MP throw it out to one of their friendly small town papers.

Then when the story breaks insist no decisions have been made, if reaction is negative enough deny ever having made such a suggestion.

There are no plans to delist any medical services currently covered by the province, Alberta health minister Ron Liepert said Thursday.

Liepert's comments come after Employment and Immigration Minister Hector Goudreau told people at a speech in Grimshaw, Alta., this week that the government might stop paying for about 30 treatments, including mole removal and chiropractic services.

Speaking to reporters in Calgary, Liepert wouldn't confirm he's cutting anything, saying he is currently doing a routine review of his ministry's budget.

Government by trial balloon is not a sign of a politically mature province.