Well, last night was a roaring success!! My team held a Robbie Burns scotch-tasting fundraiser at the Dish and the Runaway Spoon. Alison and Grant from Aligra Wine and Spirits walked us through 8 different fine scotches, explaining how/where they were made and what flavours to look for. Their knowledge was very impressive. The Dish created 8 tasty Scottish-themed meal-by-the-bite appetizers. The owner, Carole Amerongen, was fantastic to work with: flexible, personable, professional and fun. We had a bagpiper, haggis, toasts, jokes and I even sang a wee ballad.

Yesterday, the Alberta Party released a press release asking the government to clarify where the money from the new federal Canada Health Transfer deal (estimated at an additional $900 million dollars) would be spent. We want to see a more open dialogue with Albertans about how to best use this windfall.  There is speculation that the extra dollars may not in fact result in any additional expenditure in healthcare, but rather free up money currently spent by the province on healthcare to go to other sources. I think healthcare is a clear priority for most Albertans and while simply spending more money without careful thought is not the answer, this additional revenue presents a unique opportunity to address areas that have been long neglected in healthcare, but could yield tremendous benefit down the road- like prevention.

On Tuesday, Education Minister Lukaszuk released his 10 Point Plan for Education.

I think it touches on some important points, but misses a few key areas and lacks the punch I was hoping for.

I'll admit it, Don Braid's article in the Calgary Herald speculating that the election could be in April instead of March made me cranky. For most election-weary Albertans, this news may provoke a shrug of indifference or prompt the advice I received this morning on twitter: "Get over it!"  But I hope you will take the time to read why this matters, how it is impacting my life, how it creates unnecessary barriers for citizen engagement, weakens our democracy and is the symptom of a larger problem facing school boards, municipal governments, nonprofit organizations and even the healthcare system.  

I met a young man in an apartment building while out door-knocking. For 15 minutes, he peppered me with insightful questions. The next week, he volunteered to go out door-knocking with me and, in between houses, he asked more challenging questions. He is taking over the family business, I found out, and very cautious, almost skeptical, by nature. He asked me to what I could offer to businesses who might be willing to support me. I said, quite honestly, not what they might get by supporting a PC candidate. I won't be in government, so I can't promise lower taxes for businesses. I won't be able to offer special treatment, benefit, influence or the ear of the powers-that-be.

But I wouldn't offer those things even if I could, I said, because I don't believe in a "you-scratch-my-back, I'll-scratch-yours" form of democracy.

Recently, Will Munsey, our Vice President of Policy, received a letter asking how the Alberta Party was different from the Wildrose. As we are both new parties and sometimes I encounter confusion on the doorstep, I think Will's answer is worth reprinting here.

Sorry for the pause in blogs...I've been out door-knocking a lot lately and the weeks have slipped by. I wanted to share a couple of stories from the doorstep. I hope they build a more complete and complex picture of Edmonton-Glenora and encourage you, in this season of charity and faith, to dare to look a little more closely and more compassionately at the people in our community. Quite often, we have no idea what is happening in our neighbours' homes. We yearn for connection, but are afraid of being pushy and we don't want to intrude. Door-knocking is a unique experience. You intrude. You show up unannounced, to meet people literally where they are. Sometimes, you stumble upon a private hell that has been shielded from others and, being the safe stranger, you sometimes get far more honesty than you were expecting.

My campaign manager, Jacquie Lycka, wrote this response to the Keith Gerein article. At 23 years old, she can speak with authority about how my campaign and the Alberta Party is reaching the younger generation.

Keith Gerein wrote an article today about the Alberta Party fading from the limelight, which includes quite a few quotes from me. I wrote a letter to the editor in response, which may or may not be printed. In any case, it is unlikely to be printed in its entirety. So here it is....

Last night, door-knocking in the McQueen community, I met a woman who said, "I'm not thrilled about the vote splitting" and suggested I was making it easier for the PC candidate to win. I responded that, with four strong candidates in Edmonton-Glenora (and I'm sure a 5th on the way soon!), the outcome in this constituency has yet to be written. I told her I still believed in hard work and personal connections and I joked, "May the best woman win!"  She didn't smile, confirming my suspicion that she was a Liberal supporter. Today, a few more thoughts are percolating about vote splitting.