Alison Redford: Lawyer, former justice minister and now Premier of Alberta and she still didn't know that the Alberta ethics commissioner has no ability to investigate Gary Mar’s controversial fundraiser!
It was Redford who last Friday suspended Mar from his Asia job without pay, and then turned the matter over to the commissioner.
In a TV interview Tuesday morning, she patted herself on the back for acting in the proper matter.
By late afternoon Neil Wilkinson threw the mess back at her. The rules written for him by the PC majority do not let him peer into Mar’s fundraising event.
Ouch.
I am not Gary Mar's biggest fan, not by a long shot, but honestly I am not sure what Gary Mar actually did to bring down the wrath of Redford on him in such a public fashion.
I know that he held a fundraiser to help pay off his $260,000 debt from his leadership run, but don't all politicians do that? Fundraisers are as common in politics as politicians are so what was the big deal?
Whether or not the invitations named him as Alberta's Asia envoy doesn't seem like to big a deal to me because he IS Alberta's Asia envoy if it says so on the invitation or not, and I really don't see much of a difference between what he did and what Premier Redford has been doing with any of her Premiers Dinners that she has held.
I guess we will have to wait and see but one thing for certain is that Premier Redford has it out for Gary Mar.
Remember, she is a lawyer and EVERYTHING that she says is done is a very calculated manner. She has used 'lawyer speak' to weasel her way around her promises on a healthcare inquiry and a fixed election date, parsing her words very carefully every time she speaks, but with Mar she went before the cameras and basically called his actions wrong and sent the ethics commissioner after him ( which we now know has no authority to do) rather than deal with it it a calm reasonable manner and wait for some facts before flying off the handle and tossing Mar under the PC campaign bus.
Why she did so remains unknown but considering how she has downplayed almost everything that has looked bad for the PC's so far, her going public with the accusations against Mar suggests that she is gunning for him.
Update: April 19th 2012: Dave Rutherford is saying that Gary Mar has been cleared of any and all allegations against him. It seems that this report has been on Premier Redford's desk for a number of days and has not been made public. I wonder why.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
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This is a good take on Alison Redford:
Lorne Gunter: A chance to kick Alison Redford out of office http://natpo.st/xFYic4
The only reason she won the leadership was bribing the teachers. Pretending to mend fences she gave Gary this gig, but I believe it was never to be long term.
Maybe he will run as a WRA candidate.Would he win, never know.
It is my understanding that with the Air Canada tickets, there was a schedule of events hosted by Mr. Mar and/or his family members. The inference is that whomever bought the tickets is also buying time with him and that's against the law.
"Cronies, Czars and Corruptocrats" - hat tip to Michelle Malkin - its what we have in Alberta. Can't wait for the election to votes these lifers out of office. cheers.
If Lorne Gunter is even half-right you have to wonder where the conservatives actually went - Wildrose seems to be the and it pains me to say it.
Much as I dislike Redford, she isn't the only villain here - the CPA's PTB (Powers That Be) very likely had a significant hand in selecting her to be their voice.
Things rarely happen by accident in party politics.
This is interesting: Some have suggested that Mar was given the Asia job to get him out of day to day Alberta politics and Redford's hair, and now that the opportunity has presented itself she is getting trying to rid herself of him completely.
It does seem to be an over reaction.
Maybe there's more to this story than is known by the public at this time?
Maybe, just maybe Redford knows what that story is and maybe it ain't so good.
Rutherford's interview of Redford this morning (2012 -02-15) was a perfect example of the tyranny of the articulate.
The real failure of the Redford PCs is their tendency to privilege themselves and their own world of reason, rhetoric and articulate knowledge even as they attack the basic rights of others. A little more modesty and a lot less hubris might help the APC's cause.
In stark contrast to Redford's carefully scripted and rehearsed responses to questions I'm reminded of Ralph Klein, whose speech was interspersed with frequent "ums", "ahs" and "ers" which endeared to him to voters, leading them to believe (rightly or wrongly) that he wasn't just parroting the PTB's script.
Full disclosure...Gary Mar is a friend, but I'm wondering if the commissioner couldn't take the file...who/what entity exonerated him?
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