Politics

Alberta-based politicians on toxic politics and what needs to change

Published

2 years ago

November 6, 2022

Late last month, Government House leader Mark Holland called for a more human approach to politics, saying that there was “something broken” in how Members of Parliament treat each other.

“This place needs to be more human,” Holland told a House of Commons committee, speaking about his own personal trauma and the effects politics had on his mental health.

The Current19:05Liberal MP Mark Holland on how the pressures of politics left his life in ashes

His comments came amid a political climate that has become “highly problematic for democracy,” in the view of Lori Williams, an associate professor of political science at Mount Royal University.

“This notion that you can’t accept other people’s points of view, you call them names like traitor and worse,” she said.

“One of the biggest issues here is that we need all of us to take responsibility for doing things differently — not rewarding this kind of behaviour.”

With that in mind, CBC News reached out to three current and former politicians at the federal, provincial and local level based in the Calgary area to get their sense on modern politics and what they believe needs to change.

Michelle Rempel Garner

Michelle Rempel Garner, the Conservative member of Parliament for Calgary Nose Hill, says there’s a gravity among members of all political stripes when it comes to the importance of maintaining democracy in light of global instabilities. She says it’s important for individual politicians to resist taking the low road.

“That is a job for people who are in positions of great political influence. And it’s also incumbent upon the electorate to demand that type of behaviour from the people that they elect, so that they respond accordingly,” she said.

Heavily rumoured as a front-runner for Alberta’s United Conservative Party leadership after the departure of outgoing leader Jason Kenney, Garner declined to enter the race in June, citing internal discord within the party.

Conservative member of Parliament Michelle Rempel Garner says she’s optimistic, particularly when she looks in comparison to other countries around the world, that Canada has the capacity to elevate its politics. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Over the years, she’s been a vocal critic of workplace harassment rules in Ottawa. In late 2021, she asked the House of Commons to determine if its workplace harassment policy went far enough to end a “culture of sexual misconduct” in Parliament.

She says that since she’s started her time in office, she’s seen some improvement in that regard, but the work continues.

“If we’re not addressing those things in the halls of power of our country, how can we ever hope to address that for other Canadians?” she said. “So it’s less about me and more about showing that our democracy is healthy, and that we’re setting an example for what workplaces should look like.”

Ottawa also has a tendency to yell “at each other over dogmatic purity,” in Garner’s view, and it prevents actual work from getting done.

“It calcifies our positions, such that we see positive social interaction as only associating with people in a very narrow worldview. And all that serves to do is to divide us into factions.”

Shannon Phillips

More than most politicians, Shannon Phillips, the Alberta NDP MLA for Lethbridge-West, has seen direct impacts to her personal life because of politics, having been monitored by the Lethbridge Police Service while she was the NDP’s environment minister.

A year ago, she received an anonymous “whistleblower” letter alleging someone had threatened retaliation against her and a CBC journalist for exposing misconduct in the force.

Today, she says there’s no question that the last couple of years have been “tremendously hard” on her. On a daily to weekly basis, it causes her to contemplate whether she should leave public life.

“But if we dwell on that, then what we end up with is a situation where other people do not want to enter public life. The sort of things that happened to me do not happen to everyone,” she said.

Alberta NDP MLA Shannon Phillips says she used to often go for a beer with conservative colleagues, with whom she would respectfully disagree. But she finds that situation happening less and less often these days, adding she finds “post-truth” elements are finding their way into politics. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

She says she is reticent to talk about the mental health or serious challenges that emerge after becoming a target because it can tend to shift conversation toward an individual, and not onto the structural issues that persist.

“It’s become a lot more difficult for women, or LGBT people, or people of visible minority, or Black and Indigenous people to justify participation in electoral politics, given what the public sees of what happens there,” she said.

“It goes much beyond, ‘let’s all try to be nicer to each other,’ and make sure that people are actually safe … if we’re not safe to do the job, then it doesn’t really matter what our manners are.”

Jeromy Farkas

Former city councillor Jeromy Farkas says he thought he was often portrayed in the media as being one-dimensional, but, in his view, a recent 4,270-kilometre hike he took to raise funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Calgary and Area changed things.

“A lot of people approached me through messages on social media and all the rest, saying they were very interested in what I was doing,” he said.

“It really surprised me to see that there were a lot of people who weren’t necessarily in favour of my politics, or supported me in the last election, but were really much more interested in what I was doing on a human level.”

Former city councillor Jeromy Farkas says he believes there are some things that are beyond left or right, and thinks the way for politics to move beyond its current toxic state is with more open engagement. (Submitted by Jeromy Farkas campaign)

He said politicians are expected to present a strong front and project confidence, and self-doubts are often identified as weakness.

“It doesn’t seem like the voters encourage or reward weak candidates. But the truth is, all through life, we’ve all been there. We all have struggles, we have hardships or successes, we have failures,” Farkas said.

