Ed Stelmach and Tyler Shandro are already on Covenant's board, and apparently several other Smith flunkies have recently jumped from the Premier's office to executive positions at Covenant. The self-dealing is so blatant it's incredible. Shame that there's virtually no investigative political reporters left to expose this graft. From the sounds of it, similar things are going on with the addiction treatment facilities that are having tens of millions shoveled at them. Pigs at the trough.
As always, excellent and accurate insight. I'd add one more observation; the suggestion that GOA departments move to rural (ie UCP/CPC friendly) locations is a full manifestation of the conservative belief that one of the principal purposes of political power is to provide benefits to your friends, and punish your 'opponents'. 'Opponents' meaning any person, region, business of industry who doesn't support you 100%, and without question. This is why we have a fiasco of a freeze on renewable energy projects, and nothing comparable in the oil/gas sector. It's why AHS and health care system are being dismantled.
I'm not naïve, I spent over 30 years working in health care policy and other areas of the public sector, I know how the game is played. But previous governments here and elsewhere use to at least play lip service to the idea that they were the government for the entire jurisdiction and all of the population. Danielle Smith and the UCP hear that idea and laugh; their government is for friends, 'the base' and other supporters; first, last, always.
The rest of us are just a bunch of city dwelling 'socialists' who will learn to live with it and pay for it, for the next 3 1/2 years. That's the other thing; they're just getting started.
Smith has no choice but listen to her rural conspiracy driven base or they'll simply turf her just like they did Kenney. We must remember who put Smith into power and that she's only their puppet, not a deep political thinker as she would have Albertan's believe.
Exactly. She's also a walking exemplar of the Dunning-Kruger Effect from what I've read. She always thinks she knows better than any of her advisors (not that that would be hard).
Maureen: Apparently, there is some type of scandal that is going to be revealed in the next little while. It's very costly, very unethical, and very ugly. The UCP are involved with it. What it will do is sink the UCP, or put a very big dent in their armor. Something major is about to be revealed.
I live in rural Alberta. I have two family members who work in the local healthcare system as RNs. My family doctor is also a personal family friend. We often discuss the current healthcare situation in AB. We have experienced ER closures at our local hospital because of STAFFING SHORTAGES. Many doctors no longer trust the AB gov't and have left the province. The same is now happening with nurses who are fed up with the disrespectful treatment they continue to receive through the UCP's policies on the AHS. My wife is taking early retirement because of the UCP's handling of the AHS. We are seriously thinking of leaving AB. We've had enough of the s***t show called the UCP. More and more healthcare professionals are think of leaving the province also. Putting Covenant Health in charge changes nothing. We are poorly governed indeed!
Only in the last year have I started responded to this insanity ( although I feel like a voice crying in the wilderness).
My wife’s family from a rural area have recently told me these fantastic misinformed pro UCP stories. 1) some of their doctors have gone to BC because of the NDP not the current Govt. 2) They had to restrict some of their 4 wheel adventures tearing up the country side when the NDP put up some environmental restrictions that now have been removed - tear up the trails , maybe some new ones. 3) There was a business in the community that shut down ( during Notley)because they didn’t want to be in a place where NDP would destroy business.
Urban / Rural divide sometimes feels like hearing - Huston do we have liftoff? Not trying to be unfair but misinformation is wide spread. While I love aunt Sally, I am not getting my information off Facebook.
Try living in the middle of it! Many of my rural neighbors have some very weird ideas on what's going on. Much of their political views are colored by the American evangelical movement which supports much of the anti vaccine, anti covid mandate of the far right. I hear the terms "woke" and "freedom" spoken often. Sadly many are Christians who refuse to seek the truth. They're angry about the covid response and can't learn to forgive and get on with life. Trudeau is corrupt and that is bad, but a corrupt Smith is good, is their mindset. Apparently loving thy neighbor is no longer a requirement of being a Christian for many rural believers because they feel their faith was and still is under attack by "the Woke". Most don't understand how politicians manipulate the populations views by using tags to dehumanize those that they don't agree with. But here's the real kicker..... As Christians we are taught that our dignity is found in the fact that we are created in the image of God. Many are not deep thinkers and can't see the hypocrisy of their self-centred views on freedom.
Polluters Pay Federation - PPF Ask these people what's so Conservative about the UCP? The fact is that there is nothing even slightly Conservative about the UCP. Here's why.
1) The UCP don't respect the law, like Conservatives do. They break the law, with conflict of interest violations, ethics violations, and other infractions. Then, the UCP creates bills which allow them to break the law, and not get penalized.
2) The UCP wastes money on very pricey shenanigans, that often cost us billions of dollars.
3) The UCP doesn't care about the well being of the environment. Oil companies get a slap on the wrist for environmental breaches. Coal mining is still being pursued, despite staunch opposition.
4) Our basic services, such as healthcare and education are being cut apart, in favour of private options.
