Opinions
Opinion: Grinches surfacing during Christmas season
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 18th, 2019
There appears to be a troubling trend emerging in the province from the fallout of what seems like reneging by Premier Jason Kenney on the UCP’s Health-Care Guarantee, and perceived war on public-sector workers with education feeling the bite as well. With the belt-tightening of the provincial budget which was announced earlier this year, it ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!No celebrating this anniversary
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 16th, 2019
A one-year anniversary passed Tuesday, but it isn’t one that was being celebrated – least of all by the two Canadians to whom the milestone applied. Tuesday marked one year since Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor were detained in China in what had all the appearances of retaliation for Canada’s arrest of Meng Wanzhou, ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!National Affairs: Resignation recalls legacy of ‘Joe Who’
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 16th, 2019
@susandelacourt Andrew Scheer announced his departure as Conservative leader on the eve of a significant political anniversary in Canada. Forty years ago, on Dec. 13, 1979, the Conservative minority government of Joe Clark fell, setting in motion a chain of events that would transform the two big political parties in Canada for decades to come. ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Laying it Out: Few wait less but we all pay the price
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 14th, 2019
The minister of health was up early last Saturday taking to Twitter to claim my column to be “an artful construction of an altered reality.” As is becoming more and more clear every day, I absolutely do live in a different reality than Tyler Shandro, though I’ll remind you that mine has inflation, population growth ... Read More »
1 responseGuest Column: ATA invites others to join in defending public education
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 12th, 2019
Last week, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released results of international assessments that showed Alberta’s public education system remained one of the very best education systems in the entire world. Our system ranked third in the world in reading, third in science and eighth in mathematics. Since the OECD’s Programme for International ... Read More »
2 responsesGuest Column: The cost of unpaid caregivers for Alberta’s seniors
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 10th, 2019
As part of our ongoing work, the Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA) took a fulsome look at the role of unpaid caregivers of seniors with declining health. We set out to measure the impact and value in terms of costs avoided by our health system. Our goal was to better understand how Albertans who ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Laying it Out: Yes, Virginia, there is a health-care cut
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 7th, 2019
If I gave you $1,000 to care for 100 people, you could spend $10 per person. If next year I give you $1,050 to care for 110, you could spend $9.54. That’s how a population increase can turn a budget increase into a cut. If the cost of one person is $10 and I give ... Read More »
7 responsesMP Report: A strong Canada needs a strong Alberta
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 6th, 2019
Since October’s federal election Canada’s Confederation appears more fractured than ever with large splits in different regions of our great country. The return of the Bloc in Quebec, the strength of Conservatives in the West, and Liberals in Ontario and Atlantic Canada. Splits along cultural, geographic and economic lines driven by a divisive Liberal campaign ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Opinion: Provincial review of photo radar is unnecessary
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 6th, 2019
gslade@medicinehatnews.com@MHNGillianSlade We already have all the data we need to determine whether photo radar is being used as a cash cow or to improve safety on our roads, there is no need for a two-year review. Ric McIver, minister of transport, recently announced the government’s planned review, noting that guidelines needed to be refined. It ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Opinion: Bond rating agencies don’t play politics
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on December 5th, 2019
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@collingallant If beauty is in the eye of the bondholder, then Alberta should probably take another look in the mirror. On Wednesday, bond rating agency Moody’s edged down Alberta’s credit rating, the first since Albertans elected the United Conservatives on a get-back-to-business platform in the spring. Albertans will well-remember how the UCP and their predecessor ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Time to show our seniors the respect they deserve
By Medicine Hat News Opinon on November 29th, 2019
gslade@medicinehatnews.com@MHNGillianSlade It appears the courtesies of a civil society do not currently extend to seniors. There was a particularly abrasive “Tickled Pink” entry in the News this week. “Glad the whining old seniors can go back to Veiner Centre! Do not let the door of Crestwood Pool hit you on the way out.” The individual ... Read More »
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