Last week, Calgary police said they would launch an investigation into an alleged plot to entrap former mayor Naheed Nenshi. Farkas spoke out about that on social media this week.

READ: You can like or dislike <a href=”https://twitter.com/nenshi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Nenshi</a>. You can say what you will about his record. He’s not corrupt. The alleged plot against him is gross and wrong. I fully support his call for an investigation. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/abpoli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#abpoli</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/yyccc?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#yyccc</a> <a href=”https://t.co/EkjXpNLcrP”>https://t.co/EkjXpNLcrP</a>

—@JeromyYYC

Farkas said it’s unfortunate that politics has gotten so extreme that many will turn a blind eye to such behaviour if it is one’s “own side” perpetuating it.

“There were some people on the more conservative side of the spectrum who reached out to me and they were not happy about me saying nice things about the former mayor,” he said.

“But it’s a bit ridiculous to see people on any side of the spectrum performing the mental gymnastics that are required to justify what was allegedly done to the mayor just because you define it as politics.”

Source link

Politics

Here is the latest on the New Brunswick election

Published

51 mins ago

October 21, 2024

Anne Joseph

The New Brunswick Liberal Party has won a majority government, and Susan Holt will become the first woman to lead the province.

Here’s the latest from election night. All times are ADT.

10:15 p.m.

The results of the New Brunswick election are in, and with virtually all of the ballots counted, the Liberals won 31 seats out of 49.

The Progressive Conservatives won 16 seats.

The Green Party won two.

Voter turnout was about 66 per cent.

—

10 p.m.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has congratulated New Brunswick Liberal Leader Susan Holt for her party’s victory in the provincial election.

Trudeau says on the X platform he’s looking forward to working with Holt to build more homes, protect the country’s two official languages, and improve health care.

—

9:48 p.m.

During her victory speech tonight in Fredericton, New Brunswick premier-designate Susan Holt thanked all the women who came before her.

Holt will become the first woman to lead the province after her party won a majority government in the New Brunswick election.

The Liberals are elected or leading in 31 of 49 ridings.

—

9:30 p.m.

Blaine Higgs says he will begin a transition to replace him as leader of the Progressive Conservatives.

After being in power for six years, the Tories lost the election to the Liberals.

Higgs, who lost his seat of Quispamsis, says, “My leadership days are over.”

—

9:17 p.m.

The Canadian Press is projecting that Blaine Higgs, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick since 2016, has lost in the riding of Quispamsis.

Higgs, 70, has been premier of New Brunswick since 2018, and was first elected to the legislature in 2010.

—

8:45 p.m.

When asked about the election results, Progressive Conservative chief of staff Paul D’Astous says that over the last 18 months the party has had to contend with a number of caucus members who disagreed with its policy.

D’Astous says the Tories have also had to own what happened over the last six years, since they came to power in 2018, adding that the voters have spoken.

—

8:39 p.m.

The Canadian Press is projecting that David Coon, leader of the New Brunswick Green Party, has won the riding of Fredericton Lincoln.

Coon, 67, has been leader of the party since 2014, the year he was first elected to the legislature.

—

8:36 p.m.

The Canadian Press is projecting that the New Brunswick Liberal Party has won a majority government in the provincial election.

Party leader Susan Holt will become the first woman premier in the province’s history.

—

8:20 p.m.

Early returns show a number of close races across the province, with the Liberals off to an early lead.

Liberal campaign manager Katie Davey says the results will show whether party leader Susan Holt, a relative newcomer, was able to capture the attention and trust of the people of New Brunswick.

Davey says she believes voters have welcomed Holt and her message, which focused on pocketbook issues, especially health care.

—

8 p.m.

Polls have closed.

Eyes will be on a number of key ridings including Fredericton South-Silverwood, where Liberal Leader Susan Holt is vying for a seat; Saint John Harbour, which has been competitive between the Tories and Liberals in recent elections; and Moncton East, a redrawn Tory-held riding that the Liberals have targeted.

At dissolution, the Conservatives held 25 seats in the 49-seat legislature. The Liberals held 16 seats, the Greens had three, there was one Independent and there were four vacancies.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

Source link

Politics

A look at Susan Holt, Liberal premier-designate of New Brunswick

Published

52 mins ago

October 21, 2024

Anne Joseph

FREDERICTON – A look at Susan Holt, premier-designate and leader of the New Brunswick Liberal party.

Born: April 22, 1977.

Early years: Raised in Fredericton, she attended Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., and then spent a year in Toronto before moving abroad for three years, spending time in Australia and India.

Education: Earned a bachelor of arts in economics and a bachelor of science in chemistry from Queen’s University.

Family: Lives in Fredericton with her husband, Jon Holt, and three young daughters.

Hobbies: Running, visiting the farmers market in Fredericton with her family every Saturday.

