Naheed Nenshi has been busy visiting NDP constituencies across the province. This afternoon he came to the Calgary-Elbow Constituency BBQ.
After a (very) enthusiastic introduction from NDP MLA Samir Kayande, Nenshi made a short speech which reinforced his commitment to classic NDP positions like public healthcare and public education, he touched on the need to be ready for the new economy arising from a shift to renewable resources, increased automation and AI, and he emphasized the importance of adopting an attitude of joy and optimism as we move forward.
Here are the highlights:
- The growth of the NDP movement has been remarkable. The next election is 3 years away. That’s both a blessing and a curse because it’s ample time to increase (or kill) momentum.
- There’s no room for small minded, divisive politics in Alberta (it’s impossible to dream small under a sky this big).
- Danielle Smith is intentionally underfunding public education and healthcare to further the UCP’s privatization agenda.
- The UCP’s attack on trans kids and its misguided effort to address addiction by forcing all addicts into a one-size-fits-all treatment model is horrendous.
- The world is moving into a new economy that includes alternative energy, more automation and AI. Alberta can be a global leader in this transition. To do this it needs a thoughtful, pragmatic and forward looking government, not one that wants to drag the province backwards.
- Smith is “strange and bizarre” (he refrained from calling her “weird”).
- When asked about chemtrails, she said they are a Federal responsibility because the Feds have jurisdiction over aviation. (Note to Danielle: chemtrails are a nutbar conspiracy theory). She said wind turbines cause migraines (I have one right now and am nowhere near a wind turbine).
- She’s the most freedom loving politician in Canada. In fact the opposite is true, she’s the most power loving politician in the country who is taking away Albertans’ freedom to access public education, public healthcare, and to join the new economy. While she’s at it, she’s punching down on trans kids..
- The pendulum is swinging away from the divisive, small minded politics that produced Brexit, MAGA, and TBA (See: Wab Kinew’s victory over the conservative’s alt-right, angry, racist campaign).
- Something remarkable happened at the DNC this week. Harris/Walz are campaigning on joy and optimism. We need to tap into this vibe in Alberta.
Next steps
Nenshi reminded us he’s been an activist for decades and he knows how to mobilize people. He left us with some homework:
- Build out the NDP constituencies, the ones we won and the ones we almost won, starting with the Lethbridge by-election which we need to win by a healthy margin.
- Build/strengthen our relationships with other NDP members, starting with others here at this BBQ. (Again I ran into people I never dreamed would be members of the NDP. As Nenshi said, the movement is growing).
- He promised to provide the tools we need to talk to our families, friends and neighbours about Smith’s poor policies. This will help clear up the misconception that Smith is doing a good job. (I buttonholed Samir to reinforce my earlier email in which I suggested a weekly newsletter would help in this effort).
- Donate. The leadership race was expensive but the debt is wiped out. The first priority for funding is the Lethbridge by-election and it’s all hands on deck.
Nenshi ended his speech by reinforcing the need to “tap into love” and turned once again to the amazing momentum coming out of the DNC. When we fight, we win!
Mr Soapbox and I returned home feeling energized. Which when you think about it, is quite remarkable given all the crap that’s come down the line since Smith took power.
Susan on the Soapbox 
. is changing the ‘K’ in his middle name to stand for Kamala on the list ? . . . still Naheed K Nenshi . . . . ‘Namala’ for short ? . . .
Rob: The K stands for Kurban. Always has, always will.
Susan,
I enjoy reading your thoughts. Often they reflect my own.
My greatest concern as a rural Albertan, is that the NDP has conceded rural seats in the Legislature to the UCP and is focusing (and has for two elections focused) only on winning and Edmonton and Calgary (with anemic efforts in Red Deer, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Grande Prairie and Fort McMurray. I want the NDP to be true Provincial Party, not just a Party of the cities. How can I convince the NDP to pay some nominal attention to thirty ridings outside the seven large cities in Alberta.
