Calgary Libertarian

Wildrose Alliance Party
NEWS RELEASE

August 26, 2009

Down a Red End: Stelmach Fiscal Management

For Immediate Release

It was only one year ago when Premier Stelmach proclaimed proudly that
Alberta would boast an $8.5 Billion dollar surplus. Today he is predicting
an adjustment of $15.5 billion with his announcement that Alberta will run
a deficit of $7 billion on top of the Health Super Board’s deficit of $1.1
billion. Of note, spending continues to rise. This amounts to overspending
in the amount of $3100 for every Alberta taxpayer.

Wildrose Alliance interim leader Paul Hinman notes that the figure is about
exactly the same as the amount the Provincial government expects to reap in
personal income tax revenues – up 50 per cent from when the Premier and his
Finance Minister announced their $4.7 Billion dollar deficit budget just
three months ago. “At this rate,” Hinman says, “The Stelmach government’s
deficit could easily exceed $10 billion, and yet they have done little to
curtail their spending and to act like the conservatives they claim to be.
They are demonstrating their Progressive roots: progressively spending out
of control!”

“Premier Stelmach has been wrong with every economic prediction, his plans
have been failures, and his policies continue to undermine health care and
education,” Hinman says. “He has lost all credibility and is only reactive,
not proactive.” Hinman also points out that while the budget bleeds red,
the Stelmach PC’s continue to enjoy their pay raises. “Why should Albertans
believe him now or in the future?,” he says. “We need to Send Ed a
Message!”

By the time Stelmach is run out of office, there will be no sustainability
fund, Hinman predicts. “But there will be a Provincial debt, much higher
unemployment than we see now – and which is already five times higher than
they predicted just three months ago,” he says.

“Not only that, but the impacts on Alberta’s economic strength and
government revenues of a severely downsized oil and gas industry and
significant reductions in property values across the province will lead to
lower service provisions for health care, education, and policing.

The sad part,” Hinman says, “Is this government accepts no responsibility
for their role in this economic boondoggle.”

Hinman notes that Alberta’s neighbouring provinces are taking steps to
address the global economic climate affecting them to great effect. They
have maintained taxation stability or lowered taxes, demonstrated budgetary
discipline, encouraged and attracted capital investment, and “Made the
tough choices when they had to. The Wildrose Alliance proposes policies
that achieve all of these goals, but the Stelmach government wants to
maintain the status quo on spending and hope they win the next lottery.
That is not what built the Alberta Advantage.”

The Wildrose Alliance is a fiscally conservative and socially responsible
party that stands for economic growth and fiscal discipline while ensuring
that Albertans get the services and support they need. The Party has
experienced a surge in membership this year as the Stelmach PC’s continue
to implode and threaten to take the province with them.

Wildrose Alliance Interim Leader Paul Hinman is currently running in the
Calgary Glenmore by election. At the same time, the party is having a
Leadership race that will culminate on October 17 in Edmonton.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Paul Hinman
Interim Leader
Wildrose Alliance
403-479-6000
info@wildrosealliance.ca

Alberta’s political parties have already announced their candidates:

* Calgary city councillor Diane Colley-Urquhart Alberta Conservatives.
* Psychiatrist and health-care activist Avalon Roberts for the Alberta Liberals.
* Eric Carpendale, 29, an electrician who works for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union for the provincial NDP.
* Paul Hinman, who stepped down as party leader for the Wildrose Alliance.
* Len Skowronski ,Leader of the social Credit party for Social Credit.

The Tories have held this riding for fourty years. I think its time for a change, send the provincial government a message that you are unhappy with how they are handling the issues in Alberta. Remind them who is in charge and cast your vote for whom ever you think represents you the best. I am unable to vote in that riding but if I was I would be supporting Paul Hinman, he is an advocate for smaller government and personal responsibility despite the ruling parties name they are not conservatives they believe in big government and they have a state knows best attitude. Look at all the recent projects and programs they have created. They have ran up our budget to an unsustainable amount they increased taxes on the entire province through the royalty change (Yes when oil companies are taxed every one is taxed) and they have even gone begging for money from the federal government, When did Alberta become a ward of the federal government?

