Canada Health Care very inexpensive when compared to the US system

The Canadian health-care system may be plagued by countless stories of lengthy wait times and crowded emergency rooms, but a new study shows the amount of time and money spent on administrative duties is a fraction of that required by the U.S. system.

The study from the University of Toronto and New York's Cornell University says U.S. doctors pay an average of nearly $83,000 each for administrative costs associated with insurance documents. In Canada, for doctors based in Ontario that cost is significantly less at just over $22,200.

In addition, nurses, medical assistants and other hospital staff in the U.S. dedicate nearly 21 hours per week to filing insurance papers and other duties required to push insurance claims through. For the same duties in Ontario, just 2.5 hours are spent each week.

The findings of the study, published in the August edition of the journal Health Affairs, show that the "single payer" health-insurance system in Canada is largely responsible for the difference between countries.
It said the need for many U.S. patients to carry coverage from multiple insurance providers leads to the more demanding time commitments to file the appropriate documents.
Dr. Dante Morra, the study's lead author, said the time savings felt in Canada go back to help the people who need it most.

"When we look at health care in Canada . . . there's a lot of areas for improvement, but at the end of the day, sometimes we have to sit back and realize there is good access to care for Canadians," said Morra, a Toronto doctor.
"There are a lot of benefits to the way we have structured our system and one of those benefits is this almost nonexistent cost associated with dealing with payment. That time is directly invested into caring for patients."

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/Canadian+health+system+more+efficient+than/5209944/story.html#ixzz1UB2puv4U

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/index.html

The Calgary Herald, a Conservative News paper, will not allow views or comments which offer in depth or alternate views from the published article.

Some of their Journalists have a spouse working at high stations in the petroleum industry.

Because of these policies, the Calgary Herald relegates its self into the ranks of rags and the people who subscribe to the paper as their sole source of information, leave themselves short.

For this reason the Alberta Conservatives post their "breaking news" in this paper.


With an election around the corner, they do not want their shallow optimism tarnished.  The most rampant example of this is when a release is made concerning employment and it is done in such a way to make it sound imminent where in truth the number quoted in the articles cover a 5 to 15 year window.

Also when references are made to the Governments "make work program" for the oil patch.  This is an opportunity they took at the time of the downturn and dropped our royalty to 5% Canadian dollars.  The announced it was in effect for 6 years. 

What they do not say is at the end of six years and possibly before the royalty will be dropping to zero.

It's not make work, it is a Conservative policy.







 

Alberta told to quit selling the farm!

The hand picked Conservative panel is setting the stage for Zero royalty!

Our present royalty on oil and gas is down to 5% and taken in Canadian Dollars.
Our tar sands revenue is about 10% now except for the builds and rebuilds which are still at 1%

The Conservatives have capped the Heritage Trust Fund appreciation at 4%.  When the fund was probably bringing in 20% at the height of the "good times" anything in excess of the 4% was drawn off and used in General Revenues. 

To date they have siphoned off more than 70 billion dollars from the fund for general operating expenses!   

That is 11 years of provincial operations have come from the Heritage Trust fund, not the oil industry!

As far as diversifying the economy goes; these guys are simply not interested in doing that.  They consciously through away the Alberta Advantage with the open market electrical scam which cost the Alberta Taxpayer 6 billion dollars for power lines.  

They curtailed a whole generation of kids opportunities by directing them to trade schools rather than University!

They have crushed other industry to provide labor for the oil industry which, is listed as only #60 in Alberta's list of employers.

Now, fully subscribed to the Conservative indirect taxation program, the cities can charge pretty much what ever they want for electricity, gas and water as the province continues to cut payments and support to communities.  The result is the highest priced power in North America!  And, its going up as more line charges are added to our bills to cover new construction of power lines.

ATCO some time ago said it was dropping pipeline constructions as they only pay10% on the Government's cost plus schemes whereas Power lines pay 15% on the same cost plus, not audited program.

Ted Morton and the Federal Conservatives are on a course to turn Canada Pension Modifications over to the provinces.  This means the province can treat your pensions the same way they treated the Heritage Trust Fund.  We  have been told in advance to curb our expectations.  Wow!

The Wild Rose Party are offering no more than the Alberta Conservative and their trained monkey  committees.

We are being totally ripped off by the Conservatives!   What will it take for Albertans to get interested in the vote on one hand and look at something other than Conservative to lead their futures.

The most important Vote in Canada's Life!

Get it right folks; there is no going back!

Layton who put forward reasonable, thinking plans that reflect what people want or Harper, who tells the world he will change Canada so that we will not recognize it?  Or perhaps Iggy who has bought into Harper's program hook line and sinker?