At the NDP Provincial Council meeting in October 2023 a motion to create a Provincial NDP Rural Action Plan was passed unanimously, but to my knowledge, the Party has done nothing to create one. (I know the Alberta NDP Rural (members) Caucus has met fifteen times to offer ideas for increasing the NDP reach in Rural Alberta.
Keep up the good work.
I enjoy your op eds.
Doug Hart
NDP Rural Caucus Executive.
Doug Hart
(403) 963-4278
“The chain is only as strong as its weakest link”
The problem, Sir, is that rural voters won’t even consider voting NDP, for reasons that are not really clear. Look at the results of the last few elections: New Democrats got dismal vote percentages in truly rural areas, and this is also true at the federal level. The party needs to do some research to find out why this is, given that many of the values of rural people are consistent with ND values, and many of the greatest harms generated by bad UCP policies redound on rural people – such as the problem of the oilpatch not paying its taxes. Do some targeted polling, set up focus groups, etc.
Rural voters vote against their own best interests – we need to find out why.
Jerrymacgp: Targeted polling, focus groups, these are excellent suggestions.
I wonder whether one reason why people (rural and urban) continue to vote for the UCP is they are inundated with misinformation. It’s the old principle of say a lie often enough and eventually it becomes true. Having said that it’s hard to explain why anyone would continue to support the UCP when their policies (healthcare for example) are such abysmal failures.
Nenshi said the party will be sending out tools to its member so we can help with the messaging. I sincerely hope that these tools include current, fact-based information that exposes the weakness of various UCP polices. For example, the UCP is shutting down safe injection sites as part of its shift to a one-size-fits-all addiction treatment plan, If we’re going to oppose this policy then we need good data to back up the argument that drug addiction is a complex problem requiring many different solutions.
jerrymacgp: Rural voters do this, because their family always voted Conservative, despite the Conservatives stabbing these people in the back, starting with Ralph Klein.
Where I’m from originally, is from rural Alberta. The hospital where I was born, was closed down by Ralph Klein. BSE also came from him, and this didn’t benefit farmers (I have family roots in agriculture). It cost over $400 million. Infrastructure wasn’t looked after. Abandoned oil wells are another one of Ralph Klein’s legacies that will set Albertans back $260 billion.
The UCP are intent on pursuing open pit coal mining, despite most Albertans opposing it, and the environmental risks for everyone, including farmers and ranchers. The loss of hundreds of millions of dollars, from oil companies getting away with not paying their property taxes. More healthcare problems for rural areas.
Rural Albertans need to give their heads a shake. Not all rural Albertans vote for the Conservatives, but many do, which is not helpful.
Part of the problem may be that many rural Albertans don’t feel that their concerns are as important to the party as are the concerns of the urban centres. It’s natural perhaps to put your best efforts into where the returns are most guaranteed….but the CCF started in rural Saskatchewan. Farmers built what is today the NDP….perhaps we need to revisit some of those land based, community based values and help more urban supporters to include rural concerns and issues in their top priorities.
After all, a goodly part of our economic advantages, come from the land itself…perhaps rural folks would see the value in our party if more of us saw the value in what they do for Alberta’s economy?
The UCP calls the Alberta NDP and anyone living in Calgary or Edmonton ” socialists” ! This shows her ignorance of what socialism is and how far Canada, Alberta and the Alberta NDP are from socialism.
David you are so right about that.
Unfortunately in North America it is a derugatory word and people do use it to insult as if being a fascist like they are is in any way something to be proud of.
Carlos, Linda, and all the others who commented on the Nenshi post. Thank you for all your comments. Although I wasn’t able to respond to them all, I did read them and (once again) learned something.
Doug, thanks for the feedback. I agree that the NDP should be a true province wide political party, not just a party for urban centres. Seems to me the last election demonstrated that they can’t form government with just Calgary and Alberta.
