Klein’ triumphs will be remembered
Editorial apprared in Fort McMurray Today April 5, 2006.
Amid the swirl of controversy surrounding Alberta Premier Ralph Klein's ungraceful push from office, something’s been forgotten.
We're losing sight of why he was so successful and led his party to successive electoral majorities.
Why did average Albertans support the man who asked them to call him Ralph for so long?
Klein’s straightforwardness got him into trouble at times, but most people saw his failings, including a public battle with the bottle, as a sign of his humanity.
While we want our leaders to be superhuman, able to leap tall buildings at a single bound, it’s strangely reassuring that Klein was anything but.
Coming on the heels of the spendthrift Peter Lougheed and Don Getty administrations, Klein faced a formidable task when he took over the reigns of power.
Energy revenues were at a low, along with the price of oil and gas, and spiraling expenses threatened to make Alberta a have-not province,
In Fort McMurray, the oilsands industry was moribund, with talk of layoffs and plant closings.
Two proposed new plants -- the much sought-after third oilsands giant to set up shop here -- were both stillborn.
Klein attacked the expense side of the ledger first, slashing the number of civil servants. He closed hospitals, reduced the number of health regions and school boards, and put new rules in place to force spending away from administrators and into the direct treatment of patients and the schooling of students.
When scandals threatened to erupt — like ministers treating themselves to first-class foreign trips for no good reason, he cracked down with rules that force politicians to not only tell Albertans how much they’re spending, but why.
In this region, Klein will forever be known for helping make the idea of a new royalty regime for the oilsands be adopted. Together with co-operation from the federal government, the new rules have now led to tens of billions of dollars in investment in this region, and a gusher in royalties.
While Lougheed is known for signing the National Energy Policy that idled oil rigs and put thousands of Albertans out of work, Klein will now be remembered for helping light a fire under the oilsands industry with the new rules. The resulting wealth that was created in this region is flowing to every corner of the country, but principally the provincial and federal treasuries.
One of Klein’s last acts — to recognize the will of the members of his party and step aside rather than hang on, as some urged him -- was the correct decision.
All Albertans are looking forward to the next premier, but we’ll never forget Ralph.
Just Ralph.
© Copyright 2006, Fort McMurray Today.
Amid the swirl of controversy surrounding Alberta Premier Ralph Klein's ungraceful push from office, something’s been forgotten.
We're losing sight of why he was so successful and led his party to successive electoral majorities.
Why did average Albertans support the man who asked them to call him Ralph for so long?
Klein’s straightforwardness got him into trouble at times, but most people saw his failings, including a public battle with the bottle, as a sign of his humanity.
While we want our leaders to be superhuman, able to leap tall buildings at a single bound, it’s strangely reassuring that Klein was anything but.
Coming on the heels of the spendthrift Peter Lougheed and Don Getty administrations, Klein faced a formidable task when he took over the reigns of power.
Energy revenues were at a low, along with the price of oil and gas, and spiraling expenses threatened to make Alberta a have-not province,
In Fort McMurray, the oilsands industry was moribund, with talk of layoffs and plant closings.
Two proposed new plants -- the much sought-after third oilsands giant to set up shop here -- were both stillborn.
Klein attacked the expense side of the ledger first, slashing the number of civil servants. He closed hospitals, reduced the number of health regions and school boards, and put new rules in place to force spending away from administrators and into the direct treatment of patients and the schooling of students.
When scandals threatened to erupt — like ministers treating themselves to first-class foreign trips for no good reason, he cracked down with rules that force politicians to not only tell Albertans how much they’re spending, but why.
In this region, Klein will forever be known for helping make the idea of a new royalty regime for the oilsands be adopted. Together with co-operation from the federal government, the new rules have now led to tens of billions of dollars in investment in this region, and a gusher in royalties.
While Lougheed is known for signing the National Energy Policy that idled oil rigs and put thousands of Albertans out of work, Klein will now be remembered for helping light a fire under the oilsands industry with the new rules. The resulting wealth that was created in this region is flowing to every corner of the country, but principally the provincial and federal treasuries.
One of Klein’s last acts — to recognize the will of the members of his party and step aside rather than hang on, as some urged him -- was the correct decision.
All Albertans are looking forward to the next premier, but we’ll never forget Ralph.
Just Ralph.
© Copyright 2006, Fort McMurray Today.
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