October 2010
Constituents of Fish Creek your number one priority was once again health care. The second issue was land use & lastly the sales tax that the government floated as getting more revenue.
You certainly made your point known on how you felt the government was handling the issue of the emergency departments. Many of you shared your heartfelt stories on the hours that you have spent waiting for care. You asked if the government had “just woken up” to the crisis or if they just decided to ignore it hoping you would accept the long waits. Your calls, emails and personal conversations we have shared, clearly indicate ‘you are mad as hell and not going to take it anymore!!!!” Let’s for a minute talk about the good, the bad and the ugly. The good is the incredible health care professionals who are working under enormous pressures. You have all been touched by these wonderful, dedicated and caring professionals. The bad is the government & Alberta Health Services inability to realize how bad of a situation we have in our healthcare system. It is unacceptable in the year 2010 to see and read about the horror stories that are occurring in our emergency rooms. The ugly is reading what the emergency physicians documented and leaked to the press. There are so many documented horror stories I honestly thought I was reading something from a 3rd world country.
I received a great deal of correspondence regarding the government’s secrecy on the sale of 13,600 acres of Public native dry mixed grass prairie rangeland to SLM Spud Farms for conversion into irrigated cropland for potato production. Your concerns mirror those of many others I have heard from in regards to the lack of transparency and public consultation, threats to biodiversity, lost recreational and ranching opportunities, water management, environmental assessment, and land use planning.
Finally you made it very clear to the musing of the government in regards to a sales tax. Quite simply you said no, no and no.
I am now back in session and you can see the live feed on my questions to the government, member statements and debate on bills. Please remember my questions and comments are generated from the feedback I receive from you. Go towww.heatherforsyth.com.
Take care, Heather.