One Alberta Voice

Instead of doing what I ought to be doing today, I'm getting caught up in learning more about the party platforms. I don't want to throw out the Liberals entirely, so I started with them. But I think I have to throw them out. David Kahn likes to "demand" things--or at least whoever does the write-ups likes to say that he demands things. I really, really dislike that. Then there's the total rejection of increasing the private health care options in the province. And yes, I do mean increasing private health care options. The Liberals seem to be painting it as though it doesn't already exist, but those who have money can get certain health care things (like MRIs) done faster at private locations than those who are on waiting lists. If those who have money can get some more things done elsewhere, I say, let's do it! By removing those people from the waiting lists, those who don't have the money or don't want to spend the money then get their free ...

The NDP called the election. 27 days left until the big day. I find myself unsure of where I will personally put my voting power. There's no such thing as a perfect party, a perfect leader, a perfect MLA. I've only got 4 options in my riding: NDP UCP Liberal Party Alberta Party I know I'm not voting NDP. They have often placed ideology above thinking of the consequences of imposing their ideology. First, Bill 6. That was the big first move on the NDP part. They received a HUGE backlash from the farming community for not actually communicating and talking with them extensively first. The NDP acted like authoritarian parents who "know what's best" and made changes. Except that's not the government's role. The government is supposed to represent the people, not make rules for the people without properly consulting them. It apparently took 2 years of consultation to really get things fleshed out after they announced the Bill, and most on both...

I just received a text message from Ryan of the NDP Caucus. There isn't a Ryan on the NDP Caucus, so you do with that what you will. It was a message that I regretfully deleted. I should have kept it as part of proof of the NDP's sneaky ways in this election pre-season. In any case, it was asking about if I supported the NDP's efforts on the pipeline. My first reaction was: Have they finally called an election? I did a quick search online. No. But they're behaving as though they have. I've seen the one commercial on YouTube and came across this article that I thought I'd share here: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/colby-cosh-notley-hospital-stop-gives-alberta-bitter-preview-of-ndp-government-on-defence Notley was essentially campaigning at a Lethbridge hospital. Even if one might argue it wasn't campaigning, she was there as an NDP member as shown by signs with her and NOT as a representative of the Alberta government and she was there to ad...

This is a blog I never should have dropped. Even if I'd just kept it for my own purposes so I could have an easy reference of the ridiculous decisions and actions the Alberta NDP have made since coming into power. But I didn't. So I need to start with what I have. What caught my eye today was the amazingly, caring, charitable thing they're doing by opening a youth mental health facility. That will cost something like $200 million. Even though the province's deficit this fiscal year is estimated at being over $7 BILLION, with a debt over $50 billion. Yes, that's billions of dollars in both situations. Every time there has been less of an anticipated deficit, more "money available", the NDP have turned around and spent more. While I can give them kudos for doing hiring freezes (although, really, let's be real: there should have been staffing reductions, but, hey, it's the NDP and they feel responsible for everybody having a job) ...

I got The Prentice Plan in the mail today. Talk about propaganda. If you haven't see it, it looks like this: On the inside, the talk about investing in education and healthcare. This from the party that just created a budget where they're capping and cutting in health care and education. I'm at a loss for words.

Here's just one reason the PCs are in the financial state they're in--well, no, let's be fully honest here and say that this is one reason the PCs have gotten Alberta in the financial state its in: After they had promised to freeze salaries, they went and raised salaries for senior government officials , who, let's face it, are already making more than the average Albertan. Deput minister salaries went up by about $20 000. Yes, you read that correctly. Given they already make over $200 000, maybe it doesn't seem like a big deal to them, but to the average Albertan, $20 000 is not only huge but could really change things around for people. But this pay freeze seems to have only been targeted at MLAs. Senior government managers were given a lump sum payment, followed by a 2.25% raise for 2014 and a 2.5% increase for this year. Because they're not already making enough? Gary Mar's combined salary and non-cash benefits totalled over half a million dollars....