우리가 같은 아시아 출신이기에 아시안 이민자 후세인 게리 마를 지지해야한다는 매우 위험한( 어쩌면 매우 반 캐나다적인 발상) 생각도 문제이지만
그가 추진하려했던 의료 사보험 도입이 캐나다의 정체성을 무너뜨릴 수도 있는 심각한 반 캐나다적 정책임을 고려하지 않는 것이 더욱 문제였는데..
그가 탈락했다니 너무나도 반가운 소식입니다.

다수결의 원칙이 언제나 민주주의의 흠결없는 불변의 진리인 것은 아니라고 믿는 저로서는 제 2선호 투표제도가 매우 합리적이고 보완적인 제도라고 봅니다.

게리 마의 당선이 중국인 이민자를 비롯한 저같은 아시안 출신들에게 어떤 특별한 좋은 점을 주는 지는 잘 알지 못하지만 그의 당선이 자칫 우리 사는 곳을 갈등과 분열의 위험한 도박에 빠지게할 수도 있었다고 보기에 그의 탈락은 곧 우리를 구원한 것이라고 생각하며 안도합니다.

파모라마님의 진단에 의하면 중국인들의 오버에 의해 부추겨진 레드넥들의 인종주의의 결과로 게리마가 낙선했다고 하셨는데, 그 진단에 맞는것이라고 가정한다면 ... 내마음의 평화님의 지적이 아주 중요한거 같습니다.

선거를 인종, 국가적 기원, 종교, 성별, 학연, 지연 등에 기초해서 하면 나타나는 현상들입니다. 우리나라사람들도, 우리나라사람을 국회의원 시키기 위해 맹목적 투자/지원등을 삼가하고, 자신의 정치적 견해에 따라 정치적 선택을 하는 고차원적 정치행태를 보였으면 좋겠습니다.

인종, 국가적 기원, 성별, 학연, 지연, 종교 등등을 선거나 정치적 선택에서 완전 배제해야할 irrelevant한 변수들입니다. 정견에 관계없이 한인정치인을 후원하거나 선거운동을 하는것에 제가 강력반대하는 이유이기도 하죠.

근데 레드포드라는 그분은 제대로 된 분인가요? 누구 아시는분 계신가요?

의료 사보헌 도입을 맹렬히 반대해왔다는 것과 교육 및 의료 부문에 예산을 늘리겠다는 긍정적인 마인드를 가진 여성 정치인이라는 정도인데요.

알버타 최초의 여성 수상이라는 신기원을 이뤘군요. 이 참에 캐나다, 특히 알버타의 여성들이 더 많은 정치적 기회와 참여를 이뤄내기를 소망해 봅니다.

교육과 의료부분에 많은 신경을 쓸 것 같은데... 생각대로 잘 되었으면 합니다.
교육과 의료가 중요한 부분 아닙니까?
여자건 동성연애자건 그건 별로 중요한 것 같지 않습니다.

앨버타 프리미어, 캘거리 시장 둘 다 unconventional 하다는 면에 상당히 정치적으로 고무적인 현상인 것 같습니다. 새로운 것이면 다 좋은 것은 아니지만, 진화해 가는 앨버타, 캘거리의 인구 구성 변화를 잘 반영하는 게 아닌가 하는 희망을 가질 수 있을 것 같네요. 오바마 같은 폼만 잡는 기회주의자가 되지 않았으면 합니다.

퍼온글 입니다.
EDMONTON — A Toronto-based conservative advocacy group is questioning the election of Alberta premier-designate Alison Redford.
The National Citizens Coalition says it appears a \"highly controversial backroom deal\" involving the Alberta Teachers\' Association played a major role in her victory.
Coalition CEO Peter Coleman calls Redford\'s pledge to restore $107 million in education funding a special favour that Alberta can\'t afford to a special interest group. Coleman says the promise prompted some teachers who aren\'t really Progressive Conservatives to buy party memberships so they could vote for Redford.
\"I think it puts the incoming premier in a bad spot. It doesn\'t allow her to have a totally clean slate going forward,\" Coleman said Wednesday from Toronto.
\"Are there any special favours by people who have come to vote for you at the last second?\"
The coalition suggests Redford used the treasury as her personal piggy bank when she pledged to restore education funding. Coleman said an allegedly Conservative party should be on the side of taxpayers.
Also at issue is the preferential ballot used by the Alberta Tories to elect leaders since 1992. It is used if no candidate wins a majority in the first round of voting. If that happens, the three top candidates move to a second round one or two weeks later.
Voters must list their first, second and third choice in that round. If there is no majority winner, the person finishing third drops off and the second choices on that candidate\'s ballots are added to the tallies of the top two.
Redford managed to squeak past front-runner Gary Mar by getting more of those second-choice votes.
The coalition suggests the system allows people who are not really Tories to tip the outcome by signing up at the last minute. It says the same thing happened when Ed Stelmach became premier in 2006.
\"Alison Redford won a contest with these terribly lax rules -- which are rife for abuse,\" said a coalition news release. \"The NCC is calling for a review of the process.\"
Stephen Carter, architect of Redford\'s campaign victory who is now her chief of staff, said he really doesn\'t care what the National Citizens Coalition thinks.
Carter said he\'s shocked that someone from outside the province is speaking out against how Alberta Tories choose their leaders and what programs the government plans to spend money on.
\"We followed the rules and we won,\" Carter said from Calgary.
\"I\'m amused that someone from Toronto is picking apart our process and deciding what interests are special interest in the province of Alberta. We are talking about 500,000-plus students in our public education system.
\"That is not a special interest. That is our focus.\"
Redford was attending her mother\'s funeral Wednesday and was not available for comment.
Bill Smith, president of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, said the party\'s leadership selection, first used in 1992 when Ralph Klein was chosen, is fair and open. He said it encourages as many Albertans as possible to take part.
Smith declined to comment on the coalition\'s statements about Redford and the Alberta Teachers\' Association.
The party is bound to review its leadership selection at some point, but probably not until after the next provincial election, he said.
\"It is my expectation that, regardless of whether we have a constitutional amendment to change it or not, there will be a committee of some sort struck to review it.\"

