How can we move Alberta’s economy forward? What will a healthy economy look like in 2025? At this forum I will emphasize that wise spending, investing in the future, and stabilizing revenues are the crucial building blocks of a strong Alberta economy.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Where: Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Centre
1320-5th Ave NW
Calgary, Ab

When: 7-9pm

David

These athletes make their respective sports look easy, but their shining Olympic moments are made possible only by hundreds of hours of grueling work in frigid temperatures and many early morning practices.
Athletic ability at the Olympic level takes more than just hard work and commitment, it takes years of sacrifice and a yearning to succeed that surpasses almost anything else.

Alberta’s world class training facilities draw hundreds of athletes from around the world. Thanks to these facilities, we are confident that many more medals will come from the many Canadian athletes who live and train in Alberta.

The heart of an athlete burns night and day for a chance to be the best and to make their country proud. Well done, Olympians! Thank you for inspiring us with your incredible examples of honorable sacrifice, courage, and self-discipline.

David

As always, your feedback is welcomed and appreciated.

David
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Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As Leader of the Official Opposition, I have the duty and privilege of rising today to respond to yesterday’s budget.

Mr. Speaker, I am frankly astounded by the haphazard nature of this budget, with massive spending increases in certain areas offset by drastic cuts in others. Far from striking a balance, this budget throws Alberta wildly off-balance, with no plan for sustainable spending and our province’s future prosperity in jeopardy.

This is a balancing act, all right, but it’s like a high-wire performance: a big show for the audience with potentially catastrophic consequences. Only it’s like the Minister of Finance is sitting safely on the sidelines, poking Albertans out onto the high wire without a net.

Over and over again during my time as Leader of the Official Opposition, I’ve stated my belief that Alberta is in dire need of a government that understands the importance of planning for the long term. Albertans have told me that they share that view. But clearly this Tory administration has no concept of what a long-term plan entails.

Why else would they lurch from budget to budget, shifting priorities on the fly, commissioning studies only to abandon them, ignoring the advice of the Auditor General, passing a law to make deficit spending illegal only to repeal that law as soon as oil and gas prices collapsed? Is it a spending problem, or is it really a competence problem in this administration? We believe this budget confirms that it’s definitely a competence problem.

Both as a physician and an Officer of Health, I took a careful, comprehensive approach to assessing problems, coming up with solutions, and following up to be sure that my solutions were working, amending as necessary.

For example, if a patient came into my office with a headache, I couldn’t just give him a pill and send him away. I needed to know his medical history, what other medications he might be taking, any other health issues, any problems at work or home, and so on. Once deciding upon a course of action, I monitored the patient’s progress and made changes to his treatment as necessary.

The same common-sense approach can and should be applied to policy problems. The state of public health care, the condition of our economy, social issues such as homelessness and child care – all of these issues require responsible leaders to consider the big picture, without the baggage of ideology or personal prejudice.

Comprehensive analysis, full assessment, action, monitoring and amending: that’s the approach a responsible government would take to the big issues of the day. Instead, we have ad hoc policy designed to address partisan political problems, while many equally important issues get swept under the rug.

The Cuts
The cut to children’s services, for example, is a scandal, and the decision to slash nearly forty million dollars from a crucial program is beneath contempt, especially when the amount being cut is the same as the amount being devoted to subsidizing the dying horse racing industry.

Mr. Speaker, Albertans care about children a heck of a lot more than they care about horse racing, and I am profoundly disappointed by the lack of empathy and shortsightedness displayed by this administration’s decision, especially given the news stories of troubled foster families this past week.

Yesterday I talked about the impact this administration’s cuts have had on Alberta’s students, the next generation of engineers, tradesmen, scientists, doctors, artists – the leaders and builders of tomorrow. Over $200 million cut from Advanced Education and Technology, creating even higher student debt and imperiling access to postsecondary education.

If there’s one investment that could lead to creating a sustainable economy for Alberta, it’s education, but this administration, with typical shortsightedness, just made it even harder for countless Albertans to achieve their full potential. The consequences of this decision will affect Alberta’s prosperity for a long, long time, and it certainly makes it no easier to address our critical shortage of health care professionals. That two billion dollars added to the health care budget won’t help much without new doctors and other professionals to make the system work.