Harper had ample time to make adjustments to the Canada Pension Plan to"enhance" it. And he did nothing; waiting to get elected again!

Prior to this Ted Morton in Alberta wanted to pull a new version of the CPP under a provincial plan.

Both ends against the middle; stall the CPP modification until re elected then go with the Morton plan.

The Heritage Trust fund is capped at 4% profit and more than 70 billion dollars (15 years operating capital) has been pulled from the Heritage trust fund and used in general revenues.  Do you want you pension to go that route?

The Conservatives on the other hand have dredged up lying figures on the cost of health care on one hand Health Care Lies not 30% of 100% but 30% of 10%


If Harper, May and Iggy get their way the average home in Canada will face150.00 to 400.00 per month medical premiums for partial coverage from private firms.

If Harper and Iggy get their way, NAFTA will be opened and bulk water export will be put under NAFTA which will drive the price of you water bill to heights you could not dream of! We cannot charge the Americans more for water under NAFTA than we are paying.

And, if you live in Alberta you can be sure the water pipelines will go the way It is time for Canadians to look at what matters to them and put their vote in that box; do away with the superstition.

Canada Health Care- What are Legitimate Costs?

Iggy said he would Convene a First Ministers meet within 60 days of being elected.  The First Ministers is ruled by the 5 western and territorial leaders all Conservative.

I say no First Ministers meet until after provincial elections! See:PNWER
http://albertathedetails.blogspot.com/2011/03/conservativerepublican-alliance-pnwer.html

Iggy is onto if not part of the Conservative scheme of privatization as was his sidekick Martin as shown in his last election!

The Canada Health Act does not allow US citizens to come to Canada for medical or surgical repair and Physicians in Canada so want that business. (Who can blame them).  Alberta is selling our medical services to the insurers as being better and cheaper than the US. No duplicity here.

American Physicians are looking to Canada's single pay system as being a  utopia.  Why would we trash our system?


If we come to a basic debate on health care it needs to be public with public access available to the costs in a uniform fashion.

First, rules have to be set down on what can be charged to health care in Canada!

Are junkets to Sweden okay to charge to health care?  Are 600.00 plate dinners for 40 people okay to be paid by health care?

Can a Government use health care money to build new hospitals (think Grande Prairie) and turn it over to a private company for 1 cent on a dollar of value and still leave the original cost attributed to health care?

Are Multi Million dollar contract pay outs to US management companies (Capital Health) allowed to be charged to health care?  For that matter, should the management company be a health care charge?  If so, why not all charges for it be in its own account so we can actually see what health care is costing us; exclude that amount when determining the actual costs.

Is multi million dollars terminations of health care officials a legitimate charge to health care where the Government has decided to change horses?

Alberta (and BC) are driving up their health care costs to get the highest possible charges in there to make their case for privatization easier.

This being the case our overhaul of what goes into Health Care charges should contain agreement for a audit over the past 4 years of health care and take out all those things not agreed to taken out of the costs.  Then we can see what our health care charges are.

Laws governing Blue Cross and other private health care providers are needed if we go down that street.

Providers should not be able to cut us off the plan when we hit a major cost. (This is the experience of Blue Cross and others in the US)

Health care providers should have to accept our medical coverage from employer funded health care.  (Now, Blue Cross will not accept your experience in a company funded blue cross program.  You have to start new with them; less coverage and more expensive, a rip off!

A system of charges, across the board has to be Governed.  As it is, the Physicians charge what they want; The Insurers pay what they want and, you are stuck for the difference with no recourse.  Remember, universal health care can mean universal nothing is covered to a level of opulence.  Think here of  your dental coverage.  Lose your employment and you and your family don't have any.  Seniors don't have any.

I don't trust either Harper or Ignatieff in a First Minister Meeting now; nothing until provincial elections are fought.

Our health care costs us 10.6% of the all encompassing GDP and the US system costs them close to 18% of their GDP and it is leaving 60 million Americans without any coverage and as the Republicans cut Medicaid down there many more millions will be at risk.

The World Health Organization places Canada at 30th in the world and the US at 37th there is room for improvement.  The World Health Organization also  says that costs are driven up dramatically when countries try to juggle multi payer systems.

Health Care Platform by Conservatives is a lie!

Conservatives are saying our health care is going to hell in a basket; Canadian Republicans working to install a multi payer system in Canada; the same system that is bankrupting the US!

The US the republicans are trying to eradicate Medicaid!  They say " Government has no place in Health Care any place!"