I would have thought that UCP legislation like Bill 20 and many of its policies relating to oil and natural gas, coal mining and other resource development (to say nothing of water rights/irrigation/conservation) would raise issues of concern for rural voters because they prioritize the interests of energy companies and other corporations over that of rural municipalities/voters.
For example, there are policies in place or being recommended that::
(1) allow companies to avoid paying municipal taxes before they transfer well licenses from one (unstable) company to another.
(2) provide 3 year holidays on new wells and pipelines
(3) project applications to the AER should be limited to considerations of technical feasibility, and have no regard for the public interest.
All of these policies will directly impact the quality of life for rural voters in that they’ll reduce tax revenue which in turn reduces services rural municipalities can provide. Surely these are the kinds of policies the NDP can address in a way that provides hope for rural voters.
And thank you for your years of tireless service to Rural Alberta Doug…we learned a lot in the time we spent as rural caucus members. Perhaps some of our new members might consider attending a few meetings….because for sure, many urban members haven’t much of a clue what rural Alberta is about…or how to bring it into the ndp fold.
Susan: I’m glad you were there to hear Naheed Nenshi speak and see what his policy ideas are for Alberta. We cannot take another term with the UCP, as these two terms were bad enough, with all the lies, cronyism, attack on democracy, harm that was caused to people, the rising costs of things, such as our power bills, and many very costly mistakes, that have often cost us billions of dollars, and so much more.
I’ll play some more fitting music. This is a live performance from The Rolling Stones on April 28, 2024, in Houston, Texas, and they are doing a composition that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote and recorded with the band in 1966, called Out Of Time. Steve Jordan has replaced Charlie Watts on drums, who passed away a few years ago, at age 80. Mick Jagger turned 81, this past July, and Keith Richards will be 81, at the end of this year. I have seen The Rolling Stones live, and they are in my music collection.
Dwayne, what a perfect song for how I feel about Danielle Smith and the UCP. I am so looking forward to the day when we can all sing ‘”my poor discarded baby”. I believe Albertans will eventually tire of Smith and the UCP because notwithstanding how much they tell us they’re transforming Alberta for the better, they’re destroying basic public services like education and healthcare and everyone is suffering, regardless of income level. This is causing serious stress which is reflected in satisfaction polls such as the one mentioned by ATB which found Alberta and Ontario at the bottom (6.4 out of 10) and the Maritimes and Quebec at the top (7.2 out of 10). Alberta is supposed to be the richest province in the land, but the satisfaction levels certainly don’t reflect that.
Here’s the link: https://www.atb.com/company/insights/the-twenty-four/life-satisfaction-ratings-second-quarter-2024/
Susan: Here is my next song pick. This is composition from John Lennon, and it is called Mind Games. It was recorded and released in 1973. A very net video accompanied this song, and it shows some nicer times, in New York City.
*a composition* *neat*
Sorry about the typos. WordPress needs an edit function.
Oh my goodness Dwayne. What a lovely video! I wonder what Lennon was saying to all those kids. The song and the video just made me smile. Thank you.
Susan: Here is my final song pick. This is a song by The Doors, which was recorded and released in 1969, called Touch Me. The guitarist in the band, Robbie Krieger wrote it. This is some really good jazz influenced music. It is also in my music collection.
Dwayne I haven’t listened to The Doors for quite some time. I’d forgotten how wonderful Morrison’s voice was and as you said that trumpet interlude was really good. Often I’ll look up the lyrics to these songs while they’re playing. Although I didn’t hear it in the song, the last two lines in the printed version of the lyrics are: “For you and I/Stronger than dirt” which I think is really cool. Thanks.
Susan: I read this recently. What are your thoughts on this?
https://oilprice.com/Finance/the-Economy/Are-We-Headed-for-Another-Great-Depression.html
Thanks Dwayne, I’ll need some time to think about this article (let’s face it, anything that asks whether we’re heading into another Great Depression deserves a lot of thought) but the first thing I noticed when I skimmed it was the reference to income inequality which has certainly gotten much worse and creates the kind of conditions that lead to the rise of autocrats who promise to fix everything.
