Opinions
Overall, Alberta’s economic situation looking brighter
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on June 14th, 2018
If you want to find something wrong with the Alberta economy, you don’t have to look very far. Gas prices are high. Power rates are rising. Too many are still unemployed. Business groups are worried about government regulations and the cost of rising wages. Yet it’s hard not to trip on positive economic news in ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!A simple gesture can make a huge difference to someone suffering from depression
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on June 12th, 2018
It was startling news for many last week as famous chef and food writer Anthony Bourdain, 61, and iconic fashion designer Kate Spade, 55, both died by suicide. Whether it’s Robin Wiliams or Alexander McQueen, Kurt Cobain or Hunter S. Thompson the deaths of famous, talented and celebrated people is a stark reminder that mental ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Guest Column: Prevention cuts demand on the health system
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on June 11th, 2018
Provincial ministers of health and finance seek to “bend the health care cost curve” but year after year, provincial budgets bend the curve in the wrong direction, adding billions of dollars to provincial health spending. We’ve doubled spending on our medical treatment system in Canada since 2005 — and what did we get? Not improved ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Celebrating seniors
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on June 11th, 2018
Last week was Seniors’ Week in Alberta, and once again, politicians and others are praising our older citizens for the work they did to build the foundations of our province. But the fact is, the contributions of seniors aren’t all in the past. Many of them are continuing to contribute in a wide assortment of ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!National Affairs: Ontario gives Ford carte blanche
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on June 9th, 2018
Ontarians have voted to shake things up. By electing Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives, a strong plurality of voters have signalled that they are no longer satisfied with the centre-left policies promoted by Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals and Andrea Horwath’s New Democrats. Instead, they are opting for a return to the old-time religion of tax and spending ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!It’s time for new Alberta health cards
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on June 8th, 2018
Alberta’s new driver’s licences will boast our famous geographic locations, a dinosaur and have security features that put us on the cutting edge when it comes to protection against fraud. “Our government takes identity fraud very seriously. We are the first jurisdiction in North America to integrate this combination of design and security to protect ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!National Affairs: Tariffs a death knell to NAFTA
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on June 6th, 2018
When it comes to the North American Free Trade Agreement, Justin Trudeau faces a stark choice. The prime minister can either capitulate to the demands of U.S. President Donald Trump. Or he can begin to prepare Canada for a world without NAFTA. There is no middle way. If this wasn’t obvious before, it should be ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!National Affairs: Policy details not necessary for Ford victory
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on June 4th, 2018
As a guide to the actions of a Doug Ford government, the Ontario Progressive Conservatives’ newest platform remains singularly unsatisfactory. It lists the cost of some Ford election pledges but is silent on others. It gives little idea of what Ford might cut to achieve his promised $5.6 billion in annual government savings. In fact, ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Guest Column: Trudeau made colossal mistake with pipeline
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on June 2nd, 2018
The federal government has struggled for years with routine managerial functions, such as paying its employees the right amount of money each pay period. Oddly enough, on the day the federal government announced it was nationalizing the Kinder Morgan pipeline, Canada’s auditor general called the government’s Phoenix pay system, an “incomprehensible failure.” And yet now ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Nothing has changed; Trans Mountain project will continue to drag on
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on June 1st, 2018
The only thing that has really changed when it comes to the Kinder Morgan pipeline is that taxpayers are now on the hook. One of the reasons for an end-of-May-deadline was because the shareholders of Kinder Morgan were no longer willing to invest any more money in a pipeline that was facing delay after delay. ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Phoenix pay debacle a federal disaster
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on May 31st, 2018
A federal auditor general’s report this week into the rollout of the Phoenix pay system confirms that a slow-motion train wreck has indeed occurred. It also gives some clues about nebulous thought process that has kept box car after box car plowing into the tangled mess of accounting for the last 28 months. It doesn’t ... Read More »
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