The Conservatives are rushing bogus numbers onto us; scare tactics and it appears Iggy is going along with it.

76.4 % of people who go to hospital are under the age of 65!

Babies under 1 year were the most common.

The average age of hospitalized patients was 39.5 years with half of those being under the age of 36 years. These are not baby boomers!

Only 10.7% are 65 years or older and if this increases 30% , we are not talking 30% of 100%;  but 30% of 10.7% that is the scare tactic!

Some 16.4% of the elderly admitted to hospital died as compared to 3.3% of other patients.

Over half of the patients admitted to Intensive Care were younger patients who had more done to them and stayed in ICU longer, the most expensive hospital service. (Life style ailments)  I see the latter as being the place to cut health care costs if you feel you must!

Canada single health care payer costs us 10.4% of our GDP.  Accepting the Conservatives numbers of a 30% increase, this will move Canadian costs up to 13.9% of GDP while the US Costs them near 18% now and leaves 60 million souls without any coverage!

Health care is divided along party lines; it has nothing to do with cost and effect!

If you never felt you had a reason to vote before, you sure have now!  Wild Rose will not offer you any differently than the rest of the Conservatives.

Alberta Politics; Layton is looking pretty good!

At the moment, Jack Layton - in my opinion is making some sense with his proposals on putting a limit on credit card interest rates, and to provide tax relief and incentives for small business, while raising tax rates on large corporations. He says our business tax rates would always be competitive with those in the US though. Since USA has the highest corporate/business taxes in the world, I guess Canada would have the second highest under a Layton Government.

I think Iggy's proposal on student aid is neither here nor there, but having watched him extensively on TV so far, I think he comes across rather well.

Harper seems completely disinterested from what I have seen of him so far. Continuing this kind of performance I think could put the Conservatives in considerable trouble. Does he have a death wish?

With regard to the televised debates I can't see how the networks can exclude Ms May, with the Green party having more than 5% support nation wide, therefore recieving taxpayer funding, and running candidates across the` country. That's not democracy! And again, Harper is` out of step with the other leaders on this issue.

Interesting announcement from Global TV this morning regarding the leaders' debate` in the next Alberta` provincial election. To participate, a party must have at least 30 seats in the legislature. Thus, only the Conservatives will participate. As they currently have no leader, Global has decided that the debate will consist of Ron Liepert and Gene Zwodzeski debating health care.

By the way, why is it that coalition governments abound and seem to work in a large number of western democracies? to me, these kinds of governments seem to work fairly well and are certainly more inclusive and balanced. Why would a coalition government in Canada be the end of civilization as we know it?

Jack Layton is looking awfully good!!!

The NDP are the only party guarding water sovereignty!

Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns over Canada's water sovereignty. Happy World Water Day!

Please know that my party and myself share these concerns. In fact, our interest to protect Canada's water resources dates back to Canada's early involvement with the North American Free Trade Agreement.

First and foremost, New Democrats believe that the access to clean water is not a privilege but a human right for all Canadians and people worldwide. We are dismayed that the Conservative government decided against a recent United Nations resolution to recognize access to water and sanitation as basic human rights.

Our vision for Canada includes a commitment to protecting our supplies of fresh water by excluding it from all international trade agreements, privatization and deregulation (http://www.ndp.ca/vision/environment).

Water is our most precious natural resource, but it belongs to both all of us and none of us-it is not a commercial commodity. We have been told repeatedly that our water resources would be protected in trade deals.

However, neither Conservative nor Liberal governments have added water to the list of goods to be exempt from NAFTA. This omission has left a loophole that could eventually cause us to lose control over our own water resources.

We have consistently called for the development of a robust National Water Policy. Such a policy is urgently needed to address important water-related issues facing all of us today - including the roughly 1,700 boiled water advisories affecting Canadians and the negative environmental impact of water use in the tar sands development. While the Harper government committed to a clean water strategy in the past, it has yet to produce one.

Please know that I share your concerns about the NAFTA record-setting $130 million payoff by the Harper Government to Abitibi Bowater. New Democrats have been working to hold the Harper government to account regarding its gross mishandling of this case.

As you may know, NDP International Trade Critic Peter Julian put forth a motion to the International Trade Committee to start hearings into the Abitibi Bowater deal and into the impact of this settlement on future decisions taken in the public interest.

In 2007, when Parliament voted 134 to 108 in favour of preventing bulk water exports, the motion came about from a push by the New Democrats to hold hearings on the impact of the so-called Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) because SPP negotiations have revived troubling questions over access to Canadian water. Our party worked tirelessly to stop the SPP, which, under the Liberal Martin government, removed Canadian sovereignty of many our natural resources, of which water was a hotly debated issue.