Clearly the heartfelt but logical appeal of University of Calgary medical students Rithesh Ram and Natalie Liu, whose letter I read in this house yesterday, fell on deaf ears. Student debt, already crippling, is going to rise even higher, and I don’t see how the Minister of Advanced Education is going to deny any of the proposed tuition increases given these cuts. High youth unemployment, declining Registured Education Savings Plan values, a frozen minimum wage – all of these factors, combined with this administration’s cuts to advanced education, make this is a terrible time to be a postsecondary student in Alberta.

Slashing income supports in an economic recession shows not only a lack of compassion for Albertans struggling to cope, but again reinforces this administration’s reputation for shortsightedness. You predict that the unemployment picture is not going to improve, in the near term, so why cut benefits? They’re going to be needed, especially since employment tends to lag behind general economic growth; it takes time to recover lost jobs. In the meantime, Alberta families will struggle to cope.

The choices made by this administration reveal a “flavour of the month” mentality. You have recognized, correctly, that Albertans are concerned about health care. But rather than address the complex problems of management and resource allocation, you have decided to take the easy road and throw money, tons of it, at the problem.

Health Care Increase
I can’t imagine how the Minister of Finance wrapped his head around this administration’s incredible two billion dollar increase in health care spending. In fact, there was a comment on Twitter that I thought was quite funny and revealing; I’m paraphrasing here, but it said something like, “Mr. Premier, when your Finance Minister is in tears while reading the budget, that’s not a good sign.”

You know, if I’d called upon this government to increase the health budget by two billion dollars, the heckling from that side of the assembly might very well have brought the house down around our heads. And yet here we have an ideologically conservative administration, or at least, certainly, an ideologically conservative Minister (or so he tries to appear), telling Albertans that their prescription for saving health care is throwing dump trucks full of money at the system.

As an MD, I can tell you that yes, the system needs money, but what it needs most is competent management. Given this administration’s disastrous record with public health care, why should anyone believe that this huge increase in the system’s budget will actually lead to better results?

This administration’s own throne speech, delivered just days ago, admitted that Alberta receives far less value per dollar spent on health care than other provinces. Now we’ll receive even less value per dollar, because I don’t trust this administration to use those extra resources efficiently. In fact, by cutting child intervention services and income supports, you will foster situations that lead to bad health outcomes for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Albertans – and they’ll wind up in health care, costing the health system more in the long run.

I find it incredibly ironic that two years ago this very administration was trying to tell Albertans that health care spending was out of control. Oscar Wilde might not have been a big fan of consistency, but I think most Albertans want a government that isn’t constantly sending out mixed messages.

A few months ago, this administration claimed that they could find two billion dollars in savings through greater efficiency. You seem to have come up about $700 million short, and you certainly haven’t found any appreciable efficiencies in health care – not when, as I explained yesterday, there are cases of keeping patients in intensive care for days at a cost of thousands of dollars rather than shelling out less than a hundred dollars for antibiotics.

Or cases like that of a former colleague, forced to wait too long for what would have been a relatively inexpensive gall bladder treatment that eventually resulted in a serious, life-threatening infection, costing the system thousands of additional dollars and, more importantly, resulting in a vastly less desirable health outcome for my friend.

Stories from Albertans
Yesterday, in my response to the Throne Speech, I shared some stories from the many Albertans who have contacted us with stories of how they’re trying to cope with this administration’s mistakes.

I shared those stories because I think it’s important that we all remember that the decisions we make as elected representatives have real impacts on real people – our neighbours, our fellow citizens, the people we have been entrusted to serve. When we fail them, we fail in our primary reason for being in this Assembly.

I hope that at least a few of the government Members will take those stories to heart, because we all share some responsibility for them.

Here’s one that I didn’t bring up yesterday:

“After 10 years of billions of dollars in surplus, we now find ourselves facing a 4 billion dollar deficit…

(Of course it’s even larger now.)

