A GOOD MAN: ART DIXON

Calgary lost a good man this past week. His name was Art Dixon, and he made a difference.

Arthur J. (Art) Dixon began his life in Windleston, County Durham, England just over 87 years ago. He immigrated to Canada with his family as a young boy, and spent most of his early years growing up in Okotoks. After the war began he joined the RCAF and fought for his country. He was married during the war. When the war was over, Art returned to Alberta, started a couple of small businesses, and in 1950 entered the real estate field. He started his own real estate company which carries on business still today as Dixon Real Estate Services. As a businessman his word was his bond. He was an active member of the Calgary Real Estate Board and for his services to the Board he was awarded an Honorary Lifetime Membership.

It was Public Service for which Art is most well-known. Growing up in the depression, Art knew hard times. The Social Credit movement in Alberta began as a political force to ease the extreme want and destitution endemic throughout the Province during the early years of the depression. Art liked that part about Social Credit - the part that was supposed to help people. In 1952, with his war years behind him, and a business to sustain his family, he went into politics. He was elected that year as a Social Credit Member of the Alberta Legislature for Calgary, and served as an MLA for the next 23 years. In 1963, his natural fairness and obvious intelligence landed him in the Speaker's Chair of the Legislature, a post he held for 12 years. Art was not cut from the same cloth as many of his colleagues in Social Credit. He was tolerant and flexible. He would never attempt to impose his standards of morality on others. He represented the progressive side of the movement, and there weren't many of them during the reign of Premier E.C. Manning.

I knew Art Dixon and liked him very much. My most memorable encounter with Art was to have its beginnings in late 1964. As a very young lawyer, I was retained by members of the Calgary Italian Community to fight expected charges under the Criminal Code and Liquor Control Act we anticipated were to be laid against members of several Italian new-immigrant families. This situation arose as a result of a rather violent RCMP raid on the Brdgeland homes of families suspected of making wine at home - a long and honorable Italian tradition. These families were making wine, as it was part of their culture, and many of them did not know it was illegal to do so. I wrote a heartfelt letter to the RCMP asking for compassion for these families, and whether due to it or not, charges were not laid.

My clients and I decided to take the next step - to convince the straight-laced Social Credit Government of Premier Manning to amend the Liquor Control Act so that people could make wine at home for their families. In 1965 prior to the beginning of the spring session of the Legislature, we tried lobbying the Premier and a few of his Members. Those efforts were fruitless. For the next spring session in 1966, we gave the 3-member Liberal Opposition a brief of our position, and they introduced a Private Members Bill to amend the Act so as to allow home wine-making. The Government tabled the bill and it died on the Order paper. For the 1967 spring session of the Legislature we had acquired our secret weapon - the Honorable Art Dixon, Member of the Social Credit caucus. Art had gladly accepted the important task of trying to convince his colleagues in the Social Credit caucus that our cause was just - even if it did involve the Social Credit Government approving home brew. Due in large part to Art's efforts behind the scenes, the Manning Government amended the Liquor Control Act to allow people to make their own wine and beer for their home consumption - an Act that has stood the test of time and remains on the books to this day.

Art was defeated in 1975 with the election of the Lougheed Government. He returned to his business and his many volunteer activities. One of his pursuits was as the founder and President of the William Aberhart Historical Society.

Art was a life-long supporter of the Salvation Army, from which he received its highest civilian honour, an International Distinguished Service Award. He was a Member of the Order of Canada for his contributions to the Province. He also received an Alberta Achievement Award in recognition of his community service, including his efforts on behalf of the Salvation Army, as an active member of Kiwanis International, as a volunteer Citizenship Court Judge, and as a driving force behind the development of the Dream Haven Senior's residence. He left behind a loving family and countless friends and admirers.

Art Dixon was a good man.

MORE PUNGENT ODORS FROM TORYDOM

Since the election of Fast Eddie, the Tories sure haven't been short on providing blogging material: Eddie trashing Cenaiko; Eddie and his volunteers being caught red-handed trying to organize the $5000 intimacy session with the new Premier,only to shut it down because of 'perceptions;' Fast Eddie the Statesman refusing to have his photo taken with Stephane Dion; Energy Minister Mel Knight's generosity with the people of Alberta's birth-right bitumin so that his corporate and political pals in the U.S. line their pockets with billions of dollars of value-added benefits; the wounded Ty Lund wanting to keep the Government out of the bedrooms of Albertans, while looking for law -breaking smokers (presumably Ty wants to protect the honorable tradition of cigarettes following sex); Treasury Board Chairman Lloyd Snelgrove (one of Fast Eddie's bosom buddies)admonishing Health Minister Dave Hancock that he had no business speaking out on stronger anti-smoking legislation! Wow! A veritable smorgasbord of gaffes, fumbles, foolishness and stink test failures all of which are making thoughtful Albertans shudder about their future under Fast Eddie.

And if that wasn't enough, who should again emerge, 'Godzilla'-like, but arguably the worst Premier in the history of the Province, Ralph Klein. Just when we thought we were rid of him once and for all, there he was, all over the newspapers and television screens enveloped in a miasma of foul pungent air, talking about his new job as a senior business advisor with the national blue-chip (if not blue-blood) law firm of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP.

Well, just what does a 'senior business advisor' do for a 'blue chip' law firm? The firm's spokesman stated that, "The Alberta economy has got to be the hottest place for investment in, if not Canada, North America.. . "So people all around the world are interested in investing here, and with our expertise and Mr. Klein's profile, reputation, and expertise . . . those investors will want to come and speak to us." He went on, "We have a very significant client base of corporations from the United States and around the world and Mr. Klein is well known in both Asia and Europe and, quite frankly, there's a lot of them that want to invest here in Alberta and there's nobody better to advise them on what's happening in Alberta than Mr. Klein." Translation: We want Ralph out glad-handing our clients and smoothing their way through the morass of Government regulations and decision-makers, so that they get from the Government what they are looking for.

Ralph, so far, falls within the letter of the law - the Conflicts of Interest Act. He mustn't lobby on behalf of clients in the first six months upon leaving office; he can only advise them. Borden Ladner Gervais assures us that they and their new acquisition will adhere to the letter of the law.

So, why the foul air? The announcement that Ralph took the job came just 3 days after his final day in office, the same day that he became entitled to his fat $650,000 severance payment. He grabbed the job with unseemly haste-particularly when Bush's pal, Steve Harper's Federal Accountablility Act provides for a 5 year 'cooling off' period before any member of the Federal Government can begin to apply his charm and influence for his new private-sector bosses.

Ethics Commissioner, Don Hamilton, found nothing wrong, with Ralph's taking the job. This followed the tradition of his predecessor Ethics Commissioner, Bob Clark, who seldom found Tory wrong-doing in his investigations. A couple of Clark's investigations topped the El Stinko charts - like the Multicorp and the Hong Pham/Aftergood Civic Election scandals, the stench from which still permeates the air on a bad day. Interestingly, both are alumnae of the dead carcass of the Social Credit Party. Oh well, after the disappearance of the Party of Aberhart and Manning the Elder, they had to do something for a living.