Canadian Politics

[rebusrankin]

Alberta might end up like many Republican led states down south where doctors are leaving.

[GCn20]

1 hour ago, 17to85 said:

They'd be stupid to push notley out.  She is more popular than the party and it takes a lot of overcome 50 years of "well we just vote conservative " 

The idea that only outright wins are good enough is ludicrous.  That party has come a long way and to force her out probably sets it back a long way.

Politics rarely rewards leaders that lose elections. Personal popularity or not.

[Atomic]

NDP name carries too much baggage. It's hopeless for them in AB as long as there is one united conservative party. NDP is known nationally as the far-left party. Even if the provincial NDP in AB lean further right than the national NDP, it's tough for them to shake the association. I'm not sure what their answer should be. The Liberal name is even more toxic in AB. Maybe they need to start a brand new party made up of current NDP members and more traditional conservatives.

[GCn20]

1 minute ago, rebusrankin said:

Alberta might end up like many Republican led states down south where doctors are leaving.

Doctors, contrary to popular belief, are not against a private/public hybrid. 

[HardCoreBlue]

8 minutes ago, Atomic said:

NDP name carries too much baggage. It's hopeless for them in AB as long as there is one united conservative party. NDP is known nationally as the far-left party. Even if the provincial NDP in AB lean further right than the national NDP, it's tough for them to shake the association. I'm not sure what their answer should be. The Liberal name is even more toxic in AB. Maybe they need to start a brand new party made up of current NDP members and more traditional conservatives.

The Alberta Party I think is trying to serve that purpose. They package themselves as middle leaning a bit right.

[rebusrankin]

7 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Doctors, contrary to popular belief, are not against a private/public hybrid. 

Some are. Alberta was already having difficulties filling residency spots this year. There have been articles about doctors talking about leaving due not only to privatization of healthcare but Alberta opting out of CPP, Alberta's approach to the 2SLGBT community and the general direction of the government.

[Noeller]

Doctors have been leaving in droves for a few years now. The pandemic, and specifically the UCP's handling of the pandemic, forced them out. Most going to BC. It's really sad and scary. I know several people in the health care industry (dentists and nurses, mostly) who were on the campaign trail for the NDP because they were so scared of what the UCP will do if given a mandate. We're in for a nightmare in this province...

Rachel Notley is one of the best politicians in the country. As Dave mentioned, the NDP securing the largest official opposition in provincial history is because of her, personally, and not the NDP, as a party. People in this province believe the lunacy of "Notley answers to Singh, her boss, and is an ally to Trudeau!" which is just head-shakingly stupid...  Notley and the AB NDP lean right of centre, because you HAVE TO in this province or you won't ever have a chance of getting elected. 

[17to85]

48 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

Alberta might end up like many Republican led states down south where doctors are leaving.

Doctors are already leaving. That's what happens when the government rips up their contract in a pandemic.

48 minutes ago, GCn20 said:

Politics rarely rewards leaders that lose elections. Personal popularity or not.

She lost, but she's also managed to shake up things enough that a few thousand votes is then difference between a "united" conservative government and an NDP government.  Considering her popularity is still higher than the parties they can't dump her without moving backwards.

[GCn20]

41 minutes ago, HardCoreBlue said:

The Alberta Party I think is trying to serve that purpose. They package themselves as middle leaning a bit right.

A third party only splits the vote.

[17to85]

The Alberta Party used to be that, now they are a nonfactor. Ex PCs torpedoed them in the last election by running them as spoilers. Now they are actually sitting further to the left than the Alberta NDP.

[GCn20]

4 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Doctors are already leaving. That's what happens when the government rips up their contract in a pandemic.

She lost, but she's also managed to shake up things enough that a few thousand votes is then difference between a "united" conservative government and an NDP government.  Considering her popularity is still higher than the parties they can't dump her without moving backwards.

I am NOT defending Alberta government's management of health care by any stretch of the imagination. Just stating that they won't leave if some privatization occurs. It would be for other reasons.

[17to85]

Yeah other reasons like they are intentionally sabotaging the system as an excuse to privatize it. Took the best Healthcare in the country and tried their very best to break it.

[GCn20]

Just now, 17to85 said:

The Alberta Party used to be that, now they are a nonfactor. Ex PCs torpedoed them in the last election by running them as spoilers. Now they are actually sitting further to the left than the Alberta NDP.

The only hope for the left in Alberta is if you get another Wild Rose kind of party that splinters the right. Alberta leans heavily to the right, and that isn't changing anytime soon. When even a wingnut like Smith can win a majority there isn't much hope for those that are centre-right/left.

[HardCoreBlue]

Just now, 17to85 said:

Yeah other reasons like they are intentionally sabotaging the system as an excuse to privatize it. Took the best Healthcare in the country and tried their very best to break it.

Revenue generator. The almighty dollar.

[GCn20]

2 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Yeah other reasons like they are intentionally sabotaging the system as an excuse to privatize it. Took the best Healthcare in the country and tried their very best to break it.

It's pretty bad for sure. Hard to believe they won. I lean to the right of the political spectrum but your Alberta PCs are way too far over to the right for me.

Edited May 30, 2023 by GCn20

[Tracker]

1 hour ago, GCn20 said:

Doctors, contrary to popular belief, are not against a private/public hybrid. 

