Author Archives: susanonthesoapbox

Minister Horne Reacts to the Preferential Access (Queue Jumping) Report: It’s not good

Posted on August 25, 2013 by susanonthesoapbox

Justice Vertes released the results of the Preferential Access (Queue Jumping) Inquiry this week.  Health Minister Horne heaved a huge sigh of relief.  Vertes found that allegations raised by Dr Duckett (former head of Alberta Health Services) and Dr Sherman … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

“Show me the money”: The Alberta Medical Association Channels Jerry Maguire

Posted on August 18, 2013 by susanonthesoapbox

To borrow a phrase from Renee Zellweger in the movie Jerry Maguire, Dr Michael Giuffre had me at hello.  He battled Health Minister Fred Horne for months, finally getting the Health Minister’s signature on the AMA Agreement settling doctors’ compensation.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Alberta Health Care | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Capturing the Youth Vote: Got (Black) Milk?

Posted on August 11, 2013 by susanonthesoapbox

Politicians have been fussing about the youth vote for decades, primarily because it’s virtually nonexistent.  But if they could replicate Black Milk’s social media strategy they’d deliver the youth vote all wrapped up in a pair of Galaxy tights (and … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Government, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

A(nother) Trip to the Mayo: The Power of Seamless Connections

Posted on August 4, 2013 by susanonthesoapbox

For the record, the Soapbox family is not crazy about going to the US for medical care, but our eldest daughter (let’s call her “Missy”) has some serious health issues (I blame it on Mr Soapbox’s gene pool) and her … Continue reading →

Posted in Alberta Health Care | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

Advice from the “Old White Guys”: Alberta Progressives Listen Up!

Posted on July 28, 2013 by susanonthesoapbox

The Republicans may hold the secret to the progressives’ return to power…yes, seriously! Let’s start at the beginning… Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson in their glib little book The Big Shift argue that Western Canada, particularly Alberta, is responsible for … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Government | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

The Home Care Consolidation Debacle: Fred Horne’s Mission Impossible

Posted on July 21, 2013 by susanonthesoapbox

Like Tom Cruise in Ghost Protocol, Health Minister Horne is tearing through the building trying to stay ahead of the explosives he’s set to detonate.  The big question is will he make it out in time. So far Fred has … Continue reading →

Posted in Alberta Health Care, Politics and Government | Tagged , , , , , , , | 29 Comments

The Auditor General’s Report: Alberta’s “Enron” Moment

Posted on July 14, 2013 by susanonthesoapbox

God bless Merwan Saher, Alberta’s Auditor General!  He grabbed the government by the scruff of the neck and gave it a shake for dragging us into the abyss of “Enron” accounting.  Sadly, the government refuses to budge and opaque financial … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics and Government, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Health Minister Fred Horne: The Puppet Master

Posted on July 7, 2013 by susanonthesoapbox

The Google search engine connecting a reader to the Soapbox spat out this query:  “Is Fred Horne as stupid as he looks?”  Yikes!  That’s bit harsh.  But I must admit the question had crossed my mind (without the reference to Mr … Continue reading →

Posted in Alberta Health Care, Politics and Government | Tagged , , , , , , | 17 Comments

We’re all in this together–sort of. The Alberta Flood 2013

Posted on June 30, 2013 by susanonthesoapbox

Nobody said it better than the Dairy Lane Cafe and the Blue Star Diner in a sunny (literally) little poster announcing that on Canada Day every penny received from sales and tips would be donated to flood relief.  The blue … Continue reading →

Posted in Disasters, Politics and Government | Tagged , , , , , , | 32 Comments

The Alberta Energy Board: What the PC Government learned and failed to learn from Machiavelli

Posted on June 23, 2013 by susanonthesoapbox

On the same day that the Health Minister unceremoniously fired the Alberta Health Services board for refusing to revoke $3.2 million in bonuses, the Energy Minister announced the appointment of the Alberta Energy Board. Hmmm.  I wonder whether in a … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy & Natural Resources, Politics and Government, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments