Premier Klein's province-wide mail-in survey reads like it was designed by the Liberals or NDP. The survey's underlying assumptions are that government is responsible for our lives and our happiness, and that problems can be solved by throwing tax dollars at them.

This survey is a poor substitute for real democratic accountability. It asks Albertans whether quality health care, an outstanding education system, lower taxes, support for "people who need help," and other things should be a high or low priority. The survey asks us to give a priority ranking to each of nine items because "we can't afford to do everything."

Unfortunately, the survey leaves no room for solutions other than spending tax dollars.

The survey assumes that Albertans will enjoy better health care only if more tax dollars are thrown at the government's health care monopoly. Albertans are not asked whether they support the development of a parallel private system to co-exist alongside the public one, as is the case in dozens of countries with better health care systems than Canada.

The survey assumes that more tax dollars will necessarily lead to a better education system, without asking Albertans about giving parents more choice, or introducing more accountability for tax dollars spent.

The survey assumes that the government - not the private sector - is responsible for the economy, and should spend our tax dollars to "build a more diverse, innovative economy." That's a question you would expect from Liberals or New Democrats, not so-called Conservatives. Twelve years ago, Premier Klein believed that economic development is best left to the private sector; that the government should leave business to businesses; that government should be the referee, not one of the players; that government should stimulate job creation with low taxes and minimal regulation, and not try to pick winners and losers. But no longer. Today, Premier Klein believes it's the government's job to spend tax dollars on building "a more diverse, innovative economy."

The survey assumes that government - not individuals and families and charities - is responsible for providing "support to Albertans who need it." If it wasn't for three levels of government taking 49% of Canadians' earnings, we would all be in a position to give a lot more money to people who need it, without the government's help or guidance.

Other questions imply that the government should spend our tax dollars on "preserving rural communities" and "responding to growth in cities," again without proposing any specific policy options. Assigning a priority ranking to vague platitudes like these is a meaningless exercise.

Of course most Albertans will give "quality health care" and "an outstanding education system" a high-priority ranking. The government will then feel like it has a mandate to tax-and-spend billions more than what is already the case, without introducing real accountability and real choice into the health or education systems. A survey biased in favour of big government will inevitably produce answers which support big government.

Albertans would be better served by specific questions about specific policy issues. But that kind of survey would result in specific instructions for our politicians, rather than the blank cheque which they want - and which they will get from this survey.

As for the survey's question about "a refund to every Albertan," Albertans have already told their premier twice - in province-wide surveys in 1998 and 2000 - that they prefer tax cuts to spending increases. Premier Klein responded with small tax cuts and huge spending increases, effectively reading the survey results upside-down.

Surveys do nothing to challenge the absolute monopoly on power which politicians enjoy between elections. Even if a survey contains specific and intelligent questions, it doesn't provide taxpayers with accountability. Rather than leaving it to politicians to formulate the questions, citizens themselves should have the right to initiate referendums on issues which they consider important. Citizens in Switzerland, Italy, 23 U.S. states, New Zealand and British Columbia have the power to put a specific proposal on the ballot, which can then be debated and voted on by their fellow citizens. An Environics poll in 2001 revealed that 79% of Albertans want this right to initiate and vote in referendums. If Premier Klein was truly interested in listening to Albertans, he would pass citizens' initiative legislation, rather than spending $500,000 of our money on another survey.