You may also be interested to learn that federal NDP councillors, representing regions and groups from across Canada, have adopted the following resolution on trade agreements:

"BE IT RESOLVED THAT the NDP continue advocating the renegotiation of NAFTA to remove Chapter 11, which enables foreign investors to directly sue governments over public policies.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the NDP advocate amending trade deals to ensure that labour rights are subject to an enforcement mechanism at least as strong as investor rights.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the NDP call for the application of countervailing import tariffs equal to the cost advantage gained by a foreign producer through violations of labour rights and/or environmental standards." (NDP Federal Council Motion-adopted Oct. 2,

2010)

Again, thank you for writing. I appreciate knowing of your interest to have effective measures in place that will preserve and protect our water for future generations. Please know that we will continue to press this important issue.

All the best,

Jack Layton, MP (Toronto-Danforth)

Leader, Canada's New Democrats

Devon, Alberta - The best place to live and raise a family!

One shot of extensive winter walking trails - no motorized allowed.

 These same trails become summer glory trails.  They change to include bikes and more walkers. There are between 8 and 16 km of beautiful trails available year around!

It is a forward link so may not work.  copy this into your browser:
http://albertathedetails.blogspot.ca/2012/07/devon-alberta-bike-ready-walking-trails.html


Hi John,

There are 3 charges for natural gas shown on your bill.  Fees are broken down as follows:

1.       $24 per month is the basic monthly fee

2.       $1.36 per Gigajoule is the distribution fee

These first two are charged by the Town of Devon and they include everything involved in delivering natural gas through the distribution system to the home, repairs and emergency response, everything except the cost of gas itself.

3.       The third charge is the cost of natural gas itself, which varies monthly.  January's price was $4.13.   This is price the Town of Devon pays for its natural gas.  The $4.13 includes delivery to the outskirts of Devon.  Here are the rates so far this year: Jan $4.13, Feb $4.43, March $3.73, the March rate (right now) is below $4.00 per GJ.

Residential homes in Devon pay about $210 less per year for natural gas than other Towns and Cities in the region.

More information:

Devon purchases its natural gas large volumes through Gas Alberta who manage a gas portfolio and purchase gas on behalf of some 79 small gas utilities like Devon’s across the Province.  Devon is able to take advantage of purchasing gas in huge volumes.  On an average year the Town of Devon consumes some 400,000 Gigajoules (GJ) but as a shareholder Gas Alberta, Devon benefits from the purchasing power of approximately 25,000,000 GJ per year.  The result is a cost of natural gas that is typically at par or cheaper than the big utility companies like ATCO & Alta Gas. 

The Town of Devon provides the lowest cost of natural gas of the Towns and cities in the region for a typical residential home.    The average cost to heat a typical residential home in the region is $1,310 per year.  The cost to heat that same residential home for a year in Devon is $1,100.  The bottom line is that Devon’s natural gas rates overall, including all charges and fees, are the cheapest in the region by about $210 per year.

Why is the cost less in Devon?

·         Other companies charge more for their monthly fees, Devon’s is $24 per month, others are $26 or more per month.

·         Bigger companies charge more for their distribution rates, Devon’s is $1.36, others start at $1.46 or more

·         Devon benefits from the large purchasing power where the cost Devon pays for its gas is usually at par or cheaper than the big utility companies.

·         Other companies may add extra fees added to the bill like delivery costs or rate riders.

Hope I did not bore you with too much information but Devon’s utility rates are very favorable in the region and thought I would give you a more complete response in case you had other questions.  Any questions give me a call.

Regards,

ROD FRASER, CET

Director

Public Works and Land Services

Town of Devon

The Conservative/Republican Alliance -PNWER

This organization, chartered in the US where they do not have to divulge anything under Canadian Law is the tool that Harper will use to "Change Canada so that even the Liberals will not recognize it" and by extension nor will any of us.

BC were up in arms saying no, this is not the case; we are Liberals.  Yet, Mr. Harper took the time to thank Gordon Campbell for his help in pushing the Conservative envelope forward.

The mission statement for the group is "Leverage regional influence in Ottawa and Washington D.C."

Harper's recent moves to lay off any number of Federal Employees is the setup for the total privatization of many Federal Departments and/or the licensing aspects of those same departments.

Take a look at the roster for this group and you will see at a glance just how Harper plans on changing Canada and, most of us won't like it.

If Harper gets in again we are in for a totally mean and lean Republican Government.