All is the result of the belief that ONLY a conservative gov't protects a citizens rights to worship without gov't interference. For some reason, many don't understand that their worship rights don't need any politician to protect it. Their protections, from gov't over-reach, come from the Constitution, not politicians. It also gives the politicians their limited powers. Ignorance of how things really work, makes them ripe for manipulation by politicians. Many are Christians who openly practice their faith. They've been manipulated to believe in the conservative political myth of being the only party that acts as a protector of citizen rights when in reality it's the courts with that power.
I must say that - in my view, of course - I typically find your columns to be very much in opposition to the government insofar as they could have been written by (a non-hysterical) member of the legislative opposition. By contrast, in this column I perceive that you don't like the government but I find your commentary much more even and thoughtful although, as I say, I perceive that you don't like these governmental positions/actions/etc. A thoughtful matter of tone and all that.
So Covenant Health is controlled by the Roman Catholic Church.... Weren't many of the Residential schools run by the Roman Catholic Church? What could go wrong?.....
There will be increasing pressure on the 12 UCP MPLs from Calgary to deliver results as a result of building an arena for a billionaire while cancelling the Green Line.
Hospitals are failing not because of management but due to lack of staff to use the infrastructure in place. This is true in urban and rural settings.
Schools are overcrowded and teachers are unhappy. Rural areas also have schools.
The divide is not entirely rural urban.
Nenshi is an effective communicator.
I think some moderate MLAs are worried about their re-election.
The damage that Danielle Smith and the UCP will be so immense, and it's doubtful that it can be eradicated. Most rural Albertans don't see what damage these phony Conservatives and Reformers do for them, and they brush it off. No big deal to them. They let this happen for a long time, and Ralph Klein really started that.
And in Manitoba where the government and contractors came to agreement decades ago that the road would be half and half. Not sure of the % split but there are many concrete highways in MB
The original SW leg of the Henday in Edmonton is concrete. It cost significantly more upfront, and as Alberta Infrastructure was warned, it's not handling our weather well and needing much more maintenance (the hope was it would last longer and need less maintenance). As an extra bonus, it's also much louder than asphalt, leading to noise complaints and additional sound barriers etc.
Ed Stelmach and Tyler Shandro are already on Covenant's board, and apparently several other Smith flunkies have recently jumped from the Premier's office to executive positions at Covenant. The self-dealing is so blatant it's incredible. Shame that there's virtually no investigative political reporters left to expose this graft. From the sounds of it, similar things are going on with the addiction treatment facilities that are having tens of millions shoveled at them. Pigs at the trough.
Apparently, virtually no, from the sounds of it. No need to fact check Marcel, he does it himself.
As always, excellent and accurate insight. I'd add one more observation; the suggestion that GOA departments move to rural (ie UCP/CPC friendly) locations is a full manifestation of the conservative belief that one of the principal purposes of political power is to provide benefits to your friends, and punish your 'opponents'. 'Opponents' meaning any person, region, business of industry who doesn't support you 100%, and without question. This is why we have a fiasco of a freeze on renewable energy projects, and nothing comparable in the oil/gas sector. It's why AHS and health care system are being dismantled.
I'm not naïve, I spent over 30 years working in health care policy and other areas of the public sector, I know how the game is played. But previous governments here and elsewhere use to at least play lip service to the idea that they were the government for the entire jurisdiction and all of the population. Danielle Smith and the UCP hear that idea and laugh; their government is for friends, 'the base' and other supporters; first, last, always.
The rest of us are just a bunch of city dwelling 'socialists' who will learn to live with it and pay for it, for the next 3 1/2 years. That's the other thing; they're just getting started.
Smith has no choice but listen to her rural conspiracy driven base or they'll simply turf her just like they did Kenney. We must remember who put Smith into power and that she's only their puppet, not a deep political thinker as she would have Albertan's believe.
And, of course, Smith's loyalty is to her paycheque,not to Albertans.
Danielle Smith is an opportunist. It's all about herself, and power.
Exactly. She's also a walking exemplar of the Dunning-Kruger Effect from what I've read. She always thinks she knows better than any of her advisors (not that that would be hard).
Maureen: Apparently, there is some type of scandal that is going to be revealed in the next little while. It's very costly, very unethical, and very ugly. The UCP are involved with it. What it will do is sink the UCP, or put a very big dent in their armor. Something major is about to be revealed.
From your lips to God's ear!
I live in rural Alberta. I have two family members who work in the local healthcare system as RNs. My family doctor is also a personal family friend. We often discuss the current healthcare situation in AB. We have experienced ER closures at our local hospital because of STAFFING SHORTAGES. Many doctors no longer trust the AB gov't and have left the province. The same is now happening with nurses who are fed up with the disrespectful treatment they continue to receive through the UCP's policies on the AHS. My wife is taking early retirement because of the UCP's handling of the AHS. We are seriously thinking of leaving AB. We've had enough of the s***t show called the UCP. More and more healthcare professionals are think of leaving the province also. Putting Covenant Health in charge changes nothing. We are poorly governed indeed!
