CanadaNelson: Is it finally time for Albertans to look in the mirror?

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The biggest question of all is whether Albertans have the stomach for such a fight.

Certainly, our newly minted provincial government appears on course to ask of us that very thing in the months and years ahead.

It came as an actual relief hearing Wednesday’s throne speech, one in which Jason Kenney’s party laid out its plans for governing. The words — thankfully, free of the usual hopes and dreams stuff — actually made sense and helped dispel, for now at least, a disquieting feeling this was yet another bunch of politicians that would quickly dither, delay and dodge once they got their feet under those big, comfy desks of power.

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Jason Kenney should savour these days, political analysts say, as the "glow that comes with winning" almost invariably gets tarnished by the weight of governing.

March 7, 2015. At the "Tell the Tories to Look in the Mirror " rally for the launch of BetterWayAlberta.ca by a coalition of public sector unions including

But, Nelson Mandela believed that everybody should be treated equally. Mandela joined a political party called the African National Congress (ANC) While Mandela was in prison, photos of him were banned and it was even illegal to quote him in public. But people from all over the world campaigned

During a campaign that was the bitterest this province has seen in recent memory, Kenney was less than unequivocal in the need for real restraint; for example, trotting out personal anecdotes on the need to protect the shining wonder that is Alberta health care while suggesting the medicine this province so obviously needs won’t include any real bitter aftertaste.

© Provided by Canadian Press Enterprises Inc Alberta's new premier, Jason Kenney.

Well, I suppose you’ve got to get elected in the first place and when your opponent is promising more taxpayer spending at a level that would make even the Sultan of Brunei wince, then a mere mention of any future restraint would appear barbaric in comparison to the two chickens and half a turkey in every pot Rachel Notley was endlessly waxing lyrical about.

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Listening to Jason Kenney and Rachel Notley debate each other in the legislative assembly Thursday afternoon, it sure seemed like the campaign is still going on. The only difference is that Kenney is now premier and Notley is now Opposition leader. Notley spent literally four seconds congratulating Kenney on his election victory before ripping into him on a litany of issues. She needled him about the RCMP investigation into the UCP's 2017 leadership race, accused him of targeting students and patients for spending cuts and called him a climate change denier. All in the first 15 minutes of question period.

Mirror , morror on the wall Зеркало, зеркало на стене. In the beginning, I put it down to a simple At the time I didn’t want to make a big deal of it , as I thought I’d just make her more anxious about her I started by looking up eating disorders on various websites, to get as much information as I could, and

We know as fact that Anne Boleyn (& all of his wives) were white women. So this drama will not be dealing with actual history. “People freaking out about Anne Boleyn being played by a Black woman were remarkably quiet every time Jesus was played by a white man,” quipped activist Matthew Hodson.

Anyhow, if that appears a tad cynical then so be it. Because we’re going to need a premier with some gamesmanship up both his sleeves when it comes to fighting those world masters of political expediency and sleight of moral hand in Ottawa. Yes, the current Grit leader and one-time world media star, Justin Trudeau, may not be the sharpest knife in the political drawer but never underestimate the well-honed lust for centralized power that has always emanated from the Liberal Party of Canada.

That national conflict, which is going to be a doozy, has already begun, as has the dismantling of some of the more harebrained policies put in place by the outgoing NDP.

But it is within Alberta’s own borders that the real fight will take place. Kenney acknowledged this in more straightforward fashion than he did on the campaign trail in saying that, yes indeed, there will have to be restraint and that the two biggest consumers of taxpayer loot, in health and education, can’t continue spending more than the inflation rate and population growth allows as they have for so many years. (Don’t forget, it wasn’t just the Dippers who allowed this state of affairs.)

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1 Patrick hadn't attended/hadn't been attending a live concert before. 2 Jessica had been lying/had lain in the sun for hours and her skin was starting to go red. 4 John had grown/had been growing a beard and looked really different.

[Verse 1] A little time to show you I'm worth it I know that I can be a difficult person I'm a stress case, drive you up the wall when I'm workin' Actually, I'm probably worse when I'm not You don't deserve it Make you nervous 'cause you know I'ma break soon Every time I do

Then Kenney said the words sure to inflame the already aggrieved public sector unions, announcing there would almost inevitably be reductions in those ranks, hopefully achieved through attrition.

But if we think we can get this province out of hock simply on the back of cutting the public sector numbers, then that is exactly the type of head-in-the-sand assumption that has led to the odious amount of current borrowing in a province so richly blessed by nature.

“No economic hardship has ever ruined us; no political enemy has ever defeated us; no national disaster has ever stopped us,” was this new government’s call to arms.

Stirring words indeed and with more than a grain of truth embedded within them.

© Provided by PostMedia Digital Jim Prentice

However, there is another opponent that is much more devious and relentless that we must face first — ourselves. Have we, step-by-step, grown too demanding of government to fix every problem? Are we willing to consider doing without even the most fanciful of programs? Will we rebel at the first sign of discomfort and cry out to borrow more money and fix it quick?

The late Jim Prentice was pilloried when he once said Albertans should look in the mirror when it came to the level of government spending in this province. Well, the time for exactly such reflection could be at hand.

Chris Nelson is a regular columnist for the Calgary Herald.