…WHERE DID THE MONEY GO??? I live on a disability pension, I don’t have a lot of money to throw around, I have MS and upon occasion I need a Chiropractor and need some adjustments but Mr. Liepert saw fit to delist the treatments and now I cannot afford to go to a Chiropractor. I have no balance and fall frequently and require adjustments often.

Also, I cannot afford my prescriptions because [the Minister of Health] raised the price of the Plus for Blue Cross from $44.00 per month to $82.00 per month. Doctor appointments are over a month wait to see them. The more you can do please do and more power to you because we need help.”

And another:

“I asked for Hospital Beds. Not a 250 million dollar a year ambulance transition. In April this year AHS took over EMS services throughout Alberta at a cost of 250 million a year forever, after refusing to release publicly, the findings of the EMS Discovery project in the “former” Peace and Palliser Health Regions. What is our Health Minister trying to Hide? I wrote my local [government] MLA and received this response from her in writing. She stated ‘I am unable to share these findings with you’ and that ‘the findings of the EMS discovery projects cannot be released publicly.’ Disgusting — Very George Bush style of governance. This was a great selling feature to tax payers. For example, in Calgary where EMS operations were close to 30 million a year, this was [not] supposed to be passed on down to us. Then why is it that I am facing a 4.8% property tax increase? This system is clearly not working.”

Conclusion
Believe me, these stories represent just the tip of the iceberg; to paraphrase Shakespeare, this is surely the winter of Albertan discontent. This budget uses a boatload of cash to wallpaper over some problems, while failing to address fundamental issues of poor governance, mismanagement, and failure to consider the long-term implications of habitual moment-to-moment decision-making.

I believe that as a society we must do our best to live within our means so that future generations won’t be compromised. As our First Nations citizens might say, we do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children. This budget borrows very heavily indeed from the next generation of Albertans. I only wish I could believe that this administration had the skills to put the loan to best use.

Clearly, Mr. Speaker, we are dealing no longer with merely a financial problem, but with a competence problem.

There’s a better way.

We’re looking for a clear plan from the Stelmach administration. Where is a plan for dealing with serious problems in our economy, our energy sector, public services, education and health care?

Here’s what the Official Opposition will be focusing on during this session, as we roll out new policy on economy, healthcare and the environment:

Strengthening the Economy- Albertans have the right to expect responsible planning and disciplined spending, while protecting our basic human services. It’s time that this government was held accountable for decisions that have slowed our economic recovery and threatened our future stability.

I will work hard to see that the diversification of Alberta’s economy and energy plan remains a priority, while focusing on increasing the success of the oil and gas industry in this province on multiple stakeholder levels. The Alberta Liberal Caucus will be following up on Dave Taylor’s well-received policy on the oil and gas industry, launched last week. If you would like to read more about our new oil and gas policy for Alberta, please click here

Revitalizing Healthcare - It’s time to go BACK TO BASICS. Every Albertan deserves a family doctor, and all seniors in this province deserve quality affordable long-term care.

The Lieutenant (Health Minister) has changed, but the General (Mr Stelmach) remains the same. I’m afraid that we will see more serious problems in people’s ability to receive timely care from a health professional – including prevention.

Protecting Social Services – In these difficult economic times it is especially important that social services remain available for our society’s most vulnerable persons. Persons with developmental disability and their care-givers are reasonably upset by threats to reduce basic services, safety and health.

The Alberta Liberal Caucus has long challenged the Alberta government to provide more funding for Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) support programs. We deeply disagree with the recent decision to force $6 million in cuts. It demonstrates this government’s willingness to sacrifice vital services for the bottom line.

Defending Education – A large part of my job is bringing forward the issues and concerns of my constituents – I have heard from students, parents, teachers, and trustees from within the constituency and across this province who are all concerned with impending funding cuts to the education system.

Education is the most basic investment we can make in our economic and social wellbeing. All students have the right to receive the best possible education. As Alberta’s Official Opposition, the Alberta Liberal Caucus will continue to challenge the Stelmach Administration to adequately fund the education of Alberta’s children, both K-12 and post-secondary.

