We deserve better from our province
By Letter to the Editor on October 7, 2021.
Editor:
Premier Jason Kenney recently stated that 80 per cent of Alberta’s population had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccination and also reiterated that he would not be increasing any further restrictions such as the “fire break” proposal recommended by several of Alberta’s top doctors. He further stated that he would not penalize 80 per cent of the estimated 4.42 million Alberta population by bringing in more stringent COVID-19 restrictions.
So what I cannot fathom is that a premier could be so intolerant that he assumes all 80 per cent or 3.5 million Albertans are healthy, so healthy that they do not need immediate access to ICU’s or surgical/operating rooms or they do not need the services of a local physician or they do not suffer from any chronic health condition. Does he not take into account that 44 per cent of Canada’s population suffer from more than one or more chronic diseases – cardiac, cancer, dialysis, cystic fibrosis, mental health, to name a few – and that Alberta has one of the highest rates of chronic diseases in the country? If that is the case, then one can only assume that he is immune to the fact that 1.5 million Albertans (44 per cent of the vaccinated population) could be in need of immediate specialized medical attention, to operating rooms without delay, to chemotherapy or radiation treatments to their local family physician, or to other health emergencies.
As a current cancer patient, I implore the UCP government to address two issues. One – to forthwith, collaborate with the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce and prominent Lethbridge doctors along with the City and County officials and an international recruitment firm to initiate an ongoing recruitment process to hire and relocate 20 new doctors to Lethbridge and region. Before retirement, I recruited domestically and internationally for the Bell Canada group of companies, and yes, it is a long process but one that can be successfully achieved in less than 12 months. Two – that Premier Kenney and the UCP caucus take immediate action to proactively collaborate with our top medical doctors to shut down this province for a three or four-week period to meet this pandemic head on before the pandemic crushes an already strained nursing and doctor crisis, an unstable labour force, and an equally overtaxed and faltering economy. Without such actions, I can only foresee a very gloomy Christmas season.
 The people of Lethbridge and Alberta deserve better.
Doug Madill
Lethbridge
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Kenney can talk, high or low, but his credibility is toast.