Page 6 PONOKA NEWS
Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2012
Opinion
The long view of former premier Peter Lougheed As a western Canadian who the prairies. It was Lougheed’s immigrated to Alberta from special talent to make progresBritish Columbia in 1978, it was sive political action something hard not to be impressed with most people could identify with the premier of our adopted provand support. ince. But there was more to the Premier Peter Lougheed’s Lougheed era than progresgovernment was already well sive policy. There was the established in the late 1970s, interesting combination of the having swept to power in 1971, premier’s folksiness (especially overturning an exhausted Social on camera for ‘family chat sesCredit party that had ruled the Guest Columnist sions’ with the electorate), and Mike Robinson his policy wonkism. Today I roost for some 36 years. Coming Troy Media from B.C., where Social Credit see elements of the Lougheed had also enjoyed a long run unstyle in Bill Clinton’s recent der premier ‘Wacky’ (WAC) Bennett, it was address to the Democratic National Convenobvious that the new conservatives were pro- tion in Charlotte, N.C. That address was just gressive and promoting change on a broad as masterfully scripted for the down home, front. As someone who had never voted small town audience in Arkansas, as it was conservative, it was an invitation to re-think for the Beltway political junkies in Washingpolitical affiliation. And provincially I did. ton D.C. Few politicians in my memory can In pretty short order, Alberta had a new speak as well to both groups as Clinton and Bill of Rights, a Heritage Fund, a major (and Lougheed. In fact, right now, I cannot think successful) fight with the Trudeau Liberals of any others. over the National Energy Policy, a successful At yet another level, Lougheed stands 1988 Winter Olympics bid, provincial gov- apart from the current political actors on the ernment involvement in regional airlines and Canadian stage. Simply put, he defined the technology development and broad invest- political ‘common touch.’ There are thouments in culture and the arts. From a B.C. sands of stories circulating in Alberta right perspective, it was possible to see elements now on this point. They are personally held of Dave Barrett’s (premier from 1972 to and personally told. I have one. 1975) progressive socialist thinking alive on Family friends Harold and Donna
PONOKA
Millican celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in the Priddis Community Hall in 2001. My wife and I attended with maybe 150 other friends and family members. Peter and Jeanne Lougheed were there, as long-time pals of Harold and Donna — in fact schoolmates in the early days. After the many speeches had been given, and the meal had been served by the community-based caterers, the guests began to leave the gravel parking lot for home. One by one the cars pulled out until the Millican’s, ours and one other car remained. I wondered who it was because no one else was in the hall. I quickly peeked into the kitchen, and there was Peter Lougheed and his wife helping to dry the dishes. Beyond an inherent progressivism, unaffected folksy charm, a sharp legal appreciation of fact, detail and nuance, and a mastery of the common touch, Lougheed’s contributions to Alberta and Canada continue long after he left political life in 1985. His recent public commentary on the importance of Albertans receiving a fair royalty for the resources that they own, and the need to consider slowing down the pace of oilsands development are cases in point. These comments, offered to the media in the post-Klein era, sharply countered a reckless desire to develop quickly a resource that promised long-term economic stability to Alberta if
stewarded responsibly. His stance on royalties served to remind us all just who owned the resource in the first place. Albertans, not corporate Canada and America. This long-term stewardship approach to public assets underpinned what is arguably the Lougheed era’s greatest policy achievement — the Alberta Heritage Fund. The Heritage Fund still stands today as a noble principle, even though its subsequent trashing for short-term cash needs has humbled its impact. Its diminished balance is an affront to those who favour sustainable long-term gains over profligate current account spending. While Peter Lougheed’s continuing influence on Canadian affairs is today obvious, his real gift to our common future is the intelligent political expression of the long view. In the world of the ‘Stephen Harper Government,’ short-term expediency is everything. A political legacy in today’s Canada might be defined as how the polls say you are doing next week. We live in a world tied up with arguments about political means, when sustainable ends are all that really matters. This understanding is Peter Lougheed’s enduring legacy. Mike Robinson has lived half of his life in Alberta and half in B.C. In Calgary he worked for eight years in the oil patch, 14 in academia, and eight years as a cultural CEO.
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