Re: Alberta Bill of Rights and other topics
So, our premier plans to amend the Alberta Bill of Rights. Why? Was there widespread support from Albertans on that idea?
Remember the Alberta Pension Plan scheme? Most Albertans are quite happy with their CPP and they are skeptical of our provincial government that can’t adequately fund key public service programs (public health care; public schools; roads; police services; victim services; women’s shelters; the Heritage Trust Fund, etc).
The population of our senior citizens is growing every year, they’re living longer and their need for more health care increases every year. Obesity is increasing, putting pressure on our health-care system, public school enrolment continues to grow every year, and the need for women’s shelters is growing every year.
Say! When was the last time a pastor discussed domestic violence in his sermons? Discussed unwanted pregnancies? When was the last time our premier discussed the growing problem of domestic violence in Alberta?
Remember our premier’s desire to replace the RCMP with her own provincial police force? Most Albertans were opposed to that idea as well. So, who does she represent?
Remember her desires to “reform” Alberta’s health-care system by using public money to fund private health services? Again, the vast majority of Albertans are opposed to funding private health care with public money. So, who does she represent?
By the way, in a recent Albertan online poll, 78 per cent of folks in the Olds area said no to funding private schools with public money. Yet, our government supports private schools. So, who does she represent?
Concerning private health care in U.S.: The number 1 cause for bankruptcy in America is the high cost for private health care. Why is the cost of private health care so expensive?
The U.S. spends $12,555 per person for health care while Canada spends $6,319 per person. Health care costs in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.K. averages $6,651 per person (Health System Tracker; Stats Canada; CDC and Harvard Medical School; Australian Bureau of Statistics; Japanese Ministry of Health and UK Office of National Statistic).
Private health care is a system that provides more than three trillion dollars per year to doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, and to the lawyers who defend them.
Doctors and hospitals must carry “malpractice Insurance” to protect themselves from lawsuits brought-on by angry patients. Americans now owe more than $200 billion in medical bills.
Do we want that situation for us? We have a “right” to obtain health care while in the U.S. health care is a privilege, not a right. Do we want to lose our “rights” to health care?
Turn on to any major TV network in the U.S. (ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN). A person soon will notice (every five minutes) that pharmaceutical companies advertise drug products.
Those commercials are not cheap. For example, Novo Nordisk (pharmaceutical company that produces Ozempic and Wegovy) charges U.S. citizens $969 per month for Ozempic. While in Canada, the cost is $155 per month and in Germany the cost for the same drug is $59 per month. Wegovy costs $1,345 per month for U.S. citizens, but in Canada it costs $265 per month, and in Germany the drug costs $137 per month.
Some folks choose to ignore their health, the health of their loved ones, and the health of their fellow citizens by refusing to take “free” vaccines (for example, vaccines against COVID, the flu bug, small pox, etc).
If such people become ill, should society pay for the medical costs for individuals who refuse to be vaccinated?
A reminder to our premier. Alberta is still a province of Canada, not a state in the U.S. We’re not North Texas or North Idaho, or North Montana. When it comes to “gun rights”, most Canadians are satisfied with owning pistols, rifles and shotguns, not semi-automatic or fully automatic weapons of war. Do we want Rambos parading in our streets with military gear?
America has more guns than people. No place is safe there. Not in schools, not in shopping malls, not in concerts, not in funeral homes, not in theatres, not in churches, not on highways, not at parades, not at sporting events, in political rallies, or not even in courthouses.
Because of court decisions and from pressure exerted by the NRA and the GOP, many Americans are able to buy “bump stocks”,“ghost guns” and all kinds of military hardware. Do we want a Second Amendment problem in Alberta?
Albertans should not stand by and let someone turn our province into an American-like state. We should not let a handful of people decide what amendments will be made to our Alberta Bill of Rights. We” should decide, by referendums, what should be amended.
We should also decide on the establishment of a provincial police force to replace the RCMP, on the creation of a provincial pension plan to replace CPP, on funding for private schools, on the creation of partisan politics in local governments and on funding private health care. These are issues too important to be left up to politicians.
There are a whole lot of issues that our provincial government should consider. For example, the high costs for rental housing, the growing need for more emergency shelters for victims of domestic violence or dealing with the high cost of living (food, fuel, etc.) for many Albertans. Income inequality is a serious problem.
George Thatcher,
Olds