In a time when there is so much wasteful government spending, there’s no justification to slash public health care, public education or crucially important programs, like those serving people with developmental disabilities. To read a listing of alternative cuts that an Alberta Liberal government would make, click here. We are interested in your thoughts on our proposal.

I want to hear from you and your ideas on how to make this great province of ours greater for all Albertans. Please contact me at: calgary.mountainview@assembly.ab.ca

David

Our caucus is preparing additional policy announcements in the other critical areas of concern to Albertans, where the tired Stelmach regime has dropped the ball so badly.

Look for more policy announcements in coming weeks.

As a young medical student, I spent time working with the people in Haiti. I understand how a natural disaster can create huge suffering for its citizens who are already having difficulties in their day to day lives.

While not much can be done to prevent natural disasters from happening, I trust that Albertans and Canadians countrywide will come together to assist in the recovery and rebuilding of Haiti.

My colleagues and I support any and all efforts by our governments, provincial and national, to assist the people of Haiti in their recovery from this disaster.

David

The Liberal Caucus has appealed last week’s order by the Legislature Assembly Office to take down the site, as I consider it our job as Alberta’s Official Opposition to help Albertans speak out on the issues of concern and to amplify their voices. I believe passionately in the power of voices united.

What we’ve heard is very concerning. I’ve included a few quotes from stories we’ve received below.

We’re not asking for Ron Liepert to be removed as MLA, only as Health Minister. This is an issue of policy, not personality.

With the recent announcement of an impending cabinet shuffle, we will soon find out if Ed is listening.

Albertans deserve better – and will get it if they persist.

David

Visit liepertmustgo.ca

Excerpts taken from liepertmustgo.ca:

“I am a medical Resident who works in Calgary. I have seen firsthand the devastation the health reforms and mismanagement […] While on ICU, we had a patient who had been waiting for transfer to the ward for so long that he was actually ready for discharge from ICU. Only he needed 3 additional days of ORAL antibiotics. We tried to give him a script for the drugs, but being homeless, he could not afford to fill the prescription. The inpatient pharmacy is now restricted in terms of giving meds to patients at discharge (ie. they can dispense one day’s worth, but not more – because of budget cuts). So this gentleman, with no medical bed (only an ICU bed) was required to stay in ICU for 3 additional days, because the hospital would not give him $25 of antibiotics (The Math: 3x $2000/day ICU stay = $6000 cost, because we can’t give him $25 of free antibiotics)”

“My mother (68 years old) was on the waiting list for a routine colonoscopy for two years before she was called for an appointment. The terrible thing about this situation was that she was diagnosed with colon cancer before she was able to get the colonoscopy.”

“I used to work as an RN in Alberta. I saw more and more RNs on my unit being replaced by LPNs. It was getting so dangerous for the patients that I had to leave; I couldn’t work in an environment where money was more important than patient safety and their lives. The LPNs were nowhere near knowledgeable or competent enough to deal with the high acuity of the patients. None of them were

This is good news for political revival in Alberta!

David

As Alberta’s Official Opposition, the Alberta Liberal Caucus will continue to challenge the Stelmach Administration to adequately fund the education of Alberta’s children. A large part of our job as Official Opposition is bringing forward the issues and concerns of Albertans – we have heard from students, parents, teachers, and trustees from across this province and we want to bring forward your concerns to the government and to the public.

This government needs to start viewing education as an investment priority, rather than a liability. The Alberta Liberals have a plan for fiscal sustainability that would see money properly invested in the Heritage Fund, where it could then earn interest to fund government initiatives, of which education should be a priority. Details on our fiscal and education policies can be found on our webpage at www.albertaliberalcaucus.com

We’d like to hear from you on this issue. To contact us click HERE

David

That includes freedom of speech, which many in Alberta hesitate to exercise because they fear they’ll lose their jobs – particularly in the public sector. A culture of intimidation exists, which is why I believe so strongly in the need for whistleblower protection for Albertans and why I’m so impressed by those that speak out despite the risk of punishment.

Here’s another example. Bill 44, forced through this past spring, jeopardizes the education our children are entitled to as stated in the Declaration by hampering the promotion of understanding, tolerance and friendship. When teachers do not have the freedom to teach an inclusive curriclum, the spirit of the Declaration is diminished.

