Kenney's revealing prank

As a resident of Alberta, I am used to living under Conservative governments. Although I lean left, I can accept this with good grace. After all I am a democrat and therefor I accept the will of the people, even when I question their judgement. I accept that the government is my government and the premier or prime minister is my premier or prime minister, regardless of the party in power. Some Conservative leaders I have even quite liked, as individuals if not as politicians, such as Peter Lougheed and Joe Clark and, yes, I was charmed by Brian Mulroney's Irish malarky.

The only exception was Stephen Harper. I never felt that he was my prime minister. It wasn't me, it was him. To Harper, things were very black and white, you were either for him or against him, and if you were against him you were not simply a fellow citizen with a different point of view, you were an enemy. He was, to my knowledge the only PM who actually kept an enemies list. If I had been anybody important, I would likely have been on the list.

We now have a new premier of Alberta, and he shows the same disturbing tendencies. During a long debate on Bill 9, which will delay collective bargaining for 180,000 public sector workers until November, i.e. until after the federal election, Kenney played a little prank. He ostentatiously delivered neon-coloured ear plugs to his caucus members so they wouldn't have to listen to NDP members speak. Needless to say, the NDP caucus was outraged as were the civil service union leaders.

This show of contempt for the NDP and unions is not surprising for a conservative. The contempt for the legislature, for democratic debate, is. It may have only been intended as a bit of fun, but it is in fact revealing of Mr. Kenney. He does not brook dissent. Even oil industry leaders who support a carbon tax have met with his disapproval. Whatever his intention may have been, it reveals Kenney's scorn for anyone who disagrees with him. He is putting into practice in Edmonton what his colleague practiced in Ottawa. Harper had his enemies list, Kenney has his war room.

My philosophy of government is that when you are elected leader, you are no longer the leader of only those who support you. Your are leader—premier or prime minister—of every citizen, whether they agree with you or not. I believe most Alberta premiers and Canadian prime ministers have at least made an attempt to fill that role, some with greater success than others. Harper never did. It appears Mr. Kenney doesn't intend to either.