Alberta PC's quivering in their boots (1)

If the premier’s office is guilty of spying on Danielle Smith, as she claims, it’s for good reason.

Agree with her or not, there are few political figures in the province more effective at delivering a message.

That was evident this weekend at a conference on Alberta’s future, hosted by Preston Manning. The opening event Friday night featured a question-and-answer session with Smith, the leader of the Wildrose Alliance, and first-term Calgary MLA Kyle Fawcett, the low-profile government representative Ed Stelmach sent as a late fill-in for a cabinet minister.

It wasn’t a fair fight. Fawcett stuck mostly to government talking points while Smith hammered away at public policy specifics. Perhaps her most effective punch came when she had the courage to acknowledge that the oilsands have become a national embarrassment.

“Restoring the reputation of the oilsands is Job 1,” said Smith. She accused business and government of doing a lousy job of communicating that 80 per cent of the resource will be developed by underground “in situ” methods rather than by ugly, open-pit mines.

Tailings ponds and belching plants, Smith added, don’t look good.

She portrayed the work being done north of Fort McMurray as practically heroic, under extremely difficult conditions, almost as if it were Afghanistan. It was a good pep talk.

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Notes:

What is it with these women? Palin in the states, Daniele up here in the great white north? They boggle my mind.