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Hello Susan and fellow commenters. Danielle smith has introduced me to conspiracy theories that I had never heard of, and this is another one. What I don’t understand is how someone who seems to be so divorced from reality can be chosen as leader of a political party and be elected to the Legislature.
I expect political leadership to govern on the basis of knowledge, including least ordinary scientific knowledge that most citizens possess. I think that ascribing to this kind of conspiracy theory suggests a lack of the kind analytical ability normally expected of political leaders.
On a slightly different note, it is extremely concerning that one of Danielle Smith’s recent comments about vaccinations is to the effect that they are available for those who want them. Clearly, she has not seen, or may not even be aware of, the ravages of a disease such as polio or even of very easily transmissible diseases such as measles which can have lifelong effects and, in rare cases, may cause death. Why would anyone would want to take a stance that encourages this scepticism about such an important public health issue?
Danielle Smith will gamble the lives of kids in Alberta in the name of conspiracy theories about vaccines. Of that I have no doubts. What I doubt is whether or not those of us that have better things to think about rather than these silly theories will have access to them.
As far as Nenshi I confess that I am not sure I like his strategy. The UCP is in an orgy of pre privatizations and total neglect of the Health Care System to then come back and announce a new spic and span private clinic just like they did for addiction and by the time Nenshi is done so it will be everything that she can get her hands on. I have not heard a sound from the NDP at all.
This sounds more like dangerous to me rather than a strategy.
Carlos: I’m not exactly sure what Nenshi’s strategy is. His appearance at the BBQ on Sunday was more of a pep talk than a detailed strategy session which is why I think it’s so important for him to reach out to all 85,000 members with a newsletter or fact sheet or something that outlines in (fact based) detail what the UCP is doing, why it’s not working, and what the NDP would do instead. So far Nenshi and the party are relying on social media to communicate–let’s face it PostMedia isn’t interested in seeking out his opinion, they just print the press releases they get from the UCP media room with little to no critical analysis–but that’s a very poor way of dispersing the message.
Anyway, I think we need to send our feedback to his office and our local MLAs. I’ve done that with my MLA re: the importance of a newsletter, and I’ll continue to do so, as the tool kit (or whatever it is) becomes available. .
Christina: I agree with you 100%. Seems to me there are only two explanations for why Smith supports conspiracy theories and wacko policies like vaccinations should be a choice. Either she believes them to be true which is a serious problem or she’s playing to the uneducated rubes to maintain power. Both are a serious problem and justification for ditching her at the first opportunity.
I see theres no mention of the Green Line boondoggle he created in Calgary, or if he gets elected that he will exspect the rest of the alberta tax payers to bail Calgary out.
schristi66: Is it okay for Albertans to pay for the new hockey arena in Calgary, which Danielle Smith originally opposed, when she was the Wildrose party leader? She shouldn’t be funding anything related to the hockey arena in Edmonton either. If you want to look at wasted money, the UCP does it the best.
http://www.vauxhalladvance.com/editorial/2024/08/22/tax-dollars-for-calgary-arena-was-wrong-funding-the-oilers-wont-make-it-right/
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/danielle-smiths-big-money-arena-bribe-to-calgary-voters
Dwayne: I’m glad you raised the issue of the new hockey arena. Like many Calgaryians I am opposed the use of taxpayer dollars (municipal and provincial) going into the arena especially given the wealth of the owners and the players and the cost of tickets, etc. The more I read about the deal the worse it sounds. .
Schristi66: the BBQ was an opportunity to bring the Calgary-Elbow constituency association together. It wasn’t intended to be an analysis of the Green line which was proposed in 2012.
