The NDP way of doing things (turn a good principle into a law, worry about the reaction later) is utterly different from the rural political system the Progressive Conservatives refined over four decades.

Rural and small-city Albertans had casual influence through a delicate web of ties to local politicians and government. The PC creation was subtle, adjustable and reassuring, if occasionally corrupt.

The PC way was effective, although not particularly admirable. The NDP way is admirable, but not always effective.

Now, there are no more golf-tournament fundraisers with the local government MLA.

Gone is the intricate tinkering with new bills to make sure they don’t hurt this farming sector or that. Farewell to the casual bartering of interests over coffee at the local MLA’s riding office.

The masters of that old ship have been replaced by ardent New Democrats who think principles come first, even if the greater good hits some groups hard.

If little Billy went to the barn to milk the cow, and the milk was for sale, Billy would have to be signed up for workers comp.

The PC way was effective, although not particularly admirable. The NDP way is admirable, but not always effective.

The radical shift in style and method has created frustration and worry in rural Alberta.

And into this cauldron the NDP dropped Bill 6, a classic case of a bill imposed by clueless centralists on an unwilling public.

The goals are laudable.

Paid farm employees should be covered by the Workers’ Compensation Board and be protected by Occupational Health and Safety rules. Those workers should be able to refuse dangerous jobs without fear of retribution. And the province must have authority to investigate farm accidents.

[np_storybar title=”Read & Debate” link=””] Find

Full Comment on Facebook

[/np_storybar]

Many farmers and agri-businesses might accept all this. But the NDP cast the legislative blanket too wide. It seemed to cover family farms in ways that were patently absurd.

At first, the NDP suggested the bill would apply to any family member or child who got involved in the commercial aspect of a farm. If little Billy went to the barn to milk the cow, and the milk was for sale, Billy would have to be signed up for workers comp.

Now, in the midst of demonstrations far bigger than even the marches in 2013 by people with developmental disabilities, the province promises amendments.

One seems to say that family farms are exempt unless a paid worker is hired. But if the farm hand works even one day, the farm would fall under all the laws for the entire year.

But wait. Municipal Affairs Minister Danielle Larivee also tells the legislature that the NDP will “ensure that farm families are not covered by this bill.”

Agriculture Minister O’Neil Carlier, facing demonstrators, says the bill was badly handled. Premier Rachel Notley blames government officials for spreading misinformation.

Everyone is confused — including, apparently, the NDP.

Whatever happens, the New Democrats are getting a sharp lesson in the volatile politics of rural Alberta.

They might have seen it coming.

Rural influence began to fade after former premier Ed Stelmach pushed through huge new power-line corridors with little local input and all authority rested in the hands of his cabinet.

The resulting anger fed into the rise of Wildrose, which in the 2012 provincial election captured much of the rural south. That was the beginning of the end for the PCs’ rural empire.

In the May 5 election this year, Wildrose expanded again, into the rural northeast on a nearly unbroken line to Alberta’s northern border.

The New Democrats, contrary to budding myth, were not shut out of the rural areas. They won a vast block of territory in northwest and north-central Alberta, as well as a patch from Calgary west to the B.C. border.

But to a great many rural people, their style still makes them alien.

Country singer George Canyon caught that mood when he said on Facebook: “Proponents of Bill 6 likely haven’t had to go out after a full day of work and help a mama cow safely deliver her calf in the middle of a cold, snowy night.”

That sounds like a country song waiting to happen. The New Democrats need to learn the melody, if they hope to win another election.

Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Calgary Herald

dbraid@calgaryherald.com