Raj Sherman, Alberta Liberal Leader, Promises Free Tuition, More Taxes On Rich

EDMONTON - Alberta Liberal Leader Raj Sherman whipped up the party faithful Monday in a revival-type meeting — delivering a pre-election platform that promised more tax on the rich, free tuition for all, and an end to the reign of Tory "bums" and "bedbugs."

"We are going to put an end to pork-barrel politics," Sherman, flanked by some candidates, told a crowd of 50 at the downtown Art Gallery of Alberta.

"Yes!" shouted the partisans.

"We will fix the public health system in two years, " said Sherman, who is also an emergency room doctor.

He told the crowd that the previous night he was on the phone for hours trying to find a free bed for a patient.

"There was no emergency bed in Edmonton," he said.

"Shame! Shame!" shouted the crowd.

Alberta Liberal Conservative appoints conservative Liberals to battle progressive conservatives, true conservatives

Yesterday, Alberta Liberal Leader Raj Sherman emailed out a press release announcing big changes to his staff.

Key among these were the additions of Jeff Melland, a former spokesthingy for the British Columbia Liberal caucus, and Ryan Pineo, a former legislative assistant with the same West Coast Liberals.

Melland will be moving to Edmonton and taking up his duties on Feb. 1, said Sherman's release. Pineo, by the sound of the statement, has already started work as Sherman's executive assistant. Sherman, according to his news release, is "very excited about my new team." (Emphasis added; explanation to follow.)

Makes sense, you say? Liberals helping Liberals, right?

Nothing is that simple. Given the permutations and transmogrifications among the various parties of the right in Western Canada -- not to mention their occasional name changes, both formal and informal -- it's very hard to keep track of what's going on without a program and a GPS unit.

This is where it starts to get complicated. I'll try to explain.

First of all, we need to remember that Sherman is a former Progressive Conservative, who was fired by former Conservative premier Ed Stelmach for criticizing his former conservative party when he was still a member of it. Last September, Sherman was elected as the leader of the Alberta Liberals, who were still Liberals in the normal Canadian sense of that word, when the party threw its leadership vote wide open to non-Liberals as well as members of the party.