The man said, “when we fight, we win”. When is he going to start fighting? Why can’t the NDP fight while Nenshi is wowing us with his administrative legerdemain? Doing those two things concurrently doesn’t even rate as multi tasking. We thought we were throwing a wildcat into the fight. It appears we elected a zealot for administrative duties.
Jaundiced Eye: fair point. While I think it’s too soon to write anyone off, I do agree that with the exception of requests for donations and volunteers, I’ve seen very little from the party or the other MLAs that could be characterized as “fighting” to stop the spread of misinformation and bad policy.
Susan: Under the UCP, it gets worse.
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/danielle-smith-has-brought-albertas-health-care-system-to-the-brink-of-collapse/article_a00a00b8-63b6-11ef-9b91-237e1f493e9a.html
Yeah, Dwayne, I just read that too. I’m also very disenchanted with Nenshi and the NDP. When he announced his run for leader, I immediately joined (first time in my life), and stupidly made a donation. Big mistake. Since the leadership vote, it’s been dead silent, while Smith and her sycophants run most public services into the ground. Why would anybody vote for an opposition party whose members post all kinds of Instagram pictures from various Alberta festivals, but we don’t hear the slightest peep of criticism of the madcap UCP/TBA hucksters. So, unfortunately, Susan, I cannot share your enthusiasm and heightened sense of energy for the NDP.
Thorsten nobody is sharing Susan’s enthusiasm at all.
I fully understand Susan trying to keep hopes up and help the NDP but unfortunately I do not like to believe in fantasies because we have enough of that from the UCP.
The NDP is going the wrong direction and will fail with this strategy. I am also amazed Rachel Notley just simply disappeared and has nothing to say.
The bad times continue in this province and we continue to slide to the worst province to live in with exception of home costs.
Sorry Susan this was not meant the way it sounds LOL – I just do not believe most NDP supporters are excited with what is going on and I am afraid this could be difficult to turn around. I continue to receive almost daily requests for money and it seems so uncoordinated it hurts. One day is from the secretary then is Nenshi and then Rachel and on and on.
I wrote back to them at least 3 times and nothing happened. So last year I ended up asking to be removed from the membership list and it seems I will have to do the same and forget about it.
I have given them enough feedback with no avail whatsoever as if they really do not give a thought about it. It is this way or nothing.
Ok then
Susan & jerrymacgp: This is the only way I can respond to your comment.
Danielle Smith is like Ralph Klein in so many ways. She exudes a phony populist demeanor, like he did. People don’t read between the lines, but they see things when it’s too late.
Ralph Klein’s antics prevented him from remaining premier. It will go that way for Danielle Smith. It has to catch up to her. Ralph Klein’s drunkenness and stupid remarks ended up sinking him, and he had to throw away more money, in the form of $400 bribe checks to Albertans, to try and keep his position of power, which still didn’t save him (or us, because oil prices collapsed not long after, leaving us in a financial mess). Danielle Smith is telling too many lies, and is making too many costly mistakes (like Ralph Klein did), and she is throwing all kinds of different incentives at Albertans, before her leadership review happens, because she is walking on thin ice.
Rural Albertans, and even urban Albertans, need to wake up and see that what they are voting for is not Conservatives at all, and it hasn’t been since Peter Lougheed was no no the premier of Alberta.
While I’m pleased to hear what Nenshi said over the weekend I have to say that I feel the same as many others here do. These are the words that I was hoping to hear with some regularity since the end of the NDP leadership race, but instead there has been silence while the UCP policies of privatization and targeted persecution of those that they refuse to tolerate continue unabated and unchallenged. I was hopeful that Nenshi and the rest of the NDP caucus would be ready to show up for work on the Monday after the leadership race was concluded and capitalize on the positive energy and momentum that Nenshi’s victory had generated, but clearly that wasn’t the plan. If they are concerned about the three year timeline to the next election having the potential to kill momentum within the party I would suggest that they have already lost much of the momentum that they had gained during the leadership race and will have even more work to do to try and restore it. What I feel is even more troubling is that, judging from many of the comments here and on other forums, many NDP supporters are disappointed with what they are seeing (or not seeing as the case may be) and frustrated by constant appeals for donations when there is no obvious benefit to donating. If this becomes the prevailing sentiment among those who support the NDP then imagine the mountain of apathy that the party will eventually face when they try to convince the undecided voters, or those who may be experiencing ‘voter’s remorse’ from the last election, to support the NDP in the next election. As it sits today, I would expect those votes to be the deciding votes in the next election, much as they were in the last one, but those votes have to be won, they won’t be given freely. That takes work.