What happens when rural Albertans speak out against the UCP's bad policies? Are there any that do it?
I was Chair of the Athabasca University Governing Council when Lougheed moved it as part of decentralization. It has was a disaster in execution.
Only in the last year have I started responded to this insanity ( although I feel like a voice crying in the wilderness).
My wife’s family from a rural area have recently told me these fantastic misinformed pro UCP stories. 1) some of their doctors have gone to BC because of the NDP not the current Govt. 2) They had to restrict some of their 4 wheel adventures tearing up the country side when the NDP put up some environmental restrictions that now have been removed - tear up the trails , maybe some new ones. 3) There was a business in the community that shut down ( during Notley)because they didn’t want to be in a place where NDP would destroy business.
Urban / Rural divide sometimes feels like hearing - Huston do we have liftoff? Not trying to be unfair but misinformation is wide spread. While I love aunt Sally, I am not getting my information off Facebook.
Try living in the middle of it! Many of my rural neighbors have some very weird ideas on what's going on. Much of their political views are colored by the American evangelical movement which supports much of the anti vaccine, anti covid mandate of the far right. I hear the terms "woke" and "freedom" spoken often. Sadly many are Christians who refuse to seek the truth. They're angry about the covid response and can't learn to forgive and get on with life. Trudeau is corrupt and that is bad, but a corrupt Smith is good, is their mindset. Apparently loving thy neighbor is no longer a requirement of being a Christian for many rural believers because they feel their faith was and still is under attack by "the Woke". Most don't understand how politicians manipulate the populations views by using tags to dehumanize those that they don't agree with. But here's the real kicker..... As Christians we are taught that our dignity is found in the fact that we are created in the image of God. Many are not deep thinkers and can't see the hypocrisy of their self-centred views on freedom.
Polluters Pay Federation - PPF Ask these people what's so Conservative about the UCP? The fact is that there is nothing even slightly Conservative about the UCP. Here's why.
1) The UCP don't respect the law, like Conservatives do. They break the law, with conflict of interest violations, ethics violations, and other infractions. Then, the UCP creates bills which allow them to break the law, and not get penalized.
2) The UCP wastes money on very pricey shenanigans, that often cost us billions of dollars.
3) The UCP doesn't care about the well being of the environment. Oil companies get a slap on the wrist for environmental breaches. Coal mining is still being pursued, despite staunch opposition.
4) Our basic services, such as healthcare and education are being cut apart, in favour of private options.
5) Democracy is being run down.
6) The needy are suffering more and more.
It's always someone else's fault.
All is the result of the belief that ONLY a conservative gov't protects a citizens rights to worship without gov't interference. For some reason, many don't understand that their worship rights don't need any politician to protect it. Their protections, from gov't over-reach, come from the Constitution, not politicians. It also gives the politicians their limited powers. Ignorance of how things really work, makes them ripe for manipulation by politicians. Many are Christians who openly practice their faith. They've been manipulated to believe in the conservative political myth of being the only party that acts as a protector of citizen rights when in reality it's the courts with that power.
Lisa, I commend this column.
I must say that - in my view, of course - I typically find your columns to be very much in opposition to the government insofar as they could have been written by (a non-hysterical) member of the legislative opposition. By contrast, in this column I perceive that you don't like the government but I find your commentary much more even and thoughtful although, as I say, I perceive that you don't like these governmental positions/actions/etc. A thoughtful matter of tone and all that.
Excellent analysis, Lisa!
So Covenant Health is controlled by the Roman Catholic Church.... Weren't many of the Residential schools run by the Roman Catholic Church? What could go wrong?.....
There will be increasing pressure on the 12 UCP MPLs from Calgary to deliver results as a result of building an arena for a billionaire while cancelling the Green Line.
Hospitals are failing not because of management but due to lack of staff to use the infrastructure in place. This is true in urban and rural settings.
Schools are overcrowded and teachers are unhappy. Rural areas also have schools.
The divide is not entirely rural urban.
Nenshi is an effective communicator.
I think some moderate MLAs are worried about their re-election.
The damage that Danielle Smith and the UCP will be so immense, and it's doubtful that it can be eradicated. Most rural Albertans don't see what damage these phony Conservatives and Reformers do for them, and they brush it off. No big deal to them. They let this happen for a long time, and Ralph Klein really started that.
There are concrete roads in the US :)
And in Manitoba where the government and contractors came to agreement decades ago that the road would be half and half. Not sure of the % split but there are many concrete highways in MB
The original SW leg of the Henday in Edmonton is concrete. It cost significantly more upfront, and as Alberta Infrastructure was warned, it's not handling our weather well and needing much more maintenance (the hope was it would last longer and need less maintenance). As an extra bonus, it's also much louder than asphalt, leading to noise complaints and additional sound barriers etc.