Alberta Health Care is a National Problem!

Alberta announced they would open the Canada Health Act to make changes allowing them to further privatize medicine in this province!

This is a Federal Jurisdiction. The Feds would have to get the Provinces on board before they would attempt this.

Not one of the Provinces raised an alarm nor did any of the other political parties!

We have pretty much a wall to wall Conservative government in Canada at this time. BC has a government that claims to be Liberal but is every bit as right wing as is the Alberta Tories.

This means all the Provinces are in agreement as are all the political parties!

It follows then we have only the choice to make provincially and nationally who we want dealing our health care and our NAFTA.

I include NAFTA in this article because trucks are moving loads of water in bulk to the US now and it is against Canadian law.

What was Ralph Klein Hiding?

Days before he left office, Ralph Klein made changes to Alberta's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act that put a five-year blackout on ministerial briefing documents and other records that show how he mismanaged the Province for more than a dozen years. Klein also put into place a cloak of findings of internal audits for 15 years in order to keep from Albertans a full accounting of how he spent our money.

If Ed Stelmach really believes in more transparency in the Alberta government, he should change the FOIPPA back to the way it was before Klein buried the records. What are you hiding from us Ralph?

Alberta should not complain about Abscan and the Liberals! The biggest problems are ongoing here in Alberta!

Jack Layton: Political opportunists

Jack Layton is going to sell out Canadians and the Public Health Service in order to protect his personal increase in pensions due him from the House of Commons.

Even NDs should have cause to look at what they have, in my opinion, for an arrogant self centered egotist.

Agreement with A conservative- who would have guesed?

Mr. Ken Chapman has commented on a post in the Calgary Herold where I said Alberta Royalty started out as the lowest in the world and then went down from there.

Ken Chapman
September 11, 2009 - 1:50

cyberclark - royalties are rents not taxes. Very different things and all are legitimate charges
citiznes are entitled to as owners of the resources.
Jobs last as long as the companies decide - not us as citizens and
resource owners. Income taxes requires an income and that is not
happening as much these days and commodity prices are volatile so
the owner's revenues are lower.

That is Albertans sharing the risks but we don't seem to get the
full benefits of the rewards we are entitled to in good times.
According to the Auditor General Alberta Energy doesn't have
the manpower or other capacity to calculate the oilsands royalties,
never mind collect them. As for conventional rates,
I get the sense the companies phone it in whenever they feel
like paying. The whole thing is sloppy and citizens are getting screwed.

To make it worse, the PC government just denied the Auditor General the
extra budget this year to finish off his investigation on royalites
to see if Albertans were getting our legal entitlement. The OWNERS
are not amused.

Proposed Power lines costs go sky high!

Power line costs are expected to go as high as 200.00 per month for individual homes. 1.3 million homes in Alberta times 200.00 per month - you play with the zeros.

Power lines are heavily financed. Any number of generation plants and power lines fell by the way side in the US when the interest rates went sky high under Nixon. It seems like a long time ago but the deals put in at that time are still being paid for!

If the costs of today's numbers are based on today's rates of 1/4% we are well and truly in deep trouble. Think of it! If the bank rates go up to 5% which they most certainly will at some point, the interest charged on those power lines will be 100 times higher than they are now.

I think it is fair for Albertans to ask for some figures on the "estimates".

Canada Health Act- What it does.

I'm getting questions about why the Canada Health Act is important. Here is a short version.

The Act enables the regulations.

Act does not allow hospitals to take on US insurance patients. This, is exactly why the Conservatives built the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute and this is why it was empty for so long.

US Insurance companies have long viewed Canada as being a cheaper place to send their patients mostly because taxpayers pay for building the hospitals and in one way or another, cover the staffing.

The Act states which services are covered in Health Care in Canada. The Conservatives have a long list of services to be delisted from health care but, they need the act opened and changed to do this!

And finally the whole thing stinks! I have used the statement "Our public health care system is about to be changed to private by political chicanery!" because I am very sure the other premiers in Canada were on side with this change. Alberta has done a job on them too!

It remains that if Harper is booted out of office, the process comes to an end. However with Layton playing coy on an election, that is to support or not support Harper, I would think he is on side with this program too.

Alberta Oil Exports to Increase!

Another 800.000 BBL per day pipelines is going to build. ENMAX has a second 800,000 bbl per day going into Chicago; should be ready in November.

In addition the pair to Alberta Clipper another 900,000 BBL per day is under construction to the Gulf States.

That is 2.5 million BBL per day that has yet to be filled.

Where is the oil coming from? When is it coming? Who is building what and when?

Meanwhile; the cheapest oil royalty rates in the US are still higher than what Alberta is charging!

We really cannot afford Conservatives in this province! Our resource is non renewable and is going below costs!

Alberta Healthcare -Ready to kill Canadian Public Health

The Alberta Conservatives are desperately looking for a scenario that will allow them to turn the Canada Health Act into a guideline rather than a law.

Certainly they have the support of Stephen Harper in this; health care has been the Conservative holy grail of privatization for many years.

Harper supports the opening of the Canada Health Act. When this is done anything can be changed. Their program is not about de-listing services; it is about doing away with the Canada Health Act which will effect every province and the country as a whole.

Alberta trying to change Canada Health Act to De-List Services

Alberta Conservatives have declared their intention to change the Canada Health Act in order to de-list health services.

Meanwhile they have legislation in place to allow US Health Care Companies to sell insurance in Alberta.

Mr. Duckett was hired from Queensland Australia where he was instrumental in bringing the US health coverage companies into Australia. This was called "building partnerships".

The word from Australia is do not let them in; your state coverage is greatly reduced and you cannot get rid of them!

The Canada Health Act must be changed by the Federal Government. If the Conservatives are sitting at the time (between October and December of this year) the Canada Health Act will be changed dramatically by the Conservatives.

The Liberals have made it clear they have no intention of changing the Canada Health Act and have defended it over time. If the Liberals can unseat the Conservatives it will be the end of the Alberta plan.

Now is the time as never before for Alberta to vote Liberal in the next Federal Election!