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My friend @DuncanKinney reminded me that the fee-for-carriage decision (a.k.a. the end of the annoying “Save Local TV” vs. “Stop the TV Tax” campaigns) is coming out today. It reminded me of the most brutal dismantling of the Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) that I ever had the pleasure of reading.

Broadcast industry veteran Howard Bernstein brings out the hammer and the blowtorch in Liars Poker at the CRTC:

The CRTC has seldom, if ever, had close ties to the real world. The consumer is always at the bottom of the CRTC’s list of cares. The CRTC’s job, as they see it, is to protect Canadian TV. Not TV production as in new dramas and comedies, but TV distributors and stations. The reason: without a bunch of TV stations operating in Canada there is no need for the CRTC to oversee television. So they protect the millionaire owners. More important to the CRTC is cable. Every decision they make is to fortify cable. As long as most Canadians get their TV through cable the CRTC is powerful. You see, you cannot block over the air signals at the border, you cannot stop satellite feeds from entering Canadian air space, but you can control Canadian companies who distribute these signals over cable to millions of Canadian homes. Thus, over the years the CRTC has become the political arm of Rogers Cable. I have appeared before the CRTC five or six times and on each occasion at least half the commissioners were former Rogers employees. In many cases they went back to work at Rogers after their term was up at the CRTC. The connection is too obvious and has been going on for too long to call this a coincidence. CRTC decisions inevitably favour the cable companies first, the broadcasters second, the satellite companies third and I have to say it, the consumer never.

Some sensible people have created a Dissolve the CRTC slacktivist Facebook page. I do suggest that you join.

Political hacks, wonks, communicators, bloggers and regular citizens took a leap of faith to come together and discuss a shared vision for a better Alberta this weekend.  Reboot Alberta is the third citizen driven “meeting of the minds” I’ve attended in the last two months, (the other two being Edmonton’s ChangeCamp and Calgary’s CivicCamp) and there is a progression to something tangible forming.

I’ve been impressed by the quality and respectful tone of the discussions at all of these meetings. But at Reboot Alberta there was a remarkable undertone – something compelling the group towards action.

Maybe it was the well articulated collective sense of frustration over the complacency of a 38 year regime that most feel stopped listening a long time ago?

Maybe it was the wine?

In retrospect, it seems like the solution to our collective woes was relatively simple.  Throw a disparate group of slightly nerdish strangers (who feel passionately about the need for change in our province) in room together, have them select and vote on topics / issues and let them loose to have open discussions about what changes are necessary and how to make them happen.

Microwave for 2 minutes on high, et voilà! The birth of a new progressive political movement, a proto-think tank, a newly minted social media community and even a new political party. And to think how easy it would have been for me to spend my Saturday on my couch watching the DVDs of some lame TV show.

I’m very intrigued by the Renew Alberta party – especially with its proposed vision, philosophy and the smart people leading the push for its creation – but I think it’s a bit premature to throw my hat in for any party right now. I like my non-partisan status and the flexibility it affords me. Frankly, I’m not surprised that others are publicly recognizing the same thing. But with that said, I welcome the creation of this party and I welcome anything that brings more people into political life and contributes to a healthy democracy. I will continue to make my opinions known to it and any other political entity that will listen. Oh and in case you somehow weren’t already aware, I’m coming out: I’m a progressive.

We need to start having more of these sorts of important conversations about Alberta’s future – with or without the facilitation of the existing political structures. This is particularly relevant in a time where the some of our political institutions directly benefit from (and even exacerbate) the typical cynicism and political apathy in this province. I think the moment where the public woke up was the night that  Bill 44 was passed earlier this year (or should I say rammed through?) This conversation, facilitated by social media, was the rock that fell on the head of our typically sleepy provincial political scene to wake up some of the 60% of eligible voters that didn’t bother showing up at the ballot box in March of 2008.  The chorus of these newly “awakened” Albertans has only grown since. Which is good because I want these important conversations to grow to the point where they cannot be ignored. Eventually political structures will be forced to recognize the value of bringing regular people that care about their province into the fold and will modify their governance structures to co-opt these important open conversations into their information, communication and decision models. We’re already seeing some small attempts.

In discussions about the Renew Alberta party, Rebooters even recognized that a party built around actually listening to people is radical enough to be a “game changer.” (It’s pretty easy to see why people are frustrated.)

For now, I’ll remain focused on the big picture, our vision for moving forward, and how the “social movement” (those not inside the new party structure) will influence the system and continue to grow the conversation.  And don’t worry, I have a lot more to say about the specifics of what was discussed, but for now I”ll leave you with two comments I heard this morning:

#rebootab was a delightful opportunity to speak with sane people.

We must accept responsibility for what is. You can change it. Lets be proud of being Albertans and accept responsibility for change we want.

You can join the conversation at www.rebootalberta.org

Last month Elinor Ostrom won the Nobel prize in economics “for her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons.”

In this eight minute clip, she marries the notion of sustainability to our conception(s) of the role and value of public versus private property. Defending the the urgent need for a public system that recognizes scarcity, she tackles the classic tragedy of the commons problem and how we might structure a system that moves beyond it.

(video link h/t ECalgary)