Kevin Libin: Alberta backs off on oil royalties

Kevin Libin: Alberta backs off on oil royalties

And all we will hear is the sound of crickets.

There was a line of thinking not too long ago, just after the last provincial election, that the SaskParty would open the taps and a whole bunch of Alberta money would flow in to develop the oil and gas industries in Saskatchewan, now that a more business friendly party was in power. This thought was struck down by many in the oil industry that said the flow wouldn't be all that much just simply because Saskatchewan has a history of electing socialists, and that eventually the NDP would come back to power again. All the oil industry, like ANY industry, is looking for is stability and a business friendly attitude from the government. They got it for decades in Alberta as Social Credit followed by the Progressive Conservatives provided that.

All of that changed after Mr. Stelmach came to power. One of the first things Mr. Stelmach did after getting re-elected was to mess with the oil royalty structure in Alberta. He attempted to paint oil executives as rich and greedy fat cats - the normal drill for a government looking to exhort more money from those honestly trying to make a buck. So now, two years later, "Steady Eddie" has a problem - a big image problem. That oil money has started to fly the coop as those "rich greedy fat cats" began investing in Saskatchewan and BC - provinces absolutely more stable than Alberta and it's string of royalty structure changes (5 in 2 years).

So now when we read about Alberta changing its royalty structure again, you have to feel for them. You almost have to hope that THIS time, unlike the other 5 times, that the "oil barons" will be appeased, and the money will start flowing to pull Alberta out of the recession. At least, you have to hope that if you're an Alberta resident. The problem is that the oil barons aren't going to trust anything that "Steady Eddie" says. After all, on a whim tomorrow he could change it back to 2 years ago when he thinks that the oil companies are getting too much off the backs of "normal Albertans" again.

From my perspective, I just hope that the NDP are paying attention. I KNOW that there will be a time when they get back into power. I KNOW that there will be a point where the brainwashed masses will decide that the government isn't doing enough for them, AGAIN, and will vote to create a larger pit to throw money into. I KNOW this because Saskatchewan has a long history of going back to the well when the "right-wing" option tries to push us beyond ourselves.

My hope is that it will be a long time before that happens.

If Judges had to live with their decisions - the Hell's Angels edition

Hells Angels to face sentencing Friday and the sentences.

Not much to say about this one except wow. Just wow.

B.C. Justice Peter Leask decided a number of mitigating factors would reduce the sentences of Hells Angels members John Virgil Punko and Randy Richard Potts, including Potts' chronic back pain and a recurring abscess on his buttocks that causes him considerable pain and discomfort.

The judge sentenced Potts to one year in jail, which was much less than the 12 years requested by federal prosecutor Martha Devlin.

Punko, 43, was handed a 14-month sentence. The Crown had asked for 16 years.

I guess we know what defense should be used in court now. "I did it your honor, but you should go easy on me because of my recurring abscess on my buttocks", or maybe this one:

During sentencing, Leask said both bikers were "pawns of police" because they were low-level targets used to try to get to high-level targets within Vancouver's East End chapter of the Hells Angels.

"I did it your honor, but you should ignore the fact that I was actually manufacturing and selling drugs worth hundreds of thousands of dollars because the police were just using me to get to my buddies."

Seriously though, did the judge even THINK when he handed down this decision? Did he know what the impact of this decision would be after he rendered the verdict?

I only hope that these boys get caught selling drugs outside Mr. Leasks residence next time. Maybe THEN he'd give them enough time in jail to actually think about the harm they're causing to others.

A little cheering up as the Conservative's budget passes through the House of Commons

British government urged to follow the Canadian debt reduction strategy.

The problem is that Canada's strategy in the 90s really doesn't help the British government reduce their deficit now. It wasn't that Canada necessarily reduced the size of it's bureaucracy in the 90s, it's that the federal government had the benefit of the GST growing into its own (the original deficit reduction strategy, brought in by Mulroney's Conservatives to erase the deficits which first started in the 60s), added to by a reduction in transfers to the provinces, which more or less forced them to increase taxes or make due without.

Y'see Mr. Butler, Canada's federal governments at the during the late 80s and mid 90s DID make some tough decisions to their budgets in order to erase the deficits, but those choices weren't just a matter of reducing the size of the bureaucracy... they were more about raising taxes (some of which should have been raised in order to make a couple of programs self-sustaining) and off-loading expenditures to the provinces than they were about real cost cutting.

If Britain truly wanted to follow Canada's model, then they should take a good hard look at emulating our future, not our past.

CBC News - World - Canadian wheelchair user beaten in Australia

CBC News - World - Canadian wheelchair user beaten in Australia

What it REALLY comes down to, is respect. Respect for your elders, and respect for society as a whole.

This sentiment isn't necessarily limited to conservative or liberal. The problem is that neither side really knows how to fix this.

But when you look at it, the first thing a conservative minded friend of mine wanted to do was impose a curfew. His liberal minded friend agreed with him. I have to humbly disagree with both. A curfew may fix the problem, until our young people recognize that police can't be everywhere at once. Once this realization sets in, then a curfew will become a non-issue, and something more for us to roll our eyes at.

No, the solution boils down to respect. I may sound like an old geezer here, but kids these days aren't developing respect for their elders, and it starts with kids around my age. It was right when I was in the middle of my formative years that they removed corporal punishment from the schools. After that point, it seems that kids growing up have had less and less respect for property and for others.

So what's the simple solution? Make the parents serve the same punishment as their children if their children do something wrong? Perhaps beef up the Youth Criminal Justice Act? Keep criminals in jail longer for crimes, reducing the risk and opportunity of recidivism? Maybe it comes down to the state taking the gloves off parents to raise their kids as they see fit. Perhaps in the end, it comes down to giving parents real consequences for not teaching their children properly.

CBC News - Saskatchewan - No Florida trip for Farm Credit workers

CBC News - Saskatchewan - No Florida trip for Farm Credit workers

Finally a government organization that acts like the rest of the economy thinks. It's too bad they blew 160Gs on the same trip last year before they woke up.

Rallying For Chiropractic Care | News Talk 650 CKOM

Rallying For Chiropractic Care | News Talk 650 CKOM

So the Chiropractors are concerned about the affordability of their services to lower income people. They contend that lower income people may choose to burden the health system rather than pay the extra $12 to go to a Chiropractor.

I say follow the money.

Chiropractors don't like this because all of a sudden, the true cost of their services is revealed to their clientele. It is harder for them to take a rate increase. It is harder for them to collect, and yes, they may even lose clients in the early going.

Those clients will be back though. I'm personally not a user of chiropractic services, but I do know some people who swear by them. For me though, it's about pure business. These people will come up with the money if they truly need the service.

In my business, I too have a high charge out rate. I too run an office and pay salaries. I too am in an industry where people can choose whether or not to engage my services. The difference is that my services don't get subsidized by the government. People choose to come to me because I am useful, and some people may get a reduced rate if I don't feel that they are able to pay the full rates. But that's the difference - I make those decisions.

Now, this may be the politics of envy, but the local Chiropractor has a very nice house and very nice vehicles. He isn't doing poorly, and quite frankly, even if he loses 10% of his clientele - the bottom 10% that his association says can't afford his higher rates - he will still be able to work just as hard and will have just as nice assets, it's just that he won't be taking money out of my pocket to buy them.

In the end, that's what it all comes down to.

Another sky is blue moment

Havana food production fails to meet expectations

This moment brought to you by the letter "C" and all the other "isms" in the world.