New Alberta cabinet too white, too male, too rural: critics
Wednesday, December 20, 2006 9:43 AM MT
CBC News
"Premier Ed Stelmach is coming under fire from some former Alberta cabinet ministers over the makeup of his new inner circle.
Stelmach unveiled his 18-member cabinet last week, but some prominent Conservatives are charging that women, visible minorities and those living in and around cities have been left out.
Former cabinet minister Gary Mar said Tuesday that the government and cabinet should reflect the way Albertans see themselves."

I truly struggle with articles like this as, on the one hand, I want to live in a world that accepts all and discriminates against none. Therefore, I can see the need for affirmative action policies that has made an effort to break down the walls of discrimination. The question, however, comes to pass: are we creating a society where “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than other”? I believe that we’ve missed the bus entirely on the matter of generating equality as it was intended. Affirmative action was aimed to prevent racist and sexist hiring practices and to ensure those who possessed special needs could be included into the general social fabric of our modern world. Therefore, equality is a term that should imply access rights, as opposed to the “making the same” mentality many policies seem to pursue. Therefore, if you are the best person for the position then you should, in turn, be the person hired for the job.

Therefore, in reference to the comment “that the government and cabinet should reflect the way Albertans see themselves”, for me anyway, that means that members should be open minded individuals committed to our community and responsible for the part my community plays in the larger global village. Race, sex or religion does not determine intellect, ability or stereotypical representation of an individual – that’s the whole idea behind equality, is it not? Therefore, what would the difference be between this headline: “too white, too male, too rural” and “too black, too female, too urban”? There should be no difference. However, in our world these days, to promote other cultures is considered multi-cultural, excepting in the case of white males, where it is discrimination. This is one of the problems with democracy as well, as, in its purest form, it is the weight of numbers against you. Therefore, in a country of 100 people where 85% are blue and 15% are green, you require a Charter of Rights and Freedoms or Constitution to ensure that the rights of all are protected, and, in doing so, ensure that there is a balance. Likewise, that constitution or whatever can not be as such that it takes away the power of what the majority want. The Death Penalty is an excellent example of this in that a majority in this country want it, but it is unconstitutional. Thus, the matter lies in the hands of our Supreme Court.

Social Darwinism is a fact. If we continually artificially affect the outcomes of the will of the majority, then are we not sewing the seeds of discontent? Let’s not judge the new cabinet selections by their dicks and pigmentation, but, rather by the job they do.