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Alberta New Democrats know beer.

They toiled for years at the low end of the political pay scale, more than likely swilling brews, not $50 Scotch or ice wine, during late night left wing get-togethers.

Their rise to power in 2015 coincided nicely with the mushrooming attention craft beer was getting from millennials.  The NDP government saw an obvious opportunity.  Alberta's small craft brewery sector was ripe for development into a thriving industry.  What could be more feel-good: a business built on Alberta agricultural products bringing happiness to locals at community centres and down-home independent pubs?

So the government initiated a number of support programs and policies to speed up the Alberta sector.  Now Alberta has 99 craft breweries, a leap from the 10 craft breweries the province had five years ago.

The government is busting its buttons over the success.

Now the Alberta government is developing national ambitions on the suds front, launching a trade challenge to open up the giant Ontario market to Alberta's beer and promising to expand its fight for inter-provincial beer free trade to other provinces.

Breweries in Alberta argue that they have been barred from free access to Ontario by a myriad of discriminatory regulatory fees and policies.  In one case, Edmonton's Alley Kat Brewery had to pay $400 in lab fees to get $1,600-worth of its beer into Ontario, even though the well-established brewery must meet the same safety standards as any other brewery in Canada.

Naturally Alberta is railing against such blatant injustice.  Just as Ontario and Saskatchewan breweries railed against the blatant injustice of Alberta policies created to give a hand up to craft breweries in the province.

In fact, Ontario's Steam Whistle Brewing and Saskatchewan's Great Western Brewing Company won court challenges against Alberta for discriminatory practices including markup policies for small breweries that favoured the domestic Alberta product over out-of-province brews, and a subsequent evening out of the markup coupled with subsidies to Alberta small brewers to offset the increase.

Does that make the Alberta position on interprovincial free trade a bit hypocritical?  You might say that.  The NDP's tactics to build craft brewing in the province have been quite effective, if not always particularly consistent.

In a two-pronged response to this week's NDP free trade challenge against Ontario, UCP Leader Jason Kenney has tweeted his support of the government.  The UCP party statement is not quite so supportive.

"It's notable that the minister also announced this trade challenge at the same time as he abandoned his illegal subsidy that has cost Alberta millions of dollars in fines," said the party statement.

From another perspective, the government's subsidies may have just achieved their purpose and run their course.  The NDP might have decided to run the risk of a fine or two to get the industry up and running.  Maybe there was a benchmark — say 100 active craft breweries — that would trigger the end of protecting the nascent industry within Alberta's borders.

Now the second phase of developing that industry has begun, with the province's aggressive stance against Ontario the first volley in a larger battle to build Alberta craft beer's market and reputation across the country.

Some of that is already happening.  The Vancouver Sun just ran a travel piece on Alberta focused on the craft scene in Calgary and that gushed, "If you're a beer lover, Alberta just might be one of the most exciting places on the planet to visit right now."

Beyond brewery jobs and buzz, of course, is the base principle of keeping politics simple and relatable.  And booze is pretty darn relatable.  At the height of Alberta's irritation with British Columbia over its attempts to block the Trans Mountain Pipeline, the first target the Alberta government aimed at was the B.C. wine industry, blocking it from importation to Alberta.

Now that the provincial election is approaching in the spring, the optics of the NDP standing up for small craft brewers is a simple, warm and fuzzy image.  The UCP recognizes that and has shot back, saying the government is spending too much time on the issue.  Of course they want to swing the spotlight back to the failure to get a pipeline lifted off the regulatory rack.

Even though it's not giant in the scheme of the provincial economy, the craft brewery success story is a winner for the NDP.  And right now Rachel Notley's government needs a chill, refreshing victory to take the edge off.

Photo Credit: Labmanager.com

The views, opinions and positions expressed by columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of our publication.


The official home of the prime minister is in utter disrepair. But the price tag to restore it is way too high. Here's a solution

$34.5 million.

That's how much the National Capital Commission (NCC) recently said it would cost to repair 24 Sussex Drive, the official residence of the Canadian prime minister since 1951.

Hmm, this seems pretty steep.  What about tearing down the original Victorian house (built in 1868) and its extension, and building a brand new one?

That's even worse.  The price tag would climb to $38.5 million.

Neither estimate would even cover all the required repairs at 24 Sussex.  The pool building ($5.3 million) and caretaker's house ($2 million) would remain in a crumbling state of affairs.

It's hard to believe after all these years of study that the NCC came up with these figures.  Not just from a political or partisan perspective, but also a personal one.

My family has been involved in mortgages and investments since the early 1930s.  Louis Taube, my late grandfather and a lawyer, dealt with mortgages before the rise of the Central (later Canada) Mortgage and Housing Corp., the national housing agency, in 1946.  Stanley Taube, my father and also a lawyer, bought his first mortgage at age 13 in 1949, owned a trust company and remains in the industry.

While I headed into politics and media and opted not to become a lawyer (there's a black sheep in every household!), I carried on this tradition and also became a mortgage agent.

In my view, the NCC's two numbers are preposterous.  Even if you factor in security, electricity, heating, paint, wallpaper, elevator upgrade, crown mouldings and other fixtures, along with the pool building and caretaker's house, the entire repair shouldn't exceed $10 million.  And while it's easy to spend an exorbitant amount of money on a new build, it should still be in the neighbourhood of $12 million to $15 million.

Some professional contractors seem to feel the same way.  For instance, one contractor told Toronto-based talk radio host John Moore on Nov. 22 that the repair should be around $5 million.  This particular number sounds both fiscally prudent and economically tangible.

With this in mind, I would suggest the NCC re-approach a well-known Canadian builder/contractor: Mike Holmes.

The star of several popular TV series (Holmes on Homes, Holmes Inspection, Holmes and Holmes), he offered to help rebuild the aging, collapsing residence back in October 2015.  "I've read all your posts about the problems with 24 Sussex Drive and that Justin Trudeau won't be moving in," Holmes wrote on his Facebook page, "I do know the best renovator in Ottawa that would be happy to help.  Say the word and we'll grab our tools!"

According to news reports, the Prime Minister's Office turned him down.  That was a poor decision.

As a professional contractor, Holmes has access to a wide array of builders and suppliers.  He would be able to keep costs down through his connections, buying in bulk, while keeping the historical importance of this particular residence at the forefront.

Holmes would likely want to create a TV reality show when repairing 24 Sussex.  While this initiative could turn some Canadians off, there's really nothing wrong with the idea.  It would enhance his reputation and create a permanent video record of the entire project.  This would also help ensure the house repair has been done properly, and would last for many years and/or decades.

Yes, Holmes has different ideas about what to do with 24 Sussex.

In November 2016, he told CTV's Question Period that while he respects the need to protect it as a heritage building, "You could take the house down and build a brand new home.  If it was me, that's probably what I would do."

He went on the same program last week with a new suggestion: "Should it be a museum?  Should we turn it back to history for all the prime ministers that were there, for the public to walk in and see it?"

Nevertheless, the NCC should set up a meeting and see what he thinks.  If Holmes can repair and save one of Canada's great homes, he'll hopefully save millions of taxpayer dollars in the process.

Photo Credit: Constitution150.ca

Troy Media columnist and political commentator Michael Taube was a speechwriter for former prime minister Stephen Harper.

The views, opinions and positions expressed by columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of our publication.


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The views, opinions and positions expressed by columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of our publication.