Get out of our town!

We may have a new contender for the quote of the week:

"Basically our community did what the judicial system wouldn't," said Mayor David Laird. "We said, 'You have no rights. Get out of town.'"

Check out this story . A town in BC was successful in getting a convicted sex offender to move out of their town.

Alberta Health Care on Right Track

Does Alberta's health care system work? Yes. Does it need tweaking? Yes. Is it time to start thinking outside the box and continue to forge ahead with a Made-in-Alberta health plan that will serve Albertans... all Albertans? Absolutely!

In a September 29, 2005 article in the Calgary Herald, Laurie Blakeman commented on the provinces plan to forge ahead with a Made-in-Alberta approach to wait time concerns. "The province always seems to stubbornly want to go it alone," said Laurie Blakeman, the Alberta Liberal health critic. "It doesn't serve Albertans the best."

Well Laurie, once again you're wrong! The Fraser Institute just released a study on wait times across Canada, read about it here.

A Made-in-Alberta approach will serve Albertans the best!

Check out the details on the recently announced increase to health funding. Albertans will benefit from improved access to health care and reduced wait times with an investment of $1.4 billion from the provincial surplus for 20 capital projects.

The new buildings, renovations and expansion of existing facilities will increase bed capacity across the province and provide at least 657 new and upgraded acute care beds and 85 new long-term care beds.

The province is investing in our future the right way... the Alberta way!

Teaching the teachers...

Possible child-parent discussion taking place in BC at this moment:

Child: "Mom, why am I not at school?"
Parent: "well, you see the teachers are on strike, and so there is no one to teach you?"
Child: "why are the teachers on strike?"
Parent: "because they don't agree with the government"
Child: "is going on strike illegal?"
Parent: "in this instance yes it is"
Child: "why are the teachers breaking the law?"
Parent: "because they feel like they are doing the right thing"
Child: "isn't breaking the law bad?"
Parent: "yes it is"
Child: "will they be punished?"
Parent: "ummm....."

And here is where all those parents now have an answer.

Quote of the Week

Senator Orrin Hatch, one of the most influential Republicans on Capitol Hill, said Monday that Canada is poised to surpass Saudi Arabia as "the world's oil giant" and warned energy-hungry America can't afford to alienate its northern neighbour over trade disputes like softwood lumber.

"Neither of us can afford to kick the other one in the teeth," the Utah senator said after a speech to government and oil industry officials at the Canadian Embassy.

Which leads to our quote of the week.....

"This country is not going to kick Canada in the teeth. And we know that Canada isn't going to kick us in the teeth either."

Let this be a lesson to all of us, friends are to valuable to be kicked in the teeth.

Polluting the truth

Remember the Kyoto Protocol? Looks like the Americans were correct when they claimed they didn't need it, chech out this article

While we Canadians talk and talk about how noble we are in our bid to reduce greenhouse gases, the Americans are actually doing it.

Hmmm...maybe the Alberta government was on to something when they said that Kyoto has nothing to do with reducing greenhouse gases. Perhaps the rumours are true, maybe politics is the greatest threat to our environment. The sad thing is this isn't an issue that we can look back on and say "I told you so" to the Liberal government in Ottawa.

Signing a document doesn't make our country more environmentally friendly. Just another example of actions speaking louder than words.

Downtown conservatives? They exist?

I've seen the statistics, and I've heard the stories, and while not one to spread false rumours (or false hope) I'm of the opinion that not only do downtown conservative minded people exist, but they are a growing group.

"But then how come we don't see many urban downtown Conservative elected officials?" people ask. Great question. One that can't easily be answered, nor is it one where the answer is obvious, and once found will guarantee success for all Conservative hopefuls (my sincere apologies if you fall under that category, for now anyway!)

I believe the answer is found with every person who lives downtown and firmly believes in the basic personal principles of less government, lower taxes, and human freedoms.

Of course, if we have some fun on the way to personal downtown conservative enlightenment, then that will be just jim dandy too right?

To Donate or Not To Donate

That seems to be the question. The Edmonon Sun ran an interesting article this morning.

Now, I understand that public opinion is split pretty even on whether or not the Government should be giving out a $400.00 cheque to all Albertans at all, but since when should we even feel slightly guilty if we decide to keep that money and put it to a use that we would like? There seems to be more and more articles appearing in the provincial press about how Albertans who don't want or need this resource rebate should simply send it to a charity. I've read articles on how people intend to donate theirs to a political party, a University they attended, or to the worthy causes of Hurricane Rita/Katrina relief and the recent Pakistan earthquake relief funds.
While all of those causes seem worthy, I have this lingering opinion that they have opened the door now for any and all would be people looking to raise money for whatever noble cause to begin their search with this $400.00 cheque we'll all be getting in January.

I donate money that I earn from working a job, and I feel good about it. I support many causes from MS to Cancer, and my favourite charity, the Special Olympics. However, am I going to donate my resource rebate, or any part of my resource rebate? No. Should I feel guilty about it? No. And i'll tell you why, I didn't earn this resource rebate. It is exactly what it is referred to as, a "resource rebate."

If a charity wants to call me or knock on my door looking for a small amount of my hard earned money, then by all means ask away. I may even decide to give them some. But under no circumstances should any of us feel any sort of inclination to donate their resource rebate. The Premier himself said it is a gift to all Albertans. I, for one, don't plan on being a re-gifter.