PNWER FOUNDATION

The articles of ratification were passed in 1991 by similar statutes in the four states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Alaska passed these same articles by action of its legislative council. British Columbia adopted them by ministerial action, and Alberta passed them by government resolution. Amendments were passed in 1994, adding the governors and premiers, and updating other positions of the statutes.

Direct Link : http://www.pnwer.org/AboutUs/Leadership.aspx

Direct to  Supporters: http://www.pnwer.org/Supporters/CurrentSupporters.aspx

Mission Statement and Goals: http://www.pnwer.org/AboutUs/Background.aspx

Alberta
George Groeneveld, MLA
Hon. Rob Renner
David Coutts, MLA (Ret.)

British Columbia
Hon. Barry Penner
John van Dongen, MLA

Saskatchewan
Michael Chisholm, MLA

British Columbia
Premier Gordon Campbell
John van Dongen, MLA

 Yukon
Premier Dennis Fentie
Glen Hart, MLA
Hon. Jim Kenyon
Steve Nordick, MLA

Northwest Territories
Premier Floyd Roland
Hon. Bob McLeod
David Ramsay, MLA

Saskatchewan
Premier Brad Wall
Michael Chisholm, MLA                       
Hon. Bill Boyd
Dustin Duncan, MLA
Lyle Stewart, MLA

Private sector Partners/Sponsors

·  Agrium

·  AltaLink

·  BC Hydro

·  BP

·  Canadian Natural (CNRL)

·  Capital Power

·  ConocoPhilips

·  Denali - The Alaska Gas Pipeline

·  Enbridge

·  Enmax

·  ExxonMobil

·  Fleishman-Hillard

·  IHS - Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA)

·  Lilly

·  Marathon

·  Meyers Norris Penny LLP (MNP)

·  Microsoft

·  Nexen

·  NOVA Chemicals

·  PEMCO

·  Premera Blue Cross blue shield of Alaska

·  Puget Sound Energy (PSE)

·  Safeway

·  SAP

·  Sea Breeze Power Corporation

·  Shell

·  Spectra Energy

·  Teck

·  TransAlta

·  TransCanada

·  United Way of King County

Other Government Partners

·  Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA)

·  Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) part of the USDA

·  Argonne National Laboratory

·  Consulate General Canada-Seattle

·  Flathead County Montana Office of Emergency Management

·  Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC)

·  Idaho National Laboratories (INL)

·  King County Office of Emergency Management

·  King County Office of Emergency Management

·  Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

·  US Department of Energy

·  US Department of Homeland Security

·  Washington Economic Development Commission

·  Washington State Department of Commerce

·  Washington State Fusion Center

Statutory Member Jurisdictions

·  Government of the Northwest Territories

·  Province of Alberta

·  Province of British Columbia

·  Province of Saskatchewan

·  State of Alaska

·  State of Idaho

·  State of Montana

·  State of Oregon

·  State of Washington

·  The Yukon Territory

Partner Non-Profit/Associations/Foundations.

·  American Chamber of Commerce in Canada - Western Chapter

·  Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of British Columbia (ASTTBC)

·  Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists Alberta (APEGGA)

·  Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS)

·  Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers

·  Cascadia Center for Regional Development

·  Institute of Health Economics

·  Northwest & Canada Cruise Association

·  Northwest Food Processors Association (NWFPA)

·  Northwest Power and Conservation Council

·  Pacific NorthWest Border Health Alliance

·  Professional Engineers and Geoscientists British Columbia (APEGBC)

·  Washington State Public Utilities Districts Association

Harper moves to curtail free speach and reduce criticism

The CBC is the most popular public forum available to Canadians.  It has been an outlet for much information not otherwise available to the public.

Harper's crew recently claimed the CBC continually lies which, is simply a lie in itself.   The CBC has maintained the highest standards, unlike the Conservative Governments.


Stephen Harper is planning to cut CBC funding.
Only a massive outcry can stop him.
Earlier this week, the government tabled its spending plan for the coming year in Parliament. Included in the fine print is a reduction to the CBC’s grant. Unless we convince Stephen Harper to change his plan, the CBC will lose $16 million ($42 million in purchasing power after inflation is taken into account) starting next month! 

For our public broadcaster, a reduction of this magnitude might seem manageable, but it is yet another cut in a series that, taken together, is having devastating consequences obvious to every listener and viewer. 

Thankfully, there is an opportunity in the next two weeks to stop this cut.
Just a few weeks from now - on March 22nd - the Harper government will table its Budget. It’s his chance to change course. We’ve got only a matter of days to persuade Harper that it is not in his political interest to cut CBC funding.