Before politics: CEO of the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce, CEO of the New Brunswick Business Council, civil servant, business lobbyist, advocate, consultant and executive with an IT service company that trains and employs Indigenous people.

Politics: Worked as an adviser to former Liberal premier Brian Gallant. Won the leadership of the provincial Liberal party in August 2022 and was elected to the legislature in an April 2023 byelection.

Quote: “We don’t take it lightly that you have put your trust in myself and my team, and you have hope for a brighter future. But that hope I know is short-lived and it will be on us to deliver authentically, on the ground, and openly and transparently.” — Susan Holt, in her speech to supporters in Fredericton after the Liberals won a majority government on Oct. 21, 2024.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

Source link

Politics

New Brunswick Liberals win majority, Susan Holt first woman to lead province

Published

53 mins ago

October 21, 2024

Anne Joseph

FREDERICTON – New Brunswick voters have elected a Liberal majority government, tossing out the incumbent Progressive Conservatives after six years in power and handing the reins to the first woman ever to lead the province.

Liberal Leader Susan Holt is a relative newcomer to the province’s political scene, having won a byelection last year, eight months after she became the first woman to win the leadership of the party.

The Liberals appeared poised to take 31 of 49 seats to the Conservatives’ 16 and the Greens two.

Holt, 47, led the Liberals to victory after a 33-day campaign, thwarting Blaine Higgs’s bid to secure a third term as Tory premier.

The Liberal win marks a strong repudiation of Higgs’s pronounced shift to more socially conservative policies.

Higgs, meanwhile, lost in his riding of Quispamsis. In a speech to supporters in the riding, he confirmed that he would begin a leadership transition process.

As the Liberals secured their majority, Green Party Leader David Coon thanked his supporters and pledged to continue building the party, but he then turned his sights on the premier. “One thing is for sure,” he told a crowd gathered at Dolan’s Pub in Fredericton, “we know that Blaine Higgs is no longer the premier of this province.”

The election race was largely focused on health care and affordability but was notable for the remarkably dissimilar campaign styles of Holt and Higgs. Holt repeatedly promised to bring a balanced approach to governing, pledging a sharp contrast to Higgs’s “one-man show taking New Brunswick to the far right.”

“We need a government that acts as a partner and not as a dictator from one office in Fredericton,” she said in a recent interview with The Canadian Press.

Higgs focused on the high cost of living, promising to lower the provincial harmonized sales tax by two percentage points to 13 per cent — a pledge that will cost the province about $450 million annually.

Holt spent much of the campaign rolling out proposed fixes for a health-care system racked by a doctor shortage, overcrowded emergency rooms and long wait-times. A former business advocate and public servant, she promised to open 30 community health clinics across the province by 2028; remove the provincial sales tax from electricity bills; overhaul mental health services; and impose a three per cent cap on rent increases by 2025.

The 70-year-old Tory leader, a mechanical engineer and former Irving Oil executive, led a low-key campaign, during which he didn’t have any scheduled public events on at least 10 days — and was absent from the second leaders debate on Oct. 9.

Holt missed only two days of campaigning and submitted a 30-page platform with 100 promises, a far heftier document than the Tories’ two-page platform that includes 11 pledges.

When the election was called on Sept. 19, the Conservatives held 25 seats in the 49-seat legislature. The Liberals held 16 seats, the Green Party had three, there was one Independent and four vacancies. At least 25 seats are needed for a majority.

Higgs was hoping to become the first New Brunswick premier to win three consecutive elections since Liberal Frank McKenna won his third straight majority in 1995. But it was clear from the start that Higgs would have to overcome some big obstacles.

On the first day of the campaign, a national survey showed he had the lowest approval rating of any premier in the country. That same morning, Higgs openly mused about how he was perceived by the public, suggesting people had the wrong idea about who he really is.

“I really wish that people could know me outside of politics,” he said, adding that a sunnier disposition might increase his popularity. “I don’t know whether I’ve got to do comedy hour or I’ve got to smile more.”

Still, Higgs had plenty to boast about, including six consecutive balanced budgets, a significant reduction in the province’s debt, income tax cuts and a booming population.

Higgs’s party was elected to govern in 2018, when the Tories formed the province’s first minority government in almost 100 years. In 2020, he called a snap election — marking the first province to go to the polls during the COVID-19 pandemic — and won a slim majority.

Since then, 14 Tory caucus members have stepped down after clashing with the premier, some of them citing what they described as an authoritarian leadership style and a focus on conservative policies that represented a hard shift to the right.

A caucus revolt erupted last year after Higgs announced changes to the gender identity policy in schools. When several Tory lawmakers voted for an external review of the change, Higgs dropped dissenters from cabinet. A bid by some party members to trigger a leadership review went nowhere.

Higgs has also said a Tory government would reject all new applications for supervised drug-consumption sites, renew a legal challenge against the federal carbon pricing scheme and force people into drug treatment if authorities deem they “pose a threat to themselves or others.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

Source link