Alberta • Education
Public Dollars, Private Benefit

The Alberta government increased funding for private schools late last month from 60 per cent of the funding for the public system to 70 per cent.

As justification, Premier Ed Stelmach said he supported parent choice, that parents who want to send their kids to a private school should have their tax dollars flow to those schools.

Perhaps this is a basic philosophical difference, but taxes should generally go to support the larger society, and not just individual choices.

Besides, there is already a lot of choice within Alberta’s school systems. Take, for example, Edmonton’s highly praised language- and program-driven schools.

And that flexible public system needs more funding. Alberta schools already charge parents a multitude of user fees, including transportation and textbook fees, which are covered in other provinces, and hey, wasn’t thriftiness one of the reasons public-private partnerships are being used to build Alberta’s public schools? 

Alberta • First Nations
Treaty Rights Not Respected

Following the example of the Beaver Lake Cree and Chipewyan Prairies Dene First Nation lawsuits over oil and gas development, the Ermineskin Band has launched a lawsuit of its own over health and social services.

The band is one of four First Nations at Hobbema, and it claims the federal government has not provided it with the necessities of life, including water and medical services. The band is part of Treaty 6, which entitles it to medical help from the federal government. But the band claims that a reduction in traditional diet has resulted in rampant kidney failure and diabetes, a health crisis the government has failed to address.

That the band has had to resort to a lawsuit is also very unfortunate, and will likely only serve to reinforce negative cultural stereotypes. That the Canadian government has failed to provide such a basic human need as water to the group is disgraceful.

Canada • Politics
A Disappointing Parliament

After two and half years of expecting a federal election, it seems Stephen Harper and Stéphane Dion are done teasing the punditocracy and will pull the plug on the minority government within the month.

At a glance, the Harper minority has been very active. The Accountability Act and fixed election dates were among the more promising pieces of legislation. But on closer inspection, these changes mean little.

For a party that campaigned on accountability and transparency, the Harper government hasn’t performed well. The In and Out scandal, the Chuck Cadman affair, and the dismantling of the access to information database certainly take the shine off “Canada’s New Government.”

And given that we are entering another election two and a half years into Harper’s mandate, fixed election dates obviously mean nothing. The Liberals offered little real opposition to their agenda, so there’s no practical reason why Harper can’t continue as PM.