Please send a message to Stephen Harper right now and share this campaign with your friends.

Harper’s plan to cut CBC funding is entirely consistent with recent comments from senior members of Harper’s government that betray their hostile agenda for public broadcasting in Canada. You will recall that Harper’s confidante, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney recently proclaimed that “the CBC lies all the time”. 

While his senior Minister was trashing the CBC, Harper’s office developed talking points that take sinister doublespeak to new levels, claiming that his government has invested record amounts in the CBC, more than any previous government. 

This statement is false! Here are the facts.

The spending plan that would cut CBC’s funding can be changed by the federal Budget on March 22nd.

It’s our opportunity and we must seize it to protect public broadcasting. 

While we cannot hope to make Harper love the CBC, we must make sure he understands that every time he tries to trash our public broadcaster, voters will strongly object and punish his party at the first opportunity. 

Please send your message now and share the campaign with your friends. If we act together we can succeed! 

We have prepared a short message, but it will be much more effective if you take a few moments to personalize it, adding your own comments.

Make an effort to protect your futures, sign in and sign up!

Alberta Budget plunges us deep into the red.

The Alberta Budget has brought more to light than just fun the Conservatives are having with your dollar!

Earlier this year, the oil royalty was dropped to 5% Canadian dollar which leaves this Government in a deficit position, not enough money to operate on.

This is simply an in house crisis they manufactured by which they can win on two levels.
Firstly, force the envelope of the Conservative agenda forward and secondly and most important put them in a position to promise us yet again they will increase the oil royalty which, just isn't going to happen.

This little trick to get them elected again is costing the Alberta Treasury several billions of dollars to date and probably another 10 billion dollars by the time they call an election and run out their new promises.

The last election they rolled out a “new royalty regime” complete with pie in the sky, meaningless numbers that Albertans seemed to have ate up still in the mindset this Government would not do them any harm.

 In truth, the new regime did nothing more than further reduce our take on royalty (by 18% at the time) when they switched the funds taken to Canadian Dollars away from the American world standard.

Albertans have to get their head around the lies and misdirection put out by this Government in the past and realize that literally any of the opposition parties running would look after the industry in this province just fine. 

My own choice would be the Liberals as they have been mapping the finances for years and know how to put in the fixes and will protect our programs.

The Wild Rose Party still see their role as being the same flavor of Conservatives you have in there now but even harder, more brutal they have no plans other than forcing the Conservative envelope forward, doing away with all the “Evil Social programs”. 

They too have targeted the Health Care as being subject to a ways and means test before the Alberta Government pays anything.  Alberta has a security net they will use that says if you make more than 24,000 a year you will get no health care assistance from the province. This will be the equivalent of the American Medicaid.

In the Conservative philosophy, Government has no business in Health Care at any level; funding foremost.

From the Budget Coverage:

Wildrose Alliance Leader Danielle Smith, who doesn’t have a seat in the legislature, said the government is full of spending addicts.

“They’re practically vaporizing our savings accounts,” she said. “You can’t just keep on hoping that revenue increases are going to bail you out of this problem.”

She said that once the dwindling Sustainability Fund is gone, the government will be forced to implement deep spending cuts or tax increases.

Raising the royalty to that of BC or Saskatchewan which is 17% US$ is just like the present Government; it’s not going to happen!

NDP Leader Brian Mason said the government doesn’t have a spending problem, it has a revenue problem.

“I think they’ve given tremendous gifts to their friends in the oil and gas industry, letting them take most of the value of the resources that belong to the people of this province,” he said. “They have continued to charge the lowest royalties in the world.

“Here again we have this government giving massive billion-dollar gifts to its corporate friends and nickel and diming ordinary people. The priorities are wrong.

He is right on the money; a very accurate statement.

Liberal Leader Dr. David Swann said the government has failed to make the difficult decisions that were necessary.

“This looks like a pre-election budget to me,” he said. “They’ve made no tough decisions.

“This Conservative government continues to act as if its playing with an endless supply of Monopoly money. This is not a game.”

Perhaps he is out of the game but; his comments are totally off the mark probably did not want to offend the oil companies.

Alberta Party MLA Dave Taylor said the province should be focused on creating an aggressive, long-term saving strategy.

“We need to get in the saving habit ... and we are most assuredly not there right now,” he said.

This statement is the biggest nothing say of the day!  Mindless under the circumstance but careful not to shake the Conservative vote.

