Smoky Lake Signal Article No. 185
August 24, 2011
Finally some of Alberta's PC leadership candidates are coming out with some specific ideas that are worth consideration and debate - in my view some of the ideas put forth are good and some are questionable, and not so good. On the plus side: Alison Redford has come out with some good ideas that need to be flushed out: she supports the development of more community healthcare centres; stable, predictable educational funding; and "externship" programs for exporting energy technology. Rick Orman has announced a prison reform initiative that separates prisoner classes without adding more prisons to the system; sounds quite interesting but does need more detail before it can be endorsed. On the questionable side is the big news coming from candidate Gary Mar who last week announced that (if elected Premier) he would allow "private" healthcare clinics in Alberta. These "private" centers would accept patients that have the required cash, to receive treatment in Alberta rather than having to travel to other provinces or into the States. Mr. Mar does qualify his healthcare thoughts by saying that any "private" clinic system would have to operate within the Canada Health Act. For Mr. Mar, having a "private" healthcare system in Alberta is an economic opportunity that should not be lost - for me, what Mr. Mar is suggesting does have some short term benefits, but in the longer term, what Mr. Mar is suggesting will definitely and eventually lead to a very dangerous, two tiered, American-styled healthcare system. A number of other leadership candidates have responded to Mr. Mar's proposal - candidate Alison Redford was "surprised" by what Mr. Mar suggested and feels that Mr. Mar is providing preferential treatment to the wealthy: "Albertans want a public healthcare system. Albertans want everyone to be treated equally.....It's a core value. It's a core belief for me." Doug Horner's response was less emphatic but he still feels the current system has to be fixed: "At this point in time, I am against it because I think we've got lots to do in our publicly funded system." Rick Orman hedged his views and said he wants to make the public system more efficient, but is not ruling out "privatization" if costs spiral out of control. Mr. Orman said: "I do not believe that today we need to expand to private healthcare." I'm not aware of any comments coming from candidates Doug Griffiths, Ted Morton regarding Mr. Mar's "private" healthcare suggestions.
Trying to Keep a "Stiff Upper Lip" in Ottawa
Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is optimistic that the federal government's economic / financial strategy will insulate Canada (to the extent possible) from the growing financial chaos being felt in Europe and the United States. Both Mr. Flaherty and Bank of Canada Governor, Mark Carney are predicting modest, if not flat growth in the United States and Europe so there is no reason to offer further stimulus to the Canadian economy and the deficit reduction plan remains in place. Mr. Flaherty said last week: "We will stay the course. We will balance the budget by 2014-15 .... That's the plan and we intend to stick to the plan." Should things worsen, Mr. Flaherty said: "If we were to see the situation globally deteriorate in a dramatic way, we would obviously do what is needed to protect our jobs and economy and families in Canada. We would act in a pragmatic way, as we have done successfully, previously and recently." In my view, things are going to get a lot, lot worse so everything that Mr. Flaherty and Mr. Carney said is nothing more than "political speak," so be prepared for much more chaos and a lot of deficit spending in Canada (and elsewhere) in the months / years to come. What I hope results from all this chaos is a strategy of NATION BUILDING where, amongst a number of other measures, Canada's basic tax structure be drastically re-vamped to support small Canadian businesses and small business development in Canada - and yes, eliminate unjustified, unwarranted tax breaks to mega-globalized corporations.
Jack Layton Does Have a Legacy!
Jack Layton lost his battle with cancer and passed away on Monday at the age of 61 years. A month or so back I labeled Jack Layton as being a political leader who expressed his party's positions and views with: clarity, commitment and passion. I sincerely hope that these tenets - clarity, commitment, and passion - remain a part of the new NDP political leadership and yes, a part of all political leadership in Ottawa - Canadians want it and Canadians need it.
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