Change the rules, just like the NHL did

Alberta politics could learn much from the NHL changes started in 2004-05

Alberta could have great politics. But it doesn't. I don't blame individuals as much as the system. The way we elect our MLAs puts them in the position to act as they do, and I sense I’d be hard pressed to act otherwise if I was put in their position.

It might seem odd, but the evolution of the NHL’s rules points to a way out of our current poor politics.

It was the early 2000s and the style of hockey being played—too much clutch and grab, and trapping and low-scoring—wasn’t inspiring. Fans were leaving (similar to how voters quit voting). But the solution wasn't to berate the coaches and players into doing better. Coaches and players are smart: they want to win the Stanley Cup, and they figure out the strategies and skills that give them the best chance to win. Where's the fault in that? Brodeur puck-handles and takes away dump ins, and defensemen stack the blue line. It all makes perfect sense.

So it is with Alberta politics. Winning is now defined as having a majority of the seats to pass the legislation you want, and MLAs and parties want to win. They are smart; they know the rules, they've worked out strategies to give them they best chance at getting the most seats. Where's the fault in that?

For Albertans to expect different politics, or hockey fans to expect a different style of hockey, simply by hoping for it, or scorning those involved, is wishful thinking. Instead, you have to make real changes.

Let’s go back to what the NLH did. They changed the rules. Not arbitrarily. Not without consulting. But by getting coaches and players and GMs together to figure out how to improve the game and solve some of its ills.

We can do exactly the same for politics in Alberta. The rules right now give us results no one is happy with: skewed majority governments, few party choices for voters, policy lurches, divisive attacks, little co-operation amongst MLAs. We know this. We see it election after election.

So let's go back to the rules and update them and create something much better.