It's odd days indeed to be a voter in Alberta as the closer the election gets the harder it's becoming to nail down which direction the PCs are heading.
A Tory minister sitting across from a reporter saying with a straight face that a four-hour stop in the city has nothing to do with the upcoming election but is actually listening to Albertans is bad enough. Coming from the same minister who refused to comment on charging cities for licence plate queries makes it worse.
It becomes even more difficult when the umpteenth government-sponsored task force compiled to respond to community concerns hits town. Especially when you still haven't seen results from previous recommendations.
But comments from Agriculture Minister Evan Berger to the press and the public on Wednesday is a perfect example of the 'say whatever you need to say to get elected' attitude of this government. An attitude that shows Berger not only shovels manure at his ranch but also piles it on Albertans.
From St. Paul to Rocky Mountain House to Medicine Hat, the property rights task force heard over and over again the latest land-use legislation needs to be repealed.
On Wednesday, Berger countered these calls by using the example of Grimshaw as a place where he heard some of the "wide spectrum" of opinion and cited the Canadian Wheat Board as a topic of discussion at that meeting.
While the CWB may have been brought up, those at the Grimshaw meeting told government officials they fear the legislation threatens property rights. The CWB did not even make it to the final summary of opinions expressed, which was read back to those attending the meeting.
When asked on Wednesday about local calls for repealing the legislation, Berger said he heard some at the Lethbridge meeting as saying, "no, no, don't start over."
But the overwhelming comment in Lethbridge was that landowners are threatened by the legislation they feel will see their land and water rights expropriated.
Hanna was the same with those at the meeting openly pondering why MLA and previous agriculture minister Jack Hayden was absent to hear the feeling that the legislation strips property rights.
Every other meeting across the province landowners were overwhelmingly united in their message — they don't agree with this legislation.
Berger says what he's hearing is "all over the map."
The truth is Albertans are mad as hell over this issue but, according to Berger, he's made it abundantly clear that's not what he is hearing.
There is only one remaining way for rural landowners to get the message across. It won't be from yelling or screaming but the silent act of marking an X on any other candidate but PC.
(Alex McCuaig is a reporter with the Medicine Hat News. You can comment on this and other editorials online at www.medicinehatnews.com/opinion)