Alberta needs to rise up and tell the conservative party that they are not the natural governing party in the province and that we are tired of there big government activity. We need to elect a party that understands what made and makes Alberta great which is hard work ,dedication from the people and responsible, limited government. I believe that the ideals of the reform party and the younger conservative party (the party of the 90’s) lives today in the WildRose Alliance if you live in this riding please vote for the WileRose Alliance party but most importantly get out and vote other wise the active minority (or political elite) get to make the choices for you and that is not a free society.

If you read this blog you know I am a supporter of Danielle Smith and the WileRose Alliance. Danielle will be helping Paul with his campaign this weekend. If you want to volunteer check out her site. Also memberships are only 10$ and can really help the party make a difference. www.daniellesmith.com

Another One Bites the Dust, wheres the alberta advantage?

Haworth, a multinational manufacturer of office interiors, which operated a show room and factory in Calgary employing 600 people in the city is consolidating its holdings and moving its operations to the state of Michigan. The state of Michigan is close to approving a tax incentive for the company worth $22.4 million, which I am sure it’s very encouraging to a company looking to save money. This means over 600 new jobs will be moving from Calgary, the supposed best place in the world to do business, to another country. This move will also likely cost jobs in to other companies that might have been supplying the local operations of Haworth. This is yet another example of a lost opportunity for the city, I am against taxes but looking at it from a balance sheet perspective the city should be wanting to make the tax pool larger so the individual burden on every one is smaller.

Our city council is much to busy worrying about the peace bridge or the new east side pedestrian walkway (roughly costing 20 million dollars, hrm almost the same amount as the intensive) to focus on encouraging growth in the business sector. Instead of worrying about how the city is going to pay for the alderman’s pet project and where to nickle and dime the tax payers some more to pay for these pet project, the city should be working on slashing spending and removing itself from the “business of being in business” (Mainly the east side project). If the city could cut its spending it could then cut the tax burden on business which would encouraging companies like Haworth to stay and even encourage other multinational corporations to setup shop here when they too are looking to consolidating holdings, this would result in more jobs and more prosperity for Albertans and Calgarians.

Alberta has always has what was called the “Alberta Advantage” which was a business friendly community coupled with governments working in partnership with business to encouraged growth through lower taxes and less regulation. This is no longer the case both the province and municipalities have been finding any reason to tack on user fees or raise taxes. This has completely eliminated our “Alberta Advantage” the province even dropped this as the provincial slogan, its no wonder the unemployment rate is going up in Alberta and that the oil industry in Saskatchewan and British Columbia have an increase in jobs using our model (The model of freedom), we need to realize that the current ruling party is no longer the party of Ralph Kline or even a conservative party for that matter. I encourage every one that values productive jobs and the freemarket to call there alderman or MLA and tell them to lower taxes , remove regulation and just get out of the way of business. Tell them that you want Calgary and Alberta to be the first place of choice for business to open an office and that you want our Alberta Advantage back!

See our resources page for contact information for MLA and Council Member

The Alberta Team!

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… C: wait…

Karen Selick sets the record straight on Shona Holmes
The following article also appeared in the Calgary Herald today, August 13, 2009, under the title, “A Canadian’s journey South.”

When something’s growing in your head …

Shona Holmes has been attacked for criticizing Canada’s health insurance monopoly, but she should have had the right to seek prompt treatment for her suffering

Ontarian Shona Holmes, right, joins members of the U.S. House Republican leadership, from left, Roy Blunt, John Boehner, Judy Biggert and Eric Cantor for a news conference about U.S. health care policy last month in Washington, D.C.
Photograph by: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images, Citizen Special

By Karen Selick, Citizen Special

August 12, 2009

Imagine yourself in this situation. You’ve been noticing for a couple of months that your vision is deteriorating. You’ve been having headaches and unexplained vomiting. You feel tired all the time.

