Cabinet Shuffle Clunker

By Rob Anderson (MLA Airdrie-Chestermere)

When Anita and I were in University, we drove a Pontiac Grand Am. It was very old and emitted black exhaust. The engine had a permanent high pitch screech and it would gyrate wildly anytime I drove it above 80 km/hour. And no matter what we did to improve its performance (oil changes, wheel alignments, etc) it just never seemed to get better. As soon as we solved one issue, another manifested itself almost immediately. Eventually, it became obvious that rather than put more time and money into repair work, it made more sense to simply purchase a new vehicle.

I am sure you can guess where I’m going with this. This week’s cabinet shuffle was the latest attempt to fix an ailing PC Party.

Before going further, I want to first congratulate the three new cabinet ministers and thank those who were replaced. It is also good to see my friend, Minister Morton, placed in Finance. It is always an honor to serve our great province and I hope all will have at least some positive impact on provincial policy going forward.

However, the underlying problems with the PC Party remain unchanged. The small unelected inner circle around the Premier continues to dictate policy. Twenty out of twenty-three ministers (many of whom have done a disastrous job in prior portfolios – i.e. Ron Liepert) are still in cabinet. Even in announcing the cabinet shuffle, the Premier declared to the media that his Government was not changing their policy direction, but rather, they would focus on doing a better job communicating to Albertans all the great things they have been doing on our behalf.

Summed up, despite all the repair work, the underlying defects remain the same. My constituents are telling me it’s time for a new car.