We all know that the political playing field isn’t level with the media being biased as it is but that is all the more reason for the NDP effort to be constant and unrelenting. I think of the task that they are facing of trying to win over Alberta voters as something like trying to melt an iceberg with a hair dryer. It might seem impossible at times, but you can accomplish a little bit each day if you just show up and do the work. And with regards to the financing, that is one area where the US Democratic party with its’ new presidential candidate provides an example of what human nature is like. Give people a reason to be optimistic about the future and they will donate generously to make it a reality. But of course that optimism has to be cultivated so that it can grow and silence won’t accomplish that.
Well said as always
More than agreed and they have missed a momentum I doubt they will get back and like you said the UCP continues on their slash and burn and I am wondering if next time I need medical care I will be able to even find the Hospital.
Thanks Carlos. And speaking of hospitals I see that we have another news story about the UCP this morning. Apparently Danielle Smith is planning to hand control of some rural hospitals over to Covenant Health, which is owned by the Roman Catholic Church, as reported on both CBC and DJC’s Alberta Politics blog, ostensibly because of poor performance by AHS. To me, this is an issue that screams for some sort of public response from the Official Opposition because it is clearly a major step towards the privatization of our health care system, but I’m wondering if we will hear anything at all. And if we don’t, what are we to think? Are the NDP too busy with other things to comment on it? Are they trying to enjoy the last few days of summer before returning to work? Or do they think this is an awesome plan that they tacitly approve? If they don’t stand up publicly against actions such as this then how are we to decide whether or not they deserve our support? I guess we will see what happens next but if there is a political battle going on in this province then only one side is fighting it at the moment. Meanwhile, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the circles around the drain of Alberta society are getting smaller and spinning faster.
You got that right. To be honest I am not sure what the NDP is doing. Yesterday I finally sent them a reply back asking them to stop begging for money. I am done with it.
I am very disappointed and Danielle Smith is just going at high speed trying to privatize it all. The Federal government does not even seem to care anymore. All they car about these days is flooding Canada with millions of immigrants and bragging about it. In the meantime we are on the verge of losing our Health Care system. I remember the days when any attempt by the provinces to violate the Universal side of our system would cause an earthquake in this country. Now it is like come on down you are the next contestant of ‘Who is the biggest IDIOT’
Was reading a Calgary Herald article where Ms. Smith, addressing a Drayton Valley crowd, mentioned that ‘under performing’ hospitals would be handed over to alternate operator(s) from AHS. Didn’t mention which hospitals were so designated, but the operator cited was Covenant Health – a religion based operator which doesn’t perform abortion, prescribe contraception or participate in MAID. Presumably trans or non straight patients might not get the care they need if deemed “unholy” by the provider in question. And does anyone else recall the debacle of Dynalife? You know, that decision by the UCP to hand over testing to Dynalife that resulted in excessive wait times/queues to get even simple blood tests done? Which they eventually walked back, since it became obvious Dynalife couldn’t perform as promised in southern Alberta (apparently they were doing just fine in Edmonton).
Oh, plus Smith stated the UCP would be ‘seeking a mandate from Albertans’ to implement this most recent policy on how to ‘fix’ health care. Really? Haven’t seen any requests for permission thus far, just a bull headed focus on doing what they deem right & if it doesn’t work, that becomes anyone else’s problem/fault because by golly it should have worked. Obviously if it doesn’t, it was due to sabotage on the part of (fill in your conspiracy favorite of choice here).