The $15.8 billion Heritage Savings Trust Fund — which is separate from the Sustainability Fund — is expected to earn $970 million in interest this fiscal year. The province plans to transfer $631 million of that interest to the general revenue fund, where it will be used to pay for programs and services. The remaining $339 million will be left in the fund for “inflation-proofing.”

This trust fund was not to have been touched but left to grow and compound its interests to the benefit of Albertans.  This Government has pulled more than 70 billions of dollars from the Trust Fund, used it in General operating.   Any surplus that showed up at the end of the year because of this influx of taxpayer cash was called “Windfall” and attributed to the Resource companies.

If Albertans would get out and vote rather than sit on their arse thinking they are outnumbered, it would remove Conservatives from the political map!   22% of  registered voters put them into office with a huge majority.  

Your vote would have done so much to eliminate the cuts.

And finally; get over Trudeau and the NEP.  It was agreed on by Alberta as a means to increase Canadian Ownership and, it worked!  The Conservatives managed to turn the whole economic downturn of the day into the fault of the NEP which was an outright lie!

Full story here: 

Alberta's shoddy echonomics.

The one great thing that Conservative Governments fail at consistently and constantly is stability.  Their Government is always surrounded by chaos!

In the 90s the Alberta Conservatives accounting practices moved business out of the province rather than into it.  The "New Up-grader" seems to be one of these scams on a newer, grander scale.

Point in detail.  A company in Calgary built it's business on heat exchangers.  He was a customer of mine for several years.  I called him up one day and got a recorded announcement the shop was closed and if one had a project to call the number given.

I was able to contact the owner finally; in Minneapolis!  He explained in detail why he closed his shop of 150 employees and opened up again in the US.

The tale:
Over the years he had built a business in the oil patch and the tar sands.  His complaint however was the business structure.  When the economy was down like it is now, or there was a looming election like there is now, the Tar Sands companies would put out bids on expansion projects.

The announcement would create a ripple effect in the economy as bids were sent out for various components of the phantom expansion.  Companies, like my customer spent a lot of coin working the speculation trail pumping out research and quotes on phantom projects.

Meanwhile, his shop sat idle.  To keep his shop busy he took on projects in Minneapolis building heat exchangers for air conditioning units.  It too built into a nice business for him but the costs of shipping the air conditioners to the States was overhead he could not afford.  The Air Conditioner business far outreached the output of the northern heat exchanger business.

He told me "If Alberta wants me to quote on something they can write to my Air Conditioning shop in Minneapolis.  I refuse to keep a shop staff of more than 100 people on payroll while the Government fleeces my pocket with phony quotations.  The same "new projects" are quoted every time the economy takes a dip.

His shop now closed and his business fully established in Minneapolis he remains a common tale of Conservative mis-management.

This brings me to the next post, on the "New Up-grader"

Alberta must endure still another Insurance Rip Off!

I have been advised my home insurance package is up 150.00 above last years prices and this is low by Alberta Standards. Alberta has 1.3 million households.

This "minimum" increase gives Insurance Companies an additional $195,000,000 per year and with their track record, it will continue indefinitely.  At 10 years it is a windfall profit of 2 billion dollars!

Alberta--The Details; a new development.

A new development in the world of Alberta--The Details and Cyberclark!

I have received 2 anonymous emails from separate Hotmail accounts that have said pretty much the same thing.  I will continue the battle knowing the hits on this blog are followed closely,  not just from Canada and the individual parties but, from all around the world.  Without the check marks on the individual blogs, I know the word is getting out there.

"Your on line support has dropped to nothing" alluding to recent posts asking NDP's Jack Layton and the Liberal's Michael Ignatieff to provide us with details on exactly what they agreed with the Conservatives on and why.

We know Ignatieff threw away the Liberal Red book and has since tried to replace it with his personality which, isn't flying.

We know Jack Layton is riding the fence on issues such as Health Care and Bulk Water exports.

It is up to the party members to hold their feet to the fire!

We know Harper has said he will change Canada so even the Liberals (and by default, the rest of us) will not recognize it.  Using the party of 5 Western Conservative Governments to hijack parliament, they will do just that!

A vote for Conservatives anywhere in Canada at this point in time is simply irresponsible!


The Conservatives put through legislation unchallenged by the NDP or the Libs that put the issue of Bulk Water export into the hands of the Provinces.  This is really sad because it makes no distinction between the surface water and our water aquifers which, Alberta is set to export.

Peoples all over the planet are fighting to protect their ground water from export; not so this crew!

It is plain that neither the NDP or the Liberals can live with any level of accountability.

We are so in for a rough ride!

Canada-Unlimited Internet pricing packages.

