It's "Alberta Week" in Washington

But nobody asked me to go.

The trip, which will see Klein and his buddies schmoozing with select Washington insiders, will cost Alberta taxpayers $147,600. Not only that: 'Alberta is paying nearly $4 million to stage about 12 days of exhibits and activities at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, June 30 to July 11.'

What kind of exhibits cost $4 million? Gold-plated cows?

As the critics say:

Liberal MLA Hugh MacDonald dubbed the trip the 'no Tory left behind tour.'

"This has to be the biggest single taxpayer-funded travel delegation in the history of the province."
[...]
Scott Hennig of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation says it's hard to see how such extravagance will benefit the average Albertan.

"That's a long way to go for a cabinet meeting."

He said Alberta taxpayers expect their money to be spent on health care, education and roads -- not on parties in Washington.

"This sort of stuff wouldn't even have been on the radar in 1993 to 1995," he said.

"It's only because government spending has more than doubled in the last decade that they can get away with this."

Meanwhile, homelessness and child poverty are still major issues in this province. But, I doubt Klein will breath a word of that as he cozies up with Bush's minions in DC.