Woe is us!

 

I am surprised, mortified and insulted by the recent news. Why is Ed Stelmach in politics? The shortsighted nature of his campaign speeches would make for a good fantasy story.

Ed Stelmach promises more doctors and nurses. Well, Mr. Good ol’ Boy, how do you propose to train these doctors and nurses? We do not have enough clinical teachers to accomplish it. Alberta can graduate only about 200 doctors per year and that will not be increasing.  Ed proposes increasing nurses by approximately 350 per year. Whoa, big fella! Where and when is this going to happen? Will the salary be available to keep these doctors and nurses in Canada?

Are you going to allow immigrants the right to practice in Canada immediately after they arrive, if they are certified medical practitioners in their country of origin? And what happens to the doctors that had to go through an additional 4 years of training in Canada to qualify for medical licenses. Will you be compensating them?

Mr. Stelmach promises to build more hospitals. Why did the PC government cut nurses, close wards, and demolish hospitals in the first place?  Calgary General comes to mind. Did they ever think to retrofit as an option? Edmonton General is a fine example of using and improving existing resources. Mr. Stelmach, go home and build a walk-in clinic in Andrew, they need one. And while you’re in Andrew, check yourself in, you need the help.

So now we are promised more doctors, more nurses and more hospitals but Premier Ed Stelmach says, “We will appeal the insurance cap decision,” leaving many Albertans in trouble. Many Albertans are having a tough go of it, financially, after an automobile accident. Mr. Stelmach, were you ever injured in a car crash? Was your life changed because of physical limitations?

Insurance is required by all drivers to protect themselves and others in a motor vehicle accident. All well and nice, but here is the hitch: accident victims suffer for years after, paying countless dollars on prescription painkillers, muscle relaxers, and more. A cap only degrades the amount of rehabilitation support available to the victims. Thank you, Mr. Stelmach, for your narrow minded thinking. With your vapourous promises for medical support, more hospitals, and protection of citizens, you have come up short.

Your Justice Minister, Ron Stevens stated, “We think this is a good piece of business. We think we had the right intention.” So now we are considered pieces of business and not citizens. Personally you did not have the right intentions, you never polled any citizen group, you never discussed this with injured citizens, and you never talked to me about this cap appeal. And to top it all off, you try to keep this matter out of the public spotlight.

Probably the only area you had some cahoonies, was when you stood up to the oil conglomerates and asked for royalty back payments. Again you came up short. The oil companies gave you a wedgie and you never recovered.

So my summation is to go back to farming and give your support to the town of Andrew. Remember this, you need to go back, because the town of Andrew needs their village idiot.