Claude ... I'm living in Edmonton (originally from Timmins)-- (1) I consider myself an Albertan, (2) a North-American and (3) under torture, I might admit to being Canadian. I love it out here, would never live in the Eastern part of Canada again ... I'm all for Western separation.
That said,
Doing a quick internet search I found that 37% of Canadian workers are unionised, as opposed to 10% in the US - Alberta has the lowest union membership in the country at around 23% -- the Klein government has not been a friend to unions, bit by bit, law by law the conservatives have been enacting "right to work" legislation on the libertarian notion that a worker is not truly free from coercion from either unions and/or governments unless he/she can either join or quit these organisations at will. It's illegal for teachers to strike, same for nurses-- and there's also been some high profile battles between business and unions, most notably with Peter Pocklinton.
As for how "libertarian" the Klein conservatives are...? just a quick observation-- to me Klein comes across as a beer drinking, peace, love, go naked kinda guy who has surrounded himself with a cabinet full of religious catholics ... there's a duality to everything that happens in this province, despite the "right-wing" label-- you can easily get an abortion, but in Edmonton (dubbed "Redmonton") you cannot get the proceedure done at a public hospital, but you can pay for one at a private clinic. Which leaves me with the impression that personal rights, as opposed to group rights, are what people in the province care about.
Anyway, imho... |
