Political Editorial: Remembering Prentice

By Laura Bohnert

The Honourable Jim Prentice, Alberta’s 16^th Premier, died on October 13^th after the twin-engine Cessna Citation he was a passenger of disappeared from radar and crashed in Lake Country shortly after takeoff from Kelowna International Airport.

Prentice was on board the aircraft with three others en route to Springbank Airport, just outside of Calgary.  The four friends had travelled to Kelowna to play a couple rounds of golf before returning home.  All four were killed in the crash.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating the incident.

Prentice, who served as Premier from September of 2014 until May of 2015, began his career as a lawyer, specializing in property rights and landowner cases, and in particular becoming known for an ability to resolve First Nations negotiations.  He began his political career in 2004 when he was elected as Member of Parliament for Calgary North Centre.  He held a range of challenging cabinet positions, including Industry, Environment, and Indian Affairs and Northern Development, and even served as chair of the Operations Committee.

Prentice left federal politics to become Vice-Chair and Senior Executive Vice-President of CIBC.  There he focused on infrastructure, resource development, and the Asian Pacific Rim, becoming internationally known as a North American authority on the world energy market.

Prentice also received a number of honours and awards over the years, including an appointment to Queen’s Council, being named to the Privy Council for Canada, making the Alberta Venture’s list of Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People; he was also awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and the Alberta Centennial Medal.

Of course, Prentice is also remembered for a few controversial statements, including telling Albertans to “look in the mirror” if they wanted to understand where Alberta’s financial problems were coming from.

Sheldon Reid, an executive with Norcen Energy and Cell-Loc Inc.; Ken Gellatly, an optometrist, business partner, and father-in-law of Prentice’s daughter, Cassia; and pilot Jim Kruk, a retired RCMP officer with 40 years of flying experience, were also on board the Cessna when it crashed.

Calgary will be holding a state memorial for Jim Prentice that will be open to the public on October 28 at 11am at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.  Anyone wishing to share condolences can visit http://www.alberta.ca/jim-prentice-memorial.cfm for more information.