Illustrations

“Dear Fellow Reformers” reads: “As your Senatorial candidate, I would bring to the Party 25 years of study and striving to influence the political process through my writings about Canadian politics. Like you, the more I see, the more upset I become over the steady decline in democracy and accountability in Ottawa. The three worst offenders are the Senate, the Supreme Court, and the so-called "national unity" issue. And like you, I've had enough of unelected senators who do too little and unelected judges who do too much. I've had enough of the national unity "problem" being blamed on those who believe in Canada rather than those who want to destroy it.”

“The Senate” reads: “The Senate is a national embarrassment that must be reformed or abolished. For Western Canadians, reform is the only option. Every federal state worthy of the name has an upper house that represents regions. If we'd had a Triple E Senate in 1980, Trudeau could not have rammed through the Liberals' National Energy Policy (NEP). I am committed to achieving some form of Triple E Senate reform.”

“The Supreme Court” reads: “The Supreme Court of Canada has become the single most serious threat to provincial rights and regional democracy. Simply put, unelected, unaccountable judges are making social and economic policy contrary to the intended meaning of the Charter of Rights. This must be stopped. As your Senator, I will continue to advocate term limits, parliamentary hearings for judicial nominees, and use of the legislative notwithstanding power. We must return the Court to its proper role of interpreting laws rather than making laws.”

There is a second article underneath the image, titled “Rural Conservative support wavers,” written by Jamie Komarnicki. Below that second article, there are several other article titles (from other pages) mentioned, including “Unity Masks Tory Division” by Don Braid; “Who is the real Ted Morton?” by Tony Seskus; and “Wildrose Nightmare”, an unsigned editorial.

The text of the article (which is incomplete and continues on a different page of the newspaper) reads:

Surprise exit of finance minister starts leadership race

Ted Morton resigned Thursday as Alberta finance minister but will remain in caucus, a move that unofficially fires the starter pistol on the Tory leadership race and has Conservative MLAs conflicted over when Premier Ed Stelmach should exit. Morton announced his surprise departure — and plans to run for the Conservative party crown — at a hastily called news conference with Stelmach at McDougall Centre in Calgary, following a one-hour meeting between the premier and former finance minister.

The resignation came less than 24 hours after Morton said he had no plans to quit and the same week Stelmach announced he will resign as premier in the coming months. The two Tory heavyweights said the decision is based entirely on Morton's interest in the party reins, and the need to resign his portfolio to avoid any perceptions he's using his office to advance his leadership aspirations.

"I believe it would be difficult, if not impossible, for me to continue to discharge my duties as minister with the required perception of impartiality," Morton told reporters. "The media coverage and speculation around the impending leadership contest would be a serious distraction from the process of governing, particularly the passage of the budget."

There is a second article underneath the image, titled “Rural Conservative support wavers,” written by Jamie Komarnicki. The text of the article (which continues on another page), reads:

In Alberta's Tory heartland, retired rancher Archie Stockburger has always enjoyed his coffee black and his politics conservative blue. Most mornings, the Sundre resident heads to a coffee shop on Main Avenue for his caffeine fix with friends. Like many longtime Progressive Conservatives in this foothills community of 2,500 — which has elected a Tory since the dynasty began in 1971 — it's the politics he's questioning these days. A growing provincial debt load, mismanaged resources and an ineffective leader, he says, make him skeptical of the ruling Tories and — for the first time — eye rival upstart, Wildrose Alliance.

Premier Ed Stelmach's abrupt announcement this week he's stepping down, though, has changed everything for Stockburger. "It's a coin toss. Depends what the Tories do," the 72-year-old retiree says between sips of coffee. ''They squandered an awful pile of money for an awful lot of years," Stockburger says, adding: "It's Conservative here, and you can't change it." Across Alberta, residents have been voicing unease with the ruling Tories. Recent polls peg the PCs in a dead heat with the Wildrose, setting up a ferocious battle for the right-wing vote.

Below that second article, there are several other article titles (from other pages) mentioned, including “Unity Masks Tory Division” by Don Braid; “Who is the real Ted Morton?” by Tony Seskus; and “Wildrose Nightmare”, an unsigned editorial.

Underneath the image of Morton, it reads “Ted Morton was one of the seven who signed the Alberta Firewall Letter in 2001, along with Stephen Harper before he became the Conservative leader and, subsequently, prime minister.” In the column, much of which is cut off in the image, Don Braid explains how Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party has adopted many of the recommendations from the 2001 “Alberta Agenda” letter—commonly known as the “Firewall Letter”—signed by Ted Morton and Stephen Harper, among others.

The legible text from the clipping reads:

The Alberta Firewall Letter, once a joke, has become entrenched reality. Nearly every demand in the once-infamous letter is now top of the UCP government's agenda. Nobody is happier than Ted Morton, one of the seven who signed it in 2001, along with Stephen Harper before he became Conservative leader and prime minister. “It feels good," Morton, retired U of C professor and former PC cabinet minister, said in an interview. "The Alberta agenda ideas are now pretty deeply embedded in provincial politics, and they’re not going to go away. How they’re going to work out, I don’t know. But these ideas have gone from fringe to mainstream.”

In fact, he thinks Poilievre will be a willing partner in most of Smith's plans. "The RCMP is already talking about walking away from provincial policing. I think Poilievre would, if not facilitate it, at least certainly not block it. On the (federal) gun registry, on the electricity regulations, he's already said he's against most of that.”

“The touchy one is the Alberta pension plan ... it has major fiscal implications for the CPP. So, I think he'll be much more careful about that. But on most of those other issues, I don't think there's much electoral risk to Poilievre in co-operating with Danielle Smith.”

Behind all this is the core belief that the problems are structural and can't be solved until Alberta assumes more power. A hostile government like the Liberals might inflame the tensions to help win support elsewhere. A friendly federal government could give the impression that the system is working.