🙂 🙂 gosh do we have great comments in this blog
She does not need to ask us anything. First of all she does not believe we have any say. In fact we are too stupid to understand anyway, how can we mortal humans know that ivermectin replaces Covid vaccines?
So with that in mind she is now starting to fix the Hospitals and does anyone doubt that she knows what she is doing. Now she has Ed Stelmach and guru Raj Sherman so watch out.
https://albertapolitics.ca/2024/08/danielle-smith-touts-frightening-ahs-leaders-handing-hospitals-to-church-run-system-as-cures-for-albertas-health-care-woes/
Carlos, based on what I’ve read it appears she is trying to soothe the concerns of the rural base regarding health care, specifically their ever limited access to it. Those wily rural folks are beginning to catch on that Smith & crew are not delivering the promised goods – doctors in abundance for all, emergency departments open when needed which is always & so forth. So the latest gambit is to blame the victim – obviously if a hospital isn’t providing the required service it is the fault of the administrator, in this case AHS. Couldn’t possibly have anything to do with torn up contracts, demands for wage rollbacks, revamping of how services are delivered &/or any other thing our fine UCP government has done to ‘fix’ healthcare. Nope, we need ‘competition’ – medicine for profit will provide the promised land. Except for the pesky fact that despite private clinics providing services the wait times for surgery haven’t decreased any. As someone who paid for cataract surgery myself I can testify that the first thing I was told by my provider was that I might have to redo all my preliminary tests if they couldn’t ‘fit me in’ within six months of the initial testing. I can also testify that my provider of choice was packed to the gills – every single visit I ever had, the lineup of those seeking help was literally out the door. Which doesn’t bode well if ever I need hip or knee surgery. The wait times there even with private clinics to take up the so called slack is literal years.
Linda, I loved your comment.
I would have come to the same conclusion if I was smart enough to think carefully about it.
What you just described is the FACTS. We all know that, but of course the UCP is God’s land and they cannot do anything wrong. The problem is that somehow they have the wrong God and nothing is right.
People in the rural areas will swallow this because unfortunately they are not capable of getting out of the right wing fundamentalist mind set.
I am also going through the cataract process and I know exactly what you are talking about. I actually refused my first surgery ‘opportunity’ because was riddled with choices to make the surgeon richer and I could not trust him and got out and of course went back to the end of the list and I am now going to another appointment next month. Somehow pushing seniors to confusion seems to have become also an Olympic sport. They are all very kind but with a dollar sign in the background.
Good luck
So what will the threats foe lack of performance be?
Cutting one finger every time they fail?
Out of curiosity, I looked to see what current wait times are for hip/knee replacement. In Alberta the shortest wait time (best possible) was 24 weeks; the average wait time was 49 weeks. Oh, plus there was a disclaimer regarding said times because Covid had skewed the results. Really? The times posted were for 2023 & 2024 YTD. So while 2023 may have been affected by Covid, any delays in 2024 must be due to a backlog & eventually wait times will shorten in length. Uh-huh. Convenient, that Covid – the self same ‘fake’ disease that Albertans were cruelly denied their rights of freedom over is now to blame for that surgical backlog. For the worst case scenario, wait times between consult & surgery are up to 90 weeks…..
So I feel the need now to walk back some of my previous comments about the NDP’s lack of response to Smith’s plan to transfer control of some rural hospitals to Covenant Health. Thanks to my wife for informing me that Nenshi has indeed responded to Smith’s comments. Good for him and well done. This is exactly what needs to happen. I hope we can count on more of this in the future. I’m clearly running a day or so behind on this issue and I apologize that my previous comments were out of touch.
Guy, your comments were not that out of touch. I think the backlash here and through other means of communication have now reached the top brass at the NDP headquarters. I was just one of the thousands that got sick and tired of looking like a money bank machine.