Read more: <a href=http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20111006/national-citizens-coalition-bashes-alison-redford-victory-111006/#ixzz1a2JWXrWe target=_blank>http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20111006/national-citizens-coalition-bashes-alison-redford-victory-111006/#ixzz1a2JWXrWe</a>

Company owned by Redford’s chief of staff defaults on court-ordered payments
dawn walton
Increase text size A company owned by Stephen Carter, who has been hailed as a rainmaker for propelling underdog candidate Alison Redford into Alberta’s premier’s office and is now her chief of staff, has defaulted on almost $600,000 in court-ordered judgments.
Mr. Carter’s now defunct Calgary-based firm, Carter McRae Events, organized a 2009 visit to the city by the Dalai Lama, but was later sued by the University of Calgary and two other companies for losses related to the event.

Redford\'s first day as Alberta premier-designate Judgments filed against Carter McRae, which Mr. Carter operated with his wife, Heather McRae, were rendered in the spring of 2010, and writs of enforcements were issued for a total of $568,663.30. But not a penny has been paid, according to all parties involved.

“You never want anything like that to happen, but it did,” Mr. Carter said, “There was precious little we could do. We certainly apologized to our creditors. To this day, we have good relationships with some and we have bad relationships with others. I don’t begrudge them that. That’s their choice.”

Mr. Carter was the campaign manager for Ms. Redford, who Progressive Conservative Party faithful picked last weekend to replace Ed Stelmach as leader. She will be sworn in as premier on Friday. A year ago, Mr. Carter was the political strategist behind the campaign that brought Naheed Nenshi into office as Calgary’s first Muslim mayor.

According to documents filed with the Court of Queen’s Bench, Carter McRae owes $406,216.49 to the University of Calgary, which hosted the event featuring former South African leader F.W. de Klerk and singers k.d. lang and Bryan Adams. Another $91,495.51 is owed to Stampede Entertainment Inc., while $70,951.30 is still outstanding to AVW-TELAV Audio Visual Solutions.

“There isn’t much that can be done,” said Dan Finley, president and chief operating officer of Stampede Entertainment. “The company is insolvent.”

Mr. Finley said the circumstances raise concerns about the business savvy of the new premier’s chief of staff. “It absolutely questions that,” he said.

“It’s a very unfortunate situation. We’ve had to move on,” he added.

Janet Bennett, the western Canada regional director for AVW-TELAV, said her company has not recouped any money.

Within 60 days of their appointment, MLAs and senior public servants in Alberta must file a financial disclosure outlining their business interests, including liabilities and legal proceedings, with the Office of the Ethics Commissioner. The commissioner will then determine if there are any concerns raised under the Conflicts of Interest Act or the Code of Conduct and Ethics for the Public Service of Alberta, and if any disciplinary action is required.

Since Mr. Carter has not filed his paperwork, it’s too premature to assess the situation, according to Brad Odsen, lawyer for the commissioner’s officer.

And even if there are concerns about potential conflicts, while the ethics office has investigated 26 MLAs since 1992, probes into senior public servants are protected by privacy rules.

“The information under the act I have to keep confidential,” Commissioner Neil Wilkinson said.

Mr. Carter, who launched BBOLD Public Relations soon after Carter McRae went insolvent (it never filed for bankruptcy), said he sees no reason for ethical concerns even though the province holds the purse strings for the University of Calgary. “No, why would it?” he said.

In a statement, the University of Calgary said it has not recovered any money in connection with the lawsuit and added that “no judgment was issued against Mr. Carter personally.

“The University of Calgary looks forward to working closely with premier-designate Redford and her team,” the statement said.

Mr. Carter said his business woes started when his company staged the 2009 Water Ski World Championships, and the organizer failed to pay its bills. Carter McRae’s problems also cost him his high-profile position with Danielle Smith’s upstart right-wing Wildrose Party.

“It was messy, messy all around,” he said.

With two big political wins and a new appointment, Mr. Carter appears to have landed on his feet.

During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2011, the chief of staff position brought home a salary of $304,123, according to public records