Still another Conservative Rip Off!

Conservatives:- On the course of sedition? You decide.

Sedition refers to overthrowing a Government. Stephen Harper in a recent CBC interview said "I will change Canada so even the Liberals will not recognize it!" and as a long time Conservative I can tell you for many years, the Conservatives have said “Soon we will become another state when we join the US” Perhaps, now is the time?

The Governments taking part in dismantling Canada.

Lead by the Alberta Conservatives followed by:
BC Liberals (Conservative)
Gov’t of NWT (Conservative)
Gov’t of Yukon (Conservative)
Saskatchewan Conservatives
And supported by Steven Harper and Gilles Duceppe

Stephen Harper on a CBC TV interview stated “I will change the country so even the Liberals won’t recognize it!”

Gilles Duceppe has told his people that separation for Quebec in the bag after the coming election, if he gets in.

Michael Ignatieff has thrown away the well worn Liberal Red Book without telling the followers.  I don’t think anyone knows what he stands for as nothing has come forward to replace it.  And, that breaks my heart.  He as supported Conservatives constantly, one has to wonder if he is just another door into US statehood.

5 Western Premiers have agreed to cooperate on achieving the Conservative long term goals.  With Quebec on side you can be pretty sure Harper’s musings (threats) will come true.

Taking his lead from Alberta, Harper has moved our corporate taxes down to 15%.  This compares to 35% in the US.  Money missing is going to come from social programs for operating funds!  It is you and I that are taking the hit!

Here are some Conservative goals unattainable until this point in time.
Do away with the Canada Pension Plan and install private insurance companies in its place at a major cost to the benefactors.

Do away with Canadian Health Care and move to a US system entirely.  For those that cannot afford medical insurance and make less than 20,000 dollars a year, Government help (US equivalent Medicaid) will be available but only after you have sold your house and liquidated your belongings.

Let’s consider the fall out if they get elected again.  All the Conservative dreams will come true; there will be nothing to stop them!

Health Care will be totally American style.  Alberta is still flying with the Ways and means tests for financial assistances.  They set the poverty line at 24,000 per year after one has liquidated all their assets.  (This brings the DNR tag to the back of their chair if they happen to be in a home).

They will adopt this coverage as the Alberta Medicaid and everyone else can buy insurance.  This is the same idea the Wild Rose Party Supports.


Both Harper and the WRP have said they want universal Health care but they are not saying it comes with harsh conditions!
You decide if long term plans and organizations like this are sedition or not!

Canada Pension plan and Old Age Security will see an overhaul for the worst. 


Ted Morton has made it clear he does not want to strengthen the CPP.  His alternative is private insurance companies picking up the plan, as they are doing now with the addendum that companies can make and remit insurance deductions from employees to the private insurance company.


The Federal Conservatives agree with this and are supporting it.


The Western Conservatives including the Wild Rose Party agree Equalization payments should be done away with.  I have to guess this is in anticipation of a Quebec split.

No doubt there are promises between the groups of 5 for mutual support, essentially cutting out the east.   Harper and his crew are supportive of this.


Now; for some more speculation.  One doesn’t have to drop a hammer to know it is going to fall!

Quebec Separates with the support of the Western Premiers.


Key!
The constitution is re opened so any number of changes can be made.  Changes will include protection for the Crown to enforce hard core bio ID and literally anything else they want; nothing to stop them now and probably include changes to limit individual rights while strengthening corporate rights.The point is, once it is opened anything can be changed!

Indian Affairs, a long time target of the Conservatives will be no more.  Money in that fund will be transferred to the Natives using a private company to sort out who gets what.

If history holds true, this same money will be frittered away within 2 years and the private mix will assure the fund is drained.  Overhead you know.

Workers Compensation, fully integrated with the public health care system will be changed to the US system where WCB is a law, not an organization, which tells companies what coverage they need to provide. 

Companies who provide corporate health care coverage often are the same companies which cover the WCB requirements.  The US has long been complaining about the Canadian WCB system as being a subsidy; it will be among the first to go, across Canada.



The CBC will be done away with.  There is no place for the CBC in a Conservative world; it will probably be the first casualty!

If Canadians do not come together to unseat the Western Premiers all will be lost!

There is no party running that will not do its best to look after industry in a competitive world.  The Conservative world of Corporate Welfare is killing us as individuals. The Green Party is nearly as right wing as the WRP so, don't hang  your hopes there.

Remember; it was the people who did not bother to vote that put the Conservatives in power from one end of the country to the other and now,  you are on the brink of loosing your country!