Opinions
Four-part series little more than ‘partisan talking points’ for United Conservative Party
By Medicine Hat News on September 9th, 2017
After wading through the last four Saturday editions of The News featuring the unabashedly one-sided sales pitch for the UCP by Faron Ellis, I am happy for the opportunity to provide a respite. Dr. Ellis is, reportedly, an outstanding and inspirational teacher, a winner of teaching awards who, sadly, built his professional life on little ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!What’s the real reason for leadership entry fees?
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 8th, 2017
All Albertans should be asking what the real purpose is of a $75,000 entry fee to run for leadership of the United Conservative Party and, for that matter, any political party. It is being sold as a means of weeding out those that are not really serious but want the exposure, or a way to ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Alberta Standard Time a recipe for unnecessary confusion
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 7th, 2017
Public hearings into whether Alberta should scrap Daylight Saving Time are scheduled, meaning that Albertans may actually have to discuss this ill-conceived idea. A subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Alberta’s Economic Future will visit four cities this month to discuss MLA Thomas Dang’s idea to create “Alberta Standard Time.” Critics of the private member’s ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Guest Column: Human rights are for everyone
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 6th, 2017
Re: “Khadr is a traitor and shouldn’t have rights,” July 21 Human rights are universal, inalienable, indivisible, interdependent, and interrelated. These are the principles upon which human rights are built; these are the principles which resonate throughout human rights documents. I will try, in as briefly as I can, to explain why the response by ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Education is a fundamental building block
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on September 6th, 2017
Mark Twain once said, “Every time you stop a school (from being built), you will have to build a jail. What you gain at one end you lose at the other. It’s like feeding a dog on his own tail. It won’t fatten the dog.” Twain, like many of the brightest and best of society, ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Not much meat to politicians’ economic plans
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on August 31st, 2017
Albertans who are concerned about the economy are increasingly being exposed to politicized spitballing and a veritable hurricane of brainstorming to cure what ails the provincial economy. And it’s not just the New Democrats, who, budget updates show, seem to be relying on a general improvement in the economy to reverse deficits. Conservatives, united and ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Invictus Games ‘push all the right buttons’ for traumatized and wounded soldiers
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on August 30th, 2017
If you have ever dealt with soldiers you know they have two sides, which in some ways represent two different personalities within the same individual. On the one hand, you have the hometown boy or girl who acts just like anyone else. They enjoy the same movies, the same recreation opportunities and have many of ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!MLA Report: There should be no support for Nazis or hate mongers
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on August 25th, 2017
I will not support hate mongers and I take a less than dim view of people and organizations who support hate-filled groups like the neo-Nazis and white supremacists. I call on my fellow elected officials, at all levels, along with spiritual, business and community leaders, to unequivocally and unconditionally reject hate groups and affirm that ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!We can’t change sun’s path, but we can be part of local solutions
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on August 24th, 2017
This week, the eternal marathon of the sun across the sky gave a rare glimpse of extraordinary beauty, the majesty of the cosmos with a total solar eclipse. In Medicine Hat, however, this was nothing more than a — as usual — case of poor planning. Firstly, the moon’s coverage of the solar orb — ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!It’s all about the optics
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on August 21st, 2017
The controversy swirling around Derek Fildebrandt has finally prompted the United Conservative Party MLA for Brooks-Strathmore to step down from the party caucus. Fildebrandt issued a statement last Tuesday announcing his departure from caucus and noting “This young party cannot afford to be distracted from the formative period that it is in right now as ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!With questionable integrity, some politicians still stretch expense rules
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on August 18th, 2017
If there was one message Albertans thought had penetrated the walls of political power in the last five years then it would have been the stench of “political entitlement.” Evidently not. We still have elected officials who stretch the rules for expense compensation. What makes MLA Derek Fildebrandt’s expense claims so shocking is that he ... Read More »
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