You know your doctor is busy so you don’t trouble her for an appointment immediately, hoping you’ll get better. When you finally do go, she’s alarmed by your vision loss and your skyrocketing blood pressure. She orders an MRI scan. Five weeks later you get the report: there’s a lesion on your pituitary gland, just below your brain. The doctors aren’t sure what to call it. It could be a meningioma, a pituitary adenoma, a craniopharyngioma, an epidermoid adenoma, or a Rathke’s cleft cyst, they say.

You ask what these terms mean. Several of them are types of brain tumour, one possibly malignant. Uh-oh.

Your doctor refers you to two specialists. The earliest appointment you can get with a neurologist is more than seven weeks away. The earliest appointment with the endocrinologist is 16 weeks away.

But this thing is growing in your head.

Your optometrist’s tests confirm that you are getting progressively closer to blindness. What to do?

Shona Holmes, the woman who has been criticized in some quarters recently for jumping into the U.S. debate on health care reform in television ads and media interviews, faced exactly this situation. She decided to take matters into her own hands. If Canada’s health care system didn’t care enough about her to alleviate the unbearable anxiety that anyone would feel under such circumstances, there were other places in the world that would.

Shona travelled to the world-famous Mayo Clinic in Arizona, where she was seen by three specialists within seven days. She was fortunate: her growth turned out to be non-malignant. But it still had to be removed or she would surely go blind. As well, it seemed to be the source of hormonal problems that had been plaguing her. Left unattended, she was warned, her symptoms could worsen dramatically and over the long run, could be fatal. The U.S. doctors were clear: urgent surgery was needed.

Shona returned to Canada thinking that with such a clear diagnosis and treatment plan, she would have no trouble getting urgent surgery.

Wrong again. Faced with more consultations and more waits of indefinite duration, she returned to the U.S. and had immediate surgery that restored her vision completely within 10 days.

Would you have done anything different? I wouldn’t. Canadian politicians and celebrities frequently don’t wait either, using private Ottawa clinics or U.S. hospitals for speedier care.

Nor should Canadians have to wait, according to the Supreme Court of Canada. In 2005, the court struck down Quebec’s health insurance monopoly, thereby permitting Quebecers to purchase private health insurance.

“Access to a waiting list is not access to health care,” wrote Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin. The court accepted evidence that Canadians sometimes die on waiting lists for the public health care system. Many others undergo physical and psychological suffering that saps not only their enjoyment of life but also their ability to contribute to society as productive members of the work force.

Four years have passed since the Supreme Court rendered that decision, but Ontario’s laws have not changed.

That’s why Shona Holmes, supported by the Canadian Constitution Foundation, is bringing a similar constitutional challenge to Ontario’s health insurance monopoly. Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees citizens’ rights to life, liberty and security of the person. No one should have to experience the agony Shona went through because of a legal prohibition on spending your own money to buy something essential for your health.

Some fear that ending the health insurance monopoly would also spell the end of Ontario’s public health care system. The experience of other countries has demonstrated that this is not the case. Public and private plans co-exist in many countries, including Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, the United Kingdom and Sweden, providing care to all citizens, regardless of income, but without long waiting lists. These countries have health care outcomes as good as, or better than, Ontario’s.

Ironically, two of the doctors who treated Shona in Arizona were Canadians who had gone south. Permitting privately funded medicine in Canada could end the brain drain and might even encourage some of the medical talent we have been exporting for decades to return.

Karen Selick is litigation director at the Canadian Constitution Foundation, which is representing Shona Holmes in a court challenge against the government’s health care insurance monopoly.

All above was copied from Canadian Constitution Foundation

Karen Selick sets the record straight on Shona Holmes
The following article also appeared in the Calgary Herald today, August 13, 2009, under the title, “A Canadian’s journey South.”

