Every Billionaire's A Winner

HBIC hates weighing into politics, but the political hockey pucks that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith keeps tossing to billionaires is hard to ignore. As we know, Smith pledged $330 million of Alberta taxpayer monies to the city of Calgary in order to help build the new arena that's finally been started, and that promise was discussed a number of times by economists, policy analysts, and even this blogger. We saw Smith and her government embroiled in an ethics controversy after her government accepted Edmonton Oilers playoff tickets after those tickets were given to Invest Alberta, a corporation owned by the province, by the company responsible for importing $70 million in Turkish children's pain reliever in 2023. And this past week, we found out that the Oilers, who had been working with Smith's government on a similar $330 million payment as Flames received, will likely receive that money from taxpayers' coffers.

It seems that as long as you're a billlionaire hockey owner in Alberta, you're humming Hot Chocolate's 1978 hit song, Every 1's a Winner - more specifically the part that goes, "Everyone's a winner, baby, that's no lie/You never fail to satisfy."

I've written about the problems in Alberta before when it comes basic services and infrastructure that require major funding. There are health care problems where "61 per cent of the family doctors had been considering leaving the Alberta health-care system" in January and some towns like Hinton, Alberta where half the population there doesn't have a family doctor. There are education problems where 250 education jobs are being cut due to budget constraints and 13 school divisions will experience funding cuts for the 2024-2025 school year. Beyond that, there is simply no money left in the budget for infrastructure projects such as "sidewalks, roads, underground infrastructure, water and wastewater" with the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association estimating that the province's municipal infrastructure deficit now sits at $30 billion.

That's "billion". With a "B". Billion. Let that sink in because I haven't even mentioned the costs to rebuild Jasper.

Being that this is Alberta, stuff hit the fan this week when it was discovered that "Danielle Smith invited the Oilers Entertainment Group and the City of Edmonton to submit a proposal for the equivalent of what her government provided to the billionaire owners of the Calgary Flames". Let's not forget that the funding for the Flames' arena was contingent on her UCP party being voted into power in Alberta - something that happened - as she made the $330 million pledge conditionally on her becoming Premier.

Of course, this is the same Danielle Smith who, in 2012 as a member of the Wildrose Party, stated unequivocally, "We would not provide funding to a new arena in Edmonton." I guess she just said the "until 12 years later" part quietly?

The opinion piece in the Edmonton Journal penned by Michael Janz and Scott Hennig on Friday hit the target in the middle of the bullseye when they wrote, "Public dollars should be invested in public assets and public entities. Public funds should not pay for private business arenas. Not in Calgary, not in Edmonton."

Based on all the shortfalls shown above in medicine, education, and infrastructure, promising a $330 million package to the Oilers and the city of Edmonton is wildly irresponsible on Smith's part, and it shows a complete lack of respect and virtually zero understanding of her role as Premier when it comes to the people she's supposed to represent. The Flames and Oilers don't need a single cent of public money to remain viable or have new arenas, yet Danielle Smith is burning through public cash like it will evaporate tomorrow.

Janz and Hennig were quick to point out that business magazine Forbes "estimated the Oilers' operating income in 2022-23 to be US$122 million, second only to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Flames' operating income was US$37 million, putting them in the middle of the pack," which is only $3 million less than what the Flames' owners are committing to their new arena. Yes, the province's money was going into infrastructure such as roads, sewers, and the demolition of the old arena so the new one can be built, but why is the public funding anything when it comes to a private business's new toy?

"In 25 years, the city fo Calgary will own the arena," I hear some of you saying. And yes, that's how the lease is structured, but let's be honest: the city of Calgary will likely be looking at a new arena complex in 25 years. After the Saddledome, the next oldest rink in the NHL is the Honda Center in Anaheim, and it was built in 1993. If you're doing the math, that's a 31 year-old building, but the Samuelis, who own the Ducks, pledged to invest $4 billion of their own money in 2022 to developing the arena around the arena with the 2028 Summer Olympics heading for Los Angeles.

The key in this development is that the Samuelis are using their own money to enrich the area around the arena they own! They didn't get money from the city of Anaheim, the state of California, or the US Government to make the $4-billion improvement around the arena. The Samuelis ponied up the dough for the project and got it approved. See how that works? If YOU want it, YOU pay for it!

As the writers of the piece concluded, they made it clear that the people of Alberta "are the owners of this province, and our job is not to facilitate public handouts for private businesses, no matter how proud we are of the Edmonton Oilers and its recent playoff run". The only problem with that sentiment is that the person voted in by Albertans to be the overseer of public funds and projects seems to be hellbent on keeping the billionaires that own the two NHL franchises happier than everyone else in the province. Forget your doctor's offices and schools and sidewalks and sewers - there are unhappy billionaires who need to be satiated with YOUR money!

As long as the billionaires are happy, I guess everyone wins in Alberta. I can't actually figure out how, but that's why I'm not the Premier of Alberta. Because according to her, "everyone's a winner, baby" despite only the billionaires getting what they demanded.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!