Opinions
City Notebook: Have yourself a merry little Christmas
By Medicine Hat News Opinion on December 12th, 2020
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant As the song says, “have yourself a merry little Christmas,” and I guess that’s what we’ll have to do this year. “Little” due to new health orders to keep the one-in-six Albertans, totalling 700,000 who have “comorbidities,” from suffering grave illness or death from the coronavirus. “Merry” because, well, it’s Christmas. In a year ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Dahlman: Same ignorance, different argument
By Medicine Hat News Opinion on December 11th, 2020
It’s a choice: plain and simple. It bares repeating: do not drive while you are impaired. Doing so will increase the chance of harming yourself and others. It is a very simple concept. So predictably there were groans about the newly formed SafeRoads Alberta adjudication branch and police are given more power through the Provincial ... Read More »
1 responseBusiness Beat: Retail, online shopping and supporting local in the COVID era
By Medicine Hat News Opinion on December 9th, 2020
From downtown to the Medicine Hat Mall, COVID-19 has upended Medicine Hat’s retail sector. While the national lockdown in March sent shockwaves through the industry, more recently mandated capacity restrictions served to further accelerate pre-existing trends – local food, authentic experiences, online shopping - that were long in the making. Through it all, Medicine Hat’s retailers have taken decisive action to limit the spread and ... Read More »
1 responseLaying It Out: Step up and lead, that’s your job
By Medicine Hat News Opinion on December 5th, 2020
“I don’t believe that anybody should tell me what the hell I have to do,” Joe Miller told the CBC in 1987. The fine for not wearing a seatbelt was to be $25 when Alberta made them mandatory on July 1 of that year, and as is clearly tradition in this proud province, we were ... Read More »
4 responsesCity Notebook: Big cuts are coming
By Medicine Hat News Opinion on December 5th, 2020
Mayor Ted Clugston promised a peek at the tips of the waves of a late-year budget update. It will be a pretty high white cap when it breaks at Monday’s council meeting. The chief amendments for council to consider is $11 million in cuts to payroll. That chop equals about 13 per cent, and paints ... Read More »
1 responseBusiness Beat: Innovation shines through pandemic clouds
By Medicine Hat News Opinion on December 2nd, 2020
The challenges aren’t getting smaller, but I continue to be impressed with the energy people in our region bring to work every day. Earnings may be down, and in some cases survival is at stake, yet businesses in town and around the world are using their resources and ideas to generate innovative new devices and ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!City Notebook: The great committee consolidation of 2020
By Medicine Hat News Opinion on November 28th, 2020
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant Lost in the shuffle of a busy council meeting on Nov. 16 was a vote to overhaul a long list of committees and advisory boards that report to council on a variety of topics. “Overhaul” is defined in this case as collapsing 10 advisory boards made up of community volunteers into one. Councillor members ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!National Affairs: Canada can take note from Biden, Yellen
By Medicine Hat News Opinion on November 27th, 2020
It’s tempting to note similarities between Janet Yellen and Chrystia Freeland. Like Canada’s finance minister, Joe Biden’s choice for U.S. treasury secretary is the first woman in that job, has her eye on the people hit hardest by the pandemic and seems inclined to spend lots of money getting out of the recession. Both are ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Business Beat: Businesses bracing for new enhanced public health measures
By Medicine Hat News Opinion on November 25th, 2020
Once again COVID 19 puts pressure on the Alberta economy, small business in particular. On Nov. 13, the Alberta government instituted targeted public health measures. Communities with more than 50 active cases per 100,000 people, became subject to enhanced public health measures to control the spread. Medicine Hat’s numbers have increased to 90+ (147/100,000) in ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!Laying It Out: Show your value or be accused of abuse
By Medicine Hat News Opinion on November 21st, 2020
In a Postmedia article Thursday headlined “Audit demanded after more than 800,000 ineligible people get CERB,” Conservative MP Kelly McCauley demands an explanation for the “remarkable” $1.7-billion “cost to the taxpayer.” CERB was meant for tax filers who made $5,000 or more in 2019, and according to records from Canada Revenue, 823,850 people who hadn’t ... Read More »
Be the first to comment!National Affairs: Premiers accountable to voters, not PM
By Medicine Hat News Opinion on November 18th, 2020
With COVID-19 cases on the rise across much of the country, pressure is once again on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to use the Emergencies Act to take full control of the management of the pandemic. But is the option really the silver bullet some of its proponents believe it is? Here are three reasons why ... Read More »
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