By Dylan Jones
In the Globe and Mail

May 8, 2015


 

The New Democrats governed Saskatchewan well during their time in office. The party conquered a massive spending problem, reformed social assistance to provide more support for people actually entering the work force, and established a potash royalty regime that led to much development, among other things.

Saskatchewan voters also chose well when they elected Brad Wall, leader of the conservative Saskatchewan Party, at a time when the province was ready for a more optimistic tone and more growth in the private sector.

One of the exciting things about a party winning unexpectedly, as the NDP did in Alberta this week, is that most of its candidates will have entered politics because of their values rather than the draw of power. This is refreshing, but also presents challenges. Government is seldom about silver-bullet solutions or the dogged pursuit of a single goal. Bridges and coalitions need to be built, and multiple values must be weighed. No matter who elected them, governments must always govern for all the people of the province.

Part of what Alberta’s electorate wanted in this vote is simply for the wealthy to pay more taxes. The NDP will need to balance its pursuit of this agenda with respect for maintaining Alberta’s appeal as a place for entrepreneurs and risk-takers. It is not right that people who bet their life savings on a new venture should lose everything if it fails but have the proceeds clawed back through taxes if they succeed.

Alberta does not have the beaches of British Columbia or the economic scale of Ontario. In this province, a tax regime that attracts entrepreneurs and professional talent is worth protecting.

Another sticky policy wicket is economic diversification. This can be done well with great benefit. The Canadian wine industry, for example, would not have developed to its current extraordinary state without infant industry protection. Sometimes, government can play a useful strategic role to stimulate new private-sector investment, especially where there are real market barriers to overcome. Probably the best example of this is the oil sands themselves, which were shaped as much by public policy as private enterprise.

There is a caution. Investing taxpayer resources into economic development that the private sector will not touch often hurts economic growth. Money is shifted from winning propositions to riskier ones.

Connected to this is the absolutely false idea that processing is always better. For example, moving labour from high-margin oil production to low-margin oil refining likely would mean less value is being produced per unit of labour. This means fewer good jobs can be supported in the long run.

Even so, some wins can be had in economic diversification. For example, the agri-food sector offers great opportunities to increase margin while serving the higher spending power of the emerging global middle class. Overall, the objective of growing high-quality, well-paying jobs and reducing dependency on oil is a good one. If the government proceeds strategically, this could be a net win for Albertans.

Another vital area is the quality and cost of public services. This election result reflects broad support for public goods delivered by government. It is important that the conversation not be about revenue alone.

Value – both quality and cost – matters. And reform is needed. This is not the endless governance deck-chair shuffling we have had in health policy over the past decade. Reform has to focus on the quality of what happens in our emergency rooms, classrooms and recreation centres. An ambitious NDP government could do a great deal of good here, given that it starts with a higher level of trust from public-sector workers. And sustaining public support for higher taxes will require an actual improvement in public services, not just cost increases.

There is reason for concern that ideology could trump common sense as this new NDP government finds its way. However, there is also reason for hope that the NDP will follow the best traditions of prairie social democracy and pursue its goal of improving life for all people in a practical and prudent way.

After all, a great and sustainable quality of life is a shared goal for people of every political stripe.