Human rights must be fought for every day, even here in Alberta – perhaps especially here, where it is too easy to take our rights for granted. The Official Opposition will continue to fight threats to the fundamental rights of Albertans.

David

The update claimed $430 million in savings, but noted $575 million in new expenditures. It also notes that over half the Stelmach administration’s cuts are to core public services, which are vital to Alberta’s prosperity and social fabric.

A responsible government wouldn’t use its own wasteful spending as an excuse to cut core public services such as education, children’s services and health care. For Lloyd Snelgrove to claim that government has been at the public trough for ten years is true, but his administration is punishing the wrong people.

The Alberta Liberal cost savings plan takes a different approach, saving $577 million by reducing the size of cabinet, eliminating the Public Affairs Bureau, and cutting wasteful spending such as subsidies for horseracing and grants to golf courses.

If this administration were really serious about cost savings, they would take a long, hard look in the mirror and cut back on the fat. But it’s been a long time since Alberta has enjoyed that kind of leadership, and we won’t get it back until Albertans choose a different government.

David

Call the Alberta Liberal Caucus’ toll free number: 1-888-886-2834,

Or, visit www.bill50.ca

To tell us your views on Bill 50, the importance of genuine public consultation, or rising electricity costs. Record a question you’d like us to ask the Premier or his cabinet on your behalf. We’ll ask some of those questions in the Legislature, so that Premier Stelmach and his cabinet understand that Albertans have a say in the issues that affect them.

November 11th is a day of hope and gratitude, sadness and reflection. Though I’m not a veteran, I’ve seen firsthand the terrible human cost of war, and I share the profound hope of all human beings that one day the world will know true peace.

It may sound contradictory to say that peace is what our veterans fight for, but it is nonetheless true. For there can be no peace without freedom of expression, without human rights, without freedom from tyranny. Our veterans defended these universal human values in the massive wars of the 20th century, and they continue to do so today in wars that may be smaller in scale but no less dangerous for our men and women in uniform. Indeed, we are reminded of the human cost to our troops at regular intervals, and our hearts go out to the families of the fallen.

This Remembrance Day, I ask all Albertans to pause for a moment of genuine and heartfelt contemplation. We must all do our best to understand and respect the sacrifices of the citizens who stand up to defend us and to defend the weak and helpless overseas, and to keep the peace in the world’s most troubled regions. We have so much to be grateful for here in Alberta and in Canada, and the men and women of our armed forces deserve our gratitude.

David

As line-ups continue across the province today, I am hearing from many concerned Albertans about the negligence, lack of planning and shortage of resources around this important vaccination campaign.

I’ve heard from parents, who are worried for their young children and frustrated by the hours of waiting imposed on their families.

I’ve heard from seniors with chronic disease, many with disabilities, who are not able to line up for hours due to their conditions. These are the very people most at risk and most likely to benefit from the vaccine!

I’ve heard from pharmacists who are inundated with phone calls after the Minister’s announcement that 400 pharmacist’s will be available to administer the vaccine shortly.  These pharmacists have not been given any prior information and are frustrated that they cannot answer the questions being asked.

Many people have suggestions about how to make positive changes to the vaccination campaign, and I would like to acknowledge their efforts to make a bad situation better for everyone.

Bed closures in hospitals and the cutting of essential front line health care staff will certainly add to the pressures in hospitals, especially intensive care units, where official predictions are for 600 during this pandemic.  

We’ve had months to plan, and communicate yet the delivery is a mess.

In my opinion we must do the following:

1.      Open vaccine clinics immediately and give whatever vaccine exists to the highest risk people.

2.      Ensure that all vaccine available now is used ONLY for high -risk individuals – young children, pregnant women, aboriginal people and people with a chronic disease. This should have been the decision from the outset.

3.      Get the resources and staffing to get on with the job.

4.      Invite all available health professionals, including students and retired, to assist.

5.      Expand the staffing to hospitals to ensure that patients are properly treated and moved quickly to the service appropriate for their condition.