I know the NDP does not accept money from big donors but the easy solution is work with what you have. Harassing people like they have been doing is completely unacceptable. I just got another one last night and by looking are the senders it seems they are in a competition of who gets more money.
Guy, thanks for doing this. I do hope the main stream media does a better job of picking up Nenshi’s comments. The Globe and Mail included a short quote, which is good but not enough. His video clip on FB was better but I’m not sure how many people saw it. I really hope the NDP put together a comprehensive communication plan (including a newsletter to all of its members) to ensure we’re in the loop when Smith drops bombs like this.
They just keep coming and of course I have to make sure everyone that reads this blog knows.
https://thetyee.ca/News/2024/08/28/David-Moretta-Secret-Rail-Megaproject-Meeting/
The clean moral world of the UCP
This is the best paragraph
Citing an earlier ruling by Alberta’s ethics commissioner, Williams said this latest revelation about Smith using her position as premier to grant personal access to potentially confidential government information again raises questions about Smith’s ethical judgment.
Does she even know what ethical judgment means?
Go UCP GO
https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/ama-sounds-alarm-internal-medicine-doctors-overwhelmed
Carlos, I was able to get my cataracts dealt with & I do trust you will be able to do the same soon if you haven’t yet done so already. As someone once said, growing old isn’t for sissies:) The thing about having ailments & having to wait to get them fixed is the impact on quality of life. I’ve never quite gotten the rationale that people needed to wait until the problem was much worse – surely, the possible medical impact of doing so would be worse than taking care of the issue as soon as possible. Think about it – one can’t see properly, so the chances of doing oneself an injury increase & not only that, one might also injure someone else due to not seeing them ‘in time’. I believe that one of the major health issues for many seniors relates to injuries sustained from falling. Cause; effect. But what do I know, I’m just looking at things from the angle that it would be far more cost effective to not wait until a minor problem becomes a major one.
I am glad you have yours done. I am getting closer. Actually I would have already been done if it was not for my dislike of the first surgeon who sounded more like someone in a fish market trying to get me lenses that would make my eyes redundant. I decided not to allow someone of that kind to touch my eyes.
I laughed at this one article in the Edmonton Journal.
EVIDENCE? Since when does the UCP need evidence? They just follow their hollow ideology and please step aside.
Once it is all screwed up, then the NDP comes in to fix it and gets the blame.
https://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/alberta-covenant-health-danielle-smith
And now, new initiatives to create a made in Alberta police force – 245 new staff hired to work under sheriffs, whose police duty mandates have been expanded to fit ‘the new reality’. But not replacing the RCMP or doing this against the wishes of the electorate who’ve stated they don’t want a provincial police force, thanks. Call it the UCP way of saying it ain’t so yet doing it anyway. No, no, you’re mistaken, we aren’t creating a separate police force……
Then throw in the latest ‘aw shucks, we’re just joking’ act – now, the idea is to move those pesky government departments out of the unholy, stained by NDP voter based urban environment of Calgary & Edmonton to the UCP friendly small town locales like Red Deer or even Drayton Valley. Because then anyone who moves to said locale will be inculcated into the ‘right’ way of thinking – as per Ms. Smith, moving to a conservative locale suddenly makes former lefty types become conservatives. To be fair, she isn’t totally out to lunch on this one. People do tend to follow the herd, if surrounded by a majority believing one particular way it is much more difficult to buck the norm & stand up for other beliefs. Call it your survival mechanism – those who follow the herd have a better chance to do well because the herd supports them. However, this plan if implemented may backfire. A sudden influx of lefty types might well swing the herd to move in another direction – call it the dilution effect, where the former majority are no longer so. And let’s not forget the impact on the local economy – urban types want urban amenities, not to mention urban style housing. So yes, local business may boom but expect local housing supply to shrink while escalating in price due to heightened demand. Thus pricing out those locals, who will rightfully link the sudden lack to government policy enacted.