Third Way in a nut shell

March 14, 2006
John Clark
14815-123 Ave
Edmonton, Alberta T5L 2Y7
cyberclark@shaw.ca
The Honorable Iris Evans
107 Legislature Building,
Edmonton, AB T5K 2B6
Ph 780-437-3665
Fx 780-415-0961
iris.evans@assembly.ab.ca

Dear Minister:

A computer generated reply is certainly in keeping with the lumpy PR programs of this day and age but it does very much point up the fact that as with electrical power you people are running with an ideal; a right wing dream world; rather than a plan of substance or even a simple budget.

Equally apparent is you have not shifted one bit from your stated purpose of privatizing health care totally. You have no interest in improving anything. Your party has debilitated health care by chronic under funding; on one part, extravagant spending and under utilization of the capital investments on purpose, for the ease in the conversion.

If you had any thought of costs you would have had midwifery legitimized and active in the health system by this time! Every civilized country in the world recognizes and uses this set of skills! No, this has never been about costs; driven only by political ideal.

I have said many time you and your Government have an incestuous relationship with the insurance companies. No other province receives a 3% kick back from insurance companies! The hail control program, a success developed in this province was turned over to the insurance companies to administer and was an apparent success. They can avoid paying hail damage if they can avoid the hail.

Closed door meetings with insurance companies on Auto Insurance (which will now not be able to draw on Alberta Health Care but must be prepared to pay the hospitals for all the treatments) and, our auto insurance rates will go up accordingly while you whine “it’s not a health care cost now”. Or, “it’s private industry we don’t involve ourselves”

Mr. Mazankowsky, a chair holder in Great West Life/ LifeCo; a segment of the giant Power Corporation was hired with tax payer money to write an insurance companies dream world of a perfect system! They pay too much for a sign naming the hospital after him. How bad is that?

When this became public, you moved to Aon a no name company working in the legal shadows. Then, you say “How could I possibly know they were being sued all over the map because of doubtful dealings?"

I think it didn’t matter who they were or what they did. You were looking for a shell company to move your legislation into and neatly package your cut throat policies under the one flag of Aon in order to slip it all in once nice piece to Great West Life/Lifeco/Manzankowsky! We will read “Aon sells Alberta segment to Lifeco.” What we won’t read is that it was part of the deal at the onset.

I think we can all acknowledge you are anal in your drive. Your costs are bogus not separating what was spent from what was blown up and under utilized. Allow for private MRI companies then, declare all the equipment (multi millions in machines and facilities) redundant, write them off and charge the whole works to health care to make your story. Make sure we charge premium space at the hospitals for the machine rooms sitting idle.

The spin doctor’s view of aging cripples, over the moon medications and all the other extremes you can draw on are nothing short of outright lies and misrepresentation of the actual facts. Your drive is to eliminate all personal equity and resource, becoming destitute, before the Government offers up something, bad and yet to be determined!

Mr. Lougheed built prototypical hospitals every election. Some like Swan Hills, were opened without physician presence. People lost northern allowances from the oil companies because they had a hospital even though they had no chance of treatment there!

Do you plan on selling these in mass to Mr. Dinning’s company? Perhaps to Aon who can turn them over to the Dinning Corp? Lets speculate; Dinning wants to be Premier so Aon or someone like it will take over the hospitals and then, sell them at a predetermined commission to his blind trust?

As you so carefully explained the Regional Health Authorities “own” all the buildings, property and chattel associated with the hospitals. And, the Regional Health Authority can sell these at any price they want to whoever they want the only criteria being the “cabinet” agrees it is a “suitable” price. The cabinet will never say we told them to do it but, the back room whisperings would provide the direction.

You are on the verge of privatizing the whole medical trade and infrastructure!

I say, you have to be stopped and the first step is not letting Ralph’ survive past the convention. Next October is too late!

You also might consider with this extreme and aggressive plan of yours, the door is left wide open for nationalization on many levels! You have no middle ground in your plans only exploitation!

John Clark