The UCP and its greed-driven agenda a threat to all Albertans
By Lethbridge Herald on November 9, 2022.
Editor:
Re: AT THE LEGISLATURE Opinion – Oct. 19, 2022
Hiding behind a thin veneer of vague platitudes and gratuitous victory laps, MLA Nathan Neudorf hopes his embellishment of Lethbridge’s prestige will inspire confidence in his party – a party that has been undeniably adept at failing Albertans, as well as public healthcare.
If we weren’t still recovering from a mass exodus of Alberta doctors, perhaps people may be so quick to forget that this nightmare was completely avoidable.
In an effort led by Jason Kenney and former health minister Tyler Shandro, the UCP made a political decision to unapologetically mistreat and demonize healthcare workers.
They attacked the Alberta Medical Association unjustly, eventually terminating their contract with the province – all amidst the height of the pandemic. By December of 2021, an estimated 45,000+ people in the Lethbridge area alone were without a family physician. Yet, a tone-deaf Neudorf flaunts 17 new doctors while conveniently disregarding why so many left in the first place.
It’s no secret that the UCP is a party driven by predatory privatization and corporate interests. They’ve shown very little desire to preserve our single-payer healthcare system despite its overwhelming popularity, but they’ll waste no time reminding us that they’re fighting for our “freedom.”
If his party really wanted to make Alberta an adequate place to live, let alone “the best” as Neudorf claims, I’m not sure that their decision to terminate an auto-cap that protected Albertans from predatory insurance hikes, displays this sentiment. Nor does cutting social programs that protect our most vulnerable; or trying to implement a flat tax system that would only serve to bolster the wealthiest; or the removal of numerous services formerly covered under Alberta’s “publicly-funded” healthcare. These examples don’t even begin to scratch the surface of a party who continues to undermine Albertans by perpetually praising private profits instead of prioritizing people.
Neudorf’s new party leader, Danielle Smith – whom he shamelessly endorsed – has wasted no time adding fuel to the flames of the doctor dilemma, vowing to fire the entire AHS and CPSA (College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta) boards, while making egregious accusations that AHS manufactured staff shortages. Smith also has a history of spreading medical misinformation on platforms like Twitter, where she’s taken extensive criticism for her dissemination of lies, conspiracies, and racist dog whistles.
Mr. Neudorf speaks of an Alberta Advantage as though living in Alberta is inherently beneficial, but don’t be fooled by his demagoguery. Whether his generous portrayal of Alberta as some thriving utopia is sincere or not is irrelevant, when the threat of his party and their greed-driven agenda continues to be very real.
Danny Ponomar
Lethbridge
13-12
From Alberta: in 2021 – 176 retired and 158 decided the no longer needed their licences. 140 Doctors left the province in 2021 about the same number who left in 2019 and 2020 combined. Note: more retired and ditched their licences than left the province. Free country.
From Ontario
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ont-family-physicians-1.6596653
https://www.cfpc.ca/en/news-and-events/news-events/news-events/news-releases/2022/family-doctor-shortage-in-canada
Sometimes it just easier to rant and rave and blame a person you hate than it is to look up some statistics.
Agreed…..by Albertan’s voting intention indication, the AB NDP will have much to fix when the UCP lose the next provincial election.
Pomomar suffers from UCP derangement. Much like the NDP he seems to think the UCP can do no right and that somehow the natural order of this province is to be found in the socialist agenda. The NDP WILL have something to fix after the next election: namely their own party, with a new leader and a path that does not have them in the pockets of their Federal namesake propping up a corrupt minortiy government to ride out their pension availability.
It should be noted that Alberta is not alone in facing a shortage of doctors. As for the “shamless” comment in Neudorf supporting the party leader, can only be described as asinine. With regard to the endless cries of ” greed ” as it applies to Health care using some private services, perhaps the commentor is not aware that some of the acknowledged best Health care systems in the world routinely use private systems to supplement their public coverage.
More to cry about.
https://calgaryherald.com/news/politics/premier-smith-issues-mandate-letters-to-six-ministries-tasked-with-addressing-affordability-crisis/wcm/63ccd743-f41e-421a-8757-d60e9813c53c?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CH%20Noon%20RoundUP%20Newsletter%202022-11-10&utm_term=CH_Noon_Newsletter