Bill 19's Journey Through The Legislature

Who Spiked the Purple Kool-Aid?‏
From: Edwin Erickson (edwin@ericksonforest.ca)
Sent: April 22, 2009 1:52:16 PM
To: edwin@ericksonforest.ca

Who Spiked the Purple Kool-Aid?



The new buzz-word around the province is “purple kool-aid”. Alberta’s landowners and other opponents of the contentious Bill 19 and other undemocratic legislation are using the term to refer to Progressive Conservative MLA’s drunken support of the Bill. The “purple kool-aid” is purportedly the potion imbibed by all PC caucus members upon taking office with the party. Once ingested, the potion seduces even well-meaning party newcomers to immediately and completely fall under its trance.



Case in point: yesterday in the Alberta Legislature’s Committee of the Whole on Bill 19, a motion was put forth by opposition MLA Brian Mason to add the words “in the public interest” to the Bill. Indeed, one would naturally assume that those words would, without question, be part of any piece of legislation bearing such huge effect on the people of this province.



However, such did not turn out to be the case. After discussion was closed on Mr. Mason’s motion, PC MLA’s voted unanimously AGAINST writing the words “in the public interest” into the context of the Bill! Those MLA’s included rural PC’s Diana McQueen, Ray Prins, Robin Campbell, Doug Griffiths, Jack Hayden (Minister of Infrastructure), Ted Morton (Minister of Sustainable Resource Development), Mel Knight (Minister of Energy), George Groeneveld (Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development), Ray Danyluk (Minister of Municipal Affairs), Rob Renner (Minister of Environment), Doug Horner (Minister of Advanced Education), Richard Marz, Frank Oberle, Evan Berger, Wayne Drysdale, Jeff Johnson, and Arno Doerksen.



From the Gallery, effects of the “Purple Kool-Aid Syndrome” were quite apparent, and it was obvious that some Members were even suffering from an overdose. Jack Hayden and Frank Oberle, in particular, were showing signs of running off at the mouth, while others barely looked up from the movies on their laptops, or awakened from their slumber, to mumble a foggy “No” in disapproval of the motion.



Such is the sad state of democracy in our Alberta – it’s enough to drive a person to drink (anything but Purple Kool-Aid)!



Edwin Erickson

Buck Lake, AB