When something’s growing in your head …

Shona Holmes has been attacked for criticizing Canada’s health insurance monopoly, but she should have had the right to seek prompt treatment for her suffering

Ontarian Shona Holmes, right, joins members of the U.S. House Republican leadership, from left, Roy Blunt, John Boehner, Judy Biggert and Eric Cantor for a news conference about U.S. health care policy last month in Washington, D.C.
Photograph by: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images, Citizen Special

By Karen Selick, Citizen Special

August 12, 2009

Imagine yourself in this situation. You’ve been noticing for a couple of months that your vision is deteriorating. You’ve been having headaches and unexplained vomiting. You feel tired all the time.

You know your doctor is busy so you don’t trouble her for an appointment immediately, hoping you’ll get better. When you finally do go, she’s alarmed by your vision loss and your skyrocketing blood pressure. She orders an MRI scan. Five weeks later you get the report: there’s a lesion on your pituitary gland, just below your brain. The doctors aren’t sure what to call it. It could be a meningioma, a pituitary adenoma, a craniopharyngioma, an epidermoid adenoma, or a Rathke’s cleft cyst, they say.

You ask what these terms mean. Several of them are types of brain tumour, one possibly malignant. Uh-oh.

Your doctor refers you to two specialists. The earliest appointment you can get with a neurologist is more than seven weeks away. The earliest appointment with the endocrinologist is 16 weeks away.

But this thing is growing in your head.

Your optometrist’s tests confirm that you are getting progressively closer to blindness. What to do?

Shona Holmes, the woman who has been criticized in some quarters recently for jumping into the U.S. debate on health care reform in television ads and media interviews, faced exactly this situation. She decided to take matters into her own hands. If Canada’s health care system didn’t care enough about her to alleviate the unbearable anxiety that anyone would feel under such circumstances, there were other places in the world that would.

Shona travelled to the world-famous Mayo Clinic in Arizona, where she was seen by three specialists within seven days. She was fortunate: her growth turned out to be non-malignant. But it still had to be removed or she would surely go blind. As well, it seemed to be the source of hormonal problems that had been plaguing her. Left unattended, she was warned, her symptoms could worsen dramatically and over the long run, could be fatal. The U.S. doctors were clear: urgent surgery was needed.

Shona returned to Canada thinking that with such a clear diagnosis and treatment plan, she would have no trouble getting urgent surgery.

Wrong again. Faced with more consultations and more waits of indefinite duration, she returned to the U.S. and had immediate surgery that restored her vision completely within 10 days.

Would you have done anything different? I wouldn’t. Canadian politicians and celebrities frequently don’t wait either, using private Ottawa clinics or U.S. hospitals for speedier care.

Nor should Canadians have to wait, according to the Supreme Court of Canada. In 2005, the court struck down Quebec’s health insurance monopoly, thereby permitting Quebecers to purchase private health insurance.

“Access to a waiting list is not access to health care,” wrote Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin. The court accepted evidence that Canadians sometimes die on waiting lists for the public health care system. Many others undergo physical and psychological suffering that saps not only their enjoyment of life but also their ability to contribute to society as productive members of the work force.

Four years have passed since the Supreme Court rendered that decision, but Ontario’s laws have not changed.

That’s why Shona Holmes, supported by the Canadian Constitution Foundation, is bringing a similar constitutional challenge to Ontario’s health insurance monopoly. Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees citizens’ rights to life, liberty and security of the person. No one should have to experience the agony Shona went through because of a legal prohibition on spending your own money to buy something essential for your health.

Some fear that ending the health insurance monopoly would also spell the end of Ontario’s public health care system. The experience of other countries has demonstrated that this is not the case. Public and private plans co-exist in many countries, including Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, the United Kingdom and Sweden, providing care to all citizens, regardless of income, but without long waiting lists. These countries have health care outcomes as good as, or better than, Ontario’s.

Ironically, two of the doctors who treated Shona in Arizona were Canadians who had gone south. Permitting privately funded medicine in Canada could end the brain drain and might even encourage some of the medical talent we have been exporting for decades to return.

Karen Selick is litigation director at the Canadian Constitution Foundation, which is representing Shona Holmes in a court challenge against the government’s health care insurance monopoly.