I have such a strong passion for wanting things to be done right. Not only right, but with honesty and pride and ... well, it's pretty much an endless list.
When the Alberta Party was "re-born" and "re-formed" I took an interest, I believed the hype, and despite very restricted finances, I got involved... looking to help in making a difference. Along the way, talking with organizers, family, friends... feeling the hype and the promises of listening to the people, and doing whats right for the people... Hell, how can you not fall in love with the idea?
Sadly, as time has passed, it seems to be just that. An idea. What's worse is that it is turning into a selective idea, and because of that MY morals have told me, no matter what, when you bark up a wrong tree, you are still barking at a wrong tree. For me, that wrong tree is dealing with the medical side of the Edmonton City Center Airport. No matter what I do, who I talk with, tweets I make, and posts I make... I get literally no where. If this is supposed to be a party that stands up for doing things the right way, for fixing things that have been done wrong, then I guess I must have missed something along the way.
I spoke with all of the leadership candidates before the vote time, and the one main question I had for all of them had to deal with the medical on the airport. We all know what Edmonton City Council did was a joke. They went through the process so they could say they went through the process. They never listened nor cared what people said. They did their best to interfere with an attempt at democracy, to put the question to the people of Edmonton. And in the end, they choose to ignore them as well, and to even take it one step further, they choose to ignore the Airport Authority and specifically closed the runway most critical to the medical community. You know.... medical being under PROVINCIAL control and all.
And we know the results of that. Many flights have already been diverted and at least one human (a baby at that) has died because of it. The clear need for the province, or those looking to represent the province, should have been to take a stand on AT LEAST getting the needed runway back in operation. Of course, it never should have been allowed to have been closed in the first place. If City Council were so insistent on nuking one runway, they should have nuked the other one.
Anyway, all of the Alberta Party people expressed that perhaps that needed to be addressed in some form. Then Glenn was voted in and I waited. Some policies on Health Care came out, but nothing on the airport. I made several polite tweets and never got any responses. Until a couple of tweets from Chris came in (you can read that post here), and eventually a DM came from Glenn where he promised to call me and also respond to the blog. That never happened, so I sent him a friendly DM reminder, and he did eventually call me. The basics of the conversation was the it was pretty much a City decision. Well, maybe closing the airport could be a city decision, but closing the critical runway and jeopardizing the health of Albertans (and others in BC and the NWT etc) is a provincial side. Sadly, we could not complete that conversation because my daughter came in "call waiting" and we needed to discuss family things before she left on holidays. Glenn understood, and we were to "try again" later.
During all of this, Sue Huff also responded that it was a City decision. So we have Chris and Sue and Glenn pretty much refusing to get involved. And I'm sorry but that simply is not good enough. I am not saying the Party needs to tell Edmonton "you can't close it"... I AM SAYING the party needs to stand up and defend the closure of the wrong runway, critical to medical. Yet, they don't see it.
Well, maybe the Alberta Party is comfortable with people dying, comfortable with extended travel and wait times with over 40 diverted flights.
I am not. And I will no longer pretend in fictitious unicorns and rainbows. Mere marketing toys to make something that isn't pretty, into something that is.
The truth is pretty. If actually standing up for what people want, is the truth. And in this, the Alberta Party has failed. Every other Party gets it. Except one.
With that said, I am done.