Do not entertain any ideas that all doctors are altruistic and primarily concerned with the welfare of their patients. In my previous work, I interacted with many doctors and was shocked to learn how self-serving many of them were. Their medical educations were and still are heavily subsidized by taxpayers and they are VERY well-paid for the vital work and brutal hours. The majority of them tend towards right-wing political views as many of them believe that they have more influence over those governments to reward them. These would be just as happy if not happier in private systems for that reason. The doctors who have empathy for a universal system are probably a minority. 

Typically, the best doctors I knew were also caring and supported the current system and I would think these would be the first to leave under and private system. The worst doctors were generally self-serving and chafed under the rules that prevented them from setting their own fees. They were usually the ones who were jackholes and treated subordinate staff like servants.

[Mark F]

3 hours ago, JCon said:

And they didn't. That's why health transfers were affected for AB, SK, and MB. 

ok, good.  But common sense doesnt come in to play with these people.

13.8 million withheld Alberta. I don't think that will slow them down.

"But this news should not have come as a surprise to the provinces, according to Lorian Hardcastle, an associate professor at the University of Calgary’s faculty of law.

“The federal government gave them notice many years ago that this was coming. They’ve known for years that the federal government found these private MRI and CT clinics to be a violation of the Canada Health Act and the provinces knew that the federal government’s intent was to withhold money."

wasting public money means nothing to right wing hard core people. How many billion did Kenney waste on a pipeline that wasnt going to be built.

There is no sign that private mri is affected in Alberta.  example.

https://canadadiagnostics.ca/services/mri/

 

 

Edited May 30, 2023 by Mark F

[Fatty Liver]

1 hour ago, Mark F said:

ok, good.  But common sense doesnt come in to play with these people.

13.8 million withheld Alberta. I don't think that will slow them down.

"But this news should not have come as a surprise to the provinces, according to Lorian Hardcastle, an associate professor at the University of Calgary’s faculty of law.

“The federal government gave them notice many years ago that this was coming. They’ve known for years that the federal government found these private MRI and CT clinics to be a violation of the Canada Health Act and the provinces knew that the federal government’s intent was to withhold money."

wasting public money means nothing to right wing hard core people. How many billion did Kenney waste on a pipeline that wasnt going to be built.

There is no sign that private mri is affected in Alberta.  example.

https://canadadiagnostics.ca/services/mri/

 

 

This is going to be a difficult file for the Feds. to handle, best approach is stone cold silence, while the banshee screams and points her pointy finger at the devils in Ottawa. The Feds. need to stick to their game plan and not compromise on any files to appease the anarchists.  Eventually the price of oil will tank due to the cyclical nature of the industry and Smith will be left holding the deficit bag when the typical layoffs occur.  This is about the only thing that will grab the attention of the dumbfucks that can't see anything beyond the end of their noses.

 

 

[JCon]

1 minute ago, Fatty Liver said:

This is going to be a difficult file for the Feds. to handle, best approach is stone cold silence, while the banshee screams and points her pointy finger at the devils in Ottawa. The Feds. need to stick to their game plan and not compromise on any files to appease the anarchists.  Eventually the price of oil will tank due to the cyclical nature of the industry and Smith will be left holding the deficit bag when the typical layoffs occur.  This is about the only thing that will grab the attention of the dumbfucks that can't see anything beyond the end of their noses.

 

 

Oil prices, when they go down, are Trudeau's fault.

[rebusrankin]

Oil Prices are $70 a barrel today and their budget is for it to be $79.

[JCon]

Just now, rebusrankin said:

Oil Prices are $70 a barrel today and their budget is for it to be $79.

Damn Trudeau!

[Fatty Liver]

2 hours ago, Tracker said:

Do not entertain any ideas that all doctors are altruistic and primarily concerned with the welfare of their patients. In my previous work, I interacted with many doctors and was shocked to learn how self-serving many of them were. Their medical educations were and still are heavily subsidized by taxpayers and they are VERY well-paid for the vital work and brutal hours. The majority of them tend towards right-wing political views as many of them believe that they have more influence over those governments to reward them. These would be just as happy if not happier in private systems for that reason. The doctors who have empathy for a universal system are probably a minority. 

Typically, the best doctors I knew were also caring and supported the current system and I would think these would be the first to leave under and private system. The worst doctors were generally self-serving and chafed under the rules that prevented them from setting their own fees. They were usually the ones who were jackholes and treated subordinate staff like servants.

 

6 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

Oil Prices are $70 a barrel today and their budget is for it to be $79.

God I'd love to see her do a quick backflip on the Flames deal.  

[Noeller]

prices of all Alberta-based resources went into the tank since the election results came in... saw a tweet this morning. So much for "the UCP is good for business!" 

again, really wish the tweet would embed, but here's the image with the tweet: 

[JCon]

6 minutes ago, Noeller said:

prices of all Alberta-based resources went into the tank since the election results came in... saw a tweet this morning. So much for "the UCP is good for business!" 

again, really wish the tweet would embed, but here's the image with the tweet: 

Fortunately, nothing Smith (or Trudeau) does have an effect on the price of oil. 

[Noeller]

call it karma, then....